Pretty Birds and the Backcross Warbler

Banding today was dismally slow, with ice on the nets in the early morning, cold temps and then windy conditions. 
However, on Sunday morning we managed a couple of nice birds.  This Baltimore Oriole was a return bird, first banded in the spring of 2007.  He was unusually stunning and a bit fiesty.

Our cutie of the day goes to this magnificent magnolia warbler!

 

 

Oh, and an update on the blue-winged warbler with yellow wingbars.  The opinion among other banders and birders like ‘Nathan’ who left a comment on the previous post, is that this is a backcross warbler; that is, a blue-winged/golden-winged warbler hybrid bred with either a pure blue-winged or golden-winged to produce this bird. Some interesting discussions ensued on the bander’s forum where I posted a link to the photo.

Apparently, as NOT depicted in the popular field guides, backcross warblers are quite common, as are different plumage variations in BW/GWWA hybrids.  Long Point Bird Observatory in Ontario said they’ve been banding backcross blue-winged warblers for decades, and rarely get a ‘pure’ one anymore, while the golden-winged warblers remain pure.  On the other hand, Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory in the Finger Lakes Region of New York says the blue-winged and golden-winged warblers they have banded over the years were pure and the hybrids they have encountered have conformed to the standard descriptions of Brewster’s and Lawrence’s warblers.  Interesting observations.   We will, of course, be noting in our records whether the BWWA we are banding are pure or back-crossed, along with any notable plumage patterns.

Blue-winged, Golden-winged Warbler Hybrid?

Rained out for banding this morning, but that gives me more time to catch up on household chores (where ARE those house elves when you really need them?) and some other work.  But first, I have to share an interesting capture from yesterday and Tuesday. 

I banded this fellow on Tuesday morning.  A beautiful male blue-winged warbler….uh, wait a second.  It’s supposed to have white wing bars.  Not yellow ones.  This guy most definitely has yellow wing bars.  Blue-winged and golden-winged warblers do interbreed, producing two variations of hybrid offspring that have characteristics of both parents. One of these variations (Brewster’s warbler) has mostly white underparts, and the others (Lawrence’s Warbler) have the yellow plumage of the blue-winged but the dark throat of the golden-winged.  This guy does not fit the description for either a Brewster’s or Lawrence’s.  He’s clearly a blue-winged warbler, except for those golden wing bars.

I banded the bird and recorded the anomaly, and of course, took as many pictures as I could to get a clear documentation. Then, I sent him on his way.

Wednesday morning,  when I checked the net, not only had I recaptured the yellow wing-bar guy, but a few inches away from him was another, ‘normal’ blue-winged warbler!  They no doubt were chasing one another when they hit the banding nets.  Such a chance for further comparison and a side-by-side photo op!  Except I was banding alone, and getting two birds safely out of respective bags, holding them both next to one another and taking comparison pictures - wasn’t going to happen.  So I did the best I could do with individual shots.

This guy is a ‘normal’ blue-winged warbler, with the proper white wing bars.  There’s a pale hint of yellow on a couple of the feathers, but that’s it.  Also notice his wing bars are much more narrow than the yellow ones in the first bird.

So - is the first bird a hybrid?  Is it just some mutant throwback (these two species are very closely related anyway) or is there another explanation?  I’m not into genetics, so I can’t say.  But by normal banding terms, it was an awesome day.

 

Returning Migrants

This morning’s banding session reminded us of one of the reasons we roll out of bed at 5 in the morning and mingle with ticks and bears every spring and fall. 

The first bird today was a ‘return’ yellow warbler, that records show we first banded on July 10, 2007.  Yellow warblers most definitely do not winter here, so this bird has migrated south to probably Costa Rica or other parts of Central and South America.  It made the return trip over the last few weeks and came back to the same field in our little corner of northwestern New Jersey.  Pretty impressive by any standards.

 

Another return bird this morning was house wren, first banded on May 24, 2007.  Same scenario - this little wren made it at least as far as Florida or along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico - and back to the same field here in NJ. 

I think those of us who band or bird regularly take things for granted.  We expect to see certain birds, and we do.  It’s only when that bird is marked with the numbered leg band that we have proof positive that this is the same individual we saw last season.  It really a mind-boggling idea, and one that continues to excite me every time I’m reminded of the tenacity and endurance of these tiny creatures.

 

Childs Park

It finally warmed up here today and I decided to take a break and visit Childs Park, which is only about a mile from the house I stayed in for the winter in PA.  It’s a very pretty hemlock ravine with a series of waterfalls, steep rock cliffs, and a boardwalk/trail - complete with steps.  It’s also a pretty good workout!  The park is named after a person, but a great place for kids to experience nature, too.

I love rushing water and mountain streams, and this one is especially nice because of the boardwalk system. It allows you to get very close to the falls, and in one spot, directly over them.  It’s a strange feeling to be standing on a few wooden planks only feet above such a powerful force of Nature.  It’s also difficult to capture the height and depth of the falls - the pool below seems so much closer in my photos than it actually is.  Let’s just say you wouldn’t want to go over this falls, unless you can fly.

