HART BEAT: RARE BIRD

Large-billed Tern

Two very rare vagrant Large-billed Terns (top of page) arrived in Florida from their native South America in late May and remained into early June. As I write this column in late June one is still in Florida. The first one reported was at one of our favorite birding spots, the Stick Marsh, or more accurately, the T. M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area. It was found by one of Florida’s top birders, David Simpson. Goodwin is only open on Thursdays from 9 AM until 4 PM, which is very strictly enforced. Consequently, there were very few reports of that Large-billed Tern after Dave’s initial discovery.

However, a second Large-billed Tern was discovered at a location I have never visited, called Ave Maria. From Google maps, it is a community on a small lake in southwest Florida on Route 858 only a few miles east of Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, which Jewel and I have visited often. This second bird was discovered the same day as the first one at the Stick Marsh. We are now in Pennsylvania, and I am still recovering from my January bout with Pulmonary Fibrosis and I’m pretty much confined to the house. Had we still been in Florida, recovering from illness notwithstanding, we undoubtedly would have gone chasing one or the other of these rare birds. So, you may wonder, where did I get these magnificent photos of the bird?

My very good friend, fellow birder (although at age 42 he is already well ahead of me on his life-list), dedicated helper in maintaining my Purple Martin colony, and best friend of the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, American Kestrel population, Devich Farbotnik took all these Tern photos. He has very graciously allowed me to use them for this column. I was able to select these few diagnostic shots from more than 350 photos he took of this rare bird.

I have known Devich his entire life. His father, Steve Farbotnik, was a very good birding friend before Devich was born and he started Devich birding as a very young child. These days, Devich chases rare birds all over the United States. He has recorded 845 species in the continental United States and has photographed 837 of them. In addition, he has documented 48 species of birds in Hawaii, including most of the really rare ones, and has only about 10 species left to find in that state.

 Here in Bucks County, he maintains 96 American Kestrel boxes, and bands all the baby Kestrels born in his boxes. His banded birds have been reported back from breeding sites far and wide from their birth locations. In a typical year he will provide housing for and band over 300 baby Kestrels throughout Bucks County. I might point out that Bucks County, northeast of and suburban to Philadelphia, is a large county, slightly larger than St Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties combined.

For me personally, he is an indispensable partner in maintaining my Purple Martin colony. Our grandson, Jonathan, who put up the gourd racks for me and now lives in the farmhouse where the gourd racks are located, working with Devich, get the gourds ready on their racks in early April before we have even returned from Florida. During the nesting season Devich helps with the nest checks we do every five days throughout the nesting season. I am counting on Jonathan and Devich to take over and maintain the colony after I am no longer able to be involved. We do have 144 gourds on six racks, so it is a big job.

On Saturday evening, June 3rd, Devich was here to do a nest check on the Purple Martins after spending the day checking his Kestrel boxes. He is a self-employed carpenter and in high demand because of his excellent work, but his weekends are devoted to birds. I asked him if he was going to Florida for the Tern. He said he was thinking about it. That night, shortly after 9 PM, I received a text from him stating that he had decided to go and was flying out of Philadelphia to Miami early the next morning. He drove from Miami to Ave Maria and fortunately found the Tern soon after arriving. After taking his pictures of the bird, he drove back to Miami, stopping briefly at several spots along the way to get more photos of other Florida species we don’t see here in Pennsylvania, such as Roseate Spoonbills. He then flew home to Pennsylvania well in time to get to his job site the next morning. Devich does these quick trips across America all the time to see rare and out of range birds. That is the reason he is one of the top birders in the United States.

The first photo of the Large-billed Tern at the top of the page shows the wing pattern which birding experts have described as the plumage of a first-year bird, born in the past year in South America. An older bird would have a completely black head and a completely yellow bill without the dark tip this bird has. Photo two shows the bird at rest with folded wings, yellow legs and the dark tail feathers. Photo three is included to show the underwing pattern with the light coloring, but dark wing edges. I have included photo four to illustrate the massive bill the bird has, which instantly distinguishes it from any tern species found natively in Florida.

Finally, the Large-billed Tern made a pass close to Devich providing the opportunity for this marvelous close-up flight shot (photo 5). I did take the last two photos, one of Devich banding the baby American Kestrels from a box he maintains for them on our property (photo 6), and one of him holding some of our very recently born Purple Martin babies from a nest check we did the mid-June day I wrote this column (photo 7).

Finding and documenting a rare bird is one of the major thrills of the sport of birding. Seeing the common everyday birds that frequent our bird feeders and yards is always a delight and trips to good birding locations are generally interesting and can even be thrilling. Think Vermilion Flycatcher at the Stick Marsh!

To put it in human relations terms, think about your old high school days when you were just discovering the opposite sex. So many of them just seemed to be very nice, pleasant, sometimes even joyful to see, meet and joke around with. Then, suddenly one day, there was this really rare one who just seemed to knock your socks off. Dazzling, exciting, fluttering butterflies in the stomach, rare bird, who just made the day stand out. Finding and photographing birds that are hard to find or don’t even belong where they show up can be like that high school experience. Exhilarating, and making all the effort and searching worthwhile! It’s one of the reasons we continue to search for birds and hope for that elusive experience again and again. And occasionally lady luck shines down upon us.

For more about Large-billed Terns, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large-billed_tern.

For an earlier Hart Beat column on Devich Farbotnik’s banding American Kestrels, see: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b9bd1b9697a984c75661b0f/t/5bb7c78e24a694e796d8b790/1538770836282/hb180501Banding.pdf.

For more on our Purple Martin colony, see: https://www.stlucieaudubon.org/hart-beat/2019/7/28/hart-beat-our-purple-martin-colony.

For the Vermilion Flycatcher at the Stick Marsh, see: https://www.stlucieaudubon.org/hart-beat-2023?offset=1680372180592

HART BEAT: TOUGH TO SWALLOW

White Ibis

Another benefit to being confined to our Florida condo sunroom while recovering after my hospitalization was the opportunity to observe bird activity as the different species went about their daily routines. When on a birding trip or simply traveling around looking for birds we seldom take the time to sit and watch how they go about their daily business. This point was driven home to me by watching for over 13 minutes as a White Ibis went from catching a frog to getting it down its gullet.

Unfortunately, I did not have my camera up and ready to record the White Ibis as it caught the frog, but I was able to document its progress as it moved from the edge of the pond (photo 1) and was being chased by another White Ibis that may have been intent on stealing the frog (photo 2). The Ibis then flew with its catch along the pond (photo 3) to a field well away from the rest of the flock of White Ibis in the area but still well within my field of view.

That wonderful long down-curved beak may be great for probing and digging for small organisms that constitute a major part of the Ibis’s diet, but it sure poses a problem for the Ibis when it comes to swallowing a frog. The Ibis is able to pick the frog up without any difficulty, but getting it lined up just right for swallowing is much more of a problem (photo 4). The first time the frog was lined up just right, its legs stuck out on both sides (photo 5) blocking the frog from going smoothly into the Ibis’s mouth.

On one of the several attempts the Ibis made to get the frog lined up just right, it even tried to bring the frog in from the side (photo 6, and at the top of the page). As you can imagine, that did not work. However, after six different attempts, during which the Ibis laid the frog down on the ground and started over from scratch each time, the Ibis finally got the frog lined up just right (photo 7) and was able to get it well into its mouth with legs sticking out (photo 8) and finally, down the hatch (photo 9).

As noted above, it took over 13 minutes from the time the White Ibis caught the frog until it was finally able to get it down the hatch. I have 166 photos of the entire process not including the catching of the frog, which I judiciously decided not to inflict upon you (not that our webmaster would have allowed me to).

But think about it: You and I sit at a table with knife and fork and neatly carve up our food for easy eating. Birds do not have it that easy. All they have are their bills to eat with. Some birds can hold food down with their feet while they peck away at it. Our Tufted Titmouse and White-breasted Nuthatches hold sunflower seeds with their feet as they hammer away at the seed hulls to get to the kernels inside, but then may swallow the kernel whole or break it into smaller pieces.

Can you imagine not being able to use your hands to eat. Can you also imagine having only your mouth to catch your meal and then eat your catch, swallowed whole, right down the gullet. I suppose if our ancestors had spent thousands of years developing the techniques and learning the necessary routines, we would undoubtedly have adapted the same way the birds have. On the other hand, it is nice to be able to go to a restaurant or at our own home dinner table and eat in a much more genteel manner than merely cramming food into your mouth. It would not be the same if we all had to plunge our faces right into our dishes to eat with nothing more than our mouths.

Makes one shudder to just think about it. Then again, I guess we all have observed some pretty gross eating habits at one time or another. Same process for birds and humans: get the food in the mouth and into the stomach.

HART BEAT: BACKYARD BIRDING, FLORIDA STYLE, PART 3

Snowy Egret

While I am still in recovery mode from my recent hospitalization and pretty much confined to our Florida sunroom and patio, the birds are continuing to cooperate and provide sufficient material for yet a third column right here in our condo backyard.

The Snowy Egret (top) has not been around quite as much as it had been earlier, but it did make this dramatic appearance dressed in the start of its breeding plumage finery. Note how the “golden slippers,” normally a bright yellow, have taken on a bright orange color and the lores and base of the beak are now also that same bright orange. That bright orange in the face will continue to change, eventually turning into a bright red color. (Page 124 of the Hart Beat book shows a photo of this ultimate breeding plumage of the Snowy Egret.)

Another heron just coming into breeding plumage is the Tri-colored Heron. In its basic, or year-round, plumage (photo 2 taken on February 3rd of this year), the Tri-colored has yellow legs, a dark back and a plain yellow bill. By March 28th of this same year, on the far side of the pond (sometimes they just don’t cooperate and come close for excellent photo opportunities) the Tri-colored has moulted into its breeding plumage (photo 3) featuring bright red legs, gold feathering on the back, beautiful cream-colored plumes on the back of the head, and a bright blue bill.

Similarly, the Little Blue Heron in basic plumage (photo 4, taken February 11 of this year) has greenish legs, a plain light blue bill with a black tip and a purplish neck. By April 12th,, as it heads across our lawn for our shrubbery bushes and has moulted into breeding plumage (photo 5), the legs have become a much deeper and richer green, plumes have developed on the back and from the top of the head, the neck has turned a darker purple and, most significantly the bill has turned into a bright blue, but still with the black tip.

To summarize, these three backyard birding columns have featured the following egrets and herons, and some of their relatives, in addition to those presented in this column: White Ibis, Cattle Egret, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Limpkin, Double-crested Cormorant and Sandhill Crane. We certainly have never seen anything like that in our Pennsylvania backyard.

Two more species of ducks have shown up as well. The flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (photo 6) shows up sporadically. We often see them flying over on their way to and from the Savannas County Park which is adjacent to our condo complex, and every now and then they stop over and give us a good view.

An unexpected visitor was this Muscovy Duck (photo 7) which is a feral introduced species often kept as a form of pet by some people. The Muscovy Duck in the wild is a Mexican coastal duck with a range that extends south as far as Peru and Argentina. In the United States it only appears occasionally in extreme south Texas along the Rio Grande River in the Brownsville area. Jewel and I spent several days searching for it years ago before we finally saw a couple and then only briefly. In the wild they do not have any of the red wart-like carbuncles although the male does have a knob at the base of a white bill and white in the wings. The domestic Muscovy Ducks we see here have varying amounts of white on various parts of the face and body. This individual has less than most although I do have photos from another St Lucie County location years ago with virtually no white on it at all.

These three backyard bird columns have now featured a Lesser Scaup, Mottled Duck, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, and Muscovy Duck, as well as Egyptian Geese. Not one of these birds will ever show up in our Pennsylvania backyard.

There are also several hawks that show up regularly in our Florida backyard. The Osprey (photo 8) shows up regularly at our lake and often is quite successful at catching its daily meal. In March, the Swallow-tailed Kites (photo 9) begin showing up and fly over our backyard and the general area, not fishing, but searching the trees in around the condo units for bugs and insects. While Osprey fish our Pennsylvania farm pond they never appear in our backyard there. And, of course, Swallow-tailed Kites only range as far north as coastal South Carolina. I also have a photo of a Red-shouldered Hawk perched on top of the light pole behind our condo unit that I have not used in this series of columns.

I also considered using photos of two more critters, a gecko and an anole with its red throat flap extended out, neither of which I have been able to identify, and of course, neither of which will ever be found in Pennsylvania. Finally, I also have a photo of a tree frog in the shrubbery that is quite different from our Pennsylvania tree frogs. All of these critters have shown up right in the shrubbery by our patio and probably account for the Little Blue Heron searching for them right outside our sunroom door. (Unfortunately, that too is a photo I have missed.) These critters are in addition to the iguanas and alligator that appeared in the earlier Florida backyard columns. Earlier columns also included Palm Warbler, Purple Martin, and Belted Kingfisher.

In total, that is 21 species of birds that have appeared in these three columns. In addition, there are also all the common birds in our Florida backyard such as the Northern Mockingbird, Fish Crows, Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, Gray Catbirds, that I have not pictured, not to mention the ubiquitous Black and Turkey Vultures that are constantly soaring overhead. All of the species in this last batch of birds also appear in our Pennsylvania backyard although we do have both Fish Crows and Common Crows up north. Fish Crows in Pennsylvania have become relatively recent regular residents as they continue to expand their range north. To see Common Crows here in Florida we would have to go inland for some distance to the farming country.

My recovery is coming along and physical therapy is making a difference. I am hoping to be able to get out in the field in the near future. But I must admit that this experience of concentrating on the activity right here under our noses has been an eye-opener. It is so easy to get into the “grass is always greener somewhere else” mode here in Florida with all the wonderful birding locations, but sometimes spending solitary time checking out the close to home sights can be equally rewarding. Perhaps an analogy can be drawn to the fellow who searches far and wide to find a wonderful wife only to find that the girl he grew up with next door turns out to be the perfect match. The lesson to be learned is to always be aware of our surroundings and pay close attention at all times. It is always interesting to discover the gems right under our noses. We should all stop and smell the roses!