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Flight

The perfect gift: A wild warbler party on the gulf coast of Texas

by Anders Gyllenhaal April 27, 2021

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Prothonotary Warbler

Beverly’s favorite birds have always been warblers — the feisty, colorful world travelers that are among the hardest species to find. They’re shy, skittish and can move so quickly they’re often gone before you get a good look.

Last week was Beverly’s birthday, which just happened to fall on our stop along the Louisiana and Texas coasts. It was a warbler party every day, as thousands upon thousands had just arrived from their wintering grounds in Latin America and the Caribbean. These songbirds are famished and fatigued, and for once don’t seem to mind us humans hanging around.

Hooded Warbler: “Would you like a close up?”

Some of the birds we’ve encountered are old acquaintances, such as the Prothonotary and Hooded warblers. In other parts of the country and at other times of the year we’ve had to chase them for days to get just a glimpse. But on this trip along the Southern Gulf Coast, we’ve been seeing Prothonotaries at almost every turn. One recent day, a Hooded Warbler ambled around in the brush at my feet, as if saying, “How do I look from this angle?’’ and, “Would you like a close up?’’

Kentucky Warbler

Others are warblers we’d never seen before — the Kentucky, the Golden-winged and the Tennessee. At the Sabine Woods Bird Sanctuary on the Upper Texas Coast, the Golden-winged Warbler was so hungry that it fluttered from tree to bush, hanging like an acrobat, feeding furiously with every stop. It seemed oblivious to us as we followed along just a few yards away.

Golden-winged Warbler: An acrobat of a bird

Many types of warblers are getting harder to see because their numbers are going down. A host of forces are working against them: Much of their habitat is being lost to development, and they can fall behind in their breeding routine if insects and plants blossom ahead of schedule due to a warming climate. Warblers migrate thousands of miles twice a year, an exhausting journey that exposes them to hazards all along their routes, such as colliding into skyscrapers. Even something as innocuous as a house cat is a severe threat unless it’s kept inside. Outdoor cats kill millions and millions of birds, including warblers, every year in the United States alone.

Yellow Warbler

When you see warblers hit land just after their nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico, it’s easier to appreciate the breathtaking feat of migration. You can witness them jamming insects, fruit and worms down their throats in a glutinous spree that turns their beaks berry red. They’ve hardly swallowed, and it’s on to the next bite.

Migrators are traveling north on a mission, headed to their breeding grounds to claim a territory, find a mate and start a family. The males are dressed up in their springtime best for the courtship rituals ahead.

American Redstart (male)

While it’s hard to choose the most impressive warbler, I was struck this week with the near-neon glow of the black-and-orange America Redstart. Not long after we spotted the male, along came a female Redstart, so the fancy attire seemed to be working.

Thanks to the colorful feathers spring is the best time to see warblers, especially if you’re not used to looking for them. For the best chance, head out to the nearest woods or the edge of a brambly hedge between dawn and roughly 10 a.m., wear clothes in dull colors of leaves or twigs, bring binoculars, stay still and listen for high-pitched chirping and buzzing.

Blackburnian Warbler: Plumage like a sunset

Sometimes the late afternoon can be productive as well. We caught a Blackburnian Warbler at the top of a tree just as dusk descended. Its plumage shone like a sunset in the last light of the day, a blend of black, white, yellow and orange in lightning patterns across its head.

American Redstart (female)

Beverly’s love of warblers has only grown as we’ve gotten more familiar with them. That has meant I’ve spent many hours chasing them, too, trying for the perfect photograph, and as often as not, never getting more than a glimpse of these hyperactive birds. The truth is, I’ve come to be as captivated as she is by these birds and their stories.

Here’s a gallery of some of the warblers we’ve seen the past few weeks. As you can see, these are birthday gifts that don’t need wrapping – each different than the last, but all of uncommon beauty.

Hooded Warbler

Kentucky Warbler

Black-and-White Warbler

Female Kentucky Warbler

American Redstart (male)

Common Yellowthroat

Prothonotary Warbler

American Redstart (female)

Canada Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler

April 27, 2021 4 comments

Flight Migration Photography

Taking off in a cloud, Snow Geese create a winter wonderland

by Anders Gyllenhaal January 27, 2021

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

KNOTTS ISLAND, N.C. — Suddenly the steady honking and squawking from this gaggle of Snow Geese shifts to a higher pitch, and one of nature’s great performances begins.

First just a few, then dozens, and finally hundreds of the bright white birds begin to rise up from a brackish pond on Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge in Northeastern North Carolina. Within seconds, every square inch of air is filled with flapping, wailing geese. The mass moves up, veers right and then left as if a conductor is guiding the cloud of snowy white.

The scene is mesmerizing, a gift for patient observers along the mid-Atlantic coast this time of year. Each gigantic cloud puts an exclamation point on an unusual story: At a time when most bird species are in decline, populations of Snow Geese are booming.

White Pelicans

They’re not hard to find — spread across marshes and fields from coastal New Jersey to the Carolinas — but it takes patience and a little luck to catch an entire flock on the wing.

After two days of searching, our moment came near dusk on the remote Knotts Island just south of Virginia Beach. This cluster of geese had been bobbing on the surface for hours before something, heaven knows what, startled them. Instantly they were clamoring toward the sky.

Tundra Swans, the second largest swans in North America, flying in formation over Mackay Island refuge.

Becky Harrison, the supervisory wildlife biologist at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge near Nags Head, N.C., saw the first arrivals in November. Their numbers gradually build toward a peak in mid-February.

There’s actually a trio of grand white birds that overwinters here, Harrison said. The Tundra Swan is the most elegant, the American White Pelican is the largest, but Snow Geese are the most impressive in their huge numbers.

Here’s a video of the scene:

Snow Geese in the Pea Island refuge. Photo by Becky Harrison

Snow Geese spend their summers in the far north, breeding along the tundras of Canada and Alaska. They’re best known for their bright white plumage with black wing tips, for their powerful flight and for their ravenous appetites.

Snow Goose / Photo by Becky Harrison

Researchers aren’t sure what’s behind the growth in population that has brought them back from near extinction a century ago. They suspect that the warming climate undermining many species is working in the goose’s favor. Every fall hundreds of thousands migrate not only to the East, but also down the Mississippi to several lower Midwestern States and also to California’s Central Valley.

Not everyone is glad to see them.

“All these big birds,” said biologist Becky Harrison, standing under a Tundra Swan specimen, “they’re just so striking.”

At Mackay Island, refuge manager Mike Hoff said during the day the geese often feed on the crops and vegetation in fields several miles away. With their growing numbers, wildlife managers say they’re damaging vegetation on the tundras as well.

But when the birds return to the refuge each evening by the thousands, they are a sight to behold. Part of the Snow Geese’s success is thought to be how they stick together – whether flying in formation or resting in the marshes. When you add in the Tundra Swans and White Pelicans, the masses of white forms out on the water are one of the great wonders of winter birding.

Tundra Swans catch the last light of the day on Mackay Island.

And here’s a migration video that shows the annual migration routes of the Snow Geese across the U.S. and Canada:

And finally, here’s a gallery of the big white birds found along the eastern coast this time of year:

A cloud of Snow Geese taking flight

Snow Geese return from foraging

The clamor at the start of the mass flight

Tundra Swans in formation

White Pelicans

An adult and two juvenile Snow Geese / Photo by Becky Harrison

Tundra Swans

Tundra Swans adrift

Tunda Swans

The cloud of Snow Geese settle back down.

January 27, 2021 4 comments

Birding Flight Photography

Ode to a Red-tailed Hawk: Electrifying, grace and power wrapped in feathers

by Anders Gyllenhaal September 22, 2020

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Every bird in flight is beautiful in its own way. But to me, there’s nothing as electrifying as the sight of a hawk spreading its powerful wings, soaring through the air, and once in a lucky while, passing close enough to show the edges of its feathers ripple in the wind.

The other day I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk perched on an irrigation rig in a field roughly a quarter-mile away. Suddenly it saw something move on the ground near me and was instantly in the air headed straight in our direction.

The hawk is made for hunting with eyes that work like binoculars, and so it can see small animals from 100 feet in the air. Its stare has the intensity of a spotlight, and its talons the strength of 200 pounds per inch.

All this was on display as this hawk came toward me and passed by 20 feet away. Then, in a move I didn’t expect, the magnificent raptor landed on a post not 10 feet from where I was standing.. It stretched its body, swiveled its head to survey its new surroundings and clenched its talons in the air.

Here’s a video of my hawk on its post:

The hawk was a juvenile, probably less than a year old, and apparently not experienced enough yet to fear humans.

All summer long, I’ve encountered juvenile birds unsure of how to behave, hesitant as they explored the world for the first time. There was a juvenile Eastern Bluebird who, like this hawk, hung around like we were best friends. Sometimes the young birds will still be in training with their parents. But eventually they have to head out on their own, and many have long migration trips ahead.

The hawk took off and circled around the nearby field, landing a few times without catching anything. Then he returned to a post again just a few feet away. He looked at me as if he’d never seen a person: interested and curious, with an intensity that lets you know what it’s like to be hunted by a Red-tailed Hawk.

Finally, he few off and circled the field until he disappeared into the woods. Here’s a gallery from this lucky encounter:

September 22, 2020 2 comments

Bird of the Week Birding Fledging Flight Photography

One magical night: A chance encounter with three baby owls

by Anders Gyllenhaal July 24, 2019

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Trying out an owlish stare.

They were just weeks from leaving the nest for the last time, still learning to fly, but the trio of fledgling Eastern Screech Owls seemed ready to conquer the woods. Every night at dusk, they’d materialize around our campsite in the hills of Virginia and put on a show.

They swooped from tree to tree and practiced hunting for insects on the ground. One of them even walked across the road. Every once in a while they’d land on the same branch for a dose of sibling togetherness. They swiveled their heads as only owls can do, and let out sweet little calls that were nothing like the eventual screeches that give them their name.

Three young owls perching together.

Though still unsteady at times, these fledglings were growing up fast. Matt Larson, a researcher with the Owl Research Institute in Charlo, Montana, told us these owls should be leaving their parents behind within two weeks. So it was pure luck that we got to experience them as a family.

A fledgling (left) with one of the parents.

We heard about the owls on our first afternoon at Sherando Lake, in a remote corner of the mid-Atlantic southwest of Charlottesville. A neighboring camper saw us returning from a birding walk draped in binoculars and cameras.

“Have you seen the baby owls?’’ she asked.

“Baby owls!?’’ we said in unison, probably a little too loud.

July 24, 2019 2 comments

Birding Birds stories Flight Photography

The White Ibis — graceful and awkward at once — is a sight to see

by Anders Gyllenhaal February 19, 2019

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

When the White Ibis is soaring, it’s a magnificent and graceful bird, from its black-tipped wings to its long, curved, signature beak.

When an Ibis comes in for a landing, on the other hand, it turns into a gawky and awkward comic. It’s hard to tell its wings from its tail feathers.

Those are just two of the varied performances the Ibis delivers as it patrols the wetlands of the southeastern United States. While it mixes with the Egrets, Herons and Anhingas with which it shares the marshes, the Ibis stands out for its distinctive profile and personality.

All this helps make it a symbol of the marshes – and a bird to watch for both its beauty and its health as one of the coastal species under pressure. Particularly in Florida, where the Ibis is most plentiful, researchers say its numbers are nonetheless diminishing with the steady loss of habitat.

As the climate has changed, the Ibis has slowly expanded its reach. You can find them as far north as the Carolinas, depending on the season, as this map from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology shows.

They’re not hard to spot; that’s partly because of their long, pink beaks they use to sift for crustaceans, fish and insects, and partly because they’re rarely alone. They fly, feed – and just hang out – in groups of dozens of birds.

The other day, we encountered a full community of White Ibis gathered on the northern tip of Jekyll Island, Georgia, one of the sea islands where limits on development make room for wildlife. When we approached a small bridge over the marshes, a dozen Ibis were jostling for position on two narrow railings.

It made for a comedy routine you couldn’t stop watching. They all wanted to be on first one railing, then on the other. They jumped off and traded places, pointing their distinctive beaks every which way. Then they lined up in near perfect profile as if ready for inspection.

At times, the Ibis will be bashful and flee when they see you. Other times, they’ll put up with visitors and allow a good look. That day on Jekyll Island, they didn’t seem to mind our presence and stood posing for all the pictures we could take.

Here’s a gallery from that day, as well as encounters with Ibis all across the Southeast the past few years:

An Ibis on North Carolina's National Seashore balances precariously for a good view.

