Category: Birding in Nevada

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Ruddy’s got the Blues

Posted in Bird Photography, Birding in Nevada, Friday's Feathered FriendsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , 47 Comments

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Things are changin’, Ruddy is showing off his Blues and Ruddy feathers for Spring and hoping he’s got what it takes to persuade a cute little female Ruddy Duck to be his love for the season.

Ruddy Duck in Breeding Plumage

Fun Facts:

    • Ruddy Ducks lay big, white, pebbly-textured eggs—the largest of all duck eggs relative to body size. Energetically expensive to produce, the eggs hatch into well-developed ducklings that require only a short period of care.
    • The bright colors and odd behavior of male Ruddy Ducks drew attention from early naturalists, though they didn’t pull any punches. One 1926 account states, “Its intimate habits, its stupidity, its curious nesting customs and ludicrous courtship performance place it in a niche by itself…. Everything about this bird is interesting to the naturalist, but almost nothing about it is interesting to the sportsman.”
    • Pleistocene fossils of Ruddy Ducks, at least 11,000 years old, have been unearthed in Oregon, California, Virginia, Florida, and Illinois.
    • Ruddy Ducks are very aggressive toward each other and toward other species, especially during the breeding season. They are even known to chase rabbits feeding on the shore.
    • Though Ruddy Ducks are native to the Americas, one population became established in England after captive ducks escaped in 1952. This population grew to about 3,500 individuals by 1992, and now appears to be expanding into the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Spain.
    • Ruddy Ducks get harassed by Horned Grebes, Pied-billed Grebes, and American Coots during the breeding season. The grebes sometimes attack Ruddy Ducks from below the water, a behavior known as “submarining.”
    • The oldest Ruddy Duck on record was a male and at least 13 years, 7 months old when he was found in Oregon in 1964. He was banded in British Columbia in 1951.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=XDl8ZPm3GrU%3Fsi%3DJEgRM-P03a7JAHuU

Fun Facts gleaned from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm PF| PS CC 25.4

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Cedar Waxing

Posted in Birding in Nevada, Friday's Feathered FriendsTagged , , , , , , , , , 41 Comments

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Last week while birding I saw so many Cedar Waxwings at 2 places I visited. There were about 120 in all! At one of the places they were gorging on ripe, plump red berries.

I was doing my happy dance to see that!

“I think this one looks yummy”
Gulp!

It was a great birdy day.

Fun Facts:

  • The name “waxwing” comes from the waxy red secretions found on the tips of the secondaries of some birds. The exact function of these tips is not known, but they may help attract mates.
  • Cedar Waxwings with orange instead of yellow tail tips began appearing in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada in the 1960s. The orange color is the result of a red pigment picked up from the berries of an introduced species of honeysuckle. If a waxwing eats enough of the berries while it is growing a tail feather, the tip of the feather will be orange.
  • The Cedar Waxwing is one of the few North American birds that specializes in eating fruit. It can survive on fruit alone for several months. Brown-headed Cowbirds that are raised in Cedar Waxwing nests typically don’t survive, in part because the cowbird chicks can’t develop on such a high-fruit diet.
  • Many birds that eat a lot of fruit separate out the seeds and regurgitate them, but the Cedar Waxwing lets them pass right through. Scientists have used this trait to estimate how fast waxwings can digest fruits.
  • Because they eat so much fruit, Cedar Waxwings occasionally become intoxicated or even die when they run across overripe berries that have started to ferment and produce alcohol.
  • Building a nest takes a female Cedar Waxwing 5 to 6 days and may require more than 2,500 individual trips to the nest. They occasionally save time by taking nest materials from other birds’ nests, including nests of Eastern Kingbirds, Yellow-throated Vireos, orioles, robins, and Yellow Warblers.
  • The oldest recorded Cedar Waxwing was a male and at least 7 years, 1 month old when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Maryland in 2014. He was originally banded in the same state in 2008.

Fun facts gleaned from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing

It’s snowing as I type this but, supposed to be sunny but cold on Saturday. I hope to go out birding for a bit if that forecast holds. I hope you all have a grand week-end!

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Hooded Mergansers

Posted in Bird Photography, Birding in Nevada, Birds in the Wild, PhotographyTagged , , , , , 52 Comments

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I saw these in early January and since we’re on the very edge of their migration path I feel very lucky to have seen them.

