WILLET OR WON’T IT… GET CLOSE TO YOU?

June 17, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

WILLET OR WON’T IT… GET CLOSE TO YOU?

Willets (Tringa semipalmata) are large sandpipers, familiar as shore birds, foragers on sand bars and mudflats, or out in the mangrove swamps. Some might describe them as quite solid and plain to look at. Until they take flight, when their gorgeous wing patterns are revealed.

Willets are ground-nesting birds, often breeding in colonies. They use their stout bills to forage on mudflats or in shallow water for insects, crustaceans, marine worms and occasionally plant-life. They tend to keep their distance, and in the past I have only managed this sort of unimpressive snapshot, not least because I normally only take a small basic camera out on the water in case it – or I – should fall in.

However, we recently fished from the prow of a skiff parked on a sandy spit on the Abaco Marls, as bonefish came past on the tide. It was a productive hour for my boat-partner, though frankly less so for his boat-partner… As we fished, and to our surprise, a willet landed of the point of the spit to feed, and gradually worked its way towards us seemingly unconcerned by the skiff, by us or by the fish action. It started off about 30 feet away, and at close quarters it was far less drab and notably more elegant than expected.

It foraged slowly towards us, keeping a beady inky-black eye on us

At one time it came within a very few feet of us, then decided it had come close enough. We watched it stepping delicately away on its semi-palmated feet. The shot isn’t clear enough to show the slight webbing between the toes. However, you can clearly see the barred tail.

In the c19 and early c20 there was a sharp population decline of these fine birds due to hunting. I’m not sure if it was for feathers, food or fun. All three, probably. Their population has recovered and their IUCN status is currently ‘Least Concern’, but like so many similar species they remain at risk, especially through continued habitat loss.

The Willet call and song are very distinctive, and are reproduced here via the great bird-noise resource Xeno-Canto

CALL

SONG

All images RH except header (Wikimedia) & in-flight image (Greg Page @ Cornell Lab for Ornithology)

(PS if you think the traditional RH puntastic title is laboured, be grateful I didn’t proceed with the initial idea of working ‘Bruce Willets’ into this post. It didn’t work, on any level…)

AMERICAN KESTRELS IN SANDY POINT, ABACO, BAHAMAS

June 8, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

AMERICAN KESTRELS IN SANDY POINT, ABACO, BAHAMAS

American kestrels Falco sparverius are well known birds in the Americas and Caribbean, and I can’t usefully add anything to the photographs below, all taken at Sandy Point, Abaco a few days ago. Well, perhaps just that they are said to “chitter” when they copulate – but they can’t be alone in that, surely… There were several kestrels around the settlement, including juveniles. Mostly they stayed on the utility posts and lines, from which they dropped occasionally to collect some titbit from the ground below. There was a wonderfully rich-coloured male in a palm tree, but he declined to turn round to be photographed, and I have refrained from including his rather magnificent rear view in the gallery below, out of respect for a fine bird of the species.

American Kestrel Abaco 5 JUVENILE

“ON STILTS”: THE BLACK-NECKED STILTS OF ABACO

June 4, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

“ON STILTS”: THE BLACK-NECKED STILTS OF ABACO

This elegant stilt Himantopus mexicanus was one of a pair nesting in the scrub by a small brackish lake near Crossing Rocks. We had gone there for heron and egret reasons, but for once there were none. Just dozens of BAHAMA (WHITE-CHEEKED) PINTAILS. I had walked to one end of the lake, when suddenly this bird rose from the undergrowth and flew, shrieking, straight at me. It veered off, landing agitatedly in the water, and proceeded to stalk towards me on a zig-zag route, scolding me belligerently.

