Newly Discovered Ivory-billed Woodpecker Images Described in Bales' Smithsonian Article

Author, artist, photographer and local naturalist, Stephen Lyn Bales, left a gift at my door while I was visiting family in middle TN this past weekend--a copy of the September issue of Smithsonian Magazine.  Not only does my friend's article on the Ivory-billed woodpecker appear in this issue, but it is also featured on the cover's headline.  And, as I am writing this post, the article, "The Rarest Bird", currently ranks No. 1 in popularity on the Smithsonian Magazine's website, as well as, ranking in the No. 1 position among all articles emailed from the site.  Not bad for a writer's Smithsonian debut!
  
In his article, Bales recaps the story of James Tanners' famous 1938 photographs of an Ivory-billed woodpecker nestling taken while Tanner had the young bird out of the nest for banding.  Two of these photographs were published in Tanner's dissertation in 1942, and, along with four others, were thought to be the only images in existence.  

For the past four years, Bales has been working with Nancy Tanner, wife of the famed ornithologist, while writing his book, Ghost Birds, which focuses on the field work of the late James Tanner.  It was during this research, in June of 2009, that an envelope was discovered containing never before published negatives of the young Ivory-billed woodpecker found at the Singer Tract.

I'll let you read Bales' account of how this all came about (link provided below). You will enjoy his entertaining style and a titillating glimpse of what is to come in his new book.  And while you're visiting the Smithsonian website, don't miss the photo gallery link in the right hand column where you'll find some of the endearing Ivory-billed juvenile images that were recently discovered.

Smithsonian Magazine's "A Close Encounter With the Rarest Bird"
Ghost Birds at Amazon
Stephen Lyn Bales' blog, Nature Calling
Natural Histories:  Stories from the Tennessee Valley, also by Stephen Lyn Bales.  Read my review, third from the top.  

Delightful Hummingbird Fledglings

I've been having morning coffee on the patio with the hummingbirds just as often as possible.  The frequent thunder storms we've had lately have boosted nectar feeder activity even more.  This morning I saw two males drinking at one feeder at the same time.  A little later, a family with wing-twittering fledglings arrived.  It could be the same family that visited previously, but its impossible to know.  Either way, I'm happy!

It is apparent when a mom with fledglings arrives.  They drink together initially and she sets herself apart by vigorously challenging any other hummer that approaches while the youngsters drink.    

The normal vocals, buzzing and diving from the three males who've staked out the feeders quiets for a short while.      

It's as though the nectar feeders are momentarily off-limits, each of the males sitting motionless on their perches, accepting the family without interference.  Eventually Mom buzzes the youngsters.  Chirping, she fans her tail and hovers, as if to say, lets go.  They circle for an instant, then off they fly into the higher canopy.  Sigh.

One of nature's many smiles.    

For more hummer sketches visit my post on hummingbird banding and don't miss another fun surprise at the feeders!

Hummer Smiles and Surprises

It's easy to fall in love with hummingbirds, their fast-lane lifestyle, their intolerant response to each other, the occasional buzz you get when one decides to take a closer look at you.

Unfinished sketch of fledgling hummer watching its mother hunt in the leaves above--artist Vickie Henderson.

When you sit among them to watch and listen, you also discover surprises, like two males guarding separate feeders as though there is an invisible line between them.  Or when a third male comes along and perches within inches of one of these guards.  Believe it or not, they ignored each other.  The stand-off ended when the new-comer headed for the nectar feeder.

But the behavior that brought the most smiles on this day was the arrival of three 'white-throated', fan-tailed hummers moving in a fairy-like dance, resembling leaves caught in a mini whirl wind.  That's how I happened to notice the fledgling sketched above and its nest mate.  They swooped in on mom as she arrived, and circled her begging for food, an eye-catching sequence.

When I first saw the younger bird land, it became apparent this was a fledgling with fluffy, downy feathers in disarray, and frequent wing twittering and tail fanning to get mom's attention.   Below, you see both fledglings, the older at the lower left and the younger stretching his neck in the upper right.  Both are watching mom who is buzzing around overhead.  It's shady under there.  Click on the image to enlarge.

And below, my camera clicking caught the attention of the younger fledgling who was busily begging seconds earlier.  His wings are still raised.

As I watched them, I wondered at their vision and hearing, powers that enable them to recognize their mom among all other hummers.  And how can they possibly learn to feed themselves, catch on to the unforgiving social order of hummingbirds, and be ready for their migration journey in only a few short weeks?  But they can.  They've been doing it for centuries.

Unfinished sketch of fledgling with wings still unfolded after begging--artist Vickie Henderson.

I feel privileged to have witnessed all this activity, especially the female with her young.  And while our Ruby-throats are still moving through Tennessee, I'll spend as much time watching them as possible.  All of it will make me miss them even more as the days shorten and they steadily move southward to wintering grounds in Central America.

