Black-Crowned Night Heron

The mysterious Black-Crowned Night Heron is an unusual looking creature that is rare to come across.

I know it doesn't-- but it occurs to me:  Does this bird have a little penguin in it???

A Black-Crowned Night Heron party in a tree at Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery.

To me the adults have two distinctive characteristics:  those blazing red eyes and the long black strip along its head and back, hence the black-crowned moniker. Below: In flight- the Black-Crowned Night Heron

The Black-Crowned Night Heron is considered medium-sized (23-28 inches long), stocky, short necked.

Notice the white plumes on the above left heron.  The male and female aduts are considered identical as far as appearance from a distance.

This bird does its feeding at night, thus the "night" part of its name.  During the day, they can be seen and seem active only when flying away from me and my camera!

Another interesting thing about the Black-Crowned Night Heron is how the young ones or juveniles look so much differently than their parents.  They do share the red eyes (above). They go through some major transformation to eventually take on the black and white look of the adult. 

The juvenile (below) resembles the American Bittern.  But the different eye color helps differentiate the two. 

I've followed this family of Black-Crowned Night Herons for a few months now at Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery.  They have been enjoyable to observe and challenging to photograph.  They do readily mix with other species such as the White Ibis below, and with a Brown Pelican in the photo after that.

Photo (below) an adult Night Heron shares a pond tree with several Ibis, including some jueveniles of that breed

Black-Crowned Night Herons- for more about this cool customer, see WhatBird.com

Northern Neck, Virginia Birds and Sights

My family and I had a fun, busy and (for me) interesting visit with family in Virginia during the holidays. We spent time in the state's Northern Neck region and the Richmond area.

It was worth getting up early and going outside in freezing weather one morning to photograph the beautiful sunrise my parents enjoy from their home on the Chesapeake Bay.

It was very cold outside but seeing this warmed me from head to toe.

Lots of the white stuff on the ground in Virginia from the Christmas snowfall.

What a glorious site!

Later in the day: the sun's brilliance amid a clear sky.

My birding highlight had to be the fierce-looking Cedar Waxwing spotted in my parents' neighborhood.

I read that the Cedar Waxwing is a highly social bird that when lined up in a row on a branch is known to pass berries to each other from one end to the other.  Note the yellow on the tail feathers (two above pix) and the different colored tail feathers below.

I also spotted some Waxwing's with orange/red tail feathers.  From what I read on this website, the colors are influenced by the types of berries eaten by Waxwings. 

The Cedar Waxwing is known for getting "drunk" from its prolific berry eating.  Years ago, I recall this bird flying into my downtown Charleston office window and a colleague explaining this unsual habit.

The Eastern Bluebird was another bird spotted during walks around my folks' neighborhood.

It was a treat seeing these Bluebirds.  Just don't find them around my South Carolina neighborhood as much these days.

The Bluebirds don't seem to mind the snow.

Really enjoyed seeing some Eastern Bluebirds!

Photographed this Northern Cardinal from inside my car.  It really stood out from a distance.  I was happy to get a Cardinal near my folks' house after they gave us really neat Cardinal salt and pepper shakers for Christmas.  Thanks Mom and Dad! 

A Canada Goose pair on the move.

We kept seeing this Red-shouldered Hawk on power lines along a Northern Neck highway. 

If you're wondering, as I did, how birds can perch on power lines and not get fried-- well, there are conductivity issues.  If you want to investigate further, see this site.
On to Richmond...

After visiting her mother at Richmond's historic Hollywood Cemetery Alesia and I walked around the vast grounds and spotted American Robins all over the place.
 
Between the berries in the trees and the worms in the ground, the Robins found lots to eat here.

I found the white circles around the Robins' eyes particularly interesting.

This Robin didn't care for being photographed! Giving me the "evil eye"!

Along with the family visits and bird sightings, I also enjoyed the Civil War experiences of this holiday trip.  At Hollywood Cemetery, I'm next to the gravesite of legendary Confederate Gen. Jeb Stuart. 

