KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER

Olive-Sided Flycatcher - Photo courtesy Dave Reed
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THIS WEEK'S FIELD TRIP (2016) IS GOING TO TAKE PLACE IN HANCOCK COUNTY AND WILL BE FOCUSING ON A SEARCH FOR THE OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. JOIN THE MISSISSIPPI COAST AUDUBON SOCIETY MEMBERS ON SATURDAY 27TH AUGUST, 2016 AT 8AM (morning only) AT THE STENNIS WELCOME CENTER. Bring along drinks and snacks.

Each year about this time, those of us who take a serious approach to field birding conduct a search for the wonderful and exciting Olive-sided Flycatcher, which is a real rarity here in the coastal counties. There are years when it is not seen at all, and a "good" year might include one or two fall sightings. No spring observations are on record.

According to past records, the Olive-sided has been seen here between Aug 19 and Oct 21. In Louisiana, the time period is between July 31 and Oct 20. In Alabama the time period in that coastal area as Aug 6 to the second week in November.

But the optimum month for looking is in September. Birders who want to see an Olive-sided Flycatcher arm themselves with the sort of information given above. They begin to look several days in advance of the earliest known date. They search a little harder during the optimum periods of time (when most Olive-sideds have been seen in the coastal areas of our state, as well as our neighboring states), and they don't stop looking until all reasonable chances to see one have passed. That is step No. 1 - knowing WHEN to look.

Step No. 2 is knowing WHERE to look. The Olive-sided Flycatcher is so totally associated with high and conspicuous dead branches that to look anywhere else (such as in the mid-section of a deciduous tree) is really an exercise in futility. We get in the habit of looking twice at any flycatcher that perches high in a branch that affords a broad overview of the surrounding area. Here on the coast, we have found that the ideal places for a migrating Olive-sided include cutover areas with snag trees, or even at the edge of a deciduous woodland. The lofty, snaggy outpost at the top of the dead tree is the key.

Knowing when and where to look is two thirds of the battle. Step No. 3 is knowing WHAT to look for. That is really not difficult. In the flycatcher family in this area, the only species that might be confused with the Olive-sided are the Eastern Wood-Pewee, and the Eastern Kingbird because they both occupy similar perches, and their posture and general coloration are similar.

This is where differences - those wonderful differences that help us to separate one bird from another - enter into it. Look at an Olive-sided Flycatcher and an Eastern Wood-Pewee in a field guide. That the Olive-sided is the larger bird is quite obvious. It is big-headed and short-tailed, and is a laggard in the looks and grace department, whereas the pewee has a more attenuated look. Look at the plumage. Note that the Olive-sided has what appears to be a cutaway vest of darkness, contrasting with a white "shirt". The pewee, underneath, is lighter overall, and shows no typical vest pattern. Neither the Eastern Kingbird, nor the Eastern Wood-Pewee appears as "glued" to the perch as the Olive-sided.  Field guides enumerate the other differences. You should learn them all.

Field guides (and everyone who has ever heard an Olive-sided Flycatcher) stress its distinctive song, which has been variously translated as "Quick three beers" or "hic, three beers", but unfortunately this bird is not vocalizing when  it migrates through our area.

If you wonder how some birders manage to see rarities like the Olive-sided Flycatcher with something approaching regularity, the reason is simple. They employ birding logic - knowing when and where to look and what to look for. It's fundamental to good birding.

This article was published in August 1989

NOTES ON THE YELLOW WARBLER

Yellow Warbler on American Pokeweed - Photo courtesy Sharon Milligan
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   For a few glorious moments this morning I watched an adult female Yellow Warbler glean its way through the topmost branches of my back yard oaks. It was the first transient species that I have seen on my home grounds since fall migration got off to its usual slow start in mid July. Transient species merely pass through an area, and they are of great interest to birders who measure the seasons in terms of what birds are seen on any given day.

    The Yellow Warbler is a common spring migrant and a sometimes abundant fall migrant here. Ordinarily, one would be alert for it in wet deciduous thickets, especially swamp willows, where this species occurs in greatest numbers. But migrants do occur in any woodlands, or indeed in places where only a few scrawny bushes, such as those found in salt marsh scrub, prevail. Virtually all the Yellow Warblers seen in flight during this period of fall movement are heard calling. Once learned, the short and slightly vibratory “zreep” that seems unfailingly to accompany fall birds, is an excellent clue to their presence.

    As a breeding species, this is one of the most widespread wood-warblers in North America. I think it fair to say that I've seen it, provided the season was a warm one, everywhere I've ever birded, and that includes Alaska, the Northwest Territories, Maine, Oregon, Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Mexico and so on and so on.

