December 2018

Attract • Find • Identify • Enjoy

ATTRACTING
WINTER FINCHES
Birders’ gift guide:
Cameras, binoculars,
scopes & more!

Tips for identifying

sapsuckers & waterfowl

new
10 books

www.BirdWatchingDaily.com

EVENING GROSBEAK is one

Vol. 32 • Issue 6

of several North American

finches to watch for in
winter. Pages 48-49
 Africa 2019

Gray Crowned-Crane ©LSaloni ● Ring-tailed Lemur © Martin Prochazkacz ● African Elephants ©Villiers Steyn ● Leopard ©Anna Efimova
Northern Tanzania: Birding & Wildlife in the Serengeti,
Ngorongoro Crater & Beyond
February 17-March 6 ● with Kevin Zimmer & local leader

Uganda Highlights:
Gorillas, Chimpanzees & Shoebills
July 2-21 ● with Dion Hobcroft & local leader

Malawi: Miombo Magic

August 9-26 ● with Dion Hobcroft

South Africa: The Southwestern Cape & Kruger

October 10 - 25
Wakkerstroom Extension
October 24-28
with Geoff Lockwood

Namibia, Botswana & Zambia

August 24-September 10
Walvis Bay Pre-trip
August 21-25
with Geoff Lockwood

Ghana
October 23-November 11 ● with Machiel Valkenburg & local leader

Madagascar Highlights
November 7-22
Ampijoroa-Betsiboka Pre-trip
November 3-9
with Dion Hobcroft

F rom Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater to the Gorillas

of Uganda to the endangered Lemurs of Madagascar,
VICTOR a journey to the remarkable continent of Africa promises
EMANUEL
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CST2014998-50
 November/December 2018 Vol.32 No.6

Visit us online:
www.BirdWatchingDaily.com

FEATURES IN EVERY ISSUE

14 Gear up! 2 From the editor
A basic primer on dressing for whatever Mother Nature serves
up. BY PETE DUNNE 5 Birding briefs
How utilities are helping to protect
Whooping Cranes, migration data gleaned
18 Holiday gift guide from weather radar stations, and a new
Binoculars, spotting scopes, cameras, and other gear we like. population estimate for Idaho’s endemic
BY MATT MENDENHALL
crossbill. Plus, photos of recent rarities.

24 The wild parrots of America 6 Since you asked JULIE CRAVES

Thousands of free-flying parrots of more than 20 species are How to determine where a banded bird
challenging the way we think about invasive and native birds comes from, and why Mourning Doves are
— and even ornithological history. BY CHARLES BERGMAN able to nest nearly year-round.

30 When nature throws curve balls 8 On the move EBIRD

Improve your bird-ID skills with these strategies for dealing Migration maps for Evening Grosbeak and
with weather, poor light, and other obstacles to clear views of Black Scoter.
birds. BY MAEVE KIM
36 Bookshelf
43 Hotspots near you 10 new titles, including books about ravens,
Tips, maps, and directions for places to bird in Texas and trees, and recently discovered birds.
North Carolina. BY CAROLINE BLAHA-BLACK AND ERIC HARROLD
40 ID tips KENN KAUFMAN
Identifying Williamson’s Sapsucker.

46 Amazing birds ELDON GREIJ

How avian vision works.

Photos from COVER STORY

48 Attracting birds LAURA ERICKSON
our readers, Why birdwatchers should take part in
p. 50 Project FeederWatch. Plus, how to attract
winter finches.

55 Classifieds
56 ID toolkit DAVID ALLEN SIBLEY
Identifying distant flocks of waterfowl
in winter.

FROM OUR READERS

50 Your view
Stunning photos of Keel-billed Motmot,
Crested Caracara, Indigo Bunting, and
other birds.
Wilmer Fernandez

COVER PHOTO Evening Grosbeak

by Denis Dore/Shutterstock

Like us on Facebook: Follow us on Twitter: Flickr: BirdWatching Follow us on Instagram:

BirdWatchingMagazine @BirdWatchDaily group photo pool @birdwatchingmagazine
 fromtheeditor
Editor Matt Mendenhall
Founding Editor Eldon D. Greij

Inspirations Contributing Editors Julie Craves, Pete Dunne,

Laura Erickson, Kenn Kaufman, David Allen Sibley
Editorial Consultant Lee Mergner
In the weeks since we published our last issue, CONTENT
we’ve released our 2018 collector’s edition, the Vice President, Strategic Content Peter Madden
Content Marketing Associates
104-page, photo-heavy A World of Birds. The
Anthony Buzzeo, Tim Doolan
bulk of the publication profiles 50 of the world’s
ART & PRODUCTION
most amazing bird species: Horned Guan,
Art Director Carolyn V. Marsden
Wandering Albatross, Sword-billed Humming- Graphic Designer Haley Nunes
bird, Harpy Eagle, and many others. Contribut-
ing Editors Laura Erickson and Julie Craves
wrote the text about the birds, and our graphic designer, Jaron Cote, created a
fantastic, compelling layout featuring gorgeous photography. A World of OPERATIONS
Vice President, Strategy Jason Pomerantz
Birds also features stories by Pete Dunne and Noah Strycker, and it includes a Operations Supervisor Nora Frew
guide to more than 130 birding-tour providers around the world. Operations Coordinator Kianna Perry
You can find the issue for sale on our website and at Barnes & Noble, Sam’s Human Resources Generalist Alicia Roach
Supervisor, Client Services Cheyenne Corliss
Club, and other retailers. I bring it up here because, as we’ve said in these
Senior Client Services Associate Tou Zong Her
pages many times, the world needs more people who care about birds. Our Client Services Darren Cormier, Andrea Palli
collector’s edition, I think, could make a great gift for birdwatchers, yes, but Accounting Director Amanda Joyce
also for folks who like birds and other wildlife but don’t yet think of them- Accounts Payable Associate Tina McDermott
Accounts Receivable Associate Wayne Tuggle
selves as birdwatchers. If it sparks one person to learn more about nature, Office Coordinator Dayna Morse
make more environmentally conscious choices, or plant a native garden, I’ll
DIGITAL OPERATIONS
be thrilled. Check it out. Technical Product Manager Michael Ma
If you have been birding for any length of time, you’re probably familiar Director, Digital Projects Jessica Krogman
with Ron Pittaway’s annual “Winter Finch Forecast.” The Ontario-based Senior Digital Designer Mike Decker

ornithologist publishes it online each September, offering predictions for SALES & MARKETING
which northern finches will move south into southern Canada and the north- Media Solutions Director Scott Luksh
sluksh@madavor.com
ern United States over the coming winter season. This year, he wrote of our
Senior Media Solutions Manager Bob Meth
cover bird, Evening Grosbeak: “Expect a moderate flight south into southern bmeth@madavor.com
Ontario and the northern states because both conifer and deciduous seed Senior Media Solutions Manager Alexandra Piccirilli
crops are generally low in the Northeast.” (You can find tips on attracting apiccirilli@madavor.com
Client Services clientservices@madavor.com
winter finches on page 49.) Marketing Director Andrew Yeum
Lastly, if you’re reading this on or before November 6, I want to encourage Marketing Associates Tom Goodale, Michael Marzeotti
our American readers to get out and vote. This election looks to be crucial for EXECUTIVE
the future of the environment and nature conservation, so it’s important for Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey C. Wolk
those of us who care about birds to participate. Today’s policies can impact Chief Operating Officer Susan Fitzgerald
SVP, Sales & Marketing Robin Morse
not only birds but also the future for our children and grandchildren. Don’t Vice President, Business Operations Courtney Whitaker
sit this one out.
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2 B i r d Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
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 Jillian Ditner/Cornell Lab of Ornithology
A LOT OF BIRDS: Radar technology has helped put a more precise number on the birds migrating through the United States each fall and spring.

4.7 billion birds

Study sheds light on the massive numbers of migrating birds — and how many don’t return
Using cloud computing the tropics,” notes lead author find that the migrants program. “That’s despite the
and data from 143 weather Adriaan Dokter, an Edward arriving across the U.S. fact that tropical wintering
radar stations across the W. Rose postdoctoral fellow at southern border had an birds migrate three to four
continental United States, the Cornell Lab. “In the average return rate of 76 times farther than the birds
Cornell Lab of Ornithology spring, 3.5 billion birds cross percent during the 5 years of staying in the U.S.”
researchers recently estimated back into the U.S. from points the study (2013 to 2017) and To reach these numbers,
how many birds migrate south, and 2.6 billion birds the birds wintering in the U.S. the researchers developed
through the U.S. and the toll return to Canada across the had only an average return complicated algorithms to
that winter and the birds’ northern U.S. border.” rate of 64 percent. measure differences in
migratory journeys take. In other words, fewer birds “Contrary to popular biomass picked up by weather
“We’ve discovered that return to their breeding thought, birds wintering in radar — in this case, the total
each autumn, an average of 4 grounds after going through the tropics survive the winter mass of organisms in a given
billion birds move south from fall migration and spending better than birds wintering in area, minus insects and
Canada into the U.S. At the months on their wintering the U.S.,” says Andrew weather. The same technology
same time, another 4.7 billion grounds. But the researchers, Farnsworth, co-author of the powers the Lab’s birdcast.info
birds leave the U.S. over the writing in Nature, Ecology & study and leader of the website, which presents
southern border, heading to Evolution, were surprised to Cornell Lab’s aeroecology real-time migration maps.

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 5
sinceyouasked
YOUR QUESTIONS
ANSWERED BY
BIRD BANDER EYE ON CONSERVATION
JULIE CRAVES

Q
Last year, I took pictures
of molting goldinches at
my feeders. It wasn’t until
going through the
pictures later that I
noticed one male had a
leg band. Can you shed
some light on who may
have banded this inch or
where it has traveled
from? — Jason
Breckenridge, Bluevale,

Laura Erickson
Ontario

A
STEPPING UP: Utilities are marking powerlines to protect Whooping Cranes and other birds.
Your photos are terriic, but
unfortunately you did not get
shots of all the numbers on the
Cranes find allies in utility companies
band. In nearly every case, every Whooping and Sandhill Cranes are gaining Three states away in Wisconsin, the
digit would be needed to trace new allies as utility companies in Kansas Aldo Leopold Foundation and partners are
the bird. Standard plain and Wisconsin work to prevent the birds collaborating to reduce the risk of Sandhill
aluminum bird bands have nine from colliding with powerlines during their Cranes colliding with a transmission line
digits: a four-digit preix and a migratory journeys. that will pass through important habitat. As
ive-digit sufix. In Kansas, since 2013, utility companies a result, along an 11-mile stretch near the
With that number, you can have marked more than 100 miles of the Leopold-Pine Island Important Bird Area,
report a band in the U.S. or riskiest powerlines to make them more visible the state’s American Transmission Company
Canada at www.reportband.gov. to the birds. Although rare, collision with agreed to install shorter towers and a
The North American Bird powerlines is the greatest known source of horizontal arrangement of wires that pose a
Banding Program is mortality for ledged Whooping Cranes. reduced collisions risk.
administered by the U.S. The work is taking place on lines in Kansas Ten thousand Sandhills gather in this area
Geological Survey and Canadian assessed to pose the each year as they prepare
Wildlife Service. All licensed highest risk to migrating to head south, and the
banders send their data to one birds within 5 miles of line’s proposed route cuts
of these entities, so there is no Quivira National Wildlife directly through the cranes’
need to try to hunt down Refuge and Cheyenne daily commute between
individual banders. Bottoms, which are the agricultural ields
Birds with other markers, important stopover areas where they forage and the
such as geese with colored between the species’ wintering and breeding Wisconsin River sandbars where they roost.
alpha-numeric neck bands, can grounds. By the end of 2019, 113 miles of Although it won’t go into operation until other
be reported with or without the high-risk lines at Cheyenne Bottoms will be sections are completed, construction of the
regular leg band number. It’s marked, while 90 miles out of 130 will be segment of line in question is now inished,
important to note the size, marked at Quivira. and the bird-friendly mitigation measures
shape, and color of a marker, Various marker designs have been used in are in place.
color of codes (letters or this effort, following guidelines developed by the Ensuring that human development can
(continued on page 8) Avian Power Line Interaction Committee. While coexist with cranes and other birds is an
most can be installed by hand, some markers ongoing process. But in Kansas, Wisconsin,
require the use of helicopters for installation on and elsewhere, people are coming together to
Julie Craves is an ecologist and the transmission lines that are inaccessible from the igure it out — a hopeful advancement for
retired director of the Rouge River ground due to height and safety reasons. bird conservation.
Bird Observatory in Dearborn,
American Bird Conservancy is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats
Michigan. Read her blog at
throughout the Americas. You can learn more about the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee at www.aplic.org.
http://net-results.blogspot.com.

6 B i r d Wa t c h i n g
 birdingbriefs

Trouble for Cassia Crossbill

Idaho endemic ‘one of North America’s more imperiled bird species’

In July 2017, the American square miles of lodgepole pine hot days may help
Ornithological Society forest, they report. explain why the
recognized Cassia Crossbill, a Not only are there relatively recent study shows
species distinct from the few of these crossbills, but that Cassia
widespread Red Crossbill. The earlier work showed that their Crossbills occur

Craig Benkman
new species occurs in just two population is vulnerable to hot more commonly in
small mountain ranges in summer days (higher than larger mature
Idaho — the South Hills and 32°C or 90°F). Hot days can stands of lodgepole CASSIA CROSSBILL: Vulnerable to climate change.
Albion Mountains — on the cause seeds in the fire-adapted pine present on
northeast edge of the Great lodgepole pine cones — the sole cooler north-facing slopes, Despite the recent rebound
Basin Desert, where it is food of Cassia Crossbills — to where cones are less exposed to in numbers, population
engaged in a coevolutionary be shed to the ground and such extreme temperatures declines “will likely become
arms race with lodgepole pine. effectively lost to the birds. and large numbers of seeds can more frequent and more severe
In the summer of 2018, After three summers with four accumulate in the cones. as climate change progresses
Craig Benkman, the University or more hot days, the species “Given its restricted range, and extreme high temperatures
of Wyoming ecologist who declined by more than 80 small population size, and become more prevalent,” they
described the species, and a percent between 2003 and 2011. apparent vulnerability to write. “Furthermore, long-term
former graduate student Fortunately, hot summer climate change,” the authors projections for the region
reported that Cassia Crossbill’s days have been few in the last report, “the Cassia Crossbill predict the absence of
population was approximately 10 years, allowing the crossbill appears to be one of North recruitment of pine in the
5,800 birds in the fall of 2016. population to rebound. America’s more imperiled South Hills and Albions
The species occupies about 26 However, the impact of these bird species.” by 2080.”

