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, everybody. Here in Illinois, summer turned into fall overnight, and we had some hard freezes last week. I am not ready! So I’m game to pretend we are just heading toward fall. Starting on Tuesday, we start the second half of the trip to Galapagos with lashonharangue!
Albatrossity
This week’s batch of Flyover Country birds is eclectic, including both tiny warblers and beefy waterbirds. But all are hoping to fatten up in the times and land of plenty, then head south to avoid the cold, just like Ted Cruz. Hopefully they will all return in the spring, and just as hopefully, Mexico will keep Cruz the next time he heads to Cancun.
The Sunflower State of Kansas (see, we do have a “brand”!) is very yellow this summer; we’ve had a bumper crop of the state flower, and the winter finches are going to be hard to find because they will be able to feed just about anywhere. This Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) was foraging in a nice patch of sunflowers, perhaps hoping to blend in a bit better than she really does.
Another splash of yellow is provided by this Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens). This is not a common bird in my patch of Flyover Country, but I’ve seen two or three this summer, which might be a record for me!
Pale yellow tones are the theme for the next two birds. This is a Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula), based on that wide white upper wingbar, who was hatched out earlier this summer (see those baby lips?). It seems to have a strand of grass in its bill, perhaps a byproduct of a successful hunt for a grasshopper or cricket in the nearby pasture.
Lemon-yellow is the best description of this bird’s color, and that skinny upper white wingbar (along with a slimmer build) tells us that it is an Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius). Again, those fleshy yellow corners of the mouth are a clue that this is also a young bird, hatched this summer and heading south for the first time.
A favorite bird for lots of birders, the Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is not a colorful bird. But it makes up for that in attitude, inquisitiveness, and general noise-making ability. Often, I am asked what bird is making some noise back in the woods, and most of the time I can answer that it is a titmouse. They make a lot of noises!
Now we turn to some of those waterbirds. First up is a Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola), which is much more often heard rather than seen. Rails are great skulkers, and this species is no exception, so I was really happy to see one stepping out in plain sight early one morning at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.
In the early 1980’s Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder recorded a duet entitled “Ebony and Ivory”. It wasn’t a particularly great song, and the symbolism is as subtle as a stroke, but somehow, I was reminded of it when I took this picture. Great Egrets (Ardea alba) and White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi), side by side and no doubt “living in perfect harmony”.
Another shot of White-faced Ibises (Ibii?) in flight. Unlike some other birds (e.g. hawks) where the female is significantly larger than the male, the reverse is true in this species. So that smaller bird in the foreground is probably a female, accompanied by the larger male in the background.
Our other white egret, the Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) is substantially smaller than the Great Egret seen above. In fact, as this picture shows, it is almost the same size as one of our larger shorebirds, the American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana).
The final image for today is a flock of American Avocets, in their grey and black and white basic plumage. I have always been a sucker for avocet reflection shots, and I probably always will be!
War for Ukraine Day 227: A Slower News Day Today
SiubhanDuinne
Wonderful pictures and commentary, as always. My faves today are the Yellow-breasted Chat — what a gorgeous colour! — and the reflected Avocets. And Tufted Titmice are always very cute and personable.
J R in WV
Always delightful, so many different birds
And an easy way to be first, be awake before the others
Eta ARRGH … Dammit, SubaruDiane, you slipped right in! ;- )
Also, thanks for the fine pictures, Albatrossity!
OzarkHillbilly
Titmice are among my favorites.
Wanderer
Wishing all these youngsters a safe first migration. All my bird buddies have flown and I miss them. Counting the days to spring. Great photos and post as always Albatrossity.
Spanky
Egrets, you’ve got a few.
Here in our patch of Southern MD the Carolina Wrens manage to out-shout the titmouses, but not by a lot.
Or is it really “titmice”?
zhena gogolia
So wonderful. How you manage to capture their personalities I have no idea.
eclare
Wow, those Ibises flying together in formation look like the Blue Angels!
Anyway
Delightful set, photos and birds both! I can’t pick a favorite, they’re all so good. Thanks.
StringOnAStick
I always learn from your posts, and the photos are stunning, as always. Thanks.
WaterGirl
The Virginia Rail is my favorite!
Looks like she is all dressed up and ready to go, just waiting for her tardy companion. “Come, on!” she is saying.
*could also be a he.
SteveinPHX
I still remember seeing a yellow warbler in NJ thru binos many years ago. Been looking at birds ever since! Thank you.
Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
Great pics as always! I particularly like the Avocet/snowy egret size comparison and the Avocet reflections is wonderful, a sort of double your pleasure thing. I hope there was some greenery nearby for that poor confused looking Virginia rail. I’ve never seen one so far from a hiding place.
arrieve
Another titmouse fan here. They aren’t colorful, but they are adorable. (And bold–I once had one land on the bagel I was taking a bite of).
But that reflection photo of the avocets is my favorite. Just wow.
Sandia Blanca
The avocets look like a plate full of black-eyed peas!
JanieM
You have outdone yourself with this set, Albatrossity. Being a sucker for reflections myself, I guess I like the Avocets best, but they’re all lovely.
way2blue
Love your ‘Ivory & Ebony’ photo. The motion, color contrast, overlapping pattern… Thanks.
mvr
Thanks for these! I think the titmouse is my favorite. Never knowingly seen one up here in Lincoln.