Houston Audubon Society

More Rookery Birds

Posted June 24, 2017 by Chris Cunningham

I saw a crow building a nest, I was watching him very carefully, I was kind of stalking him and he was aware of it. And you know what they do when they become aware of someone stalking them when they build a nest, which is a very vulnerable place to be? They build a decoy nest. It’s just for you.–Tom Waits

White Ibis Chicks, McClendon Park Rookery, Houston, Texas — *White Ibis Chicks,* McClendon Park Rookery, Houston, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4 L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

One of the best things about being a birder on the Texas Gulf Coast is being able to continue having great birding experiences right after the spring migration ends. Courtship, nesting, and rearing young continue right into the summer–to be followed shortly by fall migration! In addition to visiting Smith Oaks Rookery as we always do in spring and early summer, we have been visiting the McClendon Park Rookery. White Ibis and Cattle Egrets are the main attractions at this new rookery.

Cattle Egret with Stick, McClendon Park Rookery, Houston, Texas — *Cattle Egret with Stick,* McClendon Park Rookery, Houston, Texas. Cattle Egrets gather nesting materials well into June. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

We have seen young White Ibises before at the Pilant Lake Rookery at Brazos Bend State Park, but McClendon offers much better views–but under less aesthetic conditions. I learned a bit about etiquette at McClendon the other day: Did you know that when you drive by photo-birders you should blow your horn and scream gibberish at them? People must be visiting southwest Houston from Dauphin Island, Alabama! Another photo-birder got beaned by a projectile thrown from a passing car at McClendon. There is apparently no shortage of riffraff in this part of town–so watch yourself if you decide to bird here.

Attempted Siblicide, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas — *Attempted Siblicide,* Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. The aggressor struggled mightily to toss its nest-mate to the alligator-infested water below. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Snowy Egret Family, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas — *Snowy Egret Family,* Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. Snowy Egret chicks are almost as brutal to each other as Great Egret chicks are. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Clearly, rookeries offer observations of some of the most interesting bird behavior–from displays, feeding, and young birds trying to murder each other–and all the adults are in their plumed finery! Snowy and Great Egrets seem to have to most active, aggressive young. We haven’t witnessed cormorant chicks trying to kill each other, but they put on quite a show when a parent returns to the nest with food. The violent, in-your-face action makes photography difficult, although we continue to try when opportunities present themselves.

Hopeful Neotropic Cormorant Chick, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas — *Hopeful Neotropic Cormorant Chick with Parent,* Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Finally, as we continue to bird over the years, we continue to rack up observations of additional species at new locations. To expand our rookery knowledge, we will now have to travel to more logistically challenging spots–namely rookeries that require a boat to observe. I have briefly observed a Reddish Egret/Tricolored Heron rookery from a distance by boat in Galveston Bay, and can’t wait to get back. It’s just a matter of time and money. That’s all!

Juvenile Tricolored Heron, Galveston Bay near Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, Texas — *Juvenile Tricolored Heron,* Galveston Bay near Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. Image taken from a boat on a brutal white-hot day. Thanks to DS for access to the boat. Canon EOS 7D/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Catching Birds in Action

Posted April 1, 2017 by Chris Cunningham

Many great actions are committed in small struggles. –Victor Hugo

A Great Egret Shades its Young, Smith Oaks, High Island, Texas — *A Great Egret Shades its Young,* Smith Oaks, High Island, Texas. Even in March, the brutal Texas sun can kill delicate nestlings. Mom (or dad) to the rescue! Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

As I write this, we stand on the cusp of the best month of birding on the calendar! But for the past few weeks we’ve been (mostly) photographing our more typical species (year-’rounds, wintering or summering species) going about their business, not transients flying through from somewhere to somewhere else.

