bird ID

Different plumage phases of Red-breasted Merganser Drakes

By Mia McPherson, on February 4th, 2013%

Male Red-breasted Merganser in breeding plumage

Awhile back someone told me (in a comment on this blog) that Mergansers don’t change their plumage seasonally, which is incorrect as all three species of mergansers that live in North America do. The image above shows a Red-breasted Merganser drake in breeding plumage, I took this image at a pond very close to where I live in Salt Lake County, Utah.

Note the very dark head, striking black and white patterns on the back of the merganser and evidence of the red breast this species gets part of its name from. Don’t you just love the shaggy, punk rock do these birds have?

Male Red-breasted Mergansers in eclipse plumage

All three of the birds in the image above are male Red-breasted Mergansers in eclipse plumage and look remarkably different than the male in breeding plumage shown above. Or maybe these mergansers are just females that got a really bad deal on smoky eye shadows at Walgreens.

Seriously they are males in eclipse plumage photographed at Fort De Soto’s north beach in Florida.

It pays to have great Bird Guides, I have plenty on a shelf right above my computer monitor and keep one in the pickup, I also have two bird guide apps on my smart phone so I can use them anywhere I am without the weight of a book. Not only can the guides help with a bird’s identification they can also help us distinguish the various plumage phases of birds or if they change seasonally.

At any rate, I’d say that these images of Red-breasted Merganser drakes show there is a seasonal change in their plumage.

Mia

More Red-breasted Merganser images

*Because of Google’s changes it Image Search and how they have begun to hotlink to my larger images I will no longer post large versions of my files on my blog.

The answer to the Gull and Tern Quiz is…

By Mia McPherson, on January 28th, 2013%

There were 30 people that voted on this quiz, these were the votes:

Juvenile Western Gull, 1st winter Franklin’s Gull, Elegant Tern: 1 vote (3%)

Juvenile Herring Gull, 1st winter Laughing Gull and Royal Tern: 25 votes (83%)

Juvenile Western Gull, 1st winter Franklin’s Gull, Royal Tern: 3 votes (10%)

Other answer: Clueless LOL = 1 Vote (3%)

The majority of you voted for the correct answer: Juvenile Herring Gull, 1st winter Laughing Gull and Royal Tern

Juvenile Herring Gull

The range of Herring Gulls includes Florida as a wintering location. The range of Western Gulls does not extend into to Florida, it is primarily found on the Pacific Coast and it would be a very rare visitor to Florida.

1st winter Laughing Gull

Laughing Gulls are found along the Atlantic and Gulf coast year round, Franklin’s Gulls are vagrants to the same area. A 1st Winter Franklin’s Gull would show less brown on the back and upper wings than the bird in the quiz image did and the bill would be smaller.

Royal Tern in breeding plumage

Both Royal Terns and Elegant Terns are large crested Terns. The range of the Royal Tern includes Florida as year round residents while Elegant Terns shows them only as vagrants to the East Coast but does not show them in Florida.

You all did great!

Thanks for playing, it was a fun quiz!

Mia

Juvenile Red-tailed, Rough-legged, Ferruginous and Swainson’s Hawks

By Mia McPherson, on January 27th, 2013%

Red-tailed Hawk juvenile – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited, called in or set up

Today I thought I would post images of the juvenile Buteos that I see most often in Utah and Montana, they are Red-tailed, Rough-legged, Ferruginous and Swainson’s Hawks. The Red-tailed, Ferruginous and Swainson’s Hawks all breed in my area, the Rough-legged Hawks breed in the Arctic.

I photographed the young Red-tailed Hawk above during the summer in the Centennial Valley of Beaverhead County, Montana. It was a very cooperative bird and I was able to take quite a few images of it, I liked this image because of the way the raptor appeared to be staring intensely at something on the ground.

Rough-legged Hawk juvenile – Nikon D300, f9, 1/800, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 357mm, natural light, not baited, called in or set up

This juvenile Rough-legged Hawk was also very cooperative as it preened and fluffed on Antelope Island State Park in Davis County, Utah. This bird was photographed during the winter which is the only time I see Rough-legged Hawks in Utah and Montana.

Ferruginous Hawk juvenile – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 357mm, natural light, not baited, called in or set up

This young Ferruginous Hawk was photographed the same morning as the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk shown above in the Centennial Valley of Beaverhead County, Montana. The Ferruginous Hawk hasn’t gotten the rufous coloration to its feathered legs yet. I wish I had been closer to this juvenile as it appeared that some of the radiant heat rising from the road may have interfered with this image being as sharp as I wanted it or it may have been the pickup idling, I am not sure.

Swainson’s Hawk juvenile – Nikon D300, f8, 1/800, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited, called in or set up

This juvenile Swainson’s Hawk was photographed in the Centennial Valley of Beaverhead County Montana too, nearby there was another juvenile and adult Swainson’s but they weren’t in good light like this young bird was.

I always, and I do mean always, feel privileged when I am in the presence of these magnificent raptors where I can observe them and their behaviors and photograph these amazing hawks.

Mia

Gull and Tern Quiz

By Mia McPherson, on January 26th, 2013%

Mystery Gulls and Tern

I came across this image this morning while working up my post Bird images from warmer days and all at 300mm or less and thought it might make a great image for a Bird ID Quiz.

There are three different species of birds in this image, the image was created at Fort De Soto County Park’s north beach in Florida on April 24, 2009. I have supplied three answers to the quiz and only one of them is correct. Get out your bird guide books, check out the images/drawings and geographic ranges and see if you can figure out which answer is correct!

[yop_poll id="1"]

Juvenile Western Gull, 1st winter Franklin’s Gull, Elegant Tern: 1 vote (3%)

Juvenile Herring Gull, 1st winter Laughing Gull and Royal Tern: 25 votes (83%)

Juvenile Western Gull, 1st winter Franklin’s Gull, Royal Tern: 3 votes (10%)

Other answer: Clueless LOL = 1 Vote (3%)

I’ll post the answer on Monday morning! (See the correct answer here)

Mia

Comparing Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons

By Mia McPherson, on January 22nd, 2013%

The adult Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons aren’t terribly difficult to tell apart though the juveniles can be more of a challenge.

Black-crowned Night Herons have red eyes, a black crown and white plume, a short white to pale gray neck, a very pale gray belly, a solid black back and pale yellow legs that a red during breeding season. Black-crowned Night Herons have a black bill that is shorter and more slender than a Yellow-crowned Night Heron. They appear chunky and squat compared to a Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

Yellow-crowned Night Herons have orange-red eyes, a white crown with a slight yellow tint & white plume, they have a black head with a white cheek patch, a long slender gray neck and belly, a gray back with a pattern and yellow legs. Yellow-crowned Night Herons have a thick black long bill. They appear slender compared to a Black-crowned Night Heron.

The juveniles are slight more difficult to ID but some features make them easier to identify.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons are chunky and squat like the adults and have short necks. The bill of a juvenile is dark on top and green to yellowish on the bottom, the lores are sometimes a greenish color and the wings have large white spots on a brown back.

Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Herons are slender in appearance and have long slender necks. The bill of a juvenile is mostly black and the back and wings have fine spots and the overall color is darker than a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron.

Additionally, geographic location should be taken into account when making an identification in that Black-crowned Night Herons have a much larger range that covers most of the United States into southern Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Yellow-crowned Night Herons are found mainly on the east coast of the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Mia