I recently returned from a two-week Texas which encompassed at least a part of the spring birding migration.  I am fortunate in that I have relatives who live in rural locations which tend to attract birds through providing good habitat with food and water. 

On 4/15/2013, while at my sister’s house, I took 410 photos of which I kept 268!  It was an exceptional day and on that day I photographed some exceptional birds, but chief among them was the Golden-cheeked warbler.  With regard to that bird, I managed to take 77 photos of which I retained 54.  Let me tell you a little of what that bird is so special. 

The Golden-cheeked warbler breeds only in Central Texas and is both rare and endangered.  It relies on mature junipers as the only source of its nesting material.  Junipers are detested by a large segment of the population, and especially many developers and land rights advocates.  The juniper trees, commonly referred to as ‘cedars’, produce a pollen annually to which a sizable portion of the population is allergic.  The pollen causes hay fever-like symptoms that last a month or more and you don’t have to go very far to find someone who suffers from it.  The developers don’t like the junipers because their presence on land can trigger environmental regulations that limit the use of the land.  There’s many a tract of land that has been quickly cleared to eliminate habitat for the warblers although now regulations are so tight that the practice has slowed.  

In the late 1990s, when I lived in Austin, I used to make many trips each year to one of the Travis Audubon sanctuaries to try to photograph the Golden-cheeked warbler.  Despite the time and expense to which I went I was never able to successfully photograph one.  I saw the birds occasionally, and once had one land only about five feet above my head on the top of a juniper, but I never successfully photographed one.  And on one day this past April I managed to obtain 77 photos based on two separate visits to a water source.  Of those photos I deemed 54 worth keeping! 

I have to say that if it had been the only bird I photographed on the trip it would have made the trip worth it to me, but I managed to photograph many other migrants that we don’t get to see here in the Pacific Northwest.  More of the other migrants will be displayed on my blog site in the coming weeks. 

So here are a few more photos of the Golden-cheeked warbler… 

On Monday, April 8, 2013 I was on my way home from my morning walk in Washington Park (and coffee afterwards) when I decided to swing by the marina to see if there might be any interesting waterfowl.  In the north basin I discovered a Common loon, probably the same one I had photographed (and posted to my blog) several weeks previously.  I wasted no time in getting home to retrieve my camera, but was delayed by doing a computer chore for my wife.  When I arrived back at the north basin of the marina I found the bird was no longer there.

I started a search of the marina and finally located the bird in the channel between D and E docks.  The problem here is that those two docks have different access points, and if I chose the wrong one and the loon drifted the other way I could find myself too far for effective photos.  I watched the loon for a few minutes and finally chose D dock, in part because even though the sky was overcast the sun would be behind me and I might get slightly better light.

As I walked out the dock I watched the behavior of the loon and saw that it wasn’t reacting to other people walking on the dock.  And the loon had drifted over towards D dock, meaning I could potentially get much closer to it.

As I approached the slips where the loon was located I took a couple of shots from the main dock and noticed that, for whatever reason, the loon’s attention was very directed at the other (E) dock.  I eased about halfway out the walkway between the slips, then took a lot of photos.  I then noticed that a boat was leaving the marina and this tended to herd the loon even closer to me.  The loon seemed to be paying absolutely no attention to me so I eased out to the end of the slips.  By this time I was no further than 20’ from the loon and had to back off the 400mm my lens offered to get the entire bird in the photos.  Before I left the loon was so close that I couldn’t focus on it, meaning that it was within less than the 15’ minimum focus distance of the lens.  The entire time I was photographing the bird it just ignored me.  This is the primary reason I think the bird might be the one I previously photographed… it exhibited none of the wariness that I have often experienced with loons.

So here are some of the photos of the Common loon…

On Sunday, April 7, 2013 I was in the house when I heard the distinctive sound of the impact of a bird on one of the windows.  I went outside to investigate and found a breathing, but unresponsive Pine siskin on the patio.  I picked it up and cradled it in my hand to keep it warm.  As I was admiring the bird I heard another impact and found that a second Pine siskin had hit the same pane of glass, but apparently not as hard.  Nevertheless the second siskin was stunned.  I picked it up and found myself with a Pine siskin in each hand!

We had a run in a chair on the patio so I made a small cave and placed both birds inside.  Over the course of the afternoon I checked on them several times.  First one disappeared and later, the other.  I’m assuming a positive outcome.

As I think I’ve mentioned in a previous blog, we have been overrun with Pine siskins this spring.  One morning I attempted a count and reached 22, but I’m fairly certain that count was somewhat short as I was only able to count birds on the ground and there was a constant flow of traffic from lower tree limbs to the ground.  It’s also of interest to me that several years back I went for about a year and a half without seeing a single Pine siskin.

So in honor of these small birds I’m posting some recent photos of them, all taken around our watercourse.

So what does a self-propelled lawnmower have to do with birding?  It’s a tortured relationship, but I’ll attempt to explain…

At the time we built on our property, adjacent to city parkland,  we determined that we would try to create good habitat for birds and other wildlife.  To that end I created an ‘artificial’ brush pile… in the front yard.  I constructed a pen-type structure made of livestock fencing… welded rod in a lattice pattern with 4″ squares.  I then filled the structure with a few logs on the bottom and a lot of brush on top of that, finally topping the structure with a roof of the same fencing.  I then surrounded the entire structure with more brush which is augmented from time to time with small limbs that are blown out of our fir trees.

The rationale was that the structure would provide a safe haven for birds… they can easily go through the 4″ squares, but predators such as raccoons cannot reach the interior of the sanctuary.  The brush pile has worked spectacularly and is the favorite location for many of the birds in the yard… even more popular than our watercourse.

So this morning I was filling bird feeders in the front yard and glanced over towards the brush pile and discovered the lawnmower pictured below, faithfully removing grass from around the brush pile.

Self-Powered Lawnmower!

Since this is at least the second time we’ve sen this ‘lawnmower’ recently, and the previous time it was on the other side of the brush pile, I’m guessing that it has found a sanctuary in our yard.  But life is fraught with uncertainty, and just two evenings ago we had a very healthy coyote in the yard and we have two Great Horned owls living in the neighborhood.  Both parties would like to acquire our lawnmower!

And just to add a little interest, this afternoon I spent some time outside on an overcast day and after the light was well past its prime, but I was able to photograph a male Rufous hummingbird in the yard… both bathing in the watercourse and feeding on the Red current blossoms.

Male Rufous Hummingbird

Male Rufous Hummingbird bathing in watercourse

Male Rufous Hummingbird feeding on Red Current blossoms

Life is good… here’s looking at you!

Pine Siskin