For all the lady birds...

I've been getting really good looks at female birds lately.  I think many of the drabber ladies get passed over or missed altogether because they're often secreted away on nests and not singing garishly from exposed perches like their testosterone-filled counterparts.

I've come to call passing over the lady birds "Painted Bunting Syndrome" or 'PBS' because the condition first became apparent to me in Florida while looking for a Painted Bunting (PABU) at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  We could practically taste the sighting of a colorful lifer because the birds are regular clients at the visitor center feeders.  Yes, an easy score but also a chance to see an amazing creature fairly close and undisturbed.  We waited nonchalantly on the boardwalk hoping for a glimpse...

A female PABU came in and we were fairly excited, but admittedly sort of let down that it wasn't a male in all his breeding plumage splendor.  Egads, there we were - two women downplaying the sighting of a female PABU...Blasphemy!  Little did we realize this was even happening until the male PABU came in for a snack and changed the whole mood.  I realized afterward that I didn't even take any pictures of the female!  I vowed to be aware of this avi-sexism and to be better about it in the future. 

Female birds are really quite incredible.  They are often the sole caregivers and clearly work very hard for a living in the bird world.  Plus they're exquisitely beautiful.
  
How can one not appreciate the subtle hues of browns, grays, tans, russets, and creams of these female Red-winged Blackbirds?

Or the understated cap of this Missus Wilson's Warbler?

And could this Ms. Eastern Bluebird be any more coy?

This female Black-and-white Warbler is just so ladylike with minimal makeup...

And this lady Northern Cardinal is looking rather radical with that crest and orange bubblicious bill...

This female White-winged Crossbill is swank despite the snow...

And though she belongs to a species of evil incarnate, even this female House Sparrow is pretty damn cute with her pantaloomy sides...

Maybe we are just desensitized to sexual dimorphism by all the species that are generally impossible to sex, like Black-capped Chickadees...

Great-crested Flycatchers...

Cedar Waxwings...

And Gray Catbirds...

Maybe it's simply that we don't even care because of the commonness of a species.  Think of the last time you pondered over who-was-who in a pair of American Robins, Mourning Doves or Turkey Vultures...ummm, probably never.  

I think fowl are highly susceptible to PBS - clearly hens just don't provide the same satisfaction as drakes, as evidenced by this Northern Shoveler...

Hens tend to be better appreciated when accompanied by little fuzzy babies like these Common Eider mommas...

I think it's funny that some species can remain sort of sexless in our minds while the males of other species become crowning glories of life lists!  I swear to beware of Painted Bunting Syndrome and always appreciate the lady birds!
     

NOFU FOR YOU!!!

Northern Fulmars (NOFU) are possibly one of the coolest birds ever.  Deceptively gull-like to the non-bird-nerd eye, they are really very different from gulls.  These birds were a recent lifer for me and as always, the deeper I dorked out in the literature about fulmars, the more I was fascinated by the species.  I'll try not to bore you with too many details, BUT - these birds can live over 40 years, don't breed until they're around eight years old, and spend most of their lives at sea...which is not uncommon for seabirds in general, but is still very awesome.

Or how about that their main defense against predators is to eject stomach oil onto them?!  The scientific literature describes this oil as 'well-aimed' and highly-deterrent'.  Over 20 other avian species have been recorded dying because of fulmar oil contamination!  Those species included crows, owls, raptors, gulls, herons, and passerines.  Even the chicks possess this super power.  Don't believe me?  Check out this crazy video (sorry I'm not savvy enough to embed it from the website):

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/video/northern-fulmar-fulmarus-glacialis/oil-spitting-defense 

For you landlubbers out there, Northern Fulmars are tube-nosed seabirds.  They have raised structures at the base of the top bill called 'naricorns'.  Who needs unicorns when you can have naricorns?  These fused tubes encase the nostrils and help keep salt secretions out of their eyes.  Special salt glands secrete salt and this allows them to drink seawater and survive.  More awesomeness.

