Diving Ducks!

Wintering waterfowl can be difficult given the conditions that exist while viewing. While the two species photographed here are up close and both involve the males; usually this close distance is not encountered in the field.

What we are seeing in the bottom photos are most certainly a member of the Aythya genus ducks. I say this for numerous reasons. I have noticed the birds here to be larger ducks with blocky head shapes, dark backs and uniformly colored heads. We have males in both photographs so we should be easily able to determine the species there. I will discuss the female duck below later on in the post.


Aythya genus ducks comprise of Redhead, Canvasback, Tufted Duck, Ring-Necked Duck, and both Scaup spp. (Greater and Lesser), that have been recorded in the USA. Given the genus and larger size we know these ducks are divers and not dabblers.

If we look at the male above we can automatically scratch out Redhead and Canvasback due to the lack of any crimson/red on the head which is evident in all seasons and molts. Tufted would ordinarily show a series of plumes extending from the nape, but more convincing here is the lack of a crisp black back all the way through (very contrasting back to flank coloration). The uniform colored bill tells me this is a Scaup species. Which one?

When looking at Scaups there are three things that one would want to focus on. In order of importance you would look at the head shape, contrast between the back color and flanks, and size of nail on the tip of the bill. This bird shows a roundish head with a slight peak on the back of the head near the nape. Furthermore, we can see that the dark back fades into a grayish color on the upper flanks lacking the sharp black/white contrast we would expect with the Greater Scaup. We can see almost no black nail on the tip of the bill! Greater Scaup shows a large nail on the bill, but this is mainly evident only at very close distances. The head shape is key! Greater Scaup would show a flat back portion of the head and rounded up front while the Lesser Scaup would show a peaked nape making the head look more blocky than a Greater Scaup. For all these reasons this bird is a clear male adult wintering Lesser Scaup.


Notice the white bordering on the bill here as well as the multi-colored facet of the bill. This lovely pair are Ring-necked Ducks are typical of what we would expect in the field. These birds can appear longer necked than Scaup sp. with a much more pronounced peak on the nape. We can also see the black tipped bill, the white triangle near the chest that extends onto the back, and the white base of the bill.

One might say, "Well, you have talked about males ducks, but what about the females?" I would agree. If you have one female duck that fits into the genus we have discussed here then that would provide the real ID challenge. The female Ring-necked Duck above has a very noticeable pale eye ring that sports a flare behind the eye. It king of looks like a whisp so-to-speak. Lesser and Greater Scaup have very uniformly dark heads with white around the base of the bill. While we can see white at the base of this lady Ringer's bill you might notice the pale throat and lower cheek. This is expected in female Ring-necked Ducks. From a distance this is still pretty easy to see.

If the two species of Scaup are in a mixed-group then one could use the larger size of the Greater Scaup to differentiate and make the ID, but with the female Scaups the one key ID feature is the head shape as discussed above.

Other factors that come into play involve place of sighting as well. Usually, Ring-Necked Ducks prefer smaller inland ponds and such. Lesser Scaups prefer inland bays and larger lakes. Greater Scaups are mainly coastal, but where they do winter inland (i.e. Front Range Colorado) they can usually be found on large reservoirs. Always make sure to bring yourself up to speed with the expected whereabouts of a particular species in that season before going through the ID process. Range distribution can be a huge help in determining what might be expected at a greater percentage in your area.

The male Lesser Scaup above was photographed by Mike Freiberg with a Nikon D300 and a 500mm F4 Nikkor lens at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, FL.

The pair of Ring-necked Ducks were photographed by Mike Freiberg with a Nikon D200 and a 300mm F4 Nikkor lens in Fort Collins, CO.

For information regarding Nikon optics please visit www.nikonbirding.com.

Wintering Myrtle Warblers!

Yellow-rumped Warblers are among our most recognizable warblers in the United States. Affectionately, people call them, "Butter Butts," due to the yellow rump patch that all ages/sexes have except juvenal phase Yellow-rumped Warblers. They winter farther north than any other warbler species making their viewability accesable at almost all seasons. They flock up when migrating and wintering into very large groups. We have two groups of Yellow-rumps here in the US and they include "Myrtle," and "Audubon's," warblers. Below I will highlight some of the differences between the two.

Both types of Yellow-rumps act very similarly. They are very active feeders typically in large groups. They will "sally" for their food and hover-glean as well. Hover-gleaning is when you see the bird in question take to the wing, hover underneath the food source, and then pick their fruits off of the tree. They both breed in coniferous forest in their respective ranges, but Audubon's breeds at higher elevations up to treeline. They both will feed at all heights within the tree, but usually tend to feed mid-height or lower.

