On The Road – Albatrossity – Summer into Fall 2023

Photographing hatch-year birds occupied a lot of my time this summer, for some reason. I’d like to think that means that our local birds had a productive year! Here are a pair of young Orchard Orioles (Icterus spurius) exploring the world in their first summer on the planet. Our back yard had a pair of Orchard Orioles this summer, and the babies were seen several times. Click here for larger image.

Northern Parulas (Setophaga americana) are one of the few warbler species that nest in my patch of Flyover Country, they also seem to have had a good year yere. This youngster was quite curious about me and the camera, and posed nicely for this portrait on a lichen-encrusted twig Click here for larger image.

The recently-fledged warbler above looks a lot like its parents, but some birds are a bit more mysterious in their first summer plumage. This is a Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), but it doesn’t have a red head. It is just starting to show a tinge of red on the back of the head, but these gray-headed woodpeckers consternate plenty of birders here every summer. Click here for larger image.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) in hatch-year plumage strongly resemble adult female birds, and it can be difficult to separate the birds by age classes. One clue is the very fresh plumage (no nicks or worn ends) and the scaly look of the buffy-edged crown feathers. Hopefully this one makes the trip to Central America and back here successfully; it’s always good to have more hummingbirds around! Click here for larger image.

Adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are very aptly named, and you can also see the plain green crown (no scaly look) in this picture. Late in the summer these feisty males seemed to be everywhere I went! Click here for larger image.

Another feisty bird that seems to be increasing its population around here, the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) truly defies description, especially the male as seen here. The French name for this species, Passerin nonpareil, sums it up pretty well. It is indeed peerless! Click here for larger image.

Spotted Sandpipers (Actitis macularius) do indeed have spotted plumage for much of the summer, but sometime in August, they will usually molt into a very much more drab unspotted version for the winter months. This unassuming bird migrates singly or in small groups, moving twice a year between the summer range (mostly in Canada) and a winter range mostly along the coasts of northern South America. Their jerky stride has earned them some interesting nicknames, including Teeter-bob and Tip-tail. Click here for larger image.

On many summer days I find myself sitting on our back deck in the shade, watching the birds on the feeders or in the surrounding trees. White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) are here year-round, and are always entertaining. This one was picking off the ants who live in a small hollow in one of the locust trees. Click here for larger image.

Wooly Verbena (Verbena stricta, aka Hoary Vervain) is an abundant and colorful native on our local prairies. And since a lot of the BJ jackals are dedicated gardeners, I thought I should include a flower picture for those folks! Click here for larger image.

Finally, the season for holiday calendars is rolling around, and I am gathering and judging images for my annual Bird Butt calendar. It ain’t complete yet, but this Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) is certainly a contender this year! Click here for larger image.