    Since we here in Mississippi know the Yellow Warbler only as a transient, I've always been a bit fascinated by its breeding distribution. The fact is that there are only a few southern states and the northernmost reaches of the Canadian provinces where it does NOT breed.

    Out of curiosity, I went on a research spree, and found much generally obscure information in "Warblers," by Jon Dunn and Kimball Garrett; that guide is part of the Peterson Field Guide series and well worth owning if your interest in birds spills over from the whats to the hows, whens, and wheres of it all.

    This is amazing! Dunn and Garret wrote that there are 43 subspecies in three main groups of the Yellow Warbler! The species name is Setophaga petechia. Relax now; only members of one of those groups, called the Northern Yellow Warbler, which is highly migratory, occurs in continental North America. But, if you happen to be birding the Florida Keys, you could see a member of the Caribbean group, called the "Golden Warbler," or, if you bird in Mexico south to northern South America, you could see a chestnut-headed bird of the group called "Mangrove Warbler." (These constitute groups of subspecies). It is possible to identify members of these three groups, helped along by a field guide and where you happen to be when you see your bird.

    I recall that I saw my first "mangrove" subspecies of the Yellow Warbler, in Sonora, Mexico, just a skip from the Sea of Cortez. It was an adult male and absolutely breathtaking; it appeared so decidedly different from any bird I had ever seen, I felt sure that it was a full species.

    As a matter of fact, these three groups of subspecies were indeed once treated as separate species; in 1942 they were lumped as one, and all fall under the species name Yellow Warbler, or Dendroica petetchia. Given increased knowledge and DNA research, who knows if they may again be given the status of separate species.

    The lumping and splitting of species is a fascinating part of bird study; we often don't think of it until it affects us. I lost one when it was declared that the Myrtle and western Audubon's races of the Yellow-rumped Warbler accounted for just one species; I gained one when the American Ornithologists' Union recently declared that the Black-crested Titmouse (of south Texas) deserved its own genus. And so it goes.

    Our trees, bushes and shrubs are about to be well populated with Yellow Warblers of the northern group of subspecies; aside from adult males and females, which differ from each other enough to allow for separation of mature birds, we will be seeing many more immatures of both sexes, and it is well to remember that. There are several ways to identify a Yellow Warbler; adults are more an "all yellow" species than other warblers; most have yellow wing bars, bright yellow faces, black beady eyes. Adults males have reddish-brown streaks. In just about all but the palest young females, keep in mind that the Yellow Warbler is the only wood-warbler that has this unique field mark: yellow tail spots!

This article was published in August 2003

OH, THOSE DAUNTING DOWITCHERS

Short-billed Dowitcher - photo courtesy Sharon Milligan

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    Both species (same genus) of dowitchers (Short and Long-Billed) are abundant during migration (spring migrants seen as late as mid-June and returning fall migrants as early as late July). The Long-billed is uncommon to rare throughout the winter months (except in some favored locations, e.g. Seaman Rd Lagoon). The Short-billed is common during winter.

    Those birders who aspire to proficiency must eventually face head-on the challenge of identifying dowitchers. While they are coming through in big numbers, it is a good time to review or begin to hone one's skills. Seriously, bill length is of little help.

   Keep in mind that at this time of year the adults still might show some of the orange (Short-billed) or brick red (Long-billed) breeding plumage. It helps to know that here in coastal Mississippi the Short-billed is likely to be the Hendersoni subspecies. Also note that the Long-Billed Dowitcher has broader tail bands, resulting in an overall darker tail, and the dark cluster of spotting that is forward of the carpal joint.

    When we find these two species, it's usually at a distance. And we often rely on shortcuts. Field guides stress that identification by voice is most reliable, especially of dowitchers in non-breeding plumage.

    The Long-billed has a sharp, high-pitched "keek" that may be given singly or in a series. The Short-billed has a softer "tu-tu-tu" repeated in rapid series. Habitat preferences might help. Long-billed is associated with fresh water, Short-billed with salt water, but they overlap in brackish environments.

    But seriously,  field guides such as National Geographic or Sibley’s do a bang-up job on the dowitchers, and there are countless other fine-point identification articles on the two species on line, so give it a try. Look particularly for information on shape and posture.

    One of the true experts on shorebird identification, (the late) Claudia Wilds, would remain in one place for hours, examining dowitcher plumages, bird by bird. Her skills were so legendary that author Kenn Kaufman asked her to write the dowitcher section in "Advanced Birding", which I highly recommend.

This article was published in August 2005

SAY A SMALL 'THANKS' FOR CHIMNEY SWIFTS

Chimney Swift - photo courtesy Sharon Milligan
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In the United States, the Chimney Swift is the eastern representative of a large family that occurs in all parts of the world except oceans and polar regions.

