[TN-Bird] Re: Whooping Cranes part II
- From: Michael Todd <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "hyla514@xxxxxxxxx" <hyla514@xxxxxxxxx>, "thomas_miko@xxxxxxxxxxx" <thomas_miko@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Tennessee Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2014 09:28:05 -0800 (PST)
Daniel, I think you likely came to the right conclusion. This time of year male
Rusties can be mostly black already (most will still have some rufous flecking
though), but they don't have the high gloss effect of male Brewer's, which are
getting really shiny by now. Usually Rusty just looks black, or has a slight
greenish cast, without the strong greenish-blue and violet of Brewer's. With
practice the shape of the bill is different with a decent look, subtle though.
Good Birding!!
Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd
________________________________
From: Daniel Estabrooks <hyla514@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "thomas_miko@xxxxxxxxxxx" <thomas_miko@xxxxxxxxxxx>; Tennessee Birds
<tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 7:19 AM
Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: Whooping Cranes part II
During last February and March, there were several large flocks of Rusties
(100+ birds) that would occasionally come and feed on the lawns at MTSU in
Murfreesboro. At first I thought there were a few male Brewer's mixed in, but
it struck me as odd that I never once saw a single female Brewer's. Eventually
I came to the conclusion that what I thought were Brewer's were actually
Rusties that had simply worn off their rusty feather tips a little early. Armed
with that information, it's my humble opinion that males of the two species
can't be reliably distinguished at this time of year. If anyone knows of any
other details that will still separate them, please feel free to correct me.
Daniel Estabrooks
On Monday, February 24, 2014 10:14 PM, Thomas Miko <thomas_miko@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi Folks,
1. I was told today that there have been no Whooping Cranes at Hiawasee this
winter, but a check of eBird shows sightings there as recently as February 8th.
One of the entries refers to "Yuchi WMA". I don't know where that is, who to
contact, or how to get there. Another entry refers to a ranger having flushed a
Whooping Crane into view, and a third entry refers to an unbanded bird (Now,
that is exciting!). I hope someone gets me more info.
2. Tonight, at Standifer Marsh, I had 3 obvious Rusty Blackbirds, and some
all-black male birds that I assumed were Brewer's Balckbirds, but according to
eBird, Brewer's Blackbird is rare in this whole area. The male birds may have
been Rusties that I was unable to separate from male Brewer's. Comments on the
status and distrubtion of bith species are welcome. All of the
blackbirds--including a big flock of Brown-headed Coowbirds showed up very late
in the day, and they were quite skittish. The small flock of Common Grackles
eschewed their company, preferring the church parking lot. There is also a
leucistic Robin that looks like a gigantic Spotted Towhee.
Tom
Thomas Geza Miko,
B.Sc. Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, Radiation & Lab Safety
653 S. Indian Hill Blvd., unit C
Claremont, CA 91711
U.S.A.
Home: 909.445.1456
Mobile: 909.241.3300
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