Nycticorax nycticorax

Adult Black-Crowned Night Heron

Meet one of my favorite birds, the Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), the Heron with the largest habitat in the world. Its range covers five continents, and still manages to show up here!

A medium sized bird that is almost always found near water, it has no problem hunting for crayfish, fish, amphibians, and snakes in both daylight as well as night.

For some unknown reason, years ago I started calling them "deadly" night herons, and I often have to stop and think before I talk to people about them, I guess I got the nickname for them from their sinister hunched over appearance, and well as the blood red eyes sported by the adults.

Juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron

The best place to catch these guys around here is the Falls of the Ohio State park in summer, where with a little patience and sitting still near the shallow rapids near the spillway, they will come in close to you, wade and hunt in the rapids fairly close to you.

As summer winds down, and fall sets in, a good population of this majestic little guys can be found hanging out near the bald eagle exhibit in the Louisville Zoo, I have seen them there as late as winter proper, and they will become so comfortable with people that they will sit perfectly posed at eye level as close as 10 feet away. However, just be aware that a juveniles will readily vomit the contents of their stomachs if they are frightened, so it would be a very goo thing to keep your distance! (unless of course you would like to be splattered with regurgitated fish!)

So with a range spanning over 5 continents, coastlines, jungles, tropics and temperate climates, urban environments to isolated environments, this is one tough bird and a testament to the power of evolution and adaptability, no wonder it is one of my favorite birds.

Then and Now; better or worse?

THEN

1) Practika 35mm slr w/ a 50mm-300mm lens (about $450 for both second hand)

2) A good fairly straight, fairly strong stick about 3 feet long (free)

3) For more daring adventures a decent Topo Map and a lensatic compass (about $18 total)

4) a worn out comfortable copy of a Audubon Society's guide to Birds of the Eastern US ($15)

5) A pair of typical leather, somewhat waterproof hiking boots ($35)

6) couple pairs of cotton "hunting" socks ($6)

7) Army surplus "ruck sack"($12)

8) canteen with tap water ($8 for canteen about 2 cents for water)

9) Couple rolls of 35mm Kodak film [36 exposure] ($8)

10) "snacks" beef jerky, crackers, maybe a candy bar ($4)

11) Film developing of about 35 carefully timed, carefully framed shots ($10)

12) Telling someone you're heading out and will be back around 6pm (free)

Then Total: $566 to have everything you needed for a good time out doing nature photography

NOW

1) Nikon D90 DSLR ($1100) Sigma 50-500mm lens ($1059)

2) Carbon fiber collapsible trekking pole w/ 3 bases for rock, mud and water crossing ($100)

3) Handheld GPS hiking receiver w/ color map display ($275)

4) Apple iPhone ($250 w/ a new 2 yr contract) with Peterson field guide to birds app ($19)

5) Waterproof gore-tex insulated upland Field boots ($189)

6) Couple of pairs of "wicking" medium duty hiking socks ($35)

7)"Adventure" grade photography backpack ($76)

8) 38oz stainless steel water bottle ($25) & a couple bottles of natural filtered spring water ($5)

9) two 16gig Secure SDHC memory cards ($55 each)

10) 5 High energy, organic nutrition bars ($3 each)

11) Going through about 500 randomly shot photos and posting them to an online photographic community (basically free), Printing out the best 10 or so at home ($4)

12) Subscription to Cell phone service with smart phone capability to stay in constant contact with the outside world at all times and to be able to check the news, weather, email, and face book account when things are slow in the Field ($125 per month)

Now total: $3137

I can remember the "good old days" at my younger age when the average person felt they could have a good day of nature photography with just a few items, a little time, and a ride a little ways down the road to a "good spot". Things seemed simpler, and you had to work harder to get those amazing shots that makes your friends say "ooooh!" or "wow!". We would toss everything into the back of an old 1976 Jeep CJ5 3 speed, and drive a few miles outside town, park the jeep at the end of a gravel road, and only take out what you needed, and left the rest just sitting there in the open topped jeep, find our way to a certain valley between some steep hills off of 111 south, and sit quietly and wait, and watch, and when the timing was just right, the light was good, the creatures cooperated you snapped of a few carefully aimed photos. When the day was done you hurried to get the film developed, and would have to wait an agonizing 48 hours to pick up the film from the little yellow shack that sat in the New Albany Plaza that you drove up to. You got home a little later than expected, but that was okay, and everybody talked about their day while sitting around the dinner table together.

After the 48 hour wait, you cringed as you realized half of your pictures we really not that good, and of the ones that were good, only a couple were really good, and if they exceptionally good, you would take the negative back to the photo shack and get a BIG print, a whopping 8x10, and then had to wait a few more days to see if the 8x10 print turned out. And you just couldn't wait to call up a friend and meet at Joe's coffee shop over a simple cup a black coffee to talk about the latest comings and goings, and to show your pictures to them as they showed their to you.

