On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Happy Monday!
(click for a larger, non-blurry schedule for the week)
Albatrossity
The quickening of migration in March hints at the flood of migrants to come, and this time of year is eagerly anticipated by birders and other nature lovers. So let’s spend some time on migrants, both those who are arriving and those who are emigrating further north for the summer.
Ducks are a great way to get into birding, since they are large, easily found in the right habitats, and gorgeous in their spring finery. This male American Wigeon (Mareca americana) is a great example. Those rusty sides, white belly, and flashy white underwing patches make this species easy to identify from a distance, and easy to appreciate up close. Click here for larger image.
Another striking migrant duck, the Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), is named for the nearly invisible brown collar at the base of its neck. They could have named it Ring-billed Duck, but the folks who named these birds seem unable to focus on visible field marks sometimes. Click here for larger image.
The familiar hawk of open land, the Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius), is also known as the Marsh Hawk. If you have an older bird field guide, that’s where you will find it. In my part of Flyover Country it is a winter resident (although there are a few summer records here), and this female will probably be heading north soon. The breeding range is immense, stretching across the continent from Newfoundland to Nome. Click here for larger image.
Another winter resident, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula), has become much more common in the winter here in recent decades. This was a hard bird to find in winter in the 1980s; its congeneric, the Golden-crowned Kinglet was much more abundant here. Now that situation is reversed, and the cold-hardy Golden-crowned Kinglets winter further north, while Ruby-crowneds have moved from North Texas to northern Kansas. Click here for larger image.
The arrival of the Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) in mid-March, or thereabouts, is bittersweet for me, since it coincides pretty well with the departure of our diverse and abundant winter hawks. In my time here in Flyover Country (40+ years), this abundance of these birds, particularly in what passes for urban areas here, has skyrocketed. But they remain underappreciated by most folks I talk to. Click here for larger image.
Speaking of turkeys, this male Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) was one of three toms displaying in my yard this spring. This bird had been extirpated from the state, and was not seen by me in Kansas until I had lived here nearly 10 years. Now they are yard birds here. Click here for larger image.
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers (Setophaga coronata) spend the winter months here, but spring is when our local birds molt into their summer colors, and lots of migrants from the south (as far south as Panama) also pass through. I would estimate that for most of April this single species will account for about 90% of the warblers I see here. This male, as you can see, was still molting at the time, but should be both gorgeous and further north by the time you read this. Click here for larger image.
Rock Wrens (Salpinctes obsoletus) are not part of the regular avifauna here, but they too seem to be expanding their range a bit, and in the Great Plains at least, they have been showing up east of their normal range in recent years. This singing male could have chosen a more photogenic perch, but since this was the first one I have seen here in my part of Flyover Country, I got his portrait anyway. Click here for larger image.
Eastern Towhees (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) are the summer red-eyed towhee version here; the Spotted Towhees of the winter season have mostly headed north to the Dakotas and elsewhere by now. They are loud and persistent singers when they return, so it is usually pretty easy to mark an arrival date for this species. Click here for larger image.
On the same patch where I found the towhee above, I also spotted several Zebra Swallowtails (Neographium marcellus) nectaring on the abundant wild plum blossoms. This is not a common sighting in NE Kansas, since the larval food (pawpaw) is a plant that is much more common south and east of here. They were freshly eclosed, beautiful, and a welcome addition to the springtime colors. Click here for larger image.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
Wonderful photos as usual. Thanks! I think the Ring-necked Ducks must have been named from collected shot specimens, since practically the only way you see the ring is if you are a hunter holding a dead duck. Sigh. I too think of them as ring-billed ducks.
I love Turkey Vultures! They are so essential to the health of an area, and I am impressed by the dangerous microbes they can eat and remove. I recently saw a posting from a raptor center which basically said that most hawks and falcons they work with are gorgeous but not too bright, whereas the vultures were smart and friendly with lots of personality and were staff favorites 😉.
One of the first birds I learned when I started birding were the Yellow-rumped warblers and I am charmed by their nickname of “butter butts”.
OzarkHillbilly
Vultures… Nature’s vacuum cleaners.
Love that Ruby Crowned Kinglet. Maybe some day I’ll chance upon one.
HA! I love it.
Eyeroller
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): I once visited a raptor rehab/sanctuary center which had a lot of hawks and owls and one lonely turkey vulture in a pen by himself. He followed us around as we walked past his pen and when we paused, he looked up at us as if he wanted to be petted. They are flock birds and he had no companions at the time and clearly wanted attention. He only stank a little bit :-)
SteveinPHX
Thank you. Brightens up Monday mornings!
J.
Fab photos as usual!
stinger
A couple of weeks ago, when crossing the Cedar near my place, I noticed a few whooping cranes on and around a sandbank, so I stopped and took pictures, thinking the cranes would only be around for a day or two. They’re still here!
I have turkey vultures year round, and find them unpleasant to look at. I realized might like them better if they didn’t have one of the ugliest names ever. I’ve renamed them Iowa Condors, and find I can tolerate their presence better.
Had to slow down yesterday to let a female wild turkey cross the road.
Great photos as always, and thanks for your (unwarranted) generosity with the “as you can see” part!
WaterGirl
Albatrossity, that turkey close-up is the thing of nightmares, but multiple chunky birds more than made up for it!
Albatrossity
@WaterGirl: Yes, sexual selection works in mysterious ways. The lady turkeys must find him to be handsome, but yeah, he is not attractive to most of us!
Donatellonerd
@WaterGirl: i strongly disagree … designed by a brilliant kindergardner. weird as hell but gorgeous. though not sure i’d want one in my neighborhood.
NDVI
I love your photos.
Nice to see your turkey photo. A week ago I was on the Konza Prairie and got a glimpse of a large bird flying out of the bottomland forest. I thought it was a turkey, but wasn’t sure.
Also, from a distance, I saw what looked like a very large deer. Are there elk on the Konza?
Wapiti
I’ve seen American Wigeons in the winter in Seattle, at Green Lake park. They’re still wild and nervous around humans. I once saw a single Eurasian Wigeon in a large flock of American Wigeons; apparently it got into the flock up in the Arctic and flew South the wrong direction.
Mike Mundy
I saw some turkey vultures down at the beach earlier this year.
StringOnAStick
That Turkey close up makes the dinosaur lineage extremely clear!
I was looking out the window of our hotel room in suburban Beaverton yesterday and saw a bald eagle land on a tree top; that’s two of them sited in very different locations in a little over a week and just by looking out the window. Funny!
Yutsano
@StringOnAStick: Get used to that. Bald eagles are very prominent along the Columbia River and its tributaries. They’re always such a delight to see, especially since they were almost extinct in the US because of DDT.
Albatrossity
@NDVI: Yes, a small group of the elk herd from Ft. Riley has moved (themselves) onto Konza Prairie. Glad you got to see them!
WaterGirl
@Donatellonerd: I looked again, trying to view the turkey through your eyes. It didn’t help. :-)