On The Road – Albatrossity – Spring and summer birds in Flyover Country — 8

One of the curious things about birding in  my patch of Flyover Country these days might be the relatively recent appearance of species that formerly were found only in the more woodsy eastern tier of Kansas counties. One of those is the Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons), a species that would have been a rare find here 30 or 40 years ago, but is a backyard bird at my home now. The yellow throat is complemented by yellow “spectacles”, and the slow fuzzy song is a nice addition to the local woodland soundscape. Click here for larger image.

Not a woodland species, but one that quite regularly “sings” from bare branches or even treetops around here. The Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) usually only raises one brood each summer, but if a female loses a clutch, she will look for a mate and renest in mid-summer. This male, singing lustily from near the site of the hollyhocks featured last week, was certainly hoping to attract such a mate. But he might have to work on his grooming before that gets too serious. Click here for larger image.

Midsummer is the season for baby birds, and our local Brown Thrashers (Toxostoma rufum) seem to be raising a bumper crop this year. The young bird at left, flying in to beg from the adult bird at right, was one of five fledglings in this family. Note the difference in the iris color (bright yellow in the adult, dull grayish-yellow in the youngster), and also the worn tail feather tips of the adult, compared to the pristine tail feathers of the fledgling.  Click here for larger image.

A couple of weeks ago I included a photo of an adult male Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), flashing his nuptial colors and trying to attract attention. This is possibly the object of his efforts, and definitely not a bird that wants to attract attention. Female Painted Buntings look a lot like the hatch-year youngsters, slightly less dull, but with some bluish-green feathers that you can detect in this bird with a close look. Click here for larger image.

This adult Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was perhaps just preening, but I prefer to think that this is the look of a bird that just heard about JD Vance’s couchal relationships. Click here for larger image.

The unfortunately-named Dickcissel (Spiza americana) is probably one of the most common summer birds on our local pastures, and is absolutely the most commonly heard. As one authority wrote: “During breeding season in suitable habitat in the core breeding range, one is rarely out of earshot of a singing Dickcissel.” A better name for this species around here might be Ubiqcissel. Click here for larger image.

A much less common species, and one whose brief hiccup song is usually much harder to hear, the Henslow’s Sparrow (Centronyx henslowii) usually sings only on calm mornings. and is found only in pastures that have not been burned in the last year or two. A chapter in John Zimmerman’s classic 1993 book, The Birds of Konza features this species in a short chapter that is poetically titled “In Praise of Standing Dead”.  Pastures with abundant dead grassy stems are much rarer in these days of annual burning of most local grasslands, and thus this species is one of those declining grassland birds that don’t get a lot of press. Click here for larger image.

I usually try to make at least one mid-summer trip to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, an underappreciated wetland jewel about 3 hours from my home, Water levels at the refuge have been low for a couple of years now, and the numbers of breeding birds are consequently lower, but I did find this Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) practicing its yoga poses on the shoreline. Click here for larger image.

Another regular summer resident at Quivira is the Snowy Plover (Anarhynchus nivosus). The coastal populations of these perky shorebirds are on the threatened or endangered list in some states; there are thought to be no more than 18,000 of these birds on the planet. I did see one pair of adults with three fuzzy youngsters, so a few more were added this year.  Click here for larger image.

The plover in the previous image is exhibiting a pretty common behavior for birds who reside in wide-open spaces; it is keeping an eye on the sky for overhead predators. This Great Egret (Ardea alba), which would be a much more challenging target for a hawk or even an eagle, seems to be doing the same thing. Be careful out there! Click here for larger image.