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.
Great week ahead! We are all over the place!
Albatrossity
The abundance of new leaves on the trees in May is a two-edged sword. Those fresh greens attract lots of herbivorous insects, which in turn feed the flocks of incoming migrant birds. But they also mean that the birds have lots of new places to hide, necessitating lots more patience on the part of a bird photographer. So here are a few birds amongst the greenery of early to mid-May.
Gray Catbirds (Dumetella carolinensis) are very familiar to birders in the eastern half of the country, and welcome returnees to this patch of Flyover Country. Some woody draws and thickets around here, particularly those with abundant wild plum plants, are particularly suited for this dapper mimid, with lots of insects to feed the babies now, and lots of fruit to feed all as they fatten up in the late summer for the migration back south. Indeed, the genus name Dumetella means “small thicket”, an apt description of this skulker’s preferred habitat. Click here for larger image.
Leaves are not the only new plant growth in springtime; our local locust trees had an amazingly fine floral (and olfactory!) show this spring. A handsome after-second-year male Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius), framed by those blossoms, makes the scene even more attractive. Their cheerful whistled song is a common part of the soundscape here in May. Click here for larger image.
We are on the far northwestern edge of the range of the nominate subspecies of Summer Tanagers (Piranga rubra rubra) here; other subspecies can be found in the southwestern US and in southern California. The hoarse whistled song of this bird is very similar to the song of a much more common species, the American Robin. They are much easier to identify when you hear their distinctive call. This blotchy bird is a male in it’s second summer; by next summer it will be all ruby-red. Beekeepers are not fond of this species, as they often feed on bees and wasps. Click here for larger image.
I see Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) in my patch of Flyover Country usually only once a year, when large flocks move through in late April-early May. The core breeding range of this aptly-named species starts just north and west of here, and extends into the prairie provinces of Canada. The sound of a marsh full of these birds in the spring is simply amazing; if you ever get a chance to hear this, go for it. Click here for larger image.
Our local Tufted Titmouses (Baeolophus bicolor) start nesting in April here, and scruffy young titmouses are common sights at our feeders in May. This haggard-looking adult bird was feeding nestlings in a deep cavity in a mulberry tree. I was able to ID the caterpillar for a change; it is the distinctive larva of a moth known as the 8-spotted Forester. Click here for larger image.
No species (with the possible exception of Baltimore Oriole) is more eagerly awaited in spring than the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). These bejeweled dynamos are favorites of backyard bird feeding folks across the eastern half of the US. We have two nesting pairs in our backwoods this season, and I am looking forward to seeing the youngsters at the feeder later in the summer! Click here for larger image.
Singing in the rain. A drippy morning did not damper the enthusiasm of this adult male Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea). These songsters often keep singing for most of the summer, and their distinctive doublet songs are a fine musical accompaniment to the drone of the cicadas and katydids later in the season. Click here for larger image.
If you have gotten into birding beyond the backyard feeder level, you know that there are some groups of birds that are very tricky/difficult to identify. The poster children for such groups would be the flycatchers in the genus Empidonax. Small drab flycatchers, all with eye rings and wingbars, they are frustratingly similar in appearance. They have distinctive songs and calls, but often are silent during migration. So I was thrilled to hear this Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) calling, and even more thrilled when I played a recording and it popped out for a portrait! Interestingly, I heard two others this season, even though I have never previously heard them calling during spring migration in my 40+ years of birding here. Click here for larger image.
Even though Baltimore Orioles and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are the summer residents that are most anxiously awaited around here, my personal favorite remains the Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea). Again, we are on the western edge of the breeding range of this species; most range maps actually do not include my part of Kansas in that range. But there are a few swampy places that attract this species, known as “Swamp Candles” in their more usual haunts. And indeed, they even seem to be expanding their range locally’ I saw one this year in a site about three miles away from the place where I expect them every spring. Click here for larger image.
A late-migrating shorebird, the White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) completes our gallery today. These small shorebirds (“peeps” in birding lingo) come through here in mid-May, heading to the Arctic. Although they are abundant in the spring, in fall they are exceedingly rare here, since they are a “loop migrant”, returning to the wintering grounds via the east coast of North America. Interestingly, my grad-school buddy and birding/photography mentor, who lives near Monterey CA, also photographed one near Asilomar CA this spring, where it is a very rare vagrant. Click here for larger image.
donatellonerd
maybe it’s the greenery but they all look particularly beautiful today. thanks
sab
Albatrossity: y’all have better birbs than we have in Ohio.
We moved. My stepson is in the old house and feeding the birbs.
We are not feeding the birbs, because we are in our seventies and don’t want o get them used to our feedings. We won’t be here for long.
eclare
What a stunning blue on the Indigo Bunting. Now that my cat has agreed to be indoors only, I’ll start filling my birdbath.
Snarki, child of Loki
Catbirds are cheeky, and if you meow at them, they’ll meow back. Fun!
Rugosa
Beautiful birds! Catbirds are very bold – they’ll come within a few feet of me in the garden to check out the ground I just turned over. When I was planting tomatoes, there was a catbird sitting a few feet away watching me, waiting for her chance to get at those juicy worms.
oldster
Just saw what I think must have been a leucistic sparrow in our backyard. Beak was still bright orange (so not albino?), and there was a slight dusting of buff color on its belly. Otherwise, bright white. That’s a new one for me! Up here in the Syracuse area.