Coming in for a landing on Jekyll Island

Flying in formation above Carolina's Mattamuskeet Refuge.

Two Ibises tangle in the air on Jekyll's bridge.

A Glossy Ibis, a cousin to the White Ibis, forages in central Florida near Stick Marsh.

A juvenile, with its brown feathers, feeds on Hatteras Island, N.C.

A juvenile Ibis in flight

February 19, 2019 1 comment

Featured Flight

A pilgrimage to the Wright Brothers Memorial puts the power of human potential on display

by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal December 17, 2018

written by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal

Today is the anniversary of the Wright brothers flight on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where we visited the newly renovated memorial a month ago. What a Flying Lesson it was.

We set off from our campground on a near-perfect fall morning toward Kitty Hawk where the Memorial has stood for over a century. A chunk of granite at top of Kill Devil Hill marks the marvelous December day that – after years of painstaking and obsessive efforts — Wilbur and Orville proved that people could fly.

The original photograph taken the day the Wright brothers proved they could fly.

Naturally birds were part of the brothers’ inspiration, and birds became their instructors as well. The brothers watched birds soaring directly into the wind and noticed that the air flowing over the curved surface of their wings created lift. Birds also change the shape of their wings to turn and maneuver, and the Wrights believed they could find a way to emulate this to block their plane’s tendency to roll in flight. So they warped, or twisted the shape of a portion of the wing. It’s the birds’ twist in their wings that helps them be more agile and aerodynamic.

The details of the quest to fly captivated Anders and me when we read David McCullough’s book “The Wright Brothers.” We’re basically obsessed with birds ourselves at this point, and so for me a trip to the place where humans took flight felt like a necessary pilgrimage.

December 17, 2018 3 comments

Birding research Flight Migration

Here’s a surprise: Birds watch out for each other, take turns on the hard jobs and use aerodynamics on their way South

by Anders Gyllenhaal November 16, 2018

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

The most visible sign of the fall migration has always come with a kind of riddle: Why do birds fly in those big V-shaped formations on their journey south?

Flying in formation

When researchers came up with a way to ride along for a portion of the trip, they learned there’s a lot more going on up there than they expected. The maneuvers turned out to be impressive displays of teamwork, aerodynamics and selflessness of the part of birds. Experts say we could learn a thing or two from how they travel.

An earlier Flight Lessons post looked at secrets emerging on flight flocking, in which thousands of birds move together like a cloud. Several readers asked what’s going on with another form of joint flight: the V-formations that larger birds in particular, such as Canadian geese, all varieties of ducks, Ibises, storks and Pelicans, form as they fly.

A V-formation of Ibis pass over Myakka River State Park in Southwestern Florida.

The V shapes are a symbol of a migration that otherwise takes place mostly at night or out of our view. There’s something magical about them, says Bret Tobalske, director of one of the nation’s leading flight labs and associate professor at the University of Montana.

“People from time immemorial have been fascinated by the formations,” he said. “We have looked up for a long time and been just fascinated by how they do this.”

November 16, 2018 2 comments

Birding research Flight Photography

Unraveling one of nature’s mysteries. How do flocks fly like that?

by Anders Gyllenhaal November 9, 2018

written by Anders Gyllenhaal

It’s one of the great birding mysteries on display each fall with the migration: How on Earth do huge flocks of birds come together and fly in formation, zigging and zagging in some of nature’s best choreography, making split-second pirouettes at speeds of up to 40 miles an hour?

A swarm of Black Skimmers on North Carolina’s Pea Island Preserve.

For centuries people could do little more than guess at the mechanics. Do birds possess a kind of telepathy about when to turn? Is there a single leader that the birds all watch as an orchestra does its conductor?

Today, with the use of 3D photography, digital reconstruction and several ground-breaking research projects, the secrets are finally coming out. And with them are possible lessons that could be used in everything from programming drones to training people new styles of leadership.

We spent several weeks this fall on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, watching big flocks of Black Skimmers zoom about in unison, hundreds of Terns zip along the shoreline in clusters, and thousands of ducks fly in V-formations on their way south. For all the wonder of the fall and spring migrations, nothing sweeps you away like the sudden eruption of a mass flock flight.

November 9, 2018 0 comment