In the end, it stood facing me squarely, then flew at me before veering away again back to the bushes, where it continued to protest. Presumably close by was a well-concealed nest with the female and her eggs or chicks. Of course I wouldn’t have had any idea about it but for this peevish display of aggression. However, this is such a handsome bird, and the protective display was so effective that I considered myself well warned, and moved away from the area…

BLACK-NECKED STILT ALARM CALL (Xeno-Canto)

“PISHING IN THE WIND”: BIRDING IN A BREEZE AT DELPHI

June 1, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

“PISHING IN THE WIND”: BIRDING IN A BREEZE AT DELPHI

The Bahamas weather has been uncharacteristically dire. Rain and cloud for the past week, and a poor forecast for the next week (see above). I arrived on Abaco yesterday, with the short internal flight from Nassau last night nearly cancelled due to a humungous downpour. Instead, people were boarded in bare feet, having had to wade through 3 inches of water to get to the small plane floating on the undrained concrete. Yet today, there was sunshine at Delphi this morning (though cloud to both north and south). A stiff breeze was keeping the clouds off-shore. The weather is fickle and very local.

ROYAL POINCIANA

I took a small camera and strolled for half and hour for about 200 yards along the Delphi drive and back (for those that know it, to the first corner of the guest drive) to see what the first of June had to offer in the way of wildlife. The birds were clearly enjoying some unaccustomed sunshine, and I have listed those I saw below. Not all were photogenically posed, and many were flicking around the coppice too quickly to capture.

RED-LEGGED THRUSH

GRAY KINGBIRD

The smaller birds were unusually responsive to ‘pishing’, the unattractive but effective noise that can bring a bird to the front of woodland or scrub to investigate. A black-whiskered vireo was interested, but flew off just as I pressed the button. He was immediately replaced on the branch by a

BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER

A pair of Western Spindalises (see recent post HERE) joined it in the adjacent tree

DELPHI 30 MINUTE STROLL BIRD LIST 1.06.13

Red-legged Thrush 3
Western Spindalis 3
West Indian Woodpecker 2
Black-whiskered Vireo 2
Cuban Emerald 2
Turkey Vulture 2
Bahama Swallow 1
Gray Kingbird 1
Loggerhead Kingbird 1
Greater Antillean Bullfinch 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Bananaquit 1
{Heard only} Abaco Parrots 2

The flowers were also enjoying some sunshine after the rain A couple of other things caught my eye, including a cute baby lizard, before I headed for some rest

HELLO, HANDSOME! WESTERN SPINDALIS IN THE MOOD FOR LURVE…

May 28, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

HELLO, HANDSOME! WESTERN SPINDALIS IN THE MOOD FOR LURVE…

Nearly two years ago, when this blog was still in its mewling infancy, I posted about one of my favourite small birds on Abaco, the WESTERN SPINDALIS (Spindalis zena, formerly known as the Stripe-headed Tanager). It is a strikingly handsome creature by any standards, often seen posing ‘tall’ on a branch looking splendid in its orange, black and white livery.

Perching proudly…… or dining elegantly…

The spindalis is one of the birds to look out for if you are walking along one of the drives at Delphi, or (*recommended 1/2 hour stroll*) walking the drive circuit. You’ll see them in the coppice or in the undergrowth alongside the drives in the pine forest area, almost certainly a little way in from the front. We spotted one quite close to the Highway, looking most decorative in the greenery. This one had an uncharacteristic hunched look about him, and we soon discovered why – he was courting. Not the black-faced grassquit near the bottom of the photo, but a female spindalis well-hidden low down and further back in the undergrowth to the left. So we edged nearer to get a better look.

You’ll see that this male bird’s hunched posture has produced a rather impressive neck ruff, an adornment presumably irresistible to female spindalises. Both birds were ‘chucking’ softly to each other, and the male turned his head regularly to show off his glories from all angles. I can’t unfortunately reveal the outcome of this encounter. We never saw the female, and we had probably got too close for her to feel comfortable about breaking cover. The male, however, was too absorbed refining his pulling techniques to be greatly bothered by our presence, though he did keep a beady black eye on us. Is this male preoccupation when courting found in other animal species, I wonder? Reader, we made our excuses and left…

HOW TO RECORD BIRDS EASILY ON ABACO (OR ANYWHERE ELSE…)

