Brides and Birds Tour

A summer of weddings continue.  Last month we celebrated a niece's wedding in steamy Louisiana.  This month we traveled to Harbor Springs in northern Michigan to attend the wedding of a nephew.  Next week a wedding in Colorado with an extended stay should provide for some good photography. 
This second wedding in Harbor Springs almost didn't happen.  The bride and groom dated while attending college in the Upper Peninsula but soon went their own ways-he as a Montana mountain man working for the state and she to Colorado to start a business.  Ten long years passed without a single communication between them until our mountain man discovered Facebook and their early love was rekindled.  Last weekend the couple flew back to Michigan and were married on the beautiful grounds of a relative.  The estate included a 1905 hotel which after having the third floor removed was complete remodeled.  The multitude of rooms and bathrooms are perfect for entertaining and the owner is happiest when the house is loaded with friends and a large crowd is roaming the grounds.

The ceremony itself was outside with beautiful weather and was a treat for everyone including several birders in attendance.  A pileated woodpecker called first from the right side of the seated audience before flying to the left side and calling repeatedly.  A noisy family group of blue jays loudly competed with the minister as he addressed the couple.  Some non-birders complained afterwards of the impolite interuptions but the birders just smiled.

Lake Charles, Louisiana

A wedding in Lake Charles, Louisiana was a great reason to take a quick roadtrip to Cajun country again.  Photography took a back seat to family fun but I still packed a 400mm lens just in case.  My daughter accompanied Edie and me and we were anxious to introduce her to Louisiana culture.  A must stop for first time visitors traveling along Interstate 10 is a visit to the Atchafalaya Vistors Center whose welcome sign informs you that you are "smack dab in the middle of North America's largest river swamp".  The Atchafalaya is larger than the Florida Everglades, 5 times more productive than any other river basin in North America, contains over sixty species of reptiles and amphibians alone, and contains the largest concentration of Bald Eagles in all South Central United States. 
A visit to the tourist town of Breaux Bridge is a great way to follow up the visitor center.  It was time for lunch when we arrived and only Cajun food would do. 

Crawfish Town USA (http://www.crawfishtownusa.com/) was a restaurant we had not visited in previous trips and we decided to give it a try.  I was a little concerned when only a few tables were occupied as we entered but it was a week day and still early.  The food was good, however, and the service fast although our waitress did not exhibit the usual Louisiana hospitality we have come to expect.  A friendly local couple, when discovering we were from Michigan, made up for the waitress and were genuinely concerned that we have a good time in the area.  Edie ordered the "seafood festival" which included a little bit of everything including stuffed crab and shrimp, frog legs, oysters, and jambalaya.  She liked everything but the oysters which she gave to me.

I ordered the "Swamp Sampler" which was advertised as a "taste of the Atchafaylaya" and included alligator, frog legs, catfish, and crawfish.  I wish more restaurants tried grilling these specialties but apparently frying is the easiest.  Nevertheless it was good.

Heather started out her Cajun  dining experience with shrimp etouffee which she enjoyed. 

After lunch the girls shopped in Breaux Bridge.  One of the more interesting stops, especially for gardeners,

is found several blocks south of the business district on highway 31.  No matter what the size or type of garden you have, this sprawling complex has garden art that would complement it.  Whether you are a successful gardener or not........

this location is worth stopping for.

The girls allowed me to make a quick check on the status of the Lake Martin rookery.  I keep hoping that it will return to it's status as a world class location to photograph huge numbers of herons, egrets, and spoonbills but sadly it has not.  Ever since the birds left I have found only a few birds (cattle egrets and little blue herons) but nothing close to the road as previously.

Although time was limited in Lake Charles, I did get up early Friday morning and arrived at Sam Houston Jones State Park (www.crt.state.la.us/parks/ishjones.aspx) while it was still dark.  This park has camping facilities and the typical cypress swamp and lake habitat.  Although the photography was not that

good in the time I had, the birding was excellent.  Pileated woodpeckers, kingbirds, wood ducks, carolina wrens and chickadees were in abundance along with somewhat tame deer wandering through the campground.  I returned in time for breakfast with the rest of the relatives.  Discussion at breakfast determined that our group had three objectives for the remaining time before the wedding:  A quick tour of Lake Charles, lunch, and a ride on the Creole Nature Trail.  Since temperatures were poking above 100 degrees hiking long distances were out of the question. 

After a brief ride through parts of Lake Charles the group ate at Steamboat Bills (http://www.steamboatbills.com/) .

Although they have a varied menu one of their specialites is boiled crawdads in season.

Crawdads, crawfish, crayfish, mudbugs, or yabbies. No matter what you call them they are messy to eat but well worth it.

After lunch the group headed south along Highway 27 hoping to complete the U section of the Creole Nature Trail down to the ocean and finishing at Sulphur where our hotel was.  The Creole Nature Trail (http://www.creolenaturetrail.org/) has been given All American Road status.  This designation is a step above the National Scenic Byway label.  As of last year, only 31 routes have been given the title of All American Road.   In comparison there are 120 National Scenic Byways.  Since the Creole Nature Trail contains 180 miles of road with limited facilities a check of the gas tank is essential. 

