Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Chatham County Common Backyard Birds

Common Backyard Birds of Chatham County, Georgia

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are common breeders in
Chatham County and increasingly seen in winter.

Eastern Screech-owls are becoming hard to find. 
Please report any observations to me.

Barred Owls are adaptable and locally common.

Red-headed Woodpecker likes dead trees.
It is scarce in winter. 

Red-bellied Woodpecker with its ladder-back. 
The red belly is hard to see.

Downy Woodpecker is the smallest
member of that family.

Northern Flicker is a resident,
but more often seen in winter months.

Pileated Woodpecker is our largest member of that family.

Carolina Chickadee is found in every backyard with a feeder.

Tufted Titmouse is another very common backyard feeder bird.

White-breasted Nuthatch comes easily to backyard feeders.
It's call is a nasal horn sound.

Brown-headed Nuthatch sounds like a rubber ducky.

Carolina Wren is one of the most common backyard species, 
often seen close to the ground.

The Eastern Bluebird can often be found nesting in 
man-made boxes. It relishes dried mealworms to eat.

American Robin is a resident, but more abundant 
during winter months.

Northern Mockingbird is a member of the family of 
mimic thrushes for its ability to copy other birds' songs.

Brown Thrasher is the state bird of Georgia and a mimic thrush.


Blue Jays are often the neighborhood noisy bad boys; 
they are related to crows.

American Crows are among the smartest 
and most resourceful birds on the planet.


Eastern Towhees are actually sparrows. 
The female is brown rather than glossy black.


Northern Cardinal female is brown with a striking large red bill.

Northern Cardinal may be the most common bird in your garden.
  Their brilliant red plumage is at its best in early spring.


Painted Buntings are a signature bird on our coast.
The female and young Painted Buntings are green.




Winter Visitors to Chatham County


Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a member
of the woodpecker family.

Eastern Phoebe is common in winter.  
It is a flycatcher.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The ruby crown on this little bird
is only seen when it is alarmed.
Gray Catbird sounds like a cat. 
They will come to water features.
Hermit Thrush will easily come to a water feature. 
Otherwise it likes to stay hidden.


Chipping Sparrows will easily come to bird feeders.

White-throated Sparrows feed on seeds on the ground.  
They are seen more often in late winter. 
American Goldfinch in winter plumage.

American Goldfinch in breeding plumage just before 
they migrate back north. 

Yellow-rumped Warblers are among the 
most common birds we see in fall and winter.

The yellow rump.

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Sunbathing Barred Owl

In the past few weeks two young Barred Owls have been regularly showing at my feeders and water feature during dry days.  More recently it has been only one.  This afternoon, alerted by a ferocious bark from the dog, we found the one had returned.  In fact earlier it had been overhead in the trees above the driveway where the song birds were equally as excited as the dog.  The owl does a lot of sitting, so it is hardly mesmerizing to watch, but today it jumped down from the bird bath and spread its wings on the ground to sunbath(?). 








More likely it was using the opportunity to rid itself of mites and otherwise keep its feathers in good condition. As you probably know already, owls' eyes are fixed in their sockets, so the only way owls can see what is taking place around them is by twisting their heads.  It looks odd, but it works, and along with an incredible sense of hearing and remarkable eyesight, they can easily locate their prey.



Friday, June 14, 2019

Nature's Waste Management

Several years ago on a hot summer day walk I came upon a young lady approaching from the opposite direction, peering at the vultures circling above with a look of fear and repulsion on her face.  She said in passing"I cannot stand those big birds".  I restrained my impulse to launch a pedantic lecture and responded that she really didn't want to live here in summer without them; they were critical to the well-being of this community.


This Turkey Vulture found something stinky in the 
rushes next to a salt marsh

True, they are no match as eye candy for Painted Buntings and Prothonotary Warblers, but they do the job keeping our warm and humid air clean enough for us to breath without gagging. The Turkey Vulture, with the bare red head and neck, is the larger of the two species, but strangely enough it feeds on small roadkill such as squirrels.  The smaller Black Vulture, the one with the white wing-tips, sometimes feeds in large flocks on the side of the road, and a gang can make quick work of something as large as a deer. 

