Hand Feeding a Hummingbird

Russ Thompson, a poster on a Hummingbird Forum that I visit, has a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that will sip nectar directly from the palm of his hand. This is just too cool. Check out the video below and his other hummingbird videos.

Stuffed Animal Bird

My friend Donna was the first person that I've heard refer to a bird as looking like a stuffed animal. When she said this, she was referring to a unique bird - the Boat-billed Heron. This bird has a large, flat bill shaped like a boat - hence the name. It's definitely one of the more unique bills in the bird kingdom (not as unique as this one). It could almost be a character on the Muppets. For a real close look at its bill, you can even buy a skull replica.

The Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) ranges throughout the New World Tropics from Mexico south to Brazil and Argentina. Similar to the night herons, they are primarily nocturnal and spend the day roosting in mangrove swamps and other wetlands. Their unique bill makes it possible to wade through water and stab their prey or scoop up shrimp and other mud-dwelling prey. When distressed, they will rattle their bills creating a sound similar to hand clapping. I photographed the heron above at CATIE in Costa Rica.

Rough-winged Swallows

Every day on my way to and from work (my whopping 6 minute commute), I pass a grassy field that always has several Northern Rough-winged Swallows (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) zooming high and low catching insects in their acrobatic way. From my perspective of birding, this swallow is a rather under appreciated member of its family. It's easily overshadowed by the shiny Tree and Violet-green Swallows and the colorful Barn, Cave, and Cliff Swallows. It's even slightly overshadowed by the it's slightly more well-marked cousin, the Bank Swallow.

The Northern Rough-winged Swallow is a small, brown swallow with dull to creamy white plumage below. It's head, chest, sides, and flanks are grayish-brown. The throat is usually paler and the tail is square. Its name comes from the rough edge to the outer wing feathers. When Audubon first found this bird, he thought he had found a Bank Swallow. He noticed the rough wing feathers and gave it the common name it now has.

It can be difficult to separate Rough-wingeds from the other brown-backed swallows. It's similar in flight to the Bank Swallow, but can be easily separated when perched. The Bank Swallow has a distinct brown breast band. Young Tree Swallows also look similar, but are dull white below with a smudgy brown breast band. "The tone of the upperparts is helpful on flying birds. Young Tree Swallows are usually a grayer shade of brown than Bank or Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Bank Swallows often look paler on the lower back and rump, which contrasts with dark wings. Northern Rough-wings tend to look uniformly brown above." (Thanks to Mark Johns)

Northern Rough-winged Swallows are found across the US and into southern Canada in summer, but winter along the Gulf Coast and in Central America. During the breeding season, they usually nest in river banks, railroad embankments, gravel pits, and sometimes even in drainpipes and old Kingfisher nests. They feed while on the wing, dining on a variety of insects including wasps, beetles, and mosquitos. Lucky for us, these swallows are doing well in the US. So, next time you see one of these guys zoom by you, give it a second glance and appreciate its subtle beauty.

On another note, the Northern Rough-winged Swallow has a southern relative named... wait for it... the Southern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx ruficollis). This was actually the first life bird I got in Costa Rica as one zipped by our bus as we pulled out of the airport. Its slightly more colorful than its northern cousin, but similarly rough-winged.


Southern Rough-winged Swallow

Jewelry on Wings

On a bright summer day, along any of the many shaded streams and rivers east of the Rockies, you might encounter a true jewel of the natural world. It usually starts with a glimpse of a shimmering, irridescent green and black shape out of the corner of your eye. Then, being relatively tame, one may perch nearby. I'm talking about a beautiful damselfly called the Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata).

Male

I think a more appropriate name would be Jeweled Ebonywing since the most prominent feature is the male's jet black wings. The body of the male shines a brilliant emerald with a hint of turquoise when the light hits it right. The females are similar to the males, except their wings are usually a smoky brown color and have bright white stigmas. The female's body tends to have a bronzy sheen to it.


Male

Ebony Jewelwings fly similar to a butterfly and could easily be mistaken for one. They flit around and perch on twigs and leaves. They may be seen darting out from a perch and returning to that same spot. When exhibiting this behavior, they are usually feeding on various tiny insects such as gnats and aphids. Ebony Jewelwings fly from May through August. Mating usually occurs in the summer. These pictures were taken by Beth and me yesterday at Willowwood Arboretum.

Fishy Business

When Beth and I visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California April, we picked up a pamphlet called Seafood Watch. It's a wallet-sized, fold-out guide to the best fish and shellfish to eat and the ones to avoid from an environmental standpoint. For example, fish like the yuppy restaurant staple Chilean Seabass (AKA The Patagonian Toothfish) is a big no-no. This slow-growing, Antarctic fish should be completely avoided due to overfishing, longline fishing that impacts seabirds, and bottom-trawling that causes sea floor damage. The Seafood Watch web site has all of the information in the wallet guide plus a whole lot more. It's a great place to learn about the fish and shellfish that you should avoid and the ones that are best. The site includes information on health hazards, environmental hazards, alternate names, fishing techniques, and other pertinent information. It's a valuable resource for anyone who has an interest in protecting our seas.