Our first stop was the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge visitor center. 

Along the vistor center boardwalks one can see large numbers of fish, turtles and alligators swimming below.

Inside the center a Cajun couple comes to life explaining Cajun ways and the wildlife in the area.

South of the visitor center a three mile drive on Pintail Wildlife Drive produced a number of bird sightings despite the 100 degree mid day heat.  Black-necked Stilts were rather common along with the typical wading birds such as Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets, and a Black-crowned Night Heron. 

A nice break half way through the loop is a ride on the Cameron Ferry across the Calcasieu Ship Channel.  Here you have a chance to stretch your legs, experience cooler sea breezes, and watch the ship traffic carrying oil and natural gas.  Brown Pelicans drift past you, and, if you are fortunate, you may see dolphins as they frolic at the bow of the large ships passing. 

One of the criteria for attaining All American Road status is that the route must be a destination all by itself-not just a side trip.  I would like to return soon and give Louisiana's Outback the time and respect is deserves.

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

The Burrowing Owls of Cape Coral

People love Burrowing Owls.  This small owl was very common in the Western United States, often nesting in empty prairie dog burrows.  As the prairie dog often would carry on it's activities on all four legs while the burrowing owl would remain regally erect some Indian tribes called it the "priest of the prairie dogs".  In eastern United States, Florida has a population throughout the southern part of the state and Cape Coral is the easiest place to view them. The city protects the birds and many of the citizens try to attract them to their yards.  Many of the vacant lots have nesting owls which are easy to locate by the perches, signs, and sometimes tape to protect them. 
I scouted the area around the city library and found at least two dozen active burrows.  At this time of year many of the pairs had young which were waiting outside the burrow for the adults to feed them.

Ma and Pa Burrowing Owls

The Youngstsers

Begging for Food

About mid-morning a threatening  thunderstorm finally delivered with a 30 minute shower.  At the risk of being very anthropomophic I propose the following titles:

"Hey, it is raining"

"Thunder scares me."

"I hate thunder storms":

"Mom told me to air dry".



The Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow in the Everglades

Sparrows never elicit the response that a scarlet tanager or baltimore oriole get.  These L.B.J.s (little brown jobs), nevertheless have interesting lives and the more scrutiny they get the more they are appreciated.  Seaside Sparrows, as their name suggests, inhabit saltwater and brackish marshes.  There are a number of variations of this species all varying somewhat in coloration and locations.  One variation called the Dusky Seaside Sparrow is extinct.  The last one (a captured bird) died June 16, 1987.  The Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow is teetering on the edge.  It breeds in a small area in southern Florida. 

As I drove into Everglades National Park I was not optimistic that I would be able to find this endangered species let alone photograph it.  Twenty miles from the park entrance I pulled off the road and begin walking and listening.  I had almost a half an hour before the sun rose and the only traffic was a few fisherman trailering their boats down to Flamingo.  Within 15 minutes I had located a singing bird but it was far off the road and barely visible with binoculars.  I had hoped to shoot from the roadside but I had no choice but to shoulder my equipment and hike in.   A list of poisonous snakes living in the Everglades ran through my mind as I worked my way to the bird.

Suddenly the bird flew towards me.  I was not expecting this since grassland sparrows generally disappear rather quickly as you approach them.  This one had some personality and even seemed curious at first.  It soon forgot about me and got down to bird business, which at the moment was having a song duel with another sparrow in the far distance.  It allowed me to reposition my tripod and get closer many times while it tried to shout down the distant bird.  My only problem was that it was so intent on his competitor that he kept his back to me for about 90 % of the time.

Our record on saving endangered species is not very good.  Having experienced this brief little episode in the life of this personable little bird I will be very sad to read some time that the last one has died and it's song and personality extinguished forever. 

Final Day in the Keys

The four target birds I hoped to photograph in the keys were Gray Kingbird, White-crowned Pigeon, Black-whiskered Vireo, and Mangrove Cuckoo.  I had photographed the first two and knew the Mangrove Cuckoo would be the most difficult.  It is secretive by nature and very difficult to observe so that many aspects of it's biology is unknown to science.  I had not found any sign of this cuckoo and decided to concentrate on the vireo which had eluded my camera so far.  Since I had heard the most vireos on No Name Key, I concentrated my efforts there.

Driving through Big Pine Key and No Name Key before sunrise definitely keeps you on your toes.  Even at 25 mph the tiny Key Deer (about the size of a large dog) keep jumping out in front of you.  They are very stupid about vehicles vs tiny deer and considering how my truck has acted as a deer magnet in the past I was as jumpy as they were.  The number hit and killed this year is already pushing 50 and I did not want to add to this total.  When I parked my truck and hauled out my equipment they continued to walk up and down the road like tame pets. 

After about 20 minutes, I located a fairly cooperative Black-whiskered Vireo pair which played peek-a-boo with the camera for enough time to get the following images.

The Black-whiskered Vireo is very similar to the common Red-eyed Vireo but is a little browner and has the "whiskers" or lateral throat stripe.

Black-whiskered Vireo with an unfortunate katydid.