Day 60: Song Sparrow

Song Sparrows are widespread throughout North America, with many subspecies varying by region. They can be found in many different habitats, but prefer brushy areas and marshes. They also have learned to thrive in human and agricultural areas.

Adult Song Sparrows have white underparts with dark streaking and a dark spot in the middle of the breast. They have brown upperparts and a brown cap. Male Song Sparrows use complex songs to show ownership of territory and to attract females. They learn songs from other birds that have nearby territories, which allows a Song Sparrow to address its neighbors with common songs.

Song Sparrow nests are sometimes parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds, another bird I'll blog about eventually. Cowbird eggs look similar to Song Sparrow eggs, but Song Sparrows know that cowbirds are a threat and attack them.

Day 59: Rock Pigeon

Rock Pigeons (sometimes called Rock Doves) were originally found wild in Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. Pigeons were domesticated as a result of artificial selection by humans, and they were first introduced to North America in the early 17th-century by colonists who brought domestic pigeons to Atlantic coast settlements. When released or escaped, domestic pigeons quickly go feral, and populations have spread throughout North America and the world.

Wild Rock Pigeons are pale grey with two black bars on each wing. Pure wild species are scarce, however, partly due to interbreeding with feral birds. Their neck and wing feathers have a glossy yellowish, greenish, and reddish-purple iridescence, and domestic and feral pigeons can vary greatly in body size and plumage color. There are few visible differences between males and females.

Over the years, domesticated Rock Pigeons have been utilized as homing pigeons, carrier pigeons, and war pigeons. According to Wikipedia, "many pigeons have received bravery awards and medals for their services in saving hundreds of human lives: including, notably, the British pigeon Cher Ami who received the Croix de Guerre for his heroic actions during World War I, and the Irish Paddy and the American G.I. Joe, who both received the Dickin Medal, amongst 32 pigeons to receive this medallion, for their gallant and brave actions during World War II."

Day 58: Northern Saw-whet Owl

Yesterday, we made a quick trip to the eastern shore of Maryland again. Though it's a bit of a drive, it was totally worth it, because I got to see the cutest owl ever, a Northern Saw-whet Owl!

These little owls have fluffy brown plumage streaked with white, a creamy belly, and large yellow-orange eyes. We knew that the owl had been spotted roosting in a little alcove off of a trail. After finding the spot, we searched tree after tree for a little brown bird, with no luck. Finally, after we were getting a little frustrated, Jared was the hero (as usual!) and found it perched in a tree right in front of us. It was resting peacefully, so we tried not to disturb it too much. It did open its eyes and squint at us for a few seconds.

Little puff ball

 Sleepy

Preening

When hunting, the Northern Saw-whet Owl waits on a high perch at night and swoops down on prey. They mainly eat small mammals, such as mice.

Day 57: Eurasian Wigeon

Yesterday, I showed you pictures of a very common North American duck, the American Wigeon. Today, I have its counterpart, the Eurasian Wigeon.

The Eurasian Wigeon breeds in the northernmost areas of Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory and can be found as an uncommon winter visitor in the U.S.

Last weekend, Jared and I were excited to see a male Eurasian Wigeon from afar, which was a life bird for me. It was at the far end of a lake, so we could barely pick it out in our scope. Even better still, we were able to see it again today from a much closer distance. Since last week, it had moved to a small pond next to a Holiday Inn in eastern Maryland.

The male Eurasian Wigeon is beautiful, with a distinct chestnut red head and white crown. It was pretty easy to spot among the other ducks.

Day 56: American Wigeon

Today, I'm going to tell you about a common duck, the American Wigeon. This medium sized dabbling duck breeds in Canada and the northern parts of the U.S. and can be found wintering farther south in the U.S., Mexico, and Central America.

The breeding male American Wigeon has a mask of green feathers around its eyes and a white cap running from the crown of its head to its bill. This white patch gives the bird its other common name, baldpate (pate is another word for head). The female American Wigeon has grey and brown plumage. Both sexes have a pale blue bill with a black tip.

We noticed some interesting behavior when observing American Wigeons. Because they are not great divers, they tend to gather with other species of ducks and will aggressively follow diving birds, grabbing food and vegetation away from them. For this reason, they are sometimes called "poacher" or "robber" ducks.

Last weekend, we saw another rare type of wigeon, the Eurasian Wigeon. I'll post more about that tomorrow.

Day 55: Sharp-shinned Hawk

Happy Friday! It was a long day, so I'm going to keep this pretty short.

A few weeks ago, we saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk at a park only a few miles from our apartment. We were heading to our car before a snow storm hit when we saw a bird zoom through the trees, apparently hunting something. We quickly ran to find the bird, and Jared identified it as a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

One of my websites, The Birds of North America, describes the Sharp-shinned Hawk as "a small, slender, feisty" bird of prey and "the enemy of all small birds." It must have been hunting a bird when we saw it. Though they can be found throughout much of North and South America, they tend to live in dense habitat and are secretive in nature, so they aren't always easy to find.

