Birding weekly 20141024

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
damage on a tree

Considering me keeping up with birding weekly in North America has been all of three post (including this one) I thought to sum up my visit to the states with the overall birding experience I had there. Then hopefully get back into my birding weekly updates here where I am familiar with the birds and enjoy sharing the unusual sightings and behaviour I come across.

Birding North American was a great experience. the birds there are very different to the Africa variety and have a very different climate to master. there are similarities, but if one were to compare it would do injustice to both the Africa birds and North American birds. Hummingbirds for example are uniquely such. to compare them to sunbirds is ludicrous because although they both feed off nectar they obtain it using very different designs, with Hummingbirds being more dependent on nectar than Sunbirds.

Thus towards the end of my trip I was getting more familiar with the North American birds and birding became a joy as I started looking for the more illusive ones. I was rewarded with many new species and my total to North America was 80 on the dot.

Pileated Woopecker (Drycopus pileatus)

The Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) the giant among its kind eluded me for most of my stay until closer to the end when we were up in the Upper Peninsula MI. Its a bird that is illusive but can be heard when walking through forests. We happened to cycle into this one and had a good sighting of it before it went calling into the woods. Later I sat quietly in a preserve to listen and watch for some birds I hadn't seen but were migrating south. Here I stumbled upon a another Pileated Woodpecker. with a better sighting of it this time I snap a poor photo of one. 

While sitting there quietly I observed a brown creeper, Creepers here in Southern Africa are cryptic and hard to find. With a similar name I wondered if I would see the American creeper. Well I did. The Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) was a lot smaller than I had imagined, it had the habit of flying to the base of a tree and moved up it feeding. It would then fly to the base of the next tree and slowly feed up again. This was similar to the Nuthatch yet more methodical in its feeding habits and the nuthatch feeds down the tree. 

Spot the Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)

Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) working its way up a tree

Warblers can be tricky and rightly so in North America as the summer ends, the vibrant colours of the warblers turn into dull sparrow-like birds making it difficult to identify if ones doesn't know there North American warblers too well. However, I managed to pick up on movement in the top canopy as I sat listening and found a Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata), it took me a while to identify this bird but the yellow rump and yellow on the side of the breast help me out with an identification.

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Stephaga coronata) showing its
winter colours

Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) showing its yellow rump.

With the migrations south one never knows what may pop in and fly off the next day. I missed out on a couple of duck identification but did get an American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) while traipsing through thick undergrowth. The tell tale sign of this species is the whistle sound of the wing-beats as in takes off when you get too close. 

While sitting in the woods long enough one has all sorts of birds come by, some bird feeder birds found away from the bird feeder with a joy to see as they worked the environment to their advantage. One such was the Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens). when one gets into new habitat bird parties are still a good catch for different species and finding new ones. The wren are a pain to identify, because they never sit still and they are found in thickets. However I found the Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) flying around with a White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). I was to find a White-throated Sparrow drinking water with a Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis, slate coloured)

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) in its natural habitat

Over all the birds in the states are a marvel. We here in Africa hear seldom of the variety and dynamics that effect the birds in North America. However a visit to the states with a birder may get one to see a whole new world of birding. Just as unique and interesting as birds in Africa. The Hummingbirds alone, are by far the smallest and most interesting birds to watch. However, when you read up on the birds I found myself most at home on the vagrants page although I never saw any. Sadly though the invasive birds look really similar such as the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus).

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) sitting on a telephone line

A wilderness experience in North America - Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness!

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness!

The anticipation turns to the happening and I stare out over the water where we are about to launch the canoe, knowing that this vessel will be taking us out into the wilderness where I am even more of a foreigner and alien in a place I know very little of.

This wilderness area is different from the one I am used to roaming. The principle however the same. As we drift away from the shore I start to zone into what may happen next and what I am surrounded with. North America has a sad history with very little regard for wildlife and conserving trees, The mindset of convenience and ease converted any wilderness into green cut lawns. Ironically as North America is now regarded as the iconic place for Wilderness, Celebrating 50 years of their Wilderness act (National Geographic Wilderness-act). However now there are few places where one can venture and be surrounded by trees grown naturally, where one is left to fend for themselves with out a green cut lawn or maize field nearby. 

Despite this history I find myself in a place where trees are left to age with time and in time. They push to the sky looking like they weighted down by gravity as their branches droop down while the main stem pushes higher. Or maybe they cry for the loss they experienced over the last 100 years. regardless of their history its in the present that our journey exists. One sees the difference in tree species from the shore line up onto the ridge as different species survive different wind strengths and water dependencies. Water is not a problem here in fact its a problem because of its abundance. However I am reminded there is no problems when out in wilderness just a means of adjustment to what is around me.