Albatrossity
Actually, multiple studies have shown that bird populations are mostly unaffected by backyard bird feedings. They appreciate the readily available food, but they don’t depend on it. They have been surviving in a mostly hostile environment for eons without us, after all!
We don’t feed the birds to help them; we feed them to help us. Beauty, delight, and a kinship with nature are all benefits for the humans who feed birds. Go ahead and treat yourself; these days we all could use more beauty.
Central Planning
@Albatrossity: I think the squirrels, deer, and chipmunks depend on the birdfood we have out back.
We spotted a Baltimore Oriole in our backyard this week. That’s the first time we’ve seen one at our house. TBF, we haven’t been trying to attract them, but now we might have to put out the seed cakes with meal worms (ewww!)
Also, too, all the non-bird wildlife love the spicy seed cakes.
SteveinPHX
The first Prothonotary Warbler I ever saw was in a small cypress bay out in a cow pasture outside of Lake City, FL. Sitting on a cypress knee in the sun on a Sunday morning.
Geo Wilcox
@Snarki, child of Loki: I have a huge arrowwood viburnum right outside my 2nd story bedroom window. I get to hear catbirds every morning at about 5:30 calling to their mates. They’ve bred in that shrub ever since it got leafy enough to hide nests, Because it is so close to the house, literally right outside the back door to the garage, they are very safe from predators.
Snarki, child of Loki
Once had a mockingbird that liked to hang out just outside the bedroom window. It learned to imitate the “beep.beep.beep.beep” alarm clock. Dammit!
WaterGirl
Wow, that blue!
piratedan
per my last Merlin catch, I got the warblers, hummers, titmouse, tanagers and buntings close by (plus Cardinals, Vireos, Woodpeckers, Wild Turkeys, Ospreys, Eagles, Crows, Robins etc)… have gotten to the point where I find the cacophony of birdsong soothing).
Spanky
It’s titmouses and not titmice?
ArchTeryx
There’s a certain photo of a Prothonotary Warbler I like to show around, just for the humor value of nothing else.
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/butt-itch-april-lu.html?product=art-print
Yep, even birds get itchy in embarrassing places and they aren’t particularly modest when it comes to going after them. But I’ve used this picture for serious purposes too, because it’s actually a beautiful illustration of the feather tracts around and under the retrices (tailfeathers) and hindquarters of the bird. They are a lot more complex than you might think, and it’s a rare clear view of the vent/cloaca on this small but plucky bird. So it makes an excellent anatomical diagram as well for beginning ornithology students and birders.
Torrey
Your pictures are always a great treat for this non-birder, but today’s seem particularly beautiful and intriguing. Perhaps, as donatellonerd suggested, it’s the greenery. The very greenery about which you were complaining.
I mean, these are dinosaurs. Their lineage has been around for 20 million years longer than us mammals, and while 20 million doesn’t look like it means much, one way or the other, they are clearly the senior lineage, so I guess if they want to hide in the leaves, they get to hide in the leaves. I think that’s how seniority works. Also, of course, if you want to take pictures, you get to take pictures. That’s how opposable thumbs work. And I, for one am really enjoying these pictures.
And yeah, that blue bunting! And the prothonotary warbler! Also, thank you for including links to some of the the bird calls.
WaterGirl
@ArchTeryx: Great photo!
J.
Great photos, as usual. Particularly love the one of the indigo bunting singing.
MCat
Thank you! These are lovely birds. Such clever little creatures.
Albatrossity
@ArchTeryx: That’s a great shot. As you say, entertaining as well as educational!
ArchTeryx
@Albatrossity: I’d much rather show this on a living bird than a dissection specimen or museum specimen. I just hope the warbler got whatever was bothering his under-fluffies!
opiejeanne
Wonderful photos. It’s hard for me to believe Indigo buntings exist
We did see a sandpiper standing in the middle of the road of a new housing tract in Castro Valley many years ago, in the spring. CV is unincorporated, south of Oakland, north of Hayward, and that bird startled us because it just didn’t belong there.
xephyr
Thanks for the great pics! Gray Catbirds were common around my place for decades. I loved hearing them in the evenings and hearing them mimic other birds. Then a few years ago they vanished after the power company tore up some of their habitat. Since then, it’s grown back and this summer I’m hearing them again! They also are enjoying the berries on my giant serviceberry tree – as are Cedar Waxwings and Robins. These are the things that help keep me from flipping out during trying times.
Albatrossity
It could have been a Killdeer, a species that often nests in bare places that are not real close to any water. If that was the case, another viewpoint might be that the new housing development had evicted the bird. It might have felt that it DID belong there, and that those houses did not :-)
Mark von Wisco
The black locusts here in Central Wisconsin were at their peak about two weeks ago. There are stretches of my favorite mountain bike trail where the scent of locust blossoms was heavy in the air on some of the calmer days.
In bird news, I saw a scarlet tanager on one of my bike rides a couple days ago. They seem to like the local oak savannah habitat, though the male I spotted was in some pine trees along the trail. I have yet to see an indigo bunting, which is one of my favorites among the local song birds.
opiejeanne
@Albatrossity: A killdeer. Ok, that could be what we saw. It ran along the curb while we stopped the car and gawked, then it hopped over the curb into the scrubby hillside below the road.