I and the Bird #28

Katie from Bogbumper is the host of I and the Bird #28. Be sure to stop over to see the plethora of entries this go-round. There are not too many guarantees in life, but you're guaranteed to learn something from at least one of those entries.

Dragonfly & Damselfly Books

Sorry for the lack of bird related posts, but I've been on a bit of a dragonfly and damselfly kick ever since getting my bug net. For anyone interested in getting into dragonflies, there are a lot of books available. For the northeast US, there are several good books available.

The first book I purchased was the Stokes Beginner’s Guide to Dragonflies by Blair Nikula, Jackie Sones, Donald Stokes, and Lillian Stokes. This is a great, pocket-sized guide specifically targeted to the novice "dragonflier". It includes many dragonflies and damselflies from the whole US. Each species account has large pictures and detailed descriptions with the key field marks bolded. It also includes descriptions of typical behaviors, flight times, and range maps. The inside front cover features a quick reference for each of the dragonfly and damselfly families as well. There are several drawbacks to using this book as your only resource. It doesn't cover as many species as some regional guides and other nationwide guides available. This is especially evident in the damselflies and clubtails. It also doesn't always show pictures of females or juveniles for many species. Other than these drawbacks, it is a phenomenal book.

The second book I purchased was Dragonflies Through Binoculars by Sidney W. Dunkle. Being a HUGE fan of Glassberg's Butterflies Through Binoculars series, I thought this would be an excellent choice. The guide includes every dragonfly species that occurs in the US, but does not include the damselflies. The format of this book is similar to the other books in the series. It features phot plates with short descriptions of each photo accompanies by a small range map. The short descriptions highlight the important field marks of each species. Each photo links back to a detailed write-up of that species. The write-ups include a lot of detail on field marks, behavior, life history, and similar species. Like the "Butterflies" book, they also feature interesting notes about some species such as the origin of their names. I commend the author for using a lot of interesting language and some humor to help make the book an interesting read. This book does have one huge drawback - the photos. The photos are just too small and difficult to see. Distinguishing similar species through the photos is next to impossible in some cases. The photos also do not have any kind of scale to them, so distinguishing size can only be done by reading the write-ups. These drawbacks have earned this book a place on my shelf and not in my field pack. It is definitely best used as a reference.

The most recent book I bought is A Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Massachusetts by Blair Nikula, Jennifer L. Loose, and Matthew R. Burne. Although restricted to Massachusetts, the book is applicable, for the most part, to NJ and most of the northeast. This guide is much more detailed than the two discussed above. Each species is given very detailed descriptions, multiple large pictures including females and juveniles, as well as descriptions of similar species. Flight times are displayed on a graphical calendar for easy reference. Unlike the above book, it also includes a ton of information on damselflies. The damselfly section is very in-depth and includes a lot of critical information on separating the difficult species. Summary pages on the abdominal appendages and eyespots for the bluets are especially helpful. The authors have included a horizontal bar at the top of each species account that is the exact size of that species, which is extremely useful. The spiral binding and glossy paper make this an easy book to bring into the field. You can tell that the authors put a lot of time into this book and it has paid off.

A final book that I do not own is Ed Lam's Damselflies of the Northeast. I've seen this book and it is THE authority on damselflies for my area. There are stunning, detailed paintings of every species and lots of great technical information. I hope to get this book soon.

So, if you haven't delved into the world of "odes" yet, hopefully one of these books can get you on your way.

Back in Black

An interesting find we had on our field trip on Saturday was a black form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. Most of us are probably familiar with the Tiger Swallowtail. I consider it the other poster child of the butterfly world (the first being the Monarch). A typical male or female is a stunning yellow and black as seen in the picture below. Some females are black though. In some areas of the northern US, most females will be black. These black forms tend to be more prominent in areas with more Pipevine Swallowtails which they are thought to mimic.

Distinguishing the black form from the other black swallowtails of the east can be a bit of a challenge. The key difference to me is that the Tiger Swallowtail retains a "shadow" of the yellow and black pattern on the underside of the forewing as evident in the picture below. The other "black" swallowtails are more "black".

The hind wings of the black form are powdery blue above with a black band dividing the blue areas. This band is absent in the sometimes confused female Spicebush Swallowtail. Pipevine Swallowtails have a single row of orange spots below like the Tiger Swallowtail, but also have a large patch of irridescent blue-green. Spicebush Swallowtail and Black Swallowtail have two rows of orange spots below.

Above the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail black form female has a very thin row of white spots on the upper forewing margin that is easily spotted in the field. No other "black" swallowtail in the east has these markings.


Female Tiger Swallowtail - Notice the tiger pattern shadow and the row of white spots on the forewing


Pipevine Swallowtail - Notice the irridescent patch


Black Swallowtail - Notice two rows of spots on hindwing below


Female Spicebush Swallowtail - No black line dividing the blue patch on the hindwing above