Double jaeger whammy

Jaegers on the big lakes of southern Manitoba are far from common; so I was ecstatic when Josiah Van Egmond called out “jaeger” as we were scoping the water at Victoria Beach on 2020-09-19. I was blown away (literally and figuratively) to see the super long-tail streamers that immediately identified the bird as Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus), accompanied by that “lighter” flight style that I came to know and love while atlassing in northern Manitoba (when we documented them as nesting in Manitoba, previously unconfirmed: https://www.birdatlas.mb.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=LTJA&lang=en . I had not realised that it was possible for adult Long-tailed Jaegers to keep the tail streamers on the southbound migration, but I have since learned from Peter Pyle that this does happen and that their moult is highly variable. Peter Taylor tells me that, if the record was accepted, this would be the first record of a Long-tailed Jaeger in southern Manitoba in 118 years. Sadly, I did not manage any usable photos of the Long-tailed Jaeger, mostly because it flew back and away from us and by the time it landed on the water it was so far away I couldn’t find it in my camera lens so instead went back to studying it in the scope. Then, while my head was buried in the scope, Josiah called out “there’s a second jaeger coming in”. The two jaegers were visible together for a while but the Long-tailed disappeared around the west of Elk Island, whereas the second jaeger first flew north towards Sandy Bar and then back south and closer, landing on the water a few times, in between bouts of harassing a few gulls and terns. This allowed me to identify the second bird as an adult Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) and capture a few super distant record shots. I thought that getting more than one species of jaeger in Manitoba would only be possible in Churchill and the far north, but who knows what the wind can blow in…

 

 

Distinguishing the Golden Eagle and the Bald Eagle

Since I spend rather a lot of time discussing the difference between subadult plumages of Bald eagle versus Golden Eagle (when people send me photos or in reviewing eBird records etc.), I decided to share a series of 9 slides on their identification. These slide should be self explanatory so click on the first one to follow the sequence in full screen:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the love of pipits!

After a splendid season of surveying Sprague’s Pipits in Manitoba’s grasslands, I am feeling rather pipit-inspired and have decided to share a series of photos of different species from around the globe. Pipits are not as boldly patterned as their relatives the wagtails but the pack in a lot of mystique and offer a wonderful birding challenged to find and identify.

Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii), Manitoba, Canada:

One of the highlights of so much surveying in cattle pastures this year was getting some exceptional opportunities to SEE Sprague’s Pipit. I emphasise the word “see” because 9 times out of 10 one hears Sprague’s Pipit but cannot spot the speck in the sky. These grassland birds make their haunting song carry further by singing high in the air over the grasslands. This year though, having spent so much time in grasslands such as cattle pastures for #MBSARPAL (http://www.mbbeef.ca/sarpal/) and on  community pastures, I saw no less than six of them on the ground (more than I have seen on the ground in 15 years of birding in Manitoba). Here is one that shows the bird well (including the white outer rectrices) stitched together with a habitat shot that shows a pipit walking through some beautiful mixed-grass prairie. . 

Buff-bellied Pipit, a.k.a American Pipit (Anthus rubescens), Manitoba, Canada and Wyoming, U.S.A.:

The other pipit we regularly see in North America is known in North America as “American Pipit” but this species also breeds in much of Siberia and northernmost China and winters in Asia as well so most of the world prefers to call the species Buff-bellied Pipit. Different populations breed in Arctic, Subarctic or alpine tundra and can look rather different (some more pink in breeding plumage and some more buff). The first collage shows a bird in the subarctic tundra of northern Manitoba, Canada and a close-up of a bird foraging in the inter-tidal zone of Hudson Bay. The second collage shows a bird in rocky alpine habitat in Wyoming and then a juvenile on a boulder slope.

Yellowish Pipit (Anthus lutescens), Salta Argentina:

The Yellowish Pipit is one of the more widespread and smaller of the South American pipits. This species is found in grasslands and other relatively open habitat types from the dry zone of southern South America to the tropical wet savannas, even as far north as Panama. 

Hellmayr’s Pipit (Anthus hellmayri), Tucumán, Argentina:

The subtly beautiful Hellmay’s Pipit is an enigmatic grassland pipit, found most commonly in the drier grasslands of the Puna (as high as 3700 m ASL) but also in pastures in some contexts. Some populations are resident and some are migratory and there is the possibility that some subspecies may in fact be cryptic species. This composite shows the bird up close on a rock and in the typical Puna habitat it calls home. It reminds me a lot of our Sprague’s Pipit but perhaps with a more speckled face.

Rosy Pipit (Anthus roseatus), Sichuan, China:

There are a few pipits that have soft pink or red in their plumage and the Rosy Pipit is one of my absolute favourites. This collage shows a bird in breeding plumage in the high mountains of Sichuan, China. This species is an altitudinal migrant, breeding in the alpine meadows and grassy slopes of the Himalayas and eastern Asia, even at the snow line, and wintering in the mid elevations plains.

Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni), South Korea and China:

The Olive-backed Pipit is one of the more common and widespread Asian pipits. This species breeds in a diverse mixture of habitat types especially where the taiga meets the tundra and where the montane forest meets the alpine zone, and, at least in the breeding season, seems to spend more time perched in shrubs and trees than many other pipits. You can even find them walking on the forest floor or fallen conifer needles at times. Like the Rosy Pipit, the alpine populations migrate down slope in winter and some go as far south as Borneo. This collage shows a few habitat types and plumages (a bird perched on a shrub in breeding plumage, a bird on a lawn in spring and a bird on the forest floor in autumn). 

Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris), Rajasthan, India:

The Tawny Pipit is mostly a Western Palearctic breeding species that winters in sub-Saharan Africa (Sahel) and parts of the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. The large and fairly plain (i.e. unstreaked) pipit is easier to identify than many other pipits. It is found mostly in dry habitats as shown here in western India on the wintering grounds. Although it can be found in grassland you will also find this species in sand, gravel, semi-desert and shrubland.

Plain-backed Pipit (Anthus leucophrys), Cameroon:

The Plain-backed Pipit is one of the African resident pipit species (i.e. does not migrate) and a striking bird with its rich tawny underparts. This species is found in savanna and grassland with scattered shrubs and trees as shown here (photo from Cameroon).

Brief visit to Alberta

I enjoyed a recent visit to Alberta to attend the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and specifically to look at what these roundtables can do for the plight of declining grassland birds.  I also enjoyed a little birding on the weekend following the meetings from the foothills west of Calgary. In addition to my previous two posts on the Northern Pygmy-Owl and the Clark's Nutcracker, here are a few images from this area.

I start with two scenery shots of the foothill country, coated in a light dusting of snow and hoarfrost in early October to give you a sense of the landscape.

There were some thoroughly enjoyable mammal sightings in this beautiful landscape including  several elk. This magnificent male was rubbing his heard on a tree, seemingly with great relish:

 

 

There were lots of opportunities to observe Mule Deer, including this stotting pair. The stott of the Mule Deer (a jump with all four legs leaving the ground and landing at once), and some other deer and gazelles, is considered by many to be a form of "honest signalling", i.e. telling a predator "I am so fit you will never be able to catch me".

And this Red Fox posed for just long enough to allow a few photos:

There were some thoroughly enjoyable raptor sightings as well, not least of which were five Golden Eagles seen migrating along the foothills east of the Rocky Mountains within a few hours. This is a first year bird with more white in the underwing than adults. These huge and magnificent Aquila eagles are always a great pleasure to watch!  

There were many Rough-legged Hawks on the move and this female on a frosty perch was too striking not to take a habitat photo.

One of the highlights was  watching two Common Ravens mobbing an adult Northern Goshawk. Ravens are of course a large and audacious species but the Northern Goshawk is an apex predator that is not to be trifled with.  Unintimidated by those powerful talons, the ravens escorted the Accipiter "off the premises".

 
The handsome male American Kestrel also warranted a quick stop! The only other falcon seen was a flyby Peregrine Falcon.

I did not spend a lot of time looking for waterfowl but did record an impressive number of Hooded Mergansers. This male (not in breeding plumage) chasing a female Common Merganser was rather comical. The size difference was immediately apparent.

One of the first passerines I saw on this trip was the Mountain Chickadee. This species is endemic to the mountainous regions of western North America and I seldom get to see them so I especially enjoyed photographing this one with a caterpillar.

Although I am used to seeing the other two chickadee species that were present in the flocks here (Black-capped and Boreal), I couldn't resists a few photos of Boreal Chickadees of perches laden with snow and hoarfrost:

A first-year Northern Shrike also provided a thoroughly enjoyable photo opportunity, albeit distant.

And I photographed a few other familiar faces such as this American Tree Sparrow: 

 And this Rusty Blackbird on yet another frosty perch: 

A thoroughly enjoyable short trip with special thanks to Doug Collister and family!

Portrait of a Nutcracker

The Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) has an exceptional spatial memory, being capable of hiding and refinding thousands of seeds and nuts. Another interesting fact about this species is that both sexes incubate the eggs and the male develops a brood patch (unusual in the Corvidae - crow family). There are only three species in the genus:
  Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) of western North America
  Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes) of Eurasia
  Large-spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga multipunctata) of Kashmir

and their closest relatives are the ground-jays (Podoces) of Asia and the choughs (Pyrrhocorax) of Eurasia. In all three of thee genera the bill is rather long and slightly decurved.

On a recent brief visit to Banff National Park, Alberta Canada, I took a few minutes to get to know this magnificent denizen of montane coniferous forests a little better. The first photo shows a nutcracker in their habitat

And the second photo gives a closer look but still offers a typical view of one perched near the trunk of a conifer.

 

I finish with two portraits. First a vertical composition, showing the underparts and the undertail, and  which I think captures some of the bird's personality:

 

 And finally an upper body portrait  to show off their simple elegance and beauty:

Enjoy!

Northern Pygmy-Owl

The Northern Pygmy-Owl (scientific name differs by taxonomy; IOC: Glaucidium californicum; AOU: G. gnoma) is Canada's smallest owl and the only pygmy-owl (Glaucidium) that occurs here. This tiny little resident is found mostly in the mountains of western North America (in Canada mostly in British Columbia but it does occur east of the Continental Divide in westernmost Alberta).

After a recent conference in Banff, I managed to photograph two Northern Pygmy-Owls. The first was along the Bow Valley in Banff National Park and the second in the foothills east of the park. The first five photos below show the first of these two owls. I was lucky to spot this bird atop a pine near dusk and, even better, watched it fly down to an aspen and then dive into a spruce to grab a small bird.

The first photo below (followed by a crop of the same photo) shows of the owl with the snow-covered mountains in the background:

This mountain shot also shows the owl's 180 degree head turn:

This is the point where the pygmy-owl dove into the spruce. Although I suspected it was hunting I wasn't sure at first...

until it emerged with a small bird (looking at the photos later I suspect the prey was a Dark-eyed Junco). As this was right at dusk, I suspect the junco has already settled in to roost for the night (I have watched Eastern Screech-Owls grab prey at the roost like this several times):

These next two photos show the second owl in the foothills east of the Rockies; the first perched high atop some hoarfrost laden needles and then in a leafless aspen.   

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed the thrill of seeing these tiny owls. Special thanks to Doug Collister and family for their exceptional hospitality!