Feeling fall fever already! Updated with disappointment

Obvious pandering to get you to stay on my page...

Already there are signs that the fall migration is beginning, and it's only July! I've noticed large flocks of Common Grackles and European Starlings, flying around in tube-like formations, which to me signals that they're getting ready to go. I might be mistaken, but it seems like I only see this behavior, the long "tubes" of flying birds, before the fall migration begins.

I've also seen some more definitive signs, namely a juvenile White Ibis flying near the Julian Wetlands the other day. I didn't have my camera, but luckily I had my scope and was able to really check out field marks and the curved bill. I put it out on our listserv, saying that I just HAD to be wrong, because what would such a bird be doing up here? But sure enough, someone showed me a link to a site documenting juvenile White Ibises in PA, and I saw a photo that convinced me that I wasn't just dreaming. Crazy, huh? Today, someone on the listserv noted that they'd seen a juvenile Little Blue Heron at a local birding hotspot too! What are these younglings doing so far north? Is this migration confusion on the part of birds too young to know they should be headed south?

Today, I spent a couple of hours in the field exploring a spot I've been checking out on my way home every day; I finally had time to stop and take a look around. Right off the bat, I heard the distinctive calls of Indigo Buntings, though I wasn't completely sure what the heck I was hearing until I saw this little flash of blue:They were everywhere, calling and taunting me, sneaking through the trees and not giving me too many looks. But that color--wow!

I also saw a lot of Barn and Cliff Swallows, as well as these little Cliff Swallow homes on the underside of a highway bridge:

Very cool. I managed to get this terrible photo of one of the Cliff Swallows flying away from the first clump of mud huts above:It was a great spot I picked, on Hwy 550 between Stormstown and Bellefonte, at the point where the new I-99 crosses over 550. There was a big hillside and a lot of trees and stuff, and as I mentioned about a million Indigo Buntings.

I also saw this bird, and though I was slow to admit it, realized that it was just a House Sparrow. It was odd, though; I didn't see any males out there:

I say that perhaps I didn't want to know the ID because it's just a female or young House Sparrow. As I said, though, I didn't see any male House Sparrows, which are easy to ID--so I was hopeful it was something more exotic. Hmph.

I believe this is the same type of bird:Stupid blameless House Sparrows. I know they're just trying to survive and had no say in their import from Europe, so I don't really favor killing them or anything. But still... They are everywhere.

It's so frustrating NOT to be able to positively and confidently ID such a boring little bird; it's always something super easy, and yet I just can't decide what it is. I feel like I've learned a lot of warblers, shorebirds (at least the big non-peep ones), and such, and yet this little brown bird stumps me. Frustrating. I know that part of it is mental blocks that arise from too-wishful thinking, hoping for a wayward Baird's Sparrow or something ridiculous like that. But still. I should've just said HOSP and moved on.

I've been thinking a lot about spending the bucks to attend Cape May's autumn migration weekend again this year. It's been a while since I've gone birding with the Flock, or even with a group of people. I went birding with bird guru Roana and Gretchen for our had that one morning in the Toftrees State Game Lands, but otherwise I've been birding all by myself. For someone like me, who has very limited knowledge of bird songs and all but the most common birds, birding alone can be very frustrating. I know there are lots of birds I'm missing, because I just can't remember (or even isolate) all those songs among the many sounds out there. I know I could've gotten a lot more birds in California and in Texas had I been with someone who really knew those birds. I mean, I'm having trouble with that sparrow-looking little plain bird above; how can I expect to spot a really interesting bird or hear and ID its song?

I've been trying to study a lot lately too, though it's tough with my work schedule. On a silver-lining-on-the-cloud angle, I've had insomnia lately and have been using the awake time to pore over my guides and lists and stuff. I'm also re-reading (for about the fiftieth time) Kenn Kaufman's Kingbird Highway, a book that always inspires me so much. I wish I'd gotten into birds at such a young age; think how much more I'd know now! Maybe I would've majored in ornithology instead of English, or gotten a job as a forest ranger instead of a teacher. Who knows? I always loved birds, but I had nothing like Kaufman's obsession and drive and thirst for knowledge.

Ah, the road not taken.

Anyway, I also saw some beautiful cloud formations as a huge thunderstorm system blew into the area:

I saw some butterflies:One of these butterflies was flying around with the other paler one still attached! Ouch.

Puddling:

Is this a butterfly or a moth:?I think it's a butterfly, but I just don't know. John from A D.C. Birding Blog says it's a dusky-winged skipper of some sort. I figured it was a skipper, but -- like with birds -- I am never satisfied with my first impression. I overthink it.

