View allAll Photos Tagged FallMigration
It's been a couple of weeks since I last spotted a ruby-throated hummingbird in the garden this fall. (sigh)... it was fun while it lasted, over these past 6 months...
Maybe its COVID and reduced human activity, bit it seems the fall migration this year was heavier than yers past. And, its not because of work from home- I have been full time now for awhile...
Only about one out of 10 fall Ceruleans that I see is an adult male which suggests that they may follow a different migration strategy through my area which probably means being less apt to stop over. The fall plumage is much the same as in the spring but the necklace is somewhat veiled, and there is a wisp or more of a supercillium (white stripe above and behind the eye). This bird also appears to have some olive tones which begs the question whether it could be a second fall male?
There is little difference between the spring and fall plumages of the adults of this species. It can be difficult to age and sex this species and it can be safely done in fall only at the extremes of plumage. The dullest plumage is the first fall female and the individual at the bottom is a good representative of that. Notice the olive and yellow and how low contrasty the bird is. There is some slight contrast between the extreme forehead near the beak along with the area just above the eye compared to the more olive crown and back. There is no bright yellow anywhere. The eye line is not as black and the wing bars are much thinner. The beak of all fall birds of this species is lighter in the fall but the first fall female beak is a pinkish brown.
The bird on top is probably a fall adult male. There is lots of contrast between the olive and yellow areas including the forecrown area. The wing bars are thicker and the eye line is unquestionably black. First fall males and adult females are intermediate in plumage between these two and some of those may at their extremes closely resemble the bird on top.
That's what I used to call them ALL when I first started birding. Chemobrain and they all looked so much alike, differences with sexes, weather seasons, all kinds of reasons. I do hope and think this is a Prairie Warbler.
I had a great fall migration for this species. This is a composite of these two rarely photographed plumages. The first fall male is top left and he was one of three of that plumage I had this fall migration. Notice how low contrasty the first fall female is and how much lemon yellow she has below and in her face. She also has an apparent molt limit in the coverts. Fall adult females as a whole lose a lot of their blue tones by the time they are migrating south. I posted a more contrasty fall adult female from this fall migration some weeks ago. Many fall adult females are not so contrasty as her. As a consequence it can often be challenging to age fall females of this species. Notice the lemon yellow in the first fall male but not nearly as much as in this female. The only Cerulean plumage to never have any lemon yellow below is the mature adult male. I had the good fortune this past Spring to photograph with a client a first spring male who still had some lemon yellow below.
The first fall male plumage can have quite a bit of variability depending on how advanced the individual is in the maturation of his physical appearance. The less advanced he is the more he looks like a contrasty fall adult female. I have constructed a couple composites illustrating that variability and how it also compares to the fall adult male. I hope to share that some time in the next year or so in a published format.
This is a first fall female meaning she was born this spring and this is her first migration. How can one tell? She has the white eyebrow and the lower white eye arc both characteristic of females BUT she is lacking the white handkerchief. Taken this fall in Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, GA.
Went for photography yesterday afternoon and ended up finding this little Buff breasted Sandpiper. Fall migration seems to have started earlier than usual this year. #Sandpiper #Buffbreastedsandpiper #fallmigration #shorebirds #birds #Avian #wildlife #Nikon #Nikkor
This is a first fall female Hooded warbler, as there is no signs of any black hood even in the cap area. The prominent dark eye, the dark lores (area in front of the eye), and the white undertail help separate this plumage from similar plumages of other 'yellow' warblers. This was a lucky in flight catch.
Johnson Ferry South. Atlanta area.
Little gulls breed on freshwater lakes in Easter and Northeastern Europe and they winter at the Baltic and Northern Sea, Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea costs. There is also a breeding population in the eastern part of North America, around the Hudson Bay and the Great Lakes. These birds are much less often found inland during late fall and winter. This first-year juvenile (most easily identified by the black tip of the tail) made an appearance close to my home town in the southern part of eastern Germany. It was not very shy and clearly enjoyed hunting small fish on an abandoned fish pond, which is nowadays home to a large variety of waterbirds. Interestingly these birds do not only separate breeding and wintering regions, they also prefer different food during different times of the year. Breeding birds mostly hunt insects close to the water surface whereas they hunt small fish and invertebrates in the water during the remainder of the year.
A composite of the magnolia going after a gnat, Magrish, Oct 3. Again, only possible with the focus tracking of the D6. it went soft on the apex of the flight but regained focus on the descent. ISO6400, 1/3200. f5.6. shooting into the canopy
Hooded Warbler, seen at Markham Park. Found by Steven Kaplan. Thanks for call Steven!
Thanks for viewing and for any favs or comments!
Come sunrise and they are off to feed in the fields before continuing their long migration to the Gulf States. Hundreds of them roosting overnight here in Madison, WI area.