Singing Male Red-winged Blackbird, Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *Singing Male Red-winged Blackbird on Rice Plant,* Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. The margins of Pilant Lake were filled with Red-winged Blackbirds (and their calls) on our last visit. What a nice change: The marsh sounds as it should. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

One of the more pleasant surprises of the past few weeks is the recognition that Brazos Bend State Park (BBSP) is starting to rebound a bit from the catastrophic floods of the recent past. It is still nowhere near the mecca for observing wader action that it was before, but day by day things are improving. It will be interesting to see if songbirds return for nesting in a big way. Elisa spotted a female Northern Cardinal building a nest just above water-line on Pilant Slough, and the trilling songs of Northern Parulas are everywhere. Can Prothonotary Warblers be far behind?

The Flip, Fiorenza park, Houston, Texas — *The Flip,* Fiorenza park, Houston, Texas. The catfish hunt goes on! This juvenile Neotropic Cormorant is attempting to maneuver a spiny armored catfish into swallowing position. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

White Ibis in Breeding with Beak-full of Invertebrates, Pilant Slough, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *White Ibis in Breeding with Beak Full of Arthropods,* Pilant Slough, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. This bird has (at least) a spider, a water bug, and a metallic bronze damselfly in its beak at the same time. Water hyacinth is a nasty invasive, but it’s full of nutritious bugs! Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

As noted, wader action at BBSP is still a bit down from the best of times, but the patient observer can still see a few things occasionally. Especially prominent now are the American Bitterns. Bitterns can be seen hunting all over BBSP. On our last visit, we observed one confrontation between two birds on Pilant Slough. Soon calling and confrontations should be common, only to die away by May.

In any case, starting today, we’ll shy away from BBSP for a few weeks and visit Galveston more. Hundreds of millions of songbirds have started streaming across the Gulf of Mexico, and we’re not going to miss it! With luck, we’ll capture some of these birds in action . . . Sipping from a flower, here, or grabbing a dragonfly, there. Can’t wait!

American Bittern with Crawfish, 40-Acre Lake, Brazos Bend State park, Texas — *American Bittern with Crawfish,* 40-Acre Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Looking American Bittern, 40-Acre Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *Looking American Bittern,* 40-Acre Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Spring Begins at Smith Oaks

Posted March 25, 2017 by Chris Cunningham

A light exists in spring
Not present on the year
At any other period.
When March is scarcely here . . . .

—Emily Dickinson, A Light Exists in Spring

Roseate Spoonbill in Flight, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas — *Roseate Spoonbill in Flight,* Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

In our travels last week, we stopped by Smith Oaks on High Island, Texas, one of the most famous birding sites on the Texas Gulf Coast. Although we saw no early migrant songbirds in the surrounding woods, the rookery was hopping with activity—the drive toward life.

Nest-sitting Neotropic Cormorants, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas — *Nest-sitting Neotropic Cormorants,* Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. Note that the nest is stained white with guano. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Spoonbills, egrets, and cormorants filled the air. Great Egrets and Neotropic Cormorants shuttled back and forth with nest-building materials. Double-crested Cormorants fished in the water surrounding the rookery. Some Great Egret pairs were building nests, sitting on eggs, or rearing chicks. Neotropic Cormorants were nest-sitting, but no chicks were to be seen. A few energetic Tricolored Herons swooped past but gave no indication of intentions. Spoonbills squabbled with each other: Nesting can’t be far behind!

Snowy Egrets in High Breeding, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas — *Snowy Egrets in High Breeding,* Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. In high breeding color, Snowy Egrets have pink lores and feet. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4 L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Nest-building Great Egrets, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas — *Nest-building Great Egrets,* Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. Nest building is a team effort for Great Egrets. Note the fluorescent green lores of high breeding color. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Great and Snowy Egrets in glorious breeding plumes (that almost doomed these species to extinction in the Gilded Age) with lores ablaze in electric colors were everywhere and revved up on hormones. Soon, the later-breeding species, Cattle Egrets, Tricolored Herons, and Roseate Spoonbills, will join the frenzy. By that time, the trees will be filled with brilliant flashes of Neotropical migrant songbird plumage and the picture of spring will be complete . . . .