I looked around for any signs of emerging wildflowers, but other than the  moss greening up and the buds beginning to swell on some of the hardwoods, there weren’t any signs of wildflowers just yet.   But there was still a patch of snow on one of the nearby ravines a couple of days ago, so I’m not so surprised.

 

Droopy Barns and No Chickens

Went on a product photo shoot with my son last week, and we chose this abandoned farm to use as a backdrop for some of the items.  I revisited the place today, as it’s not far out of my way on the drive home, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.   I couldn’t help sitting in the Jeep for a few minutes today, trying to picture what this farm must have looked like, and sounded like, when it was alive and well.  Today, there was only the sound of wind, creaking boards, and something banging, high in the rafters.

 

There were horses here once, and chickens.  The neat little nest boxes are still there in the chicken coop, though it’s been a long time since any chickens wandered around this barnyard.  Inside the old barn, there is still hay in the loft and poking through the rafters - surprisingly clean-looking, but yellow with age. 

There is no evidence of this being a barn to house cows - it’s not large enough, no milk house, no milking stanchions.  No, these barns housed farm equipment, horses, chickens - maybe pigs or goats.  Or, possibly what was the dairy barn fell into ruins already.  I didn’t do much poking around the grounds, so its possible there’s evidence of a cow barn not far away.  The once-grand old farm house is also in a state of neglect and decay - the front porch, where I’m sure the family sat to enjoy the smells and sounds of a country evening after a hard day of work and a good country supper - has collapsed into the dirt.  

The future of this place isn’t all that bright.  While the land is rumored to actually be owned by a conservation organization to keep it preserved from development or private sale, which is good - rumor also has it that they are just holding on to the land until the Park Service can purchase it in the future.  Of course, that is probably just rumor, but in any case, it’s probably safe to say that no one is going to fix either the  house or the barns, and that before too long, they will topple over and be lost forever.  It’s doubtful that this old farm will ever be lived in or farmed again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food for Thought

Hi folks - thanks for the nice comments about continuing this blog. 

There’s a good article on the New York Times site about how our food habits are killing migratory birds:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/opinion/30stutchbury.html?em&ex=1207108800&en=110a4c484f3ed9f9&ei=5087%0A&exprod=myyahoo

I really  hope that link works!   

Revisited

Every time I decide I’m just going to abandon this blog, something draws me back.  Then, every time I decide I’m going to start blogging here regularly again, something draws me away.  Oh well - I’m going to quit trying to explain, because I just don’t know what else to say.

I DO know that this has been one long, cold, snowy winter here, and I am so ready for spring I can hardly stand it.  The daffodils have been blooming in Kentucky for more than a week, and the redbuds will soon turn the hills pink - but I’m going to miss both, since I won’t be going back there until after spring banding is completed here in NJ.

There’s hope though - I heard a phoebe singing yesterday - and the titmice and chickadees are changing from a few chirps here and there to bits of actual song. 

I think I’m going to be a lot like some of these hibernating animals - coming more fully awake as the weather warms up and the sun shines again!  Life is chilly - but good.

New Blog and Bragging Rights

Those of you who have been readers of Natural Notes know that my son Rob is a great photographer and once in a great while I’ll post one of his photos here, as I did in my previous post for Wordless Wednesday.

Well, Rob has finally joined the world of blogging http://robertsochaphotography.blogspot.com/ and if you enjoy his bird and nature photos, you may want to stop by his blog and take a look. There’s a link in the first post for his Etsy site, where many more photos, including more on the red-winged blackbird flock, are posted.

Hope you all survived the onslaught of snow/ice of the last week. For me, the novelty of winter has worn off and I am ready for spring. Only 4 or 5 more months to go, and we’ll be complaining it’s too hot! Works for me.

Late and Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Red-winged blackbirds in northwest NJ this afternoon, photo taken by my son Rob.

Flying Possums

There’s been a layer of snow on the ground since Thanksgiving, and the weekend’s spritz added a fresh layer of thin ice, finishing off with about a half-inch or less of powdery snow on top this morning that ended before I ventured out around 11:30. I was abruptly stopped at the front door by the tracks of what I thought, at first glance anyway, was a possum-tail trail in the snow. About the same time it occurred to me this couldn’t be a possum-tail trail unless the rest of the possum was flying. There were no footprints.

Instead of footprints, there were little piles of snow on either side of the track - but not uniformly spaced and not everywhere.

The pattern was strange too, having many sharp turns and corners in otherwise straight lines. I can only assume, since I wasn’t born yesterday and know very well that possums can neither fly or levitate, that something else was responsible for the tracks. They did lead to an exposed flat rock, and there, in the snow, were little footprints. But why weren’t there little footprints anywhere else? My guesses are that (1) this is a mouse, mole, or some similar small furry rodent that is tunneling through the snow, and the printless lines are where the snow has caved into the tunnel (2) the footprints are obscured by the tunneling and digging action or (3) the Martians have landed and are a lot smaller than we thought.