To see another illustration of a fun hummingbird interaction at my feeders, visit Tripling the Fun of Painting.  And for some interesting information about hummingbird migration, visit Banding Reveals Hummingbird Migration Surprises.  Also, be sure to visit my new page, Art Cards and Prints, where you'll find a collection of my recent bird sketches and paintings.

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #103 at Birdfreak.com to promote the conservation of our world's birds.

Peak Hummingbird Viewing Days

In my area, the southeast USA, August and September are prime hummingbird viewing days.  It can be a challenge to understand what activity you're watching, but time spent among them will certainly tug at the heart strings and cause you to marvel at their high-speed lifestyle even more.

In the image above, you see a male Ruby-throated hummingbird chirping a warning to intruders.  As you scroll down the page, the series of images show stages of this same hummer as he is posturing.   The final image is what you see if you're a hummer and you don't heed those warnings fast enough.  A fire ball!


This morning I watched a male ruby-throat feed at the feeder while I drank my morning coffee.  My first thought was, that's not 'the King'.  What's going on here?  The King is my nickname for a male hummer who has claimed the feeders as his breeding territory.  Within minutes, the King appeared, chased away another hummer, and the first male, resting on a branch nearby, swiftly departed.  

According to Bob Sargent, author of Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a male may claim a territory for a period of time and then abandon it to establish another if it is not attracting enough females.   But there are other activities going on this time of year, as well.  Breeding season is coming to an end and male hormone levels are shifting causing a change in focus from breeding to feeding and fattening up for migration.  In addition, we may be seeing many different hummingbirds at the feeder.  In fact, hundreds are traveling through our yards, those we see and five times that many that we don't see, according to Sargent.  

Hummers from northern breeding territories are already migrating and research shows that they may visit the same feeding areas on the same day each year.  The only way we know for sure is through the efforts of hummingbird banding.  Everything we learn from banding our birds helps us know more about how their populations are managing in an environment full of challenges and changes.

For more about this 'King' visit my August post, Hummingbird Days of Summer, at Knoxville's Wild Birds Unlimited.  

You may also enjoy my series The King, about a male hummingbird I followed during the 2008 breeding season and Hummingbird Banding with fascinating information we've learned from banding our hummingbirds.

And watch for my article on bird banding at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge, upcoming in the Nov/Dec issue of The Tennessee Conservationist magazine.

Australian Bird Guide Give Away Today!

It's August 1st, the beginning of a brand new month and time to give away a beautiful field guide to the Birds of Australia to one of my lucky blog readers.  

As I thought about this yesterday, I realized I put a lot of pressure on myself to make the selection based solely on my reaction to the stories told.  To everyone who reads my blog, I want to say a big THANK YOU.  And to everyone who told their story, an extra special thank you for sharing your stories with us!  They were all special, enriching and great reasons to win a field guide.

Okay, I know, get on with it--about the book!

Above, I've posted images of a Laughing Kookaburra, one of the birds on the field guide page I featured in my review post.  That was no accident.  I had just met this enchanting kookaburra at the Brevard County Zoo in Florida, just days earlier.  He made me laugh, mesmerized me with his hilarious song, and captured my heart with his beautiful plumage.  He made me forget I was in a zoo and I felt the wonder of another country filled with interesting birds I've never seen before.  (Of course there are plenty in my own USA I haven't seen!)

My passion is not just birds but the conservation of birds.  Operation Migration's Whooping Crane Activity Book has been my effort to reach children and entice them into the world of conservation by telling them the magical story of how people are helping endangered Whooping Cranes, leading them on their first migration south behind ultralight aircraft.  (If you don't know this story, you can read about it here and here.)

All of that is to say, children are the future of conserving wildlife.  When Peter Gustas told me the story of his nine year old grandson's excitement over the continent of Australia and that he was introducing him to birding, it tugged my heart.  I thought, what better way for a young person to get to know a country than through its birds!

So Peter, you and your grandson are the proud winners of a beautiful new Australian field guide!  All you have to do now is send me your address so the publisher can get your book on its way (email Viclcsw (at) aol (dot) com).  I suspect one day that field guide will be traveling to Australia clutched in your grandson's hand!

Links:
Penguin Australia
Operation Migration
Brevard County Zoo

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #101, to promote the conservation of our world's birds!

Bird Parents and a Killdeer Ball of Fluff

I was headed out of my office tonight to go home.  As I was locking the door, a Northern Mockingbird flew toward me, squawked and landed on the step railing near me.  I said, "What?  Do you have a youngster out here somewhere?" (Yes, I do talk to birds.)

I looked around without moving and discovered a pristine juvenile sitting on the sidewalk, two feet away.  

Killdeer chick above.

The white edging of the juvenile's plumage was brilliant against pale gray feathers and when she looked up at me, her yellow gape was SO yellow.  I wondered if she had just fledged.  I stood without moving and coaxed, "You need to fly."   A few beats later, she flew to the holly with parent close behind.

Bird parents.  They are loyal, hard working, vigilant.