"Myrtle" Warbler: Breeds in the eastern United States as well as farther north in Canada all the way into Alaska. Breeding birds can be easily told by white throats, bolder face pattern including white supraloral spot, and slight supercilium. Fall/Winter birds are a bit more difficult, but certainly identifiable. Myrtle's will have that same face pattern but not quite as bold. They will also be a bit more streaked below than the Audubon's Warbler in winter.

"Audubon's" Warbler: These cool little birds breed in the inter-mountain west United States and extend their range up through the Cascades of the Pacific Northwest. Unlike these "Myrtle" warblers shown in the photos, the "Audubon's" warbler won't have the light supercilium in any season. The streaking on the breast will be evident but with finer streaks and less of them. Also, you can see in the photos that the Myrtle warblers have a nice white "hook" that curls underneath the dark auriculars. Audubon's warblers do not carry this attribute and I find that feature very helpful in the field. Audubon's warblers are darker than Myrtles in all seasons particularly breeding when the Audubon's has a black patch on the brast and stomach.

Differences do occur within sexes as well as types, but overall the points I've discussed will give you the jump start needed to correctly identify Yellow-rumped Warblers in fall and winter.

These Myrtle Warblers were photographed with a Nikon D300 and a 500mm F4 Nikkor Lens. Good birding and thanks for reading. Visit nikonbirding.com for infomation regarding Nikon equipment. Also, go to Bill Schmoker's website for a great comparitive photo of Audubon's and Myrtle side-by-side!

Under appreciated birds- Mallard!

As someone who frequently leads birding field trips, I have found that some species are always going to be crowd pleasers. Singing Blackburnian Warblers, for example, typically evoke exuberant displays of glee during birding outings. Other birds just don't hold the attention of a crowd quite as well. Try explaining the charm of a Northern Beardless Tyrannulet to someone who has just seen their first Altimira Oriole and Great Kiskadee. ( 'Well, it's the smallest North American flycatcher, it has a tremendous name, it makes a great sound, and it has some color. Look right at the base of the beak. See that tiny bit of pink! Yes, Kiskadees are great aren't they?') There are, however, some spectacular species that fail to get the recognition they deserve. Typically because they are common and widespread people take them for granted. Often, though, it is these birds that create the spark that converts someone to birding. This is the first blog post on birds I consider undervalued by most birders. Feel free to suggest others.

Lets be honest, how many birders really notice the Mallards they encounter? I mean who really LOOKS at Mallards? Talk about an impressive species; Mallards unfortunate suffer from the curse of being common. I'll confess that I, like most birders, take them for granted most of the time. Occasionally though, I take a close look and when I do I'm always rewarded.

It is easy to think that once you have seen a few hundred Mallards that you know what they look like. I certainly thought that for years until I started noticing things about Mallards that I had seen many times before but never processed.

I'd been birding for years when I finally noted that the gray color on the flanks and backs of male Mallards is not formed by solidly gray feather but by ultra fine vermiculations (narrow dark barring running across a pale feather creating a gray appearance). I had long since noted the coarser vermiculations on the back and flanks of scaup but never noticed the similar pattern on the omnipresent Mallard. After this realization I started looking at Mallards with new eyes and was soon rewarded with more Mallard knowledge.

I next discovered that the dark rump on male Mallards isn't really black as it usually appears, but iridescent green like their heads, just much darker. In order to see this the sun has to be just right so I can almost forgive myself for not seeing this sooner. I also noticed what uniquely shaped tertials Mallards and closely related species like American Black Duck have. In these species the tertials are oversized and, to me, look like the main sail on a sailboat.

Just a truly beautiful bird. A hint of the green iridescents on the rump and lower back is visible in this photo. Also note that those curled "tail feathers" are not really tail feathers at all, but decorative uppertail coverts, despite what most field guides call them. The same is true for the long "tails" on Long-tailed Duck and Northern Pintail. The elongated sprigs protruding behind the males of both these showy species are really long uppertail coverts.

A comely couple! Notice the shape of the tertials on the female, the males are similar but more pointed. The head shape differs a bit between the sexes. This is true for most waterfowl.

Even the females are attractive in a more subtle way. Females show tremendous variation in just about every plumage charateristic. How much of this variation is governed by age and how much is individual variation is something I have not worked out yet. There is always more to learned!
Another female Mallard? Nope, the bright yellow bill tells us that this is a male. This a American Black Duck X Mallard hybrid. These hybrids are quite common along the Atlantic coast. Notice the slightly curled uppertail coverts and white tail. such hybrids can show any mix of Mallard or Black Duck charateristics. This one leans more toward a Black Duck, but many show patches of green on the head and paler bodies.