So when I left the field, I had to drive right into the storm; before I knew it, visibility went to about to ten feet and I began to worry about tornadoes. The rain slowed after about ten minutes, though the flooding was rough:
There were tornado watches, but nothing formed. Otherwise, that would've been Tornado #7 I've driven near. Crazy, huh? I've been in my car for six tornadoes so far in my life; the closest I came to the actual funnel was the 2000 Fort Worth tornado, during which I skirted the debris cloud of office paper and detritus as the funnel passed within about 800 yards of me. I didn't know! I couldn't see it for the rain! But when I saw the debris blowing around me, I knew.

But I digress.

So--have you seen any early signs of the fall migration? (I'll add that it's still hotter than blazes here, and humid to top it off.)

Photo blitz! Updated with mothtastic IDs

I've been collecting some good photos here and there on my travels, so I wanted to show you what I've been seeing lately.

I spent some time looking at moths, though I haven't had time to ID them:
John from A D.C. Birding Blog thinks this is a Red Twin-Spot, or Xanthorhoe ferrugata:I concur.

This one looks like a sand painting that you do with layers of colored sand in a jar, but I believe it's a member of the Geometroidae family:

Two photos of the same moth, which I think is a Smaller Parasa, or Parasa chloris:

Look at those muscle-y looking arms! It's actually little hairs. This guy, who may be some type of either Tussock or Prominent moth, was also pumped-up:

This one appears to be in heat:
Whoa, man, keep it in your pants. Or, er, your wings.

I think this is the muscle-bound one from above, seen in a bit of a tizzy:

I saved the prettiest one for last, a Virginia Ctenucha (Ctenucha virginica) (thanks for the ID help, John! I'm updating just as you're commenting!):


Look at this beautiful butterfly I saw; I think it's from the Speyeria genus:


I've also been watching young birds, seeing a mama Wood Duck with her six adolescent young (no picture, sorry) and these young Euro Starlings -- thanks, Patrick -- they were with a bunch of RWBLs and I got confused!) --

The ones that got away

My niece Bronte graduated from high school in June, which is the reason I went to Texas. I already showed you some of the great birds we saw but while Mary and I were birding, my brother Ricardo took his daughter Olivia and Bronte and her sister (and junior birder) Lilia to a little inlet for some fishing.

Here's Bronte, patiently trolling for the big one:

The fisher-kids and fisherman at work:

When Mary and I returned, sans a Painted Bunting sighting, we found the girls in a state of extreme upset!
Turns out, all three of the girls had caught fish; each had caught a 17-18" drum (which Ricardo said was a good fish), but Ricardo had jerry-rigged a piece of rope to keep the fish alive in the shallow water, but the fish had outsmarted him and wriggled free! They were back in the Gulf, swimming free:


The girls were upset, Ricardo was upset, but Mary and I were just happy we'd seen some good birds:


Here's my handsome brother, still trying to catch the ones that got away.

P.S. Forgot to add that all photos in this post were taken by Mary.

Quickie update!

Not a lot of time for blogging of late, as I've been working very hard and long hours at my new job for Megacorp. Still, I've been able to see a lot of birds on my drives to and from work in a nearby town, and I got a pretty decent list together the other day. These birds were seen on the road between State College and Houtzdale, PA, including Osceola Mills and Philipsburg, PA:
Veery--I finally heard a veery singing on territory! The two veeries I'd seen before now were both silent. This guy was flutin' and tootin' from a high branch in a beautiful birch tree.
Red-eyed Vireo
Eastern Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Bluejay
Wood Thrush
Song Sparrow
Gray Catbird
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Mourning Dove
Turkey Vulture
Rock Pigeon
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Tree Swallow
Wild Turkey--3 adults and 17 poults!
Common Grackle
Chimney Swift
Cedar Waxwing
Common Raven
Northern Cardinal
American Robin

The coolest thing about this job has been that I'm outside all day, so I see a lot of birds. My sales territory is largely rural and heavily wooded areas, hence the thrushes above. The interesting thing is that I have found many spots where I can pretty much guarantee I'll see a particular bird(s) at any given time of day or evening. Territorialism reigns supreme in the bird world. I've also been happy to see so many gawky adolescent birds out there, still working on their plumage and needing a hand (or a worm) from Mom or Dad now and then. Young birds are just the cutest!

Things are okay these days, with AB working hard on her school stuff and me trying hard to sell, sell, sell. At least it's a good product, though all megacorps have their drawbacks. The benefits are great, the commissions are amazing, and I'm hoping that I'm working my way into a rhythm so I can start socking away some money for our future.

