Category Archives: Wildlife Watching

Yesterday’s Critters

I decided to document some of the wildlife I saw yesterday here at Falcon State Park as we prepare to move on. Here’s a Greater Roadrunner skulking through our back yard.

I took a brief drive down the nearby “dump road,” often a good spot for desert species and found this Harris’s Hawk perched quite a way off, but watching me.

Just further ahead this Jackrabbit, the first I’ve seen, watched from behind a barbed wire fence.

Driving back, I spotted this hawk perched beside the highway. Traffic being light, I stopped and took a few shots. I’m calling it a juvenile Redtail.

Later, on a dog walk, we encountered this gathering of Redwing Blackbirds chattering away. Each day this week, there has been a constant stream of blackbirds and cormorants heading northward.

Last evening, while driving out to a spot with a reliable 4G signal, I saw a group of Javelinas crossing up ahead. This guy waited, as I slowed down, and stayed pretty well hidden.

As I returned at dusk, this deer stood beside a speed limit sign on the park loop. The deer here look pretty healthy although their numbers are modest and unlike some parks, they are wary of humans.

Since we’ve been here, I saw a bobcat crossing the road way up ahead one morning but have yet to see any of the many coyotes that live here. I’ve certainly heard them, sometimes rather close It is evident from the scat on the trails that there are many critters around. Penny, if I don’t watch her, is in hog heaven.

Free Range Porkers

When I bird with Penny in our woods at home I never have her on leash and her wildlife encounters are usually with red squirrels or chipmunks – she tends to ignore deer. We have encountered a few Black Bears, which either I have spotted first or at least grab her, one moose chase years ago, and a couple of coyotes/coydogs that she deigned to chase.

In the South/Southwest, I tend to keep her leashed – often because of park rules but also for her safety. Yesterday morning was a good example: we were birding a scrubland looking for desert birds and had seen a Harris’s Hawk, several Verdin, even a Greater Roadrunner. No one was around as we trudged down a long truck trail and I had her leash looped through my belt and we were getting tangled every so often.

I was about to let her loose for a bit when up ahead, a black object stood in the path. A javelina, no three, no even more. Penny hadn’t seen them as I took a picture of these two watching us.

They scooted across, melting into the brush, then this one ambled over. You can see how black they are against the clay trail.

By now, Penny had them spotted and one last one tore across the opening. We move down the road and her nose was at full alert. I could hear a little rustling on both sides so I clapped my hands, told them to get lost, and we continued on. These porkers had some young ones but unle the big feral hogs in other parts of Texas, these guys are wary of us. Or at least that’s my story.

It’s interesting that just two nights ago, I suggested to Mary that we not but pork until we get back to Vermont. Antibiotics, feedlots, gestation crates – it’s the only type of pork you can get in most of the country. These guys, while free of that stuff, would probably be like eating a leather belt. Hard to fatten up on sagebrush, tumbleweed, and cactus.

The best bird of the morning was a Green-tailed Towhee which I heard, and glimpsed. I’m at 127 species for this county and hope to hit 140 before we leave. We hiked about five miles today – no hills but lots of soft clay – and Penny has started her 12th year with a good workout.

I Brake For Birds

One of my favorite bloggers, Larry of The Brownstone Birding Blog, recently wrote a clever post called Cold Weather Car Brrrrrrding!  This time of year, he notes, “birding by car can be a good option when you’re dealing with wicked windy winter weather.” Amen, brother.

BrakeforBirds

I use my truck quite frequently, particularly in lousy weather, to scout for birds on the back roads of central Vermont. Not only is the weather lousy right now, it is also deer season and most outdoor people take a two week vacation from tromping through the woods. Even with blaze orange gear, it’s not too safe to venture into the woods, especially with a reddish-brown dog running beside you.

Yesterday morning, I headed out for a short jaunt – this time in the car which needed snow tires mounted – and after the studded snow tires were in place – I did a little road birding. I took a look at our local reservoir which was pretty, but bird-free.

New snow and no birds -- it looks like most of our migration is over.

New snow and no birds — it looks like most of our migration is over.

Larry pointed out some of the benefits of birding by vehicle in inclement weather:

  • you can stay warm
  • you can listen to sports, NPR, or music on the radio
  •  it’s a good location from which to drink your coffee
  •  your car makes an excellent blind so that you don’t scare off good birds and makes it easier to take pictures of them
  • you can cover a lot of ground by driving directly to some hot spots without spending a lot of time walking around

I would add that I can keep my iPhone plugged in and record birds into BirdLog without frozen fingers and also that I can keep Penny, our dog, happy in the back seat.

