Red-bellied Woodpecker Jekyll Island, Georgia This Red-bellied Woodpecker looks like he just stepped out of central casting, with his orangish-red accent colors contrasting with its speckled wings. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Eastern Meadowlark Joe Overstreet Landing, Florida An Eastern Meadowlark, which has a beautiful plaintive song and striking coloring, takes flight in a speedy flash of yellow. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Barred Owl Orlando Wetlands, Florida Watching the juvenile White Ibis practicing moves is rich with humor. Clumsy and persistent, they'll fill an afternoon with landings --- like this one -- not to be missed. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal A member of the Falcon family, the Caracara is found only in Florida, Texas and Arizona -- and even then you have to look hard and long to fine one. Joe Overstreet Landing, Florida Crested Caracara Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Belted Kingfisher Fletcher's Boathouse, D.C. This magnificent, hyperactive bird, whose feathers when spread make him look like an admiral in full military dress, prowls the waterways for fish -- and strikes with breathtaking speed and precision when he fiinds it. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Osprey Christmas, Florida An Osprey, one of the great success stories of bird conservation, is a fishing machine as this bird shows as it prepares for a dive. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Valladolid, Mexico Yellow-throated Warbler Assateague Island, Maryland The Yellow-throated Warbler is one of the first to return to its breeding grounds each spring. The striking yellow throat coupled with its habit of creeping along branches makes it one of the easiest warblers to spot. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal American Flamingo Rio Largartis, Mexico They've been demeaned as a bright pink lawn ornament, but Flamingos are in fact an elegant and stylish bird. They breed in just a couple of locations, one on the northern-most tip of the Yucatan. Both their wingspan and length are startling. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Wood Stork chicks Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Florida The White Ibis are community-minded and easy to spot with their distinctive, curved pink beaks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal White Pelican Merritt Island, Florida The White Ibis are community-minded and easy to spot with their distinctive, curved pink beaks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal American Goldfinch Tupelo, Mississippi One of the smallest and yet most striking birds with their bright yellow feathers and lightning-fast speed that helps them stand out no matter the setting. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Reddish Egret Fort DeSoto, Florida While egrets are among the most common of large coastal birds, the Reddish Egret is harder to find and thus a special sight. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Bald Eagle Rodanthe, North Carolina The Bald Eagle has been the symbol of our nation since 1782. It seems to have little trouble living up to the honor, as evidenced by this elegant bird on a pass over the Outer Banks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Purple Gallinule Viera, Florida The White Ibis are community-minded and easy to spot with their distinctive, curved pink beaks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Turquoise-browed Motmot Valladolid, Mexico The Motmot is like a flying piece of art, decorated with a kite-like tale and its remarkable coloration. Its striking appearance has helped make it the national bird in several Latin American countries. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Prothonotary Warbler Jean Lafitte Preserve, Louisiana The Audubon Society installs and monitors nesting boxes in the Jean Lafitte Preserve to study the threatened Prothonotary Warbler. This lovely male Prothonotary serenaded us for about an hour one sunset in the middle of June. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Northern Cardinal Lorton, Virginia In flight the Northern Cardinal's wings become translucent, its form all about motion. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Magnolia Warbler Granite Village, Nova Scotia This immature Magnolia Warbler displays few adult features -- like the white eye ring -- that makes identification a challenge. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Barred Owl Raleigh, North Carolina The White Ibis are community-minded and easy to spot with their distinctive, curved pink beaks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Boat-tailed Grackle Viera, Florida Grackles are omnipresent and often obnoxious in parts of Florida, constantly squawking an endless flow of avian commentary. Yet when you look closely, they can be magnificent birds. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Cedar Waxwing Raleigh, North Carolina The White Ibis are community-minded and easy to spot with their distinctive, curved pink beaks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Tricolored Heron Viera, Florida A medium-sized wading bird, the Tricolored is a study in patience as it stands like a statue in a marsh in Central Florida. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Watching the small, acrobatic bird on a feeding spree is like watching a movie on fast forward. The Tufted Titmouse never seems to stop. Janes Island, Maryland Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Tufted Titmouse Blue Grosbeak Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Kiptopeke, Virginia The Blue Grosbeak sings a loud, incessant song that stand out as much as its unforgettable deep blue coloring. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Baltimore Oriole Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Rock Creek Park, Washington DC The Baltimore Oriole, which can be found all over the eastern United States, has a high and loud whistle of a song that can lead you to this magnificent species. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Black Skimmers Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Outer Banks, North Carolina A Spoonbill, an iconic species that's expanding its reach in the Southern U.S., takes off from a new rookery in Central Florida. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Roseate Spoonbill Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Stick Marsh, Florida A Spoonbill, an iconic species that's expanding its reach in the Southern U.S., takes off from a new rookery in Central Florida. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Common Yellowthroat Warbler Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Eastern Shore, Maryland The Common Yellowthroat is among the easier warblers to spot because of its loud and clear song and distinctive mask. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Hairy Woodpecker Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Prime Hook Wildlife Refuge, Delaware While it's sometimes hard to distinguish between the two relatives, the Downey and Hairy woodpeckers, the Hairy is bigger, with a longer beak. They can be found all over the U.S. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Prairie Warbler Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Cape Henlopen, DE A Prairie Warbler, adorned in its bright breeding colors, sings for a mate during the springtime breeding season. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Roseate Spoonbill Fellsmere, Florida The White Ibis are community-minded and easy to spot with their distinctive, curved pink beaks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Great White Pelican Haulover Canal, Merritt Island, Florida The White Ibis are community-minded and easy to spot with their distinctive, curved pink beaks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Florida Scrub Jay Titusville, Florida The White Ibis are community-minded and easy to spot with their distinctive, curved pink beaks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Red-cockaded Woodpecker Saint Sebastian River State Park, Florida The White Ibis are community-minded and easy to spot with their distinctive, curved pink beaks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Bachman's Sparrow Saint Sebastian River State Park, Florida The White Ibis are community-minded and easy to spot with their distinctive, curved pink beaks. Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Prothonotary Warbler Raleigh, North Carolina Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal Copyright: Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal
    Birding researchBreeding and NestingConservation

