March 1, the Great Backyard Bird Count data was due from participants around the world; exact tallies will soon be available. As of this posting, 201,153 checklists have been submitted, 6,588 species observed and 31,174,034 individual birds counted.
Check out https://gbbc.birdcount.org/ for current submission tallies and link
This link will show the worldwide submissions, https://ebird.org/gbbc/livesubs
For Cameron County Texas, I’m at
I always marvel at nature, especially when I see diverse groups of birds congregating without squabbles or apparent discrimination.
Several feet of a mesquite branch conveniently grows parallel to the ground just outside my kitchen window. I take advantage of it for a “natural” bird feeder and spread handfuls of black oil sunflower seeds along it every morning.
The seeds bring mourning, white-wing and white-tipped doves, red-winged blackbirds, three green jays, three black-crested titmice, a northern cardinal couple, yellow-rumped warblers, kiskadees and golden-fronted woodpeckers to the impromptu feeder. I suspect the latter three species are there out of curiosity and/or the tree bugs.
The dove species and red-winged blackbirds eat together with no apparent squabbles. Everyone gets their fill.
The green jays and titmice come a bit later and share the space. If they squabble, it’s telepathically. Both species are wary. They grab a seed and take it to another branch to eat alone, unlike the doves and blackbirds that don’t mind chow-hall-style dining.
During the recent GBBC, something interesting happened on the resaca. We have 25 neo-tropic cormorants. This past several weeks we’ve had 18 snowy egrets.
The cormorants generally fish together. They dive all together at some silent command, then surface as one with only heads showing above the water. This year, snowy egrets have joined them. The egrets swarm overhead and in a flurry of wings, yellow feet and fancy aerobatics, circle the regatta of cormorants and land among them. They keep up with them as they dive and swim — following the cormorants following the fish.
There is no inter-species fighting, no loud rumbles — which further shows that humans are not the only species with intelligence — the snowy egrets know that cormorants are supreme fishers!
The resaca itself is a quiet feeding ground with more than 40 species of visiting and resident fowl sharing the 17 acres of water. In addition, some half dozen airborne bird species feed on the insects above the water: Vermillion flycatcher; green, belted and ringed kingfishers; eastern phoebe; Couch’s kingbird; and an osprey that stalks fish from tree branches before diving to capture one in its strong beak.
The first foggy morning of the GBBC, just after sunup, swarms of 50 or more swallows were dipping and diving in the air, high above the water. By the third day of the count, about a dozen were closer to the water’s surface, zipping along with flashes of brownish-colored wings and whitish belly, much too fast for the lens to document. Not barn, but the description could fit bank, cave or cliff swallows. Too distant to tell.
Below is the clearest shot of the thick swarms high above the resaca. Not much to work with.
Mostly, on less than sunny days, resaca photography is like this, even with the long lens:
On warm, sunny days, I sometimes creep to the retaining wall and wait for a pod of ducks to get close enough to photograph, and then later enlarge the photos at the computer to try and ID.
“The Great Backyard Bird Count is led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, with Bird Studies Canada and many international partners. The Great Backyard Bird Count is powered by eBird. The count is made possible in part by founding sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited.” — Quoted from their website https://gbbc.birdcount.org/about/
Anyone can subscribe free to birding e-mail newsletters. Check them out here: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/page.aspx?pid=1639
Or visit the website first: https://www.birds.cornell.edu
Through one of the very colorful and informative newsletters a couple of years ago, I purchased a three-set accordion-fold Waterfowl ID Series — “Where’s the White?” by Kevin J. McGowan. It’s an almost too-simple way to identify waterfowl — if you can see the birds properly! This series includes, 1. The Basics, 2. Dabbling & Diving Ducks and 3. Sea Ducks & Others.
The series is available many ways, if you Google: Waterfowl ID Series, McGowan.
It may still be available via the Cornell link: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/courses/waterfowl-id/
Extreme close-ups from the above photo and the photo below were good enough for IDing using my McGowan series. I was able to ID Blue-winged teal from images of the female (below, duck at right) the black face stripe that runs from bill to beyond eye. Yes, faint, it’s not always easy. A magnifying glass and bright light are sometimes necessary.
The below photo shows Coots (white bill, black/grey ducks) and male blue-winged teal with the bold white crescent-shaped stripe that outlines the front of the duck’s face. Easy-peasy — even with crappy photos!
Occasionally, a long shot of a full-bodied duck that looks like the pictures in the birding books aids in an easy ID, such as with this mottled duck.
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