Birding with someone to watch while you drive can be helpful but that infrequently works for me on local outings. However, more than once Mary has spoken sharply to me as I try it ID a hawk on a pole while driving toward it, sometimes literally.

Vermont has a strong new “no handheld device” law to try to help with distractions while driving. We’ve all encountered distracted drivers and they can be dangerous.  Unless you are on a back road, keep your attention on the road while birding by vehicle. That life bird you just freaked out over can turn out to be a lifer – your life.

Good birding. Safe driving.

Visitors to Arizona Bird Feeders

In Vermont, we have running skirmishes with red squirrels who are able to outwit about any "squirrel-proof" feeder. We also worry about Black Bears and in the summer, honey bees on the hummer feeders. The last two days, I have seen some feeder poachers who are just as tenacious, but also humorous.

The first was the Gila Woodpecker trying to deal with the sugar water feeder at the visitor center. Why beat your brains out for sap when someone has already drilled the holes. He sized it up and hanging on for dear life, went for it.

Mary and I visited a famous birding site here in Patagonia – the Paton’s homestead. (I likely write a post about it, its history, and its future) but suffice it to say that birders from around the world have been coming here for decades. The Paton’s are deceased but their backyard is a treasure-trove of birds.

We were sitting there, admiring Gambell’s Quail and some Anna’s hummingbirds when this pale-colored little buck showed up, jumped the fence, and approached the feeder. (It wasn’t his first trip to this rodeo!)

He is Arizona’s other deer, the Coues, is a subspecies of the white-tailed deer. Coues deer are most common in Arizona’s southeastern mountains, but range up on to the Mogollon Rim and into the White Mountains. They are most abundant in areas of predictable summer precipitation. They prefer woodlands of chaparral, oak, and pine with interspersed clearings.

The host shooed him off and he just calmly jumped the side fence, and then showed up again about five minutes later, repeating the whole performance. After about the third time, he just barely made it over the fence – we joked about him too full of corn and seeds. He wandered off but I think he’s got a good gig going.

Some Rio Grande Valley Critters

One of the unique aspects of birding with a dog is the extra-curricular activity brought on by critters – some domesticated but most wild. Without exception, they bring on a surge at the leash which doesn’t help when you just got that warbler in your binoculars.

In the lower Valley, the main tormenters were squirrels – big imported Fox squirrels like this one who was too lazy to even bother her.

Here further west, we hear coyotes at night and see them on early morning morning walks. Their scat is all over the trails – a continual delight for the dog.

Another potential prey is the Cottontail rabbit. They dart across the road and at night, can make a walk rather interesting. It gets dark here – very little ambient light – and the dog sees or senses them first and the lunges on the leash while all I see is a bobbing piece of white cotton up ahead. Here’s one we saw yesterday.

Here at Falcon Lake State Park, there are deer, most of them pretty small. We saw this bigger guy yesterday crossing the parking lot. You can see that he’s shed one of his antlers. It’s about that time of year here.

The one critter I worry about here is the Collared Peccary more commonly known as the javelina. They are everywhere and while a little shy, they certainly could give Penny a rough time if provoked. Even though they are not pigs, they pig out on Mexican Olives dropped from trees throughout the park as well as bird seed on the ground. Here are three that visited us yesterday – you can see the rear of the Airstream in the photo.

And here’s a face only a peccary could love.

Natural surprises while birding

Three doe, which I see most outings in our woods, eased off into the brush this afternoon, as the dog and I began another birding trip around our loop.  They flicked their tails a bit but we passed them quickly and let them be.  But it did get me thinking about non-bird stuff we see every day while birding.

This morning while birding at the local reservoir, I found a beaver “slide”cut down an embankment where the animals slide the smaller trees they have felled.  The beavers were elsewhere but had been getting ready for winter.

It brought to mind a delightful experience last week at Berlin Pond where I noted some movement far across the water.  I got my scope set up and saw a couple of “sea serpents” cavorting through the shallows.  I kept looking, not believing the length of them and the long pointed tails that entered the water last as they undulated, seemingly chasing one another.  I was wishing for one of my naturalist friends to come by and help me figure it out — it was my first good look at River Otters in action.  Of course, when I went to the truck for the camera, they moved into the reeds — but it was a neat moment.