Great Egret feeding young, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas — *Great Egret Feeding Young,* Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. A regurgitated crawfish is being presented to the nestlings. Three nestlings are visible in this image, but a fourth smaller one is also present. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

But, as always, predators lurk in the dark water below waiting for larger nestlings to oust smaller, weaker ones, or for birds of any age to simply make a mistake . . . .

Death Stalks the Rookery, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas — *Death Stalks the Rookery,* Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. Despite the beauty, have no illusions: Nature is red in tooth and claw . . . *always.* Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.–Khalil Gibran

Save the Date (January 18, 2017): A New Two Shutterbirds Presentation at the Houston Audubon Nature Photography Association (HANPA)

Posted November 26, 2016 by Two Shutterbirds

All of life is a foreign country. –Jack Kerouac

Prothonotary Warbler on Bottlebrush Flower, Catholic Cemetery, Dauphin Island, Alabama — *Prothonotary Warbler on Bottlebrush Flower During Spring Migration,* Catholic Cemetery, Dauphin Island, Alabama. Bottlebrushes are Australian plants, but birds everywhere love them because of the copious nectar and pollen they produce. Sweet, calorie-rich nectar must be a wonderful treat after a grueling trans-Gulf flight! This bird’s head has been stained above the eyes with nectar or sap from some other unknown plant. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). High-speed synchronized fill-flash.

Exotics Gone Native!

Synopsis: Human-introduced exotic plants and animals are all around us, and many of them are doing nicely, thank you very much. It’s sometimes hard not to notice them while out photo-birding. The proliferation of these organisms can be troubling to nature lovers, particularly eco-purists. Are these foreign organisms adversely affecting our native plants and wildlife? And if so, how badly? Are some helpful to our native species? Certainly some, like bottlebrush, are helpful to the bird photographer! Whatever your stance on exotics, perhaps the healthiest thing to do is treat them as just another opportunity to experience new species in the wild—even if they are out of place. In this talk, Chris Cunningham will share images of some frequently encountered exotic species and discuss their place in our native landscape. (Note: If this topic is too upsetting, Chris and Elisa will share and some images of native wild birds from their most recent outings to West Texas, the Coastal Bend, and central New Mexico, too!)

Time and Place: 7:00 PM, January 18, 2017 at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary, 440 Wilchester Blvd., Houston TX 77079. For additional details, please see the Houston Audubon HANPA website.

Shorebirds and Terns at Ground-level

Posted July 23, 2016 by Chris Cunningham

If they play dirty, then you play dirty. –Lawrence Taylor

Piping Plover (Breeding), East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *Female Piping Plover (Breeding Colors),* East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Piping Plovers are rare birds. The world population was estimated at 12,000 individuals in 2009 (Lockwood and Freeman, 2014). Fall migrants begin to appear in Texas at the end of June. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC) on ground pod. Natural light.

It’s an extremely interesting time to visit the Texas Gulf Coast these days. The fall shorebird migration is in full swing, and there is still plenty of family life to observe. Identifying some birds can be a bit of a challenge, though, as some species are showing immature, breeding, and non-breeding plumages simultaneously.

Last month, it was hard to decide if some of the birds were stragglers on their way north, or if they were planning on sticking around. But by now it’s clearly too late to be moving north, and many of the birds that breed here, like the Least Terns, are on their second brood. I guess I’ve exchanged one confusion for another!

Western Sandpipers (breeding), East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *Western Sandpipers (Breeding Colors),* East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Western Sandpipers begin to appear in Texas during fall migration in early July. Spring migrant stragglers can appear in Texas as late as June. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC) on ground pod. Natural light.