Now, I am a technology geek and addict, so I am not knocking the amazing modern world we live in, or its gadgets too much, but I often wonder, as we drive through unfamiliar back roads, following the guidance prompts on ye ole GPS receiver to guide us to the precise point where a friend had posted a recent picture of a reticulated big-deal bird the previous day, what is missing here? So we drive down the road listening to our choice of hundreds of radio stations piped in via satellite, and pass the time

As the GPS chimes in that we "have reached our destination", and as we fire up the portable GPS and have to wait an ungodly unreasonable minute or two for it to track and lock on to the satellites floating out in space to pinpoint our location down to about 12 feet, we call our family on our blue tooth phones, to say we're here, and get the rundown on what we have missed in the last half hour or so, you get a couple of text messages from this person or that person to let you know they updated their face book wall to include such shocking news as " I cant find my favorite socks".

The portable GPS chimes that it has locked onto to signal, and indicates its 1.1257 miles to reach

Lat. 38.1867, long. 86.2774, and maps out a route to get there, as we sling on our camera backpack full of lenses and gadgets we would never even need to this trip, take the face plate off of the HD radio, lock it in our glove box, put the cars GPS in there too for good measure, make sure the windows are rolled up and lock the all wheel drive utility crossover vehicle up, and set the alarm via the key fob, we pull out the IPhone, send a text we are "going into the wilderness now", and set off after consuming an organic, high energy nutrition bar.

Guided by satellite navigation, you get there soon enough, and you have all ready shot 50 or 60 shots of random photos, BUT WAIT! What was that strange bird call we just heard, check iBird that allows you identify birds by their songs, and in an instant everything you could possibly want to know about the Fluffy Headed Whatever bird, plus comparisons to similar species across all of north America pops up!

As you shoot pics, you can instantly review them, and delete the ones that are not up to snuff, and with the cool little cord going from the GPS on the shoulder strap of the photography backpack to the DSLR, the Lat/Long data of where you were able to shoot 50 shots of the Fluffy Headed Whatever Bird down to an accuracy of 10+/- feet is embedded in the Exif data of the photo so everyone can see just how you had your settings.

The day winds down, and you hit a button on the GPS and it tells you you have 1.260 miles to reach the starting point for this track, you set out and upgrade your online profiles via cell phone from the middle of B.F.E., Indiana that you have successfully captured a photo of the Fluffy-Headed Whatever Bird, and head home and grab some food from the drive thru.

Instead of meeting with your buddy at Joe's coffee shop, you upload your photos to a web based photography community and send instant messages back and forth with brdngBob645 who resides in Auckland, New Zealand about your day.

As nice as technology can make things, sometimes it is refreshing to go out with just a 35mm, an old stick you pick up, and a worn out old bird book....

Vanguard of the Invasion

Early Tuesday morning I was met with the first of what will probably soon be thousands of invaders who will soon be swooping and soaring around large parking lots, small ponds and lakes, and all along the Ohio River.

Ring-Billed Gull in Flight

That's right, the weather up on the Great Lakes must be just bad enough to push out the first of the Ring-Billed Gulls ( Larus delawarensis ). Before much longer these loud, sometimes obnoxious, but quite smart, and very entertaining birds will be here in large numbers.



Ring-Bills are a medium sized Seagull, with yellow legs, with white under-wings and belly and head, gray upper wings with black tips, and a yellow bill with a black ring around the end of the its bill. (Hence, Ring-Billed Gull).

Adult Ring-Billed Gull

Juveniles are similar in size, but they are of a color that would make them appear to be a dirty mottled grey, with streaking on its chest and flanks, and its legs are a pinkish color.

Juvenile Ring-Billed Gull

Though they will probably get rather boring rather quickly to many birders, keep a sharp eye out, because often mixed into the flocks of ring-bills will be the occasional Herring Gull, a couple of Bonaparte's Gulls, and a Tern or two.

Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)

Personally I love these loud, rude birds, last year I was able to photograph and record two tagged Ring-Bills, and one that Had been banded. And their antics always seem to cheer me up when the winter days get bleak.

In addition to their character, the return of the Ring-Bills signal to me its time to keep a close eye out for "oddity ducks", I have all ready been able to get some good photos of Hooded Mergansers ( Lophodytes cucullatus ) and Greater Scaup ( Aythya marila ) in Clarksville.

It wont be too long now that it will time to pay close attention to rafts of ducks on ponds and the river, as unusual (to here) ducks like White-Winged Scoters, American Wigeon, and not to mention the Wood Ducks will be in their full splendor!

Okay, you've set up your feeders, and got birds...

One basic, sometimes overlooked, but very important issue relating to bird feeders and baths is keeping them clean.

Think of it in terms of a buffet open to the public. If it was not cleaned on a regular basis, the chances of getting sick eating there would sky rocket, its the same with our feathered guests visiting our feeder and bird baths.

