Short posts highlighting a recent subject
,,, or any other native fall-ripening berry plant. In autumn, many species of birds switch from an insect rich diet to including more ‘fruits and vegetables’. For year-round residents and partial, short-haul migrants this switch provides fats, amino acids, and antioxidants that help them recover from molting and prepare for winter. For the long-haul migrants, […]
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This is a Barred Owl that visited our yard yesterday. Based on ‘smaller’ size, a male, I think. In most species, males are larger than females . This is called ‘male-biased size dimorphism’. Owls & other raptors tend to be exceptions. Males tend to be the smaller of the pair.There are multiple theories of why […]
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It’s mid-September, the heat has finally broke, and Female and immature Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are putting on the last few grams to get them across the Gulf of Mexico. It seems that one criteria for deciding if it is time to go is they can’t see their feet 🙂 As a bonus, this is the time […]
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After the flurry of spring arrivals it may seem that Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have disappeared from our flowers and feeders and the wild. This is mostly an illusion. Females, who most years out number males, spend the summer doing all the parental duties (males leave after the fun part). Moms do all that is necessary to […]
Read MoreBlack Skimmers are one of many shorebird species that form breeding colonies and lay their eggs in small scrapes directly on dunes & beaches. Their species survival strategy is simple: Large numbers in a breeding colony, sometimes mixed, for more lookout eyes, effective egg camouflage, and short incubation\fledgling times to minimize the open exposures. This […]
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Looks like a hawk. Scavenges for carrion like a vulture. Is actually a falcon. Common in open grasslands, rangelands, and scrubby areas of South & Central America, a small population, about 1,000 individuals, lives in the similar dry prairies with scattered palm cabbage of south-central Florida. Most of which are within large private cattle ranches. […]
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Cedar Waxwings are winter resident fruit specialists here in metro-Atlanta. But because they are late nesters & can be short-haul migrants, going only as far north as the high-elevations of the North GA mountains, they will hang around gorging on spring\early summer berry crops. Native serviceberries are a favorite. Waxwings will gather in small flocks […]
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The only population of Snail Kites in North America is in FL. There are 1,000 birds, up from 10 in 1965. They are listed on the federal & state endangered species lists. Snail Kites are extreme specialists. Armed with a strongly curved bill, purpose built for plucking meat from a shell, their diet is almost […]
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Prothonotary Warblers should be known, in my opinion, as the field mark appropriate, easier to remember & pronounce, Golden Swamp Warbler. This is another example of obscure 18th century conceitful naming. Prothonotaries are papal clerks that wear yellow robes. Yellow being the only common characteristic & certainly not a connection known by common folks, especially […]
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Velociraptor, or at least one of their descendants a Hermit Thrush, visiting our yard. There is consensus among many scientists that today’s birds are dinosaurs. Fossil evidence points to the theropods, a family of three-toed predators that included Velociraptor mongoliensis and Tyrannosaurus rex as the evolutionary lineage. Theropods share hinged ankles, swivel-jointed wrists, wishbones, and […]
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