Ever since reading Bill Majoros’ Secrets of Digital Bird Photography, I’ve had shooting from a ground pod in the back of my mind. A ground pod is a dish-like affair that sits right on the ground and serves as a support for your tripod mount. Using a ground pod means, for the photographer, lying down on the ground. Many prefer the look of bird photos shot from as low an angle as possible to get, ironically, a bird’s eye view. Such a low angle makes the foreground and background disappear and gives the impression of a very narrow depth of field, regardless of f-stop, thus isolating the subject. My desire to give a ground pod a try was given another nudge by a nice talk on this subject by Tim Timmis that Elisa and I saw at the Houston Audubon Nature Photography Association meeting last May.

Bathing Least Tern (Breeding), East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *Bathing Least Tern (Breeding Colors),* East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC) on ground pod. Natural light.

As in all things photographic, shooting from a ground pod is a compromise. Use of a ground pod is also a highly specialized technique. This device can only work on level ground, free of any obstructions. A ground pod is therefore impractical in most of the places we normally shoot, like Brazos Bend State Park.

Ground pods will also not work well if the photographer needs to react to a birds moving around a lot or approaching from a variety of heights and directions. A stable place from which birds come and go is therefore needed. On certain beaches and tidal mudflats, then, the ground pod will work admirably for shorebirds and water birds—birds that tend to stick consistently to a choice patch of beach.

A photographer using a ground pod will also typically get filthy, and dirt, mud, and water can very easily be transferred to equipment—a big concern if you’re not using professional-grade equipment. Shooting from such a low angle also causes all the context of the bird to disappear in a dreamy haze, so you will lose all or most of the ecological information in the shot. But what context you fail to capture in the shot, you can bring back on your clothes!

Common(?) Tern with fish, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *Immature Common(?) Tern with Fish,* East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC) on ground pod. Natural light.

My usual response to the multiple considerations and compromises on the beach is to shoot shorebird photos from my knees. A recent mishap has made ground pod shooting more likely, though. Through over-tightening, I broke the threads of the bolt that controls the stiffness of the pan control on my Wimberley II gimbal tripod mount. I soon realized that I could permanently mount the broken gimbal on our ground pod, a NatureScapes Skimmer Ground Pod II, because panning can be achieved by turning the whole apparatus.

Having to move a gimbal from a tripod to ground pod is an odious operation and not recommended in the field given that such mounts are prima donnas as regards fine adjustments of the center bolt, and you have to worry about getting grit in the threads. Now, with a new gimbal mounted on my tripod and the old, broken gimbal on the ground pod, I’m ready for action on the beach—I just have to talk myself into schlepping all those contraptions around!

Reference

Lockwood, Mark W., and Brush Freeman. 2014. The Texas Ornithological Society Handbook of Texas Birds. Texas A&M University Press. 403p.

Avian Happenings, East End, Galveston Island, Texas

Posted June 25, 2016 by Chris Cunningham

Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought of which the sea would not be part. –Hermann Broch

Laughing Gull with White Shrimp, East End, Galveston Island, Texas — *Laughing Gull with White Shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus),* East End, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Over the past week or so, I’ve made several dawn and dusk visits (once with Elisa) to the East End/East Beach area to observe and photograph summer shorebird behavior—which abounds at this time of year. Unfortunately by 8 am the area has been a blazing inferno, making photography a challenge.

In an earlier post I mentioned the appearance of a new tidal channel near the East End Lagoon Preserve. This week I took a look-see to find out the status of the new channel and the impact it might be having on the wildlife of the area. As I expected, the channel has expanded: it is now about twenty yards wide at the mouth during high tide. A Reddish Egret patrolled the channel mouth while Laughing Gulls, Royal and Sandwich Terns, and the odd Willet mostly stood around while I photographed them. They were taking some interesting prey, though.

