Showing posts with label Bell's Vireo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bell's Vireo. Show all posts
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Saturday, August 1, 2026
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Sunday, July 30, 2023
Saturday, May 7, 2022
Saturday, September 4, 2021
Saturday, October 24, 2020
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Thursday, July 2, 2020
June and Its Inherent Beauty of Bird Life
060920 Bell's Vireo
061120 Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe 2
061520 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
061820 Green Heron Adult
070220 Alligator Snapping Turtle
and Channel Catfish
Bell's Vireo has been increasingly active this year, as well as adding an extra bird to the fold, so to speak. This was a former youngster of Bell's 1, an original northeast breeder, no longer living. This current adult came to us courtesy of construction involving added electrical lines and the supports. While last year saw much removal of Bell's 1's territory, it simply moved to a new location apparently with either a juvenile in tow with hatched eggs south of the original location, of course temporarily out of service.
This new territory became Bell 1A's neighboring territory to Bell 1's south border. There is technically speaking, no territory north of that, which remains Bell 2's extended region, and it sometimes visits, but its main territory is north of Airport Rd. Bell 1 never visits this unoccupied area, which may become territory for another Bell's Vireo.
The above photo shows the male Bell 1A, who temporarily took a rare hiatus from his birthplace.
The above Eastern Phoebe, a sassy juvenile, tends to visit this extended area across from Kicker or Stillwater Designs where it hunts and could eventually nest.
The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher shown, especially for those readers not in Oklahoma, see a classic example of a neotropical migrant. This beautiful specimen is clearly a bird of the tropical forest with its bright coloring. Its tantalizing hues are actually a very subdued example of how it would look to another bird viewing it in the ultraviolet spectrum. As most of humanity is limited to the visible spectrum, people with a rare condition known as aphakia do possess natural ultraviolet vision. Birds usually have one extra cone that we lack, prohibiting normal vision from detecting the increased intensity of the ultraviolet spectrum.
This colorful adult Green Heron is obviously a member of the heron family, which also includes egrets. An egret is a heron, but a heron is not an egret. Ponder that thought...
The photo of the month is clearly this example of an alligator snapping turtle upon its prey, a channel catfish. As writer was on the way to Boomer Lake, an oddly moving channel cat caught my eye. It was eventually learned to be in motion due to the foraging turtle, who was consuming. However, it remains a mystery as to whether or not this turtle caused the demise of the catfish. It could well have been involved in cleanup detail, which is normal for these scavengers.
Monday, June 8, 2020
060820 Breeding Birds of Oklahoma
060620 Brown Thrasher
060820 Bell's Vireo
The Great Plains has some of the most beautiful breeding birds and I don't indicate that because it is my home, the birds are truly remarkable, as are our winter birds, though we'll get to them at another time like winter.
Even though the Brown Thrasher is a bird seen over most of the country except the west, it is far from common. It tends to be shy and retiring, until that big voice gets in the way. It will be heard before it is seen and it has some of the richest calls and repeats its phrases in doublets rather than triplets like the Northern Mockingbird. If the bird is not seen, it is an easy rule of thumb to remember what one is hearing.
Bell's Vireo is another wonderful bird that is one of the few states that it uses for breeding purposes. There are several subspecies which include the Eastern, broken further into the Bright and Drab adults. The Western birds include the Bright and Drab Arizona and the rarest of the species is the Bright California or the Least Bell's Vireo.
A few weeks ago, writer was fortunate enough to find the Bright Eastern which is like a neon sign in comparison to this bird.
It is also sometimes confused with the Warbling Vireo, which is a browner species. The warbling tends to stay high, while the Bell's will often forage in short bushes and shrubs, though it will sing in a high area to keep intruders from its territory. As can be noted, the Bell's Vireo also has a green tint to its back or scapulars. The song is also quite different. The Bell's Vireo sings "cheedle-cheedle-chew, cheedle-cheedle-chee," which is unmistakable.
