Bare-throated Tiger-Heron in U.S.!

Ohio's own Rick Nirschl, along with Rick Snider, found the most exciting bird in the U.S. right now - a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Tigrisoma mexicanum. Rick & Rick found the bird yesterday, in the legendary Bentsen State Park in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, a locale in which many a tropical rarity has been found.

Adult Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, photo by Rick Snider. This is the first United States record. The multisyllabically monikered, heavily hyphenated heron ranges from northern Mexico all the way south through Central America and into northern South America.

Rick Nirschl's shot of the bird flying away. Let's hope, for the sake of all the rabid listers, not for good. Last I heard, no one had relocated it.

Here's an immature Bare-throated Tiger-Heron that I took in Costa Rica earlier this year. They are very cool birds, and it's hard to imagine what a thrill stumbling into one in Texas, north of the border, must have been.

Not only are they striped in a manner somewhat reminiscent of a tiger, they make sounds that might make one think a tiger was on the prowl. They'll sit in trees, and deliver spooky-sounding low guttural roars that would certainly give pause to someone that didn't know what they were hearing.

Major congratulations are in order to Rick and Rick. Mr. Nirschl, who is past president of the Toledo Naturalists' Association and makes his home in Toledo when not in south Texas, is one of the finest field naturalists that I've met. This is the guy who found Ohio's first state record of Striped Saddlebags, Tramia calverti (dragonfly), among many other wonderful discoveries. This tiger-heron will be hard to top though, even for Rick!

Dragonflies at sea

Wandering Glider, Pantala flavescens, image courtesy of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab.

The Wandering Glider, perhaps better dubbed the "Globe Skimmer", is a common species here in Ohio. And many other places throughout the world.

Somewhat lackluster in the looks department, at least when compared to their more colorful brethren, this species may be the most fascinating of the lot. Capable of lightning speed reproduction - egg to flying adult in a scant few months - gliders are aerialists supreme. Bolstered by proportionately enormous wings, they are capable of incredible journeys, and are highly migratory.

Up until recently, it was presumed that the Monarch butterfly engaged in the longest migration of any insect.

Not.

Check out this fascinating video of a presentation given by biologist Charles Anderson, who ferreted out the mystery of masses of Wandering Gliders appearing each year in the Maldives islands, well out in the Indian Ocean and far from any possible breeding grounds. CLICK HERE for the video link.

Return of the yellow cardinal

Last January, Tom Ruggles of Zanesville sent photos of a very interesting Northern Cardinal. A jaw-dropper, actually. I posted photos of the bird HERE, along with an explanation of why the bird would be yellow rather than its normal coat of crimson.

Well, Tom's odd bird has returned, and he just sent along these photos. This "yellowbird" would certainly catch one's eye!

While on hiatus wherever it is that yellow cardinals from Muskingum County go, the bird seems to have become even yellower. This is a very cool effect! I'm thinking we should dye more cardinals this color.

The yellowish coloration apparently results from an imbalance of carotenoids, a condition known as xanthochroism. Apparently more normally dominant pigments are suppressed, allowing less dominant pigments to shine through.

As birds uptake carotenoids through food that they eat, it may be that fruit - probably from some non-native shrub - has caused the shift in this cardinal's coloration.

Prong-billed Barbet, Bosque de Paz Reserve, Costa Rica.

When Tom sent the photos this time, and I looked at that last photo posted above of the cardinal, I was instantly remined of another bird, the Prong-billed Barbet, Semnornis frantzii, which has a rather limited range in Costa Rica and western Panama. The barbet, like cardinals in the winter, also eats lots of fruit, and its greenish-yellow tints match Tom's yellow cardinal rather well.

Thanks for sharing the photos, Tom, and I'm glad your bird has returned once again!

More hummers - from far, far away!

My recent post on Allen's Hummingbird - Ohio's first record - prompted an e-mail from my cousin Paul, who lives many miles away. Four thousand and thirty two miles, to be exact. That's twenty one million, two hundred and eighty eight thousand, and nine hundred and sixty feet. A long way by any reckoning, and Paul dwells in a land of sometimes midnight sun, offset by short dark winter days high in snow. The Aurora Borealis dazzles with an unbelievable laser light show, and there are far fewer people where he lives.