The male has lovely dark coloring and a wonderful hood. During the courting season he continuously tilts his head all the way to his back and up again and back again with his hood raised as it is in this image while he swims very near the female trying to capture her as a mate. It’s called Head Throwing. He also gives her a hoarse croak. It’s pretty neat to see them courting.

Hooded Merganser Male

The female looks rather dull compared to the male but, her crown or hood is lovely too. I liked the way the sunlight lit up her hood.

Hooded Merganser Female
They were swimming somewhat far apart from each other on this morning and not interested in courting, but luckily their hoods were up.

Fun Facts:

  • Similar to other cavity-nesting ducks such as Wood Ducks, Common Mergansers, and Common Goldeneyes, Hooded Mergansers often lay eggs in nests of other ducks, both their own species and others. This is called “brood parasitism” and is similar to the practice of Brown-headed Cowbirds. In turn, other cavity-nesting duck species will parasitize Hooded Merganser nests. Female Hooded Mergansers can lay up to about 13 eggs in a clutch, but nests have been found with up to 44 eggs in them.
  • Hooded Mergansers find their prey underwater by sight. They can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes to improve their underwater vision. In addition, they have an extra eyelid, called a “nictitating membrane,” which is transparent and helps protect the eye during swimming, like a pair of goggles.
  • Hooded Merganser ducklings leave their nest cavity within 24 hours of hatching. First, their mother checks the area around the nest and calls to the nestlings from ground level. From inside the nest, the little fluffballs scramble up to the entrance hole and then flutter to the ground, which may be 50 feet or more below them. In some cases they have to walk half a mile or more with their mother to the nearest body of water.
  • On the bird family tree, Hooded Mergansers (genus Lophodytes) lie between goldeneyes (Bucephala) and the other North American mergansers (Mergus). They share many courtship behaviors and calls with both of those groups.
  • The Hooded Merganser is the second-smallest of the six living species of mergansers (only the Smew of Eurasia is smaller) and is the only one restricted to North America.
  • The oldest recorded Hooded Merganser was a male and at least 14 years, 6 months old when he was shot in Mississippi in 2009. He was originally banded in Minnesota in 1995.

Fun Facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm| PS CC 24.4

I hope you all have a great week-end. If the weather permits I’ll be birding this morning and will respond when I get home. If the weather is poor I’ll be here!😀

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends-Golden-crowned Sparrow

Posted in Birding in Nevada, Friday's Feathered Friends, Nikon, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , , 49 Comments

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I last shared this Sparrow in 2015. I don’t see many of them and I only see them during the Winter migration hanging out with the White-crowned Sparrows, but sadly, never at my feeder. Last week I saw this one.

Male Golden-crowned Sparrow

He was pretty skittish. Every time I tried getting closer he flew further away so these are pretty well cropped.

Fun Facts:

    • This sparrow is one of the least known of our songbirds, particularly on its northern breeding grounds. It has been the subject of only a few laboratory and field studies, so most of what we know about it comes from scattered notes in scientific journals.
    • Miners in the Yukon at the turn of the twentieth century woefully referred to the Golden-crowned Sparrow as the “no gold here” bird, because its song resembled that depressing phrase. They also interpreted its song to say “I’m so tired,” prompting them to dub the bird “Weary Willie.”
    • The Golden-crowned Sparrow arrives earlier and stays longer on its California wintering grounds than almost any other bird species.
    • When day length increases in the spring, the Golden-crowned Sparrow detects the change through photoreceptors (light-sensitive cells). Its body responds by putting on fat and getting an urge to migrate.
    • The oldest Golden-crowned Sparrow on record was at least 10 years, 6 months old. It was caught by a bird bander in California in 1970 and released.

Fun facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

I hope you all have a great week-end!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm PF-e| PS CC 25.3.1

more to come…

Something for Sat. Ruby Crowned-Kinglet

Posted in Birding in Nevada, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, PhotographyTagged , , , , , 45 Comments

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I don’t want the week to go by without a post so here we have me posting on a rare Saturday.

This little Kinglet is so cute, but very flitty normally but, on this day earlier this month I was able to get quite a few good looks at this one.

They’re a small bird being only 3.5-4.3 inches in length, and weigh 0.2-0.3 ounces.

They get their name from a Ruby spot on their crown.

I have yet to see it flared, but here’s a look at the top of its head showing the Ruby spot.

This one is busy being an acrobat which afforded me a good look at its Ruby Spot which was a treat. Just look at how light they are it’s holding onto those pine needles and they aren’t bending!