May 23, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

RECORDING BIRDS: A LAYMAN’S GUIDE

YOU WILL NEED: an iPh@ne or similar smartphone with a voice memo facility; patience; minimal non-natural background noises (traffic, yelling people, barking dogs, heavy machinery); a steady-ish hand; one or more birds nearby

RECORDING

Use the Voice Memo app on an iPh@ne (I presume most other smart phones have a similar app).
Once you have it onscreen, turn the phone round 180 deg and the image will swivel round too. Now you can point the microphone at the sound and have the controls the right way up facing you.
Turn the volume up to max before you record.
Handle the phone carefully so it doesn’t record you touching it as well. It probably won’t pick up pressing ‘record’, but it may when you press ‘stop’. But you can trim the end of the saved file on the file very simply.
The recording saves in m4p format, and you can email it to your computer direct from the app (or to anywhere or anyone else).
Drag / save the file onto your desktop from the email. When you open it, it will (a) play and (b) appear in your iTunes library (or whatever music storage system you use).

CONVERTING RECORDINGS TO MP3

Having opened the recording, to convert the file to an mp3 (generally the preferred version for uploading elsewhere) in iTunes, go to Songs in your iTunes library and search for Memo. There it is!
You can rename it at this stage if you wish.
Then go to File on the top bar, and in the drop-down menu, near the bottom, go to Create new version. It will offer you mp3.
Click mp3 and a second recording file will appear in your library. That’s your mp3.
Drag it onto your desktop and do what you want with it.

Apologies if this is all blindingly obvious and written in the elementary computer language ‘eggy-peggy’. It took me a while to get it sorted out, and I hope the details above will help the lo-tek computer user to record birds and use the results painlessly.

FIELD NOTES

I recommend recording for about 20 – 30 seconds max. The iPh@ne allows easy trimming at the start and end of the saved file, but there’s no easy way to edit the middle to take out the barking dog.
Several short recordings of each bird will give a better choice of results than one or 2 long recordings.
The iPh@ne mic is surprisingly sensitive. It will pick up all nearby sounds – someone whispering at you “is it recording yet?”, for example. So ideally this is best done in the pine forest or coppice, away from the Highway. And maybe the loud whisperer.
Wind can be a problem. Not just for humans. The mic will pick up gusts of wind, or wind blowing across it if you change the direction you are pointing the phone as you record. So this is best done on a calm day.

Here are two practice recordings I made in March. The first is the female red-winged blackbird above (and header) at Casuarina beach. The distinctive call is rather like a rusty hinge on a swinging gate, often heard far out in the mangrove swamps of the Marls. You’ll hear background noises from collared doves and also the sea lapping on the shore.

The second is thick-billed vireo in the coppice at Delphi. You’ll hear an answering vireo – and also some wind noise. I find these little birds frustratingly hard to see – they always seem to be lurking further back in the bushes than I think. I’ve never managed to take a good photo of one, so I’ll upload an illustrative poor one to be going on with. I am back on Abaco in a week, and a better TBV photo is on my avian hit list.

Finally, you’ll find a longer recording I made of Abaco parrots squabbling noisily at Bahama Palm Shores near the end of a recent post HERE. I made an mp3 using the method described above, and uploaded it to the excellent Xeno-Canto bird sounds website, which is well worth exploring. You can find my recordings of the parrots and the birds in this post, plus sonograms, on my XC page, such as it is, HERE

But if you just want to hear the parrots, here they are. Like schoolkids, only louder.