They've got Sarah Palin up there, should you need a blatant hint about where it is of which we speak. And Paul, my cousin, who leads an interesting life. And likes birds, as we shall see.

Paul Rupple, standing near Seward, Alaska. He's a long way from the cornfields of Ashland County, Ohio, and has been up in the Great White North for a long time. I become envious whenver I see pictures of Paul/Alaska. My first big independent travel adventure was the summer after graduating high school, when a buddy and I drove a '66 Volkswagon Bug from Columbus, Ohio to Alaska.

Fantastic, unforgettable expedition, and I've wanted to go back ever since. Alaska is true wilderness, and full of wildlife. Our VW broke down - for good! - on the way back, in a place called Haines Junction in Canada's Yukon Territory. We peddled it to some guy from White Horse for $200. Ah, the memories...

Anyway, back to Paul. This is an interesting guy. Here he is on his sail boat, which he often navigates solo along Alaska's coast. Not only is he quite the skipper, he is a professional airline pilot who flies big jets packed with cargo all over the world, for Fed Ex. He's also a sled dog afficionado, and has had scores of the beasts.

And Paul likes birds.

Apparently, he's become a good photographer, too. Paul shares these photos of Rufous Hummingbirds visiting his feeders - in Alaska! The Rufous Hummingbird is one tough beast, and nests all the way up into our 49th state. In fact, they are common in SE Alaska.

Fantastic flight shot of an aerial immature male Rufous eyeing the sugar water. I think it's cool that our only state with polar bears also hosts hummingbirds. An adult male polar bear can weigh 1,500 pounds. An adult male Rufous Hummingbird might weigh 3 grams. Thus, it would take 227,000 of the hummers to balance the scales with one bear. Quite a discrepancy between these two Alaskan animals.

It's claimed that there are some 5 million Rufous Hummingbirds. That means that all of them together weigh as much as only 20 adult male polar bears. There. For whatever good that was.

It's probably a good thing that the hummers aren't 8-9 feet long and weigh 1,500 pounds. They would then most likely be the world's most dangerous animal.

Anyway, I thank Paul for checking in with the hummingbird photos, and other great shots from Alaska. And I hope he has me up to visit some time!

Props to Ned Keller!

Ned Keller, in a rare state of repose with three furry friends. The animals appear to be looking to Ned for guidance, as so many of us bipeds do.

A Big Congratulations are in order for Ned, who is the 2009 recipient of the Stewart Welsh Conservation Award. This honor is bestowed by the Hamilton County (Ohio) Park District, and goes to individuals who have made a profound difference in environmental protection in southwest Ohio. 2009 marks only the second year that the award has been given, and it is fitting that Ned would be one of its first recipients. Stewart Welsh was a longtime advocate for the environment and was instrumental in establishing the park district's land management program, ultimately helping to make Hamilton County Parks one of the finest park systems in Ohio.

Ned, an attorney by trade, touches lots of people in Ohio, whether they know it or not. Our Ohio Birds listserv, which carries thousands of posts annually and is one of the largest in the country, is aptly managed by Ned and has been for a long time. That's why it is so problem-free, and the listserv has evolved into an indispensable tool for Ohio birders to quickly share their sightings.

He is also secretary of the Ohio Bird Records Committee, a challenging task if there ever were one. Ned was also on board from Day One with the still relatively new Ohio Ornithological Society, serving on its board and helping in many ways. His guidance was, and is, vital to the organization.

Ned is also active in lots of ways in the Cincinnati area, helping to spearhead the massive Cinci Christmas Bird Count, oversee the wonderful Birding in Cincinnati website, help with the local Ohio Young Birders Club, and undoubtedly far more other things of which I've got no idea.

You get the point. This is a guy who volunteers a LOT of his time to help others. And in top of everything, he is just a great guy who is enthusiastic about birds and nature in general. Too bad he can't be cloned.

Congratulations, Ned!

Allen's Hummingbird - Ohio's first!

The Ohio birding news is now dominated by a tiny 3 gram feathered dynamo known as an Allen's Hummingbird. And with good reason: this is the first documented record of this westerner for the state.

Coincidentally, Pennsylvania's first Allen's Hummingbird record came almost simultaneously, when in a remarkably similar situation to the one described here, Scott Wiedensaul banded and documented one at a Keystone State feeder.


