View Full Version : Fall Migration
I have a really hard time identifying all the Fall warblers, but this one is easy. Its a male Redstart.
907
He's beautiful.
I wish I had taken a picture of one particular yellow bird we had in our yard a few days ago. It looked identical to a Cardinal, but according to stats, Yellow Cardinals, don't come anywhere near venturing our way, yet the Yellow Warbler, doesn't possess the bulky beak that the yellow bird we spotted had.
I looked up the American Goldfinch, and although it looks nearly identical to the yellow bird that visited us, the colour is too yellow. The bird that visited us was a more pale in colour, and about the size of a Robin.
Any ideas, CathyA?
They're called "Confusing Fall Warblers", because they ARE very confusing and hard to identify! What is weird for us this year though, is that I've seen 2 warblers that had their spring colors. I wonder if it had something to do with the drought we had?
When I see a bird quickly, I try to remember a couple things about them: Do they have an eye line or an eye ring? Is their breast streaked or plain? If they have a color, where on their body is it located? Do they have wing stripes and if so, how many? Can you remember any of these details?
I'm wondering if what you saw was a female evening grosbeak, since it had such a large beak. Here's a picture of one. Birds in the same family can have alot of variation. In my Peterson bird book, the female grossbeak is sort of silver gray and pale yellow. Let me know what you think. If this is off, I'll keep looking!
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/evening_grosbeak/id
You might also look up some images of female baltimore orioles and female orchard orioles. They're beaks are more long than thick.
Also, check out some pics of yellow breasted chats and vireos.
What a handsome fellow! We are getting the hummers passing through on their way south. I don't usually hand the seed feeders in summer cause there is so much abundance of food in the summer here, but maybe it's time.
Mrs. M, could you be seeing a goldfinch in the 'act' of changing? You know they change to a dull olive in winter, very unlike the bright yellow of summer.
Peggy........Mrs.M said it was about the size of a robin.....so I was thinking something else.
I'm still seeing a few hummers and will probably keep feeding them until maybe october.
I, too, quit putting seed out in the summers. There's just too many weeds, etc., around here to do that. Don't want them to get lazy. :~)
I usually don't put anything out until there is an extended period of snow cover, and then I pretty much just put out black oil sunflower seed and suet.
Oh, I missed that part about the size.:|(
I just use black oil sunflower seed too. They really don't like the other seeds when the sunflower seeds are there. I've tried putting out grapes or slices of apple before, but no takers (except the coons who show up at night to clean up what's left!) Sometimes I put out cracked corn as the doves seem to really like that.
My biggest problem with feeding the birds, summer or winter, is I have to bring in the feeders every night or the coons will eat everything and destroy the feeders. And I really don't want to encourage them to visit! This is a hassle and sometimes I forget. It's why I like to keep my 'pet birds' out there as I don't need to clean cages or mess with them other than to feed.:)
Good morning, CathyA and Peggy.
This is great! Love chatting about birds and getting to know new varieties. Take a look at this (http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/shop/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=496&zenid=9jqgnupc3sa3p1avsufqqk39e3) picture. It looks to me like a Summer Tanager, only red in colour, but instead of the head feathers being so prominent, as in standing straight up (as in the picture), the Yellow Summer Tanager (if it indeed was a Tanager I seen), sported head-feathers that were sharp and stuck out towards the back, with a slightly raised (combed style). It also had a bandit-type black mask. Very majestic looking. (Almost identical to the bird in the hyper-link).
I do believe I have seen one or two Confusing Fall Warblers, this year, however, they don't have the size of the yellow bird I seen, and the female Grosbeak, is too colourful (by comparison). Additionally, the Yellow Breasted Chats and Vireos, don't fit the species I witnessed, due to being much too small, and the Orioles, don't seem to have the prominent black bandit facial markings as the one I seen.
Peggy. It's so close to a Goldfinch, it's not even funny, however, the species I seen sported a much more prominent head-feather style, like this (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3124/2559956775_2ff84006fc.jpg). Exception being, the bird I seen had a more closely cropped head-feather-do.
I'm going to keep looking now that we are on the topic of.
This (http://angrybirdsaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Northern-Cardinal-Red-Bird.jpg) is the bird I seen, only pale-yellow in colour. The species is listed as a Northern Cardinal Red Bird.
Only difference being, the yellow bird I seen had more of a bump on the back of it's head, and the feathers were more closely cropped to the contour of the bump.
They only visit us once a year (to the best of my knowledge), and it's around this time, fall time, and they on;y stay for a day. maybe two.
Could it be we have been graced with a rare visitor?
Look up images for the female cardinal. Also, look up juvenile female and male cardinal pictures. They can be sort of yellow when they are young.
Do these same birds visit every year or is this a one time visit? I'm wondering if you didn't see some escaped pet maybe, a parakeet perhaps. They come in all colors it seems.
One thing I have noticed is, look at the picture in the bird book then picture it duller, paler, not as showy. I find the bird books only show the best and brightest specimens. For instance, my wood ducks are beautiful, but not as beautiful as the picture in the book!
Square Peg
9-19-12, 2:16pm
We finally coaxed chickadees to our feeders. My feeder is being emptied twice a week! nuthatches, chickadees, and house sparrows. We don't really get migrants, at least not that I notice. We also have 7 VERY active Swainson's hawks that live in a nearby tree and are practicing their flying. They will be here for about another month.