Why do I do that annoying ‘iPh@ne’ thing? It’s a statistical fact that I have just made up that 373,597 people a minute world-wide g@@gle the correct word. Imagine the meta-crawlers and spam-splurgers that lock onto that word. I don’t want to cyber-meet them. I also use the form Am@z@n but for different reasons relating to their ingenious tax arrangements (alleged, obviously). Thus with G@@gle as well (again, merely alleged – as Dusty Springfield memorable sang, “Nothing is proved…)

GREEN PREEN: CUBAN EMERALD HUMMINGBIRD, ABACO

May 20, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

GREEN PREEN: CUBAN EMERALD HUMMINGBIRD, ABACO

This tiny bird was in the Abaco coppice, well off the beaten track. Nearly two miles down a notably unbeaten track, in fact, that later was to lead to a puncture-and-@$%^&*-I-forgot-my-cellphone drama. Trauma, even. The hummer knew perfectly well that I had crept up behind it, but it had presumably seen few bipeds. It would not have known of their urge to bulldoze wild habitat and turn it into massive unsold developments, as has happened a short way up the coast… So it just carried on with what a bird has to do to keep itself looking presentable, while I, feeling rather rude and intrusive, took some quick pictures before leaving it in peace. Rather than sell these intimate studies to Hello!, OK!, Chirpy! or Tweet!, I am displaying them free for your enjoyment.

In addition to the Cuban Emerald, the Bahamas has its own endemic hummingbird, the Bahama Woodstar. In the faltering early days of this blog, I posted about them both at BAHAMA WOODSTARS & CUBAN EMERALDS: THE HUMMINGBIRDS OF ABACO At that time, I was not really a ‘birder’ at all, and had only a very basic camera, so my own pictures were… very basic. But you may be interested in some of the info in the post about these two species, so I mention it in passing.

LEAST, BUT NOT LAST: THE SMALLEST SANDPIPER

May 12, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

LEAST, BUT NOT LAST: THE SMALLEST SANDPIPER

The LEAST SANDPIPER (Calidris minutilla) is the smallest shorebird, the definitive “peep”. An adult is only about 6″ long. They are to be found in pairs or groups, busily foraging in the sand and seaweed. Often they will mix in with other shorebirds. These birds nest in scrapes close to the water, with both parents involved in incubating the eggs. The female will usually leave the nest before the young birds fledge - perhaps (bizarrely?) sometimes even before the eggs hatch. Deal with it, male Least Sandpipers. Fortunately the hatchlings can feed themselves very soon, and are able to fly within two weeks of birth.

The “peep” call will no doubt be instantly familiar, although how to differentiate between the various types of sandpiper may be more of a problem… Here’s a short recording via Xeno-Canto (credit: Mike Nelson)

They may burrow deep into the seaweed near the shoreline to reach an especially good feeding patch

CUBAN PEWEE: NATURE’S LEAST SCARY TYRANT

May 8, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

CUBAN PEWEE: NATURE’S LEAST SCARY TYRANT

The CUBAN PEWEE Contopus caribaeus bahamensis, also known as the Crescent-eyed Pewee (see photos for details), is a tyrant. At 6″ long , the smallest tyrant you are likely to encounter in the Bahamas, but undoubtedly a member of the family Tyrranidae. These are the flycatchers, and include the larger LA SAGRA’S FLYCATCHER and the still larger Loggerhead and Gray Kingbirds. The Cuban Pewee is permanently resident on Abaco, and can be found in both pine woods and coppice. When returning to its perch after a flycatching sortie, this bird gives a characteristic flick of the tail.

The little bird below was in the edge of the coppice bordering the long sandy beach at Casuarina. Bruce Hallett, in his essential book ’Birds of the West Indies…’ notes that Cuban Pewees are ‘usually approachable’, so I decided to test this out. I was about 20 feet from the bird when I first saw it. By sliding one foot forward in the sand and pausing before moving the other foot, I got to within 5 feet of the bird, while it watched my approach with apparent indifference. Unlike some creatures, it did not seem discomfited by eye-contact. It responded when I made a faint clicking sound by rather sweetly putting its head on one side. Then it began to fidget slightly – possibly feeling camera-shy. So I shuffled slowly back so as not to disturb it in its own territory.

The close-ups at the end clearly show the tiny hooked tip at the end of the upper beak – I imagine this somehow relates to the business of catching flies. Like other flycatchers, the Cuban Pewee has very distinctive whiskers around the base of the beak – again I presume this assists with feeding in some way, perhaps helping to sense the approach of an insect. Any expert views welcome via the comment box.

