Whimbrel

 

Whimbrel are very commonly seen whenever we travel south in the winter. Whether in Florida, the Caribbean or South America. This one was observed recently in Aruba.

Whimbrels probe with their long bills into mudflats or wet sand for invertebrates such as crabs, walking slowly through areas where water is very shallow.

I found the following article rather interesting and have reposted it here.

Only one subspecies occurs in North America (hudsonicus); another three occur in Eurasia. The four subspecies differ mostly in the pattern of tail, rump, and back. Subspecies hudsonicus is uniformly brown in this area, whereas the three other subspecies have varying amounts of white. The nominate subspecies, phaeopus, which nests from Iceland to central Siberia, has a white rump and back. The very rare subspecies alboaxillaris, which nests in the steppe of southern Russia, is similar but larger and has white underwings. In northeastern Russia, the subspecies variegatus has a brown back and barred white rump. Both phaeopus and variegatus are recorded rarely but almost annually in the United States. Cornell All About Birds

Southern Lapwing

 

Another bird that seemed fairly common on Aruba was the Southern Lapwing seen here in the rain. Southern Lapwing are a raucous, conspicuous shorebird. They have a distinct color pattern with black breast, white belly, gray head, and bronzy shoulder.

The wings are boldly patterned in flight and are often in pairs or small flocks in open habitats, usually near water but also in dry pastures.

Venezuelan Troupial

The Venezuelan Troupial is another beautiful bird we were able to observe while birding in Aruba. Fairly common in Aruba which makes sense since you can actually see Venezuela in the distance.

It is a resident of thornscrub, cactus forests and other arid landscapes.

Rather large-headed, often sporting a short shaggy crest, with a blue teardrop of bare skin around each eye, thus differing from most other orioles.

Also note the long white slash on each wing, clearly visible in the first image. Vocalizations are mostly loud and flutelike. Cornell All About Birds

Blue-tailed Emerald

 

Another gorgeous bird I was able to find and observe while birding the Spanish Lagoon area on Aruba was the Blue-tailed Emerald.

The Blue-tailed Emerald is a common small green hummingbird of humid lowlands. Males are a rich iridescent green, with a bluish sheen to the face and breast, and deep blue tail and is found in a variety of rainforest habitats, but most common around forest edges, including in agricultural areas.

Ruby-topaz Hummingbird

 

The Ruby-topaz Hummingbird is a smaller hummingbird with a rather large range across northeastern South America and eastern Panama.

The male is unmistakable with a golden throat, a ruby-red crown, and an orange tail with dark tips.

We observed the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird while birding in Aruba with Michiel Oversteegen.

Michiel is a very enthusiastic and great guide and we certainly enjoyed our day with him. 

His email is birdwatchingaruba@gmail.com and his cell number is 297-6992075

On our day birding with Michiel we observed 62 species, 12 being new lifers.

His webpage is here https://www.birdwatchingaruba.com/

Cooper's Hawk

Well, an interesting event occurred today while leaving the Point Edward arena parking lot after hockey. Just as I was loading my gear into the back of the pickup a Coopers Hawk flew past only about ten feet off the ground carrying a bird and landed in a nearby tree. Meanwhile two Peregrine Falcons were hot on its tail and continued to dive at the Cooper’s.

Eventually the Peregrines left and the Cooper’s started on its meal. Since the Cooper’s had come from the Bluewater Bridge and the Peregrines were severely agitated, I’m wondering if its meal was indeed a young falcon. I managed to get a okay shot as the lighting was very poor and the sight line extremely difficult.

Red-throated Loon

 

I don’t usually post about my day-to-day activities however recently I had a pretty good morning birding along the bay here in Sarnia. A Red-throated Loon was certainly the highlight. Although we have observed Red-throated Loons in our travels this was certainly the closest encounter we have had.

The bay was a good walk this day as I also observed a Common Loon, a White-winged Scoter, a Lesser Scaup, Mallard and Black ducks, Red-breasted Mergansers, Bonaparte, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, all while a Black-legged Kittiwake cruised back and forth along the waterfront. All in all, a pretty good walk.

White-eyed Vireo

 

Back in the spring I was out birding when a local birding guide legend mentioned that he had found a White-eyed Vireo close by. We were unable to relocate the bird however after a couple of hours I was able to relocate the bird in the exact original location.

The White-eyed Vireo forages in the understory often out of sight, but sings nearly all day to let you know it's there. It spends the winter along the coast in the United States and farther south in Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern Central America. Cornell All About Birds

Golden-winged Warbler

 

Back in the spring I had the chance to observe and photograph a Golden-winged Warbler that was in the area. I had previously observed these allusive birds but failed in attempts at obtaining a decent image.

Golden-winged Warblers forage among the leaves and branch tips of their low, shrubby habitat. Males sing their loud, buzzy song over and over again from the tops of shrubs during early summer. Which is exactly the habitat this warbler was observed.

Golden-winged Warblers breed in tangled, shrubby habitats such as regenerating clearcuts, wet thickets, and tamarack bogs. They often move into nearby woodland when the young have fledged. They spend winters in open woodlands and shade-coffee plantations of Central and South America. Cornell All About Birds

Richardson's Owl

On a recent visit to my mother’s new retirement village, I was perusing the very well stocked library when I came across a Roger Tory Peterson A  Field Guide to The Birds first published in 1934. This copy was the fourth edition and published in 1947. It looks like it was a gift to a non birder and is in extremely good condition.

The area covered by the book is the eastern United States.

The retirement home librarian was overwhelmed that I was interested in the book and was more than happy to let me take it home. Apparently, books go missing all the time. Go figure.

I was interested to see a Richardson’s Owl listed and started looking into the name.

The boreal owl (Aegolius funereus) or Tengmalm's owl is a small owl in the "true owl" family Strigidae. It is known as the Boreal Owl in North America and as Tengmalm’s Owl in Europe after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm and more rarely as Richardson’s Owl after Sir John Richardson. 

Sir John Richardson was a Scottish naval surgeon, naturalist and Arctic explorer who lived 1787-1865.

Kind of interesting seeing a lot of older names for common birds now. Most of the drawings are in black and white but a few have colour.

I also found out there is a woman’s national football team in Finland called The Boreal Owls.