Birds of Quail Valley and Fort Bend

Cooper's Hawk

 

Cooper’s Hawk is a year round resident as well as a winter visitor in Fort Bend. A medium hawk 16-18 inches in height, the Cooper’s is quite a aerobat and is adept in flying through treed areas. With a very long tail, it has a flap-flap, glide wing pattern.

 

It can be easily mistaken for the Sharp-shinned Hawk. However, the Sharp Shinned Hawk is a winter visitor only in Texas so time of year can remove some of the guesswork.

 

Cooper’s Hawks hunt for other birds and two of its favorites are Mourning Doves and Rock Pigeons. The Cooper’s is becoming quite comfortable in urban and suburban areas and particularly likes sitting on fences and preying on bird feeders. However, they usually do not go for smaller birds, but do like Northern Flickers, American Robins, several varieties of jays, quail and chickens as well as doves and pigeons.

 

If a Cooper’s is sitting on the fence stalking your feeders, remove the feeders for a few days and the  Cooper’s will likely move on if you wish to discourage them.

 

 

The male is smaller than the female and gives a new meaning to hen-pecked. It is quite solicitous of the female and listens for the tone of her voice. He builds and tends the nest, providing almost 90% of the young’s food for 90 days.  

 

To read a story about the Cooper's Hawk, press here.

Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link. View her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link.

Learn how to attract birds to your garden, enjoy the Quail Valley Garden's Club visit and tour of Margaret's backyard.

Blog edited by Janice Scanlan.

 

 

 

 

 

American Goldfinch

 

Why don't I see one like the male above in full breeding plumage in Fort Bend? First of all, this beautiful specimen was taken in Utah toward the end of May. The American Goldfinch is a true vegetarian bird so it breeds in the summer so that it has thistle which has gone to seed to line its nest for it's young to eat. Fort Bend American Goldfinches are usually winter visitors, but you might see a straggler in May in full plumage. The gold contrasts beautifully with the black cap and black wings with white bands.

 The Goldfinches you are likely to see in Fort Bend and Texas flock to feeders, particularly those with nyjer (which is a treated thistle that won't geminate in your garden) or black oiled sunflower seeds. And like the birds above, are still a striking and beautiful bird, just more subtle. Janice with her enclosed garden with water features and Margaret with her wide open garden on Oyster Creek both commonly get flocks of 50 in their very different gardens. The feeder above has nyjer seed.

Contrast the wing color of the winter visitors in Fort Bend at the feeder with the striking male in breeding plumage below.

 

 The male in winter or non breeding plumage below have some gold, but as you can see at the feeder, you can tell males and females apart, but in a group they may blend together. I always think they look like they are in colorful tuxedos.

 

The female below is more olive with less gold, but the same lovely pattern on the wings.

 

Whether winter or in breeding plumage, this welcome visitor always tells me it's a lot colder North of here and our winter birds are coming to Texas.

What being a vegetarian means is that beyond seeds, American Goldfinches don't eat insects for protein and don't need that kind of protein in their diets. Cowbirds, who tend to lay their eggs in other bird's nests, to be reared by the bird that built the nest, usually die in American Goldfinch nests due to lack of protein.

 

If you are in most of the eastern US or in Northern Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Northern Nevada, or the plains states or lower Canada past May, the main natural habitats are weedy fields and floodplains, where plants such as thistles and asters are common. They’re also found in cultivated areas, roadsides, orchards, and backyards. American Goldfinches can be found at feeders any time of year, but most abundantly during winter.

The Great American Bird Count 2012 Feb 17-20

 Learning about birds is easier, when it's narrowed down what birds you might expect to see. The Cornell Lab or Ornithology, Audubon Society and Bird Watch/Etudes D'Oiseaux Canada co-sponsor this event annually. You don't have to be experienced to participate or have fun.

Identification forms specific to your area. You can download a short or long form for your area by entering your ZIP code (or where you'll be) and download a form to print out. What's neat, is that I downloaded the long form, and it gave me confidence that I had identified correctly an immature Wood Stork that was with a flock of White Ibis along Phase II of the Oyster Creek Trail in Missouri City. There are only two storks in this area, but the gold bill was throwing me off. Mature Wood Storks bills are brown like their heads, but are gold in immature storks. Seeing either bird is rare, but it makes it a lot easier to narrow down the bird, no matter what field guide you're using.