Cold Harbor was a bloody 1864 Grant-Lee battle near Richmond.  There's a Harwood from New York who died from wounds suffered in this battle.  He and hundreds of other Union soldiers are buried at the Cold Harbor Natioinal Cemetery.

Finally, Alesia and I visited another of the many preserved Civil War sites in the Richmond area.  This one is Drewry's Bluff (called Fort Darling by the Yankees).  This was a Confederate defensive position on the James River south of Richmond near Chester.  In 1862 the troops and cannons here turned back a Northern naval assault on the Southern capital.  You can see the strength of this postion in the shot below.

This fellow fishing on the James River had the right idea about how to spend a pleasant and peaceful New Year's Eve!

My first blog posting of the new year-- the longest to date.  Much more to come in 2011.

Winter Backyard Birds

Pine Warblers have been among the winter visitors to my backyard feeders.  Many thanks to Tammy Sanders of Charlotte who gently corrected my earlier misidentification of this bird as an American Goldfinch.  Two Chipping Sparrows are in the background.

The Pine Warbler is a new bird to me. According to some reference material, it is in South Carolina year-round but I can't recall seeing it in my backyard until this winter. 

The White-breasted Nuthatch is another new discovery this winter in my backyard. This bird really likes to go upside-down!

I hadn't seen this bird before. At first, I thought it was the Carolina Chickadee. But the Nuthatch is much larger and is striking and stylish in its black and grey coloring.

The Nuthatch just about drove me nuts trying to photograph. They are quite flitty, never staying put but for a few seconds. But I got a few decent photos.

A third newcomer to my yard also took some bird book and online investigation.  Meet the Dark-eyed Junco.  This snowbird, also called the Northern Junco, spends the rest of the year up North, as far away as Canada.

The Junco's white/pink beak caught my attention first, then its clearly separated dark top half of its body and its white bottom half. This bird likes to graze for food on the ground, and didn't fly up to my feeders.

Northern Mockingbirds are common in my area but not in my backyard.  But recently they've been regulars at my feeders.  I've never really seen this bird up close.  Doing so reveals its cool eye pattern, the dark straight line through its eye reminds me of war paint.  This probably works for the aggressive, fiesty Mockingbird when it attacks larger birds, as it's known to do.

At my feeders, the Mockingbird is a perfect "gentleman." It shows no aggression toward the other bird breeds.  Maybe because they are usually much smaller? 

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are year-round in my area.  These colorful birds are not above swooping down to my feeders at least a few times a day.

The smaller Downy Woodpecker has been a mainstay this winter.  I like the claw detail captured in this photo.

The cute Tufted Titmouse is one of the most common birds I see.  But common doesn't mean that I take them for granted! 

The Titmouse and Carolina Chickadee often hang out between feeds in holly shrubs next to my backyard patio.

The Carolina Wren is South Carolina's state bird. Back in June, I did a posting about a crowded Carolina Wren nest in a bird house hanging from my front porch: http://mybirdseyeviews.blogspot.com/2010/06/carolina-wren-nest.html

Thanks again to Tammy Sanders for identifying the above bird as a Chipping Sparrow.  It's similar somewhat to the Carolina Wren but the black line through its eye is a clear distinction, among others. 

The Chipping Sparrow is a winter visitor to coastal South Carolina.  Its found more inland in the Southeast and Deep South. 

The Carolina Chickadee is a chirpy active bird and a common site around my house.

You may be more familiar with the Black-capped Chickadee.  I know I was and thought that's what I was seeing.  Only later did a discover that our region has its own Carolina Chickadee.

The Black-capped version has narrow white edges on on its wing feathers that the Carolina doesn't have.

I'll be interested to see who else shows up this winter.  The food and water will be out for all comers.

ADDED DECEMBER 26, 2010 
A rare snow in the Charleston area this afternoon.  Bird activity as busy as ever, if not more frenetic. 

A Pine Warbler feeds away amid the snow flurry. 

Pretty cool having some snow today. The birds seemed to like it too!