Laughing Gull with Cutlassfish, East End, Galveston Island, Texas — *Laughing Gull with Atlantic Cutlassfish (Trichiurus lepturus),* East End, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

During the warm months, a strange, eel-like fish, the Atlantic cutlassfish (aka ribbonfish), is abundant in the bays and channels along the Texas Gulf Coast. Laughing Gulls and Royal Terns were having a field day eating them this week. Although the birds consumed them enthusiastically, both species seemed to have difficulty swallowing the fish’s long, thread-like tail. Some birds were walking around with a silver thread trailing out of their beaks!

Mating Royal Terns, East End, Galveston Island, Texas — *Mating Royal Terns,* East End, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Male Least Tern with Nuptial Gift, East End, Galveston Island, Texas — *Male Least Tern with Nuptial Gift,* East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. The Least Tern is an endangered species and nests in scrapes on supratidal areas on Galveston’s East Beach. These nesting areas are protected by the Houston Audubon Society. Please adhere strictly to posted warnings. All beach-nesting birds have taken a terrible beating in recent decades because of recreational use of beaches—especially motorized vehicles that crush eggs and nestlings. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

The real story at this time of year on Texas beaches and barrier islands is, of course, breeding. The Royal Terns, Least Terns, and to a lesser extent, the Sandwich Terns, clearly had mating on their minds. Royal and Sandwich Terns were doing some dancing. Male Royal Terns and Least Terns were presenting females with a nuptial gift of small fish. A few Least Terns were nest-sitting. Some Royal Terns were copulating right out in public. Gracious! What will the drunken fishermen think?

Plovers, too, were everywhere on the East End of Galveston. Wilson’s Plovers were breeding along with Least Terns in the protected areas. Snowy Plovers were running around everywhere, but likely not nesting—their coastal nesting areas are further south in Texas. A few Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers were standing around trying to look innocent—as if we didn’t know that they are tardy for an appointment in the high-Arctic. Or perhaps they are among those rare birds that reside in Texas during the summer but do not breed?

Semipalmated Plover, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *Semipalmated Plover,* East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. These birds breed in the high-Arctic, not Texas. Photographed in mid-June, is this bird really late for the spring migration, really early for the fall migration, or a “rare summer visitor?” Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Male Wilson's Plover, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *Male Wilson’s Plover in the Weird Light of a Supratidal Mudflat at the Crack of Dawn,* East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Female Wilson's Plover, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *Banded Female Wilson’s Plover at Dawn,* East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Finally, lending a splash of color to the seascape were American Avocets in breeding colors. These birds are either very late spring migration stragglers or belong to scattered clusters of birds, rare summer residents, that inhabit the Texas Coast. Whatever their story, it’s nice to be able to see shorebirds in breeding (summer) and non-breeding (winter) plumage at the same locale.

American Avocet in Breeding Color, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *American Avocet in Breeding Color,* East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Additions to Collections and Articles

Posted June 21, 2014 by Chris Cunningham

Spirit: Adult Female Red-tailed Hawk at the Houston Audubon Raptor Shoot — *Spirit: Adult Female Red-tailed Hawk* at the 2014 Houston Audubon Raptor Shoot. Canon EOS 7D/100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS. Natural light.

Now that I have time, I’m working my way through the entire blog making edits and minor improvements. New images have been added to Avian Portraits and Stalking the Hunters. Please check them out!

Roseate Spoonbill feeding nestlings at Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas — *Roseate Spoonbill Feeding Nestlings* at Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. Notice how much smaller the chick in the foreground is compared to the others. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.—Andy Warhol

Save the Date (April 17, 2013): Two Shutterbirds at the Houston Audubon Nature Photography Association (HANPA)

Posted March 7, 2013 by Two Shutterbirds

Carolina Wren in the fog at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary, Houston — *Carolina Wren in the Fog* at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary. Photo taken in early May under natural light.

We are honored to have been invited to present Behind the Blog with the Two Shutterbirds at the HANPA meeting at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary at 7:00 pm on April 17th. Find a description of the talk here. Hope to see you there!

Birding by Camera | Adventures in Nature Photography