Fall Warblers and More

Finally, some nice north winds that brought in some migratory birds. It takes work to find warblers in the fall, since they aren't singing. You have to listen for chip notes and peer into the tops of trees for the slightest movement.

Finding them is tough enough, but getting one to hold still in the open to be photographed is demanding and often frustrating.

Here are a few of the ones that would co-operate a little bit over the past couple of days.

American Redstart male

Black-and-white Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler v1

Black-throated Green Warbler v2

Common Yellowthroat juvenile female

Magnolia Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler - fall plumage

Parula Warbler - juvenile

Other warblers seen that avoided being photographed: Prairie, Black-throated Blue, Bay-breasted,
and the first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the fall.

Other fun sightings included a Swainson's Thrush in Forsyth Park and a Clay-colored Sparrow on
Tybee from the boardwalk to the pond near the North Beach.

Swainson's Thrush - note buffy eye ring

Clay-colored Sparrow

In Richmond Hill at my friend Nicole's house, we were able to photograph a very cooperative yellow-billed cuckoo who sat in the open while I retrieved our cameras from the house.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Hanging with the Buffies

The buff-breasted sandpipers that I first found on Sunday, Sept. 13 on Hutchinson Island were still around as of Sunday, Sept. 20th. I went back looking to get some better photos on Saturday am and had no luck. The birds (now up to 8!) seem to fly back and forth between the fields at the Reserve and the nearby greens of the golf course.

Sunday morning I returned and got distant looks of the birds on the golf course. Russ Wigh was there bragging about how he had just been photographing the birds in the Reserve, and that they had returned when I had to leave for Church! Argh.

I went back after Church. It was then hot and still with nothing much going on. Put persistence pays off. I finally found not one or two but all eight buff-breasted sandpipers feeding along the edge of one of the roads. The mid-day light was a bit harsh and I couldn't avoid some back lighting. Still, it was wonderful to spend an hour and a half of quality time studying these beautiful birds.

Six of the eight Buff-breasted Sandpipers

A quartet of Buff-breasted Sandpipers

It takes two to Tango!

Look who snuck in! The numbers of pectoral sandpipers were down from the previous week.

Pectoral Sandpiper

Buff-breasted Sandpiper strikes a pose

It was hot! Lots of posing with open mouth.

Check out my patterned back!

The other interesting sighting from Sunday morning was a pair of Red-tailed Hawks hanging out together.

A pair of Red-tailed Hawks survey the scene.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper & More

When I went outside on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 13th, the first thing I noticed was that it was cooler outside than inside. It was breezy and there was no humidity!!! I geared up with my anti-mosquito garb and went to scout the neighborhood for migrating songbirds. In one small wooded area I found seven species of warblers - Black-throated Blue, American Redstart, Prairie, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Northern Parula, & Black & White. Later that day I added Prothonotary to the list.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler

After church, I decided to make a trip over to Hutchinson Island to see if I the cool winds had brought in other birds. The first thing I saw as I entered the reserve was a large flock of birds soaring above the river. I caught glimpses of black and white. They were American White Pelicans - more than 60 of them.

Flock of American White Pelicans soaring above the Savannah River

I didn't see much in the way of songbirds - an Eastern Kingbird, a Northern Mockingbird and several Loggerhead Shrikes. However, I noticed a large flock of shorebirds hunkered down in the recently mowed, still muddy grass. On closer inspection, I realized they were Pectoral Sandpipers.

Pectoral Sandpipers hunkered down in the grass.

Pectoral Sandpiper up close

After counting more than 100 of them, I kept driving around thinking that maybe there would be something else mixed in with the group. At last I saw it - with a more delicate bill and buffy color - a Buff-breasted Sandpiper! And I didn't even have to drive to the Marshallville Sod Farm!

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

I studied it carefully, took photos and then sent text messages to my friends. It settled down in the grass and I could compare it to the Pectoral Sandpipers nearby.

Buff-breasted (front) and Pectoral Sandpipers

Later that evening, while Larry Carlile was observing the birds, most of the them flew off in the direction of the Golf Course. Steve Wagner went over there to scan the driving range and found 200+ Pectoral Sandpipers and 5 Buff-breasted Sandpipers.

Today, on a happy Tybee note, I went to the North Beach and found a flock of 14 American Oystercatchers resting among the gulls and terns. I was thrilled to see RedHH - one of the chicks that fledged on the North Beach last summer and that I helped to band. Great to see that it survived the winter, spring and summer to return to the place where it was hatched!

American Oystercatcher Red HH - fledged on Tybee North Beach in 2014

The Late August Gray Kingbird Report

Gray kingbirds are doing well on Tybee Island! One pair nested in early June in a palm and Hotel Tybee and fledged 3 chicks. Then Mrs. Kingbird moved to the palm tree next door and started a second nest. I had observed her flying in with bugs but the young ones were deep in the nest and I couldn't tell how many there were.

Today, when I looked at the palm, there were three juvie gray kingbirds all in a row, trilling that wonderful "pittirri" call.

Three alert young Gray Kingbirds

I checked the wires and found an adult (I think Mom) perched nearby.

