Day 27: Carolina Wren

The Carolina Wren is a common species of wren that can be found in the eastern parts of the U.S. (from Texas to Florida and up to the northeastern states).

Carolina Wrens are fairly small, with a copper brown back, buffy colored underparts, and a distinct white eye-stripe. Males and females have identical plumage, but males are sometimes slightly heavier and have longer bills, wings, and legs.

We come in contact with Carolina Wrens fairly often in our backyard, and we often hear them before we see them. They have a loud and varied selection of songs and calls, most notably a song that sounds like "teakettle-teakettle-teakettle." When a Carolina Wren gets agitated or alarmed, it has a very harsh and loud scolding call.

This little guy certainly liked the suet feeder we put up, and we were able to get some decent photos.

Kind of a sad thing, but I read that Carolina Wrens are sensitive to cold weather. Since they don't migrate (they stay in one territory), populations can significantly decrease after a tough winter. They must have taken a hit in our area when we had the blizzards a few years ago. Thankfully, enough survived that we still see them regularly!

Day 26: American Oystercatcher

This weekend, we're planning another trip to the eastern shore of Maryland, so hopefully I will have some more great material for you once we get back! More good news...we also decided to purchase a nice camera lens this week. I'm sure there will be a learning curve, but I'm really hoping that it will help improve the quality of my pics over time. I definitely need to buff up though, because the damn thing is heavy!

Today, I have a really cool bird for you, the American Oystercatcher. This is a very conspicuous looking bird; if you happen to see one, it's really hard to miss. Two races live in coastal salt marshes and sand beaches in North America, the eastern race (which we've seen in Georgia and Maryland) along the eastern shore of the U.S., and the western race along the Pacific coast of Mexico.

American Oystercatchers through the scope in Maryland

The American Oystercatcher is one of the few birds to specialize on bivalve mollusks living in saltwater, and they are completely restricted to marine habitats. They have a black and white body and a long, thick orange beak, which helps them pry open the mollusks.
 
Recently, we saw some in Maryland from a distance, and used the scope to get some blurry photos. When we lived in Georgia, we saw them a few times on Jekyll Island on the Georgia coast.

 American Oystercatchers in Georgia

Full disclosure, some of these photos we did not take this year, but several years ago in Georgia. As long as I see the bird this year and we've taken a photo of it at some point, I'm okay with using the best photos that we have. Because better photos = awesome.

Day 25: Ring-billed Gull

The Ring-billed Gull is probably the most common gull in North America. They're common along the Maryland coast during the winter and frequent beaches, dumps, and parking lots where they can scavenge for food. In some areas, they are considered more of a pest.

During the breeding season, they stay tend to stay more inland, near rivers or lakes in Canada and the northern U.S. In the winter, they migrate south to the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic, or the Pacific coasts.

An adult Ring-billed Gull has a white head, neck, and underparts, as well as a short yellow bill with a dark ring. Its back and wings are light gray, and its legs are yellow. It takes three years for the Ring-billed Gull to reach its full breeding plumage, and its appearance changes with each fall molt.

Fun fact: Ring-billed Gull populations were nearly destroyed in the late 19th century, due to hunting and human development. They have significantly rebounded since then, with an estimated 3-4 million birds in North America today.

Day 24: Northern Pintail

A few weekends ago while we were visiting Maryland's eastern shore, we saw some beautiful Northern Pintail ducks in a neighborhood lake. The Northern Pintail's name is derived from the male's two long black tail feathers, which look like a single pin or twig.

Northern Pintails breed in the northern ranges of Europe, Asia, and North America and each winter migrate south. In North America, they are among the earliest nesting ducks, beginning soon after the ice melts in many northern areas.

Breeding males are handsome birds, with chocolate colored heads and gray, brown, and black patterns on the back and sides. They have a thin white stripe running from the back of the head down the neck to the white bottom torso. Females are duller, as is the norm, with drab brown feathers. We saw both males and females on our trip.

Here's a better photo of a male and female (not ours):

Source

Day 23: Downy Woodpecker

Today, I'll be highlighting a smaller relative of the Hairy Woodpecker--the Downy Woodpecker. The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest species of woodpecker in North America and can be found year-round throughout much of the continent. We see them all the time in our backyard and hiking throughout Maryland. In the winter, they will roost in tree cavities.

As I mentioned yesterday, the plumage of the Downy Woodpecker looks very similar to the larger Hairy Woodpecker. The Downy, however, has a shorter bill relative to the size of its head and black spots on its white tail feathers (which the Hairy lacks).

Adult male Downy Woodpeckers have a red patch on the back of the head, while females have no red (the bird at our feeder was a male).

Fun fact: Diet and foraging techniques tend to vary depending on the sex of the Downy. Males tend to forage more on smaller branches, while females feed more on larger branches and trunks of trees.

Day 22: Hairy Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are some of my favorite species of birds. We have quite a few species here in Maryland. One of the more common woodpeckers is the Hairy Woodpecker, which is found throughout much of North America.

The bird we had at our feeder today was a female (it had no red on its crown). The male Hairy Woodpecker has a narrow red patch or two smaller patches of red on the back of its crown.

The Hairy Woodpecker looks very similar to the Downy Woodpecker, which is another common feeder bird (I'll post about the Downy tomorrow). To me, it's still pretty difficult to tell the two species apart, though Jared is really good at it now. The Hairy Woodpecker is slightly larger than the Downy, has a heavier and longer bill, and usually lacks black markings on its outer tail-feathers. Here's a quick comparison I put together (both of them were at our suet feeder today):

Pretty hard to tell, right? I definitely need some more practice.

In addition to frequenting feeders, Hairy Woodpeckers forage for insects on trees. They also eat fruits, berries, nuts, and sometimes tree sap.

Day 21: White-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatches are adorable and interesting birds. We have several that frequent our backyard. Sometimes they perch on a windowsill, appearing to watch us attentively through the glass, while other times they perform bird acrobatics by shimmying up a vertical brick wall. Jared and I are always entertained when one lands on our porch and enjoy watching their antics.

Chilling on our porch wall

Blink!

I've seen several White-breasted Nuthatches this year already and have taken a few decent photos. Today, we attracted one to our porch by putting up a suet feeder (a cage that holds a bird seed cake...the cakes come in all different "flavors" for the birds, so I'm sure it's a tasty treat).

White-breasted Nuthatches often forage for insects on trunks and branches, and they have the cool ability to move head-first down trees. If you ever see a little bird that seems to be scaling up or down a tree trunk, there's a good chance it is a type of nuthatch.

White-breasted Nuthatches are stocky birds with a blue-grey back and a white face and belly. They have a black cap and a brownish lower belly. They are found year-round throughout much of the U.S.

Caught in the act! Trying to break in our kitchen window...