Oscines & Obscenities

Worm-eating warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum)

May 7, 2019

Bird banding at Rushton Woods Preserve, Willistown, Pennsylvania

Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)

Garden Party: These hummingbirds are all recent visitors to my backyard feeder in Glendale, Arizona. The birds with bright iridescent gorgets (chin feathers) are males. 

From top:

Photos 1 - 3: Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna).

Photos 4 - 6: Black-chinned hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri).

Photos 7 - 8: Costa’s hummingbird (Calypte costae). The Costa’s is the latest to join our little community, and I haven’t see a female at my feeder yet. 

Ruby-crowned kinglet (Regulus calendula) vs Golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa)

Bird banding at Rushton Woods Preserve, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania

me: well it’ll be confined to this room, so it’s not an Immediate Catastrophe, b-

Me: You know what, I should probably just show you.

Me, getting out a barred owl: So this is what we do in the event of an escaped owl.

volunteers: wait, what are y-

me: and this one can fly too, keep in mind

volunteers: aRE YO-

A Great Black Hawk, a Mexican bird that had never been seen north of the border, made headlines last summer as it appeared in Texas, then Maine, then vanished, then returned, then returned. Even as the end of the year closed in, this young bird stuck out the oncoming winter by eating squirrels in a park in Portland, ME. Unfortunately, the bird was finally overcome by the elements after a heavy sleet storm and bitter cold.

On the morning of January 20, 2019, the Great Black Hawk was found on the ground, unable to stand. Two parkgoers recognized the celebrity and also had some raptor experience; recognizing the signs of debilitation, they got the bird into a box, walked home with it, set it up comfortably in a warm place, and called Avian Haven, a wildlife rehabilitation center specializing in birds.

[Image: Great Black Hawk in the gloved arms of a rehabber. The hawk’s feet are bandaged but the bird looks alert.]

Due to the poor travel conditions caused by the storm, what would normally be an hour and a half trip took four hours. The hawk seemed nearly dead when it left Portland, but was provided with plenty of heat for the trip and had its eyes open when checked at the hand-off. The hawk was active when it arrived at Avian Haven around 5 pm. The bird’s obvious difficulty was frostbitten feet. After some emergency care for that condition as well as general debilitation, the hawk was settled into an ICU for the night. On the morning of January 21, he was alert and standing. On the hawk’s schedule is a full examination that includes radiographs and bloodwork.

Further updates can be found on the Avian Haven Facebook page. The organization requests that no one call the center for updates, but rather check the Facebook page. I plan on adding further updates to this post.

Many fans of the Great Black Hawk who followed its amazing journey last year have already donated to Avian Haven. For those who would like to contribute toward the hawk’s care, you can donate at:

www.mightycause.com/organization/Avian-Haven

Today the hawk ate solid food and was lively. It still has its feet bandaged.

The sex of the bird remains unknown, as males and females of this species, especially young birds like this hawk, are hard to tell apart. But the sex might be determined (or guessed) once it recovers.

Also, wow they really can’t get a flattering photo of this animal can they

MOUSE

TIT

MOUSE

TIT

MICE

You have no idea how long I have waited for my sweet hybrid Black-crested x Tufted Titmice to show back up but I swear it feels like forever. When they fly it looks like they’re on a bouncing ball and they make the cutest little peeps but they also are full of FIGHT I can’t handle it I love them so much. They are closely related to chickadees and make a lot of the same sounds and have some of the same behaviors. Both of them LOVE black sunflower seeds, and will open them by hitting them against other things.

Right now I have spotted three individuals, but they do the same thing chickadees do where they visit the feeders in shifts, so I never know how many I have unless I can tell them apart, which is actually pretty easy with the hybrids because they can look fairly different depending on how much of which they are. In the last photo, the bird on the right of the feeder is the “new” bird, you can see he has a black square over his beak and his crest is gray (both Tufted traits!) except he does NOT have pink armpits like pure Tufted Titmice! 

The star of the earlier photos is more Black-crested, except that rusty patch over his beak would be white if he was actually a Black-crested Titmouse!