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w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 7
sinceyouasked
(continued from page 6)
ON THE MOVE FROM eBIRD
numbers or both), and the
A winter finch and a sea duck to watch for now
shape and placement of codes
on the marker (for example, Evening Grosbeak
which are written horizontally
or vertically).
When you report the band
or marker, you'll be guided to
provide additional information,
such as how you obtained the
band number, the date,
location, and the species and
current status of the bird. In
most cases, you’ll get
immediate feedback, and you
can also request a certiicate of
appreciation. A low percentage
June 2007-17 December 2007-17
of birds — especially songbirds
— are ever reported away from A stocky, showy finch of northern coniferous forests, Evening Grosbeak is quite a visual treat. Males
their banding sites. (Much of are a contrast of bright yellow, black, and white, while females sport slightly more subdued grays and
the valuable data obtained by browns. All individuals have a large, conical bill. The maps above show where we might find it. In
banding is gathered when the June, the species inhabits coniferous forests across the boreal zone of Canada and in the Pacific
bird is originally banded.) You Northwest and Rocky Mountains regions. In December, some individuals have moved south into the
can make an important northern Great Plains, Midwest, and New England. The Evening Grosbeak’s movements are difficult
contribution! to predict, and therefore the species is considered to be “irruptive” across its range. Look for this
Note that these agencies do species in coniferous forest and also at bird-feeding stations, where it can appear suddenly.
not track pigeon bands, which
are often colored plastic over
metal. They usually have two to Black Scoter
four letters, followed by a
two-digit year, and then a
four- to ive-digit number. If you
ind a banded pigeon, contact
the American Racing Pigeon
Union at www.pigeon.org/
lostbirdinfo.htm.
If you are still curious about
nearby banders, you can take
a look at the Canadian
Migration Monitoring Network
page at Bird Studies Canada
(www.birdscanada.org/
June 2007-17 December 2007-17
volunteer/cmmn) for a directory
of major banding stations near A waterbird of the northern Arctic, Black Scoter remains one of the least known sea ducks of North
you. However, goldinches can America, largely due to its remote and scattered breeding range in western Alaska and northern
be real wanderers. A goldinch Canada. In June, Black Scoters are found in two main areas: western and northern Alaska and
I banded in Dearborn, northern Ontario and Quebec, where they breed in small, shallow lakes and ponds relatively near the
Michigan, was recaptured by a coast. By December, when the breeding lakes have frozen, the birds can be seen along the Pacific and
bander seven months later in Atlantic coasts; particularly high concentrations occur in portions of coastal Alaska, British
Fergus, Ontario, about 50 Columbia, and Washington State, and from Maine south to Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Black
miles away from you. It was Scoters also will turn up inland; look for them on large lakes and reservoirs with other scoters and
one of several birds of various diving ducks.
species I’ve banded in
Michigan that ended up in
southwestern Ontario. eBird is the real-time online checklist operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. “On the Move” is written by
eBird’s Garrett MacDonald, Chris Wood, Marshall Iliff, and Brian Sullivan. Submit your sightings at eBird.org.
(continued on page 10)

8 B i r d Wa t c h i n g
 birdingbriefs

Secret life of birds

IN ITS SIGHTS: A Cedar Waxwing hunts a spider in
Torbay, Newfoundland. Photographer Geoff Smith has
watched waxwings “deftly pluck orb weaver spiders
off their webs, while avoiding the sticky and strong
webbing material itself. They hover next to the web,
pluck the spider off the web, and actually fly backward
and upward, with their prize.”
Geoff Smith

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 9
sinceyouasked
(continued from page 8)
PHOTO GALLERY

Q
A pair of Mourning
Doves used a nest
platform I put up and
raised three young.
After, the dove or a new
dove laid more eggs,
Recent rare-bird sightings in North America

which also produced

young. This went on for
four nestings! Did the
original pair raise all
these young, or did four
different dove families
use the platform?

Samuel Denault
Ric McArthur

— Alana Miller,
Washington, D.C.

A
FIRST IN CANADA: This Great Kiskadee, a FIRST IN QUEBEC: This Broad-billed Hummingbird
southern flycatcher, was seen in September at visited a backyard feeder in Saint-Lambert-de-
Mourning Doves usually have Ontario’s Rondeau Provincial Park. Lauzon, south of Quebec City, in mid-September.
two or three broods a year, but
it’s not uncommon for them to
raise three to six broods. Like
all dove species, they feed
their young “pigeon milk.” It’s
not really milk but a fat- and
protein-rich secretion produced
by cells in the parents’ crops
that is regurgitated to feed to
nestlings. Therefore, pigeons
and doves are not dependent
on insect hatches or seed crops
as food sources for their young,
Knut Hansen

Justin Streit
enabling them to nest nearly all
year round.
The numerous broods FIRST IN MAINE: In early August, birders in FIRST IN WISCONSIN: This Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
contributes to their proliic Biddeford, about 24 miles south of Portland, found spent a few days in August at Horicon National
success: Mourning Dove is this Great Black Hawk, a Neotropical raptor. Wildlife Refuge.
estimated to be one of the most
populous species in North
America. It’s likely that it was
the same pair of doves that
used your nesting platform the
entire year, as Mourning Doves
are known to reuse their nests.
Frank Mantlik

August Kurdt

Send a question
Send your question to ask@
FIRST IN CONNECTICUT: In September, this juvenile FIRST IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: This Wood Stork was
birdwatchingdaily.com or visit
Roseate Spoonbill turned up along the Housatonic seen for about two weeks in mid-August at
www.BirdWatchingDaily.com
River and Long Island Sound in Stratford. Pickering Ponds, a park in Rochester.
and look for “Contact us.”

10 B i rd Wa t c h i n g
 birdingbriefs

More news online

Recently posted stories you can
find only on our website
Read more about the following topics at
www.BirdWatchingDaily.com!

Winners of the 2018 Bird Photographer

of the Year contest
The organizers of the Bird
Photographer of the Year competition
announced the contest winners for 2018.
The contest, now in its third year, WINNER: Pedro Jacques Krebs won the Bird
attracted thousands of entries form over Photographer of the Year contest with this photo
60 countries around the globe. Pedro of American Flamingos.
Jacques Krebs from Peru won the top
prize with the photo at right of up 40 percent of all debris recorded,
American Flamingos. followed by plastic bottles and fishing
Other winners included stunning gear. The authors hope the reports raise
shots of Red-necked Phalarope, Western awareness of the dangers of balloons to
Crowned-Pigeon, and Northern Gannet. birds and other wild animals.
The contest helps raise funds for the
British Trust for Ornithology, so far Bahama Nuthatch, feared extinct,
having raised about $8,450 from entry rediscovered on Grand Bahama Island
fees alone. The money has been used to In May, research teams on the island
help support the BTO’s Young Birders’ of Grand Bahama rediscovered the
Camps aimed at engaging a younger Bahama Nuthatch, one of the rarest
generation of naturalists. birds in the Western Hemisphere.
Brian Small, the Los Angeles-based The bird, which is officially a
photographer whose photos appear in our subspecies of Brown-headed Nuthatch
“ID Tips” column, was one of the judges. but may in fact be a distinct species, has
The 2019 competition is open for been declining for decades due to habitat
entries through November 30, 2018. loss and invasive species. It occurs only
Visit our website to learn how to enter on Grand Bahama in a small area
and how to purchase a copy of a known as Lucaya Estates.
256-page book featuring photos from
the 2018 contest. New reserve in Bolivia for endangered
macaws
Balloon litter a top problem on remote In the December 2017 issue of
beaches BirdWatching, we published a story about
Two new reports by the Virginia efforts in Bolivia to help the critically
Coastal Zone Management Program at endangered Blue-throated Macaw, a
the Virginia Department of spectacular species numbering only
Environmental Quality and Clean about 300 in the wild. The article
Virginia Waterways of Longwood highlighted a nest box program in Loreto,
University focus on the dangerous Bolivia, southeast of the city of Trinidad.
effects of balloon litter and reasons why Since 2005, macaws using the boxes have
people release balloons. successfully fledged 76 chicks.
As part of a five-year study on In August, the Bolivian conservation
balloon litter in Virginia’s coastal organization Asociación Armonía
environments, researchers found more announced that it has purchased the
than 11,400 balloon-related items on the former cattle ranch where most of the
state’s beaches. nest boxes are located. The property,
Researchers revealed that balloons 1,680 acres (680 hectares) of savanna and
were the most abundant type of waste on tropical forest, is now a protected nature
five remote beaches surveyed between reserve. It is the most important nesting
2013 and 2017. Balloons and their area for Blue-throated Macaw, having
attached plastic clips and ribbons made produced 51 of the 76 fledglings.

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 11
BEE HUMMINGBIRD, NEAR BAY OF PIGS, CUBA.
SONY RX10 IV, FOCAL LENGTH 73.3MM.
EXPOSURE: 1/1000 SEC. F/2.8, ISO 320, WITH FLASH.

WHEN IT COMES TO TRAVEL, the prudent

Built for birder takes a page from the Boy Scouts,

speciically the edict that advises you to “be
prepared.”
Because when you’re traveling in new or

traveling
unfamiliar territory, you just never know when
an amazing birding opportunity will present
itself. And in many cases, there are no second
chances to go back to the hotel and get your
gear and come back to grab the shot. You either
get it in the moment, or you don’t.
Sony’s compact superzoom RX10 IV is light enough to carry So, you can either strap your big 400mm
or 600mm to your back, along with your big
around all day in search of amazing photo opportunities tripod, and play packhorse for the duration of
your vacation. (And I’ve seen some dedicated,
Text and photograph by Bob Krist but decidedly cranky, birding photo bufs do
just that.)
Or you can make a more logical, portable,
and enjoyable choice, and take along a Sony
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RX10 IV, and never worry bag around all day in the tropical heat. most DSLRs, the shuter curtain will close
about missing a great birding It was when we were near the Bay of Pigs, before the flash is inished iring, resulting in
photo op. scene of a long-ago military debacle, that the half-dark pictures.
hat’s what I did during a guide mentioned the possibility of a short But not on the RX10 IV. he camera’s
recent trip to Cuba. he trip birding walk nearby, including visiting an area pop-up flash coordinated perfectly. It’s not a
was mainly based around the where we might see Mellisuga helenae, the very powerful burst of flash, but with a shuter
People to People program, and Bee Hummingbird (aka the Zunzuncito). It’s speed that high, and the relative closeness of
so it was mostly focused on the the smallest bird in the world and is endemic the subject, it didn’t have to be.
island’s amazingly colorful and to a few areas of Cuba. I won’t exaggerate and tell you that I got
vibrant culture, architecture, Well, we were all game, but really, it’s hard dozens of great shots in the 20 minutes or
and music. to get a decent hummingbird shot using a so that our group spent in the garden that
We walked some long smartphone or a DSLR without a long telephoto day. I’m not that experienced a hummingbird
days through the faded glory lens. As useful as they can be for a lot of travel shooter. It’s more like trying to shoot a fast-
of Havana, visiting dance troupes, artists’ photo situations, smartphones just can’t handle flying insect than a bird.
studios, and the like. We toured colonial hummingbirds, especially this one; they are too But I got about ive good shots of the birds
towns, old sugar plantations, and museums. small, too fast, and too far away. when they would occasionally roost on a
I toted the RX10 IV all day and was ready But the long lens and the fast-focusing branch for a split second, and one shot of a litle
to shoot everything: wide interior shots in capabilities of the RX10 IV were well matched Zunzuncito hovering in mid-flight with a nice
low light (thanks to the excellent low-light, to our prey in the garden of a local lady clean background. A lucky shot, you might say,
low-noise sensitivity of the camera’s one-inch whose feeders atracted many of the island’s and you’d be correct. But remember what a wise
backlit 20.1mp sensor) to handheld, long-lens hummingbird species that day. man once observed: “Luck favors the prepared.”
views of vintage American cars of the ’40s and However, that’s not all it takes to get good
’50s cruising down the legendary waterfront hummingbird shots. Usually, you need a
boulevard, the Malecon (courtesy of the powerful flash or two, to help freeze, or at least
super sharp, Carl Zeiss 24-600mm f/2.4- slow down, the fast-moving wings. Because most Bob Krist is an award-winning freelance
4.0 equivalent zoom lens with quick Phase DSLR cameras won’t synchronize with a flash at photographer who works regularly for
Detect Autofocus and excellent built-in image shuter speeds above 1/250th of a second, those magazines such as National Geographic
stabilization). flashes have to put out a lot of power. Traveler, Smithsonian, and Outdoor
Best of all, I was ready and energetic One of the RX10 IV’s hidden features is Photographer. he Society of American Travel
enough to catch the nightlife portions of the that it will sync with flash at shuter speeds Writers has named him “Travel Photographer
trip, again with the RX10 IV in hand, because I up to 1/1000th of a second. hat’s an action- of the Year” three times, and his work has been
wasn’t exhausted from lugging a heavy camera stopping shuter speed, but if you set it on featured in many books and videos.
A basic primer on dressing for whatever Mother Nature serves up
BY PETE DUNNE

we live in a society estranged from the community goes like this: “There is no such
outdoors. In this age of passive indoor thing as bad weather, only bad equipment.”
climate control and dual-passenger To this, I will add “and poor preparation.”
automobile climate settings, basic So, in this article, in place of my usual
principles relating to staying dry, warm, or “Birder at Large” column, I offer advice on
cool are no longer part of our cultural DNA. what to wear when you’re birding,
The result is that many new birders go especially in cold and wet weather but also
afield without field skills pertaining to even in hot areas. And to reduce birders’
basic dress. discomfort, I also give tips for avoiding
An old axiom in the outdoor recreation mosquitos and other biting insects.
Bill Schmoker