Hope you're seeing lots of good birds yourself, as we wait for the long summer to wind down and the fall migration to begin! (You know me, always keeping my eyes to the future.)

More Texas birding, part 3 updated!

After birding around San Antonio for a couple of days, Mary, the parents, my nieces, and I drove south last Thursday night to visit my brother Ricardo and do some birding in my old college stomping grounds, Kingsville, home to the former Texas A&I University (I come from a family of University of Texas Longhorns, so I won't mention the new name of the school). I hadn't been back to town in about 15 years, and wouldn't you know I forgot to go and check out the college campus? I was just too wrapped up in birds and family, not to mention getting back to San Antonio in plenty of time for my Saturday flight back home.

Still, I got quite a few birds including some more lifers! We birded in Ricardo's neighborhood first, where we saw three Harris' Hawks riding the strong Gulf Coast winds above an empty field as well as this Tropical Kingbird:I got a new book about photographing birds, so I'm trying new things like catching birds in motion instead of just while perching. This photo won't win any contests, but I'm happy with the composition of it all the same.

I don't want to sound snooty, but get a load of Ricardo's neighbor's idea of hardscaping:Yup, those are bowling balls around each and every plant in the yard. Curb Appeal, where are you?

We also caught this beautiful little Gray Hairstreak (thanks, Hap, for the ID) in his backyard:Ricardo's an avid butterfly buff, and he has lots of beautiful butterflies pinned (yeah, kinda cruel but still beautiful--even if I wouldn't do it myself) and displayed around his home.

After a delicious dinner (my brother is THE grill master) and a good night's sleep, reveille sounded at 5:45 and we were off to Kaufer-Hubert Memorial Park on an inlet of Baffin Bay:We searched long and hard for the elusive (to me, anyway) Painting Bunting, but alas the PABU won again. Still, even Ricardo was in on the hunt for a while after seeing photos of the beautiful "Monet Bird." He couldn't believe it was a real native bird in his area. I'd seen an eBird report of PABU sightings as recently as last weekend in this very park, so I figured I'd HAVE to see one, right? Wrong. But like I said, we got some great birds.

Check out this beautiful Curve-billed Thrasher, the first lifer of the day:
I fought off some pretty serious backlighting here.

Early-morning birding = low light conditions!Check out that eerie orange eye!

For an East Coast birder like me, birding in a place like South Texas means that lifers can be found just hanging around on power lines:
An Ash-throated Flycatcher, as opposed to the similar-looking Brown-crested Flycatcher -- the most obvious (to me) difference is the placement and paleness of the yellow wash on the underparts. This guy's yellow was quite pale and covered only his belly, not bright yellow and starting at his breast and extending down.

Texas provides an embarrassment of riches along the coastal waterways. Get a load of this:Bucketfuls of Roseate Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Neotropic Cormorants, and other shore beauties. It was impossible to get very close, hence the super-zoom, but holy moly, the Gulf Coast is amazing. It makes me sick to think about the states east of Texas, those affected by the BP oil spill; it also makes me so thankful that at least Gulf Coast waters remain (as yet) pristine and teeming with birdlife.

Yes, that's (from left to right) two Black-necked Stilts, a Neotropic Cormorant, a Tri-colored Heron (thanks, Hap!), an American White Pelican, and another Neotropic Cormorant, all in the same shot.

Continuing my quest for action shots, here's a Laughing Gull scratching his cheek:


Another far-away shot of Roseate Spoonbills and Snowy Egrets (thanks, Hap--who noted the black beaks that equal Snowy, not Great, Egrets), as well as the elusive Green-Plastic-Chair Bird:Grrrrrr, pollution makes me angry.

Next installment: even more birds, butterflies, and an age-old story about the one that got away.

San Antonio birding, day 1, part 2

In addition to being confused by swallows, flirted with by night-herons, and confused by mutt ducks, we also saw a lot of cool butterflies and wildflowers. Here's a little photo album, with IDs where I could figure them out:

some kind of sulphur? John and Hap say Checkered White. Sounds good.

cute little purple flower

Swamp Rose Mallow

blue horse-nettle

pretty purple flower

Mexican Hat

Mexican Poppy

unknown pretty flower

Common Checkered-Skipper (thanks, Hap)

Dayflower

unidentified butterfly

I couldn't figure this one out; shaped like a Mourning Cloak but colored differently. It was just plain gray on the outer wing-sides and this vibrant orange-copper on the inside. John and Hap say Goatweed Leafwing -- sounds good!

An American Lotus among the lilypads

a more battered Checkered White.

tiny little toad in my niece Lilia's hand