§ Two Weeks Into September

September is half over for the year. Altho, it's been a grueling year, 2020, I always enjoy the days following the month of August. The Atlantic, as I type this up, has 6 storms, one threatens the Texas coast. I may not be online to visit if power goes out and damages are done from this storm, BETA. Other than one day so far, I've done a little bit of birding. I even drove to the island in hopes of catching some migration activities...but when I arrived, I reached for my camera with the zoom lens and it wasn't in the car seat beside me!! I left it home on the hutch, charging. Senility is setting in! Oh well, I acquired my step count that morning. At least it wasn't a TOTAL waste of time, but if you ask me, I'd beg to differ. Without further chit chat, here are some birds I've photographed this first two weeks of the "Fall" season...

EASTERN WOOD PEWEE? GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER?
-no eyering, about 4 to 4 1/2 inches]
photo taken: Blucher Park
habitat map: Pewee


BROAD WINGED HAWK [young and docile: known to be more "tame" than others]
photo taken: Rose Hill Cemetery
habitat map: Hawk

WILLET -crab salad for breakfast
photos taken: Hans Suter Park
habitat map: Willet


VERMILION FLYCATCHER
photos taken: West Guth Park
habitat map: Flycatcher


MONK PARAKEET
photos taken: West Guth Park
habitat map: Parakeet


LONG BILLED CURLEW
photo taken: West Guth Park
habitat map: Curlew


GREEN JAY [in molt]
photo taken: Bazemore Park
habitat map: Jay


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§ A Wee Bit O' flycatching & More...

In researching for ID'ing this bird, I knew off hand that it was a type of flycatcher. But the solid black, very thick, beak is what stopped me in my tracks. In my guide book it's called Wied's Flycatcher. A former title. Today it's named the Brown Crested Flycatcher. Its distinction is the burnt rufous coloring in the tail and wing, and a lighter colored, nearly white throat patch. Along with a brown crest. While in the past two weeks, I've been making a daily [missed only a couple days] trip to the park to check on the progress of the Hummingbird nest I posted about, and I had the zoom lens extended already to not disturb the mama hummingbird any...I quickly whipped the camera to focus on the flycatcher after it flew up and landed on the power pole nearby...

BROWN CRESTED FLYCATCHER [aka Wied's Flycatcher]
photos taken: Hans Suter Wildlife Refuge - Corpus Christi, Texas
Habitat Range:


TRIVIA

1. Its former name, "Wied's Crested Flycatcher," was in honor of Prince Maximilian of Wied, a German naturalist and traveler in early-19th-century America.
2. Their bill is larger by 25%, with a more prominent hook than most flycatchers [see 2nd photo].
3. This species is present in Texas from about March 3 until September 14. In Texas from sea level to about 300 m (1000 ft).
4. This species prefers subtropical vegetation.
5. Brown Crested Flycatchers breed in natural cavities or abandoned woodpecker holes which are filled with animal hair and feathers.

On another evening, at dusk, I was outdoors in our backyard, filling the bird baths and cleaning out the feeder boxes when along came a bird that lighted on the cable just a few feet away from me. As I continued watering, I watched it jump up off the wire, swing around catching flying insects and landing back on the wire...for several minutes. After finishing my watering and cleaning, I went indoors and grabbed the camera, hoping it would still be there. It was...




EASTERN WOOD PEWEE
photo taken: Backyard - Corpus Christi, Texas
Habitat Range:


TRIVIA

1. Males can sometimes be polygamous, mating with two females, simultaneously.
2. Wood pewees wait on a perch at a middle height in a tree and fly out to catch prey in flight, sometimes hovering to pick it from vegetation.

...and I made a collage of sorts of what Bud and I have been watching the past month. From May 20th, the day we spied a Ruby Throated Hummingbird beginning her nest building, to seeing two small jelly bean sized white eggs, to the Hummingbird hatchlings on June 12th. We plan on going back sometime this following week to see how the babies have grown!....

1. The hummingbird is the smallest bird and also the smallest of all animals that have a backbone.
2. A hummingbird has no sense of smell
3. Because the hummingbird can rotate its wings in a circle, they are the only bird that can fly forwards, backwards, up, down ,sideways and hover in mid air.
4. To conserve energy while they sleep or when food is scarce, they can go into a hibernation-like state (torpor) where their metabolic rate is slowed to 1/15th of its normal rate.
5. During migration, some hummingbirds make a non-stop 500 mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico.
6. During courtship dives a hummingbird can reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour and can average speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour.
7. Hummingbirds are the second largest family of birds with 343 species.
8. Hummingbirds can beat their wings up to 80 times a second during normal flight and up to 200 times per second during a courtship dive.
9. The hummingbird has a heart rate that can reach up to 1,260 beats per minute.
10. Percentage wise, the hummingbird has the largest brain of all birds (4.2% of its total body weight).
11. Hummingbirds have very weak feet and use them mainly just for perching.

RUBY THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
photos taken: Hans Suter Wildlife Refuge - Corpus Christi, Texas
Habitat Range:





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§ Pewees & pink feet...

YELLOW BELLIED FLYCATCHER [?]
photo taken: Paradise Pond - Port Aransas, Texas





BLACK BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK
photo taken: Lakeview Park - Corpus Christi, Texas
Habitat Range:




EASTERN WOOD PEWEE
photo taken: Hans Suter Reserve - Corpus Christi, Texas
Habitat Range:



BALTIMORE ORIOLE
photo taken: Our back yard - Corpus Christi, Texas
Habitat Range:



?EGRET or White Morph Heron?
photo taken: Texas A&M Hiking/Birding Trail - Corpus Christi, Texas
Once again, this bird has no yellow feet, so it can't be a snowy egret, right? And it has no yellow beak so it can't be a common egret...so is it a heron in white morph? Ack!! So many challenges, so little knowledge.