In all there are many reasons to look at and enjoy Mallards!

All photos where taken by Cameron Cox with a Nikon D200 and a 300mm Nikkor lens.

Northern Gannet

One of my favorite events of the year is the Space Coast Festival in Titusville, Florida. Not only do I see great birds but get to see friends from around the country. Mike has already blogged about some of his highlights of the Festival, I add a post of my own. The past two years my undisputed highlight has been the pelagic trip on the final day of the Festival.

I love being out on the water and looking for pelagic birds no matter where I am. Partially because you never know what you are going to see. Virtually every east coast boat trip I been on someone has at least whispered about how fantastic an albatross would be. This despite the vanishingly low chances that it will happen. Such is the magical optimism that infects pelagic birders as they leave the harbor and motor out onto the open ocean. But the mega rarity rarely shows, that is why they are rare. What typical makes a good boat trip are intimate view of common pelagic birds that can only be glimpsed from shore with a good scope (like, for example, the Nikon 82mm Fieldscope!). This was certainly true on the Space Coast Pelagic as both on the way out and on the way back an unbelievable show of Northern Gannets made the trip.

Gannets are very large seabirds with a wingspan that reaches six feet, but they maintain their own brand of elegance despite their size. Like large gulls gannets go through multiple different plumages before reaching their adult appearance. This rarely complicates the identification process, however, since their structure is unmistakable no matter what the plumage looks like. Enjoy the gannet photos below. I have included one from each age group, starting with adults and working back to juvenile plumage.

Adult Northern Gannet. What an incredibly striking bird. All white with black wing tips and a rusty wash to the head. Note the body is slender and tubular. Gannets are diving birds that feed on fish. Instead of diving from the surface of the water like a loon, gannets dive while in flight, dropping almost vertically, tucking their wings to their sides just before striking the water. They enter the water like a large feathered dart and disappear under it with a small splash. Under the water they use their wings as well as their feet for propulsion and can reach depths of over 70 feet. Often they dive underneath their prey, grabbing fish as they head back to the surface. Smaller fish can be consumed underwater while large fish are brought to the surface and gulped down while resting on the water.

Third-cycle Northern Gannet. Much like the adults but notice the black feathers in the secondaries and the tail. Note the shape of this bird. The long, slender body is capped with a wicked, dagger-like bill and ends in a narrow, wedge-shaped tail. The wings are extremely long, but unlike the other well-known diving seabirds, the pelicans, they are very narrow with pointed tips. For this reason gannets are sometimes nicknamed "The Compass Bird" because they are pointed in all four directions.

Second-cycle Northern Gannet. Lots of black invades the plumage, particularly above as the entire back and upper surface of the wings are sooty brown. The bodies shows variable amounts of brown smudges; this is a fairly pale bird. It still has a touch of the yellowish/rusty wash that will be more pronounced as an adult. This bird will not breed for another couple of years and therefore has not reason to go back to the northern breeding areas in summer time. Instead these immature birds wander around the the wintering areas eating and molting and biding their time until they can breed! If you run across a gannet in the summer time outside of the Canadian Maritime Provinces it will probably look much like the bird above.

Juvenile Northern Gannet. Quite a change! All brown except for a pale band across the uppertail. This individuals can sometime be confused with a Brown Pelican at great distances. Juvenile gannets however, have quicker, snappier wingbeats and the pointed wing shape can be seen at almost any distance if you look carefully.
Let put everything together with this photo of a distance flock of gannet going away. The birds on the top and bottom with dark heads are juveniles. You can just barely make out the pale band across the uppertail that separate them from immature Masked Boobies. Far right is a second-cycle individual with a white head and stronger white band across the tail. The bird center left is a third-cycle individual with black secondaries and black central tail feathers. Also look at the silhouettes of these birds in different wing positions.

Added bonus! In addition to pelagic birds sometimes you see other pelagic forms of life on a boat trip. Here are two members of a huge pod of Spotted Dolphins we saw on our way back to shore. I believe these are Atlantic Spotted Dolphins but they might be Pantropical Spotted Dolphins. Either way this species is not likely to be seen from shore like some more cooperative cetaceans like Bottlenose Dolphin or Harbor Porpoise. It was a real treat to see hundreds of Spotted Dolphins churning up the water on three sides of us as a flock of gannets feed behind the boat.

All photos were taken by Cameron Cox with a Nikon D200 and 300mm Nikkor lens.

More from Florida!

