Feathered Friday: the Eastern Phoebe

This week let's meet a member in the family of flycatchers:  Tyrannidae.  

Flycatchers, like the Eastern Phoebe, are so named because they catch insects "on the wing."  I watch one every evening from my  back porch.  In fact, I'm watching him right now!  

My spring and summertime guest uses as his perch a perfect L-shaped branch that hangs below (and at the farthermost edge)  a mighty limb in a Black Locust. From here the phoebe swoops out over the yard, executing all kinds of aerial stunts to catch his insect of choice. And then to his perch he returns.  In fact, his (or her) routine is so predicable, I know the time of the day to find him.  Right now.

I've taken his photo but the distance is too great (for my camera) to reveal anything but a small grayish bird.  If you want a proper introduction to the Eastern Phoebe, enjoy the YouTube video. 


And until next time . . . Keep birds in your heart!


Georgia Anne

Feathered Friday: the Ovenbird

Was just out in the woodlands behind my property, enjoying the ending day with Bridget, my dog, listening to the melodic songs of a Hermit Thrush and the more strident "stylings" (ha!)  of the Ovenbird.  If you're following my posts, you know that I introduce each species as a family member. For instance, the Hermit Thrush belongs to the Thrush Family or Family Turdidae . . . as does the American Robin . . . as does the Eastern Bluebird. The idea is that if you learn to identify the family to which a bird belongs, then identifying the specific species becomes easier.   Or so in most cases.

But this isn't one of those cases.

For example,  based solely on his appearance, many people new to "birding" might  guess the Ovenbird is a member of the thrush family.  At one time, I too thought so. (To compare the two birds, check my post of May 4 on the Hermit Thrush). However, the Ovenbird is actually a warbler . . . and thus belongs to the Family Parulidae.  (See last week's post on the Common Yellowthroat to meet a member of Parulidae). 

To my mind, warblers are colorful little birds (most possess some extent of yellow plumage) that spend much of their time flitting among the high branches of tree crowns.  But then there's the Ovenbird, who spends much of his time on the woodland floor scratching the leaf litter for insects. Yet he's a warbler.  Go figure.

I'm no ornithologist and so don't know the characteristics (genetic) that make an Ovenbird a warbler, but warbler he is, even if not typical.  No one ever said learning to identify birds is easy . . . but it is rewarding and fun!

So until next time . . . Keep birds in your heart (and head)!

Georgia Anne

Feathered Friday: the Common Yellowthroat

I'd like to introduce the Common Yellowthroat--bird #10 on our Online Life List and a member of the Family Parulidae  (otherwise known as warblers).   Colorful small songsters with some extent of yellow to their plumage (there are exceptions), warblers get their name from their "warbling" songs and are spring and summer inhabitants of North American woodlands (they "winter" in Central and South America).

Spring is my favorite season of the year partly because in April and May, the warblers return in waves to our woodlands. For instance, a species that doesn't breed in your region might settle into a neighboring woodland to spend to a few days feeding and resting before taking again to the sky.  Others, however, will find their breeding ground near your own backyard (if woodlands are nearby).

In Clearfield County (where I lived before moving to Gettysburg), a creek  and woodland bordered my property.  Common Yellowthroats find this kind of wet, bushy  habitat ideal for breeding and each spring they returned--to my great delight.  And throughout the spring and much of summer, I'd see and hear them singing their characteristic song that some describe as "wich-i-ty, wich-i-ty, wich-i-ty," while I often also heard "the-witch-is-here! the witch is here!"

Wonder what the Yellowthroat's song will sound like to you?

Until next time . . . Keep birds in your heart!

Georgia Anne

Feathered Friday: the Barred Owl

I'm a huge fan of the Barred Owl.  Luckily several live nearby and I frequently hear them call from the surrounding woods.  In my developing trilogy Of the Wing, I've owl-encounter scenes in both books 1 and 2.  And though I'd love to continue the tradition, Barred Owls don't live in Ireland, the setting for book 3. Guess I'll need to acquaint myself with some Irish owls.


Till next time . . . Keep birds in your heart!  And joins us next Friday to add another bird to your Online Life List!

Georgia Anne

Feathered Friday: the Northern Mockingbird

Want to become a birder but don't know how? Join me here every Friday--on Feathered Friday--where I'll post an online video featuring the bird of the week. Keep a running list of these birds to add to an Online Life List. Then when you identify the featured bird outside--in your yard, neighborhood, or park--add it to your actual Life List of birds seen or heard. "Collecting" birds is great fun, but more, you open your eyes and ears to a whole new world of beauty and song!

Some families of birds are easier to remember than others. For example, birds in the Family Mimidae are unforgettable because of their ability to mimic other bird songs and nature sounds. I even recall a story about a bird in this family of mimics--can't now think of the species--that could imitate a lawn mower or some other machine. (I'll try to track that story down.) But why explain when you can just take a moment and listen?

Now if you want to read more on the nature of the Mockingbird's song (both males and females sing), then visit the link below for a quick trip to Cornell Lab of Ornithology's web site All About Birds:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_mockingbird/sounds

If you've been with us from the start of Feathered Friday, you now have eight birds on your Online Life List! If you're new to this blog, then check out the earlier videos to claim these birds. And if any are already known to you (you've seen or heard them in your yard or park or woods), then claim these for your actual Life List. And become a birder with us!

And until next time . . . Keep birds in your heart!

Georgia Anne

Feathered Friday: the Red-bellied Woodpecker

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, has lots of Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and daily I hear the distinctive call of males from the woodland behind my home. The Red-belly belongs to the Family Picidae (the family of woodpeckers). If you're not familiar with his call, listen hear and now. Then next time you're out enjoying the woods or are just nearby one, you might hear the Red-bellied Woodpecker calling out to you. Until next time . . . Keep birds in your heart! Georgia Anne

Feathered Friday: the Hermit Thrush

Week Six in my program Feathered Friday to get you "would-be birders" into the habit, when outside, of thinking and looking for birds. A good way to start is to learn about these birds online so that you can recognize them outside.

This week I chose to feature the Hermit Thrush because, of late, when walking my dog Bridget through the woods I've been hearing their  beautiful songs.  To my ear, the Hermit Thrush sings the most beautiful song of all birds. A pretty big claim, right?  But how can I describe it . . .  you'll hear soon enough in this video and also find how my words utterly fail in the attempt.  Even so, I'll try. When I hear the song of a Hermit Thrush, I think of bells, trickling water, and flutes.  Mix these musical sources together--somehow--and  what results is  heavenly. But you be the judge. In this video (produced by Spring Farm Cares Nature Sanctuary), you'll need to be a bit patient to hear his song, which does not appear until midway through.



In case you're keeping count, thus far the Hermit Thrush is the third thrush to be featured.  The other two birds  in the thrush family  (Turdidae) posted below include the American Robin and the Eastern Bluebird.  Check out their videos below and see what characteristics they have in common.

Until next time . . . Keep birds in your heart!

Georgia Anne