14 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT
Before setting out on a day’s outing or a two-week birding In this age of passive indoor
tour, learn about the terrain you will face and what climate
and weather you are likely to encounter. Gearing up for a trip climate control and
to the Aleutians is unlike packing for a river cruise in the
Amazon Basin. dual-passenger automobile
Whether or not Alaska is in your plans, here are tips for
dressing for cold climates. climate settings, basic principles
It begins with the base layer: a good set of moisture-
wicking underwear that keeps you warm and dry when relating to staying dry, warm,
exertion makes you sweat. Undergarments (tops and
bottoms) are typically made of synthetic fiber and come in
or cool are no longer part of our
different grades or weights (“heavy” or “military grade,”
medium, and light). Me? I always go for the industrial-
cultural DNA.
strength material. My thinking: If it’s cold enough for long
undies, it’s cold enough for the warmest stuff available. I most conditions. Neck warmers that can be pulled up over
prefer zip-neck turtleneck uppers so I can thermo-regulate your face when the wind kicks up are always nice to have in a
easily, i.e., unzip to expose my neck when overheated. pocket. As for hands, mittens are warmer than gloves, but it’s
Socks? Smart wool is hard to beat. Soft, pliant, hard to focus binoculars with a mittened hand, unless you buy
warm, durable. mittens that permit index fingers to poke through at need.
On top of the undies, wear a good wool sweater or fleece I typically carry both down mittens and synthetic-pile
jacket (or both). gloves. They fit easily in pockets.
Pants? There are lots of ways to go here. Wool is warm but Balaclava hoods are great in cold, windy conditions.
heavy. I still prefer jeans even though cotton is a poor This is probably a good place to bring up disposable
insulator when wet. That is one reason I rely on the military- heat-generating hand warmers and toe warmers. I know
grade undies and carry (or wear) a set of light wind pants or disposable is not green, but these things really work. They’ve
rain pants. made aching toes a thing of the past. Speaking of which...
As for jackets or outerwear, I like goose down. Even
though it loses its insulating properties when wet, down is WHAT ABOUT FOOT GEAR?
light, warm, and easy to stuff in a day pack if temperatures There is no universal answer here, and it seems no matter
climb or you do. Fleece works fine, too. In very cold what you wear is wrong.
temperatures (single digits), I often wear a down sweater Sandals? Great for walking on beaches but stupid in rocky
under a heavy-duty down jacket. If your down jacket is not at or cactus-studded terrain.
least water-resistant, pack a good waterproof rain jacket cut Running shoes? They are a good versatile choice. Cheap,
large enough to fit loosely over the down jacket. Compressed with good traction, and the mostly fabric-type are fairly
down doesn’t insulate. quick drying. I prefer the kind with the low heel counter
Speaking of rain gear: Buy the best stuff you can afford.
Rain gear is the wrong place to be budget-minded. When you
are walking through a cold pouring rain and are still two
miles from shelter, you will thank me for encouraging you to
buy the best.
Gortex works fine when it’s new. Consider buying tops and
bottoms a size larger than your street size. Ponchos? Fine in the
tropics, but in cold climates I want to be hermetically sealed.
As I noted in a recent issue of BirdWatching, I hate being
cold and wet, and I’ve been cold and wet more than anybody I
know who hates being cold and wet. As a result, in really wet
conditions I often double-bag, wearing a light stretchy rock
climber’s rain suit under a heavy-duty rain jacket and pants.
On winter pelagic birding trips, it’s hard to beat the good
ol’ rubberized Helly Hansen-type bibs and hooded jacket
combination. Yes, it’s stiff and can be hot, but it keeps you
dry. Add rubber Welly-type knee boots, and you are virtually
wave proof. READY FOR ANYTHING:
Note that rain gear loses its water-shedding properties Whether hiking in
over time. Expect to replace it, and do so before that mountains or birding on a
Bizi88/Shutterstock

expensive trip to the Alaskan Arctic. Seams need lakeshore (opposite),

constant resealing. preparation is key.
Headgear? A nice stretchy synthetic fiber hat works well in
 boot’s too wide or too large. Now head preferable to bright colors. Never wear
Rain gear is the for the nearest set of stairs. Walk down white. In the universal language of wild
balancing the ball of your foot on the things, it means: “danger, seek cover.” It
wrong place to be edge of the step. Use the hand rail for is not the message you want to send.
stability. If your toes get crammed Camo is fine, but be prepared to take
budget-minded. against the toe box, the shoe is too some good-natured ribbing from your
small. Buy a half-size up. Hiking boots companions and know that in some
because my Achilles tendon doesn’t like are the one piece of apparel I never conflict-plagued countries, camo
to be constricted. buy online. patterns are actually illegal.
Wellies? Love ‘em, but they are hot Neo-Tech boots? This splendid, It is especially important in warm
and in rocky terrain prone to rip. They waterproof over-boot is a 21st-century climates to stay hydrated, so drink
also don’t offer much traction on uphill version of the hated old rubber galoshes water frequently. Sweating is the body’s
climbs and little ankle support. mom used to send you off to school in. heat-regulating mechanism. In open
Hiking shoes or boots? Fine for Made with waterproof fabric uppers country, a wide-brimmed sun-shading
rugged terrain or if you are backpacking. coupled with a terrain-gripping lower hat will keep you cooler than
Some are pretty water resistant. The L.L. shoe section, Neos slip over your going hatless.
Bean hunting boots with leather uppers running shoes and come in a knee-
and rubber bottoms are splendid on length and calf-length version. They’re BITING INSECTS
dewy mornings in flat terrain, but in my light, pack well, and deserve a place in The outdoors is replete with critters
experience, the bottoms lack traction for every birder’s travel bag. that consider humans their means to a
uphill walking. meal or reproductive success. These
Whatever you buy, make sure your BEAT THE HEAT include mosquitos, a host of ticks,
shoes are well broken in before your Increasingly, birders are going to warm biting flies, gnats, some ants, and
outing. Carry an extra set of socks if (often tropical) locations. The old chiggers. What’s a chigger? How
you are doing an extensive hike, and standard was baggy cotton shorts and a fortunate for you that you have to ask.
exchange them for your sweat-soaked cotton T-shirt. These still work, but A chigger is a near-microscopic mite
pair at lunch. Blisters are a sure way to more than ever, birders are favoring the that flourishes in hot vegetated areas
ruin your walk back and tomorrow’s light synthetic travel pants and long- (forests and grasslands). Their taste for
outing, too. Don’t forget the moleskin. sleeve synthetic “safari” shirts. They dry human flesh results in an itch so
If you don’t need it, someone else will, quickly, so can be rinsed out after a unbearable it undermines the whole
and you’ll be the hero. Also, duct tape sweaty day afield, hung up to dry, and concept of a benign god. Sorry if this
can be used to repair ripped fabric and worn the next day. And they offer better offends you, but, frankly, there was no
torn rubber. protection from biting insects and excuse for chiggers. Never solitary,
When buying foot gear, fit matters. thorn-bearing plants that have a chiggers work fast: By the time the first
When trying on boots at the store, slip vendetta against humans. raised red spot appears on your hide,
them on and then kick back hard on the Whatever you wear, make sure it is typically where some elastic bolstered
heels before lacing. Now walk. If your color neutral. When birding, cryptic piece of apparel constricts, the damage
heel slides in the heel counter, the colors like green, tan, and brown are is done. Nothing to do now but wait to
determine the extent of the damage.
My first infestation of chiggers
occurred in Patagonia-Sonoita Creek
Preserve, in Arizona, where Linda and I
were enjoying (up to that point) our
honeymoon. By nightfall, both of us
looked like we’d been hit with two
barrels of bird shot. But my worst case
of chiggers was contracted in
Cumberland County, New Jersey, where
a single, thoughtless stroll through a
tetherball-court-sized patch of grass led
to two weeks of itching, burning misery
and a trip to my G.P. for industrial-
strength Prednisone.
Contrary to popular belief, chiggers
BE PREPARED: Outdoor smarts
do not burrow into the skin. What they
Wang LiQiang/Shutterstock

won’t guarantee you’ll see a rarity

do is upchuck a bit of flesh-melting
like Baikal Teal, but you’re more
enzyme onto the skin’s surface, then
likely to miss the bird without them.
lick. Your body’s immune system does
the rest.

16 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 I hate chiggers. Hate ’em, hate ’em, hate ’em. If given a Ants? They’re generally not a problem as long as you are
choice between walking through chigger-infested grass and attentive. Where fire ants flourish, never climb atop a raised
lighting myself on fire, I would ask for five minutes to dirt mound for a better view. In the tropics, when birding in
consider my options. The only sure way I know of avoiding the midst of an ant swarm, don’t get so wrapped up in your
chiggers is to stay out of tall grass and never, ever leave the tanager appreciation that you fail to note that the swarm has
trail when birding in a rain forest, even when your forked and that you are being flanked. Ignore this advice, and
in-country guide assures you there are no chiggers. They lie. you’ll be disrobing and swatting so frantically that even
Avoid brushing any vegetation along the trail, and that Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man would be about three
evening shower up and do not wear your clothes again until arms short of need.
they are washed. Always use your head. The best way to treat discomfort is
But when it comes to an itch, enzyme for enzyme, nothing to avoid it. Several years ago, while birding Alaska’s Attu
beats the level of torment that is doled out by your garden- Island with a tour group, we got caught in a rain squall.
variety deer tick. These pinhead-sized disease-transmitting While it was not unexpected, I could not help but note that
vampires have made whole forest tracts off limits. But at least while most of us simply turned our backs to the wind and
you can see them. After a day afield in tick country, do a near-horizontal rain, my friend Terry Moore of Leica Sport
thorough tick check before going to bed. It makes a great Optics moved to be on the lee side of a handy telephone pole,
bonding experience for birding couples. which offered at least partial protection. Terry went on to
Mosquitoes? I find over-the-counter repellants to be tally his 700th North American life bird on that outing, a
adequate. But know that DEET melts rubber and plastic, Baikal Teal.
including the stuff that coats binocular barrels. In places like Preparation, common sense, outdoor smarts, and quality
the Arctic, Florida, or coastal Texas, where mosquito gear: The secret ingredients of successful birders.
numbers may be life threatening, head nets or commercial
“bug shirts” that are fitted with head nets can make the Pete Dunne is New Jersey Audubon’s birding ambassador at
difference between a good day afield and a miserable one. large, the founder of the World Series of Birding, and the
Biting flies? Jeans and a long-sleeve shirt work for most author or co-author of many books, including Gulls
varieties. Only a fool wears shorts in greenhead-fly country, Simplified, Birds of Prey, Hawks in Flight, and The Art of
and jeans that are washed thin offer little protection. Pishing. And he writes our regular “Birder at Large” column.

Order your Santa Cruz County Wildlife Watch Guide at

www.SantaCruz.org or 800-833-3494

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 17
 H oliday
GIFT
GUIDE
Looking for cameras, binoculars, outerwear, or other birding gear?
Start with this selection of products that we like.
BY MATT MENDENHALL

safe to say that very few people who are new to here that would be perfect for a friend — or yourself!

IT’S birdwatching own high-quality optics or

other top-of-the-line outdoor gear when
they’re starting out. But as you get more and more into this
The prices listed are suggested by the manufacturers. You
shouldn’t have trouble finding them on sale for less. I will also
note a sentiment that we’ve repeated several times over the
hobby/sport/obsession, you’ll probably decide a few upgrades years: No one product will work for all birders. Just as
are in order. raincoats and hiking boots come in a variety of shapes, sizes,
Luka Hercigonja/Shutterstock

With that in mind, as well as the upcoming holiday season, and colors, so too do optical products. That’s why we always
I’ve rounded up a number of items that you might want to advise buyers to try out binoculars, scopes, cameras, tripods,
check out. On the pages that follow, you’ll find cameras, and related gear if at all possible before making a purchase.
binoculars, spotting scopes, outerwear, and a few other pieces Here’s to finding a perfect fit for whatever you might be
of gear at various price points. Perhaps you’ll find something shopping for! And happy holidays!

18 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 CAMERAS

Canon / usa.canon.com Sony / sony.com Sony / sony.com

This DSLR features a 65-point autofocus system A full-frame mirrorless camera with a 24.2- An all-in-one compact with a 25x zoom lens.
(with compatible lenses), allowing photographers megapixel stacked CMOS sensor. It makes 60 Approximately 20.1 megapixels and a
to track fast-moving objects. AF/AE tracking calculations per second. phase-detection AF CMOS sensor.
Max frame rate: 10 fps Max frame rate: 20 fps Max frame rate: 24 fps
List price: $1,799 List price: $4,499.99 List price: $1,699.99

Nikon / nikonusa.com Olympus / getolympus.com Fujifilm / fujifilmusa.com

This DSLR can create 45.7-megapixel stills, and This 20.4-MP Micro Four Thirds can shoot up to This mirrorless digital camera includes in-body
it offers a silent shooting mode when using its 18 fps with continuous AF tracking using its image stabilization and a unique focus algorithm
electronic shutter. electronic shutter or 60 fps with focus locked. that keeps track of your subject.
Max frame rate: 9 fps at full resolution Max frame rate: 60 fps Max frame rate: 14 fps
List price: $3,299 List price: $1,599 List price: $1,899

Sony / sony.com Canon / usa.canon.com Nikon / nikonusa.com

A 24.2-MP model that can shoot at up to 11 This model features an optical viewfinder with a This new mirrorless camera has a 45.7-MP
frames per second. Its Eye AF technology 45-point all cross-type AF system to help enable image sensor and integrates with Nikon’s DSLR
focuses on and tracks your subject’s eye. more precise focusing and a 24.2-MP sensor. system, including NIKKOR lenses.
Max frame rate: 11 fps Max frame rate: 6 fps Max frame rate: 9 fps
List price: $1,099 List price: $749.99 List price: $3,399.95

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 19
BINOCULARS

Kowa / kowa-usa.com Leica / us.leica-camera.com

Four XD lenses are utilized in the objective This new binocular offers a bright image
end of this binocular, significantly reducing well into dusk. The Noctivid combines
chromatic aberration and providing high extremely sharp images, stray-light
contrast in the image. suppression, and light transmission.
Field of view: 420 ft. at 1,000 yards Field of view: 443 ft. at 1,000 yards
Close focus: 5 ft. Close focus: 6.2 ft.
Weight: 20.8 oz. Weight: 30.3 oz.
List price: $1,150 List price: $2,749

Wingspan / wingspanoptics.com
Zeiss / zeiss.com/sport-optics/en_us
The ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) glass in this
This high-end glass delivers an outstanding
binocular prevents or reduces chromatic
field of view. Zeiss incorporates a new
aberration, which causes color fringing.
smart focus (SF) concept to allow rapid
The result: a cleaner and brighter image.
focus on fast-moving or distant wildlife.
Field of view: 420 ft. at 1,000 yards
Field of view: 444 ft. at 1,000 yards
Close focus: 6.5 ft.
Close focus: 5 ft.
Weight: 27 oz.
Weight: 27.5 oz.
List price: $279.99
List price: $2,849.99

