Comments on: Revisiting The Kirtland’s Warbler

By: Alvaro Jaramillo

Alvaro Jaramillo — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:47:36 +0000

Laura, sorry I have not replied to the question. I was participating in the Monterey Bay Bird Festival this past weekend, and keeping busy watching shorebirds, seabirds and fields of artichokes! The Bahamas is good at any time of year, but winter and spring are the best times to visit. Fall would be ok as well, but the chance of hurricanes is a real downer. Summer is very hot and humid with no overwintering species, so less diversity. To see a good diversity of birds you need to travel to more than one of the islands, as they don’t all have the same species on them. Eleuthera is key to finding our bud the Kirtland’s Warbler, but also goodies like the Great Lizard-Cuckoo. Picture a giant Yellow-billed Cuckoo with fancier colors and you get the picture. Part of the attraction of the Bahamas is that there are several species found there which are otherwise only found on Cuba (Cuban Parrot being noteworthy). Also the Bahamas has its own endemic, so found nowhere else, birds like the Bahama Yellowthroat and Bahama Woodstar which is a tiny hummingbird. Finally, the pine forests of the Bahamas also have local forms (subspecies) of some continental birds which are different enough that probably warrant being separated as species. Two examples are the Bahama version of the Brown-headed Nuthatch, and of the Yellow-throated Warbler. The nuthatch is sadly becoming quite rare, it is found on Grand Bahama Island. I love islands and while I have traveled throughout the Caribbean I have yet to go to the Bahamas myself, but I salivate at the thought of birding the pine forests, having a mid day dip in that gorgeous ocean, and then a conch or lobster dinner to top it off. Hey, food is one of the joys of birding too!

By: Jeffrey A. Gordon » Midwest Birding Symposium 2009: Photos of Photographers

Jeffrey A. Gordon » Midwest Birding Symposium 2009: Photos of Photographers — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:45:17 +0000

[...] busy, giving a presentation on the uses of digital technology in birding, successfully chasing a Kirtland’s Warbler that turned up nearby, burning the midnight karaoke oil, and so on. I took very few photos, except for a series of quick, [...]

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:03:05 +0000

(The link worked fine. Just click on Alvaro’s name to see the bird).

Wow, I’m really happy you could tie this discussion up with a bird from the Bahamas.

I’d love to know more about how the birds are distributed on the islands. Do they arrange themselves out of the fray – on the distant, unpopulated islets of the archipelago, or do they mix with the beachcombers–and are therefore more vulnerable? Taking this a step farther, what happens to these islands, and these birds, when seas rise from polar melt?

One of the reasons Birds Can Save The World! (Amen!) is because as you understand them better, they force you to think beyond your own patch and understand and care about the places the birds stitch together in their migrational sojourns.

The next question, Alvaro, is what other fantastic birds can we see in the Bahamas? When are the best months to go?

By: Alvaro Jaramillo

Alvaro Jaramillo — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:51:05 +0000

Laura

Let’s see if this link works? I put it as my website address signing on to leave a comment. Its a link to one of the 5 Kirtland’s that Jesse Fagan found on our inaugural tour to the Bahamas. I think I mentioned that the photo he got looked a lot like the habitat we saw the Ohio bird in, small shrubs, lots of sun getting through the canopy. I can’t help but think that this immature Kirtland’s must have an amazing template of the habitat he is looking for to winter in, a habitat he or she has never seen in its life. That little corner of East Harbor Park, and there was no other spot quite like it in the area, hit that “sweet spot” in his brain, and he stayed cozy and secure for a day. Lucky us! It also makes a great argument for the importance of not only good old habitats in conservation, but diversity of habitats.

By: Dawn Fine

Dawn Fine — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:08:11 +0000

Excellent Post Laura! Full of wit and information!
So happy you were able to see it!

By: John

John — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:20:23 +0000

Congrats on the sighting (and lovely photos of it)!

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:13:31 +0000

Cheryl, a TATTOO! You’re on the right track.

Alan, thank you, my friend. Keepin’ it real — and a slug of Red Bull — always leads to the liveliest writing, doesn’t it?

By: Alan Tilmouth

Alan Tilmouth — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:52:06 +0000

Once again drawn here by the quality of your images, I find on this occasion that I’m equally impressed by your words. If this is what 3am does for you you should stay up late more often, I find that Red Bull (caffeine stimulant drink) helps with those early hours blog marathons. Did I say this was agreat post? It is.

By: Cheryl Harner

Cheryl Harner — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:51:55 +0000

Laura-
Lovely photos! It was wonderful to share this bird with so many good friends… maybe a Kirtland’s tatoo is in order.

Glad you came back for a visit! Weedpicker Cheryl