I was delighted to see them in the Gulf of Maine in late June.  This means these guys must have been non-breeders. 

In case you are bored with the whitish NOFU's above, they happen to be polymorphic and come in many shades of gray...

There is really no better way to beat the summer heat than cruising offshore in a big ol' fishing boat looking for birds.  Even if it is near impossible for me to get a decent photograph...

So there you have it - NOFU for you!!!  Say it like the soup Nazi from Seinfeld and it should make up for my less-than-exquisite photos.

Pleased to meetcha, or so I thought...

I heard a mystery bird song in the yard earlier this summer - it was an upslurred warbler-like song, but I was unable to match it to any song on CD, online, or even on the birdpod.  I was stumped.

It took a few days of patiently waiting it out, searching for the bird making this song.  I finally got my binos on it and it was nothing other than a Chestnut-sided Warbler (CSWA) singing an alternate song!  They usually sing 'pleased, pleased, pleased to meetcha'.  Yeah, that's what I thought too.  I was dumbfounded until some further readings reassured me that the CSWA does indeed have an alternate "unaccented ending" song.  Little did I know there have been multiple scientific journal articles published on CSWA song.  

I of course got a recording of him for you... 


  CSWA alternate song by Burly Bird

And photos of him...

He has become a daily fixture in the yard and for the last few weeks has been singing from dawn til dusk.  I appreciate his company at a point in July when most of the warblers have gone quiet.  It doesn't seem that long ago I had over a dozen different members of the Parulidae family in the yard.  Now it's just the steady 'witchity witchity' of the Common Yellowthroats; the occasional 'teacher teacher' of the Ovenbirds; and the random squeaky-clown-bicycle-wheels of Black-and-white Warblers.  Meanwhile, this CSWA guy just keeps on belting out that alternate song... 

I read that some males sing both songs, singing the "pleased to meetcha" early in the breeding cycle to attract ladies, saving the alternate song for later during territory defense against other males.  I had to see him with my eyeballs - singing that song to believe it, and apparently other young male CSWA's also have to have a "visual tutor" in order to learn the two song classes.  Pretty awesome.

I also read that some males only sing the unaccented ending alternate song and that these males don't have as much luck attracting females.  Maybe the local lady CSWA's don't recognize this guy?  Poor fella'.  He does some crazy moves, conveniently and openly preening on the dead elms in the backyard...

The CSWA is a species of special concern here in Maine and I feel lucky to have had them in my yard all summer.  And it was great to get a hands-on lesson in their song repertoire.  What a pretty little bird!
  

Not your typical neighbors - Black-billed Cuckoos...

Upon us are the quintessential summer days of Maine - with perfect 70 degree weather and poofy cumulus clouds framing the giant eastern white pines it truly is the way life should be.  I have been spending lots of time in the yard soaking up all the sun and birdsong - June has been a great month for yard birds so far.

While tending my garlic crop that will surely rival my Dad's garlic harvest this year, I heard a soft and gentle "poo-poo-poo" from the side yard.  As the bird continued to sing I went over to the edge and waited the sucker out - and it showed!  There it was - a Black-billed Cuckoo (BBCU) - IN MY YARD!  

Then I heard a second BBCU gurgling out some guttural grunts low in the thick bushes.  Here I was looking at one of the most elusive birds in North America, in my yard, flitting from branch to branch like the literature says they don't often do.  Sweeeet.  He had a caterpillar in his mouth and proceeded to perform a little ritual in the dark lower branches of a tree in the hedge above where the grunts were coming from.  I left the scene as not to disturb the precopulatory ceremony and immediately went inside to dork out in books.  I read that this behavior often goes down near the nest site - I was so excited that these BBCU's might nest on my property!
   
Of course I didn't have my camera with me for the courtship spectacle, but later in the day one of them was kind enough to perch out in the open...

As usual, the light was unkind to me, but what a magnificent bird...