Because cranes have higher temperatures and smaller bodies than humans, they lose body heat more readily. During colder weather like at the time of this photo, they sometimes lay down on the ground to preserve their body temperature when resting.
Kennesaw Mountain. 7/26/2017.
Hard to believe but in the later half of July this species is already beginning it's southward migration to it's usual destinations in South America. This location is probably the best one in the country to catch a glimpse of this species in all it's plumages during 'fall' migration. For those of us who collect warbler plumages this first fall female is hard to come by. Fall shots of warblers are the most challenging small bird photography I do all year, as the composition is much more difficult to control, and the opportunities are generally split second, often with no second chances.
Notice how long the primary extension of the wing is in this long distance flier. Also note how short the tail extension is beyond the undertail coverts. This plumage is the only Cerulean plumage devoid of any blue, but some first fall females can have touches of blue in wing, and dorsal tail area, making them more difficult to separate from fall adult females. First fall females also generally have a rich lemon yellow wash below, which is found in lesser degrees in all the other Cerulean fall plumages, except the adult male which has no yellow. This species does not breed at this location.
Lovely fall dragonflies, with fewer black markings on their abdomen and lighter coloured legs. They are a constant companion in the fall migration period.
Bar-tailed godwits display a slight sexual dimorphism in that females have longer beaks than male godwits. This also leads to a specialization in feeding behavior as documented in scientific literature: female birds often look for Polychaetes in water covered parts of the shore, while males apparently prefer small muscles that are less deeply burried. In this picture we probably see a female bar-tailed godwit with a polychaete spaghetti. Picture taken during autumn migration at a Baltic Sea shore.
Bei Pfuhlschnepfen gibt es einen leichten sexuellen Dimorphismus - Weibchen und Männchen unterscheiden sich in der Schnabellänge. Das führt vermutlich auch zu einer Spezialisierung bei der Nahrungsaufnahme: Weibchen suchen auch im tieferen Wasser Borstenwürmer, an die die Männchen mit ihrem leicht kürzeren Schnabel nicht herankommen. Männchen bevorzugen zumindest teilweise kleine Muscheln im Flachwasser oder Schlamm. Hier seht ihr also eine wahrscheinlich weibliche Pfuhlschnepfe mit einer Borstenwurmspaghetti. Aufgenommen am Ostseestrand auf dem herbstlichen Durchzug.
Note the plumage similarities with my previous post of a fall female Cerulean--the supercilium (wide pale stripe above the eye), the prominent auricular (cheek patch) patch, the wing bars, and the lighter color below. These plumages can be confused in the field especially with so so views and lighting. The dorsal (back) streaking will never be present in the female Cerulean but back views of these canopy species are not often seen well. I've read about how the auricular patch is "rounded off" in the Blackburnian as opposed to Cerulean but as can be seen above I've found that NOT to be the case in many instances in female Blackburnians. The tail is longer in the Blackburnian with a very short extension of the tail beyond the under tail coverts in the Cerulean. The female Cerulean has more olive tones and the Blackburnian has more brownish tones but with certain lighting this can be difficult to appreciate. Most Ceruleans have migrated to the South by early September whereas Blackburnians can be be found early and late in migration. Much care must be taken in the identification of female type Ceruleans as many if not most of these especially late in the season will be Blackburnians.
Georgia Mountains.
It was a good fall for me for eastern vireos. Each fall has its own flavors in regards to migrants I encounter despite similar strategies. I've mentioned before that fall techniques are very different than Spring. They are easier to learn in some ways. In fall you are much less certain where your bird might land and encounters are much briefer in general and you are targeting migrants rather than a specific bird species at any given time. Sometimes when you see a species in the fall that is responding to your more general efforts you can utilize species specific calls that might bring that bird in for a closer and longer look. In Spring it is often possible to perch a bird on your chosen perch and get him singing too! How to to do that consistently in Spring across various species requires a lot of know how. This winter I plan to share a blog on my website on strategies I use to photograph fall migrants.
New image set starting today: Birds, Birds, Birds! My area isn't great for shorebirds, as habitat is very limited. But one August day, driving home along a secondary road, I spotted lots of activity at the shallow end of a pond.
Although there were several species of small sandpipers, the star attraction was a large flock of Lesser Yellowlegs. It seems that one of them, seen here with legs and wings fully extended, had aspirations to "greater" status, but I'm sure it was a simple "lesser" like all the others.
I think I was on my knees for this shot. Shortly after this shot, I adopted the familiar slither, and returned home wet and muddy. Well, that's nothing unusual. I'd do it again for photo ops this good, but alas, I haven't seen any activity here this year.
Tomorrow: more yellowlegs from the slither position.
Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Today's shipment from the north included a large flock of warblers, with many magnolias. This one located a bug, grabbed it, and return to the porch. D6 tracked it...
A very rusty-coloured female Rusty Blackbird ventures closer for great looks at her non-breeding plumage.