We have had a young buck on our property this year — I saw him earlier when his antlers were in velvet.  Penny and I jumped him again the other day and he loped a quarter mile to the hillside across from us and posed.  Here is the very long distant shot I took:

Deer1W

Perhaps the most interesting observation this year was two weeks ago, early in the morning as it was just getting light, as Penny and I just started out from the house.  I saw some movement, black fur, and thought, “Great, a bear cub.”  I got my binoculars on it to see a Fisher Cat watching me.  I wasn’t sure of the identification until it turned to move away and I saw the long black tail.  Fortunately, the dog was engaged elsewhere and never saw it.  It was the first one I’ve ever seen and quite a start to that walk.

So, the things we’ve seen before in our woods but not yet this year include porcupines, a coy dog, raccoons, several black bears, and a big bull moose.   Given the fact that the Vizsla is always roaming with me, I’m fine with not seeing them again.

 

 

Why Not Draw Some Birds?

Recently, in an email discussing technology, a birder friend of mine said that she had promised herself to get offline and watercoloring by 1:00 PM.  So, I asked her about her painting and got this for a response:

A couple of years ago the nature center had a Women’s Nature Retreat which I attended. Nona Estrin was one of the naturalist’s and taught a watercolor/sketching workshop.  A week later when hiking, I thought, why not sketch all the things I’m always photographing and checking about in my field guides?
For the last couple of years I’ve been sketching (pen and ink, sometimes colored pencils) almost daily and loving it.  I never knew I could draw.  Perhaps, I wouldn’t have been able to before this time.  This fall I decided to expand and learn to paint with watercolors.  So, although, I’ve had other work exhibited, I have a little ways to go before watercolors are hanging for the public.  Love being focused on nature. My artistic endeavors have helped me in birding, quickly being able to see field marks or GIS.
photo by jimmiehomeschoolmom

Drawing can help you focus on some of the details of the bird, and “cement” them in your memory.  photo by jimmiehomeschoolmom

That last comment about field marks and GIS got me thinking of a book I read a while back.  It’s a fine little book by David Sibley called Sibley’s Birding Basics.  In it, Sibley recommends field notes and sketching.  He says, “The act of doing that is enough to ‘cement’ the memory, even if the sketch or words are a very poor representation.”  Of course, Sibley is an accomplished artist but his point is well-taken as it forces us to look for details and get them on paper.  Cameras are great but there might be a lower-tech and satisfying way to describe that bird as well.

One of my favorite bird blogs is Red and the Peanut, written by a woman in Cincinnati, who is a fine photographer and very active illustrator as well.  Another blogger who is a great painter is Julie Zickefoose whose book, The Bluebird Effect, I reviewed here.  A third blogger/artist is Vickie Henderson who has a gallery of watercolors here.

So, we started out with an example of someone who discovered a talent and love for drawing and painting that she never knew she had.  Perhaps, as we slog through the rest of winter, it is a good time to think about whether that’s something that you might explore or rediscover.  It’s a good way to relax and refine those bird identification skills.  Good birding.

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Tips For Watching & Photographing Wildlife

A Guest Post by Sue McGrath

Study wildlife identification on your own before going out into the field. Learn about the most abundant species in the area, focusing on their physical markings and common behaviors. Even just familiarizing yourself with the sections of your identification book will be an enormous help in the field as you try to find information while keeping track of an animal on the move.

Develop your wildlife viewing techniques: scan bushes, trees and shrubs for subtle movement; cup your hands around your ears to help amplify sound.

Find wildlife with your eyes first, then focus in with your binoculars. Look for nearby landmarks and objects to help direct others to your sighting.

Look for wildlife signs. Scat, tracks, whitewash and buck rubs are just a few of the signs that tell you wildlife is nearby.

Wear clothing that blends with your surroundings /except/ during hunting season when bright colors are advisable. Earth tones and drab colors work best and help you blend into the background.

Your vehicle makes an excellent wildlife blind. Animals are often used to vehicles and will pass close by. Turn off your engine and sit quietly. Wildlife may come right to you.

Most animals have very strong senses of sight, sound and smell. Move slowly and quietly to avoid attracting their attention.

An upright human figure stands out in the landscape. To disguise your shape, try crouching down.

Crouch down when possible to avoid startling wildlife. photo by Seven Bedard

Crouch down when possible to avoid startling wildlife. photo by Seven Bedard

Animals may be startled by staring human eyes. Try wearing a wide-brimmed hat to shade and hide your eyes.

Watching and listening are the two keys to identifying wildlife warning signals. Animals communicate distress in subtle ways.Learning these signals is important for your safety and the animal’s welfare.

 Sue McGrath

www.newburyportbirders.com