Books for Birders

The Warbler Bible has come forth! This is easily the most comprehensive and fantastic warbler specific guide covering North American Warblers. I am amazed and impressed with each of its features.

The first few pages teach you how to use the book followed by another 100 pages of darn useful stuff you need to become a warbler i.d. expert. I really enjoyed the sectioned called "What to Notice on a Warbler". The "Visual Finder Guides" are perfect for showing warblers from a variety of angles, especially those you are most likely to come across in the field. 

Sonograms feature prominently in comparisons and in species profiles. Seeing those sonograms really helps me internalize the sounds.

Each species profile has icons the quickly communicate great information like behavior, color, undertail view, range, and where on the tree you're most like to see the species. Tons of photos of each species from all angles including age, sex and molt. A helpful selection of comparison images for similar looking species is included too.

I could say more about this must-have book, but the authors made videos so you can see for yourself by clicking here.

The Warble Guide by Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle is published by Princeton University Press as is list priced at $29.95, but is available for only $18.99 at Amazon.

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Jamie Bastedo has been an enthusiastic supporter of the American Birding Association's Bird of the Year and we've just rolled with the celebration embracing his new book "Nighthawk!"

This is fun little story about a Nighthawk born in Canada that likes to break with the norm and do his own thing. It follows his journey south and back north again and all of the challenges and peril he faces. While a work a fiction, it does bring to the forefront the grueling nature of migration and proposes scenarios that delight, charm, scare, and inspire.

I thought this book may have been written for children, but there is some foul language and even a couple adult innuendos such that if I were reading it to my kids, I'd probably edit out on the fly.

I had fun reading this book which is available for $11 on Amazon.

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I'm usually sycophantically positive in my reviews, but I had a hard time with this one. I only made it three quarters of the way through and put it down out of frustration, so my opinions are not benefited by a complete reading. I found this fake bird in conservation peril by evil greedy natural resource harvesters to be extremely cliche. The author chose to use real places, including my own state of Idaho and my beloved Argentina, but then references some birds in Idaho as if they were common and regularly occurring. Frankly, I just couldn't overcome all this mingling of pseudonyms and real names in addition to the overdone story line. If you want to give this book a shot, you can get the Kindle version on Amazon for as little as $5.49.

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I like this little pocket guide with its key facts, a fun photo and an illustration from the big NatGeo field guide. I learned that Goldfinch may in fact migrate as one was found 1000 miles from where it was banded. Interesting! When a book is limited to 160 species, it must be tough making decisions about what to include and what to leave out and we could all debate this for years, but I think they did a decent job. There are some mistakes. For example, the claim that the House Sparrow is decreasing in North America while increasing in Europe is certainly a simple reversal.

This is a great book for beginning birders as it will help them get pointed in the right direction and they will sense from its pages the wonder and excitement of birds. You can get it for under $10 on Amazon.

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The World's Rarest Birds is a beautiful coffee table book featuring  the most threatened birds around the globe. Gorgeous photography, cool maps, graphs and tables, all will entice you to learn more about these birds and to care. The book divides the birds into regions for the convenience of reference. This hardbound large and stunning book is available for $30.34 on Amazon.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's the most wonderful time of the year!
With the bird numbers swelling,
They seem to be telling you "Be of good cheer!"
It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's the hap-happiest season of all!
With those warblers arriving and empids contriving,
Oh birds come to call
It's the hap- happiest season of all.

There'll be orioles for hosting
And grosbeaks for toasting
And tanagers all in a row
There'll be awesome bird stories
And tales of the glories of
Great birders long, long ago!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!
There'll be much mate displaying
But no tapes a'playing
When migrants are near.
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
It's the most wonderful time
It's the most wonderful time
It's the most wonderful time
It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Every May morning is like Christmas morning to me and thousands of birders in the northern hemisphere! Something new and surprising around every corner. 

Here's a sampler of what I've been seeing in my patch:

All of these were digiscoped with a Swarovski ATX 85mm and handheld iPhone 4s.

Spotted Sandpiper Stand-off

So a couple of Spotted Sandpipers meet up at a local pond with a lovely waterfall nearby. From the picture, it looks like they might be about to have a friendly chat about how migration went, but oh no. Had you been there, as I was, you would have heard them screaming and yelling at each other. Stretching out their necks and bodies to posture and try to dominate one another. Fanning out their tail feathers in anger.

Flaring out the wing and tail feathers in an attempt to intimidate.

The one on the right is underwhelmed by the visual display and seems to have gained the high ground and to yell the loudest. The one on the left steps back a pace.

...and defeated scurries away.

I'd never seem that before. It was pretty cool to watch. Birding is fun!

The Biggest Week in American Birding 2013

I just returned from The Biggest Week in American Birding, 2013 edition. If you haven't been, this is a wonderful festival on the south shore of Lake Erie in northwestern Ohio, held in May of every year.
The birds are fabulous, and the Ohio birders are wonderful and welcoming. You should go!

