We have a great birding tour to Costa Rica coming up February 10 to 23, 2012. Here is a video telling you more about the tour.
This tour has filled. If you would like to have your contact information added to our email list for notifications of future tours, please contact me.
Our tour is 14 days long counting one day of travel to Costa Rica and one day of travel back to your home with 12 solid days of birding in the middle. On previous tours 12 days of birding have resulted in tallying: 427 species (2009) 389 species (2010, 3/12 tour) 395 species (2010, 3/26 tour) 436 (2011)!
Airfare is not included in the price of the tour.
Here is the link to the tour brochure containing the full itinerary, description of the life zones that we will bird, the cost of the tour, and how to contact me.
Majestic Feathers Tour Page
I look forward to hearing from you and PURA VIDA!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) : A Photo Study of Their Display and Mating
This June I spent a good deal of time at the Camas Prairie Centennial Marsh Wildlife Management Area photographing in particular the mating display of the Yellow-headed Blackbirds that adorn this great birding spot. The marsh is site number SW31 on the Idaho Birding Trail and I highly recommend birding there in the early spring through July. During the first part of June or late May depending on the weather, the Camas lily bloom is a sight to behold and it is wonderful to photograph birds among them.
Yellow-headed Blackbirds are beyond plentiful at the marsh and I spend approximately 20 hours over the course of several days working to capture images that illustrated the contortions of their mating display. There was one fence line on the west end of the marsh that was a particularly good spot to stack out to get shots of the males displaying and the females responding to their bravado and earnest mating song.
These images are presented at resolutions ranging from 120 dpi to 200 dpi and all but the last one were taken along the same fence line.
She finally arrives!
The “cloacal kiss”, copulation the goal of all his efforts and gyrations only lasts a matter of seconds.
Voila! I am so handsome and studly they just can’t resist me!
The female builds the nest in the male’s territory. She usually lays 3 to 7 eggs and the incubation period lasts 12 to 13 days. The young leave the nest between 9 and 12 days of age but they can’t fly until they are about 21 days old. The male helps with brood care.
A Photo Study of Roosting Common Nighthawks (Chordeilus minor)
I have been fascinated by Nighthawks since I was a little girl. I would often spend a good deal of time perched on my grandfather’s haystack watching them. The evening sky was thick with them back in those days. Back then I had no idea that they were properly named, Common Nighthawks, in fact I had no idea there was any other kind of Nighthawk.
Since those days I know a bit more about these very interesting birds that summer here in North America and winter in South America. I have learned that they are Nightjars and are sometimes also referred to as “Goatsuckers” because once upon a time people thought that they flew into barns at night to suck the teats of goats! How bizarre and what active imaginations those people had. They don’t do this but they are strange looking birds that are active during the twilight hours before sunset and dawn; crepuscular, so I can see how people might think creepy things about them. During the darkest part of twilight you might not see them but could hear their “peents”, “booms” and “aug, aug” sounds. I suppose these sounds increased the eerie factor and added to the folklore about them.
Common Nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) are 9.5” in length, they weigh 2.2 oz. (62 g), and their wingspan is 24”. Their flight is bat like and erratic which has led to another sort of nick name for them, “Bullbat”. To me their amazing aerobatic flight is more like a fighter jet or the alien fighter crafts like we see in the movies. I think that their maneuvers are simply breathtaking.
The plumage of the Common Nighthawk has evolved to make them pretty much invisible to diurnal predators. Their earthy hued feathers have a beauty all their own, they are really very striking. Male and female Nighthawks are almost identical but the male has a white band on the tail that the female does not have and the female’s throat patch is more of a buff brownish and the male’s is white.
In the southwestern part of the United States it is possible to also see the Lesser Nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis). I traveled to Saint George, Utah to go birding several summers ago and I saw my first Lesser Nighthawks there. The Lesser Nighthawk is slightly smaller overall and the main way to distinguish it is that like the Common it also has a white wing bar but the Lesser’s is paler and closer to the wingtip than the Common’s which is nearer to the base of the primaries.
