Last Brood of the Moorhens?

Posted by Elisa Lewis

Common Moorhens may raise up to three broods per breeding season, especially in their southern range, but I was a bit surprised to find a pair of Moorhens with young chicks on the autumnal equinox, September 22, 2012. It got me thinking that these chicks, seen near the end of September, are most likely the last brood of the season at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Day-length, or photoperiod, along with temperature changes, govern many seasonal changes in animals including changes in the coloration of fur/feathers, hibernation, migration, and mating behavior. Here, along the gulf coast, our seasonal changes are gradual – permitting longer growing seasons and, happily, longer baby bird watching as well!

Common Moorhen with chick exhibiting begging behavior.
With their bald patches and what look like bad hair-plugs, Common Moorhen chicks could easily win a “so-ugly-they’re-cute” contest. This little one is begging for food by “flapping” its stubby wings.  Moorhens with young can be found throughout the long, hot summer at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas.

See Early Fall Migrants on the Texas Gulf Coast (and don’t forget your sunscreen and bug repellent)!

Posted by Chris Cunningham

Elisa and I have been out trying to catch glimpses of the early fall migrants, especially songbirds, along the Texas Gulf Coast at places like Sabine Woods, Brazos Bend State Park, and Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) . . . and we have been paying the price. Until the first real norther arrives, the heat, humidity, and bugs rule. It makes sense that the larger the number of insects, the larger the number of migratory insectivorous songbirds that one would find at any given locale along the Texas Gulf Coast. This is the general pattern that we have observed: Brazos Bend is generally the least buggy (almost anomalously so) of any of the major birding spots we frequent, and we see the fewest insectivorous songbirds there. Of course, Brazos Bend is farther from the coast than the other localities, so it not a migrant trap. But Brazos Bend has so few flying insects, biting and otherwise, that it has caused me speculate about the cause(s). There is plenty of standing water for mosquito reproduction, but there are also large numbers of deer in the park, and large ungulate populations have been shown to negatively impact songbird populations due to grazing on insect and bird food plants (reference Aldo Leopold). On the other hand, the bugs at Sabine Woods and ANWR can be brutal. Today at ANWR (Skillern Tract) the deer flies and mosquitos literally chased us out of the marsh! Bugs are food for birds and food for thought.

Black-throated Green Warbler portrait at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
Black-throated Green Warbler on Hackberry Branch. Note the insect body parts on the tip of the beak. I think I was being eaten alive by the very bugs this beauty was dining upon. Skillern Tract, ANWR, Texas Gulf Coast.

 

Yellow Warbler on Oak branch at Sabine Woods, Texas
A Young Yellow Warbler perches on an oak branch at Sabine Woods, Texas Gulf Coast. A glimpse of paradise in a sweltering purgatory of biting insect nasties.

New Additions to Collections

Posted by Chris Cunningham

Although being in the field regularly is always preferable, bad weather and the threat of bad weather have kept me indoors of late. Birding time has been transformed into computer time: additional images have been added to the Stalking the Hunters: Additional Images, Texas Ducks, and Galveston Island Birds collections. Expect more in the near future.

Loggerhead Shrike with snake at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas.
This Loggerhead Shrike has just seized a snake. Shrike numbers increase significantly during the cooler months at Brazos Bend State Park. Shrikes, like other birds with black masks are challenging to photograph: the light has to be just right to capture a catchlight and a well-defined eyeball. Photo taken near water’s edge, Pilant lake.
Thermoregulating Great Blue Heron at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas
Thermoregulating Great Blue Heron? at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Herons and egrets can be seen occasionally in this sort of pose on hot, sunny days. It has been speculated that this is related to thermoregulation, but to my knowledge the details remain obscure. On the sweltering days when I see this sort of behavior, it would seem that warming up in the sun would be the last thing a bird would want to do–unless they are sterilizing parasites or pathogens thermally while employing gular fluttering or “panting” to keep their brains from frying. Photo taken at Pilant Lake.

 © 2012 Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Texas Ducks: A New Collection

Posted by Chris Cunningham

Because of the abundance and diversity of wetland habitats along the Texas Gulf Coast, ducks are an important part of the Texas avifauna–and they remain one of my favorite photographic subjects. Without fail, when I present slide shows of images to friends and family, the ducklings are the most popular and collect the most “ooh’s and ahh’s.” Let’s face it: ducks and ducklings are fun.

Muscovy Ducklings at Hermann Park, Houston, Texas
Muscovy Ducklings at Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. Remarkably, no matter how different the adults look (and Muscovy Ducks are among the weirdest-looking of all ducks), many ducklings look alike-yellow with black stripes. Somehow that doesn’t affect their popularity! Canon EOS 7D/100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS. Natural light.

©2012 Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Fly vs. Fly

Posted by Elisa Lewis

When the sun is high in the sky and the light isn’t conducive for bird photography, I like to bust out the macro lens and look for smaller wonders. I found this robber fly taking a break among the scrubby beach vegetation while its neurotoxic, proteolytic saliva paralyzes and chemically digests the insides of its current victim. Charming. It’s a good thing (for us) that these flying assassins exclusively prey upon arthropods – mostly other insects at that.

Robber fly predator with fly prey
Robber flies frequently make meals of other flies. Galveston Island (East End), Big Reef Nature Park, Texas