Whimbrel and Long-billed Curlew Comparison – Cibola NWR, AZ
written by Alex Lamoreaux
Today, after Anna and I finished tracking some cuckoos at Cibola NWR, we swung past a flooded field bordering the Cornfield Nature Trail area, and there was a large mixed group of White-faced Ibis, Cattle Egrets, Greater Yellowlegs, Great Egrets and Long-billed Curlew foraging there. Upon closer inspection, we also picked out a nice 'Western' Willet and, even better, a beautiful 'Western' Whimbrel!
On July 23rd, Anna and I heard and, briefly, saw a Whimbrel fly over us near the Cornfield Nature Trail at Cibola NWR, along the Lower Colorado River, here in Arizona. Whimbrel are one of my favorite shorebirds, so I was happy to get the species as a state bird, but was a little disappointed at how poor a look we got and that, basically, it was a state 'heard bird' only. Luckily, today we were offered fantastic views of the bird as it foraged alongside Long-billed Curlew. The Whimbrel we saw today appeared to be a female of the western subspecies (Numenius phaeopus 'rufiventris' ) based on coloration and size (this bird was the same size as the nearby male Long-billed Curlew). However, the 'rufiventris' subspecies has not been officially recognized as it's own subspecies currently, and is still considered part of the North American subspecies N. p. 'hudsonicus'.
I have always wanted to be able to photograph Whimbrel and Long-billed Curlew side-by-side, so even though these birds were a little distant, I was very happy! Plus the lighting wasn't too harsh yet, as it was still early in the morning. In these photos, note the striking markings on the Whimbrel's face and crown, compared to the unmarked face of the curlew. Also note that the Whimbrel is a darker, grayish-brown color whereas curlew are more of a lighter, buffy-cinnamon coloration. The Whimbrel also has more heavily-marked underparts compared to the curlew. The Whimbrel's bill is just slightly shorter than a male curlew's, and it is only about half the length of a female curlews. The Whimbrel's bill is mostly black in color, whereas curlew have pinkish bills with black color farther out the length of the bill.
Female 'Western' Whimbrel (left) and male Long-billed Curlew (right) - Cibola NWR
Female 'Western' Whimbrel - Cibola NWR
Female 'Western' Whimbrel - Cibola NWR
Female 'Western' Whimbrel (background) and male Long-billed Curlew (foreground) - Cibola NWR
Female 'Western' Whimbrel (second from left) with two male Long-billed Curlews - Cibola NWR
Bobcat Encounter
written by Alex Lamoreaux
This morning, around 4:50am, I was sitting on the edge of one of our cuckoo sites, waiting patiently for the sun to rise and hoping a cuckoo pair might conduct a vocal exchange. These vocal exchanges occur when one of the mated pair of cuckoos flies in and takes over incubation for the day. Typically, the male sits on the eggs at night and the female sits on them during the day. Hearing these vocal exchanges can help us determine where a nest may be located.
As I sat and listened this morning, I was fortunate enough to hear a vocal exchange. It came from the area that one of our tagged birds hangs out, so I hope it is his nest. A few minutes after the vocal exchange, I noticed two animals walking out of the trees about 100 meters away. I got them in binos and realized they were two adult Bobcats and they were walking right towards me!
The larger of the two turned and began walking towards me, but a few rows in to the trees, while the other, smaller, Bobcat continued to walk right towards me. The smaller Bobcat (pictured below) walked right up, until he was even with me and about 20 feet away and sat down and began licking his leg. The other Bobcat circled around me and then stood in the trees, watching me. The smaller one then got up and circled me also, then continued walking, until it was out of view behind some stacks of hay. The larger cat disappeared into the trees.
Bobcat - cell phone photo of when the cat walked up to me
A few days ago I saw an adult Bobcat with two kittens, those were my second, third, and fourth Bobcats ever, making today's the fifth and sixth! It was such an amazing experience to just be sitting quietly as two wild cats circled around me, checking me out, and then continued on their way (probably out to get food for their young).
Mid-summer Red-breasted Merganser
written by Drew Weber
Here is an oddball. This female Red-breasted Merganser was floating around one of the boat launches at Bald Eagle State Park. Unlike Common and Hooded Mergansers which breed in Pennsylvania, Red-breasted Mergansers do not breed in our area and are not expected in the summer. Checking eBird only shows one other July record, a bird on the Susquehanna in Lancaster County. The light was bad so the photos I got were terrible but when I went back later in better light to try again, the bird was nowhere to be seem. It will be interesting to see if it sticks around. There are some other interesting waterfowl that are in Centre County currently; a Common Loon at Bald Eagle, and Ring-necked Duck, Northern Shoveler and American Coot at the Duck Pond.
female Red-breasted Merganser
More Desert Shorebirding!
written by Alex Lamoreaux
This morning, Anna and I went to one of our cuckoo sites near Blythe that hadn't been visited in a few weeks to see if there was any cuckoo activity there. We arrived at 5:00am and stayed for an hour and forty-five minutes, without hearing anything, so we left to go to Cibola NWR. Here Anna and I were planning on finding a few cuckoos that Anna had first discovered on a survey last week, specifically this one bird that we had captured and banded. We were easily able to lure in 4 different cuckoos using call-playback, and none of them were banded. We assumed, based on calls and behavior, that the four birds were 2 males and 2 females. Where could that banded bird have gone? We searched around other areas of Cibola NWR, and couldn't even find another cuckoo, let alone a banded cuckoo. Around the 'Cornfield Nature Trail' area we had a flyover group of 3 Greater Yellowlegs and 3 Wilson's Phalaropes. There were also a few other yellowlegs foraging in a flooded field near there. A little later, Anna said she had just heard a Whimbrel call. I doubted it and said it was probably a Killdeer or distant yellowlegs, but I should have believed her, because a few minutes later, while we were walking back to the car, a lone Whimbrel flew over us, calling! This was a new Arizona species for us!
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - this sneaky cuckoo wants to be captured....
Indigo Bunting - male at Cibola NWR
Greater Yellowlegs at Cibola NWR
After work, Anna and I swung past Hart Mine Marsh. At the south end of the lake we spotted a lone Snowy Plover near some Black-necked Stilts. This was another new state bird for us! A few minutes later, things got better when we found 4 more Snowy Plovers as well as some Western and Least Sandpipers. I also was able to spot two Forster's Terns loafing out on some pieces of wood sticking up out of the lake. One was an adult, the other was a juvenile.
Snowy Plover - adult at Hart Mine Marsh
Snowy Plover and Semipalmated Plover at Hart Mine Marsh
Forster's Tern - juvenile at Hart Mine Marsh
Great Egret at Hart Mine Marsh
On a small mud flat out in the lake, I was able to get distant looks at 2 more Snowy Plovers as well as my first Semipalmated Plover in Arizona! Other highlights from Hart Mine were 2 Least Bitterns, 3 Common Moorhens, and 1 Spotted Sandpiper. The Brown Pelican and Little Blue Heron that we had a few days ago here were to where to be seen.
On the way back to Blythe, I scanned the telephone poles for raptors, while Anna drove. At a spot we often see Peregrine Falcons, we were not let down. As we drove nearer, even without binoculars, I could see the distinct silhouette of a Peregrine. We pulled up so I could get some photos and Anna and I both realized this was the exact some individual falcon that we had seen on 7/16/11; a heavily-molting subadult, that was likely a female based on size. The bird flew over to the next pole, allowing me to get some in-flight shots that show the blend of adult and juvenile feathers well. Here is a link to more, up-close, photos of this bird from 7/16/11. This other link is to a post I wrote recently on how to age Peregrine Falcons in the field.
Peregrine Falcon - subadult; Note blend of juvenile and adult feathers
Peregrine Falcon - subadult; Note blend of juvenile and adult feathers
Peregrine Falcon - subadult; Note blend of juvenile and adult feathers
Overall, it was a very good morning of birding. Hopefully we can go back to Cibola NWR soon to capture and band the 4 cuckoos we found today!
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