Cuckoos belong to the outlandish and ancient family Cuculidae.  In North America, the bizarre triangle of this family is made up of Roadrunners (genus Geococcyx); Cuckoos (genus Coccyzus); and Anis (genus Crotophaga).  I read that fossil records of the Cuculidae family date to more than 37 million years ago.  That's just crazy!
  
I had pretty much written off the genus Coccyzus altogether after a failed attempt to spy a Mangrove Cuckoo in Florida last year.  And a Smooth-billed Ani was out of the question.  I would have to be satisfied that I had seen a fellow, yet less-elusive Cuculid - this Greater Roadrunner, in CA that year...

  


Words used to describe Black-billed Cuckoos in the literature include 'retiring'; 'skulky'; 'silent'; 'sluggish'; 'uncommon'; 'solitary'; and 'easily overlooked'.  Apparently the secretive members of this cuckoo society are heard more often than seen and are notorious for teasing bird-nerds who are cuckoo for cocoa puffs...

Contrary to General Mills propaganda (and I'm not exactly sure which cuckoo species "Sonny" is supposed to be) the Black-billed variety gorges on caterpillars, not chocolatey breakfast poofs.  I rigorously tested this of course...

The scientific literature says BBCU's eat thousands of caterpillars per season - a single BBCU was observed eating 79 caterpillars in a matter of minutes!  They tear and poke into the caterpillar nests and also pluck the juicy treats from branches and leaves.  Whole trees have been cleared of often noxious species of caterpillars in less than a day.  Just imagine the potential benefit to orchards and forests...tent caterpillars and gypsy moths be gone!  

Greater numbers of BBCU's are seen during years of caterpillar outbreaks.  In my mind, this must mean that cuckoos make for happy trees.  I took this picture in the area where I first saw/heard the pair - those holes look suspiciously cuckoo-billed sized...

 

Wait, it gets even better.  Cuckoos "prepare" their meals.  This involves bashing, mashing, shaking, and hammering prey items before they eat them.  Many of the caterpillars BBCU's eat are hairy and these hairs create mats that stick to the BBCU stomach lining.  Here's the science non-fiction hook - when it gets too clogged for proper digestion the BBCU can slough off it's entire stomach lining and regurgitate it as a pellet.  Talk about evolution at its finest!

I've continued to hear and see them around the property, sometimes I can hear them 'cu-cu-cooing' while I'm in the house.  Yesterday I happened to witness them unabashedly gorging themselves in the willows in the yard.  Suddenly my secret BBCU pals were overhead every few minutes, silently plucking fat n' juicy snacks from the branches as I sat drinking my coffee below!
 

I even witnessed the smashing and shaking of the caterpillars, yes those are bug guts slinging away to the right...

Maybe all that meal-prep helps remove some of those pesky caterpillar hairs, I certainly wouldn't want to be regurgitating my guts out anymore than I absolutely had to.  Holy hairballs Batman!

Only a few times did they land on the ground to retrieve dropped caterpillars.  The American Robins were on custodial duty for that.  Of course my only ground shot came out blurry, but I think it was trying to imitate an Accipiter and that pose is too funny not to share...

At one point I got up and walked away from my chair (and camera) only to turn a see a BBCU sitting on it.  There was some very comical behavior as they fanned their tails, hung upside down, and stretched to get caterpillars...

 
I watched them fly off in the same direction, to the same area every time they re-loaded with caterpillars.  They were bringing food back to babies!

Now it gets EVEN BETTER!  Today I was treated to seeing the baby cuckoos themselves.  BBCU's have one of the quickest egg-incubation-to-fledging periods - only about 17 days.  The young then leave the nest after only a week after hatching.  But they do have a flightless period that lasts a few weeks after leaving the nest.  These guys were hopping around branches and testing their wings.  I'm not sure anything could be more adorable...

 

Who knew cuckoos were so cool?!  I do know that I feel really lucky to have them as neighbors and to have even seen them at all, let alone have a cuckoo bonanza!  They're certainly in the running for my "Best Backyard Lifer of 2012".

