Western Bluebirds — Fledged May 15

Along with the dramatic Western Tanagers in the yard this week, another drama has been playing out as four Western Bluebirds left the nesting box on May 15. There were five eggs on April 15. So the process of incubation to fledging the box took about one month.

Of the four that flew out, two were considerably smaller. And one was particularly small and not fully developed. The two smaller siblings hung around the yard and survived three hawk visits and getting trapped on our back patio. So they were lucky survivors. The two larger and more developed birds flew off to another yard nearby and have been dutifully fed by the adult parents.

It is now almost a week later and the small guys appear to be making it and are now today for the first time flying about the yard freely. But they are still mostly sleeping, well-hidden, in the trees.

Enjoy the photos. Really touching to observe them safely from inside the house and get these great photos. 

Click on photos to enlarge.

Western Tanager Female

I decided to create a separate post for the female Western Tanager since they do not receive the fanfare that the males do. 

I appreciate the subtle golden and pale olive-greenish tones of the female in relation to the male. I feel as though I could use the color palette of the female as a basis for an abstract painting. It is very sophisticated in my view.

In past years we have seen primarily a sole female in our Aldea yard. This year we still have only one female but with two males. Lucky her!

The Western Tanager is considered a relative to cardinals. The species was first recorded on the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803-1806.

Click on photos to enlarge.

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Western Tanager Male

May 2016 has been a bonus in terms of observing Western Tanagers in our Aldea backyard. Over the last two years we have not seen much of them at all, but this week a pair plus a stray male have been in the yard for most of every day. I think that the non-melting suet cylinder ( PB&J or Naturally Nuts both work) that Wild Birds Unlimited recommended I hang up in a tree and near water did the trick.

Also, sidebar, I was lucky enough to also guide a group of Aldea Birders for the EBird Global Big Day on May 14 to an area in downtown Santa Fe where we saw a dozen Western Tanagers. So they are around now and will probably leave very soon for more suitable breeding habitat north of New Mexico.

The males are now stunning in full-color breeding plumage. They are much paler in winter when they migrate south to Mexico and further into Costa Rica. The Western tanager breeds farther north than any other member of its mostly tropical family, breeding to nearly 60 degrees north in the Northwest Territories.

Although some Western Tanagers may nest in this part of New Mexico, they need very tall trees and we do not have many here in Aldea, so I am assuming the tanagers that are here now are just passing through to breeding grounds in the northwestern states and on up into Canadian mountain areas.

A group of tanagers is known as “season” of tanagers.

Click to enlarge photos.

Eurasian Collared-Dove

A frequent visitor to our Aldea backyard, the Eurasian Collared-Dove is a native of India and Sri Lanka and is also widespread in Europe. It was introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s, spread to Florida in the 1980s, and has increased its range across much of the U.S., into extreme southern Canada and northern Mexico, though it is largely absent from the northeastern U.S. It is thought that it may be displacing native doves. It is a year-round resident of all of New Mexico.

The Eurasian Collared-Dove is a medium-sized dove, pale gray overall with a darker cinnamon-brown wash over its back. Neck is ringed with a half-black collar that does not extend to its throat. Wings are mottled gray. Tail is long, broad and edged with white. Male and female are similar. They have a beautiful dark red eye in the right light.

Frequently seen in all parts of Aldea, this May we have had a pair visiting our yard in search of water almost daily. They eat mostly seeds but forage on the ground and will pick berries off bushes. They tend to breed in bushes and shrubs.

For me, they have this unsettling way of silently observing what is going on in the yard before they land near water. They are very easily spooked and then leave in a flurry of their unique whipping-wing sound that makes for an interesting addition to all of the bird sounds and calls in Aldea.

A group of doves is known as “bevy”,”cote”, “dole”, “dule”, or “flight” of doves.

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Orange-crowned Warbler

This beautiful small bird blended into the new lime-ish green spring foliage of the red dogwood bushes outside our Aldea kitchen window I almost missed it. When I first saw the movement I mistook it for a Bewick’s Wren scurrying about as they frequently forage in the same dogwoods.

But when I was able to look at it through the camera lens I was pleasantly surprised. There was this little gem of a warbler. I had never seen one and I was happy indeed to get some very quick photos.

It is very difficult to distinguish between the male and the female Orange-crowned Warbler, but I am going out on a limb and calling this one a male since it lacks a lot of gray that the females can have, especially about the head. Also, some of my more out-of-focus photos show a dark orange-ish crown (blurry, but I think it is there) that only the males have, but generally is hidden or they keep it hidden.

This small warbler has olive-green upperparts and faintly streaked yellow underparts. The head has a inconspicuous orange crown, broken eye-ring, and very faint eye line.

The Orange-crowned Warbler is in our part of New Mexico for the summer months and then migrates back down to Mexico for the winter. They also spend winter in the southern-most part of the U.S., just not in New Mexico for the most part.

A group of warblers is known as “bouquet”, "confusion”, “fall”, or “wrench” of warblers.

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Black-headed Grosbeak, Female

A summer visitor to New Mexico, the Black-headed Grosbeak has a very distinctive beak that it uses to forage and make short work of devouring berries, peanut kernels, insects and fruits. This finch is stocky in appearance with black-streaked, orange-brown back and black head, wings and tail. Breast is orange-brown and belly is yellow. Females and juveniles have the white-streaked eye brow details. I was able to identify the female in the photos below because of the white streaks and its dullness.

This female landed in a large juniper tree on May 1st in our Aldea backyard. The lone female, duller than the male, was very interested in the sunflower chips and nuts of one of the seed cylinders we have. I don’t think this bird was here longer than 15 minutes and probably was migrating on through. We have not seen one since May 1st.

It is interesting to note that there are many migratory birds passing through Aldea right now. We also had a Bullock’s or a Hooded Oriole, with its stunning black and orange plumage, zip through the front yard this morning, too fast for me to grab my camera, photograph, and then complete a definitive identification. Luckily, I was able to catch this female Black-headed Grosbeak as I had not seen one here in Aldea since moving here in 2014.

The Black-headed Grosbeak is one of the few birds that can safely eat the poisonous monarch butterfly. The summer range of the Black-headed Grosbeak extends across the entire western U.S. and on up into the very southern parts of Canada. The spend their winters in Mexico.

A group of grosbeaks is known as a “gross” of grosbeaks.

Click on photos to enlarge.