To See Bright Eastern Bell's Vireo From This Spring:
https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2020/05/051320-yesterdays-rain-and-clouds.html
Saturday, May 9, 2020
Monday, September 23, 2019
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Saturday, July 13, 2019
End of June 2019 Heron Cove June Events
Brown Thrasher on Nest
061619
1040-1222/74-80 F/mostly-variable clouds/W-6/85-77% RH/29.92-2990 Hg and steady
All young Green Herons have fledged, with four hanging in the common near south nest tree from prior years/the blind has paid off with close sightings/parent is still not on Green Heron nest two with no sign of young, possibly due to diminutive size.
Green Thrasher nest never showed its young. Perhaps eggs were not viable, a predator consumed them or the young.
Brown Thrasher, Right Side of Nest
Two Youngest Green Herons,
Clutch 1
061919
0706-0750/71-72 F/partly cloudy/W-5/79% RH/29.85-29.82 Hg and steady
Green Heron clutch one totaled 5 young with all seen, plus both adults, possibly two tiny nestling heads seen in nest 2.
Next-to-Youngest Green Heron
Eldest Green Heron of three
Middle Green Heron of 5
Youngest of 5
Eldest of Younger 3 Green Herons
Youngest Green Heron
Ditto, Pose 2
Green Heron On Nest 3
062019
0705-0834/74-79 F/clear/S-7/81-76% RH/29.82 Hg and rising to 29.79 Hg and steady
Three fledges from clutch 1 rapt in attentiveness. Nest 3 well observed with its Green Heron adult occupant atop it, as viewed above. Two House Finches, possibly a pair seen observing a predator in area of blind, but suspect not found causing same fracas. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher heard on west side of Heron Cove among clump of trees where last fall's Palm Warbler and migrating Clay-colored Sparrows have always been found around western soapberry and Bradford (callery) pears.
Mallard Hen and Ducklings
062219
0818-0922/84-85 F (90 to skin)/variable clouds/S-12/74-73% RH/29.86-29.90 Hg and rising
Second View, Green Heron On Nest 3
062319
1218-1254/75-77/variable clouds/SE-8/84-81% RH/29.87-29.85 Hg and steady (after earlier rain)
Youngest Green Heron
062419
0712-0759/66-68 F/clear/W-8/86-84% RH/29.94-29.95 H and rising
Fledgling Red-winged Blackbird
062519
0716-0820/71-75 F/clear to partly cloudy/S-10/81-80% RH/30.01 Hg and steady to rising
Male Bell's Vireo
Ditto, View 2
062619
0726-0814/77-79 F/clear/SE-10/81-79% RH/30.13 Hg and rising
Youngest Green Heron
062719
0705-0759/79 F/clear/S-9/78% RH/30.18 Hg and rising
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Up, Up and Away with the Green Heron Chicks
Bell's Vireo
Green Heron Nestling
060119
0715-0817/72-77 F/clear/SW-4/71-68% RH/30.0 Hg and steady to 30.07 Hg and rising
It's nice that the Bell's Vireo has moved to Heron Cove. In prior years, this species was on the outskirts. There is a possibility that this could be another unrelated adult, or offspring.
The Green Heron young are still in the nest, but something is going to happen soon, as I can just sense it.
Green Heron Nestling #1
Green Heron Nestling #2
Green Heron Nestling #3
Green Heron Adult (Top)
Nestlings (Below)
View #2, Green Heron Adult
and Nestlings
Green Heron Nestlings
Watching Adult Leave
Eldest Leaving the Nest
Remaining Young in Nest
The Eldest Leads the Way
Young Follow According to Age
The Trail Continues
View of Two Green Heron Chicks
Two Youngest Green Herons Lag Behind
Two Youngest Made
It to the Apex
060219
0715-0909/71-82 F/partly cloudy/W-6/76-69% RH/30.01 Hg and steady to 30.04 Hg and rising
The eldest Green Heron nestling led its siblings to the top of the main vertical branch just above the nest. It took many shots to give the story, while the adult showed them all how to move about the nest tree.
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