Florida birding is so great I wanted to put another post up. The birds in general are easy to view and this state makes bird photography a "breeze." Palm Warblers (Dendroica genus) are northern bog breeders that winter in the SE United States each year. In Florida, they seem to be extremely numerous and give you lots to look at if ever the birding is slow. In breeding plumage, these birds have a chestnut cap, yellow vent, and streaking restricted to center of the breast and flanks. There are two distinct forms from the east and west United States. The eastern birds exhibit much more yellow ventrally and dorsally and this is even evident in the winter non breeding plumage. You will also notice yellow lores and supercilium with the "eastern," form. Notice on the bird above the lack of a crimson crown. Well, this is typical during winter, but the overall gray/brown plumage with the yellow restricted to the vent tells me that is is a "western," Palm Warbler.

Palm warblers are very active birds usually at eye-level or lower in open areas, edges, and thickets. They will flick their tail incessantly and when they fly they fan their tails. The tail has white spots on the tips of the outer two retrices which readily identifies this species from others if seen flying away. Their call note is very noticeable and is a sharp but often sweet sounding "TICK." They gather in groups and are very obvious much like Yellow-rumped Warblers.

You can't get to the southeast with out seeing these buggers, but in the right light they are gorgeous. Boat-tailed Grackles, like other grackles, can be gregarious and noisy! Boat-tailed and Common Grackles coexist in the southeast, but the Boat-tails are much larger and have a more uniform coloring to their body. Look at the birds posted up here! Even from this angle you can see a soft contrast between the iridescence on the head and nape and the jet black body of the bird (males of course). Look at the tails next! They are long, but not that long (I would expect longer in Boat-tails) and the bill's of these birds are average in relation to the body. After having said that, wait a minute! Boat-tails have a very steep forehead whereas the Common Grackles have a flatter head. Even though, proportionately, these birds look like Commons (yes, I have seen this mistake made before at a distance) at first glance given the distance, I would like you all to compare the bird's body size in relation to the tree they are sitting in. These are Boat-tailed Grackles. After further review of the picture these birds have dark eyes as all Boat-tails would! This is why it is important to use multiple points of ID to come to the right conclusion.

I also had the privilege of hearing these birds, so I could confirm ID. Voice is always the best aspect of ID to accurately give the birds a name.


The jewel of Florida! There aren't many birds that you can attract by making any sound of your choosing, but Florida Scrub-Jays are one of them. They are endemic to Florida and breed in Scrub Palmetto habitat that is fairly open up top, but dense below. This habitat needs to be maintained with fire to clean out the thick underbrush much like that of the western Chaparral habitats. The decline of this species is tragic, but projects that are funded privately and federally are working hard to rebuild this species to a "stable" population.

Now, this is the only Scrub-Jay in Florida, but certainly very different morphologically from the Western and Island Scrub-Jays. Florida's version has a lighter overall appearance with a frosty cap, supercilium, mantle, throat and chest. They live communally in family groups and often are very tame. They share duties for the success of the family! The way things should be, right?

One thing to note is that people will often try to feed these guys peanuts in hopes for a close encounter. Ethically, this is obtrusive to the bird's better welfare and often is accompanied by a very hefty fine and believe me, local park agents are aware of this and they enforce it daily if need be.

All of these photos were taken with a Nikon D300 and a 500mm F4 VR lens. This set-up just kicks butt in the field. I couldn't have been happier with the results. To enjoy more photos and educational information about these beauts visit Tom Dunkerton's website whom is a Nikon ProStaffer and an expert on this species (4 years of research conducted). Good birding to all!

Ivory Gull!!!

Wheeww! Finally home after a grueling three weeks on the road. Attended four different shows, met lots of great people, snuck outside long enough to see some great birds, and collected lots of material for the blog. Before I get to any of that though, there are more pressing subjects to report on!

For the last few day of my trip I kept an anxious eye on the status of two adult Ivory Gulls that showed up along the Massachusetts coast while I was in Florida. One bird was still being reported as I prepared to go home, so on landing in the Philly airport I gathered my things and sprinted for the door. But I did not sprint home as one should do after three weeks on the road. No, I headed north towards Plymouth, Massachusetts and an Ivory Gull. A few hours sleep were caught in my car parked at a frigid Connecticut rest area with the glow of a 24 hour McDonald's as company before completing the drive and arriving in Plymouth. The East Side Grille was quickly found and several minutes were devoted to pulling additional layers over the lightweight clothing suited for Florida weather I was still wearing. I finally trekked around the back of the restaurant to see a man sitting at the edge of the snowy parking lot point a small digital camera at a small mound of pure white. No, there is no way it can be this easy! But it was. The Ivory Gull was sitting on a small wall between the parking lot and a large bay enjoy a chicken carcass left by an admirer! I joined the group of about a dozen onlookers and basked in the aura of this incredible bird. In a bit of a euphoric haze, I kept saying to perfect strangers, "I can't believe this is real!" It was real, though, and I have the pictures to prove it!