It’s occasionally tempting to anthropomorphise such close encounters in terms of imputed human / creature empathy. Much best to resist that. But as I withdrew, leaving this little bird undisturbed on its branch, I did experience a strange feeling of… [I must interrupt myself here. I'm a lawyer, so that's quite enough of that sort of nonsense]

ABACO’S UNIQUE PARROTS IN PICTURES, VIDEO & SOUND

May 5, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

ABACO’S UNIQUE PARROTS IN PICTURES, VIDEO & SOUND

Abaco parrots. The only ground-nesting parrot species in the Bahamas. In the world, in fact. I’ve posted quite often about them – indeed they have their own page HERE – because, frankly, they are special and their story is one of encouraging success for intensive research and conservation programs. In 1492, Christopher Columbus was amazed by the vast number of parrots he saw in the Bahamas (not that the islands were called that then). In his journal he noted: “flocks of parrots darken the sun…” Not many years ago, parrot numbers on Abaco had dwindled to fewer than 1000 – below the critical point for sustaining a viable population. Extinction of the Abaco parrot loomed, accelerated by increasing habitat change, predation, and (*euphemistically*) ‘human intervention’. Thanks to the campaign of conservation, habitat preservation, anti-predation measures and vigilance, numbers have been restored to a sustainable level, perhaps as many as 4000. They are now a fairly common sight – and sound – in South Abaco. But not everyone who looks for them finds them, or even hears them. Especially not if they take pot luck in the vast areas of pine forest in the National Park, where they breed…

I’ve covered much of this ground before, but there is a slightly wider audience these days, so a few newcomers may be interested to learn about these lovely birds. The best thing is to have a look. All photos were taken by me during two early evenings in March.

The parrots are extremely agile, and have very strong feet and claws that enable them to move around in the tree-tops – or to hang upside down if they choose to. The next photo is a close-up a foot; below that is short video showing a parrot manoeuvring itself in a tree. You’ll also see how the birds use their beaks as an extra limb, so to speak. The uninspiring title shown is only because I forgot to label it ‘Abaco Parrot’ in the first place, and can’t find how to edit it…

In this image you can clearly see how their ‘opposable’ claws wrap round a branch

If you suspect that this one has had some ‘work’ done, you’d be right. I normally leave my photos largely alone, apart from cropping and maybe basic light balancing where needed. Sometimes an image is nearly there, but needs a bit of extra cosmetic business – but one can usually tell. The left wing? Hmmmmm (users of ‘noise reduction’ will know what I am talking about!).

The flocks of parrots are incredibly noisy. Sometimes they split into two or three groups, close together, and seem to compete in raucousness. Around 5.00 pm seemed to be the noisiest time. I took recordings of the racket, using the voice memo app on an iPh*ne, simply holding the phone with the speaker / mike end towards the parrots. Some come out pretty well – good enough to post on the excellent XENO-CANTO bird sound site. Here is a recording, with the first few seconds transcribed into a sonogram. I made a ring tone from this recording for Caroline Stahala, the scientist who, with her team, looks after the birds. She’s been too polite to say whether she uses it or (more likely) not!

xeno-canto XC127584

play
stop

0:00

0:53

Cuban Amazon (Amazona leucocephala ABACO GROUND-NESTING SUBSPECIES) · call, female, flight call, male

Rolling Harbour

BPSN, South Abaco, Bahamas

I find the parrots very hard to nail in flight (see above), possibly because of a shutter-speed issue (mine, not the camera’s). I nearly junked the picture below, but I liked the clash of the parrot colours with the purple bougainvillea, so I spared it.

