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Anders Gyllenhaal

A Prothonotary Warbler comes calling on a visit like no other

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 20, 2020

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

We’re winding up the year sharing the most popular — and we hope most compelling — Flying Lesson stories from 2020. Most of the posts are profiles of bird encounters, including this story of a Prothonotary Warbler we crossed paths with for a visit we still treasure. We’re posting one of the highlight pieces each Sunday this month.

All warblers are wonderful to watch, particularly males in the spring. Nature gives them fresh feathers, all the better to snare a mate. For some warblers, spring markings and colors intensify to the point that they look nothing like their normal selves.

My favorite is the Prothonotary Warbler.

Of the 37 species in the Eastern U.S., the male Prothonotary is the only one that glows. His head is a saturated yellow-orange, earning him the nickname “Golden Swamp Warbler.”

Finding a Prothonotary feels like finding that last, hopelessly hidden Easter egg. You have to see it to fully appreciate it, and every time, he takes my breath away.

Yesterday we got lucky. A male in its full spring splendor shot out from under the bridge where Anders and I were standing and headed straight for a bush not 10 feet away and directly in front of us. In the past four years, we’ve seen this bird four times in four states without the lengthy encounter that this little bird gave us.

The visit was a photographer’s delight – perfect late afternoon light and a bird so hungry he foraged out in the open for a good 15 minutes.

December 20, 2020 1 comment

Photography Postcard

A Summer Tanager shows off its yuletide plumage

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 15, 2020

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

The reddest bird of all

The Summer Tanager stands out for lots of reasons, not the least of which is that the male is the only completely red bird in North America. This time of year, that earns him a place in this yuletide gallery devoted to our favorite holiday bird photos. We ran into this tanager and its greenish yellow mate this summer near Nashville, and at first knew they were near only from their distinctive songs and calls. Tanagers spent their time high in the canopy, often hidden away from birders. But we kept looking and, like unwrapping an unexpected present, we finally spotted him one day on a lower branch, as seen in this top photo. We might have been imagining it, but after a few days of hanging around them, they seemed to accept us as part of the landscape and we saw a lot of them. We’ve treasured that encounter, and the photos it gave us, the rest of the year. Here’s a post we wrote on them back in the fall.

December 15, 2020 0 comment

Bird of the Week Birds stories Photography

How on earth? Great White Pelican shows up on the other side of the world

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 13, 2020

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

We’re winding up the year sharing the most popular — and we hope most compelling — Flying Lesson stories from 2020. Most of the posts are profiles of bird encounters, including this story of a Great White Pelican that transfixed north Florida birders early this year when the species usually found in Africa and Europe showed up in the U.S. We’re posting one of the highlight pieces each Sunday this month.

It wasn’t a Great White Shark, but for Florida’s best birders, it may as well have been. When the first reports hit that a Great White Pelican – usually found in Africa or India – had been spotted in a wildlife refuge near Titusville, well, you can imagine what happened next.

This is one of the largest birds in the world with a wingspan that can reach 12 feet. And even though it has the strength to cross an ocean without stopping, people couldn’t quite believe it had somehow landed in Florida.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves, but here’s a close-up of our Great White Pelican.

The first photo in early February showed a distant bird that looked like the American White Pelican, only much bigger with a striking orange and pinkish tint. There’s also a diamond-shaped patch of day-glow orange over its eyes.

Then came several sporadic sightings around the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, a vast wilderness spanning 140,000 acres with one 7-mile road winding through. More often than not, the reports were of dashed hopes and a flock of regular pelicans seen from afar.

But the sightings persisted, and Florida Facebook birding sites lit up with speculation about the pelican’s whereabouts. So without much to go on, we drove up from our camping spot an hour south of Titusville to see if we could find this guy.

December 13, 2020 0 comment

Postcard

A glimpse of a rare Vermillion Flycatcher

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 9, 2020

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Flying Lessons Postcard

A gift of the brightest red

We were traveling just after the holidays a few years ago when we stopped at St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge in the Florida Panhandle. The 68,000-acre preserve is one of the oldest in the country, created in 1931 for a stopover for migratory birds. But one rare bird that wasn’t supposed to be there showed up just in time to give us a post-holiday gift. We stopped to talk with the volunteers in the office before wandering the wetlands. Just as we were leaving, she said there was one more thing we should know that they generally kept to themselves to spare the bird from too many visitors. “There’s a Vermillion Flycatcher you can find at a secret spot,” she whispered, and then gave us directions, along with instructions to take only a brief look. Sure enough, moments after we arrived at a particular path, our present arrived, wrapped in the brightest red plumage we’d seen on any species. Its dark brown wings and tail set off the deep bright red that covered its front and head. The flycatcher went about its business, chasing down insects, and then stopped for a few moments on a nearby sign and looked us up and down. OK, it seemed to say, that’s enough. Off we went with a precious encounter we won’t ever forget.

Flying Lessons Postcards are short takes on birds of the season. Each week in December, we’re featuring a favorite photo of a bird with a connection to the holidays.