May I have another bird...

My most recent trip to New York made me recall a cheezy joke from my childhood:

If April showers bring May flowers - then what do May flowers bring?  

Pilgrims.

Well NY was chock full of fresh arrivals that weren't there during my last trip.  There were feathered pilgrims everywhere, so instead of boring all of you with yet another post about Iroquois and Montezuma NWR's, I've decided to mix it up and give you a larger glimpse into my latest week of NY bird surveys.

There were more Great Blue Herons (GBHE) than I have ever seen in one place.  I'm talking about seeing 25+ GBHE in one wetland area, and there were practically constant flyovers the whole time I was in the area.  

Yes, GBHEs are common and may not excite everyone to the same extent; but witnessing the sheer numbers of them last week gave me a whole new appreciation for them.  Besides, those ridonkulous necks will never cease to amaze me...

It was a funny scene at this one area where almost all the GBHEs were standing on muskrat mounds - appearing totally nonchalant and even causing Great Egrets and Mallards to follow suit in elevated aloofness...

 

At one point I was speechless from a pair of barking American Bitterns (AMBI) circling over my head.  Having only ever laid eyes on a couple of AMBIs in my life, it was no wonder I went for my binos first and was rendered incapable of getting a better photo than this...

 
There were warblers dripping from branches and in order for me to hear myself think and pick up other species, I had to work really hard at tuning out all the Yellow Warbler (YWAR) songs...

 

This guy must have belonged to the Flathead Tribe of YWAR...

The songs of Ovenbirds, Blue-winged Warblers, Savannah Sparrows and Wood Thrushes were music to my ears after a seemingly endless spring spent waiting for more birds.  I even got a really good look at a Brown Thrasher and heard a Black-billed Cuckoo.  After seven years of trying to get a decent Northern Harrier photo, I finally produced one of a juvenal male that I can feel proud of...

Baltimore Orioles (BAOR) were especially present - flashy and brilliant in their hunter-safety attire...

There were a crazy amount of Bobolinks, which made me smile every time I wrote down the alpha code 'BOBO'. 

The BOBOs were unexpectedly hard to get good photos of - they were in constant motion, flitting into breeding display fits and suddenly bailing into tall grass...

Here is a sound recording of a displaying male BOBO, please excuse the American Robin and the YRWA in the background...

Bobolink
 

Speaking of alpha codes, the blatant nerd in me finds great joy in alpha codes that spell out another word.  If the code spells out something in Spanish - all the better.  For example: Tree Swallow = TRES.  I think the facial expression of this lil' TRES clearly shows it knows it's sporting some bling in the form of a band on it's left leg...

 
Or how about an alpha code that spells out a Spanish hello?  This Horned Lark (HOLA) was almost invisible in the plowed ag fields.  

Now you see the HOLA...

Now you don't...

 
Another alpha code that pleases me because it spells a word is 'PUMA' (Purple Martin)...

 
I was delighted to see many Eastern Kingbirds catching flies as flycatchers do...

The bird I was most excited about hanging out with was this Hooded Warbler, since it's only the second one I've ever seen.  After telepathically pleading with him, he finally agreed to allow me to photograph his face rather than just his rump, but refused to come down into better light...      

Here's an unfortunately blurry shot that shows some alien-looking BOBO toes...

And a Red-tailed Hawk about to relieve itself...

As always, Scoobs had a wonderful time...

Overall, it was a phenomenal week and NY was full of great spring birds.  But I was excited to get home and find that during the six days I was gone my backyard BAORs had constructed this fabulous pendulous nest using some of the materials that I had left out for them!  

 

Apparently a little baling twine and Scoobs fur can go a long way.  The funny thing is that this nest is in the exact same location as the BAOR nest from two years ago (that one also contained some of my donated building materials).  Could it be that prime of a nesting spot or one of the same birds from two years ago?  I'll never know for sure, but nonetheless - those nests are incredibly awesome.