Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve

I stopped by Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve on Thursday. The day was glorious, no one was out, so I took a quiet walk.

I stopped by the field we planted for Bruce.  The trees were still very young and hidden under the herbaceous layer.

It felt somewhat appropriate, considering how many mitigation sites he monitored that the trees would be hard to count, barnyard grass would be thick, and Bidens would be everywhere.

I took a stroll along the boardwalk across the street.  The buttonbush and woolgrass meadow was very pretty.

It was a nice temperature for a walk in short sleeves, with a warm sun and a cool breeze.

Red-headed Woodpeckers were common and the most vocal presence in the swamp. I also heard a Red-shouldered Hawk as I was leaving.

Thick buttonbush and dead trees.

Another Red-head pops his head around the trunk.

Lewis' Woodpecker

When I saw that a Lewis' Woodpecker was hanging around a campground just south of Oklahoma City, I figured I had to give it a shot. These woodpeckers are garishly colored; they have a greenish back and a pinkish breast. Oklahoma is outside of their range, they are typically found in the mountains of the western states. I have looked for them before out in the Rockies and in Nevada.

The campground was easy to find. It was on the north side of Taylor Lake, near Rush Springs, OK. There were a nice assemblage of oak trees. We walked through and cruised through the area for over an hour with no luck. We kept finding Red-headed Woodpeckers, which are normally a good bird. I even spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker, to give me two of the six Melanerpes woodpeckers in North America. Just as soon as I decided that I was almost ready to leave, the Lewis flew in front of us and landed on a dead branch. It was gorgeous in the morning sun. I admired it in the binoculars and then grabbed my camera. Just then a Red-tailed Hawk cruised by overhead. The Lewis flew off, somehow confusing the Buteo for an Accipiter. I was mad at that Red-tail. I waited around, trying to figure out where the woodpecker went. Finally, I spotted it on a dead branch. But almost immediately, the pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers flew in and scolded the Lewis out of their territory. I left with no pictures, but with several good looks. All About Birds has some pictures and info, if you haven't seen what a Lewis' Woodpecker looks like. I figure now that I have seen the first one, I'll get a nice long look at one the next time I am in the mountains.

Red-headed Woodpecker (not a Lewis' Woodpecker)

Downy Woodpeckers

This cheerful pair of Downy Woodpeckers frequents our suet feeder. They feel fairly comfortable in the crabapple tree, often times staying put even when I pass underneath. I am glad at least one male woodpecker visits the feeder.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

For some reason, since I started the blog 3079 days ago, I haven't posted a photo of a Red-bellied Woodpecker. These woodpeckers are very common, but they never seem to pose for me. Having a suet feeder changes that, though. This female Red-belly likes my feeder and comes fairly regularly. We have never seen a male Red-belly, though. It makes me wonder whether she has a mate, or if her mate just doesn't like my suet for some reason. The male has a red forehead, while the female just has a red mullet.

Flicker

Ms. Flicker has been coming to our feeder for a while this winter. At first she wasn't sure about hanging from the feeder and ate the crumbs below the suet feeder. We were happy when she figured out the process. Hopefully, some day she'll bring a date.

Black-backed Woodpecker

Black-backed Woodpecker

Showing off his yellow cap.

We were hiking the Beaver Ponds trail in Algonquin Provincial Park last Monday. We had left the first pond (Second to last picture) and had climbed the ridge that separates the first pond from the second. As we were waiting for the rest of the group, we heard a woodpecker tapping nearby. Absent-mindedly, I decided to try to pick him out. I found him, not too far off, and based on the size, I announced that he was a Hairy Woodpecker, which we had seen several of all ready. Black-backs had been a target bird for me at this park for a while, but I had focused my searching to dead Black Spruces in bogs, to no luck. I went to look through my binoculars, and then I realized I had a Black-backed Woodpecker! I did not expect him up on a hillside. He allowed everyone to have good views before flying off a little ways down the hill. I was quite pleased to get such a nice performance from a life bird. The last photo shows the beaver dam that was down the trail from the woodpecker.

American Three-toed Woodpecker

American Three-toed Woodpecker

A view of Mt. Wheeler from high above the Summit Trailhead. I felt like I could have quickly gotten there, but that will have to wait for another time. Things would have dramatically changed if the snow got softer.

One of the 'decoys'. I normally enjoy seeing Hairy Woodpeckers, but not when I am searching for an ATTW. The Hairy's seemed to be everywhere. Plus, there were Red-shafted Flickers and even a Red-naped Sapsucker to add to the woodpecker mix.