December 9, 2020 0 comment

Bird of the Week How we're birding now Photography

Quarantined with an Owl Nextdoor: But will we ever find him?

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 6, 2020

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

We’re winding up the year sharing the most popular — and we hope most compelling — Flying Lesson stories from 2020. Most of the posts are profiles of bird encounters, including this story of a neighborhood owl who turned out to be far more wily than we were. Along with our regular posts, we’ll run a best-of piece every Sunday through the end of the year.

When we finally spotted our neighborhood’s Barred Owl, perched deep in the nearby woods but still within hooting distance of our balcony, we realized he was one step ahead of us.

Our owl watching from one of his favorite spots / Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal

The owl had been watching us long before we found him.

We spotted him planted on a branch midway up a towering ivy-covered tree, camouflaged with a background that perfectly matched his plumage. He was staring down at us as if to say, what took so long.

The Barred Owl is a surveillance wonder. Its huge, dark eyes have telescopic vision. It can sit for hours scouring its territory. It can swivel its heads almost all the way around in either direction, a feat so impressive researchers at Johns Hopkins University conducted a full-fledged study to figure out how owls do what no other creature can. (See the explanation below after the second photo gallery.)

December 6, 2020 0 comment

Postcard

Northern Cardinal strikes a holiday pose

by Anders Gyllenhaal December 3, 2020

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Flying Lessons Postcard

A bird made for the holidays

This Northern Cardinal kicks off our holiday photo series this week, celebrating the season with some of our favorite scenes. Unlike about 40 percent of the species that abandon us for warmer climates this time of year, the cardinal sticks with us through the winter. Its bright red plumage seems made for the holidays, particular when surrounded by greenery. Each week, we’ll post a photo and a few thoughts to share on the special lessons that birds have for us during the holidays. We love how this male cardinal strikes his stately pose in the top photo and then takes flight in this secondary photo, its wings nearly translucent in the light.

December 3, 2020 0 comment

Conservation Research Species

Help is on the way for the nation’s most endangered bird

by Anders Gyllenhaal November 30, 2020

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, the nation’s most endangered species, is suddenly getting the kind of support that could turn things around for a bird that a year ago seemed destined for extinction.

A newly released Florida Grasshopper Sparrow steps from its cage. Top photo of sparrow singing by Tory Hartley-Cox. Others by Anders Gyllenhaal.

An unusual consortium of players today announced that a huge stretch of the rare grasslands that the sparrows rely on will be set aside permanently for wildlife. The tract is home to nearly half the remaining population of a species that had dwindled down to just a few dozen birds.

The announcement comes not long after the completion of a breeding season that boosted the population by adding hundreds of sparrows born in captivity. As researchers analyze the results, they’re learning how to fine tune the captive breeding project and possibly expand it for this coming year.

“These are preliminary results, but they have been very encouraging,’’ said Juan Oteyza, the research biologist with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Research Institute that oversees the campaign to save the sparrow.

The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is a symbol of the state’s unique inland prairie that has all but disappeared as rapid growth reshaped the landscape. Over the past decade, the sparrow population dropped to perilously low numbers that gave it the distinction of being the most likely bird in the U.S. to go extinct. Researchers aren’t sure what all is contributing to the bird’s sharp decline, but the loss of habitat is the biggest factor — and the toughest to address.

That’s the reason today’s announcement by the University of Florida, Ducks Unlimited and the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida is a significant step. The 27,000-acre tract of wetlands and grasslands south of Orlando was donated by the family of the founder of the Subway chain, led by Elisabeth DeLuca, who heads the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation.

The sprawling tract will serve a long list of conversation purposes.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

The land will be managed not just for the sparrow but for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker and many species of waterfowl. The University of Florida will use the land to help train future researchers, and the tract will be open for duck hunting, which helps pay for conservation measures.

The donation of land also shows that the push to gather public support for a small brown bird hardly anyone ever sees is gaining momentum.

The captive-breeding project costs about $1.2 million a year, half of which comes from non-profit organizations and donations and half from state and federal funds. Much of the private fundraising falls to the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida an independent non-profit that has raised or arranged donations worth more than half a million dollars in the past seven years.

Michelle Ashton, who directs communications for the foundation, said that while the sparrow doesn’t have the appeal of eagles or ospreys, the bird is developing a following all over the country.

“We have a core group of contributors who are personally connected to the cause,’’ she said. “It’s not a group number in the thousands, but it’s the most committed group of repeat donors.’’

Contributors range from several big companies, such Bass Pros Shop and outdoor retailer Cabela’s that helped cover set-up costs of 27,000-acre land donation, to individual donors. The sparrow has also drawn support from nearly 150 smaller donors over the past three years.

Ashton loves the story of a couple from Nebraska, Bill and Michelle Cita, who were struck by the sparrow’s plight and began donating every year. Bill, a welder, and Michelle, who does the housekeeping and laundry at a nursing home, say they plan to contribute every year.