If anyone is interested in making a small contribution towards the continuing research into and protection of these birds, please have a look at my ABACO WILDLIFE CHARITIES page, where the relevant link to Parrots International can be found. Or visit doudoubirds, where you will find endearing Abaco Parrot prints by dou dou herself for sale in aid of the parrots. Or contact me at rollingharbour.delphi@gmail.com

If anyone had a problem with the Xeno-Canto sound file above, here is a simplified version of the recording

BLACK-FACED GRASSQUITS ON ABACO, BAHAMAS

April 23, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

BLACK-FACED GRASSQUITS ON ABACO, BAHAMAS

BFGs. Birds of the coppice, garden, feeder… and beach (see below). I posted some images last year HERE and now I have a few more, taken recently. Although their name is promising at first glance, the Title pun-value of these little birds is low, so I’ve left it… While the males are indeed black-faced, and often -chested too, the females are a drab brown. Until you look closely. Then you’ll see the olive shades, and the pretty yellow streaks on the wings.

A YOUNG FEMALE BFG ENJOYING THE BEACH AT TREASURE CAY

BFGs AT DELPHI

A MALE BFG AT BAHAMA PALM SHORES

A CUBAN EMERALD HUMMINGBIRD ON ABACO, BAHAMAS

April 10, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

A CUBAN EMERALD HUMMINGBIRD ON ABACO, BAHAMAS

I took photos of this tiny bird at BPS last month. They were ‘chance’ pics taken when we were photographing parrots in the tree tops. The hummer suddenly appeared some way ahead of me, so I swivelled the camera at it without changing any settings. Frankly, I didn’t expect the results to show more than a small green blur, but they have turned out slightly better than anticipated. I put these images on my subsidiary ‘Gallery’ site and people seem to like them so I’ve decided to add them here too. After all, it’s their true home, I suppose, with the other Abaco wildlife. Apologies to those who have seen these already on the other site. The images are exactly as taken – no colour tweaking, no sharpening, no photoshop - and may not stand enlargement or close scrutiny, because I was several yards away. On the other hand they give a good idea of how this bird feeds. The body postures are very characteristic, and besides, the plants are pretty…

BLACK & WHITE WARBLERS: WINTER VISITORS TO ABACO

March 27, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

BLACK & WHITE WARBLERS (Mniotilta varia)

WINTER VISITORS TO ABACO

By no stretch of the imagination are the images below very impressive. Sorry about that. The wonder is that we noticed this little bird at all – also, that it stayed still for long enough for me to get a bead on it. I credit the sharp eyes of Mrs RH (from whom little is hid) for spotting a fleeting movement on a pine trunk along the Delphi drive. Unlike any other warbler, these small birds feed in the manner of nuthatches or tree / brown creepers. They run rapidly up and down tree trunks and branches foraging on insects in the bark with their sharp little beaks.

Summer & Winter Ranges

IUCN status

The next 2 photos (yes, I agree, they’re not very good, nor taken – the top one, anyway – from an elegant angle) are included to demonstrate the remarkable length and dexterity of the bird’s legs. During the minute we watched it before it flew off, we noted this characteristic legs-splayed ‘pausing pose’ several times.

ONE GOOD (ROYAL) TERN ON THE ABACO MARLS…

March 24, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

ONE GOOD (ROYAL) TERN ON THE ABACO MARLS…

…deserves another……and a few more besides…

We passed these fine Royal Terns during the boat ride ride out to the bonefishing grounds of the Abaco Marls. The single dead tree lay alone in a vast expanse of open water near the mangrove swamps, providing a perfect perch and vantage point for the birds. Their positioning on the tree suggested a distinct “pecking order”, which turned out to be literally true. The terns were unembarrassed by our presence, but at one stage they all took off and circled lazily round once before settling back on the tree. Those that tried to take a higher perch were aggressively treated by the original occupant. In the end, things settled down much as before. However, one disappointed claimant to promotion was dispossessed of the main trunk entirely. He ended up, uncomfortable and huffy, on a small stump facing the opposite way to the rest of the birds – perhaps from wounded dignity, or to make his feelings known through body language….