Last Sunday, my friend/coworker visited Great Basin National Park and reported seeing a Three-toed Woodpecker. I had not even seriously considered these as a possible species to chase. The only problem was I had to work on Saturday and was leaving on Sunday. I decided to head up to the Summit Trailhead on the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive on Tuesday after work. It was a nice sunny day in the valley, but it was cloudy, windy, and stormy at the top of the mountain. The birds were very quiet, and I had no luck with the ATTW. I thought that if I had a chance on Sunday, I'd make a try for it. I got up at four, shooting to see the sunrise on the mountain. It was a glorious morning, the sun was bright, the sky was clear and calm, and all the birds were singing. The snow was still frozen hard enough that I didn't sink. I had about three hours to search. I didn't find the guy until less than an hour before leaving for the airport. It was such a relief to find him.

Red-naped Sapsucker

Red-naped Sapsucker at Fish Creek Falls, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Dominican Republic Birds

Black-crowned Palm-Tanager - Common in the countryside. There is quite a variety of tanagers in the DR.

Palmchat - the national bird of the DR. These guys were fairly common, even throughout Jarabacoa. Not only are they endemic, they are the only bird in their family.

Least Grebe - This guy was swimming in the lagoon on La Isla Saona. This grebe made a Pied-billed Grebe seem to be as large as a Mallard.

Common Moorhen - in the lagoon at Saona.

Greater Antillean Grackle - Not too different from our Grackles.

Brown Booby - the birding highlight of the catamaran ride.

Gray Kingbird - the tyrant of the Dominican. These guys were the most common flycatcher. They sound like Eastern Kingbirds, too.

Tricolored Heron - This guy was hunting the area below a dam on the south coast. He was a very small heron.

A hunting technique.

Nutmeg Mannikin - at Tres Ojos.

Hispaniolan Woodpecker - They sound roughly like our Red-bellies. Very common and often in flocks. I had to work to get a picture that wasn't backlit.

Black-whiskered Vireo - I was hearing the song everywhere I went. I was sure it had to be a vireo, but I couldn't find the singer for several days.

Magnificent Frigatebird - These 'pirate birds' were everywhere along the coast.

Narrow-billed Tody - on the trail to Pico Duarte. There are two todies in the DR, the Narrow-billed in the mountains and the Broad-billed everywhere else. They are in the kingfisher family.

Broad-billed Tody - near Jarabacoa.

Bananaquit - These colorful little birds were very common, especially once their song became familiar. They are fairly tiny.

Yellow-faced Grassquit - cute, sparrow-like birds.

Antillean Mango - a very large hummingbird.

Vervain Hummingbird - the second smallest bird in the world. Very tiny, but very noisy, common, and bold.

I got to see 46 bird species in the DR. Other DR bird highlight and thoughts:

• Cattle Egret - might not be the most common bird, but surely is the most visible bird. There is always one or more flying overhead.
• Common Ground Dove - I had seen these guys in SC before, but they were in decent numbers around Jarabacoa. They are tiny, cute little doves that have nice rusty patches on their wings.
• Hispaniolan Parrot - at the headquarters for the National Park in La Ciagna, I looked up and saw a flock of parrots winging across the valley.
• Hispaniolan Lizard-cuckoo - I got to see two of these gorgeous cuckoos on the trail to Pico Duarte.
• Smooth-billed Ani - These cuckoos were decently common around Jarabacoa. Massive bills and round tails.
• Antillean Palm-swift - These small swifts were abundant, but I didn't even try to take a picture of them.
• Hispaniolan Pewee - The only other flycatcher I saw. I was a little surprised by this.
• Caribbean Martin - a pretty martin.
• Red-legged Thrush - I saw this attractive thrush about 10 times around Jarabacoa.
• Hispaniolan Spindalis - Just a brief look while driving.
• Hispaniolan Oriole - A very attractive bird.
  

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Joy and I had the chance to assist Kelly with the federally endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) research. It was quite a treat to see the birds, the research, and the habitat.





A wider, landscape shot with Joy to give a sense of habitat. The area is fairly open and the soil is sandy and well drained.

Kelly at another nest tree.



A concerned parent checking on the nest. Notice the sap protecting the nest. Apparently that is not too effective, because we found several cases of nest predation. Most likely by an Eastern Corn Snake.

Two banded nestlings. They were weighed, measured, banded, and placed back in the nest. Their eyes were still closed, but they were vocal.

Using the ladders to get up to the nest cavity in a Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris).