"Audubon's" Yellow-rumped Warbler!

 Sharp-eyed Jim Easton, who was an active birder and photographer in the Williamsburg area, until he recently moved to Richmond, picked this western rarity "Audubon's" type out of the usual "Myrtle" type of Yellow-rumped Warblers in his new yard on Dec 17th. True-to-form, he got a terrific photo!

The breeding range for "Myrtles" is basically from New England and the Virginia/West Virginia border and upper Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota in the U.S. throughout Canada and Alaska and they winter in many places all across the continent, while "Audubon's" is rarely documented east of the Great Plains.

Though the two types are quite similar, "Audubon's" has a yellow throat patch, unlike the white of "Myrtle" and the patch is more compact...it doesn't curl up behind the cheek as in "Myrtle." "Myrtle" also shows a thin white eyeline that "Audubon's" lacks. These differences can be quite subtle on a small bird moving around quickly.

Brian Taber

Late Fall Hummingbirds?!

At the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch, our seasonal staff always leave hummingbird feeders up for the whole fall, through November 30th, because in most years, we see hummers long after their usual mid-September leaving dates.

This year, 3 species have made late appearances...a rare Black-chinned in mid-October, then Ruby-throated and a rare Rufous into November!

Ruby-throateds are mainly found in the eastern half of the United States, while Black-chinned and Rufous are usually found from the Great Plains westward. But all 3 can be found in the southeastern U.S. in late fall and even winter and people are apparently leaving feeders out later than usual. Also, a warming climate may be allowing later blooming of flowering food sources, encouraging hummers to stay farther north. A growing number of records put into eBird will help to explain such movements.

Black-chinned is very similar to Ruby-throated, but the outer primaries are more rounded, as can be seen in Nancy Barnhart's Kiptopeke photo from October 14th.

Rufous usually shows a lot of orange-to-rufous coloration, unlike Ruby-throated and Black-chinned. Another orangey one, very similar to Rufous, is Allen's, but that was ruled out when the observers here were able to get a good look at the tail feathers, which are shaped differently.

Below is Mario Balibit's Kiptopeke photo from Nov 3 of the Rufous, nicely showing extensive orangey tones from breast, underwing, flanks, rump and tail.

Ruby-throated at Kiptopeke Oct 19, photo by Arun Bose.

There are several other rare western hummers that have appeared in eastern states, so we are always on the lookout!

Brian Taber

Swainson's Hawk

 Swainson's Hawk is a bird mostly of western North America open areas that generally migrates all the way to southern South America for the winter. A few are seen in the fall, very rarely, in the east, most often as they pass hawkwatches like Kiptopeke and Rockfish Gap in Virginia and Cape May in New Jersey. When raising young they prey on a variety of small mammals, reptiles and birds, but during migration, they mainly eat large insects. This one, a light morph juvenile, seen on Oct 17th at a site not open to the public in Portsmouth, was conveniently found at close range in short grass on a dirt road shoulder, likely standing on a grasshopper. I wonder if there are any other photos from Virginia of one on the ground?

The blurry photo shows the characteristic dark flight feathers.

When it was flushed by a passing truck, two Red-tailed Hawks immediately saw it and chased it out of the area.

Brian Taber

Great Purple Hairstreak

Green markings are rarely seen in Virginia butterflies, so these lime-colored hindwing marks make this rare Great Purple Hairstreak even more spectacular...long tails, red marks, blue speckles, white body spots...wow!

It was at the CVWO marina garden in James City County this morning.

Brian Taber

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are typically found throughout the southern U. S. but a check of eBird records for June and July shows they have ranged north this year to include Wisconsin and New Hampshire. While still rare, they are becoming more frequently seen in Virginia in recent years and they often only make brief stops. The two pictured here were in Williamsburg at a suburban pond on July 7th and a number of birders were able to see them. They certainly have their share of distinctive field marks as  even my distant photo shows!

Brian Taber

Willow Flycatcher

 Willow Flycatcher is rare as a breeder on Virginia's coastal plain, so this one at a site in Portsmouth not open to the public was quite noteworthy. While breeding hasn't yet been confirmed, it sang it's distinctive "fitz-bew" repeatedly from the same area from May 23rd to June 20th.

Brian Taber

Glaucous Gull

This strikingly white Glaucous Gull was seen on May 30th at a Portsmouth site not open to the public. The species is rare here at any season. Variable in size, this one is about the size of the adjacent Herring Gull and distinctly larger than the nearby Lesser Black-backed. Its white wingtips project only a little past the tail. Its large bill is sharply two-toned. Glaucous hybridizes with other gulls, but this one doesn't show any obvious signs of being a hybrid.

Brian Taber

Unusual Laughing Gull Molt

 This Laughing Gull, on May 16, was at a site in Portsmouth not open to the public and it shows a weird pattern that I've not seen or even seen described anywhere, at least so far. Laughers are 3-cycle gulls and while molt can be variable and quite confusing, this bird shows an adult head and tail pattern, like 3rd cycle, but with 1st cycle flight feathers that don't appear to be very worn...the white trailing edge even seems pretty well intact. Comments appreciated...send to taberzz@aol.com and I can post updated information.

Brian Taber

Intriguing Plover

This small plover at Hog Island Wildlife Management Area in Surry County on Apr 28th is intriguing. Semipalmated Plovers are quite similar to Common Ringed Plovers, which are found in western Europe and elsewhere and breed as close as Greenland and adjacent Canada. There are some east coast records of Common Ringed.

The right-side photos are mine, the left-side is by Michelle Gianvecchio.

This bird appears quite pale above, sandy even, as evidenced by the contrast on the head between black crown stripe and light brown rest of head. The most striking feature to me is the black loral area of even thickness, not "pinched" which reaches the gape on the right side, though not apparently on the left side...perhaps the bird still has a ways to go with molting. Many field guides used to point to this feature as diagnostic for Common Ringed, though, more extensive sources now show more examples of variability in both species. Semipalmated very often shows a distinctly "pinched" loral look or even white area there between eye and bill, quite unlike this bird. I've not seen a Semipalmated with this feature to the gape...on one side anyway.

The bill shape is often described as "stubby" for Semipalmated and longer and of more even length throughout for Common Ringed, and perhaps more extensively orange for Common Ringed. This bird has a large amount of orange on a bill that looks long-ish to me, though the orange seems less on Michelle's photo.

The breast band feature, according to most sources I've checked, is not a reliable feature of being thick or thin for either species, as it's not only variable among individuals and sexes and is also seasonal, but changes with posture.

The webbing between the middle and inner toes is basically absent in Common Ringed and in Semipalmated ranges from slight to perhaps even absent in some...it would take an excellent photo to determine this feature if the bird weren't in the hand.

Michelle's photo shows the eye in better light, but I don't see a yellow eye-ring which Semipalmated should show. There is also some white around the eye...still molting, I guess. Common Ringed usually shows more white in front of and toward the eye.

The vocalizations are described as slightly different and a good close-range recording would possibly be a clinching piece of evidence, though, there may be variability with that as well...experienced researchers can probably weigh in on that.

I've seen Common Ringed in western Europe, though never studied them carefully there. I've seen many thousands of Semipalmateds during waterbird surveys mainly in Virginia.

All-in-all, to me, an interesting bird.

Please feel free to share comments to me at taberzz@aol.com and I can update the Blog.

Brian Taber

Stunning White Bonaparte's Gull

 This stunning, nearly pure white Bonaparte's Gull was seen by Dr. Dan Cristol and his William and Mary biology class and me on March 26th in a flooded field in James City County during a heavy rain storm. Hundreds of gulls and hundreds of Wilson's Snipes were also enjoying the scene. Michelle Gianvecchio then re-found the gull on March 30th  and got these great close photos. The bill shows reddish coloration, instead of the usual black, apparently further demonstrating the bird's inability to produce the proper pigments. I'm not aware of a similar-looking Bonaparte's in Virginia, though there are internet photos of a similar bird in Connecticut in 2013, thought to be either Black-headed Gull or Bonaparte's, as size apparently couldn't be accurately determined. Comments welcome...send to taberzz@aol.com.

Brian Taber

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch!

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches live in the western U. S., western Canada and Alaska, often at quite high altitudes, but in recent months there have been some eastern records...including Virginia's first at a rocky overlook at 4,000 feet on Mt. Pleasant in Amherst County a few days ago! This stunning frontside photo, by Nancy Barnhart, was from Feb 11. The backside view is my photo from Feb 13.

Rosy-Finches nest in rocky crevices and interestingly, from Kaufman's "Lives of North American Birds," they eat, in addition to berries and seeds, insects that are carried up to higher elevations by updrafts and then freeze!

Brian Taber

Storm Wigeon!

 I've seen plenty of American Wigeons, but until today I wasn't familiar with the term "Storm Wigeon" for one with white on the face below the green patch and white forehead and crown, but this striking bird was in Portsmouth today at a site not open to the public. Hunters apparently felt this very rare form appeared after northerly storms and gave it the name. I'll do some more research to see what others have to say.

Brian Taber

White-crested Waxwing

 As if Cedar Waxwings weren't stunning enough, with smooth, velvety feathers, blended bronzy-yellow shades, colorful wingtips, colorful tail tips and a dark mask...this one on New Year's Eve near Jamestown, photographed by Deborah Humphries, also had an amazing white crest! I had seen it a few days earlier at this berry-laden privet bush, along with about 50 other Cedar Waxwings, but couldn't get a decent photo. Happy New Year!

Brian Taber