Birds of southeast Texas in photos

Fred bird watching

This young warbler has spent the last three days trying to figure out the bird feeder.  He flys to the suet cake, attempts to hover and grab a bite, then basically falls to the ground.

He has no trouble flying about the yard, just landing.

This warbler spent the rest of the winter using the feeder and occasionally still visits.

Brighter eggs keep male birds hanging around to help with the offspring but often at the cost of mother’s health. It is believed that high antioxidants give the eggs brighter colors, but the female bird gives them up to her detriment.

Now, researchers have found that female birds make a similar sacrifice when colouring their eggs, creating vivid hues at the expense of their health.

The blue in many birds’ eggs comes from the compound biliverdin, a breakdown product of the heme unit in haemoglobin, which circulates freely in the blood. But biliverdin is not just a pigment, it is also an antioxidant used by the body to prevent cellular damage. [ read more Female birds sacrifice health to create more colorful eggs ]

One of North America’s renowned bird migration and bird watching areas is strangely silent. Blame Hurricane Ike.
“We had red-winged blackbirds, sparrows, a bunch of migrating birds,” recalled Ernest Stone, 75, leaning on his cane and surveying debris on the cratered moonscape that used to be the family beach house on Bolivar Peninsula.

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“I haven’t seen a pigeon in a while,” he said. “Seagulls. You could always go out and throw a piece of bread and the seagulls would come.”

Not now.

“Nothing,” his wife, Jimmie, said. “Zero.”

The same could be said for their home and beachfront community of Gilchrist, where little is standing three weeks after Ike roared ashore with 110 mph winds, a 12-foot storm surge and waves up to 26 feet. The few palm trees or patches of grass, nearly unrecognizable amid the shells and dried mud, have turned a lifeless yellow brown, killed by sea water. [read more Beaches once thick with birds quiet thanks to Ike]

But it wasn’t just the wind and rain that caused the problems. . .

Hurricane Ike’s winds and massive waves destroyed oil platforms, tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines. The environmental damage only now is becoming apparent: At least a half million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the marshes, bayous and bays of Louisiana and Texas, according to an analysis of federal data by The Associated Press.

In the days before and after the deadly storm, companies and residents reported at least 448 releases of oil, gasoline and dozens of other substances into the air and water and onto the ground in Louisiana and Texas. The hardest hit places were industrial centers near Houston and Port Arthur, Texas, as well as oil production facilities off Louisiana’s coast, according to the AP’s analysis. . .
[ read more AP Investigation: Ike environmental toll apparent]

The Houston Audubon Society needs volunteers to help clean up many of the coastal santuaries. If you can help, they’d appreciate it.

See also:
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge badly damaged by Ike

The hummingbirds love this Cat’s Whisker’s plant.  The plant seems happy to be here too.  They chatter up a storm when I go out into the yard and today was the first day they didn’t all hide while I was outside.

We have a ruby throated male who has decided the lower feeder is his and he spends all day defending it.

The local expert on hummingbirds has told me this is the book to get if you want to know more about Texas hummingbirds: Hummingbirds of Texas: With Their New Mexico And Arizona Ranges (Tam Nature Guides)

If only my writing would improve as much as my photography has over the past two years. Alas that hasn’t happened. But here are of the things I’ve learned that have greatly improved my photography.

1) Try to get on the same level as your subject. If you see a cool duck walking down a path, get down on the ground to photograph him. When ever possible photograph your birds at the same level as your eyes. I know this isn’t always possible but it greatly improves your photos.

2) Learn to use the aperture settings. Smaller apertures will give a sharply focused subject with a fuzzy background. This really makes your subject jump out at you. The problem is it is much harder to get a clear shot doing this. So you’ll need to practice.

3) Learn to use a photo editor. I’m a big fan of The Gimp which is free. Often just letting it auto adjust the color settings will turn a dull photo into something cool.

4) Imitate the experts. First learn by copying them. Then expand on what you learned from them.
Nature photos by Scott
Geoff Coe
Nikon Jim
Gardawind
Bocavermelha

5) Take lots and lots of photos. Digital film is free. Practice, practice, practice.

6) You can’t fix blurry. Lean against a tree, or sit down and park your elbows on your knees, find a way to stabilize yourself. You don’t need to bring a tripod. Most bird watching platforms have railings, rest the camera on the railing. There is almost always something you can use to hold the camera steady. If not, then tuck your arms up against yourself tightly.