Contest Rules. The contest rules (and some neat bird prizes) are here.

Margaret Sloan has volunteered to help with identifications. Email your questions to madsloan@comcast.net.

Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link. View her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link.

Learn how to attract birds to your garden, enjoy the Quail Valley Garden's Club visit and tour of Margaret's backyard.

Blog edited by Janice Scanlan.

 

 

 

 

Harris's Sparrow

We have an unusual winter visitor this year likely due to the drought. The Harris's Sparrow usually winters in central and north Texas. Photographer Margaret Sloan was very surprised to find several in her back yard. The bird shown here is immature.

The Harris's Sparrow is a large sparrow more the size of a small songbird like a Northern Cardinal than house sparrows. The photo above is a young male who is just starting to get his black bib under his chin. These birds maintain a strict pecking order for food with adult males, the larger the black bib, the higher the pecking order. In fact, dyeing a bird’s bib causes him to rise in pecking order. The photo below shows a male much higher in the pecking order because of his large black bib.

Harris's Sparrows winter along hedgerows, shelterbelts, agricultural fields, weed patches, and pastures in the Central US. It only breeds in Canada and nowhere else in the world at the edge of tundra or boreal forests.

It feeds primarily on the ground, picks food from the ground, and scratches some in litter with both feet. It will come to feeders.

The Harris's and the White-throated Sparrow (which has a striking color pattern) are two wintering sparrows in Texas, but the White-throated, also posted this month, is more common in Fort Bend.

We've been getting questions about squirrel-proof feeders. For more on this subject and a hilarious video on the National Wildlife Federation website, click here.

Read about other birding "Novel Events" in Fort Bend.

Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link. View her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link.

Learn how to attract birds to your garden, enjoy the Quail Valley Garden's Club visit and tour of Margaret's backyard.

Blog edited by Janice Scanlan.

More . . .

Tony Estus writes that in late December his wife thought she saw a Flamingo and basically he told her it must have been a Roseate Spoonbill. A few days later, Tony saw a bird take off from the pond on the left side of the Eldorado #4 tee boxes. He got a good look and then had to agree with his wife, that she was right and not crazy like he told her she was. Seeing is believing! Ironically I (Janice Scanlan) saw what I thought was a Flamingo at quite a distance in MacNaughton Park in late December, but I'm having eye surgery in February and my far vision is not very dependable . . . but the height and bill shape were just too like a Flamingo even at a distance. All About Birds does not include the Flamingo (American, Caribbean, or Greater). Where they exist (and there used to be a group on Red Fish Island in the Houston Ship Channel ten or fifteen years ago) they are considered to be escapees of the Greater Flamingoes. They seem to be fairly regular wading birds in the Florida Everglades, but still escapees. Since they need a brackish or salt water diet, they likely escaped from a zoo or a private collector. Moody Gardens has a fairly large collection as does the Houston Zoo.

 

 

White-throated Sparrow

The White-throated Sparrow is a winter visitor to Fort Bend that breeds in the Northern US and Canada. It has a lovely yellow lobe between its bill and just over the eye, a white throat, gray breast and brown and black wings. They have crisp facial markings.

During migration and winter, you’ll find White-throated Sparrows along edges of woodlots, hedgerows, thickets, weedy fields, suburbs, backyards, and city parks. They also nest close to the ground and like grass seeds, goldenrod seeds, and insects and beetles. They come to birdfeeders and like millet and black sunflower seeds. They like to forage in leaves so brush piles encourage them.

Males and females can have tan or white strips between black stripes on their heads. This white stripe contrasts with the tan stripe in the photo above it. However, both persist because males tend to like white stripped females where females tend to like tan stripped males, but can be either and usually pick the opposite of themselves. They pair for summer, but often select a new mate then next year. Winter flocks have hierachies, but coloration seems to have no bearing on the pecking order. They have also been known to breed with Dark-eyed Juncos that produces a duller, less crisply marked hybrid.

They hop long the ground and have a beautiful singing voice that you can hear on the Cornell All About Birds site.

We've been getting questions about squirrel-proof feeders. For more on this subject and a hilarious video on the National Wildlife Federation website, click here.

Photos copyrighted by Quail Valley resident and international birder Margaret Sloan. View her international and national bird pictures by pressing this link. View her full photo album of local birds, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link.

Learn how to attract birds to your garden, enjoy the Quail Valley Garden's Club visit and tour of Margaret's backyard.

Blog edited by Janice Scanlan.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

 

A tiny bird, with a big voice. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is barely larger than a hummingbird, a mere 3.5 to 4 inches .  

These birds winter in the Southern US and Mexico before heading back to Alaska, Canada, and the Upper US.

And you say, where is the Ruby Crown? The males only display it if agitated . . . then they raise all these tiny red feathers on their crown. But if you see a red streak and some yellow, you likely have seen a Golden-Crowned Kinglet, which are rarer in Texas. The Golden-crowned is the next two pictures.

The Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets both winter in Texas, but the Ruby Crowned is much more common, with its constant flickering wings. They are both insect eaters that find their meals on foliage and bark, so you’ll see them in bushes where there are quite a few trees. As you can see in the photo below, the golden streak is much more prominent than the red feathers on the Golden-Crowned.

These birds move so quickly and contantly flick their wings to scare up insects, they are quite a challenge for any photographer . . .but as photographer Margaret Sloan often says, you hear them before you see them. For a small bird, the Ruby-crowned can really belt out a song.

To see other Winter Migrants in our area now, choose the winter migrant category in the right column and scroll down to enjoy other birds you can see in Quail Valley, Missouri City and Fort Bend!

Photos copyrighted by Margaret Sloan. View her full photo album, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link.

Learn how to attract birds to your garden, enjoy the Quail Valley Garden's Club visit and tour of Margaret's backyard.

To see a Ruby-crowned displaying his crown, press here.

And visit the Cornell Lab for the Ruby-crowned Kinglets' operetic voice.

Edited by Janice Scanlan

 

Wilson's Warbler

Ooh La La! Is it France or Fort Bend? This jaunty little Wilson’s Warbler with his black beret is indeed a Fort Bend visitor this month yellow undersides and all.

This songbird visits from Canada, Alaska, the Pacific North West as well as forests in Idaho are on their way to Mexico for winter.

Watch in bushes and trees as this little foliage gleaner is busy eating insects from foliage to keep plants healthy.

Wilson's Warblers can sometimes appear more orange . . . and close up their backs are more olive than brownish.

Visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to learn more and hear their distinctive chattery song that you will often hear before you see them.

Photos copyrighted by Margaret Sloan. View her full photo album, Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link.

We have now featured a full year of birds and only scratched the surface . . . to see more birds in the neighborhood and our January 2010 birds, press the the Butter-Butt,  Eastern Phoebe and Pine Warbler.

Or select Winter Migrants under Categories on the right to see all the Winter Migrants we've posted to date! But most of all, get out and enjoy the birds and nature!

 

Cedar Waxwing

The Cedar Waxwing is a silky, shiny collection of brown, gray, and lemon-yellow, accented with a subdued crest, rakish black mask, and brilliant-red wax droplets on the wing feathers. A common winter bird they have a sheen that makes them almost look plastic or wax like!  Spotted in the area since January, and large flocks of this medium-sized bird have occurred the past two weeks. They should hang around for another month or so. 

They love the berries of the wax myrtles that line Oyster Creek!.  Every year, the flocks descend on these trees and noisily feed on the berries so you’ll need binoculars to see them.  Their call is a high-pitched, buzzy sound and you'll hear them as they fly overhead.  In the spring, they'll head to the northern US and Canada to breed, but you can see them high is trees, especially those with berries in our area. If the berries ferment, it’s quite common to see “drunken” birds. They also eat insects and are quite aerobatic. In flight they resemble European Starlings and feed, fly and roost in large flocks as shown below.

Photos copyrighted by Margaret Sloan.

Keep visiting, we are posting birds and habits as the visit the area and time permits of Winter and other varieties of birds that live or visit Quail Valley and Fort Bend.

To learn more in depth on the Cedar Waxwing or hear actual bird calls,the Cornell University has a wonderful website, press here to visit.

To see a more complete photo album of Birds from Quail Valley and Fort Bend, Birds of Quail Valley.

Pine Warbler

These small birds are a large Warbler and are found in the Pine Forests of the Southeast US year around.

Janice's garden is more contained than Margaret's on Oyster Creek. The Pine Warblers come to her more enclosed space or are found in heavily wooded areas. I always know when they come to my garden for water, that winter is tough in Arkansas and mid-states east. A scout may come, but the next day the waterfall is full of these tiny birds. They seem to enjoy seeds from the Elm trees, but I've not seen them on feeders, just on the ground near water--especially running water.

The males have more olive to a chartreuse color than the females.

Photos copyrighted by Margaret Sloan. Stories and photos written by Margaret and Janice Scanlan.

Keep visiting, we are posting birds and habits as the visit the area and time permits of Winter and other varieties of birds that live or visit Quail Valley and Fort Bend.

To learn more in depth on the Pine Warbler or hear actual bird calls, Cornell University has a wonderful website, press here to visit.

To see a more complete photo album of Birds from Quail Valley and Fort Bend, Birds of Quail Valley.

Bald Eagle

The picture above is the first Bald Eagle that Margaret photographed in Quail Valley. It is a mature male. Margaret captured a second Bald Eagle, but the picture was only good enough for identification. In fact, the bird is likely about 3 years old as he does not have his breeding white tail feathers that he will acquire in a year or so.

The national emblem of the United States, the Bald Eagle is a conservation success moving from the Endangered Species list to "threatened" in 1995 and removed from the list altogether in 2007. They are true Raptors so they hunt prey.

Regarding the eating habits of Bald Eagles, Margaret did a little research.  Their preferred food is fish, then birds (mainly water birds like coots and small ducks), with mammals and reptiles comprising a small percentage of their diet.  They like carrion, so road kill or the prey of another bird or mammal is the source of some of their food.  On average, they can only fly with prey that are up to half their weight, and they weigh around 8 pounds. Most of their prey falls in the 2 to 4 pound range.  The eagles forage mainly along waterways and lakes and prefer to be away from humans. 

While it's possible for a Bald Eagle to take small cats and dogs given an opportunity, that's not their preference. Living with nature includes living with predators (alligators, coyotes, eagles, hawks, owls) and the wise pet owner supervises their little guys.

Photos copyrighted by Margaret Sloan. Stories and photos written by Margaret and Janice Scanlan.

Keep visiting, we are posting birds and habits as the visit the area and time permits of Winter and other varieties of birds that live or visit Quail Valley and Fort Bend.

To learn more in depth on the Bald Eagle or hear actual bird calls, Cornell University has a wonderful website, press here to visit.

To see a more complete photo album of Birds from Quail Valley and Fort Bend, Birds of Quail Valley.

Eastern Phoebe

The Eastern Phoebe is in the flycatcher family and is an insect-eater.  It will eat fruit if there are no insects.  Phoebes are fun to watch as they generally perch on a branch in the open.  They fly out to catch insects, then often return to the same spot.  You may not see their prey, but they do! Usually the branch/fence/wire is less than 25 feet high.  Their call sounds very much like "phoe-bee."  I often see them along the Oyster Creek (shown below at sunrise) and along streams in parks.

Article by and photos copyrighted by Margaret Sloan.

Keep visiting, we are posting birds and habits as the visit the area and time permits. Other winter migrants include Goldfinches and Pine Warblers.

To see a more complete photo album of Birds from Quail Valley and Fort Bend, Birds of Quail Valley. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler aka Butter Butt

Yellow-rumped Warbler, aka "Butter-butt" 

--  Like many of the winter birds,  these warblers are pretty plain in the winter except for the pale yellow rump spot.  As with the Goldfinches, the males start changing to breeding plumage when they are ready to head north so we miss their brighter colors.  A winter bird photographed in Fort Bend is above. Below is a summer bird from Utah which is slightly different from the east coast summer Yellow-rumps. This photo shows how male plumage intensifies in color during mating season.

In our area, they can be found in brushy areas or high in trees.  I see them frequently along the creek and in the parks.  Their preferred diet is insects, but they eat fruit when insects are scarce.  I put banana peels and overripe fruit out to try to attract insects for them.  I also see them drinking water from a dripping hose that I've hung in a tree.

 
Article by and photos copyrighted by Margaret Sloan.

To see more Birds from Quail Valley and Fort Bend, Birds of Quail Valley.