Day 54: Turkey Vulture

The Turkey Vulture is one of the animal kingdom's more unpleasant-looking birds, though they do perform the important function of eating carrion. Turkey Vultures can be found throughout most of North and South America.

The Turkey Vulture is almost exclusively a scavenger of carrion, unlike the related Black Vulture which has been known to kill livestock (I'll post about Black Vultures another time). It has a sharp sense of smell and finds food by flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals (yum). The Turkey Vulture is one of the only bird species that can smell.

Turkey Vultures are  brownish-black in color, and adults have small red heads with few to no feathers. They also have a short hooked beak. Turkey Vultures lack a syrinx, the vocal organ of birds, so the only vocalizations they can make are grunts and hisses. When flying, Turkey Vultures holds its wings in a shallow V-shape, which is one way to distinguish them from Black Vultures, which hold their wings level.

Fun fact: Evidently, the Turkey Vulture is the main avian species causing damage and fatalities in military aircraft collisions in the United States.

Day 53: Red-bellied Woodpecker

The Red-bellied Woodpecker is another woodpecker that we commonly see in our backyard and around Maryland. It's larger than the Downy and the Hairy Woodpeckers that I wrote about previously and can be found in the eastern U.S. and Canada (and as far west as Texas).

 

When I was first learning my bird names, I always got mixed up with the Red-bellied Woodpecker. The first thing you notice when you see the bird is its bright red head, so I kept wanting to call it the Red-headed Woodpecker. There is actually a bird called a Red-headed Woodpecker, however, and it's not the same thing! Confusing, right?

Turns out, the Red-bellied Woodpecker actually does have some red on its belly, if you look closely (you can barely see it in some of the photos). According to Wikipedia, though "The reddish tinge on the belly that gives the bird its name is difficult to see in field identification." Ha! So, I'm not the only one who has difficulty with that, evidently. Adults have a black and white barred pattern on their back and wings. I didn't realize there was a difference between males and females, but evidently males have a red head that extends from the bill to the nape, and females have only a red patch on the nape and another above the bill. It looks like the one I photographed above is a male.

Day 52: Canada Goose

I'm sure everyone will recognize today's bird, the Canada Goose. Since these birds are often found in populated areas, many people have funny goose stories or tales of a run-in. Some think Canada Geese are up to no good (our friend Joe thinks the geese at his work pond are evil), while others can't wait to see them build a nest and hatch babies each year.

A native to North America, the Canada Goose breeds in Canada and the northern U.S. and migrates farther south in the winter. In Maryland and other mid-range states, geese can be found year-round. During migration, they fly in the typical V-shaped formations. The front position in the V is rotated since flying in front consumes the most energy.

Canada Geese have a characteristic black head and neck with a white chinstrap. Canada Geese are mainly herbivores, but sometimes they will eat insects and fish (or human fingers, watch out Joe!). I'm not making that up, entirely. According to Wikipedia, "Geese have a tendency to attack humans when they feel themselves or their goslings to be threatened. First the geese will stand erect, spread their wings and produce a hissing sound. Next, the geese will charge. They may then bite or attack with their wings."

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During our adventures around Maryland, we have seen thousands of Canada Geese. Normally, we only pay attention to them if we are looking for a different species of goose hiding in the sea of black and grey bodies.

For the past two years at work, a mother goose has decided to make a nest in our parking lot. One of my coworkers, Cami, took these pictures last year. Gratuitous cuteness ahead!

Day 51: Virginia's Warbler

Today, Jared and I trekked to a park in eastern Maryland with the hopes of catching a glimpse of a Virginia's Warbler. This small, grey warbler normally lives in the southwestern Rocky Mountain states. This is the first time a Virginia's Warbler has EVER been spotted in Maryland, so the birding community came out of the woodwork to go see it.

Jared's photo from Saturday

Jared had already seen it on Saturday (and got one decent photo), so this trip was all for me. Since it had first been spotted, the Virginia's Warbler had been seen regularly a few times a day along a marshy path, but its behavior was very erratic. We knew it could be a long waiting game, so we bundled up and joined the crowd of birders around 8:45am. To our frustration, we found out we had just missed seeing the bird earlier in the morning. Fast forward three hours later, and still no Virginia's Warbler. I was pretty hungry, so we decided to hedge our bets and leave to grab some food, returning an hour later to search some more. Thankfully, we didn't miss anything while we were gone.

Cue more cold and more waiting. However, here comes the awesome part: about half an hour later, Jared was the first to spot the the bird flying over the path, chirping up a storm! I managed to get a fairly good look at it as it flew back and forth, hiding in the bushes. Jared was the true hero of the day though, keeping a close eye on the bird and helping others find it.

It's always great to see a bird after so much effort. I'm glad we didn't give up, and I was able to add a new bird to my life list!

Here's a good photo of a Virginia's Warbler (not our photo):

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