Double Dip

As the weather cools down from a scorching hot summer, I'm finally able to go out birding just a bit more, and a couple of weekends ago I went again on one of my favorite canyon jaunts. The area I visit has a bit of everything - a  lovely riparian scrub corridor, more mature trees set further back, small patches of grassland, and even a slow moving reservoir. As for birds, well, they weren't quite as varied, but I did see one of my favorites - the American dippers that are ubiquitous in that area, two of them. They love the more rushing parts of the Provo River, and often oblige me with great views. This time, I was thrilled to see the paler edging on their feathers, which indicates these are younger birds hatched just this summer. They've learned the ropes quite well and were foraging briskly, diving in and out of the splashing water to nip at bugs along the way.

These birds may be here year-round, but perhaps because of their dull gray plumage I always consider them more as autumn or winter birds. They are also more secretive in summer, but get much more visible this time of year. No matter whether it is the early flush of spring, the rage of summer heat, the retreat of autumn, or the dead of winter, however, these sweet dippers never fail to enliven a bird walk and make me smile.

Swallows of Summer

This summer has been brutally hot and wickedly dry, and I won't be sorry to bid the season farewell officially in just a few weeks - even now, on rare evenings, we get the briefest breath of cool to savor before the heat returns. Birders who look around, however, know that the signs of the season's end are all around us, every day. Over the weekend, I saw those signs myself. Not only was an annual Labor Day festival being set up at one of my favorite birding locations, but the birds were out in force - but not the same birds I saw this spring.

Oh, the species were the same, but the birds themselves are scruffier and more daring - they're teenagers. Nests are abandoned now (though I did see one late nesting pair), and instead,  families are gathering on wires and in favorite roosts, stretching their wings and building muscles for the long migration that is poised to begin. In fact, many of my favorite summer birds - the male rufous hummingbirds and the black-headed grosbeaks most noticeably - have already flown to warmer climes, and other species will soon be following. On this bird walk, it was the barn swallows that were getting restless, and the juvenile birds were most notable with their muddled plumage, indistinct markings, and shorter tails.

It seems hard to realize that while I wish them well on their journey now, in just a few months I'll be eagerly waiting their return, and these same scruffy teens will be sleek adults finding mates of their own. Birds are fabulous for marking the turning of the seasons, and even with their familiarity they always remind us of each season's renewal and change. Fly well, swallows, and return safely!

Learn all about migration!

Hummingbird Wars

Hummingbirds can be so very peaceful and beautiful, sipping sweetly at nectar, gently hovering near flowers, curiously glancing to and fro, and swiftly flying in graceful lines across the yard. If you watch the hummingbirds at my feeders for more than a minute or two, however, you'll learn just how deceptive all those behaviors can be. It's hummingbird war season.

Drinks are swiftly gulped either before another hummingbird chases the first away from the feeder, or to refuel after bullying every other hummingbird away. Hovering is a means of staking territory and denying other visitors access to those flowers. Curious glances are really suspicious glares, watching every inch of the yard looking for intruders. Swift flight, more often than not, is chasing away another bird that got just a feather too close.

I've been closely buzzed more than once even as I refill feeders or enjoy my deck, but I'm happy to have a sideline view of these battles. While I may need to take steps to curb hummingbird aggression so more birds can feed, it's still amazing behavior to observe. For now, the battle lines are drawn between the black-chinned hummingbirds and the rufous hummingbirds, with the rufous far more often on the attack. All too soon, both species will continue their migration and my deck will seem far more lonely in peacetime, but I'm already planning tactics for next year's wars - more flowers, more feeders, and more fun to observe.

Learn how to declare peace in your hummingbird wars!

Blooming Babies

It's the time of year again when baby quail are running about, and I'm thrilled to have a family of California quail that regularly visits the yard. We saw the chicks when they may only have been hatched for a few hours, but it's as they get just a little older that their cuteness really comes out. They explore the entire yard, foraging in bushes and checking out the neighbors' flowers and plants. Of course, many of the blooms at this time of summer can be bigger than the birds!

The family has been back a few times and continues to visit my various feeding areas in search of seed. There are five chicks this year, tended by four parents - presumably the mated pair, plus a pair of surrogate uncles. All the adults diligently watch the chicks, and one of the males is inevitably standing guard as the rest of the flock forages. As yet, the chicks are a bit too small to come up on the deck for the bounty of platform feeders, but they are happy to forage under the deck (there's plenty of space) for spilled seed, and they've discovered where I put seed in the bushes as well.

It's always wonderful to have these chicks explore the yard, and I look forward to a future filled with quail!

Learn what to do if you find a baby bird!

Swing Low, Sweet Hummingbird

Part of my job as the About.com Guide to Birding / Wild Birds is to review products such as field guides, bird feeders and unique backyard birding items, and a few weeks ago I reviewed one of the most unique I've seen yet - the Copper Hummingbird Swing from Songbird Essentials. It is deceptively simple but quite attractive, and after I'd finished examining it I put it out on our deck adjacent to the trio of hummingbird feeders I have in use this summer. For a while it swung empty, but soon the birds discovered how useful it could be, and since then it's been a regular perch. It is especially popular with the territorial rufous hummingbird that insists on guarding "his" feeders, and each day I get spectacular views as he perches, swings, preens, and chitters at all the feathered passersby.

I'll admit, at first I thought the swing might be no better than a gimmick, but I've been proven wrong dozens of times now and I love the unbeatable views I have gotten of the several hummingbirds that have used the swing. While the rufous is dominant in the backyard, the black-chinned hummingbirds have also taken a swing or two, and more than one has peered curiously up at the glass bead that adorns the swing as they settle on the perch. If you want great views of hummingbirds, get into the swing of things!

Get your own Copper Hummingbird Swing!

The Awesome Osprey

In Florida last month, I was astonished to find a familiar Utah bird in awesome numbers - the osprey. We have them in Utah; in fact, I once spotted an osprey hunting along the river a mile from our old house, and a pair used to nest on nearby Utah Lake, but they're not so common here. In Utah, ospreys are only summer guests, and fairly uncommon to sight regularly, but in Florida they're year-round residents and much more thickly populated within that range.

We were along the central coast of Florida, and as we traversed the Indian River on one causeway after another, it seemed there was an osprey perched at regular intervals along the electric poles, or else on the bordering rocks or soaring over the river looking for its next meal. At the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, there was a family of ospreys near the visitor center (including one very insistent youth badgering its parents for more food), and we saw several along one of the refuge's auto tour loops, including one perched no more than 30 feet away that seemed perfectly content to pose for photos. On another sighting, we saw an osprey with its prey at the top of a pole, patiently squeezing the fish it had caught (the fish was not happy with it quite yet).

These are lovely, powerful birds of prey, equipped with long wings and vicious talons. They are piscivorous (eating almost exclusively fish), and are excellent fishers. I'm thrilled that even far from my own backyard, I got the chance to study and delight in a bird from home!

Learn more about the awesome osprey!

Return to Jamaica

On our recent summer travels, one stop took us back to Jamaica - a lovely Caribbean island with a flair for birding with more than two dozen endemic species. While I was privileged to see many of those endemics on a press trip several years ago, it's always worth returning to such a unique location for another look.

Our visit this time was to Ocho Rios, where we took in the sights at Mystic Mountain. I was thrilled to discover, after the lengthy chairlift ride to the top, that Mystic Mountain is also home to a cozy hummingbird garden that is well planted with nectar-rich flowers, supplemented with suitable feeders. During this visit, there were several red-billed streamertails buzzing about (albeit without their namesake streamers, as mid-July is well after the breeding season), but more impressive were the Jamaican mangos. These large, endemic hummingbirds may at first look simple dark and dull, but in the proper light their plumage is riot of subtle color and iridescence. Even on the press trip with the help of experienced guides, I wasn't able to get such wonderful looks at these hummingbirds. In the hour or two we were atop the mountain, I strolled through the hummingbird habitat a half dozen times or more and still didn't get my fill, though they were there with each pass. It's a shame that any visit has to end.

Just seeing a life bird once may be enough to include it on a list, but we can never forget that a quick glimpse is far from really looking at the bird, and there is always more beauty to discover.

Learn more about birding in Jamaica!

Old Habitat, New Lifers

For the first time since Utah became my backyard in 2005, I went back to my old habitat, or close thereof, in Florida. I wasn't a strong birder while living in Florida, and I cringe to think of the birds I missed the easy opportunity to see when a trip to a tropical refuge would be a quick drive away rather than involve crossing two time zones and multiple airports.

This trip wasn't a birding focus - just a family summer vacation - but of course I squeezed a little birding into the mix. My most memorable moments...

• An osprey on every pole along the central coast; gorgeous birds of prey that I can see in Utah, but never with such amazing frequency.
• A black skimmer skimming mere feet away as we walked along Cocoa Beach; too fast for a photograph, but the image will never be forgotten.
• Enjoying the interest my husband showed in my passionate hobby; he's the one person in the world I love to share it with most of all.
• Three new lifers: red-bellied woodpecker, glossy ibis, and wood stork, with great views of each, though photos only of the stork.

 For just a few hours of birding, it was a wonderful few hours and an amazing birding experience. There are so many birds everywhere, no matter where you travel, it can be your backyard for a few hours!

Learn more about bird watching on vacation!