HUMMINGBIRDS OF ABACO SPARKLING IN THE SUN

March 18, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

This is a ‘holding’ post while I am actually on Abaco, to be rejigged in due course. The weather is a bit variable, my fishing is somewhat variable (as usual – more miss than hit, though my biggest bone yet a couple of days ago), the birds are fantastic. Abaco has two hummingbird species, the endemic Bahama Woodstar and the Cuban Emerald. The Woodstars are rather pushed around by the Emeralds, and tend to be scarcer where there are plenty of Emeralds. We are lucky at Delphi that both species coexist in relative harmony, although this may be largely due to the sugar-water feeders and the hummer-friendly planting around the Lodge. Here are a few irridescent images I’ve taken in the last few days. Things are a bit slow here (the internet connections, not me), so the image order, formatting and sizing may need attention later on…

Oh. Is that the time? I need a Kalik and lie down. I’ll add a couple pics more later!

NB these photos are posted exactly as taken. No photoshop, no iFiddling, no cropping. That’s how close you can get to these tiny birds…

ADDENDUM A few shots of a hummer in flight feeding on plants can now be seen on my subsidiary website HERE

A RARE ABACO PARROT DISPLAYS A RARE TALENT…

March 11, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

DCB GBG Cover Logo

A RARE ABACO PARROT DISPLAYS A RARE TALENT…

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MY LITTLE TRICK? ABACO PARROT CS 13-3

I’M A BIT CAMERA-SHY – I’LL JUST TURN ROUND ABACO PARROT CS 13-4

THAT’S BETTER. ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE READY FOR THIS? ABACO PARROT CS 13-2

TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ABACO PARROT CS 13-1

The Abaco Parrot is a unique subspecies of Cuban Parrot found on only Abaco. They are the only parrot to nest underground, in limestone caves in the pine forest. Their numbers have increased from near extinction to a sustainable population as the result of an intensive program of conservation and anti-predation. They get plenty of publicity hereabouts, and have their own page HERE. We normally avoid too much whimsy in these parts, but I am in parrot territory right now, so I have given myself permission to break my own rule. Photos: ©Caroline Stahala (who looks after them)

HERRING GULLS (Larus smithsonianus) CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF A PREFERRED KIND

March 2, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

HERRING GULL Larus smithsonianus

The Herring Gull needs no introduction. So I won’t give it one. Instead, here are some close-ups of one that obligingly stayed still long enough, and at close enough range, to enable me to focus. The final two are possibly worth single- or double-clicking on to see the finer details. I prefer cooperative birds like this…

HERRING GULL IN FAMILIAR ‘BOAT POSE’Note the characteristic crossing of the black-and-white wing-tip feathers

RED-TAILED HAWKS (Buteo jamaicensis) RAPTOR RAPTURE

February 25, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

RED-TAILED HAWKS: RAPTOR RAPTURE

Red-tailed hawks are one of the commonest and largest BUTEO species in North America, the Caribbean and further afield. There are fourteen widely-distributed subspecies. Their omni-habitat flexibility helps to maintain their prolific populations. They are equally at home in forests, grassland, open country, desert and even cities, at most altitudes.

This red-tail is preparing for flight. It had been sitting upright (see above), scanning for prey. Suddenly it hunched forwards, poised for take-off, the light of late afternoon sun catching its leg feathers. Moments later it raised its wings and was gone in an instant – the next photo an unusable blur of feathery speed.

6 RED-TAILED HAWK FACTS TO STARTLE YOUR AUNT WITH

1. The RTH displays SEXUAL DIMORPHISM in size – females average 25% heavier than males

2. Immature birds have yellowish irises. As the bird matures the iris darkens to a reddish-brown hue

3. They are easily trained to hunt: most hawks used for (tightly regulated) falconry in the US are Red-tails

4. They use tall trees, high rocks, utility poles or buildings as perch sites to scan large areas for prey

5. City hawks helpfully prey on rock pigeons and rats. ROSIE lives in Washington Sq NYC & has a web-cam

6. One urban RTH, known as PALE MALE, became famous as the first Red-tail in decades to successfully nest and raise young in Manhattan. He was immortalised by MARIE WINN in her book Red -Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park [RH Note: Good read]