Zeiss / zeiss.com/sport-optics/en_us Vortex / vortexoptics.com

Lightweight and compact, this model is Rugged construction and a compact size
great for hiking in difficult terrain, and it’s enclose High-Density, extra-low dispersion
excellent for getting up-close looks at glass, providing impressive resolution and
butterflies and dragonflies. color fidelity in images.
Field of view: 420 ft. at 1,000 yards Field of view: 409 ft. at 1,000 yards
Close focus: 4.9 ft. Close focus: 6.5 ft.
Weight: 22.2 oz. Weight: 24.5 oz.
List price: $899.99 List price: $639.99

Swarovski / swarovskioptik.com Opticron / opticronusa.com

This compact model measures just
This binocular’s large field of view and
4.7x4.5" and weighs only 16 ounces. It
optics provide edge-to-edge sharpness,
features fully multi-coated ED glass and
and the 4.9 mm exit pupils produce bright
BAK 4 phase-corrected prisms.
images in poor light conditions.
Field of view: 429 ft. at 1,000 yards
Field of view: 399 ft. at 1,000 yards
Close focus: 5.9 ft.
Close focus: 4.9 ft.
Weight: 16 oz.
Weight: 29.5 oz.
List price: $459
List price: $2,888

20 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 SPOTTING SCOPES

Kowa / kowa-usa.com
At 10.6 inches long, this scope can go anywhere. Its ultra low-
dispersion PROMINAR fluoride glass produces bright and clear
tack-sharp high-contrast images with accurate color rendition.
Field of view: 132 ft. / 69 ft. at 1,000 yards
Minimum focus distance: 9.8 ft.
Weight: 28.5 oz.
List price: $1,799

Swarovski / swarovskioptik.com
Fluoride-containing HD elements, the core of the ATS series spotting
scopes, efficiently transmit all wavelengths of visible light, resulting in
bright images, true colors, and rich details.
Field of view: 108 ft. / 60 ft. at 1,000 yards
Minimum focus distance: 9.8 ft.
Weight: 48.3 oz.
List price: $2,520

Vortex / vortexoptics.com
Advanced optical elements in this scope eliminate aberrations for
distortion-free, flat field images with unmatched edge-to-edge
sharpness, remarkable clarity, resolution, and color accuracy.
Field of view: 117 ft. / 68 ft. at 1,000 yards
Minimum focus distance: 16.4 ft.
Weight: 65.6 oz.
List price: $1,999.99

Zeiss / zeiss.com/sport-optics/en_us
This top-of-the-line scope institutes FL glass in the objective lens,
keeping the view free of chromatic aberration with outstanding color
fidelity. Compatible with a 22-65x eyepiece.
Field of view: 189.6 ft. / 63 ft. at 1,000 yards
Minimum focus distance: 11.4 ft.
Weight: 68.2 oz.
List price: $3,399.99

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 21
OUTERWEAR

Big Pockets / bigpockets.com

Designed by field birders, this vest features 12 pockets that can hold
small items, like a cell phone, notebook, or wallet, as well as large
items, including binoculars, field guide, and a tablet. Eight sizes
availble. Big Pockets also sells the 10-pocket Tropical Vest.
List price: $130-$140

Helly Hansen / hellyhansen.com

The medium-length Ardmore features a contemporary cut. It is
waterproof, windproof, and breathable and has a hood. The parka’s
light insulation adds that little bit of extra warmth, and paired with a
liner or insulator, it can withstand the cold of arctic winters.
List price: $185

Helly Hansen / hellyhansen.com

This is a new and contemporary version of the classic fisherman’s
raincoat. Sleek and fully windproof and waterproof, the Copenhagen
has an appealing urban design and is both comfortable and protective.
Full-stretch Helox+ fabric ensures full weather protection and freedom
of movement. Shown in black; also available in blue and yellow.
List price: $200

Lowa Boots / lowaboots.com

A mid-size hiking boot that is Lowa’s best-selling style. Its full-length
stabilizer provides steadiness and support underfoot. The boot has an
easy, accommodating fit and is available in a variety of colors. Men’s
sizes also available.
List price: $230

22 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 OTHER GEAR

Old Town / oldtowncanoe.com Gitzo / manfrotto.us

This line of kayaks, available in three sizes, The new GHFG1 Fluid Gimbal Head is ideal
offers a seat with an ergonomically for wildlife photography and birdwatching,
designed backrest, a slide-away day hatch especially for extensive observation,
(accessed inside the cockpit), and a phone because it permits perfect balance and fast
cradle, among other features that make for movements, even with a heavy scope or
a memorable day on the water. camera and lens.
List price: $1,299, $1,349, or $1,399 List price: $499.99

Gitzo / manfrotto.us
Manfrotto / manfrotto.us
This camera backpack holds a
pro-size camera with up to a This tripod is designed to hold up
400mm telephoto lens attached. to 22 pounds of equipment. The
Includes external tripod leg-angle selector can be used
connections and compartments smoothly by both right- and
for a laptop and a tablet. left-handed users.

List price: $249.99 List price: $389.99

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w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 23
 CLAIMING A SPOT: While our native
Carolina Parakeet, depicted by
Audubon on the opposite page, is
long extinct, Red-masked
Parakeets and other members of
the parrot family are here to stay.

24 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
Thousands of free-flying parrots of more than 20 species are
challenging the way we think about invasive and native birds
– and even ornithological history
STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHARLES BERGMAN
 READY TO GO: Red-crowned Parrots
await release from rehabbers in
San Diego. Below, a Red-masked
Parakeet and a Red-crowned Parrot
squabble over a nest.

Josh Bridwell laughs. He and his wife, Brooke Durham, run It’s clear, from the celebrity reception Durham and
SoCal Parrot, a wild-parrot rescue in San Diego. Durham is in Bridwell get at the parking garage, that attitudes toward the
the passenger seat of the SUV. In the back are several dog parrots are changing. They’ve certainly found advocates and
carriers. But we’re not carrying dogs. We’ve got parrots, we’re unprecedented attention.
driving down a strip mall, and they’re on their way to freedom.
It’s an unlikely place to find parrots, which in popular ◆◆◆
culture are often associated with the tropical good life of palm
trees and sunsets. The birds will join a big flock in a decidedly If you’re lucky enough to visit Kimball Garrett in his office,
urban environment — El Cajon, a community in San Diego. the first thing you’ll see, in a wilderness of books and stacked
“Hard to say what the parrots like about this,” Brooke papers, is a huge reproduction of the famous John James
laughs. “But we have about 500 of them living in this town.” Audubon painting of the Carolina Parakeet. It rests cock-
We turn into a parking garage, spiral up to the top floor, eyed and precarious on piles of paper. It’s one of Audubon’s
open to the sky, and find a spot. Somehow it seems right that finest paintings. Eight Carolina Parakeets swirl on the page,
we’re at the town courthouse. A small army of volunteers and exciting a sense of energy and action, a churn of yellow heads
onlookers has already gathered. They’re here to help, or and green bodies. Audubon himself referred to them as
watch, Durham and Bridwell release rehabilitated parrots “astonishing fits of nature” — the representation of high-
into the wild. Technically it’s illegal. strung, at times frenetic, psittacine energy.
There’s a touch of wild defiance in this gesture on behalf The extinction of the Carolina Parakeet was one of
of parrots. Durham has her own wild flare — with dyed America’s most famous. The last known bird, which was
dreadlocks and a parrot tattoo on her forearm. And enough named Incas, died on February 21, 1918, in the Cincinnati
charisma to draw an enthusiastic crowd of parrot fans to Zoo, in the same cage as Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon,
the event. which died in 1914.
It’s more accurate to say that these releases — this is the In Audubon’s painting, one parakeet turns toward us. You
third one — have helped draw attention to the many might almost believe it is set to fly off the page, out of
thousands of wild, introduced parrots in the United States. extinction, and into our modern lives. I had come to
“I just want to give the parrots a chance at a good life,” Garrett’s office for help in finding a nest of parakeets in Los
she says. Angeles. I had not expected to come away feeling that I’d
Long ignored and largely unstudied, the wild parrots of encountered a “return” of parakeets.
America are not your typical tropical parrots. Durham and Garrett manages the ornithology collection at the Natural
Bridwell are challenging us to re-think our views of History Museum of Los Angeles County, in the heart of the
psittacines in America. With growing recognition of their city. He’s considered one of the best birders in Southern
numbers have come calls for more study and development of California and the most knowledgeable person in the state
management plans. Their presence raises important on California’s parrots.
questions about invasive species, endangered species, even “That’s not really saying much,” he tells me. “There’s been
the history of parrots in the United States. very little work done on the introduced parrots. Very few

26 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
studies. There has just not been a reward for biologists to They are the birds of the urban wild. The significance of the
take them on.” birds’ dependence on urban environments and human
With a graying beard, flannel shirt, and binoculars — plantings can’t be overstated. It means, in a word, they are
always binoculars — Garrett almost disappears in his office not “invasive.”
clutter. He tells me it should be easy to find parakeet nests in They do not compete with or displace native
Los Angeles. We get in my rental car, and within five minutes California birds.
we turn into the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery. It’s like driving Invasive species do damage, often to native fauna. Not the
into a scene of a Jack Nicholson movie about old Los Angeles. wild parrots. The language of invasive and alien species, with
Mockingbirds sing from aging Chinese elms. Anna’s its vaguely military connotations, does not apply. Finding the
Hummingbirds try for nectar out of plastic flowers left on right words is important. They have been called invasive, feral,
grave stones. And a pair of bluebirds brings grubs to their introduced, non-native. Garrett uses “naturalized.”
babies in a small cavity on a leafless tree. Back in his office, Garrett asks if I’d like to see his lone skin
In just a few minutes, Garrett has seen four parakeets in the of a Carolina Parakeet. “Of course,” I say without hesitation.
elm with the mockingbird. I turn to see a green blur vanish in He pulls a stiff, flat-backed bird out of a white drawer.
the cut fronds of a huge palm. Minutes later, two green flashes Extinction may be forever, and the Carolina Parakeet is dead
leave the fronds — a pair of parakeets at the nest. and gone. But I could not help but feel that its legacy is not
“Yellow-chevroned Parakeets,” Garrett says. “Very entirely dead. After decades of benign neglect, we’re realizing
widespread in the Los Angeles Basin. There are thousands of that parrots and parakeets have returned to the United States,
them and as many White-winged Parakeets. They are rising as if from the dead, for me, in a cemetery in Los Angeles.
starting to hybridize.”
These parakeets are one of the most abundant of ◆◆◆
California’s 13 species of wild psittacines — the family that
includes parrots, macaws, Amazons, conures, parakeets, “To be clear,” Stephen Pruett-Jones says, “I haven’t seen a
cockatoos, cockatiels, and budgies. Monk Parakeet in six months.”
No one has done a census of them, though Garrett has just For 30 years, he has taught and conducted research in the
published an article in Western Birds on the “introduced” evolution and ecology program at the University of Chicago. His
species in California. The various flocks of parrots in principle research is on Fairy Wrens in Australia. But he has
California have been around since the 1950s and are published on the Monk Parakeets of Cook County, Illinois, and
populated by or descended from parrots that escaped the pet that makes him, despite the disclaimer, an expert on naturalized
trade — legal and illegal. Back then, tens of thousands of parrots. He’s even working on a book about naturalized parrots
wild-caught birds were being imported each year. in the United States. According to Pruett-Jones, 75 species of
Scientists use a variety of criteria to determine if a species parrots were introduced into this country through the pet trade.
should be included on the official list of a region’s avifauna, Of those, 31 are still regularly seen.
whether local, federal, the American Birding Association, or And of those, 23 species are nesting successfully here.
the American Ornithological Society. They all include “That’s unique,” he says. “No other family of
successful nesting and whether the population is birds has so many introduced species
self-sustaining. nesting successfully. It’s a big deal.”
“Only one so far has been placed on the official Monk Parakeets are a case study. You
list of California’s avifauna — the Red-crowned won’t find anyone who has tried to count
Parrot,” says Garrett, who serves on one the population of Monk Parakeets. “They
such committee. The other 12 remain are the most abundant and widespread of the
in a kind of twilight zone, present but parrots in the United States,” Pruett-Jones says.
not acknowledged.
“I’m pretty sure most, if not all,
would qualify,” he adds.
That’s important because
that would make them eligible
for resources
and protection.
Paradoxically, the
parrots are wild but
intimately associated with
humans. They are urban birds, relying
on plants and trees that are not native
to California.
 For no apparent reason,
other than to entertain
A LIGHT TOUCH: Ornithologist Kimball
itself, one of the conures
Garrett of the Natural History Museum
does a full 360-degree spin
of Los Angeles County holds one of his
on a bare branch. You could
institution’s many parrot specimens.
hear the birds gurgle to each
other. They touch beaks and
turn toward the two
Red-crowned Parrots
— a psittacine stare-down.
“There are probably
multiple chambers in that
nest,” Lesley Handa tells me.
We’re here to see the birds
she is dedicated to. An
independent researcher, she
is “keeping an eye” on these
parrots to have an idea of the
population dynamics over
time. It’s informal, really.
Her main project, she tells
me, is waterbirds in San
Diego. “I like birds no one
else likes.”
That made these parrots
ideal objects for her
affection. She has brought
me to see an amazing scene.
Parrots are everywhere in
“They are considered ‘agricultural pests’ in their native the charming beach town: in trees, flying between trees,
Argentina. But there are virtually no studies here of breeding, hanging from palm fronds, flying overhead. Every palm on
flock size, foraging behavior — their biology and ecology.” He Niagara Avenue in Ocean Beach is occupied. There must be
published a 40-year perspective on the Monk Parakeets in more than 500 of the birds in this community, and they give
Chicago. “Their numbers grew exponentially over time,” he every indication that they are here to stay. A pair of parrots
says, estimating their population at 15,000 to 20,000. emerges from a cavity a block away, looking still groggy from
“It’s a controversial bird,” he says, “and that’s a big number sleeping in. Another small group flies from one palm across an
to go unstudied, for a species with a big potential for damage. intersection and adorns a small shrub in front of a house.
They are famous for building enormous nests on power lines. One of the parrots on the bank eaves leaps upward and
In one five-month period in 2001 in Florida, 198 Monk locks onto a long-dead frond sticking from the palm. The
Parakeet nests collapsed on power lines. second bird flies up on labored wings and disappears on the
“Some people want to kill them,” he says, “and some far side of the fronds. The counterattack to re-take the cavity
people love them.” has begun.
You can take tours of Monk Parakeet roosting sites in “People tend to turn their noses up at these parrots,”
Chicago. People feed them in their backyards. And Handa says. “Like they don’t belong here.”
supporters of Monk Parakeets have introduced bills to That has not stopped the parrots from moving in, taking
protect them in New York and New Jersey. over every palm in sight, and settling in, noisy and colorful.
Wild or naturalized parrots in America are, says We are at the epicenter of one of the largest colonies of
Pruett-Jones, “a lot like coyotes. They provoke a wide naturalized parrots in California and perhaps in the country.
range of emotional reactions people have toward animals This single tree illustrates the big issue with these wild
— a contradictory and divergent range.” parrots. At its base is painted a white X. The tree is dying,
and the city scheduled it for removal. But the people of Ocean
◆◆◆ Beach mounted a successful campaign to save the nest tree
for the parrots.
Two Red-crowned Parrots are hunkered on the eaves of the Attitudes seem to be changing. People have grown to love
local Union Bank, keeping a careful eye on a dying date-nut the parrots. Over and over again, people stopped to ask what
palm tree just across the sidewalk. Their eyes are alert, fixed I was photographing. I’d point out the parrots, and the
on two Red-masked Conures, smaller birds with long tails, common response was: “awesome.”
shining green plumage, and red faces. The conures occupy the Nevertheless, the parrots raise complex conservation
entrance to an enormous cavity in a palm tree. questions. In Texas, for example, a flock of about 680

28 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
MAKING ITSELF AT HOME: A Yellow-chevroned
Parakeet hangs from a palm frond before
entering its nest in L.A. The species is native
from Brazil to northern Argentina.

Red-crowned Parrots has established itself in the Rio Grande Audubon’s description of parrots as “astonishing fits of
Valley on the border with Mexico. Simon Kiacz, a graduate nature” certainly seems apt.
student at Texas A&M University, is part of a team studying As I watch, a woman approaches. She lives in the house
them — the Tejano Parrot Project. fronting the nest. “We love these birds,” she says. She
In Mexico, the species is endangered, but more Red- describes saving the tree. “These parrots may not be
crowned Parrots are in the United States than in their native indigenous to here,” she says. “But they are a part of us here.”
Mexico. “That creates a weird circumstance of having more
of these Amazons in the U.S. than in their native land, ◆◆◆
Mexico,” Kiacz says. (Birds in the genus Amazona, including
Red-crowned Parrot, are collectively known as Amazons.) In El Cajon, Brooke Durham and Josh Bridwell supervise a
In the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, only a few successful release. When the doors open, the 38 Red-crowned
hundred survive. Parrots waste no time launching into flight. In mere seconds,
Texas Parks and Wildlife has already declared the parrot a they mingle among the flying birds and merge with the flock
“native,” and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering — the mark of success.
listing it as endangered in the United States. Durham is a leading member of a group of advocates for
If declared endangered, the parrots would be in a fairly these “newly native” birds. As the birds leave, she tells me
unique situation. Very few endangered species are backyard that in Texas, the Red-crowned may have been a native
birds, as these parrots are. People will no longer be able to species. As researchers track down records, they’ve found
trim palms if parrots nest in them. Parties in the backyard? reports of parrots in the state from the late 1800s. In Mexico,
Not possible if they might disturb nesting parrots. they live about 150 miles or so from the border, so it’s not
Additionally, the parrots are important to the South Texas far-fetched to think they were native to the U.S.
economy. There’s an annual parrot festival. Tour buses take If confirmed, this would be big news, because it would
people to the roost sites, 60 people in a bus. Photographers revise the commonly accepted knowledge that only two
come to take their photos. parrot species were native to the United States — the extinct
On top of all this, Kiacz knows that poachers take chicks Carolina Parakeet and the extirpated Thick-billed Parrot.
from parrot nests. Young birds are showing up in local Perhaps one day we’ll have an answer. For now, whether the
markets — enough to make it a high concern. birds that took off from the top of a parking garage are native
“Listing will create real dilemmas,” Kiacz notes. or not, they’re free among the wild parrots of America.
Meanwhile, in Ocean Beach, the Red-masked Conures are
dive bombing the Red-crowned Parrots. Suddenly, it’s an Charles Bergman is a professor of English at Pacific Lutheran
all-out dogfight in the sky. The parrots are bigger but no University and a frequent contributor to BirdWatching. In
match for the speed and maneuverability of the conures. The past issues, he has written about penguins, Vaux’s Swift, Red
faster conures prevail, and the parrots retreat to the bank. Crossbill, Spotted and Barred Owls, and Tufted Puffin. His
The conures return to the nest and preen each other. most recent book is A Penguin Told Me a Secret.

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 29
OUT OF THE DARK: Sometimes, your only
view of a bird is a silhouette, which can be
frustrating for new birders. With
experience, your ID skills will improve and
you’ll realize that this is a Brown Creeper.
 When nature throws
U R V E B A L L
C S
Improve your bird-ID skills with these strategies for dealing with
weather, poor light, and other obstacles to clear views of birds

BY MAEVE KIM

W When we look at field guides, the

birds are SO easy to identify. We can
see every characteristic, every field
mark: the heavy stripes on a female
Rose-breasted Grosbeak’s head, the
Then there’s Weather. We who love
birding go birding a lot. We go birding
on beautiful sunlit days when the sky is
a pure blue and there’s almost no breeze
and every single thing is crisp and
birds seen as silhouettes only — no
colors, no wing bars, no tail bars, no
eyebrows, nothing but black. I’ve been
lucky enough to see and hear several
Elegant Trogons on trips to southeastern
blotchy dark spot in the Song Sparrow’s clear, every color strong and true. Arizona. But trogons like forests, and
breast, the two-tone bill of an We also go birding when it’s forests are dark, so most of my views
American Tree Sparrow. overcast. When it’s misty. When it’s have been recognizable (and exciting)
But when we’re out in nature, often, downright foggy. but not really great looks at these
SO often, something gets in the way. We go birding when storms are beautiful birds.
Something keeps us from seeing what coming. When it’s raining, sleeting, Bird identification can be tricky in
we really want to see. So often, so VERY snowing. When it’s so cold that we have bright light, too. Once I saw a large
often, nature throws us curve balls. trouble making our fingers work to soaring raptor with a white head. It had
Here are just a few of those curve focus our binoculars. We go birding a dark tail, and its wings were held in a
balls: distance, weather, poor light, when the wind is so fierce we can barely slight V. It turned out to be a Turkey
movement, impediments, and keep our scopes or binoculars trained Vulture, its shiny featherless head
contortions. How do we deal with them? on a barn, much less a little bird. showing white in the strong sunlight.
Let me explain. We bird when it’s so hot that heat Now let’s consider Movement. Here’s
Let’s start with Distance. We see a shimmer blurs the edges and lines of a true fact about birds (at least most of
distant white dot. It could be an egret. everything we see. We even bird where them): They fly!
Or a Snow Goose. A gull? Or maybe a wild fires burned just yesterday and Birds don’t see a human coming,
Lisa Cardoza Routh/Shutterstock

rarity here in Vermont, like a white when nearby fires are still filling the air notice the binoculars, and muse, “It
morph Great Blue Heron or even an with smoke and obscuring the landscape. would be really kind if I just stayed
immature Little Blue Heron. And that brings us to Poor Light. I right here and let that birder get a good
Or a white plastic shopping bag. think all of us have been frustrated by long look.” No. They see us coming and

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 31
 BIRDS TO FIND: Birders don’t let snowstorms or other
weather events stop them from going birding.

fluffy mass of feathers, like a giant’s

Nature almost never just feather duster. The duster was twirling
and whirling, sending out a spray of
water droplets. It was a Swainson’s

plops a bird in front of us Hawk, bathing in the mist from an

agricultural irrigator. The hawk ducked
its head into the mist, spread its wings,
shook itself into a whirling ball — and
they take off. Warbler — sort of. Somewhere in the then finally settled down to enjoy the
In one of Pete Dunne’s wonderful beautiful, dense tree is the warbler. I glow from a good bath.
talks, he imagined various features that know it’s there! I was looking at it for a The dabbling behavior of puddle ducks
we might see on our optics in the future. very exciting five minutes before finally is another common contortion. Their
One such feature was a little button that, raising my camera. butts are often the first we see of them.
when pushed, would show what was on Leaves and branches not only hide And there are other weird
that branch five seconds earlier. I’m still birds. They sometimes become birds. I contortions. One summer day, I came
waiting — eagerly! have seen an extraordinary number of upon 15 Barn Swallows lying on gravel,
Every so often, though, the fact that a foliage birds in my life. Once I was some on their sides, some almost on
bird flies tells us all we need to know. hiking with a group in New Hampshire’s their backs. Had there been some
Willets might possibly be confused with White Mountains, much too far up a horrible poisoning event? A plague? No.
some other shorebirds when they’re seen mountain to see a Great Egret, but I did. I The birds were sunning, inviting the hot
at a distance or in fading light — but the excitedly called everyone’s attention to it. summer sun to bake their bellies.
instant that a Willet spreads its wings, it Everyone stopped hiking and turned and (Ornithologists believe that birds might
can be nothing but a Willet. looked intently — at a birch branch, take sunbaths to bake mites and other
Impediments: Another true fact about stuck in the mud beside a tiny pool. parasites, and/or they might like the
birds: A large percentage of them hang Contortions: Nature has another feeling of sun on areas where they’ve just
kritskaya/Shutterstock

out where there is foliage. And branches. curve ball to throw at birders: lost feathers due to molt.)
Lots of foliage and branches, perfectly contorted birds.
designed for getting in our way. While birding in southeastern MORE CURVE BALLS
I have a photo of my lifer Red-faced Oregon, I was flummoxed by a fat, And there are still more curve balls to

32 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
quick and easy identification. feathers or sometimes none at all. And hybrids! Hybrids are a really
For starters, there’s sexual And then nature throws in melanism nasty curve ball that nature throws us.
dimorphism: In many species, males (unusual amounts of dark And, on top of all that, other things
and females look different. pigmentation), leucism (unusual absence get in the way of birding.
And many (most?) birds look of dark), albinism (rare in the bird Nature almost never just plops a bird
different at different ages. Gulls are world), xanthochromism (when red in front of us, with nothing in the way,
notorious for the many different birds are orange or yellow) and with limitless time to sit there and gaze,
plumages they show at different stages in erythrism (when individual birds seem and with nothing else around to
their development from chicks to mature more red or rufous-colored than most distract us.
birds. And those confusing fall warblers others of their species). There’s a lot of stuff in nature, and
can baffle even long-time birders. And, to make it even more birders’ innate interest in nature means
Even woodpeckers change as they complicated, there are also individual, that we can lose our focus on birds and
age. In juvenile Hairy and Downy males, idiosyncratic differences. Adult male start looking at something else. Our eyes
the red patch is on the crown, directly Red-winged Blackbirds are among the follow butterflies or dragonflies. Or we
above the eyes. In mature birds, it’s on most easily recognized birds. We all find ourselves bent over, staring down at
the back of the head, above the nape. know that they have that diagnostic a red-bellied snake, our binoculars
And then there’s molt. Birds have to epaulet, the shoulder patch of red, then momentarily forgotten.
change their feathers from time to time. yellow and often paler yellow. But I had a Nature even throws in human
Feathers, once they’re fully developed, bird at my feeder one spring that had the peculiarities to distract us. On one
are “dead,” like our hair or our epaulet plus an additional red mark memorable occasion, several of us were
fingernails, so they can’t repair closer to his head! transfixed by the sight of a man wading
themselves when they get old or And then there are vagrants: birds far out into Lake Champlain, carrying a
damaged. Northern Cardinals and Blue that end up hundreds or even thousands bright red stepladder. Birding stuttered
Jays go through one complete molt a of miles away from the normal to a halt. Binoculars were lowered.
year, in late summer. We sometimes see migration route for their species or from Brows were furrowed. Instead of
a bird that’s right in the middle of the where most members of their species go commenting on the handsome Bald
process, with very few head or neck to breed. Eagle in a nearby tree, people were

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 33
SEEDING YOUR ID SKILLS: Maintain a bird
feeder and you’ll not only feed your
feathered neighbors, like this female
Northern Cardinal, but you’ll also learn the
common birds of your area.

making guesses about what the man was First, we’re less apt to be struck out by on a good view of its plumage for
doing: Was it some sort of performance nature’s curve balls if we really know identification. Thinking of the bird’s
art? Someone making a YouTube video? what common birds look like. One great characteristic behavior would have
We all watched as the man waded way to learn the common birds is to have helped me know immediately what I was
back to shore, leaving the ladder a backyard feeding station. Backyard seeing, even without seeing the black-
standing out in 5 feet of water. We all feeders provide us with great and-white field marks.
watched, open-mouthed, as the ladder opportunities to see birds up close, day We can bird the habitat. To help your
slowly teetered, and tipped, and teetered after day, from different angles, in mind discard the improbable, know in
again, and then toppled over and various weather conditions, at different advance what birds are likely to be where
disappeared below the water. times of day — to really study birds. you’re birding. That way, if you catch just
Our birders’ ears, keenly attuned to We can also learn bird behavior. Once a glimpse of a smallish chicken-shaped
the faint sounds of distant warblers, had during the Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas, bird with big feet, and you’re in a cattail
no difficulty at all catching every one of I saw a small bird creeping up the fat marsh, you’ll be able to sort quickly
a long and colorful stream of cuss words. trunk of a tree near a beaver pond. It was through the usual suspects and come up
We couldn’t get back to birding until in deep shadow, but I was sure I could with a possible Sora. Your brain won’t
two of our party walked over to the irate see some sort of pattern of dark and light waste time considering prairie-chickens
gentleman and found out that he was on its back, so it wasn’t a Brown Creeper. and Spruce Grouse and every other
preparing to build a duck-hunting blind, Then the bird moved into the sun and chicken-shaped bird.
and, yes, he was going to have to go back revealed itself as a Black-and-white And when we’re traveling, we can
out there and feel around under the water Warbler. I’d seen and quickly identified bird with locals. There’s a real thrill in
and find his blankety-blank ladder. Black-and-white Warblers many times, birding alone in a far-away place, but it’s
Karl R. Martin/Shutterstock

and I’d seen them walking along also rewarding and instructive to go out
SOLUTIONS branches and trunks, but for some and about with local birders. They know
When nature throws curve balls, what reason I was hung up on field marks the birds that are common in their area.
can we birders do? rather than behavior. I was still relying They know the habitat. They know bird