Nighthawk numbers have been pretty good around this part of Idaho this year. I know over all there is concern for them because populations have decreased dramatically in some areas.
A friend of mine, Dee Smith and her husband were camping at the Hayspur Fish Hatchery about twelve miles south of where I live in July. Dee and I went birding one morning while they were there and she told me that the trees were filled with roosting Common Nighthawks. Indeed they were everywhere! It was a great opportunity to photograph them perched about in various stages of relaxed to full-on sound asleep.
A few days later I was at the hatchery again and the Nighthawks were still all over the place. The day was different in that the temperature was in the high 90’s and the birds were hot. They were roosting again on the tops of shaded branches in the Russian Olive trees but it was clear from their postures and behavior that they were doing everything they could to stay cool. Some were engaging in gular fluttering; panting to expel some of the heat. Others were standing to expose as much of their skin areas as possible. Wings were lifted here and there, and some of their positions were quite unique. Birds don’t have sweat glands but they can perspire through their skin and it was easy to see that they were trying to “air” out as much as possible. A few of them even appeared to be hugging their shaded branch as tightly as possible in hopes of soaking up some of the coolness of it.
Here is the photo study of them roosting on both days and I think you will be able to tell which images were taken on the really hot day. My images are presented at resolutions ranging from 100 to 150 which causes them to appear not quite as sharply in focus as they really are.
I hope you enjoy seeing these wonderfully roosting interesting Common Nighthawks.
Since those days I know a bit more about these very interesting birds that summer here in North America and winter in South America. I have learned that they are Nightjars and are sometimes also referred to as “Goatsuckers” because once upon a time people thought that they flew into barns at night to suck the teats of goats! How bizarre and what active imaginations those people had. They don’t do this but they are strange looking birds that are active during the twilight hours before sunset and dawn; crepuscular, so I can see how people might think creepy things about them. During the darkest part of twilight you might not see them but could hear their “peents”, “booms” and “aug, aug” sounds. I suppose these sounds increased the eerie factor and added to the folklore about them.
Common Nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) are 9.5” in length, they weigh 2.2 oz. (62 g), and their wingspan is 24”. Their flight is bat like and erratic which has led to another sort of nick name for them, “Bullbat”. To me their amazing aerobatic flight is more like a fighter jet or the alien fighter crafts like we see in the movies. I think that their maneuvers are simply breathtaking.
The plumage of the Common Nighthawk has evolved to make them pretty much invisible to diurnal predators. Their earthy hued feathers have a beauty all their own, they are really very striking. Male and female Nighthawks are almost identical but the male has a white band on the tail that the female does not have and the female’s throat patch is more of a buff brownish and the male’s is white.
In the southwestern part of the United States it is possible to also see the Lesser Nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis). I traveled to Saint George, Utah to go birding several summers ago and I saw my first Lesser Nighthawks there. The Lesser Nighthawk is slightly smaller overall and the main way to distinguish it is that like the Common it also has a white wing bar but the Lesser’s is paler and closer to the wingtip than the Common’s which is nearer to the base of the primaries.
Nighthawk numbers have been pretty good around this part of Idaho this year. I know over all there is concern for them because populations have decreased dramatically in some areas.
A friend of mine, Dee Smith and her husband were camping at the Hayspur Fish Hatchery about twelve miles south of where I live in July. Dee and I went birding one morning while they were there and she told me that the trees were filled with roosting Common Nighthawks. Indeed they were everywhere! It was a great opportunity to photograph them perched about in various stages of relaxed to full-on sound asleep.
A few days later I was at the hatchery again and the Nighthawks were still all over the place. The day was different in that the temperature was in the high 90’s and the birds were hot. They were roosting again on the tops of shaded branches in the Russian Olive trees but it was clear from their postures and behavior that they were doing everything they could to stay cool. Some were engaging in gular fluttering; panting to expel some of the heat. Others were standing to expose as much of their skin areas as possible. Wings were lifted here and there, and some of their positions were quite unique. Birds don’t have sweat glands but they can perspire through their skin and it was easy to see that they were trying to “air” out as much as possible. A few of them even appeared to be hugging their shaded branch as tightly as possible in hopes of soaking up some of the coolness of it.