However, the choice of foraging is related to how both species find food. Turkey Vultures have a much better developed sense of smell which may account for why they frequently find smaller carrion that Black Vultures miss. Turkey Vultures will arrive at a foraging site first, and the Blacks follow by observing the feeding behavior of early arrivals. 

The naked heads also serve a purpose. Since both birds can frequently be observed eating from the inside out (gross!), it prevents contamination of their feathers, and the potential spread of disease. In fact their very scavenger role in the ecosystem helps prevent the spread of disease to other animals as well as humans. So, while this treatise is about neither pretty bird nor pretty subject, woe unto our island without a healthy population of both species.
A sinister looking Turkey Vulture 
roosts for the night

Vultures, often incorrectly called buzzards, are widely spread across much of North and South America, and are closely related to the endangered California Condor.  In fact it wasn't too many years ago that the American Ornithological Union grouped our majestic Bald Eagles with vultures. 

They are masters of the air as they hunt for prey.  
A soaring Turkey Vulture from below
Turkey Vultures in particular are not often seen flapping their wings, but both species hunt for rising columns of warm air called thermals.  Those currents keep the birds effortlessly aloft for long periods of time while looking for the next meal.

Unlike other raptors, the hawks and eagles, vultures feet are adapted for walking.  They have no sharp talons and depend entirely on the bill to tear into their prey. 
Interestingly, in  spite of their homeliness the Turkey vulture's scientific name Cathartes aura is often interpreted as 'purifying breeze'.  Indeed.




A Black Vulture with its exposed head and neck.  You can listen to the Black Vulture's lovely song right here.



Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Priest Landing



Sometimes, right under my nose, I tend to neglect birding opportunities on our own island because I get fixated on some other location. Such is the case with Priest Landing at the upper end of Skidaway (not to be confused with Priest Landing Drive in The Landings).  If you haven't been there, it is public access, on the right fork of McWhorter past the north gate and dead ends at the Wilmington River.  It is easy to drive up there at any given time, on any given day, and see almost nothing, but at daybreak most of the year it can be magic for birds on the lagoons and hidden wetlands which border the road on either side. When the sun is well up it often goes quiet.  

At the dead-end a walking trail runs off to the left on a dike which impounds the largest freshwater lagoon on one side, and contains the salt marsh on the other. On a falling tide during migration, when the mud flats are exposed, the marsh can be alive with shorebirds.  The lagoon itself hosts a variety of species large and small, some hidden in the cattails which border the perimeter. There are unseen ducks and sparrows in winter. 

In Spring it helps to have an ear for bird song, and many skilled birders identify much of their talley by ear alone. Birders have reported in excess of 170 species at Priest Landing and the one mile drive in. Actually the total is over 180, but some of the species reported are by less experienced observers, and some calls range from questionable to bizarre in the eyes of the Skidaway Island Ornithological Union Checklist Committee -  a committee of one. 

Photography there can be tough because often the birds are shy and or distant, but I am including a few here that were worth saving.


An immature Red-tailed Hawk blends neatly with its surroundings at Priest Landing 



A Wood Duck pair

With the arrival of winter Priest Landing can host over 50 Wood Ducks at once

This young Northern Pintail spent about two months on the back side of the big lagoon

Green-winged Teal are skittish and shy - and don't like to have their pictures taken. They have been regular the past three winters.

There is not much handsome about a Wood Stork, but the swampy environment of the lagoons would not be the same without them

This Great Egret looked almost regal perched
on a dead snag in the water

The Green Heron is migratory, but can almost always be found in these algae-covered lagoons during breeding season

The Black-crowned Night-heron is a fixture on the two big ponds

A young Wood Stork shares a perch with
a visiting Roseate Spoonbill
The bright red shield of this Common Gallinule contrasts easily with the water plants in which it is partially hidden

The simple slurred-whistle song of the Eastern Wood Pewee
is at the top of my favorites list -  

Listen to the Pewee