Backyard Photography

 

A long roadtrip is not always a necessity in bird photography.  I am always pulled in several directions every May as new birds arrive daily.  There are many great spots across the country that are famous for the numbers and variety of birds that appear in May and I have visited many of them.   The spring migration is so compressed and the birds move through so quickly that you wish you could be in several locations at the same time.  And yet, with all these great locations, I still find myself wanting to spend a couple weeks photographing in my own back yard.  Gardening chores, loads of blossoms on trees and shrubs, and new birds arriving at my own feeders will always act as a magnet competing equally with places like Cape May, Point Pelee, and Magee Marsh.  The following images were all taken this month while sitting in a blind only a few feet from the kitchen door.

Female Baltimore Orioles arrived several day after the males but all in the first week of May.

Female Red-winged Blackbirds arrive long before May

Tufted Titmouse.  These guys are permanent residents.  This one built a nest in a birdhouse under our deck and attacked his reflection in every window.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak males arrive about the same time as the Baltimore Orioles.

Male Red-winged Blackbird.  A bird that would be considered quite striking if it were not for their commonness.

White-crowned Sparrows arrive in huge numbers and then gradually disappear as they wing their way to the far North.

Black-capped Chickadee

Looking like a large sparrow the female Rose-breasted Grosbeak will never rival the coloring of their mates.

Male American Goldfinch

Male Baltimore Orioles are very attracted to oranges in early May but after a couple weeks grape jelly seems to hold more appeal.

Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area

Three Lakes W.M.A.  located by Lake Kissimmee south of Orlando is an important natural area in central Florida.  Three Lakes includes a variety of habitats including dry prairies, pine flatwoods, and cypress domes.  I worked an area consisting of longleaf pine trees with an understory of saw palmettos.  Under natural conditions lightning-ignited fires would spread quickly through the palmetto and underbrush but spare most of the pine trees because of their thick bark.  This allowed pine to dominate at the expense of easier killed hardwoods.  Now days, controlled burns mimic the effects of the naturally caused fires.
Birds seen in the habitat include Common Nighthawk, Northern Bobwhite, Brown Thrasher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Eastern Bluebird, Towhee, Eastern Bluebird, and Bachman's Sparrow. 
My target bird, however, was the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker.  This small black and white woodpecker has been intensely studied and it is nearly impossible to find an adult that has not been banded by researchers.  All of this research has led to some interesting findings.  The birds are cooperative breeders in that they form family groups consisting of an adult male and female along with 1-4 helpers which are often young from the previous year.  This family group will control a cluster of trees that have been excavated in the past.  These nesting or roost trees may be used for many years.  They will drill small holes above and below the entrance hole called "resin wells".  The tiny holes exude sticky resin which is thought to protect the inhabitants from climbing snakes and other predators.

Red-cockaded woodpecker at nest hole.  Notice the sticky resin surrounding the cavity.

Eastern Bluebird on burned pine stump

Common Nighthawk-not really a hawk but very good at catching insects while flying.

Brown-headed Nuthatch