It is safe to say that between mid March and late October, if you are disposed to look you will see Chimney Swifts, regardless of where you live on the Coast. They are easy to recognize, by sight, by sound, by flight style and behavior.

These small flying machines are all-gray with the body shape of a cigar and the wing shape of a backward-curving scimitar. They make sharp, chittering sounds while flying. Their wing strokes are jerky and bat-like, but they also glide and sail on set wings. The operative word for their flight is FAST. Although swifts are gregarious, in the spring, we often see them in groups of three (two males in pursuit of a female, and only they know which is which). They are active all day, from sunrise until after sunset. Because of their flight style, and the late hours they keep, the uninitiated may mistake swifts for bats.

If you could hold a Chimney Swift in your hand, you would see things that aren’t visible as it streaks overhead like an SST (supersonic transport). For instance, it has very small, weak legs; should it happen to be grounded, it is likely to be a permanent grounding, for it is as a rocket without thrust.

Its bill is short, tiny and slightly down-curved. Its gape (its mouth opening) extends from under-eye to under-eye (the better for a record catch of flying insects). Its tail is short and stiff, with spiny tips, and its claws are strong enough to enable it to cling to rock walls and chimneys (with its spiny tail for support) for one long night after another.

Superficially (very superficially), swifts resemble swallows, but in fact they are more closely related to hummingbirds.

Chimney Swifts nest and roost in chimneys (also in barns, silos, cisterns, etc.). When this was the forest primeval, any dark, sheltered place, such as a hollow tree, would do.

Many people become familiar with Chimney Swifts on a summer’s night, when they hear a disturbance in the wall above the fireplace. Investigation into its source will reveal a nest inside the chimney, with several birds clinging to its walls. I’m always dismayed when I hear that someone has built a roaring fire in the fireplace to rid themselves of Chimney Swifts – and it happens frequently – often at the hands of the same people who cater to bluebirds and martins. If you are one whose tolerance for swifts is low, the more humane way is to wait it out for this year and then affix some hardware cloth, or screening to the chimney opening after the birds have fledged (Editor’s note: The Pascagoula River Audubon Centre which opened in 2015 uses purpose-built Chimney Swifts houses, and information can be obtained from there on how to build these.  See footnote)

The nest is an interesting affair, and work goes into it. Since swifts don’t perch on branches or land on the ground, they get nesting material while flying, using their feet to break off twigs. The twigs are cemented together and attached to the inside wall of a chimney, for example, with glutinous saliva to form a half-cup, which is unlined. The eggs (4-5, or sometimes as many as 6) are incubated by both parents for 19 days.

Newly hatched young are naked and blind, and they are fed a diet of insects, carried in the throat pouches and disgorged directly into their mouths, by parents and any available helpers. Young don’t open their eyes until they are 14 days old. They leave the nest and cling to, or climb on, the walls as early as 19 days, always upward, towards the sky. They fly between their 24^th and 26^th day but return to the chimney at nightfall. That is why we see so much more swift activity in mid to late summer.

Chimney Swifts spend their daytime lives on the wing, food-gathering, courting, drinking, bathing, gathering nest materials and even copulating, which they also accomplish on the nest. They are constantly on the hunt for flying insects. You may become more aware of them after a long rain or a long cold spell, when insects that have been scarce suddenly become more available. A single swift may fly as much as 500 miles a day, generally in broad circles, during the nesting season. During its lifetime, it may fly more than a million miles, including migration flights to and from South American wintering grounds.

This article was published in 1992. Below is a comment from the Director of Pascagoula River Audubon Centre regarding his experience with chimney swifts:


 At the centre, we have only ever had one nest per chimney .Adults may tolerate the juveniles (their children) from previous years in the chimney when they return, but then run them out once egg laying starts.  Of course, after young are fledged, the adults will allow others to roost in the chimney.

Please do mention that we have three pairs of Chimney Swifts nesting at the PRAC: one pair each in the two constructed towers (one of which is sponsored by the MCAS) and a third in the chimney in the Scout Hut. And YES, please do mention the wonderful instructional videos available.

Chimney Swift Tower Construction - Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2XWt6OZy_A

Chimney Swift Tower Construction - Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJNo7tCUdQg

We continue to be available to help folks that want to build them. In addition to the videos, we sell the instruction book by Paul & Georgean Kyle that has step-by-step instructions that were followed in the videos.

Chimney Swift Towers: New Habitat for America's Mysterious Birds - A Construction Guide ($12.95)

You might also mention that the PRAC is in the process of developing a Chimney Swift monitoring network that links the towers up and down the Mississippi River as a means of tracking their ebb and flow during the year across their range.