Our journey takes place in a canoe, no one is allowed to enter the Wilderness zone in a motorized boat, car or anything with a motor. The area we in is known for its lake system and so its easiest to maneuver through the area in canoe. This also gets us out from underneath the tree canopy and out onto the lakes, watching for Bald Eagles, Common Loon, Common Merganser and anything else fluttering on the forest edge. Sights of the horizon are laden with mountains, cliff faces, flat lakes and towering trees. When out in the middle of the lake one sees no-one but still water on your own reflects as you stare through it to see the lake bottom.

The Boundary of the wilderness area.

There is a different sense to this wilderness, as the car dependencies and noise fades into the back memory the quietness in the lapping of the waters takes over. As sudden as our canoe starts to glide over the water we reach our first portage and cross between two mountains into Pine Lake where we will spend our first day and night. This long lake extends into the horizon and lies between two ridges. It is here I sense the escape of chaos and emerge into the American Wilderness.

It is quiet here, we pass one or two groups of other journeyers on a wilderness experience, they are quiet and a gentle greet is all they give. The culture of wilderness is strong although discouraged by their site, I am encouraged by their will and respect to where they are. We fish for our supper, struggle to find dry wood as I learn which wood burns better than others and what makes good kindle. I was to learn later that Birch wood bark is the best kindle and I gain confidence in wanting to light a fire from rubbing sticks together like we do back home. Learning which woods are best set for the task. Having a bit of rain the day we left, the forest floor is wet and although the sun has been shining since we left it is still wet and dry wood is hard to find.

A Beaver lodge

We move out of the Pine Lakes network and go through the most amazing vegetative channels, we give up rowing as the wind is so strong behind us that we need only steer our oars in the direction we want to go and use one or two oars as a sail. This gives us time to relax and reflect. The vegetative channels are the rivers that link the lakes and at times they edge large rocks or Beaver houses. This type of habitat is what Moose love. although we didn't see any we sure did find their tracks, some of the largest ungulate tracks I had ever seen. Getting use to the idea of deer being present still baffled my mind as almost all their ungulates loose their horns each year, and moose are one of the largest ungulates which do this. We come across a beaver lodge, this huge dome of sticks baffle the mind when seen up close as to how big they are. The closest we came to bears however were their paw prints. Black bears are the common bear in the area, yet they some of the smaller bears and seldom weigh as much as a full grown male lion. Made me feel pretty safe wondering around. Despite this our food is always airlifted using large trees to keep it from the bears at night while we sleep.

When camping along the shore, we rest on the forest edge. venturing into the forest to collect fire wood, brings about a unique experience on its own. The still darken forest floor brings about a deafening silence, I realized the “noise” that African wilderness areas produce. I recall maybe one or two still nights when not even the Scops owl would let us know they were around. Here it has been like that ever night, listening for the whip-poor-will ends off with me drifting into dream land as I reminiscence the roll this bird played in Chief Seattle's letter to the European settlers.

In Amazement we rowed the last stretch of lake to where we parked the car, knowing we were heading back to where time management was to the second and noise was accepted. However that last row we took, was one of reflection in a world I thought I would never set eyes on. As wild the area we were in was, it was different to the wild areas of Africa. Not better or worse, but different! For how can one compare two areas, dare I say, that God created uniquely to those areas. The American North Woods do not have the large elephants and rhino. They have bears and moose, the climate and vegetation brings about creatures that are specific to that environment that we can't fully fathom here on the continent of Africa. How does an African grasp the concept that a Woolly Caterpillar freezes through 7 winters before he emerges into a moth or how a frog freezes solid to endure a harsh winter? I was there for the summer escaping the harsh winter, but its the winter that tests the spirits of the wilderness like the dry season tests them here...

Late afternoon relaxing row

A wilderness experience in North America - Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness! Picture Gallery

Surrounded by wilderness

Portaging from one lake to another. 

Navigating through the smaller lakes and stream which eventually form thick
marsh and bogs in which moose can be found.

A moose track found along the portage route near the bogs and marshes.

Water clarity is close to 100% clear. this photo was taken from underneath the
water looking back up to me in the canoe

The bottom of a channel between two lakes, about 1-2m deep
and one can see the bottom clearly

Mesmerized by the bottom of the lake and its clarity.

Keeping warm and dry

A Black bear track found along one of the portage routes.

Below are some amazing fungi we found along the trip, this is just three of many weird and wonderful fungi growing on the bottom floor.

Birding weekly 20140901

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialias) catching insect at dusk on a farm outside Madison.