Gray Kingbird adult on wire.

She was working hard to bring in the bugs for her growing brood.

Mom brings in the bugs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off to get more bugs!

Bug delivery isn't easy, nor is choosing which mouth to stuff it in!

This time the middle one gets lucky.

It turns around to poop while the siblings keep begging.

At the other end of Butler Avenue, near the Sugar Shack, I found 2 more Gray Kingbirds. Obviously, this species is doing well on Tybee. Many of the island mockingbirds have started imitating Gray Kingbirds so if you hear one, be sure to look twice!!

Late July Bird Report

Well I am a little late with this report but life has been busy. On the 19th of July,  my birding mentor Bill Drummond came to visit for a few days. We started the first morning of his visit with a trip to the Breakfast Club. He had read about it in my book and wanted to experience Tybee. We were joined by fellow participants on Bill's 2012 trip to Alaska Matt Ryan, Brenda Brannen & Sandy Beasley.

Matt, Brenda, Sandy & Bill at the Breakfast Club on Tybee

After breakfast, we walked down the street to check on the gray kingbird family next to Hotel Tybee. Even though the palm trees had been trimmed, Mrs. Kingbird was sitting on her second nest.
We found a couple of juveniles from the first clutch still begging.

Gray Kingbird mom on the nest.

Juvenile Gray Kingbird calls loudly

Next, we stopped to check for Roseate Spoonbills at the Horsepen Point pond. We didn't find one, but sharp-eyed Brenda spotted a common nighthawk roosting on an oak branch. I didn't have my camera, but I drove home and got it, returning to find the nighthawk still snoozing on its limb.

Common Nighthawk snoozes on an oak branch.

At last, we joined Captain Rene Heidt and Sundial Charters for a boat trip to Little Tybee. Highlights were more than 40 black terns, at least 4 reddish egrets, and a marbled godwit hanging out with a whimbrel. There were also flocks of semipalmated plovers and short-billed dowitchers still in their rusty breeding plumage.

The gang headed for Little Tybee

Black Tern molting out of breeding plumage.

Reddish Egret flies

Whimbrel & Marbled Godwit

That evening, I took Bill down to the north end of Tybee. It was low tide, and the first thing I spied as I looked at the two pilings that mark the outflow of the water treatment plant was the snout of a manatee. Bill was captivated and we watched for about 45 minutes, eventually seeing two snouts together. We shared the experience with other beach goers in the area.

Manatee shows a bit more than a snout.

Bill wanted to see a painted bunting and I was gratified that both male and female visited my feeders while he was here. We also made a trip to Skidaway State Park and found several buntings, many still singing.

Painted Bunting at Skidaway State Park

We drove around the county on Monday afternoon, searching in vain for a swallow-tailed kite. We saw Mississippi kites in several locations, and got good looks at a yellow-billed cuckoo at the entrance to the Solomon Tract.

Monday evening, we lounged on the dock, hoping to hear the harsh laughter of a clapper rail. All in all, it was a fun trip with many good birds.

Gen. Bill Drummond lounges on the dock at Chimney Creek.

Redstarts, Gray Kingbirds, Oystercatchers & White-winged Doves OH MY!

A few things of interest here on the coast during the past week.

For starters, our local bird rehabilitators came into possession of a large fledgling White-winged Dove right at the beginning of June. It came to them through a vet clinic. When queried, the vet reported that the person who brought in the bird had found it walking around in Daffin Park in mid-town Savannah.

Through the years, Steve Wagner has occasionally reported a White-winged Dove visiting his yard in nearby Ardsley Park. Could this be a first breeding record for the state?? Wish we had more info!

Fledgling white-winged dove found in Daffin Park, Savannah 6/2/15

Next, an American Oystercatcher pair returned to nest on the North Beach of Tybee again this year. Of their first clutch of 3 eggs, we saw one chick that later disappeared due to a predator, we think. Cat tracks were seen in the area.  The pair has re-nested and we are hoping for a better outcome. Public Works and DNR will place some traps but these ferals are quite wily. Ideas anyone??

I happened to catch the birds when they were trading off the incubation duties.

"You can take over...I'm getting hungry!"

Settling in for the long sit!

Third, this morning I heard an unusual call in my yard and found an adult male American Redstart singing and calling loudly, while a Yellow-throated Warbler sang nearby. A very late date for this bird!! It must have known what yard to visit so that its presence could be documented!

American Redstart male was singing loudly.

Finally, this afternoon I went over to Hotel Tybee (formerly the Ocean Plaza Resort) looking for the Gray Kingbirds. The new management has signs throughout the parking lot indicating Permit Parking for Guests Only or you can pay $20 to park so it is not as easy to scout there as it used to be.

I went down 15th Street, the street by the Breakfast Club, and about 2/3 of the way down found one Gray Kingbird perched on the wire. It was right near a power pole with lots of added electrical hardware. As I watched, it flew off and then flew to a nearby palm tree. When I checked, I found the second Gray Kingbird settled onto the nest. Hooray!

Gray Kingbird in its high tech location.

Palm tree where the nest is.

Gray Kingbird on the nest

Fine dining, Tybee style, for a Gray Kingbird