34 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 song and bird behavior so they can UNMISTAKABLE: In sunny situations,
locate, identify, and share with you Black-and-white Warbler is easy to ID,
quickly. (To find a local birder for but in shadows, its characteristic
your next trip, visit www. tree-creeping behavior should be a
birdingpal.org.) great clue to its identity.
We can bird with eyes and ears.
This is a given. The more
information we can gather, the
better we know what’s around us in
nature. There’s a huge range of
abilities for hearing sounds in the
first place and then recognizing
them, but just about every birder
will be a better birder the more he or
she pays attention to songs and calls.
Another strategy is to bird with
your camera. Some people don’t
even carry binoculars when they’re
out in the field. They photograph
every single thing they see — every
quick movement, every partially
hidden bird, every distant speck.
They don’t even worry about
identification until they get home
and sit down and study their
pictures on a computer screen.
We can use strategies to help
our memory, like sketching or
taking notes or even talking to
ourselves aloud when we’re
birding, reciting every detail of
what we’re looking at. Any of these
methods helps us focus on details
and then helps cement what we’ve
seen in our minds. (If you’re
energetically conversing with
yourself aloud and someone looks
at you askance, just say that you’ve
got a tiny microphone under your
collar. Many birders actually do
carry little microphones Slow birding is to much of our
and recorders.) birding as slow food is to fast
STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH
Sketching and notetaking food: richer, more diverse, and NATURE’S CURVE BALLS
make us slow down, and it’s more nourishing.
amazing what we can see when we And here’s one more strategy • Know what common birds look like.
take it slow. The five-year – and this is my favorite: • Learn bird behavior.
Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas work GO BIRDING A LOT!! • Bird the habitat.
changed my birding style. It was You won’t always deal
• Bird with locals.
my job when I was birding one of successfully with nature’s curve
my two atlas blocks to notice balls, but you’ll enjoy your time in • Bird with eyes and ears.
behavior that would document the field so much that you won’t • Try birding with your camera.
breeding, so I had to pay more care! • Sketch.
attention to what birds were doing
• Take copious notes.
rather than just noting what Maeve Kim is a birder, bird guide,
and teacher of classes on birding and • Talk aloud to yourself.
species were in the area. Now I’m a
RRuntsch/Shutterstock

real advocate of slow birding. nature. She has written several • Slow down.
When we slow down, birds and articles and two novels. In her latest • GO BIRDING A LOT!!
other animals come out and show book, Ivy’s Optics, every character is
us the activities of their daily lives. either a birder or a bird.

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 35
BOOKSHELF

A father-son Big Year, a master’s hummingbird art, an up-close look

at ravens, and more compelling new titles
BY MATT MENDENHALL

Book publishers continue to bring out lots of notable and giving away a couple of these books to lucky winners who sign
useful titles aimed at birdwatchers. It’s both challenging and up on our website. Click “Magazine” and then “Contests” to
fun to try to keep up with them all! learn how to sign up.
On the following pages, we highlight 10 books that have As I plan our book coverage in 2019, I’d like to know what
been published in 2018, covering bird art, species discoveries, you think: Do you like learning about new books? What should
trees, and conservation. In the coming months, we will be we change? Let me know at mail@birdwatchingdaily.com.

Birds New To Science: 50 Years of Avian Discoveries

By David Brewer
Christopher Helm/Bloomsbury, 2018, hardcover, 416 pages, $60

In the September/October issue of BirdWatching, our cover story

about the world’s top listers mentioned that in 1989, American
birder Peter Kaestner discovered a new antpitta species in
Colombia. That bird is one of 288 species featured in this book,
which highlights all bird species described to science since 1960.
The birds, of course, are fascinating. Brazil’s gorgeous Araripe
Manakin is here, as are five hawk-owl species from Southeast Asia,
the well-named Bare-faced Bulbul of Laos, two giant albatrosses
(Antipodean and Amsterdam), the stunning Okinawa Rail, and
the Pardusco, an endemic songbird of Peru that is placed in its own
genus. The text for each species includes notes on its appearance,
habitat, voice, range, breeding, and other details, but often the best
part is the story of the bird’s discovery. Kudos to author David
Brewer for including these stories, which shed light on the
painstaking work of ornithologists.

36 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 Around the World in 80 Trees
By Jonathan Drori, illustrations by Lucille Clerc
Laurence King Publishing, 2018, hardcover, 256 pages, $24.99

Jonathan Drori, a trustee of the Eden Project and an ambassador

for the Worldwide Fund for Nature, gives us a tour of trees from
around the world in this beautifully illustrated book. He weaves
accessible and up-to-date plant science with folklore and history to
show how trees play a role in human lives, as well as those of birds
and other wildlife. His subjects include familiar species like the
sugar maple to exotic trees, including Australia’s Wollemi pine.

The Delightful Horror of Family Birding: Sharing

Nature with the Next Generation
By Eli J. Knapp
Torrey House Press, 2018, paperback, 276 pages, $16.95

In this fun collection of essays, avid birder Eli Knapp, a professor

of intercultural studies and biology at Houghton College, tells
engaging stories about birds and birding, from Ecuador to
Tanzania to the U.S. He writes about his students and his children
and their interactions with birds, and he explores deeper questions
about our relationship with nature and why we bird.

The Family of Hummingbirds: The Complete Prints

of John Gould
By Joel Oppenheimer and Laura Oppenheimer
Rizzoli Electa, 2018, hardcover, 304 pages, $65

John Gould, a 19th-century English ornithologist and bird artist,

had a particular interest in hummingbirds. Who can blame him?
This stunning volume features his superbly detailed hand-colored
lithographs of hundreds of species. Plus, authors Joel
Oppenheimer and Laura Oppenheimer tell the story of Gould’s
colorful life and place his work in the context of a period when the
exploration of science and the world’s natural wonders was at an
all-time high.

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 37
BOOKSHELF

The Life List of Adrian Mandrick

By Chris White
Touchstone, 2018, hardcover, 274 pages, $24.99

This novel, about a pill-popping anesthesiologist and avid birder

who embarks on a quest to find the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in
the Florida Panhandle, explores how our obsessions can cost us.
Although this is a work of fiction, author Chris White, an award-
winning playwright and screenwriter, also offers an urgent
message to protect wildlife and the environment through the
Ivory-bill’s story.

Mortal Entanglements: Conserving Birds

in Britain and Germany
By Stefan Bargheer
University of Chicago Press, 2018, paperback, 326 pages, $35

This important book about the history of bird conservation in

Europe has lessons for a North American audience. The author’s
central question considers how values change over time and how
individuals develop moral commitments. Using life-history data
derived from written narratives and oral histories, he follows the
development of conservation from the late 1700s to current efforts
in large-scale biodiversity conservation.

The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the

Tower of London
By Christopher Skaife
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018, hardcover, 256 pages, $26

The Tower of London is home to seven ravens, which have a special

place in British folklore. Legend has it that if a raven should ever
leave the tower, the kingdom will fall. And so, Christopher Skaife,
one of the former soldiers serving as a ceremonial guard, takes
care of the birds. He describes feeding them biscuits soaked in
blood and dealing with fox invasions and other misadventures.
And he sheds light on the ravens’ fascinating and complex
personalities and behaviors.

38 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 Urban Raptors: Ecology and Conservation
of Birds of Prey in Cities
Edited by Clint W. Boal and Cheryl R. Dykstra
Island Press, 2018, paperback, 232 pages, $40

A cutting-edge synthesis of over two decades of scientific research,

Urban Raptors is the first book to offer a complete overview of urban
ecosystems in the context of bird-of-prey ecology and conservation.
This comprehensive volume examines urban environments, explains
why some species adapt to urban areas but others do not, and
introduces modern research tools to help in the study of urban
raptors. And it covers the unique risks raptors face in urban areas.

The Wall of Birds

By Jane Kim with Thayer Walker; foreword by John W. Fitzpatrick
Harper Design, 2018, hardcover, 224 pages, $45

At 2,500 square feet, the Wall of Birds mural at the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology in Ithica, New York, is an epic work, created by renowned
artist Jane Kim over three years. It is the only mural in the world that
depicts representatives from all 243 families of modern birds. This
book is a tour of the mural and the amazing and beautiful birds it
celebrates. And Kim’s reflections tell of the evolutionary forces that
created birds’ dazzling variety of forms and colors.

Warblers & Woodpeckers: A Father-Son Big Year of Birding

By Sneed B. Collard III
Mountaineers Books, 2018, hardcover, 240 pages, $24.95

We never get tired of books about Big Years. Wild America, Kingbird
Highway, The Big Year, Birding Without Borders, and others are among the
most defining books in the birder’s world. Now, writer Sneed Collard offers
this gem to the genre: It’s the story of a Big Year he undertook with his
then-13-year-old son, Braden. The father-son bonding tale adds a new twist
to the task of traveling to various spots in search of birds. For Collard, the
adventure is in the journey and the feathered surprises along the way.

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 39
 idtips BY KENN KAUFMAN • PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIAN E. SMALL

Williamson’s Sapsucker
Black chest patch, What to look for
hard to see at
some angles
Female color pattern. Brown
Overall brown overall, heavily marked with
look and fairly narrow dark bars on back,
plain brown face wings, and sides.

Female underparts. Black

patch on chest and bright
yellow center of belly, often
hard to see.
Yellow on
center of
underparts Female flight pattern. White
Fine barring on back, rump is noticeable in light,
wings, and sides but unlike other sapsuckers,
lacks any white patch in wing.

Male color pattern. Mostly

black with white face stripes,
white wing patch and rump,
yellow belly.
White rump, visible
mainly in flight Juveniles. Young birds look
very similar to adults of the
same sex, so they pose no
additional ID challenge.

Williamson’s Sapsucker, adult female

June in Weber County, Utah

Many kinds of wildlife will sample head, and they were formerly lumped have appeared east to Louisiana and the
the sweet taste of tree sap when it’s into one species. But the fourth, Great Lakes, and one once was found
easily available. Various woodpeckers Williamson’s Sapsucker, is highly on Long Island, New York.
will occasionally drill into bark to get distinctive. A specialty of western So, although the species is extremely
access to the sap. But the four species of mountains, it is uncommon and elusive, rare east of the Great Plains, birders
sapsuckers of North America are a prize for birders. everywhere have reason to watch for it.
unique in their degree of specialization The breeding range of Williamson’s Even within its normal range,
on this resource, regularly drilling rows Sapsucker extends from southern Williamson’s Sapsucker can be hard to
of “sap wells” in trees and then British Columbia south to the find. Sapsuckers in general are often
returning to sip the sticky treat as it mountains of southern California, quiet and inconspicuous, but
oozes out. northern Baja, northern Arizona, and Williamson’s is also very uncommon
Three of the sapsuckers — Yellow- central New Mexico. It winters in the everywhere. It’s more specialized in
bellied, Red-naped, and Red-breasted southern part of this range and well habitat than other sapsuckers. Where
— are common and widespread, south into Mexico. At all seasons it its breeding range overlaps with those
collectively found from coast to coast. occurs mainly in the mountains, but a of Red-naped and Red-breasted
They are very close relatives, differing few show up at low elevations in Sapsuckers, those two may be found in
mainly in the amount of red on the migration and winter. Stray migrants coniferous, mixed, or deciduous forest,

40 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 At all seasons
Williamson’s Sapsucker
occurs mainly in the
mountains, but a few
show up at low elevations
in migration and winter.
Stray migrants have Nothing is really similar to the male
Williamson’s Sapsucker. Even other
appeared east to woodpeckers with a lot of black in
the plumage, such as Black-backed
Louisiana and the Great or Acorn Woodpeckers, are easily
Lakes, and one once was separated by a glance at face
pattern or wing pattern. Although it
found on Long Island, looks striking in pictures, the overall
New York. dark appearance of this bird helps to
make it inconspicuous in the shady
coniferous forest where it lives.
including pure stands of aspen or
Incidentally, young juvenile
cottonwood. Williamson’s, by contrast, Williamson’s Sapsuckers look very
is very strongly tied to conifers such as similar to adults of the same sex.
pine, fir, larch, and Douglas-fir. It’s also Juvenile males have the center of
more specialized in its diet. Other the throat white instead of red, but
sapsuckers are known to dig sap wells otherwise they look almost identical
in hundreds of species of trees and to adult males. Likewise, juvenile
Williamson’s Sapsucker, adult male females look like adult females, but
woody vines, but Williamson’s without the black patch in the center
Sapsuckers almost always tap pines or June in Weber County, Utah
of the chest.
other conifers.
Among North American
woodpeckers, Williamson’s Sapsucker
is unique in its degree of sexual
dimorphism (the difference in
appearance between the sexes). In most
woodpeckers, males and females differ
only in the amount of red or yellow on
the head. Male and female
Williamson’s are so different that they In three of the four sapsucker
might be assumed to be different species (including Williamson’s),
species (in fact, that has happened; see juveniles are essentially inished
with molting to irst-winter
sidebar on next page).
plumage by early fall, before they
Fortunately, these birds are not hard leave the breeding grounds.
to identify once you find them. The However, young Yellow-bellied
male, mostly black with bold accents of Sapsuckers complete the molt
white, yellow, and red, is not really much later, migrating south while
similar to any other species. The still mostly in juvenile plumage.
female, more cryptically patterned in These young birds might be
confused with the female
brown, might be confused with a few Williamson’s Sapsucker, as they
other things, but the images with this are very brown overall, with
column should provide enough buff-brown spangling on the back
information to make it recognizable. and some brown barring on the
sides. However, even young
juvenile Yellow-bellieds show some
of the pattern of white stripes on
Kenn Kaufman (www.kaufmanfieldguides.com) has
the face. And at all ages they show
written several books on birds and nature. Brian E. a major vertical white stripe on the
Small (www.briansmallphoto.com) is a nature wing; the female Williamson’s is
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, juvenile
photographer whose photos illustrate many books. the only sapsucker that lacks
October in Kern County, California
this mark.

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 41
 A double identity

Williamson’s Sapsucker was

described to science twice —
and for two decades, it was
classiied as two different
species. John Cassin described
the female in 1852, based on
specimens from California, under
the name Picus thyroideus. John
With its muted colors and intensely Newberry, taking part in an
irregular pattern of markings, this is expedition led by Lieutenant
probably the best-camouflaged
woodpecker in North America. Robert Williamson, collected a
Although Williamson’s Sapsuckers male in Oregon in 1855, and
will place their nests in the described it as Picus williamsonii.
pale-barked trunks of aspen trees,
like the one here, they do almost all
The Smithsonian’s Spencer Baird
their feeding on the dark trunks of later reclassiied both “species”
pines, irs, larches, and other in the genus Sphyrapicus, along
coniferous trees, where the female’s
with the other sapsuckers. But
pattern blends in especially well. As
seen in the photo on the previous because the male and female
spread, the adult female has a looked so different, no one
yellow center of the belly and a questioned the existence of
black patch on the chest — an early
name for the species was two species.
“Black-breasted Woodpecker” — In 1873, an energetic young
but these markings are usually hard naturalist named Henry Henshaw
Williamson’s Sapsucker, adult female
to see, leaving the bird with few
June in Larimer County, Colorado obvious ield marks.
traveled through the Southwest.
Among other discoveries, he
solved the puzzle of these birds.
He wrote: “While in southern
Colorado during the past season,
I obtained abundant proof of the
speciic identity of the two birds
in question, Williamsonii being
the male of thyroideus. Though
led to suspect this, from inding
Sapsuckers are not closely related
to the zebra-backed woodpeckers
the two birds in suspicious
of the genus Melanerpes, such as proximity, it was some time
Red-bellied, Golden-fronted, and before I could procure a pair
Gila Woodpeckers, but the color
actually mated.” At a nest
pattern of the female Williamson’s
can suggest those birds. excavated in the trunk of a live
Williamson’s Sapsuckers aspen, Henshaw observed both
sometimes show up in the lowlands parent birds coming in to feed
of the Southwest in fall or winter,
and females might be mistaken for the young.
the female Gila Woodpecker, which The speciic name thyroideus
lacks any red on the head. Farther has priority because it was
east, they could be confused with
juvenile Red-bellied or Golden-
published irst, so the bird is now
fronted Woodpeckers, which lack oficially Sphyrapicus thyroideus.
most color on the head at irst. Although the name williamsonii
These Melanerpes woodpeckers are
has no scientiic status, the
more cleanly black and white on the
back, and lack heavy barring on the English name of Williamson’s
sides. They’re also much more Sapsucker is a good second-
Gila Woodpecker, adult female
active and noisy than the quiet, place prize.
April in Pima County, Arizona furtive sapsuckers.

42 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 dec
18
hotspotsnearyou

HOTSPOTS NEAR YOU

Prothonotary Warbler

HOTSPOTS 283-284 THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH metro area is on the

western edge of the breeding range for Prothonotary
Warbler, the only warbler in eastern North America
that nests in trees or other cavities. It breeds from
central Texas and Oklahoma east to the Atlantic coast
and north to the Great Lakes region. The species
winters from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to northern
South America and the Caribbean. (See the cover story
of our August 2015 issue for a terrific profile of the
species.) Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center in
Denton, northwest of Dallas, is a good spot to search
no. 283 clear creek natural heritage center for the bird. The golden-yellow beauty is typically
denton, texas present from April through June. Flip the page to learn
no. 284 w. kerr scott reservoir more about birding opportunities at the center, as well
DMS Foto/Shutterstockk

wilkes county, north carolina

as a huge reservoir in North Carolina.
— Matt Mendenhall

w w w.B ird Wa t ch in gDaily.com/hotspotsmap 43

no.
283
clear creek natural heritage center AT A GLANCE
HOTSPOTS NEAR YOU

denton, texas HABITAT

33°15'35.44"N 97°3'50.92"W Wetlands, native grasslands, bottomland
forest, open prairie.

rC
428

re

Tr ini t y Riv er
TERRAIN

ek
Hartlee Field Rd.
Mostly flat trails for all skill levels. About
Education
4 miles of family-friendly hiking trails. Trails
center
Clear Creek Natural
often muddy after heavy rains.
Heritage Center

Clear Creek
BIRDS
Nature Preserve
288
Collins Rd. Winter: Northern Pintail, Redhead, Northern
Cooper Creek Rd.
Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk, American Kestrel,
d.
Merlin, Northern Flicker, Loggerhead Shrike,
go R
Min
wrens, Hermit Thrush, Eastern Towhee and
Denton
other sparrows, American Pipit. Spring: Lesser
E. University Dr.
380
380
Scaup, Neotropic Cormorant, sandpipers,
Franklin’s Gull, Yellow-billed Cuckoo,
hummingbirds, Bald Eagle, Broad-winged
288
L ake L e w i sv ille Hawk, Crested Caracara, Sandhill Crane,
kingbirds, vireos, Purple Martin, warblers,
Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center provides access to bottomland hardwood forest, tanagers, Indigo Bunting. Summer: Black-
upland prairie, and diverse aquatic habitats northeast of Denton. From E. University Dr., bellied Whistling-Duck, Northern Bobwhite,
turn left onto Cooper Creek Rd. Turn right onto Mingo Rd.; it turns left and becomes Collins herons, egrets, terns, Swainson’s Hawk, Wood
Rd. It leads to a gravel entranceway to the Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center. Thrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, Lark Sparrow,
Orchard Oriole. Fall: American Avocet, Greater
The Clear Creek area is my White-fronted Goose, Gadwall, Baird’s
favorite place to go sites nearby Sandpiper, Whimbrel, White-winged Dove,
birdwatching, whether alone or kites, kingbirds, wrens, warblers, Spotted
Lewisville Lake Environmental
with a group of birders or other Learning Area Nature Preserve Towhee, Clay-colored and Fox Sparrows.
naturalists. The center is the On the south shore of Lake
gateway to more than 2,900 WHEN TO GO
Lewisville, 18 miles from Clear
acres of the Clear Creek Nature Year-round, especially early in the morning.
Creek. More than 260 bird species.
Preserve, a wonderful riparian  
Wintering raptors, sparrows, ducks,
area. It has diverse flora and AMENITIES
shorebirds, and gulls.
fauna, with about 4 miles of Free bird walks on the last Saturday of each
interpretive, well-maintained month, 7:30-10:30 a.m. Restrooms and potable
Trinity River Audubon Sanctuary
loop trails. water available only when the visitor center
Hotspot Near You No. 274
The area was created to is open, which is only during workshops and
Southeast of downtown Dallas.
restore and protect upland events. Workshops are free, and are usually
Waterbirds, gulls, hummingbirds, once a month on a Saturday morning. Bring
prairies and rare bottomland
Loggerhead Shrike, Painted Bunting. your own water bottle. Portable toilet on Collins
hardwood forest ecosystems.
Great spot for spring and fall Rd. next to the parking lot.
The best part of my first walk
migrants.  
there was the sheer variety of
birds I saw, along with many ACCESS
types of mammals — opossums, raccoons, and armadillos — that slowly City-managed natural heritage area. Free
disappeared into the undergrowth ahead of our group. admission. Plenty of parking. Open daily 6-10.
I like to take the Wetland Trail to see waterfowl and herons. If you’re lucky,  
you will spot a beaver in the water. I saw an opossum in the trees that TIPS
followed our every move not too far from us, and a mockingbird who got Wear waterproof shoes (trails may be wet).
used to our presence quickly and followed us from treetop to treetop as we
walked. The local Master Naturalists from the Elm Fork Chapter offer FOR MORE INFO
morning bird walks regularly in this area, and it is well worth getting up Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center, www.
early to experience the area’s wildlife. — Caroline Blaha-Black cityofdenton.com. For birding walks, contact
Scott Kiester, clearcreekbirdwalk@gmail.com.
Caroline Blaha-Black is a former Elm Fork Master Naturalist, a freelance
writer and book author. She also volunteers at a local wildlife rescue. www.BirdWatchingDaily.com/hotspotsmap

44
 no.
284
AT A GLANCE w. kerr scott reservoir

HOTSPOTS NEAR YOU

HABITAT
wilkes county, north carolina
Impoundments, shorelines, floodplain forest, 36°7'50.17"N 81°13'39.61"W
oak-hardwood forest, mixed woodlands,
managed woodlands.
Wilkesboro
TERRAIN 421

32 miles of trails. Most of them easy to moderate 421 Dark

Mountain
To I-77
Wilkes County Park
in difficulty. Fort Smithy’s
Dark
Mountain
Fort Hamby Creek WMA 268

Hamby Campground WMA Visitor

and Smithy’s
WMA
BIRDS Park Creek Park center
er voir
Res
Winter: Bald Eagle, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, c ott
Dam Site
Park
S
Ruddy and Ring-necked Ducks, Bufflehead, rr
Ke Wilkes
W.
Skyline Marina
Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Canvasback, Long-
Berry Mountain
tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, and Hooded Bandit’s Roost
Campground
Park

and Red-breasted Mergansers. Summer:

Eastern Whip-poor-will, Yellow-billed Cuckoo,
Mountain 268
Brown-headed Nuthatch, Orchard Oriole, View Marley’s
Overlook Ford
Yellow-throated and Yellow Warblers, and Red- WMA

eyed Vireo. Spring and fall: migrant songbirds, Warrior

Creek
shorebirds, and raptors. Campground

WHEN TO GO The W. Kerr Scott Reservoir is a 1,475-acre artificial lake impounded by a dam located
Year-round. Enhanced viewing and visibility in west of Wilkesboro. From north- or southbound I-77, exit onto Hwy. 421, and head west.
winter, especially on cold days as there is less
At Wilkesboro, take the Wilkes Community College exit. Turn right onto Hwy. 268 West
boat traffic to disturb birds trying to rest and
and go 2.5 miles to the entrance road to the visitor center.
forage on the open waters of the reservoir.
 
This lake’s 56 miles of
AMENITIES
Visitor center offers trail maps and information
shoreline are surrounded by sites nearby
on facilities and developed areas around lake.
waterfowl impoundments and Yadkin River Greenway,
Three campgrounds open from April through public wildlife management Mulberry Fields
October, and 12 picnic shelters. Seven boat area, providing habitats that Near Willow Lane in Wilkesboro.
ramps afford ample access for launching a attracts a variety of woodland Warblers, grosbeaks, and other
canoe or boat. and wetland birds. songbirds, Wood Duck, shorebirds,
  Opportunities for canoeing and woodpeckers.
ACCESS biking add to the ways one can
Dam and reservoir managed by the U.S. Army enjoy birding at this location. Rendezvous Mountain
Corps of Engineers. User fees collected at Winter offers the best Educational State Forest
the entrances of most recreation areas either waterfowl viewing. Look for North of reservoir, off Shingle Gap
by park attendant or honor vaults. Depending decent numbers of northern Rd. and Rendezvous Lane. Self-
on the location of a specific area of interest, diving species such as Ruddy
guided trails that include exhibits, tree
one may need to use Hwy. 421 or Hwy. 268 Duck, Bufflehead, Ring-necked
for access. Visitor center open 8-4 weekdays identification signs, a forest education
Duck, and Lesser Scaup. Other
year-round. From May to September, it is open center, and a “talking tree” trail.
divers that are less common
during the same hours on weekends. include Redhead, Canvasback,
  Long-tailed Duck, and Common Goldeneye. Hooded Mergansers are
TIPS
common in winter, and Red-breasted Mergansers are also present. Dabbling
While birding gamelands during winter hunting
duck species are great in variety but few in number on the reservoir,
seasons, wear blaze orange. Visitors should
preferring instead to use the Yadkin River and associated farmlands below
observe rules pertaining to water and boating
the dam, where the river leaves the reservoir property.
safety at all times. Ticks and venomous snakes
In summer, the woodlands are home to Scarlet Tanager and many
are present during the summer months.
warblers, including Hooded. If you stay overnight in a park campground,
FOR MORE INFO listen for Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Eastern Whip-poor-will. Bald Eagles
W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir, www.saw. have been known to nest along the reservoir and are irregularly seen
usace.army.mil/Locations/District-Lakes-and- throughout the year. — Eric Harrold
Dams/W-Kerr-Scott.
Eric Harrold is a naturalist, environmental educator, and tour guide. He has
www.BirdWatchingDaily.com/hotspotsmap written past reports on hotspots in Virginia and the Carolinas.

45
 amazingbirds BY ELDON GREIJ

provides much better depth perception.