And that brings me to killdeer. Along with mockingbirds, this is a bird I have known and loved since childhood.  I first became acquainted with them in farm pastures, their loud cries on the wing unmistakable.  My latest encounter was last week in the grocery parking lot.  But it was not until my June visit to Brevard County, FL, on my way to the Pelican Island Overlook at Sebastian Inlet, that I actually witnessed the famous broken wing display.  Immediately, I was on the alert for young.  

And what we found (I was with Marge Bell and Jim Angy of Brevard County) was this little fluff ball, busily foraging on long legs.  If you enlarge the image below, you can see the webs on the chick's feet.  Though killdeer, a plover species, are found in many dry open places frequented by people, such as ball parks, gravel roads, abandoned fields and parking lots, they are also wetland birds.  And both the adults and juveniles are proficient swimmers.

But our visit with the juvenile was cut short by an unhappy parent who let out an ear-piercing alarm call.

She got our attention and the attention of the juvenile who immediately adopted a crouched, motionless posture and blended with the dead debris on the ground.

Nature at her best.

To see my previous posts on the Space Coast, Brevard County, FL click here

For more Brevard County Links visit:
Space Coast Beach Buzz
Jim Angy Photography
Space Coast Wildflowers

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #99 at Birdfreak.com to promote the conservation of our world's birds.

And don't miss your chance to win a free copy of the 8th Edition of Simpson and Day's Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Visit my book review and leave your comment before midnight (EDT) July 31st.  The Winner will be announced August 1st and receive their free copy directly from Penguin Australia.  Good luck!

Simpson & Day Field Guide to the Birds of Australia--A Review and Give-Away

The 8th edition of the Field Guide to the Birds of Australia by Ken Simpson and Nicolas Day has been completely revised and updated and is now available from Penguin Australia.  And I have the pleasure of offering this book free to one of my blog readers!

Bound with a durable soft cover, this guide's pages are packed with beautiful illustrations, key points of identification, species location maps, and alternative views to aid identification, all easily located within a two-page spread.   

Below, the species page spread for the Laughing Kookaburra (top left on the color plate).  

In the detail below, you can see a comparison between the Laughing Kookaburra and its close cousin, the Blue-winged Kookaburra.  Smaller illustrations compare the two birds' color patterns in flight.

As you move to the left of the page spread, you find a description of key plumage along with a location map.  Supplemental line illustrations give more ID clues showing postures, behavior and plumage variations.    

And if you need a refresher on just what constitutes this bird's 'open forest' habitat, there is a handy reference section in the back entitled, "Where the birds live", an illustrated key to all the habitats found in Australia.  Every field guide should have this feature!  Habitat is crucial information, important to learn right along with field marks.

Some of the other outstanding features of this guide:

• How to observe a bird
• Key to bird families
• Vagrant bird bulletin  
• Breeding information 
• Australian island territories checklists
• Hints for birdwatchers 
• A glossary of terms
• List of birdwatching and naturalists organizations
• List of recommended books to enhance your bird knowledge   

Of course, as an artist, my favorite part of the book is the visual species information found in the 132 beautifully illustrated full-color plates.

As a relative beginner, I loved the handy and practical 'Hints' section.  And as a person who always enjoys digging deeper, the glossary of terms and breeding section were both winners.  Designed for experienced birders, as well as, beginners, this field guide browses like eye candy, packs volumes of information in every page, and offers over 900 line drawings to give its user even more information in a snapshot.  A highly recommended addition to your field guide collection!

And now for the GIVE-AWAY!  
If you would like to win a free copy of this guide, all you have to do is write a note in the comments section of this blog post telling me why you're just the right person to receive a free copy of the 8th Edition of Simpson & Day's Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.  Enter your comment by midnight July 31st (EDT).  I will select the story that impresses me the most and announce the winner on August 1st.  The winner will receive their new field guide directly from the publisher, Penguin Australia.  

A June Slice of Florida's Space Coast

I've just spent a week with Marge Bell of Space Coast Beach Buzz in South Brevard County, Florida, exploring beaches, summer wetlands and inland meadows with naturalists in the area.  Among my activities, wildflower walks, exploring sunrise beaches, and guided moonlight walks to witness Loggerhead sea turtle nesting.   

White Ibis foraging at sunrise along a barrier island beach in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge   

Loblolly Bay blossom with assassin bugs at Wickham Park

Ghost crab blending with the sand at Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge.

Cricket on Pitcher Plant blossom in an inland meadow

A Limpkin among the Indian Blankets at Viera Wetlands

Sea Oats at sunrise

And this is just a preview.  More details on the nature I enjoyed during my visit coming up.    

Links and resources:

Space Coast Beach Buzz
Space Coast Eco
Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge
Wayne Matchett - Space Coast Wildflowers
Jim Angy Photography
Charlie Corbeil Photography
Vince Lamb Photography

To see posts from my January visit to Brevard County's Space Coast click here.