§ Migrants and Migration, and a Book on Migration...

The weather continues to improve, the migrants are moving in, and moving out quickly...I finally saw my first hummingbird of the season. I have feeders out for them, but saw my first at a park. I am reading a hardcover book I found at our used book store, a first edition, that was published in 1999 on the subject of migration....the author's research and opinions along with many revelations throughout history since the time birds were noted. From flight patterns, to thermal zones, how one bird may run off course and land in an area considered a rarity...so so much to learn. It may be twenty years since published, but the author and time frame can very well be today, yet some, tho old school, still works for research in the 21st century!! I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about banding birds, food stations needed, sleep patterns, reasoning and theorizing about bird migrations. The mileage these birds fly twice a year just continues to astound me.  The book:  Living on the Wind by Scott Weidensaul.  You can find used copies through Amazon for as little at a couple of dollars, most under $10!!!


This is a busy time of year for Bud and me. So, I'll stop writing now, and just share some photos taken recently...

RUBY THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
photo taken:  Blucher Park
habitat map:  Hummingbird





GREAT KISKADEE [nest building]
photos taken:  Hazel Bazemore Park
habitat map:  Kiskadee



LITTLE GREEN HERON
photo taken:  Blucher Park
habitat map:  Heron



SCISSORTAILED FLYCATCHER
photo taken:  Packery Channel Park [field]
habitat map:  Flycatcher




top: MATING KILLDEER  bottom: KILLDEER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS
photos taken:  Hazel Bazemore Park
habitat maps:  Killdeer - Yellowlegs





COOPER'S HAWK
photos taken:  Rose Hill Cemetery
habitat map:  Hawk



GRACKLE
photo taken:  Main Library
habitat map:  Grackle




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§ "Kis-s-s- - ka - Dee"!!!

I spotted this nest months ago, and for weeks, no activity that I noticed. Well, a couple of weeks ago [the latter part of August], I happened to be nearby and the parent was above me, making a ruckus. Then, I knew why...

...as far as I could tell, there were three fledglings

GREAT KISKADEE
photos taken: Hazel Bazemore Park
habitat map: Kiskadee!





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§ Springtime Thief...

The other day, at noon, our atomic thermometer showed 100.0 degrees F [37.7778 Celsius]! And that was only midday, and the outdoor thermometer [which will show on our INDOOR thermometer as well] is in the SHADE! So, being that it's that hot without the humidity and heat index factored in, I'm staying indoors for the most part and not getting out birding.

Again, I'm sharing some photos from the past Springtime months.

These were taken at a small city park....at most times a gray and drizzly morning, so the photos show very little clarity. If you've ever heard the birdsong of the Great Kiskadee, you can then easily spot them. It was nesting time for this particular species, and with all the "Kiskadee calling" and loud ruckus they shout out, I quickly found who was chattering throughout the park and stood and watched. At first I thought they were BUILDING a nest. Au contraire...

MARCH 2016


They were either 'stealing' from someone else's nest or tearing one down that didn't meet their standards. Their nests are very large, more conical, and has a wide 'side opening'.  Sometimes, the Kiskadees have two broods each year.  Here is what I witnessed...





MAY 2016

...about six weeks later I made a return trip to see if I could find any family around. Again, another dismal day. I spotted FOUR fledglings. Occassionally the parents would return with some delicious morsel, the quads kept ma and pa busy...

My photos of a kiskadee nest seen HERE and HERE [with chick]


Now, share your birding experiences:










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§ "I'm youth, I'm joy, ...."

"...I'm a little bird that has broken out of the egg." ~ James Barrie

Survival of the Fittest - an expression I paid no mind until I began with zeal photographing bird life.  Surviving in the wild is truly a daily [hourly!] challenge!!

...Around the Coastal Bend, they quickly grow. Parents are frantic, protecting and feeding...

Juvenile Black Bellied Whistling Duck

Parent and Juvenile American Coot

Juvenile American Coot

Baby Killdeer Chick

Parent and Baby Killdeer

Killdeer Chick

Baby Kiskadee Chick

Common Moorhen & Juvenile [Gallinule]

Juvenile Grackle

BLACK BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK, AMERICAN COOT, KILLDEER, KISKADEE, MOORHEN, GRACKLE

photos taken: Port Aransas Birding Center [BBWD, Coot, Killdeer, Moorhen] -Port Aransas, Texas,  Blucher Park [Kiskadee] - Corpus Christi, Texas, and Our Back Yard [Grackle] - Corpus Christi, Texas

habitat range:  Black Bellied Whistling Ducks, American Coot, Killdeer, Great Kiskadee, Moorhen, Grackles

TRIVIA: Newly hatched chicks of the Common Gallinule [Moorhen] have spurs on their wings that help them climb into the nest or grab emergent vegetation.



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