Pastoral Holmes County countryside makes for scenic drives. That's a horse and buggy way down the road - a common conveyance in these parts.

State firsts really get the listers apoplectic with twitcher's disease, and I must confess to suffering from the affliction. When I hear about a bird in Ohio that I've not seen in the state, a restless discontent settles in that is only cured by the chase. For me, it's only this way with my home state list. I generally have no yen to chase New Jersey Ivory Gulls or East Coast Pink-footed Geese - most of these birds I've seen somewhere, or will someday, and it isn't that important where I see them. In fact, to me it's generally more rewarding to see and watch a species on its home turf, where it ought to be.

But, perhaps because I've birding the Buckeye State for so long, my resident list is a big one and the urge to add to it is irresistable. Yesterday's expedition was successful, and the Allen's Hummingbird provided me with my 361st notch on my Ohio list.

A major bonus of this chase was the bird's location - Holmes County. Located in the rolling hills of northeast Ohio, this county has produced an inordinate number of spectacular birds: Green Violet-ear, Violet-green Swallow, Long-billed Curlew, Swallow-tailed Kite, and many more. This plethora of exceptional records is in large part due to the exceptional concentration of stellar birders, many of which are Amish.

The region is also much more bird-friendly than the agriculture-intensive flatlands of the glaciated till plains, where mega-farms have nearly eliminated most habitat in many areas. The photo above shows neat rows of shocked corn, baled Amish style.

Ground zero for our target, the home of Mae Miller, who has graciously welcomed the birding community. A great many visitors have come to view the feathered wonder, and now that it's identification has been confirmed, there'll be a great many more. Look closely and you'll see a throng of admirers in that treeline beyond the silver Toyota Prius.

In a remarkable spot of good luck, Ms. Miller's house and the hummingbird fall within the bounds of a Christmas Bird Count. Should the bird linger for another week or so, they'll be able to tick off a humdinger of a count bird.

One of the more heavily scrutinized backyards in the state. The feeder hangs near that projecting back porch. Our subject has apparently been frequenting this site since late September, and up until a few days ago, was presumed to be a Rufous Hummingbird.

Hummingbirds can be astonishingly hardy, and here's some evidence. There's the feeder in the upper right hand corner, and a thermometer below. When I took the photo, around 9:30 am, it was reading in the low 20's. My car's thermometer read 14 degrees in the lower valleys nearby as I traveled to the spot. As long as these tiny birds can find adequate food, they can survive such temperatures, at least for a while.

Finally - here it is, the state record Allen's Hummingbird on his feeder. You'd not be able to prove that's what it is from this photo, though. We could see the bird far better through our optics, but even then it is difficult if not impossible to be certain of its identity.

Allen's Hummingbird is in the genus Selasphorus, along with the very similar Rufous Hummingbird, of which Ohio gets several a year on average. While adult males are fairly straightforward, females and immature birds are far trickier to tell apart.

Here's a short video of the bird sipping sugar water, then darting off through the frigid air. I didn't have to wait long to see it - I actually spotted the bird flying to the feeder as I walked up to the site. It makes regular and fairly frequent visits, and I don't think anyone who has come has missed seeing it.

This is a MUCH better photo, courtesy of Allen Chartier. Allen is one of the area's few licensed hummingbird banders, and he has made numerous trips to Ohio from his home state of Michigan to band Ohio hummers. Allen's work has been invaluable in verifying the identity of our vagrant hummingbirds, including this one.

Unfortunately, a bit of misinformation about this bird made its way onto our Ohio Birds listserv, and hopefully it hasn't deterred interested birders from seeing this hummingbird if they were so inclined. Anyway, Allen took the time to post accurate info about our specimen, and I quote him below:

"Ohio Birders,

Please let me clarify things before the wild speculation gets even wilder.
Interpreting the use of the word "probable" in the email announcing the presence of this bird is erroneous (my preference would have been "highly likely"). In-hand, Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds can be identified more than 99% of the time using a combination of plumage characters, feather shapes, and measurements.

I have banded nearly 60 Rufous Hummingbirds in three states, but have never banded an Allen's though I have worked with them in Louisiana with another bander. This individual has only 8 tail feathers instead of the usual 10. And although it is an immature bird, 7 of the 10 tail feathers are adult-type. The measured widths of both outer tail feathers (one is adult, one is immature) are both diagnosticly narrow (up to 1/2 mm narrower than a Rufous should be) for Allen's Hummingbird. This is probably sufficient for the bird to be accepted by the state records committee, though I don't want to pre-judge that.

My caution in being "only" 99% certain of the ID when I left the home was based on this being a first state record, and the fact that I wasn't positive which two feathers were missing. I was simply being cautious until I made the 200+ mile drive home to be able to check more references and look at my photos of the bird more closely to verify some of my suspicions about these missing tail feathers. I like to be thorough before claiming a first state record. All the tail feathers of this bird are very pointed, and the outer three are very narrow.

With good views of the spread tail, it is reasonable to say that it could be identified in the field with perhaps 80-90% confidence (depending on how experienced you are with these birds).

So, the bottom line is that it would be nearly impossible to make a case that this is a Rufous Hummingbird, based on the measurements. Please do not put off going to see this bird based simply on the use of the word "probable" and subsequent misinterpretations of it. The homeowner is very gracious and willing, and the bird should be cooperative, but who knows for how long."

A view of the tail of the Holmes County Allen's Hummingbird, showing the characteristic very narrow outer tail feathers, or rectrices. For this kind of view, one must have the bird in hand. Capturing and banding hummers normally does not faze them in the slightest. The whole operation can be done in ten minutes or so, allowing the bander to collect weight, measurements, and other diagnostic information, and place a truly tiny silver band on one of its legs. The hummingbird will often be back at the feeder minutes later.

For comparison, here is the tail of a Rufous Hummingbird, courtesy of Bill Hilton's excellent blog, This Week at Hilton Pond. This species has, on a comparative scale, much broader outer tail feathers.

Ohio now has several dozen records of Rufous Hummingbird. It's a western species with a broad distribution - our only hummingbird that breeds in Alaska.

The Allen's Hummingbird has a much smaller range, and consequently there are a lot less of them. This is undoubtedly one factor as to why there are FAR fewer records in the east than there are of Rufous Hummingbird.

The increasing numbers of vagrant hummingbirds in the eastern U.S. is a fascinating phenomenon, and there are probably some good reasons for it. But that's another post.

Thanks to Mae Miller for her hospitality and good stewardship of the bird, and to Allen Chartier for his tireless efforts to learn more about hummingbirds, and in particular for his work on this bird.

Word of the day: Seiche

Photo: Laura Moore/Flickr

Waves batter the Lake Erie shoreline. Ohio's north coast is an inland sea - Erie is the 4th largest of the Great Lakes in surface area. And it is the shallowest, with an average depth of just 62 feet.

Because of its shallowness, Lake Erie is prone to vicious wave action generated by storms pushed along by high winds. Conditions on the lake can go from placid to savage in the blink of an eye, making it one of the world's most dangerous water bodies. Many a ship has been unwillingly moored in Davey Jones' locker, on the floor of the lake. Indeed, one of the highest densities of shipwrecks anywhere on the globe rest on Erie's bottom.

Stretching 241 miles from stem to stern, Lake Erie is bookended by the port cities of Toledo, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York.

As anyone residing in these parts knows, we've had some roof-shaking, limb-cracking, umbrella-obliterating high winds the past few days. This front roared out of the west, and barreled down the center of Erie.

And this created an exceptional example of a fascinating hydrological phenomenon known as a seiche. Inhabitants of the lake are fully aware of seiches, whether or not they know them by name, but many non-lake people are surprised to learn about seiches.

Basically, a seiche is a wind-driven massive shift of water - high prolonged winds push Erie's water from one end to the other, causing water to pile up at a higher depth on the downwind side. It's as if you took a bowl of water, and blasted your hair dryer into the bowl from the side. As long as you kept the air flowing, water would stay higher on the far side of the bowl.


Yesterday's gales produced one humdinger of a seiche on Lake Erie. The chart above, from yesterday, shows the sudden drop in water level at Toledo.


Well, all of the water - Lake Erie holds some 116 cubic miles of the stuff! - has to go somewhere. And that would be Buffalo, at the eastern end. Soon after Toledo lost ELEVEN feet of water, Buffalo's water level spiked by 11 feet. That's a Seiche Royale!