Hummingbird or Red-breasted Nuthatch?

Every now and then I receive a photo at work that is amazing. This one wins the prize so far this year.

Frequenting a feeder in Superior, Wis., this Red-breasted Nuthatch has a deformed bill, giving it the appearance of a hummingbird.

This is most likely avian keratin disorder, where the beak becomes overgrown and often crosses after a certain length. This disorder has exploded in the past three years in Alaska, western Canada and the state of Washington. It's estimated that as high as 17% of all Alaskan crows have this disorder. It typically affects corvids and chickadees, but other species periodically present signs of it.

In these photos, the beak doesn't appear to be crossed and fortunately, the bird has been observed eating and cracking nuts and seeds at the feeder (which I find amazing to be honest).

Sadly, there's nothing that can be done for this. The beak will just continue to grow and in larger birds, the bone beneath the keratin eventually breaks down, leaving no support for the beak.

There is new research being done on the disorder, but currently there is no definitive answer as to why this disorder is increasing. Scientists believe it may be a result of toxins in the environment.

Here is some additional reading:
 - a Red-tailed Hawk at a rehab facility contributes samples to forward study on this disorder (April 2012)

 - original USGS release about Avian Keratin Disorder

 - a Minnesota chickadee with Avian Keratin Disorder captured and banded (Dan Tallman's blog)

Many thanks to homeowner Vern S. and Duluth, Minn., rehabber Peggy Farr

for sharing these photos.

Help with Flower ID? (updated)

I posted these photos last night, trying to pinpoint what type of flower this was, and if it was wild or something that had escaped the garden before I bought the property.

We suspected it was related to foxglove in some way, but I hadn't been able to find photos matching the shape of these flowers.

Thanks to the wonderful Twitter community, we ID'd it within an hour of posting: Grecian, or Wooly, Foxglove (Digitalis lanata).

And, sadly, this striking plant is on the list of "bad" plants from the MNDNR. In fact, this is what the DNR site says about it:
"In Minnesota it has been found primarily in Washington County in the vicinity of the St. Croix River along sunny to semi-shaded road ditches. Native to Europe's scrub oak forests."

Hmmm... that's exactly where we live, with beautiful stands of oak all around.

The funny thing? I've only seen one or two of these around, and usually in yards, not in ditches. I've never seen stands of it, as it prone to do which then threatens the native savannah prairie that so many people have restored here in the beautiful town of Afton.

Of other interest, just like other foxglove members, all parts of the plant are toxic to people and animals (probably why I've never seen deer or rabbits browsing them). It's a biennial or short-lived perennial, forming a rosette of low wooly leaves the first year and then shooting up the large single flower stalk the second year. The flowers are hermaphroditic, containing both male and female parts. And, as I noted in my original post, bees love them.

It's listed as an invasive species in only a few states, including Kansas. It is actually a sought-after garden plant and cultivated in many states including states on the East Coast, Colorado and Utah.

Two other European species have also begun to naturalize in prairie areas: Digitalis purpurea (Purple Foxglove) and Digitalis lutea (Yellow Foxglove).

The Natural Resource Conservation Service has a photo on its site that doesn't look anything like the plant listed on other sites. I don't know if there are variations of the flowers and stalk, but I suspect the NRCS sheet needs updating. The MNDNR site has it listed as it appears in our yard and on other national sites.

Eastern Pondhawk and... Eastern Pondhawk

Dragonflies may well be the death of my overtaxed brain cells. I've always been so focused on learning to ID birds, especially warblers - 1st year, fledglings, etc - but since I was a kid I was fascinated by flying "darning needles" as my mom and her relatives called dragonflies.

Now that I've spent more time learning about dragonflies, and how to ID them, birds look like an easy task.

Take for instance this Eastern Pondhawk. Easy to identify for most of us due to its bright green appearance and size. (Great Pondhawks, which look similar, are a tropical species and not found much farther north than our southernmost states.)

But then consider this dragonfly:

Yes, you guessed it. It's also an Eastern Pondhawk (males are blue). Thankfully the hint of green on its face was an immediate clue, otherwise I would've spent tons of time trying to figure out if it was a slaty something, or a sooty something, or maybe just a blue something.

And don't even get me started on the Eastern Forktails. I'm still trying to make heads or tails of the dozen or so different photos I have, which oddly all seem to be of the same species, although they're all different colors and stripe patterns. That post will be appearing after I pester friends for help in positively identifying them...

Hummingbird and Oriental Lily

Last week the hummingbirds were at the phlox. Yesterday, the juveniles seemed to be checking out every flower possible. I'd never seen one at our Oriental Lilies before. I can't imagine there's much nectar there for them?

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers

Last year was the first time I'd noticed the tiny Blue-gray Gnatcatchers in our yard. They seemed to pass through with the warblers in the spring.

This year they returned, but the exciting part? They've stayed in the yard all summer!

Here in the Twin Cities, we're at the northern range of their breeding range, but their range has been pushing northward over the years. In fact, according to Cornell Lab, this is the only true migratory gnatcatcher and is the northernmost-occurring of all.

I'm pretty sure the one below is a juvenile, based on the brownish colored flight feathers and the remnants of some downy-type feathers:

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are cool little birds, in fact they're quickly becoming one of my favorite species. I've had the extreme fortune of watching one of them raised at WRC by our Avian Nursery Coordinator Jessika Madison-Kennedy. Here's a neat video of it at the fledgling stage, narrated by Jessika.

I learned through her that BG Gnatcatchers build a nest similar to a hummingbird's, way out on the end of a branch; a small cup constructed of lichens, bark, spider and caterpillar silk, and lined with grass and down.