Adult Ivory Gull photographed by Cameron Cox with a Nikon D200 and 300mm Nikkor lens

Absolutely incredibly! Number three on my list of coolest birds ever:
1. White-faced Storm-Petrel -Clearly number one, but if you haven't seen one I understand your skepticism since seeing the bird behave like a drunken sailor crossed with some kind of feathered frog is what makes it special.
#2 Red-legged Kittiwake- Just gorgeous
#3 Ivory Gull- pure light in feathered form
#4 Does it really matter after these three!
(If anyone has a problem with my list I am willing to discuss alterations, but you have come up with something good. No overdone, puffed up peacocks like Resplendent Quetzal or Indian Peafowl will be considered! Something like a Waved Albatross, Diademed Sandpiper-plover, or Cape Petrel might do the trick. NOTE: The views expressed here are not those of BWD, Nikon, or Mike Freiberg. They are solely my own and given with my tongue hovering in the general vicinity of my cheek.)

Adult Ivory Gull photographed by Cameron Cox with a Nikon D200 and 300mm Nikkor lens

Getting back to Ivory Gulls... notice the structure of this bird. It has a small head with enormous eyes, a surprisingly broad chest, and short but heavy legs. This bird is perfectly adapted to life spent around arctic pack ice. A low center of gravity aids them as they battle katabatic winds in the extreme environment where most of these beautiful gulls spent their entire life. The large eye aids the sight during the constant darkness of the arctic winter. Truly a creature shaped by its choice of home.
Adult Ivory Gull photographed by Cameron Cox with a Nikon D200 and 300mm Nikkor lens

Stunning! What an incredible bird. This is not the forum for an environmental soapbox but Ivory Gulls are in trouble. I would urge anyone moved by the beauty of this bird, particularly those of you went to see it, to do some research on the factors facing this species and consider small things that you can do to help. Seeing this bird has caused me to rethink some of my own behavior. Even if I can only change small things, I want to make sure I am doing what I can to ensure that Ivory Gulls and other species continue to exist.

Good birding to all.

Florida's Black Skimmers!

The Black Skimmer is one of three skimmers world-wide, but the only one of its kind here in the United States. They are related to terns, but are very different in other ways. They breed coastally on the eastern seaboard and southern California. They are usually resident in their areas, but will wander inland during the winter in search of better food sources with less competition.

I have always found this species amazing! Just look at the bill! The lower mandible is longer that the maxilla. They use the protruded lower mandible to "skim" the surface of the water for food going by touch only, not sight. Once they sense a fish on the bill they snap it shut. Very cool! I got to watch this for quite a while and with light fading in the day very quickly, I was very happy to have my Nikon EDG binoculars around my neck. The new Di-electric coatings really seem to give this glass a, "BURST," of light so to speak. Big time help!

This species is a large-sized, tern-like bird with long pointed wings. Principally black dorsally and white ventrally, the bird is striking from even a far distance. There is no sexual dimorphism, so determining male/female would be a guess. Adults have a completely black back, but notice the hind-neck/nape of the skimmers in these photos. This indicates winter adult Black Skimmers! They are crepuscular and can be seen actively feeding at dusk most often. They breed in colonies and often enough you will see a group together at a sandbar sometimes up to 30 birds or more. Skimmers fly in unison making sharp angled turns very effectively. While sitting they hold their bodies very low and parallel to the ground with their bills almost reaching the ground and slightly tipped.

Their wing beats can most applicably be characterized as, "firm." They are slower with their upbeat and then force down hard with the wing beat going down. Very distinctive flight once you build up time in the field watching these vibrant birds.


As I mentioned above, notice the exact body position these two birds exhibit. These two were flying together as I watched them for over an hour. They never missed a beat in unison.

Birds that depend on coastal areas always deal with over-developing residential areas as a plight to their population. These gorgeous birds were once hunted for their feathers, but with the fallout of that practice their numbers are recovering and seem to be stable. Of course, we always want to keep an eye on how things are going and avoid complacency as a society. Given they depend on beaches, estuaries, and inland bays these areas are always susceptible to human development.

These birds were shot using a Nikon 500 mm F4 VR lens and a Nikon D300. The site is Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge while visiting the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival. Furthermore, check out our new website for Nikon Birding! We will be building this website from here on out so please jump on and see what our nationally-known prostaffers are up to!