The weather this week in Wisconsin has not been the best birding weather. However the moments the sun shines through the clouds the birds to show there face and fly into the sun spots to dry off while they can. Birding has another challenge though and that is the mosquito's. One can see why the state bird of Wisconsin is the Mosquito. If one sits still for one moment while birding you will end up swatting a mosquito off you before you get a chance to lift your binoculars to get a better look at the bird. Then once you've swatted the first it means the rest are in suite and you're then flogged by hundred of them and forced to move on. I understand the paranoia around mosquito's carrying malaria in Africa, if we had the same densities I would also be worried.

Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) feeding around the farmhouse

Despite this it has been great birding in the Southern part of Wisconsin for a while, and then back in the central part of Wisconsin. The Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) have been a favourite as they feed in the harvested wheat fields. The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) young are looking more adult like nearing the end of the summer and getting ready for the winter. what is changing is that birds from the North are starting to move South to escape the change in season before its too late.  This change in season has also created a feeding buzz among the birds as they prepare for their trek south. The American Bluebirds (Sialia sialis), an amazing bird is readying itself for the winter migration south by feeding well after the sunsets. The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) are making the most of the feeders for them and seemingly more of them around the feeders competing for the nectar. The Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) is seem more regularly at the feeder with its larger cousin the White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carlinensis) always nearby.

Green Heron (Butorides virescens) looking for food around
 a fallen tree

With the odd canoe trip down the river I was able to spot a number of waterbirds I still hadn't seen two in particular was the Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) and the American Woodduck (Aix sponsa) lost among American Black Duck - Mallard Duck Hybrids. What was a pleasant sighting but not a bird was the family of Beavers busying themselves on the edge of the water swimming around looking for food. it looks ungainly in the water yet moves around at ease. The Green Heron (Butorides virescens) made himself visible sitting on a fallen tree in the water, while the Grey Catbird (which sounds exactly like a cat calling called be heard foraging in the undergrowth. Further downstream along a dense reed bank the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) sat still looking into the water until I got too close for its comfort and it flew off.

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

Around the feeder the Downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) is always around while the Hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus) almost an exact larger replica comes in once in a while. The American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) seem to live of the feeder leaving it to chase other American Goldfinches.

Answers to the trivial questions from the last birding weekly.

Image 120140824 Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)

Image 220140824 Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Image 320140824 Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)

Image 420140824 American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

Image 520140824 Ring-billed Gull (Laurus delawarensis)

Image 620140824 Common Loon (Gavia immer)

Birding weekly 20140824

Image 120140824, Saw this little guy at a
nature reserve near Appelton

Well it has been a long time coming for a birding weekly. I have been "exploring" the birdlife in North America and finding the new birds a joy to interact with. It is summer here in the Northern Hemisphere and close to moving into winter. Many of the birds are migratory and I have come to realize why migration is a simplex event here and complex in Africa. Despite the migration I have come at a time when all the migrants have settled in their summer grounds and are around for a bustle of breeding and fattening up for either the winter or their migration back south.

Being a South African birder one doesn't hear much about the American context of birding and yet there is a different world of birds here. Firstly the hummingbirds are a unique bird to the America's while the new world sparrows look like the old world sparrow but have a different twitch in their tail and great variety to watch. The striking colours of the summer breeding birds blend in well with the spring and summer flowers and that maybe the reasons birds get over looked a little. Overall its been a joy to bird watch in North America. Having heard very little about North American birds from the birding fraternity in South Africa and Touring Americans, its been a good experience.

I could go into more depth of the various birds I have seen, and maybe I should promote birding to the American audience slightly more as they seem to not realize what is present on their doorstep and how they could be more actively involved in birding... some however are with bird feeders and garden list gallore they seldom venture out specifically to go and bird watch thus I am still to meet ones to the likes of the big year crowds... perhaps I am in the wrong circles.

Here are a few photos to merely enjoy the birds as I have been over the last few weeks while neglecting the birding weekly's. I will number them so to keep you guessing as to what they may be and reply with their names in the next birding weekly.

Image 220140824, this guy would visit the feeder once in a while outside Appelton.

Image 320140824, While paddling the boundary waters in Minnesota I came across this wonderful bird, I haven't seen it again.

Image 420140824, This is a common bird in the USA, most people if they here you enjoy birding will tell you they have these in their backyard.

Image 520140824, found this gull while exploring door county with Lake Michigan to my East and Green bay to my West.

Image 620140824, This was one of the best birding experiences I have had thus far. One can paddle around them in the  boundary and their call echoes across the lakes early evening and morning.