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers have white tail coverts, just like Dark-eyed Juncos. Scientists believe that they flash their tail while gleaning bugs to flush and attract more insects. They glean insects from foliage just like warblers do and are almost always in constant motion. I never would've nabbed these shots if not for my fun new lens.

Hummingbird and Phlox

This juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird happened by while I was gardening today.

Christmas in August: A New Lens

Having a new lens is like getting a Christmas present. That you've always wanted. Like forever and ever.

So of course, on the way home last night I pulled it out of the box and waited for a bird to grace a local field. Any bird. Would've been happy with a cowbird I was so excited to try my new toy.

But lo and behold, this juvenile Eastern Meadowlark kindly cooperated. Which was super cool, having not had the opportunity before to watch them in the wild while they're learning to hunt. (and no, those photos did not turn out, just giant blurs)

I'm pretty happy with the results, especially since I literally pulled it out of the box, mounted it and snapped away. Looking forward to working with it more and learning how to use it better. Three cheers for Christmas in August!

Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar

Found this beautifully patterned caterpillar on one of our butterfly bushes. It's a Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar and its striking coloring is to deter birds from eating it. Apparently the orange and black "sweater" it's wearing announces that not only does it not taste good, it's actually toxic due to its milkweed diet.

I've read that they're voracious eaters and sure enough, when I returned to the plant a few hours later, there were two full heads of flowers that had been eaten down to nubs.

Busted:

Capturing Summer

I can feel and smell summer when I look at this photo. Hope you had a great summer weekend!

Day 3 Moth Week: Harris's Three-spotted Moth

This cool moth was clinging to our stoop door the other night in the rain. It's one of the prettier, more detailed moths that I've seen just "hanging out." And it's amazingly common. But it took National Moth Week to motivate me enough to actually research it.

It also took me nearly an hour of perusing the awesome site BugGuide.net to ID it, but the fact that I was even able to ID it is pretty impressive. Must make a note to send a donation to BugGuide; they're fabulous.

Getting back to this intricately patterned moth... from various Googling activities, it seems the Harris's Three-spot  (Harrisimemna trisignata) is a type of Dagger Moth, breeding in hardwood forests. Unfortunately, I didn't find a whole lot of info on this moth, but the reference to its "bird poop-like" larva of course lured me to Google that. Immediately prompting an "eeks!" when I saw it (you've been forewarned). Holy cow. How does that turn into this? Amazing.

I did learn that the bizarre pose of the Harrisimemna trisignata is its typical alarm posture. What critter wouldn't find that threatening and leave it alone? And, if you don't leave it alone? Apparently there is a gland that secretes nasty scents on its lower abdomen (hence the rearing).


Well, now I know more about the larva than the moth. Still, pretty cool to learn new things. Thanks National Moth Week! (follow the fun at #NMW2012 and #NationalMothWeek)


(And many thanks to the Entomological Society of Washington for publishing their proceedings. Much of the info on the larva was gleaned from their papers.)

Day 1 of Moth Week: Snowberry Clearwing

Thought I'd celebrate the start of the first National Moth Week with one of my favorite moths: the Snowberry Clearwing (Hermaris diffinis).

The snowberry is one of three types of hummingbird moths that are commonly found in Minnesota. The others are the Hummingbird Clearwing, Hemaris thysbe, easily distinguished by its much redder color; and the Slender Clearwing, Hemaris gracilis, distinguished from the Hummingbird Clearwing by its reddish brown dorsal stripe. The fourth Hemaris found in the U.S. is found only west of the Rockies and is the Western Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris thetis).

The snowberry found here in Minnesota and elsewhere east of the Continental Divide dines on milkweed, liatris, beebalm, phlox, honeysuckle and verbena. Even though they're called "hummingbird moths" I think the snowberry seems to mimic big fuzzy bumblebees more than hummingbirds.

Here's another Snowberry that kindly held still for photos:

I love their furry coats. Wonder if they're as soft as they look...

Are you participating in National Moth Week? Post a comment with a link to your blog and I'll include it in this week's posts!

Baby Red-bellied Visits

We'd been checking off all the baby woodpeckers for our area (downy, hairy, pileated - note we've never see flicker babies) but no sign of the young red-bellieds until last week. Of interest, we never saw the juveniles accompanied by the parent(s). I don't remember noting this in past years. Maybe we just  missed it this season.

They always look so naked at this point. Funny how simply a tan head can create that image. You can see the red is just starting to come in. Looks like this one is a female:

Obelisking Dragonfly

This not-so-blue Blue Dasher was poised in yoga-like poses for hours last Thursday. I thought maybe it was a mating thing, but turns out dragonflies do this to cool themselves on very hot days (by presenting less body surface to absorb sunlight).

Pretty cool.

Red-shouldered Red-bellied

We call him The Interloper. He arrived in mid-January, when this photo was taken, and has been here ever since. I'm surprised that not only did he show up in new territory during the winter, but that he managed to keep it.

When I first saw The Interloper, I thought the sun was reflecting oddly off his wing feathers. Turns out that it wasn't the sun: his shoulders and wings have red-tinged feathers instead of the traditional black.

So far he's kept his red epaulets, but red-bellieds don't molt until late summer so that's not a surprise. Here he is from a few weeks ago:

Wish he was banded so we could tell if his feathers grow in normally during this season's molt (since if they do he'll just blend in with our other red-bellieds).

I've spoken with a couple ornithologists and biologists, and don't have a definite answer for this coloration, other than some type of genetic mutation. I believe this could be an example of erythrism: when black or brown feathers (or fur, hair) take on a reddish tint. This is different than the more commonly seen red, orange and yellow variations due to the manufacture of carotenoids based on diet.

We'll wait and see what the late summer molt brings!