6 RED-TAILED HAWK FACTS TO SURPRISE YOUR UNCLE WITH

1. The fierce, screaming cry of the RTH is often used as a generic raptor sound effect in TV shows & films

2. Eggs are incubated primarily by the female. The male helps out when the female leaves to hunt or stretch her wings. The male brings food to the female while she incubates

3. RTH young are known as eyasses (“EYE-ess-ez”), a falconry term for a raptor still in its downy stage

4. About 6 / 7 weeks after fledging RTH young begin to capture their own prey. They reach breeding maturity around 3 years of age

5. Red-tailed Hawks can live for more than 2o years – the oldest recorded was 29

6. RTH feathers are considered sacred to many American indigenous people. The feathers of the RTH are regulated by the “Eagle Feather Law” which governs possession of feathers and parts of migratory birds AFTERWORD These photos were all taken recently in New York, in Central Park (The Ramble, a birding hotspot) and in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. They are therefore a bit of a cheat in a website based mainly on Abaco. But I have never managed to photograph a RTH on the island, so these pics are illustrative of what I might have photographed had I (a) seen a RTH (b) had my wits about me (c) for long enough to find my camera (d) to photograph it before it flew away (e) and sufficiently well to be able to use the result [Header and due credit to Wiki]

See also NICOLE‘s excellent birding website at http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-red-tailed-hawk.html

(PS apologies to those who have neither aunts nor uncles. I have no wish to be amitist or avunculist. Have you a cousin you can try?)

THE CUBAN AMAZON PARROT: A WORK OF ART & NATURE

February 20, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

THE CUBAN AMAZON PARROT: A WORK OF ART & NATURE

FEATURED BY ‘ARTMAGENTA‘

I have just posted a gallery of bird art by Artmagenta, showing varous species from his global ‘Bird of the Day’ series that can be found on Abaco. He asked for further suggestions, so naturally I suggested the avian symbol of the Abacos. A few days later, it has flown in, in all its glory, with his description below it. So I’ll step back and let the bird do the talking. Abaco-Parrot

“The Cuban Amazon (Amazona leucocephala) also known as Cuban Parrot or the Rose-throated Parrot, is a medium-sized mainly green parrot found in woodlands and dry forests of Cuba, the Bahamas and Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. The Cuban Amazon lives in different habitats on different islands. It was once found throughout Cuba, but it is now mainly confined to the forested areas of the main island and Isla de la Juventud. On the Cayman Islands the parrot lives in dry forest and on agricultural land. Cuban Amazons nest in tree cavities throughout most of its range, the only exception being that the parrots living on the Abaco Islands nest underground in limestone solution holes, where they are protected from pineyard wildfires.”

BIRDS OF ABACO: WILDLIFE ART FROM ARTMAGENTA (1) – THE REAL DEAL

February 18, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

Jack-Snipe

BIRDS OF ABACO: WILDLIFE ART FROM ARTMAGENTA (1)

Sound of jet engines. “Back in the UK…” (as Macca so nearly sang), and I have the chance to amend the epic fail – or comic fail, anyway, that was the original of this post. And the truth is, Dear , that apart from simple captioned photos, an iPhone does not cut it for more complex posts involving formatting and so on. Or maybe I can’t use it properly (far more likely). Whichever, here is what should have appeared in the first place as a prepared, ‘press-the-go-button’ post for while we were away…

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At Rolling Harbour, we are occasionally bold enough to investigate the interstices between wildlife and art. If that’s what one does to an interstice. ArtMagenta is the cyber-name (“ethernym”? Yes, I like it…) of Ulf, a prolific artist whose website ART MAGENTA provides an enjoyably eclectic selection of pictures. Birds from around the world. Caricatures. Sketches. ‘Gesture Drawings’. And more. From time to time I will post a small gallery of Ulf’s enjoyable depictions of the birds that may be found on Abaco.

BLACK SKIMMER

MOURNING DOVE

Mourning-Dove NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD

PIPING PLOVER

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD

RED-TAILED HAWK

LEAST TERN

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER