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2020 Beginnings at Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive

Posted Saturday, January 25, 2020Monday, January 20, 2020 Jess Yarnell1 CommentPosted in Lake Apopka

I finally got to start out the New Year with a sunrise photo. The Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive opens at sunrise, but I had enough time to get through the gate and find a location before the sun came up over the trees. My favorite shot was just before the big orb made its fiery appearance. Happy 2020!

New Year's Sunrise 2020 — New Year’s Sunrise 2020

Normally I poke slowly along Lust Road, but on this particular morning, I moved along rather quickly to give myself more time at the duck ponds with good morning light. So the first bird of the morning was the Peregrine Falcon. I first spotted him on Wally’s favorite power line. He was getting a lot of attention from photographers beneath him, and I had barely focused when he flew off. He was pretty far away from me but I enjoyed the flight shot opportunity.

Lots of wintering ducks are hanging out at Lake Apopka this winter. The most common are the Blue-winged Teals, who are easy to find and photograph near the trails. This is a female.

Another winter visitor that I love to watch is the Belted Kingfisher. This male perched on a tree branch and used it to watch for fish underneath him. He would dive repeatedly, enter the water with a big splash, then come up with an empty beak. I was trying for flight shots when an impatient car behind me forced me to move along.

Don’t look at the next one too closely if you’re squeamish. A Red-shouldered Hawk was enjoying what was left of his breakfast when I happened upon him. A hawk has to eat, too – and he certainly has an ample supply of coots to keep him nourished.

The Northern Harrier visits Florida in the wintertime. This female was sweeping low over the marsh in a slow, deliberate pattern. If you pull over and watch for a while, they will come in close enough for a good shot.

I was surprised to see this flock of Mottled Ducks flying over the marsh. I spotted them as they flew in front of me, then they criss-crossed the marsh. To my delight they flew out into the perfect sun angle. The challenge with a good flight shot is waiting for the birds to separate so that the birds don’t block each other in the photo. I liked seeing the bright blue on their wings.

As I approached the ponds with the most ducks, I traded my camera for binoculars. Looking for rarities in the thousands of ducks can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. I spotted Lesser Scaup, Gadwall, even a couple of female Canvasbacks. Not to mention the American Coots and all the Blue-winged Teals.

Wintering Ducks (Looking for a Needle in a Haystack)

A pair of American Wigeon flew together for me. I had more Gadwalls than Wigeons though. I didn’t see the Green-winged Teals or the Cinnamon Teal.

Closer to the path was a Northern Shoveler. He spent most of his time with his head underwater, looking for his breakfast. I tried to time my shots when his head was up and angled towards the camera. Silly bird, he didn’t make it easy for me.

As usual, I left the drive with a big grin on my face. 2020 is going to be a good year!

Find my birding list from today on eBird.

Shirley’s Bullock’s Oriole: Rare Bird and Great Birders

Posted Wednesday, January 22, 2020Monday, January 20, 2020 Jess YarnellPosted in Birds

The Bullock’s Oriole isn’t supposed to be in Florida. It is supposed to be in the western United States and Mexico, like the Hooded Oriole that I wrote about a few weeks ago. So when a birding friend encouraged me to make a phone call and visit the private residence of a sweet lady who was willing to share her rare bird, I jumped at the opportunity.

Spoiler alert: I didn’t get to photograph the bird. The Bullock’s Oriole vocalized a couple of times, and I got to see a brief glimpse of orange feathers as the bird darted in the treetop, but I didn’t get a good picture.

Turns out, the birders can be just as fun as the rare birds that they chase. This homeowner, named Shirley, has a wonderful bird-friendly yard. She planted nectar-producing plants like Cape Honeysuckle, which grows up to provide shelter as well as food. She also planted berry-producing small trees and hedges. Shirley put out chairs and a birding book, teaching everybody who passed by about her orange-winged wonder. Neighbors out walking their dogs learned that the “Orioles” are more than a baseball team. More advanced birders examined bird’s range map and feather patterns. Turns out this Bullock’s Oriole has returned to Shirley’s yard for at least three years in a row now. That’s what you get when you create a wildlife-friendly habitat!

Shirley has an interesting bartering system. She trades with the best birders in the state, offering an opportunity to see the Bullock’s Oriole in exchange for a list of the birds found in her backyard birding paradise. What happens when good birders stand in one place watching for a rarity to pop out? They tally up species…lots of species…over 42 on one morning, as Shirley proudly reported.

So Shirley, as promised, here are my photos of birds in your wonderful yard. Thank you for sharing with us!

Black Vulture: A couple of them stood guard in Shirley’s tall pine trees while other circled overhead. She lives near a lake, so we had lots of wading bird and lake bird fly-overs

Northern Mockingbird. He posed at the top of the honeysuckle wondering what all the fuss was about.

Prairie Warbler. Made a brief appearance in the honeysuckle showing off his yellow stomach. You know springtime is coming when the warbler colors brighten!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Shirley’s cape honeysuckle is clearly a favorite with these tiny nectar-sipping birds. This is a first-year male whose gorget is starting to fill in. Look at those beautiful spots of red glistening in the afternoon sun!

White-eyed Vireo. Yet another variety of bird who finds refuge in Shirley’s backyard birding paradise!

Gray Catbird. He flashed the deep red undersides of his tail at us as he stole a berry from this bush. Shirley was delighted to see a bird partaking of the bush that she grew just for the birds!

Hummingbird Banding with my Mom and Dad

Posted Sunday, January 19, 2020Wednesday, January 22, 2020 Jess Yarnell3 CommentsPosted in My Parents' Backyard

Today was a red-letter day in backyard bird photography. Fred Bassett, a hummingbird bander, came to my parents’ house to band their wintering Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. I first met Fred in 2011 when he gave an excellent talk to the Lake Region Audubon Society. You can read my blog post from that day here. Fred knows so much about hummingbirds and his enthusiasm is contagious. Having him visit and successfully band two hummers was amazing!

When Fred arrives for banding, he places a cage over the hummingbird feeder. The cage door is attached to a fishing line, allowing Fred to drop the door remotely when a bird enters the cage. A piece of red tape helps the hummers find the door. Hummingbirds are known for being attracted to the color red.

Hummingbird Banding Cage. Door is on far back right. Photo by Dyeyo

You’d think the birds would be leery of a huge cage placed over their usual feeder, but no, not so much. Within five minutes of Fred’s arrival, our first bird is in the cage. Wow! Fred reaches into the cage and retrieves the bird, letting it sip from the feeder before placing it into a small bag.

Hummingbird Banding Station - Photo by Dyeyo — Hummingbird Banding Station. Photo by Dyeyo

Fred works out of the back of his truck, where his mobile banding station includes a small scale, a ruler, and a clipboard for his notes. The bird is surprisingly tame in his trap; instead of wasting energy struggling, the little hummer goes limp and waits for his opportunity to escape. But Fred is quick. As he told me, “he’s been doing this a while!” (Check his website and you’ll see that he has banded over 35,000 birds.) He slips a tiny numbered band on the bird’s leg and tightens it with a small twist of his tool. The band is small enough that it doesn’t bother the bird.

Hummingbird-Banding-6 — Banded Hummingbird: first-year male M59752. Photo by Jess Yarnell

Fred quickly weighs the bird, measures it, and checks its feathers to age it. This first bird is easily identified as a first-year male by his emerging gorget (throat). This particular bird is in the middle of a molt cycle, and Fred spreads the wings to show us the partially-grown feathers. Then it is time for some glamour shots…

Hummingbird-Banding-11 — Our First Banded Hummingbird. Photo by Fred Bassett

It’s such a cool experience to see one of these little fellows up close. While I see a lot of detail through my camera and Beast lens, seeing a hummer up close really emphasizes how tiny and fragile these birds are. Fragile, yet strong. Imagine that tiny ball of feathers, barely bigger than a thumb, flying across the Gulf of Mexico in one night. Nature is certainly amazing.

The glamour shots are for research, but they are equally fun for the birds’ host families. Then Fred rests the bird against our hands so that we can feel its tiny heartbeat. A hummingbird’s heart beats around 250 times per minute when he’s resting and averages 1,200 beats a minute while flying. No wonder the bird’s favorite food is nectar!

Hummingbird-Banding-2 — Feeling the bird’s heart rate. Photo by Dyeyo

Next Fred applies a bit of pink paint to the bird’s head. He assures us that the paint will molt off long before the bird needs to look spiffy enough to attract a mate. In the short term, the pink line is an easy way to spot the banded bird. Otherwise you’d need a Beast-like camera and good timing to see the band, which is not visible on the bird’s feet in flight.

Hummingbird-Banding-7 — A pink mark to quickly distinguish “our” banded bird. Photo by Jess Yarnell

All of this takes place within the span of a few minutes. As we prepare to free the bird, Fred places it in my mom’s hand. The bird lies immobile for a few seconds. Then Fred gives my mom’s hand a quick tap and the bird zips off. The look on my mom’s face is priceless. :)

Hummingbird-Banding-8 — Little Pinky in my mom’s hand. Photo by Fred Bassett

It’s a warm day when the birds are more attracted to the native plants than the feeder, and it is mid-day (not the most active feeding time). I’m ecstatic to have banded one bird. But our good luck isn’t over yet. Fred resets the cage, and a few minutes later, we have an adult male.

Hummingbird-Banding-1 — Measuring the banded hummingbird. Photo by Dyeyo

Fred works more quickly with the second bird, banding it, weighing it, and measuring it in the blink of an eye. It’s clear that the bird does not suffer unnecessarily during the banding experience. For this little guy’s glamour shot, Fred stands with the sun behind him so that the light reflects nicely against the male’s bright red throat, called a gorget. Gorgeous!

Hummingbird-Banding-9 — Our second banded hummingbird: male M59753. Photo by Fred Bassett

This time it is my dad’s turn to release the bird. This little guy isn’t as docile as the first. Fred barely places the bird in my dad’s hand before it zips off into the breeze. Fred anticipates the move and has his camera trigger finger ready, resulting in this rather unusual shot of the bird’s wings and tail splayed as begins to fly away. The ’59’ of his new identity is visible on his leg. Hopefully nobody will tell him that the picture of his half-molted tail is going up on the Internet. Really, how embarrassing! ;-)

Hummingbird-Banding-10 — Off he goes! Photo by Fred Bassett

While my mom asked me not to post it, my favorite shot of the day is her bright smile as she sees “her” birds up close. Imagine a cross between “the joy on a child’s face on Christmas morning” and an “adult’s delight at having her hummers contribute to important research on the fascinating topic of migration.”

Thank you so much, Fred!

All photographs published with the consent of the photographer. If these birds are re-captured, the data will give Fred and other researchers insight into the migratory paths of these amazing creatures. For more information about Fred’s research, go to http://www.hummingbirdresearch.net.