Taking the time to clean your feeders and your bird baths can make a huge difference in the health of the birds that will come to rely on you for their primary source of food.

Taking the feeders down and giving them a good rinsing at least every two weeks is a very good practice to get into. If your feeders are more heavily used, perhaps clean them once per week.

If the feeders are getting "dirty" with droppings, cleaning them with a solution of 10% chlorine bleach and 90% water, giving them a thorough cleaning in this, rinsing them very well with clean fresh water and letting them air dry before reuse is a good practice as well.

For me, the hardest chore is keeping the ground clean below the feeders. Ground feeders are attracted to the seeds that are dropped or discarded by the birds at the feeders (some ground feeders would include Rock Pigeons, Mourning Doves, etc.). If the birds on the feeder are dropping other things, like dookies, with those seeds, it can spread illnesses to the ground feeding birds.

Under my feeders is generally stone, it can be rinsed easier of bird droppings, and I can use my leaf blower / vacuum to suck up the seed hulls and any eaten seeds. The blower / vac crushes and mulches the hulls and seeds, and I generally dump this mixture into my compost heap.

Bird baths should also be periodically cleaned, and fresh water kept in them. For the most part, I keep mine filled with water from a rain barrel attached to my downspouts, but mainly the birds use my garden pond for water, which is filtered via mechanical filtration as well as UV germicidal light filtering (kills all free floating bacteria and algae).

Of course, I still get a grin on my face when I stop to think about the time the feeders and garden pond attracted a quite unexpected guest, and we lost 6 beautiful Koi to a visiting Green Heron who though the garden pond was his feeder!

Pyrrharctia isabella

Woolly worm photo by Charity D

Call them Woolly worms, call them Banded Woolly Bears, call them winter forecasters, but these guys are actually the caterpillar form of Pyrrharctia isabella, or the Isabella Tiger Moth.


Classic folklore holds that the more brown the bands on the woolly worms are the worse the winter will be. Reality is the brown band on a woolly worms grow wider as the caterpillar matures, they are not "born" with wide bands pending a bad winter.


The Isabella Tiger Moth is a small to medium size moth that transforms from the Banded Woolly Bear to the adult moth in late spring, and the cycle begins again with the eggs of the Isabella Tiger Moth hatching in the late summer early fall.

Isabella Tiger Moth Adult

Photo by Linden G.

Recent Spotting!

*stock photo from my flickr photostream

Sandhill Cranes were spotting flying over Jefferson County, Indiana over the weekend! Time to keep an eye on Ewing Bottoms outside of Brownstown, Indiana!

Spotted at Harrison County Forest

My husband made an early Sunday morning visit to the forestry, now known as O'Bannon Woods. Just inside the entry gate, in the cedar trees next to the restrooms on the right as you enter, were a number of Cedar Waxwings and Eastern Bluebirds, feasting on the cedar berries.

Black Oil Sunflower

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus Bicolor)

Aside from controlling the feral cats that sneak into my yard, the best thing I think I have done to date to help attract more birds to my feeders has been to switch strictly to black oil sunflower seeds in the feeders.

When we used the mixed seed, which always seemed to consist of more cracked corn that ended up on the ground, we would only attract the same old usual birds, house sparrows, European Starlings, an occasional Northern Cardinal, and Mourning doves feeding on the ground.

A couple of Downy Woodpeckers would regularly visit the suet feeders, and an odd Blue Jay would show up to make some noise and chase other birds around.

Since the switch to Black oil sunflower seeds, the most prominent visitors are a family of Tufted Titmouse (pictured above), there are at least 5 individual birds, who have now grown so accustomed to my presence by the feeders that they are not shy at all about landing a foot or two away to snatch a seed, fly up to the tree, eat the seed, and repeat.

One more adventurous of them will nearly land on me, and will fly right in my wife's face!

In addition to the titmouse, there have been some larger species of woodpeckers showing up, and regularly. A Northern Flicker, a Red-Headed, and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker have been regular guests.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinis)

*disclaimer, not the red-bellied that has been visiting

Carolina Wrens have also been visiting, as well as House Finches, Carolina Chickadees, and one fleeting glimpse of what I swear was a tiny little brown creeper, however he was not feeding on the seed, but was paying very close attention to a large piece of driftwood sitting by the small water pond we placed by the feeders.

The cost of feeding exclusively black oil sunflower seeds is more, and the mess from all the hulls and the sprouting seeds can be a pain. But it is well worth it for the wider variety of birds that it attracts, and keeps coming back!

We have three main feeders, two on posts, and one hanging on the front of the house, they are all placed where the birds have easy access to cover (butterfly bushes), water (the little pond), and a good clear view of where the previously mentioned feral cats tend to go.

As a side note, unfortunately, feeding feral cats will not diminish their "need" to hunt, it is a natural instinct despite how well they are feed to hunt. After all they are an apex predator, just a smaller version!