#catharus fuscescens

[geopsych]

I was lucky enough to see a veery in the woods while walking with @alackofcharacter yesterday. They're one of my favorite woodland thrushes with a magical voice that seems to spiral downward. This one stood still long enough to let me get a clear shot. That hardly ever happens! The little wood near my house hosts at least one breeding pair every summer.

[occasionallybirds]

Veery (Catharus fuscescens)

May 8, 2023

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Tinicum, Pennsylvania

[birdblues]

Veery

[podartists]

Turdus migratorius | Catharus guttatus | Locustella naevia | Catharus fuscescens | Turdus viscivorus | Catharus ustulatus

Plate I | Die Nordamerikanische Vogelwelt (1891)

[thelostcanyon]

Veery (Catharus fuscescens), High Island, Galveston County, Texas.

[pickerelstripe]

[CM] Birds - Biyaw 2

Our final bird post! At least until I inevitably find some Maine birding guide that introduces a new species, haha. Today’s the second half of the biyaw* list, birds that are common and easily hunted. 

Below are translations for sparrows, vireos, and a whole lot more.

Northern waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) - Chochocho Streaky brown-and-cream bird. Present in summer and fall. Feed on insects, snails, fish, and salamanders. Known for foraging along watersides in the bog.

Wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) - Wupwiurr Brown-and-white thrush with a spotted chest and belly. