Green Jay

Green Jay

Want to talk Gaudy? Talk about the Green Jay. This bird has a bizarre mix of colors: green, black, blue and yellow. I have encountered this species twice, once in Mexico and once in Southern Texas. I was unable to get what I consider great photos because the bird was either glued to a suet feeder or in the case of this photo, it stayed in the protective shade of vegetation. They have a well-developed family structure that cooperate to improved reproductive success. More information on this species can be found at: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/grnjay/introduction

Plain-capped Starthroat Hummingbird

Plain-capped Starthroat Hummingbird

Hummers are always interesting to watch. Some of them can be extremely aggressive and will viciously defend a feeding station from other hummingbirds.

This is the Plain-capped Starthroat Hummingbird who seemed to give way to the more aggressive Cinnamon Hummingbirds who were also in the area.

Streak-backed Oriole

Streak-backed Oriole. Photo taken near Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico

Streak-backed Oriole. Photo taken near Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico

One of the more strikingly colored orioles I have encountered. Every time we saw this species it looked like a flame in a tree. They are especially bright and beautiful when the sun is low. Mostly they were shy, but this fellow was grooming and did not seem to mind me getting close.

Orange-breasted Bunting

There is nothing like coming up on this little bird. We were walking down a road with dry grass and barbed wire fence. Out of nowhere, a blue gem catches the eye - even with its flashy colors, it just barely catches the eye.

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

Sierra Tableau small.jpg

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