Birds easily turn their heads, peaking
with owls at 270 degrees.
In some birds, such as cuckoos and
woodcocks, the eyes are positioned far
enough to the rear of the head to permit
binocular vision both in front of and
behind the head, creating a superb
mechanism to detect predators. An
unusual feature of bitterns permits both
eyes to face forward in binocular fashion,
even when the bill is pointed up in the
birds’ familiar camouflage position.
Birds rarely blink (with the exception
of owls, parrots, ostriches, and a few
others) and close their eyes for sleeping
by raising the lower lids. Usually unseen,
however, is the third eyelid (nictitating
membrane), located beneath the upper
and lower lids, which moves horizontally
across the eyeball. The movement of this
eyelid across the eye functions like our
blinking and serves to keep the eye
moist. In some diving birds, the
nictitating membrane has a transparent
HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU: An American Bittern stands with both eyes facing forward.
window that permits vision underwater
while the membrane is closed.
The retinas of both birds and

The eyes have it mammals, including humans, consist of

two types of sensory cells — rods and
cones — that respond to light. When
stimulated, these cells send messages to
Why birds’ eyes are so large and how they function the brain, where visual centers turn them
into images. Rods can be stimulated by
Vision is the most important sensory To compensate, in part, for the large dim light and only provide black-and-
system for birds, and it is more highly opening of the orbit, birds have a boney white images. Cones require greater light
developed in birds than any other “sclerotic ring” that surrounds the stimulation, allow for color vision, and
vertebrate, including humans. There are eyeball in the area of the lens. The ring provide sharper vision (visual acuity).
many reasons. helps support the eyeball, and it provides An example of acuity is the ability to
First, bird eyes are huge in relation to attachment for special muscles that help distinguish two dots that are close
the size of their heads. They are change the shape of the lens. together, as two distinct objects, even at a
proportionately much larger than A massive eye allows for a large distance. Because birds have so many
human eyes. The eyes of eagles and owls image, and the enlarged pupil permits more rods and cones than humans,
are about the size of human eyes or more light to enter. This allows birds to avian visual acuity is estimated to be
larger, and the eyes of the Common see in much dimmer light than required from 2 to 8 times greater.
Ostrich are about twice as large as those by humans. Vertebrate eyes have a specialized,
of humans. In many bird species, The eyes of most birds are located on small area of the retina — the fovea
including songbirds, the eyes are about the sides of the head, providing great centralis — that provides the sharpest
as large as their brains. peripheral vision — in excess of 340 images and greatest visual acuity. The
Natalia Kuzmina/Shutterstock

Because bird eyes are so large, they degrees — but very limited visual fovea is thinner and more highly packed
are literally crammed into the large eye overlap in front (binocular vision). The with cones than the rest of the retina. (In
sockets (orbits), making them generally area of binocularity is much larger in reading this article, you are focusing the
immoveable. Consequently, when a bird birds of prey, reaching 50 degrees in words on your fovea). A robin cocking its
wants to move its eyes, it moves its head. hawks and 70 degrees in owls, which head while foraging on your lawn is not

46 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 FIND MORE 'AMAZING BIRDS' ONLINE
Eldon Greij, a professor emeritus h The six types of feathers
of biology at Hope College and
h Birds that can’t fly
the founder of this magazine,
but sure can run
has written about a wide variety
of subjects in his “Amazing h Why woodpeckers
Birds” column over the years. can hammer without
You can read many of his getting headaches
past articles on our website,
covering topics such as: h Where eggs come from

h Why birds gather in flocks h Birds’ varied and surprising

mating strategies
h How birds’ teardrop shape
enables them to fly h The amazing ways
that birds breathe
h Why many birds
“Gulls Simplified fills a major hole in
evolved to eat fruit h The muscles and bones
the birder’s library. Dunne and Karlson
that allow birds to fly
h The amazing courtship share the joys and challenges that
rituals of manakins Visit www.BirdWatchingDaily. make gull watching so much fun.”
com to find these articles and —Derek Lovitch, author of
h How owls can hunt, many others. Look under “News How to Be a Better Birder
even in total darkness & Features” and click “Science” Paper $24.95
or simply search “Eldon Greij.”

A massive eye allows

binocular vision.
for a large image, and Unlike mammals, the retina of
birds lacks blood vessels, which
the enlarged pupil probably increases the transmission of
permits more light light through the eye to the retina.
Birds compensate for a lack of blood
to enter. This allows vessels in the retina by having a highly
birds to see in much vascular structure (the pecten),
protruding from the retina into the
dimmer light than posterior (vitreous) chamber of the
required by humans. eye. Oxygen and nutrients diffuse
from the pecten to the retinal cells and
trying to hear the worm, as legend has waste products diffuse into the pecten
it, but it’s trying to focus the worm on for removal.
its fovea. The avian eye is uniquely adapted
One can draw an analogy between for low light, a wide visual field,
the density of sensory cells in the retina outstanding visual acuity, and great
and fovea of birds and the number of distance of vision. Clearly, superior “With its valuable text and maps, plus
pixels in digital cameras. More cells vision is another example of the clear plates, this is an excellent guide. . . .
and pixels mean sharper images. amazing attributes of birds. The authors are to be congratulated for
undertaking such an ambitious project.”
Most birds have one fovea (central)
—Steve N. G. Howell, coauthor of
that is located near the center of the
Eldon Greij is professor emeritus at Hope College, Birds of Chile: A Photo Guide
retina and receives images from the
located in Holland, Michigan, where he taught Paper $49.50 | Cloth $99.50
side. Birds that feed on the wing,
however, such as hawks, swallows, and ornithology and ecology for many years. He is the
hummingbirds, have two foveas. The founder of Birder’s World magazine. You can find
second fovea (temporal) is located near an archive of his “Amazing Birds” columns on our
the back of the eye and receives images website at www.BirdWatchingDaily.com.
from in front of the bird, creating

w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 47
 attractingbirds BY LAURA ERICKSON

state in the continental U.S. Since then

the number of participants in this
cooperative research project has grown
to more than 20,000.

DECADES OF RESULTS
What have we learned from the
wealth of FeederWatch data? The
documentation of decreasing numbers
of wintering Painted Buntings since the
1980s led the former Florida Game and
Fresh Water Fish Commission to start
measures to protect this beautiful
species. FeederWatch tracked range
expansions of Eurasian Collared-
Doves, Anna’s Hummingbirds, and
Northern Cardinals, and the continent-
wide decline of Evening Grosbeaks.
Notably, FeederWatchers were
among the first to notice conjunctivitis
in House Finches (“House Finch Eye
Disease”). FeederWatch tracked the
spread of the disease and gave
participants information to reduce the
YELLOW ORNAMENTS: FeederWatch data show a widespread decline of Evening Grosbeaks. chance of feeders spreading it.
FeederWatch data has also been used
to monitor effects on birds from West

Next-level feeding Nile virus.

Each year, the project starts on the
second Saturday of November and runs
Why you should participate in Project FeederWatch for 21 weeks. The 2018–2019
FeederWatch season begins on
Saturday, November 10, and continues
When I fill my feeders during a offer food to backyard birds. If you until Friday, April 5. Participants
blizzard or when temperatures dip to want to do something even more should choose a portion of their yards
20 below, I’m always thrilled to see my helpful, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that is easy to monitor, typically an
chickadees already there, waiting for and Bird Studies Canada have a fun area with a feeder that can be viewed
me. They zip in for still-room- and simple program that can bring from a single spot. If you take part,
temperature seeds and not-yet-frozen your bird feeding to the next level. you’re asked to count the birds at your
suet before I step away from the feeders. Project FeederWatch began as the feeder on two consecutive days no
It’s lovely knowing that my birds Ontario Bird Feeder Survey, which the more than once a week. New
recognize me and appreciate my Long Point Bird Observatory started in participants will be able to log in online
offerings. Bird feeding gives us pleasure 1976. After a successful 10-year run and set up their count site on
on two counts — joy in seeing so many with more than 500 participants, November 1.
birds up close and personal, and organizers realized that only a Participants receive the
gratification that we’re genuinely continental survey could accurately FeederWatch Handbook, which offers
helping them. monitor the large-scale movements of tips on how to attract and identify
The first rule in feeding birds is to birds, and they expanded the survey to common feeder birds, and Winter Bird
do no harm. Fortunately, many bird cover all of North America via a Highlights, an annual summary of
RT Images/Shutterstock

conservation organizations and partnership with the Cornell Lab. FeederWatch findings, paid for with a
BirdWatching provide a wealth of In the winter of 1987-88, more than small participation fee.
information about the best (and worst) 4,000 people enrolled, representing For more information or to join,
food choices and the safest ways to most provinces in Canada and every visit www.feederwatch.org.

48 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 HOW TO ATTRACT
WINTER FINCHES

Birds that are always welcome

at backyard feeding stations in
winter are the winter inches —
Evening and Pine Grosbeaks,
Bee Hummingbird
Purple Finch, Red and White- Photo by Kevin Schafer
winged Crossbills, Common
and Hoary Redpolls, and
Pine Siskin. They’re irruptive,
meaning their movements vary

CUBA
from one year to the next, so
there are no guarantees they’ll
show up in your yard. But
you’ll increase your chances of
seeing them if you offer their
preferred foods, including:

• Black-oil sunflower seeds

• Nyjer seeds
BIRD SURVEY
• Suet
23 years and counting!
• Safflower seeds

It’s best to avoid seed mixes

that include milo, millet, oats,
flax, and buckwheat seeds.
Many species simply eat the
Mar. 2-12,
sunflower seeds or other prized
seeds and discard the rest,
which can foster bacteria or
mold in a feeder or a mess of
2019
seeds on the ground beneath. With Host
Birds also need a reliable
source of clean water, even in
David Sibley
winter. Heaters are available
that can be immersed in a bird
bath, preventing the water from Presented by in partnership with
freezing. Be sure to keep the bath
clean and illed with fresh water.
Learn more at bit.ly/birdingcuba319
Laura Erickson, the 2014 recipient of the
American Birding Association’s highest honor, the
Roger Tory Peterson Award, has written 11 books
about birds and hosts the long-running radio
program and podcast “For the Birds.”
SIGN UP NOW!
w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 49
 From
our
yourview Birding experiences and photographs submitted by readers readers!

Uncommon sights

YARD BIRD: Andrew Lyall took this

photo of a Common Nighthawk in his yard
in Corpus Christi, Texas, on September 1.
He used a Nikon D7200 and a Tamron
150-600mm G2 lens.

TROPICAL TREASURE: Wilmer

Fernandez found this Keel-billed Motmot
at Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park in
Honduras. He used a Nikon D500 and a
Tamron 150-600mm lens.

50 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 FAMILY TIME: A brood of young California Quail gathers atop a
fence in Jerry Rolwes’s yard in Spokane, Washington. He used a
Nikon D-5, with a Nikkor 400mm, f2.8 lens with a 2x converter.

SOUTHERN RAPTOR: Tom

Wronski photographed this Crested
Caracara at Kissimmee Prairie
Preserve State Park in central
Florida. He used a Panasonic Lumix
DMC-GX8 camera and a Panasonic
Leica 100-400mm lens.
 NOT BLENDING IN: This Indigo
Bunting is hard to miss in a field of
sunflowers. Blair Celano of Spring Lake,
Michigan, took the photo with a Nikon
D5500 and a Sigma 150-600mm lens.

52 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 MOVING IN: Male and female Eastern
Bluebirds claim a bird house in Shirley
Marguerite Bennett’s yard in Auburndale,
Florida in June. She took the photo with
a Nikon D810 camera and a 28-300mm
f/3.5-5.6 lens.

SPLISH SPLASH: A Least Tern stays

cool on a hot summer day by bathing in a
tidal pool at Sandy Point State Reservation
in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Michael
Rossacci used a Canon EOS 7D, a 300mm
F/2.8 L IS lens, and a 1.4x tele-extender.
 FUELING UP: A Ruby-throated
Hummingbird feeds in this photo by
Doug Rogers of Charlottesville,
Virginia. He took it with a Canon
EOS 7D II and a 300mm f/2.8 lens.

ON THE HUNT: An immature Common

Gallinule searches for food in a marsh
at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in
Horicon, Wisconsin. Leslie Andrich shot
the photo with a Canon EOS Rebel T5 and
a Tamron 150-600mm lens.

Let’s hear from you!

Submit photos as full-resolution, high-quality JPG files via email (no TIFFs,
please). Include a short description of the photo; include the bird name, the
equipment used, and the location. Please include your name, address, phone
number, and email address. If we publish a story or photo of yours, we’ll
send you a complimentary copy of the issue in which it appears. There’s no
payment for use of text or photos in “Your View.”

Send your photos and stories to:

Your View Editor
BirdWatching Magazine
yourview@birdwatchingdaily.com

54 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
JSHZZPÄLKads
This section is open to buyers and sellers of bird-
ing equipment and services. Send your inquiries
to: BirdWatching — Classifieds, 25 Braintree
Hill Office Park, Suite 404, Braintree, MA 02184.
E-mail: BWads@madavor.com See
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w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 55
 idtoolkit ART AND TEXT BY DAVID ALLEN SIBLEY Look for our next issue
On sale December 26

FLOCK VARIATIONS: At the upper right, a large and

densely packed group of Ruddy Ducks rests with tails
raised while two Ruddy Ducks actively forage at left
(with tails down). In the foreground is a typically loose
and small group of resting Pied-billed Grebes.

Winter flocks In the same way that

flocking behavior varies in
To identify distant waterbirds, learn their flocking behavior
songbirds, it also differs
In much of the country, winter arrange themselves in different patterns
birding means scanning open water in than ducks, and Mallard flocks differ consistently between
search of ducks, loons, cormorants, and from scaup flocks, for example. species of waterbirds.
anything else that might be out there. Before you start looking at flocks, it’s
The birds we find are often distant, and important to distinguish between
identification is a challenge not because foraging behavior and roosting flocking behavior. But along with
the species are similar but because they behavior. As a general rule in general color, size, and habitat, flock
are too far away to see details. In these waterbirds, foraging birds disperse more characteristics can allow you to reach an
situations, any clue that helps to sort out widely, and resting birds gather in identification of some very distant birds.
the possibilities can be helpful. We all tighter groups. For example, many It is one of the clues that experienced
naturally look for color, and even very species (loons, most grebes, Pelagic birders use, even subconsciously, to
general impressions of light and dark are Cormorant, puffins) are solitary when quickly sort out distant birds. You can
valuable. (For example, cormorants they are foraging, but these same species start to learn these differences just by
almost always look blackish.) Habits like form loose groups when resting on the noticing the behavior of the birds at
diving are important clues, and overall water. Ducks are more scattered when your local patch, and soon you’ll be
shape — neck length, prominence of foraging but packed tightly together, identifying distant waterbirds more
wingtips or tail, etc. — is also useful. often in large flocks, when resting. And easily.
Another clue that is generally of course, groupings are also influenced
overlooked is flocking behavior. In the by food and local conditions.
same way that flocking behavior varies Given all of that variation, it might David Allen Sibley is the author of The Sibley
in songbirds, it also differs consistently seem pointless to even try to describe Guide to Birds, Second Edition, Sibley’s Birding
between species of waterbirds. Some differences in flocking behavior, but it Basics, and field guides to the birds of eastern
species are often in large and dense really can be useful. This is not a and western North America. In our last issue,
flocks, and others only occasionally stand-alone field mark. You will rarely he explained why some birds pump their tails.
gather in small loose groups. Geese be able to identify a species simply by its

56 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Nove m b e r/ D e c e m b e r 2 018
 Expand Your Scope

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 EXCLUSIVE
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EDITIONS

B O N ULL
S
ERY
PHOTO G A

TARGET
BIRDS
Enjoy this photo gallery of species that you can
see at the locations featured in this issue’s
“Hotspots Near You.”
Dennis W Donohue

CRESTED CARACARA:
Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center
clear creek natural heritage center
denton, texas

Northern Pintail

Neotropic Cormorant Northern Harrier

Tom Reichner/Shutterstock; Glenn Price/Shutterstock; Anatoliy Lukich/Shutterstock; Mark Tegges/Shutterstock

Eastern Towhee
w. kerr scott reservoir
wilkes county, north carolina

Orchard Oriole Bufflehead

John L. Absher/Shutterstock; Tim Zurowski/Shutterstock; Paul Reeves Photography/Shutterstock

Yellow-throated Warbler