Bill Cita. Photo by Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida

“I started reading a little bit about it. My wife and I started talking about,” said Cita, who lives in the small eastern Nebraska town of Waverly and say it doesn’t matter that he’s not likely to see this bird. “I’ve always rooted for the underdog and he’s kind of an underdog.’’

Since the first contributions to the foundation, the Citas have followed the sparrow’s progress and encouraging news from the past year. “It’s nice to feel to be part of something,’’ he said. “People working to save the grasshopper sparrow.”

The presence of a sparrow population on the land that’s being donated is a boost to the consortium of state and federal agencies, non-profits and university researchers who’ve been working for decades to rebuild the species. The project has focused its captive-bred sparrow release on a site not far from the donated tract. They’ll now work on rebuilding two segments of sparrows and will decide in the coming months how to support both of them.

Breeding the birds in captivity is a tricky endeavor. If the birds are released too soon, many succumb to the elements. If they wait too long, the birds will struggle to adapt to life as a wild sparrow.

The project is developing the data to get that timing right. This past year, the younger the released sparrows, the more success they had mating up with wild sparrows, building nests and raising chicks.

Juan Oteyza checks over a captive-bred sparrow before release earlier this year.

The younger sparrows seemed to do a better job of blending in with wild sparrows and learning from them. “They move around together. They’re not too territorial yet,’’ said Oteyza. “We think this has important value for the (captive-bred) sparrows to learn to be sparrows.’’

Over the past year or so, the project had released about 250 captive-bred sparrows into the grasslands, many of which don’t survive. By the end of this breeding season, researchers said the total population was pushed up to 112 sparrows, with 34 breeding pairs and about 85 fledglings produced in the wild.

The project will release another 45 sparrows in February and March of the coming year. When the next breeding season starts that spring, Oteyza said they hope to see even higher birth rates in the wild between the newly arrived and the higher overall population.

One of the young captive-bred grasshopper sparrows that helped boost the Central Florida population.

November 30, 2020 0 comment

Birding research Conservation Photography Species

Can we save this globe-trotting sandpiper? Only if we can unravel its secrets

by Anders Gyllenhaal November 30, 2020

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

It’s tempting to take the Sanderling for granted: The tiny, speed-walking shorebirds are fixtures on beaches all over the world, easily recognized by how they run along, forever one step ahead of the waves.

The Sanderling is among the smallest and most energetic of the dozens of species of sandpipers. At just two ounces, it’s about the weight of a golf ball. Photos by Anders Gyllenhaal unless otherwise credited.

For years, this hyperactive sandpiper moved too fast for researchers to even be sure of its migration routes that stretch from the Arctic Circle to South America. Weighing in at just two ounces, Sanderlings were too small to carry the transmitters used to study other birds.

That’s finally changing. New research tools, such as ultra-light transmitters and techniques that analyze where birds have been by the carbon residue in their feathers, are uncovering the Sanderling’s secrets.

The research tells two stories: One is about the miraculous flying prowess of this globe-trotting species. The other is about how those unique abilities aren’t enough to overcome the changing coastal environment that has cut their population of about 300,000 in North America by more than a third since the 1970s.

Both study topics could end up helping other shorebirds as well.

“So many people think of these birds as doing fine, since they’re on every beach from California to the Gulf Coast,’’ said Jess Cosentino, a researcher working on a comprehensive study of Sanderlings in North America. “But the data is showing us they’re in precipitous decline.’’

Hundreds of Sanderling rise above Chaplin Lake on a preliminary flight before their next migration leg. Photo by Jess Cosentino, University of Saskatchewan

We spent a good part of our fall wandering the Atlantic coast, following warblers, raptors and shorebirds on the move. On the National Seashore along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, we found ourselves surrounded by crowds of Sanderlings on the near-empty beaches. The protected stretch of shoreline is one of the primary stopover spots for the birds on their migrations down the Atlantic coast.

Here’s a video that gives you a sense of how Sanderlings work together on the beaches:

November 30, 2020 3 comments

Bird of the Week Birding Birding research

Can the Wild Turkey survive? Thanksgiving is the least of its troubles.

by Anders Gyllenhaal November 22, 2020

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Something is after the Wild Turkey. Actually, almost everything is.

A Wild Turkey in Northern Virginia.

A combination of coyotes, loss of habitat, hawks, hunters, climate change and troubles in the nest is undermining the species that once competed for the title of national bird. In parts of the country, populations are down by half and the overall drop is about 15 percent.

“A lot of things like to eat turkeys,” said Michael Chamberlain, a University of Georgia wildlife expert who leads a 15-state consortium working to find a response.

For the past half century, the Wild Turkey was the poster bird for how to bring back a species approaching extinction. Starting in the 1970s, after decades of overhunting and habitat loss, hunters, environmentalists, wildlife managers and researchers joined forces in a campaign that pushed the nationwide population up to more than 7 million birds.

Michael Chamberlain

But today, the combination of accelerating development, warming temperatures and all those predators has started setting back that progress, particularly in southern states. “We thought maybe it was just a natural phenomenon, where the population had peaked,” said Chamberlain.. “But fast-forward to today, the populations are not doing as well.”

November 22, 2020 0 comment