    Fledglings take flight: Good news for the nation’s most endangered bird

    by Anders Gyllenhaal
    written by Anders Gyllenhaal

    The wildlife managers who bred more than 200 Florida Grasshopper Sparrows in a laboratory setting over the past two years knew they faced a tricky question when it came to releasing the birds into the wild this spring:

    A Florida Grasshopper Sparrow about to be released

    Would they know how to act like grasshopper sparrows?

    Could they sing the sparrow’s unique courting song? Would they know how to hide from hawks? Would they have the instincts to build nests, mate with wild sparrows and raise their young together?

    The captive-breeding experiment is the culmination of a decades-long project to revive the most endangered species in the U.S.. Only 30 pairs of the sparrows remained in the wild when the team decided they had no choice but to try producing chicks in captivity, then introducing them back into the wild in hopes they’d multiply.

    The answers to all their questions came pouring in over the course of the breeding season that is now coming to a close.

    A bundle of newborn sparrows in a hidden nest in the grasslands. Photo by Amanda Adams.

    The birds not only mastered the routines of the mating season, they gave birth to a new generation of Florida Grasshopper Sparrows over the summer. ( Forty-two birds were born from captive-bred birds and altogether 64 were born from wild and captive-bred birds.) Almost all have now left the nest and flown off to begin life on their own.

    “We’re very happy with what we saw this first season,’’ said Juan Oteyza, the research biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Institute that oversees the project. “It seems to be paying off.’’

    Craig Faulhaber, avian conservation coordinator for the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said it was hard to tell the captive-bred from the wild sparrows. “They showed all the normal behaviors,” he said. “They bred successfully. They took care of their young. They acted just like wild sparrows.”

    Flying Lesson: The project to save the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow has been full of discoveries for researchers. They’ve learned what it takes to breed birds in captivity, protect fragile nests from harm and how to begin to replenished the depleted population. It’s not yet clear if the project will be successful, but already the lessons are proving valuable to help understand the woes of the grassland birds like the sparrow.

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