Mrs. M........anything look like the bird you saw yet?
thinkgreen
9-20-12, 3:53pm
908How about a cedar waxwing?
The hummingbird crowd seems to have moved on. We had only 4 today. But we still have numerous butterflies including a couple of Monarchs on their way to Mexico. We are going on a one day birding trip to Matagorda County Birding Nature Center Sunday; it is always a good place for migrants. I will post what we see.
That sounds like a fun day Florence! I will be excited to hear what you've seen. Have fun!
thinkgreen.......that's a good possibility! I saw a couple of those just the other day. The yellow tip on their tail is always a good give-away.
Mrs. M.......the cedar waxwings usually travel in groups, and the sound they make is sort of a whistle.
I participate in formal spring raptors counts to help determine population trends. It is nice to see some of the raptors returning on their fall migration. I've sighted broad-wings, prairie falcons, red-tails, cooper's, and sharp shins over the last few days. It is fun to hear what others are seeing..Watching the various signs of season change is really a nice thing!
By golly gee, I think, Thinkgreen, got it! I'm 99.99% sure the bird I saw was indeed a Cedar Waxwing. So regal they are.
About this time each year they visit, but only one or two, never a group. I can't honestly say that I ever see one (on our property) until the fall, and they never stay long. Sigh... I miss the selection of birds we enjoy year round, once Autumn falls upon us.
We used to set-out hummingbird feeders, but time (over the past handful of years) seemed to escape us, and cleaning and refilling them started becoming too much with everything else going on, so we got away from it. Maybe next year we'll start again.
CathyA (and everyone else here), do you get to enjoy Cedar Waxwings in your area? How long do they stay? I don't think I've ever heard one call. I'm going to look for a good bird-call site to listen. (Will post if I find one).
We are also visited by a Red-tailed Hawk (or two) each year, but our friendly crows/ravens waste no time in putting the run on them. So protective and territorial they are.
YAY! Good job Thinkgreen!
Yes, Mrs. M., they are very handsome birds. They are very well behaved too. We have them most of the time. Can't actually remember if I've seen them in the deep of winter.
We had them build a nest in a pine tree close to the house one year. Their whistle is very distinct. They are berry-eaters. One year they left tons of purple splotches all over our deck. hahahaha
You might enjoy this picture. I found this little guy in the drive. His parents were close by. He was just learning to fly. You can see the yellow on the end of his tail.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/Catherine50/IMG_7000_zps3193453e.jpg
CathyA (and everyone else here), do you get to enjoy Cedar Waxwings in your area? How long do they stay? I don't think I've ever heard one call. I'm going to look for a good bird-call site to listen. (Will post if I find one).
We get Cedar Waxwings here. They are neither rare nor common, but I see a handful of groups a year. Late spring and early summer are the only times I've seen them. I consider it a nice treat to see them. I've not heard them singing, but a friend described it as a trilling sound.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has about the best and most comprehensive web site for anything birdy.
Here is their info on Waxwings, including songs and calls. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/cedar_waxwing/id
Slightly off subject, but still about birds ... as I've mentioned I watch several bird nests online, mostly osprey, but also eagles and kestrels (!) and red-tail hawks, herons ... and will hopefull add more next spring ...
Anyway, just an item of interest ... a female osprey from near Florence, Montana, a ways south of Missoula, was tagged and she flew from Montana to the Yucatan in 10 days -- something like 200 miles a day. Amazing! Here's the post from Osprey Cams on facebook:
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Thought you would be interested in new data on Osprey migration! As we posted before, we have (had) virtually no information on where Ospreys from around here migrate. We know that Ospreys breeding to the west of us (e.g. coastal
Washington and Oregon) tend to go to Baja, while some Ospreys from the Teton Park area can fly southeast to Florida and Cuba. Our collaborator and colleague Rob Domenech (Director of Raptor View Research Institute, http://www.raptorview.org/) has put some satellite transmitters on five Osprey near Florence, Montana (about 20 miles south of Missoula). The adult female from one nest took off, and holy cats did she go!! She covered about 200 miles a day, and was down in the Yucatan when the last satellite data came through.
Check it out at: http://www.raptorview.org/101-ospery-with-transmitter-spotted-in-mexico-91312.html
What a sweet picture, CathyA.
So right you are about being well-behaved. They sit nice and tend to themselves, unlike the high concentration of Robins that visit us. Fighting with one another, putting the run on one another, and generally being noisy and greedy.
Rogar. That's a fantastic link! Thank you so kindly for posting. I'm going to visit the site more thoroughly in the days to come, listening to calls/songs.
Kestrel. Thank you, too, for the wonderful link. Will be checking it out as well.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/All about Birds is awesome! That's where I watch the hawk, heron, and two osprey nests. The kestrel camera is also available there in the summer, but closed down now. I usually watch the Missoula osprey and the Boise kestrel directly, but often go thru this site as well. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=2422 What's neat is when they're watching the red-tail hawk nest at Cornell they also pan around the campus occasionally, and it looks like a beautiful campus. Next year I'd like to find a puffin nestcam somewhere ...
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