Here is the photo study of them roosting on both days and I think you will be able to tell which images were taken on the really hot day. My images are presented at resolutions ranging from 100 to 150 which causes them to appear not quite as sharply in focus as they really are.
I hope you enjoy seeing these wonderfully roosting interesting Common Nighthawks.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Lewis's Woodpeckers (Melanerpes lewis) : A Photo Study
During the month of July I spent many mornings videotaping and photographing Lewis’s Woodpeckers making delivers of various insects to their young in a nest cavity in an Aspen.
Here are a few photos from those peaceful mornings with the Lewis’s.
It was necessary to greatly overexpose the trunk of the Aspen in order for the combination of dark and light plumage of the woodpecker to be exposed correctly.
I hope you enjoyed seeing this images. Thanks for stopping by to take a look.
Kathleen
Here are a few photos from those peaceful mornings with the Lewis’s.
It was necessary to greatly overexpose the trunk of the Aspen in order for the combination of dark and light plumage of the woodpecker to be exposed correctly.
I hope you enjoyed seeing this images. Thanks for stopping by to take a look.
Kathleen
Thursday, July 14, 2011
A Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) Foraging a Photo Study
I have been videotaping several species of cavity nesters in a grove of Aspens on the leeward side of the mountain top just east of my home for the last couple of mornings. My practice is to quickly set up my camera and microphone and then walk off to see what else is happening in the woods. Doing so greatly reduces the chance of interfering with the routine of the parents making deliveries of food to their young. This morning while the camera was trained on a Lewis’s Woodpecker cavity site I walked away and found this Hairy Woodpecker foraging. I filmed its’ nest site yesterday. Watching the woodpecker work was very entertaining, bark was flying and bugs were nervous!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Several Idaho Birders Attend the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival
The Great Salt Lake Bird Festival was held May 12 to 16, 2011, Poo Wright-Pulliam, and Zeke and Michelle Watkins and I all traveled from our homes in Idaho to attend. It was the first time that any of us were able to go after many years of wishing we could get away to attend.
We had a great time and it was fun to meet Bill Thompson, III, Sharon Stiteler a.k.a. BirdChick, Jerry Liguori, and to catch up with Bill Fenimore, I hadn’t seen him for several years.
The festival was well attended and there were many very interesting field trips and workshops offered. Field Trips to Farmington Bay, Antelope Island which is located in the Great Salt Lake, 4 Mile Ranch, Deseret Ranch, and Jordnelle to name just few offered birders the opportunity to bird in diverse habitat. Workshops on digiscoping were given by Sharon Stiteler who offered her expertise and shared about Swarovski’s newest equipment. Other workshops included: Backyard Birding, Build Your Pond Right the First Time, Photographs with Impact, Butterflies for Beginners, Falcon Identification, and much more.
I was especially impressed with the workshops and activities for youth. These included: Making Birdhouses, Those Wild Wetlands, and live bird flight exhibits.
Two birds that were “spotlighted” at the festival were the Western Tanager, and Flammulated Owl, workshops and field trips focusing on these species were offered.
Forty vendors had displays and were very eager to share about their art work, photography, tours, books, and birding related optics.
In total over the course of the festival 180 species were reported in 1,622 separate sightings.
The Great Salt Lake Bird Festival is well organized, educational, and it is a great opportunity to get into some of the areas of Farmington bay that are generally closed to the public. I highly recommend attending this festival. You will enjoy spending time with the hard working people that organize it and you will enjoy being with birders from near and far. The dates for next year’s festival are: May 17 to 21, 2012. See you there!
You can learn more by visiting www.greatsaltlakebirdfest.com
Here are some images from the bird festival and from birding at Antelope Island and the Bird River WMA.
Bill Thompson III, pictured here with the spotting scope was the primary leader of the "Behind the Gates" field trip at Farmington Bay. Other leaders were Paul Lombardi and John Bellmon.
Bill Thompson III "scoping out" the Western and Clark's Grebes in the bay, Zeke Watkins and Poo Wright-Pulliam are behind him waiting for the report of what he is seeing.
There were many species to spot and observe on the Farmington Bay tour and there were many photo opportunities as well.
Zeke and Michelle having a quick conversation with another birder about the festival schedule.
Zeke, Poo, Michelle, and Robert Mortensen (he used to live in Idaho) enjoying the birding and discussion about the numerous species they were seeing. Check out Robert's Birding Is Fun blog, it's great!
This is a shot of Robert Mortensen and Bill Thompson III making sure that all the species are getting onto the trip list.
This small island in the bay had so many Great Blue Herons on it that a challenge was issued to see who could correctly count them.
The birds and the view of the bay and mountains were just great!
A California Gull soars past us.
Robert Mortensen took this shot of me scanning for waterfowl.
Bill was fun to bird with and he didn't mind a bit when we wanted to have our pictures taken with him. This is Poo with Bill. A close look at Bill’s binoculars reveals how he displays his annual “Duck Stamp”. The purchase of a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation stamp is a great way to promote wetlands conservation. Birders should do this because since this program started in 1934 revenue from the sales of “Duck Stamps”, over $670,000,000 has made it possible to purchase or lease 5.2 million acres of waterfowl habitat that is now included in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The stamps are available for purchase at the Post Office for $15.
Zeke and Michelle Watkins with Bill.
In this shot Bill is signing my copy of, Identify Yourself, his book about the 50 most common birding identification challenges.
Jerry Liguori was also signing his book, Hawks from Every Angle. Bill Fenimore was signing his books too but my picture of him wasn't sharp. I took the book signing images with my cell phone.
Poo and Bill.
A flotilla of Red-necked Phalaropes off the Antelope Island causeway.
One of the live bird displays included this Bald Eagle. I learned from talking with the man who brought the eagle to the festival that the white feathers of Bald Eagles raised in captivity never turn completely white.
An energetic Golden Eagle.
This adorable Western Screech-Owl was a big hit with everyone.
Bill was the keynote speaker at the dutch oven dinner held on Saturday night. He spoke about his 40 years of identifying and feeding birds. Bill is the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest. He is also an accomplished musician.
The crowd really enjoyed it when Bill sang, "Mother's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowbirds".
This is a shot of a Western Grebe that I took at the Bear River WMA on the way home after the festival.
The light was just perfect at Bear River to capture the iridescence of the feathers of the White-faced Ibises.
An ibis with one wing stretched out.
This is a Forster's Tern hunting over a flooded field in the Bear River WMA.
A closer view of a Forster's Tern.
Good views of American Avocets were possible at several swallows at Bear River.
This Black-necked Stilt struck an impressive pose and I was able to capture the moment before it continued foraging.
A Clark's Grebe was hunting small fish near one of the bridges at Bear River.
Blue on Blue...a Great Blue Heron lifts off with the Wasatch Range in the background.
We had a great time and it was fun to meet Bill Thompson, III, Sharon Stiteler a.k.a. BirdChick, Jerry Liguori, and to catch up with Bill Fenimore, I hadn’t seen him for several years.
The festival was well attended and there were many very interesting field trips and workshops offered. Field Trips to Farmington Bay, Antelope Island which is located in the Great Salt Lake, 4 Mile Ranch, Deseret Ranch, and Jordnelle to name just few offered birders the opportunity to bird in diverse habitat. Workshops on digiscoping were given by Sharon Stiteler who offered her expertise and shared about Swarovski’s newest equipment. Other workshops included: Backyard Birding, Build Your Pond Right the First Time, Photographs with Impact, Butterflies for Beginners, Falcon Identification, and much more.
I was especially impressed with the workshops and activities for youth. These included: Making Birdhouses, Those Wild Wetlands, and live bird flight exhibits.
Two birds that were “spotlighted” at the festival were the Western Tanager, and Flammulated Owl, workshops and field trips focusing on these species were offered.
Forty vendors had displays and were very eager to share about their art work, photography, tours, books, and birding related optics.
In total over the course of the festival 180 species were reported in 1,622 separate sightings.
The Great Salt Lake Bird Festival is well organized, educational, and it is a great opportunity to get into some of the areas of Farmington bay that are generally closed to the public. I highly recommend attending this festival. You will enjoy spending time with the hard working people that organize it and you will enjoy being with birders from near and far. The dates for next year’s festival are: May 17 to 21, 2012. See you there!
You can learn more by visiting www.greatsaltlakebirdfest.com
Here are some images from the bird festival and from birding at Antelope Island and the Bird River WMA.
Bill Thompson III, pictured here with the spotting scope was the primary leader of the "Behind the Gates" field trip at Farmington Bay. Other leaders were Paul Lombardi and John Bellmon.
Bill Thompson III "scoping out" the Western and Clark's Grebes in the bay, Zeke Watkins and Poo Wright-Pulliam are behind him waiting for the report of what he is seeing.
There were many species to spot and observe on the Farmington Bay tour and there were many photo opportunities as well.
Zeke and Michelle having a quick conversation with another birder about the festival schedule.
Zeke, Poo, Michelle, and Robert Mortensen (he used to live in Idaho) enjoying the birding and discussion about the numerous species they were seeing. Check out Robert's Birding Is Fun blog, it's great!
This is a shot of Robert Mortensen and Bill Thompson III making sure that all the species are getting onto the trip list.
This small island in the bay had so many Great Blue Herons on it that a challenge was issued to see who could correctly count them.
The birds and the view of the bay and mountains were just great!
A California Gull soars past us.
Robert Mortensen took this shot of me scanning for waterfowl.
Bill was fun to bird with and he didn't mind a bit when we wanted to have our pictures taken with him. This is Poo with Bill. A close look at Bill’s binoculars reveals how he displays his annual “Duck Stamp”. The purchase of a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation stamp is a great way to promote wetlands conservation. Birders should do this because since this program started in 1934 revenue from the sales of “Duck Stamps”, over $670,000,000 has made it possible to purchase or lease 5.2 million acres of waterfowl habitat that is now included in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The stamps are available for purchase at the Post Office for $15.
Zeke and Michelle Watkins with Bill.
In this shot Bill is signing my copy of, Identify Yourself, his book about the 50 most common birding identification challenges.
Jerry Liguori was also signing his book, Hawks from Every Angle. Bill Fenimore was signing his books too but my picture of him wasn't sharp. I took the book signing images with my cell phone.
Poo and Bill.
A flotilla of Red-necked Phalaropes off the Antelope Island causeway.
One of the live bird displays included this Bald Eagle. I learned from talking with the man who brought the eagle to the festival that the white feathers of Bald Eagles raised in captivity never turn completely white.
An energetic Golden Eagle.
This adorable Western Screech-Owl was a big hit with everyone.
Bill was the keynote speaker at the dutch oven dinner held on Saturday night. He spoke about his 40 years of identifying and feeding birds. Bill is the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest. He is also an accomplished musician.
The crowd really enjoyed it when Bill sang, "Mother's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowbirds".
This is a shot of a Western Grebe that I took at the Bear River WMA on the way home after the festival.
The light was just perfect at Bear River to capture the iridescence of the feathers of the White-faced Ibises. 
An ibis with one wing stretched out.
This is a Forster's Tern hunting over a flooded field in the Bear River WMA.
A closer view of a Forster's Tern.
Good views of American Avocets were possible at several swallows at Bear River.
This Black-necked Stilt struck an impressive pose and I was able to capture the moment before it continued foraging.
A Clark's Grebe was hunting small fish near one of the bridges at Bear River.
Blue on Blue...a Great Blue Heron lifts off with the Wasatch Range in the background.
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