Cosmopolitan Bird

The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) is a very successful bird; it has undergone the most widespread and fastest range expansions of any bird in modern times. Originating in Southern Spain and Portugal, the Cattle Egret was not reported in the western hemisphere (S. America) until the 1930's and was not reported in North America (S. Florida) until 1941. The first record of Cattle Egrets in Arkansas was in 1962 from SW Arkansas. In less than 75 years the Cattle Egret has spread as far west as California and as far north as Canada and now outnumbers the combined populations of all other egrets and herons found in North America. These birds have also expanded their range across Europe, most recently breeding in Great Britain in 2008. Australia was colonized as early as the 1940's and from there this bird worked its way to New Zealand and other south Pacific island chains. In fact, this bird has been reported from every continent on earth except Antarctica.

Cattle Egrets are the only Egrets that are completely terrestrial; they do not need (but can use) an aquatic environment to survive. Cattle Egrets nest is large colonies with other wading birds. Pairs sometimes reuse old nests, or build new ones with live or dead vegetation. They will build in any place that can support a nest. The Cattle Egret is very gregarious and can be easily identified by its tendency to associate closely with grazing cattle. The Cattle Egret's major prey is active insects which are disturbed by the grazing cattle. It eats mostly grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, flies, and frogs. I have two other Egrets I will be featuring in later blogs. I hope I didn't freak out the owners of these cattle when I stopped on the roadside in New DeRoche to get these pics.

Another Grosbeak

Ironically, this Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) that visited my feeders regularly a few weeks ago is NOT closely related to the Blue Grosbeak I have already featured. These guys breed mostly in northern North America and spend the winters in central and northern South America. They are occasionally seen in Europe. Interestingly, these birds migrate at night in small flocks or alone. Unlike many of the more common birds, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have no sub-species. Females will lay one egg per day until clutch size is reached (average 4 eggs). Both males and females incubate the eggs and take turns feeding crushed insects to the chicks. These birds have been reported to live up to 13 years in the wild and 24 in captivity. Populations are stable.

Bible Bird

In illustrating how much God watches over us, Jesus used the simple sparrow. Luke 12:6,7 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings and not one of them is forgotten before God. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore ye are of more value than many sparrows. And in Psalms 84:3 the sparrow along with the swallow found a place in God's House, Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. As magnificent as the Temple in Jerusalem must have been with all the gold, silver, and exquisitely carved and ornate stones, these birds simply saw new protected places in which to build their nests and God welcomed them into his house. Sparrows seemed the perfect bird to illustrate the common man who is so overlooked by the rich and famous of this world, but so welcomed by God, the creator of this world. Few today even notice these very common and ubiquitous birds, let alone consider the different species that comprise this very diverse group. I have only begun to collect pics of these birds. Here are a few species I have photographed so far:

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

White-Crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia luecophrys)

Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)

Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is the largest and most widespread heron in North America. They can reach nearly 5' in length and weigh up to 6 lbs. If there is water around, you can expect to see one of these guys fishing (generally early in the morning or late in the evening). I have taken pictures of these birds in ponds, lakes, and rivers. Their average lifespan (if they survive the first year; only a little over half do) is 15 years. They are pretty solitary birds preferring to hunt alone, but will nest in colonies. They are not the most articulate of birds with only about 7 different calls and even those are not too flattering. My favorite is the loud "FRAUK" when they are startled.

Yellow Warbler

This Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petchia) visited my feeders earlier this spring. At first I did not notice him because he would appear in a sea of Goldfinches. I have not seen this guy back since then; possibly he stopped by on his migration to a more northern habitat. These birds are highly migratory and spend their winters from Mexico to northern South America. They love insects, but will eat berries and evidently, sunflower seeds. Unfortunately, this bird is one of the favorite victims of the brood parasite, the brown-headed cowbird. There are many different species of warblers and I really need to start looking for these guys; however, most will be just passing through in the spring and fall.

A Royal Tyrannus

This Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) belongs to the same genus as the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, but is more widespread. They breed mostly in the eastern US and spend the winter in the western Amazon basin. The Kingbirds are monogamous and aggressive during breeding season. More male chicks survive than females, which skews the ratio of male:female adults come breeding season. These birds love the open fields and are great at helping to control insects. You can always tell this bird by the white stripe at the end of his tail. Their numbers are still good, but are protected under the US Migratory Bird Act. These Kingbird photos were taken at Caddo Valley and below the dike off HWY #7.

A Razorback Bird

Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in the corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That is why it's a sing to kill a mockingbird.
--Miss Maudie Atkinson

As all Arkansans know the Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottus) is our state bird. This one nests in my front yard every ever and serenades us from the same perch all summer. The courtship rituals are always fun to watch. Males perform a flight display, which shows off their white wing patches. In the flight display, males sing continuously while flying a few meters into the air and then parachuting slowly back down. It is really weird to watch. They can live up to 8 years in the wild and 20 years in captivity. However, it is this bird's singing ability that gives it the Latin name "mimics many tongues." It can mimic 39 different songs and over 50 different call notes. Some Mockingbirds have been caught imitating the sounds of dogs and cats. And talk about aggressive, I have seen these guys chasing off crows (4x their size), cats, and even dive-bombing humans. They like to eat bugs (I have never seen one at my bird feeders) and right after I mow they flock to the lawn looking for crickets and other exposed insects. They are protected by not endangered.

Avian Rainbow

A purple and gold finch seem content to eat from the same feeder.

Likewise, an indigo bunting and purple finch share a feeding spot, as does the gold finch and indigo bunting. Funny how color doesn't seem to make a difference to these creatures.

With all the rain we have been receiving for the past few weeks, it was good to hear that this soggy pattern is coming to an end with blue skies expected for the next week. And what do you expect to see after the rainstorms? A rainbow, of course. Here is another type of rainbow God has provided, an avian rainbow.

Daily Visitor

This Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpus carolinus) spends hours in my backyard eating suet and sunflower seeds. One day a squirrel thought he was going to challenge this woodpecker for the sunflower seeds only to receive a "peck" right between the eyes. I never laughed so hard at wildlife in my life. The squirrel was shocked. Talk about entertainment. These woodpeckers are common and are year round residents of the SE United States. They are equipped to catch insects. Their barbed tongues can stick out 2" beyond their beaks and their saliva is very sticky (note the food stuck to his beak in pic above). These guys can live up to 10 years, so I look forward to many more antics from this fellow who holds the record for the most entertaining birds in my backyard.

"Lineman" Bird

I call this White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) a lineman bird because he has no neck, just like NFL linemen. These guys are the largest of the nuthatches and like the rest of their family, they will often go down trees headfirst hiding their food in the cracks of the bark. This guy likes to hang upside down and eat my suet. This nuthatch can be found in Canada, the US, and Mexico. Populations are said to be stable. In the winter they flock together with chickadees and titmice. In fact, one experiment showed that in the absent of titmice, these birds would not come to feeders.

Proud to be an American

Did you know that the Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) is one of only a handful of birds found exclusively in the United States (SE US to be exact)? Although, there is one endangered population in the Bahamas. This guy is a regular visitor to my backyard feeder. He will quickly snatch a sunflower seed and shoot off like a bullet; it was really hard to get these pics. The nuthatch is also known for climbing down a tree head-first and has been shown to use tools to pry up bark to get at insects. Strange little guy with a quirky personality.

A Brood Parasite

Male and Female

The notorious Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are a common sight at my backyard feeders and in backyard feeders throughout SE Alaska, Canada, all of the Continental US, and Mexico. The fragmentation of woodlands has actually increased their numbers. Let me explain why. These birds are brood parasites; that is, they go around laying their eggs in the nest of other bird species who will hatch, feed, and raise the cowbird chicks along side their own chicks. Cowbirds will generally only lay one egg per parasitized nest. With such a set up, cowbird females have been known to lay as many as 40 eggs per season and why not if you don't have to pay for raising them. Studies have recorded over 144 different species of birds have been parasitized by cowbirds. So what is the connection between forest fragmentation and the increase in cowbird numbers? Brown-headed cowbirds are edge species (sort of like deer); that is, they prefer the open grassland and thickets that surround forests and most importantly, will not venture more than a few hundred yards into the forest to lay their eggs. With once great expanses of contiguous forests being divided into hundreds of small patches or terrestrial islands, the cowbirds now have the opportunity to parasitize many more nests. So it is very important for us to support the conservation of large tracts of woodlands, if we don't want to see songbirds relegated to becoming surrogate parents of cowbirds and eventually disappearing.