The Birders Report

Wood Ducks Are Pairing Up

by Larry Jordan on November 7, 2010

Wood Duck photos by Larry Jordan

I came across a paddling of Wood Ducks a couple of weeks ago at Anderson River Park. This is the time of year when these beautiful ducks are pairing up and strengthening their pair bonds.

They are fun to watch as they perform courtship displays that include preening and bathing together. There are also aggressive displays as unpaired birds interact with male and female ducks that have already paired up. This is a male Wood Duck rushing another male that got a bit too friendly with his mate.

A few juvenile males were hanging around on the lower tree branches just above the water, taking in the show or more likely taking notes on which behaviors were the most successful.

Wood Ducks nest in preformed cavities, mostly created when branches break off tree trunks and the heart wood rots out creating a cavity. They don’t excavate cavities themselves but they will take readily to man-made nest boxes and occasionally use cavities excavated by Pileated Woodpeckers¹.

The female broods the commonly 8 to 15 eggs by herself. Here is a photo of one of my friend Steve’s Wood Duck boxes showing a female incubating eggs. You can see that there are some wood chips in the bottom of the box but it is mostly down from the female’s breast that she adds as the clutch nears completion.

Artificial nest boxes helped bring the Wood Duck population back following severe declines from over hunting, deforestation and loss of habitat in the early 1900’s.

At this point, I have to insert my all time favorite bird video showing baby Wood Ducks on their first flight, or I guess I should say, drop, from a natural tree cavity to their mother below.

If you are not smiling after watching this video, there is something wrong with you.

Enjoy a few more photos I took of these beautiful ducks that day. The vibrant colors of the male in breeding plumage make this bird easy to identify.

The female Wood Duck is beautiful in her own right

But I leave you with the more colorful drake swimming

And just showing off.

For more great bird photos, check out Bird Photography Weekly.

References: ¹ Birds of North America Online: Issue No. 169, Authors: Hepp, Gary R., and Frank C. Bellrose

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Burrowing Owls: Reversing the Trend

by Larry Jordan on November 4, 2010

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10,000 Birds Beat Writers

by Larry Jordan on November 1, 2010

I am honored to be one of the new Beat Writers on the preeminent birding blog on the internet, 10,000 Birds. How did I get invited to join such an august group of birders and bird bloggers? Good question.

I know. It seems far fetched doesn’t it? Larry Jordan being included with names like Julie Zickefoose and Bill Thompson, III. I could claim I don’t know how it happened but I do know. I’m just not telling 😉 I will not be letting THAT bird out of the bag.

All kidding aside though, I am looking forward to expanding my reach on conservation issues and letting more people know about the great birding opportunities out here in the West. My beat is the West Coast and I plan on bringing some of the best birding hot spots (as well as other issues) into focus for my fellow birders every other Wednesday starting November 10th as a 10,000 Birds Beat Writer.

Just check out the gaggle of Beat Writers Mike, Charlie and Corey have lined up for us:

Patrick Belardo of The Hawk Owl’s Nest on the New Jersey and Butterfly Beat
Julie Zickefoose of JulieZickefoose.com on, what else, Zickefoosean Observation
Christopher Ciccone of Picus Blog on the New England Beat
Nate Swick of The Drinking Bird has two beats, the Southeastern US and the American Birding World
Carrie Laben of Great Auk- or Greatest Auk? will cover the Interior West of the US
Jory Langner as the 10,000 Birds Avian Quizmaster
Dan Rhoads of Migrations on the Cyprus Beat
Jochen Roeder of Bell Tower Birding on the Central Europe and Bird Names Beats
Redgannet, the International Birder of Mystery will cover the International Birding Beat
Clare Morten will cover the Western Australia Beat as a guest poster
Duncan Wright of Wikipedia fame will be on the New Zealand Beat
James Currie of Birding Adventures TV fame will cover Worldwide Birding Adventures
Renato Espinosa, owner and operator of Pululahua Hostal in Equador will cover, what else, the Equador Beat
Alan Tilmouth of Birds Words Nature Images will cover UK Birding
Sharon Stiteler AKA BirdChick will cover two beats, the Upper Midwest and Bird Feeding
Clare Kines of The House & Other Arctic Musings will cover the Canadian Arctic
Rick Wright of Aimophila Adventures has the Birds for Worders Beat
Robert Gallardo author of Birds of Honduras has, what else, the Honduras Beat
Bill Thompson, III of Bill of the Birds fame will cover Off Beat Birding
Dale Forbes of Discovering Alpine Bird’s beat will be Looking Out From The Alps
James Wolstencroft AKA Birdman of Arusha will cover Birds and Man
David Ringer of Search and Serendipity will be looking at Taxonomy and Systematics

I know, it’s a bit overwhelming but stick with me as we learn a heck of a lot about birding wherever we are on this tiny blue dot. There is a whole new world waiting out there to explore. Let’s get to it!

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Belted Kingfisher Comes To Roost

by Larry Jordan on October 31, 2010

Belted Kingfisher Female In Flight photos by Larry Jordan

I was able to catch this Belted Kingfisher flying across the Sacramento River a couple of years ago and have been trying to get some good photos of one of these great fisher birds since. They are so much fun to watch as they dive into the water for fish. Their rattling call is usually heard before seeing this species.

I heard the call and watched as this female dove into the Sacramento River near a group of Wood Ducks I had been photographing nearby. It was a cool, overcast day and the light was not very good for digiscoping but I followed her until she perched on a snag overhanging the river.

This is typical behavior for the Belted Kingfisher. They will hunt their prey from an overhanging tree, snag or wire. They will also hover over the water and dive down on their prey. After capturing a fish, the bird flies to a perch where it pounds its prey against the perch by sideway movements of its head. Pounding serves to stun the fish and provides a means of turning the fish so it can be swallowed head first. Undigested remains of such prey are regularly regurgitated as pellets¹.

Before perching on this snag, this female was fishing from a large rock at the waters edge. The female is distinguished by the rufous band across the lower breast and rufous sides. Belted Kingfishers are solitary birds except during breeding season and will defend their fishing spots along the river, giving off those rattling calls we hear so often. During breeding season they excavate burrows in the river banks (photo courtesy of Birds of North America Online).

Now that I know where this snag is located, I hope to get some better shots of the kingfishers I saw here. Maybe I will even be able to locate their nest site this spring and watch them with their offspring. Until then, here is another shot of her just before she made another dive.

To see some great bird photos, check out Bird Photography Weekly!

Refereences: 1 – Birds Of North America Online: Issue No. 084 – Revised: January 27, 2009, Authors: Hamas, Michael J., Revisors: Kelly, Jeffrey F., and Eli S. Bridge

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