Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

A warbler with a lemon-yellow face that is common in the Northeast United States and Southeast Canada in the northern summer. In the summer it feeds mostly on caterpillars in coniferous and deciduous forests. This species spends the northern winter in tropical America where it eats the buds of the cecropia  tree.

We have seen this species in Northern Ohio as it makes its way across the lakes to northern forests in Canada.

Photo taken at Magee Marsh, 2018.

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler

The sweet song of the Yellow Warbler always puts a smile on my face as it sings “sweet, sweet, I am so sweet”. The rich buttery yellow with the reddish streaks indicate a male Yellow Warbler in the photos. Females and immatures are not as bright and lack the rich reddish streaking on the breast. The plain face with a piercing black eye is a characteristic of this species.

These photos were taken at Magee Marsh, Ohio in 2018

Nashville Warbler

I found my first ever Nashville Warbler in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Yosemite National Park. Floy and I were hiking a steep trail and we saw a little bird flitting around in a nearby tree. I was taken aback by this little beauty with a yellow-olive belly, a gray head and a distinct, complete eye ring. There is a sliver of a breeding population of this species that is found on the Sierra Nevada Mountains and up into Oregon, Washington and Southern British Columbia, but most of the breeding activity occurs in Southeastern Canada and the Northeastern United States.

This photo was taken in the Edinburg Scenic Wetland Park in Texas.

Yellow-rumped Warblers

Yellow-rumped Warblers, Flicker and Persimmons diptych each 16” x 16” watermedia on wood panel

Yellow-rumped Warblers, Flicker and Persimmons diptych each 16” x 16” watermedia on wood panel

Yellow-rumped Warblers seem to be everywhere right now although they will be leaving soon for the summer.

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler at Magee Marsh, Ohio

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler

The Palm Warbler occurs mostly east of the Rocky Mountains and breeds almost exclusively in Northern Canada. Some members of this species will spend winters along the west coast of the United States, however, most overwinter in the Southeastern United States and down into the Caribbean and Yucatan. The winter Palm Warbler, like most other warblers is drab brown, but the yellow under-tail area gives them away along with their habit of wagging their tail up and down as they forage on the ground. They are brave for warblers. In Florida a winter bird came up and pecked on my shoe.

The photo shows an adult heading for the breeding grounds. Photo taken in May 2018 at Magee Marsh, Ohio.

Southern Lapwing

A common shorebird of South America but it is slowly spreading north into Central America. This is one of two that my daughter spotted close to the Arenal Volcano near La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat

This cute warbler usually inhabits marshy areas, often in and around reeds or other vegetative tangles. This is a photo of a male. The female’s colors are subdued. They skulk around in dense vegetation making them hard to see, but every once in awhile one will appear for a photo. In the spring they can more easily be found by their song which sounds like whichety-whichety-whichety and is quite a racket for a tiny bird. In the northern summer, this species can be found across the entire United States and the southern half of Canada.

Yosemite Renaissance Exhibit

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My painting, ‘Sierra Tableau’ is part of Yosemite Renaissance 34, a juried exhibit on display at the Yosemite Museum Gallery, Yosemite, CA until May 5.

Bay-breasted Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Yes, there are many beautiful birds in the Neotropics, but it’s not to say there isn’t beauty among the birds in North America. Indeed, we share many of our birds with countries in the south when they migrate to warmer climes in the winter. Floy and I have seen many northern species in the south, but they are often drab and do not show their breeding colors until the northern spring. The male Bay-breasted warbler is a member of this category, drab and plain in the Neotropics becoming a stunning showman in the northern summer.

This photo was taken in May, 2018 at Magee Marsh, Ohio

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

The Rufous-tailed Jacamar is a sit and wait predator. When a flying insect gets too close and it’s edible, it is as good as gone. Sit and wait predators make it somewhat easier to get a photo, but it’s not perfect because this species often perches in the shade.

Common Mergansers

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It has been raining constantly for the past week and Steven’s Creek, which can be dry in the summer, is overflowing it’s banks. Yesterday we came across a pair of common mergansers in the flooded stream and, while I’ve shied away from painting ducks in the past, these two in the stormy woods spoke to me.

Western Tanager

Western Tanager. Photo taken near Truckee, California

Floy pretty much described this bird in her post below. We see it show up in the spring in the San Francisco Bay Area, usually, but not always in riparian areas. It is a common summer bird in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Western Tanagers

Dave has been posting images of the colorful tanagers we saw in Costa Rica. Our local Central California tanager is the Western Tanager. It is no longer in the Tanager family but the name survives. We see these birds in the summer, particularly in the Sierras, when the males have brilliant breeding plumage. They have inspired many paintings.

Ferruginous Hawk

I guess it’s time for an interlude from things tropical, well, at least for a few posts. Floy and I did our annual trip to the migratory birding areas of San Louis and Merced National Wildlife Refuges and the Panoche Valley, all of which are in Central California. Panoche Valley is semi-desolate, with some cattle farming. This area attracts birds that are not often seen in the San Jose, California area such as Horned Larks, Mountain Plovers, Mountain Bluebirds, etc. It’s not unusual to see this species there in the winter. After rain, the Panoche area can be emerald green. Beware of the mid-summer because it can become very hot and dry.

This is the same hawk Floy presented in her sketch below. Unlike other hawks of the area, this one spends a great deal of time standing in open fields. Scanning the vast fields of the valley, it’s not uncommon to see them standing as a white pillar in the distance.