Fun Facts:

  • The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a tiny bird that lays a very large clutch of eggs—there can be up to 12 in a single nest. Although the eggs themselves weigh only about a fiftieth of an ounce, an entire clutch can weigh as much as the female herself.
  • Ruby-crowned Kinglets seem nervous as they flit through the foliage, flicking their wings nearly constantly. Keeping an eye out for this habit can be a useful aid to identifying kinglets.
  • Metabolic studies on Ruby-crowned Kinglets suggest that these tiny birds use only about 10 calories (technically, kilocalories) per day.
  • The oldest known Ruby-crowned Kinglet was a female, and at least 8 years, 8 months old, when she was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Texas in 2017. She was banded in the same state in 2008.

Fun facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.orghttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/overview

I hope you all have a great week-end!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm PF-e| PS CC 25.3.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. American Kestrel

Posted in birding, Birding in Nevada, Birds of Prey, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , , , 49 Comments

Copyright ©2023 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

This is a Kestrel I saw in December. I’ll show her from the two sides I got to observe her from. It’s a treat to actually get two side views of a bird.

When I first spotted her high in a Cottonwood tree-

Female American Kestrel

They’re one of the smallest birds of prey, but so cute.

Here she is from the other side, with her chest showing.

American Kestrel Female

Fun Facts:

    • Sports fans in some cities get an extra show during night games: kestrels perching on light standards or foul poles, tracking moths and other insects in the powerful stadium light beams and catching these snacks on the wing. Some of their hunting flights have even made it onto TV sports coverage.
    • When nature calls, nestling kestrels back up, raise their tails, and squirt feces onto the walls of the nest cavity. The feces dry on the cavity walls and stay off the nestlings. The nest gets to be a smelly place, with feces on the walls and uneaten parts of small animals on the floor.
    • It can be tough being one of the smallest birds of prey. Despite their fierce lifestyle, American Kestrels end up as prey for larger birds such as Northern Goshawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Barn Owls, American Crows, and Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, as well as rat snakes, corn snakes, and even fire ants.
    • In winter in many southern parts of the range, female and male American Kestrels use different habitats. Females use the typical open habitat, and males use areas with more trees. This situation appears to be the result of the females migrating south first and establishing winter territories, leaving males to the more wooded areas.
    • Unlike humans, birds can see ultraviolet light. This enables kestrels to make out the trails of urine that voles, a common prey mammal, leave as they run along the ground. Like neon diner signs, these bright paths may highlight the way to a meal—as has been observed in the Eurasian Kestrel, a close relative.
    • Kestrels hide surplus kills in grass clumps, tree roots, bushes, fence posts, tree limbs, and cavities, to save the food for lean times or to hide it from thieves.
    • The oldest American Kestrel was a male and at least 14 years, 8 months old when he was found in Utah in 2001. He was banded in the same state in 1987.

“Like neon diner signs”! 😂 I loved that description.

Fun facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

Happy New Year to all my blogging friends, and visitors!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 500mm| PS CC 25.3.1

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Yellowlegs

Posted in Birding in Nevada, Nature, NikonTagged , , , , , , 46 Comments

Copyright ©2023 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

I saw this one foraging in a shallow pond earlier in the month. I think it’s a Lesser Yellowlegs, but if I’m wrong let me know! It’s so hard to tell it apart from the Greater Yellowlegs. I’m going on the bill not being too much longer than its head.

I don’t see this type of bird too often so it’s pretty neat when I do. It’s either passing through or hanging out for winter migration.

Yellowlegs

Fun Facts:

    • Despite their very similar appearance, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs are not each other’s closest relatives. Lesser Yellowlegs is more closely related to the much larger Willet.
    • Lesser Yellowlegs are known for their steadfast defense of their eggs and chicks. Biologist William Rowan once noted, “they will be perched there as though the safety of the entire universe depended on the amount of noise they made.”
    • Both the male and female Lesser Yellowlegs provide parental care to the young, but the female tends to leave the breeding area before the chicks can fly, thus leaving the male to defend the young until fledging.
    • The Lesser Yellowlegs saw significant declines due to market hunting for the fashion trade. The species’ tendency to return and hover above wounded flock mates made them easy targets. Populations rebounded when market hunting was banned in the U.S and Canada in the early 20th century.
    • The oldest recorded Lesser Yellowlegs was at least 4 years, 11 months old when it was found in South Dakota in 1965. It had been banded in the Lesser Antilles in 1960.

more to come…