Foam Lake Birding No. 77

FOAM LAKE BIRDING
No. 77
March has arrived and, hopefully, with it spring. Down here that means summer-like weather, which will be a welcome change from the generally cold wet winter that we have been having. The locals claim that this is/was the worst winter ever, at least weather wise. I have no reason to doubt this. Anyway, weather forecasters are predicting warm and usually sunny days for the foreseeable future. I hope they are right as the trees are starting to leaf out and the flowering plants are starting to bloom. All we need is spring.
This week I want to cover a confiding little bird that, down here, replaces the Black Capped Chickadee back home – the Black Crested Titmouse. Older bird books list three species of titmice in North America, however, two of the species have been split and now we have five. Now that is inflation. The five species are: the Oak Titmouse of California, the Juniper Titmouse of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, (these two were formerly combined as Plain Titmouse); the Bridled Titmouse of southern Arizona; the Tufted Titmouse of the eastern half of North America including Southern Ontario, the Black Crested Titmouse of south and central Texas, (these three were formerly combined as Tufted Titmouse). (For a more detailed discussion of titmice see article No. 23). To date I have seen only two of them – the Bridled and the Black Crested.
As previously mentioned, the Black Crested Titmouse is the “chickadee” of southern Texas. It behaves like a chickadee because it belongs to the same family even making a kind of “chick-a-dee” sound. We have put out feeders in our yard and the Black Crested Titmice frequent them daily providing us with a really good look. It kind of reminds us of home.
Behavior-wise, the sparrow sized Black Crested Titmouse is much like a chickadee but, physically, there are marked differences. Rather than being plump, big headed and fluffy looking like a chickadee, the titmouse is long tailed and slender. The body is a light whitish grey overall with darker grey wings and tail which gives the bird a very nondescript appearance that, at first glance, makes it easy to overlook. Upon closer examination several distinct features stand out that do not require the use of binoculars to discern them. The most noticeable physical characteristic is the black crest and forehead. Add to that a sharp black little beak and large beady black eyes and the bird cannot be confused with anything else. Unlike a chickadee, it constantly makes a sharp little squeak when foraging that sounds much like that of a mouse. Maybe that is where it gets its name of titmouse?
Taking pictures of any member of the titmouse family is difficult, to say the least, as they are constantly flitting about in search of food. However, with patience and a little good luck I did get several good shots out of what must be “gazillions”. Thank heavens for digital cameras. This week’s photo shows off the prominent features of the Black Crested Titmouse – the black crest and forehead, sharp black beak and big beady black eye.

Foam Lake Birding No. 42

FOAM LAKE BIRDING
No. 42
My intention was to write about parrots, but I am home as of this writing and felt compelled to write about something else. The parrots will have to wait until next year. Instead, I am going to write about sightings of very rare birds – confirmed sightings that never should have happened. I will be dealing with three birds that never should have been where they were observed. This week’s article will have two photos – the Bridled Titmouse and the Black Throated Magpie Jay. I do not have a picture of the Painted Bunting.
The Black Throated Magpie Jay is a non-migratory resident of southwestern Mexico. It never comes near the US border. Yet, here it was in southern Texas about 1500km out of its range and on the wrong side of the continent. How did it get there? Birders are unanimous in believing that the jay was a caged bird that escaped or was released. Not only is this jay non-migratory, but it is a social bird that lives in family groups. There is no chance that a solitary jay would make a long flight like that.
The Magpie Jay is a handsome bird that really does closely resemble our Magpie in size and shape – hence the name. The jay is considerably larger with an overall length well beyond two feet; our Magpie’s overall length is well below two feet. However, in observing this jay, I could not make this distinction. When perched, the jay has a noticeable crest; the Magpie does not. In flight, a Magpie’s tail feathers move with the body. There is no noticeable tail movement. On the other hand, the jay’s tail feathers are quite flexible and flutter as the bird flies – much like holding a streamer outside a moving car window.
The next two birds, whose ranges are limited to the southern US, have recently been observed in Saskatchewan.
A few years ago, the sighting of a Painted Bunting (the first in Canada) made the local TV news. I remember a radio interview with a woman from Kelvington who had seen the bunting. As I recall, she did not report it at first for fear of ridicule, however, after hearing of sightings further south, she decided to report hers.
The sparrow sized Painted Bunting is considered to be North America’s most gaudily coloured bird complete with red, blue, green and yellow. Other people consider it North America’s most beautiful bird. I have never seen one, so I do not have an opinion on that topic. For a more detailed description, check with your (or anybody else’s) bird book. It is only moderately migratory with its northern limits in southern Kansas.
Similarly, the Bridled Titmouse caused quite a stir in the birding community when it was observed in Moose Mountain Provincial Park near Kenosee. This little, non-migratory “crested chickadee” is a resident of southern Arizona and New Mexico only. It is a grayish bird with a whitish face and striking black facial patterns that look like a bridle – hence its name. However, it was about 3000km out of its range! One birder who reported the event stated, “It had a lot of help getting here”. The same could probably be said of the Painted Bunting.
Unfortunately, we can never be sure of why or how the birds got here, unless the culprits own up to it – which is highly unlikely. Even though these very real sightings do not count as official sightings, it is still nice to see a strange bird in somewhat of a natural habitat behaving naturally, rather than in a cage.