Everyone goes to see the many warblers that rest and feed at and around Magee Marsh to prepare to fly north over Lake Erie. They decorate the trees like lovely jewels.

Blackburnian Warbler male

Blackburnian Warbler female

Palm Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Northern Parula

Nashville Warbler

Cape May Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

American Redstart

Black-and-white Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

There were, of course, many other lovely warblers. With some I missed the shot entirely; with others my photos turned out badly. I was disappointed that I saw no Prothonotary Warblers, as they were my favorite warblers last year. Perhaps their arrival was delayed by the late spring. I will look forward to hearing their cheery song next year.

Prothonotary Warbler

Warblers weren't the only birds that attracted attention. One of my favorites was this American Woodhen with chicks. Her nest was near the parking lot. Although this image looks close, I used my enhanced point and shoot at the equivalent of 840 mm. The image is heavily cropped.

American Woodhen and chicks

CBS News Sunday Morning was filming at The Biggest Week. I love this photo of Kimberly Kaufman and Serena Altschul, Contributing Correspondent to CBS Sunday Morning. The story is scheduled to air on May 26, 2013.

Kimberly Kaufman and Serena Altschul

This New Mexican took about 40 pounds of New Mexican food to Ohio. I hosted a New Mexican dinner for The Biggest Week blog team one evening. The following morning I took New Mexico breakfast burritos to the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. You may recognize this birder behind the burrito.

Greg Miller y NM breakfast burrito. (Photo credit Donna Madrid-Simonetti)

The Biggest Week is over for another year. I am already looking forward to next year's festival. If you did not attend this year, you should certainly make arrangements to attend next year.  Please be sure to visit me at Casa Nuevo Mexico en Ohio!

Lake Erie sunset

Raptors in Vermont

From 2-13

Due to my more casual nature of birding and not having a lot of time, I tend not to get many big trips or uncommon birds. A common theme for me is to watch the feeder birds and get a good feel for the local birding environment. One interesting thing about my area in Vermont, is the amount of raptors about. On any drive to work or into town, it is typical to see a Red-Tail Hawk or 2 and likely at least one Kestrel sitting on the wires. The Kestrels seem quite shy and don't seem to have trouble seeing inside a car, where-as some birding can be done from a closer vantage point using the car as a blind. Usually once a month I catch a Peregrine swooping in low trying to catch a swallow or earlier this year, flocks of Snow Buntings on the fields.  Carrying my camera in the car is a must and how I captured all of these shots, pulling over and quickly shooting.

From 2-13

From 2-13

This Black Morph Rough Legged Hawk, gave some great views as it hovered above a field flying into the wind.

From 2-13

From 2-13

This Osprey flew right over the parking lot where I was watching a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher from the car, making me jump out and start shooting (and losing the Gnatcatcher).

From 2-13

Although this Red-Tail Hawk is back-lit, the views give a neat look at it's feathers, almost like an x-ray.

From 2-13

From 2-13

From 2-13

Blue Grosbeak: My Favorite Summer Passerine

I like and love lots of things and really don't have favorites of very many things. However, I do consider the Blue Grosbeak to be my favorite summer passerine. It is a highlight during late spring or early summer when I see my first male of the year. I'm glad to have them back from Central America for the summer. I love the dark blue color and the contrasting rufous wing bars. After seeing my first male Blue Grosbeak a few years ago I decided I would not let another summer go by without locating a few males singing on their territory. The male below had set up its territory and was singing from a Russian Olive tree along a dirt road we call Swede Lane in Utah County, Utah.

Male Blue Grosbeak Singing Along Swede Lane in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Here is a full view of the same male after he flew across the dirt road and perched on a barbed wire fence post.

Male Blue Grosbeak Along Swede Lane in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

 A good birding friend, who knows my love for the beautiful birds, located the male below near Lindon Beach in Utah County. True to our friendship he sent a text message to me to provide the location. I was able to hear this bird sing and get a few decent images to add to my collection of images. The image below shows a nice profile highlighting its "gross" beak, rufous wing bars, and dark wings and tail feathers.

Male Blue Grosbeak Singing Near Lindon Beach in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

First-summer males look a little messy as they sport their "tween" plumage, morphing from the pale rufous/buff color to a dark blue with contrasting rufous wing bars and black lores. The bi-colored beak can also be distinguished in the images below.

First-summer Male Blue Grosbeak Singing Near American Fork Boat Harbor in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

First-summer Male Blue Grosbeak Singing Near American Fork Boat Harbor in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Male Blue Grosbeak Lindon Beach in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Once I've located a few males I know I will be able to return in a couple of months to see juveniles. The image below shows at least two siblings down low.

This juvenile was found a couple summers ago in an open field in American Fork, Utah.

Juvenile Blue Grosbeak Near American Fork Boat Harbor in Utah County, UT

I wish I could have gotten closer to the bird below. I loved the dark blue contrast against the green of the grain. This bird sang its way to the perch below as I was trying to photograph a male Bobolink in an adjacent field of tall grass.

Male Blue Grosbeak Near Palmyra, Utah (Photo by Jeff Cooper)