Birding Weekly 20140630

Long-billed Crombec (Sylvietta rufescens) found feeding in a Leadwood
(Combretum imberbe) next to Grootvlei Dam in Northern Kruger

It wasn't long before we headed off to the Lowveld for some visiting and of course birding. It is always great to be back in familiar territory however, lifers and new birds for my Kruger list don't come easy. unfortunately I walked away with great sightings and great memories. A drive from South to North was taxing, but ending in Makuya Park made it worthwhile. 

It is great to see the changes through Kruger when travelling from its Southern tip to its Northern Tip, however the North is still a special area when it comes to the birds. Further I found photographing the birds more favourable here than West Africa and so to recapture some common birds that I hadn't seen for a longtime while in West Africa was great. It was refreshing to see White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides) and Southern Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus rufirostris) and compare them with similar species in West Africa, such as the Red-throated Bee-eater (Merops bullocki) and Western Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus kempi). 

White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops
bullockiodes) around Pafuri

Moving away from comparisons... it was great to bird in an area rich in diversity for its wildlife. Kruger is also amazing for its high presence of endangered species and thus is a key area for the survival of some endangered birds. We were fortunate enough to see Saddle-billed (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), Woolly-necked (Ciconia episcopus), Yellow-billed (Mycteria ibis), Black (Ciconia nigra) and Marabou (Leptoptilos crumeniferus) Storks. Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) and Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax) make it onto the list of what we saw and the Red-data list. Many more Red-data species can be made mention of.

Some of the smaller birds we saw were the Buffy (Anthus vaalensis) and African (Grassveld, Anthus cinnamomeus) Pipit. seemingly too early in the dry season for the dry season specials to emerge. The dry fields were filled with Chestnut-backed Sparrow-larks (Eremopterix australis). Some of the Eremomelas came out to play namely the Green-capped (Eremomela scotops) and Burnt-necked (Eremomela usticollis).

Ending off in Makhuya Park was great and gave me time to do some Atlasing. After neglecting my Atlasing skills in West Africa I did one Pentad, in which I got rough 50 plus birds for a day of birding.

Other species: Red-capped Robin-chat (Cossypha natalensis)

Bearded Scrub-robin (Erythropygia quadrivirgata)

Southern Ground-hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeteri)

Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus)

To end off a trip to the lowveld I thought the common yet beautiful Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus) would add colour to the blog.

Birding weekly 20140623

Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini) walking the
rocks near Haga Haga

From the fog of Johannesburg to the wind in the Eastern Cape I found myself birding the coastline and coastal-shrub from Port Elizabeth (P.E.) to Haga Haga. Shortly after landing in P.E. we went down to visit Cape Recife an old light house that safe guarded the ships sailing by. It now safe guards a breeding population of Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) and currently has a reported Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus) which we missed out on due to poor weather conditions. The weather was worsening as the day progressed. However as we went down to the beachfront we saw a small group humped-backed whales swimming in the bay. Making our way round to Cape Recife we found the normal coastal birds; Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres), Cape Gull (Larus vetula) and White-fronted Plover (Charadrius marginatus). Unfortunately the tide was in and the Terns seemed to be bracing themselves for the Cold front moving in and sat safely on a rock out of the surf but also too far for identification. This meant no Roseate to add to the list this time round. 

As the cold front hit we caught a bus up to East London, travelling during the fowl weather was the only thing worth doing. From East London we met up with friends and headed down into Haga Haga. Surprisingly we were met by three Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorium) standing among a herd of cattle in a farmers field. Exploring some of the estuaries and gully forests we found Red-fronted Tinkerbird (Pogoniulus pusillus),  Greater Double-collared sunbird (Cinnyris afer), Long-crested Eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis), Cape White-eye (Zosterops capensis), Brimestone Canary (Crithagra atrogularis) and hoped for Knysna (Bradypterus sylvaticus) and Barrett's (Bradypterus barratti) warblers. Within the rough surf brought on by the Cold Front moving past were Cape Gannet (Morus capensis) moving up and down the coastline.

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorium) being watched by a herd of cows in a field of cows.

Black Oystercatcher  (Haematopus moquini): Still on the Red IUCN endangered list as Near-Threatened it is a success to the conservation initiatives taken to save them. They were decreasing in numbers until the law banning all vehicles driving on beaches was passed. This saw there numbers increase and now they are fairly common feeding in the rocky shores along the coastline.

Grey Crowned Cranes (Balearica regulorium): It was great to see the Grey Crowned Crane in the open fields between East London and Haga Haga. these remarkable birds are truly magnificent. paler than there northern cousins the Black crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina), they too enjoy marsh or grasslands to feed in.

Other Species: Cape Wagtail (Motacilla capensis)

Common Fiscal (Lanius collaris)

Red-winged starling (Onychognathus morio)

Cape sparrow (Passer melanurus)

Grey-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus)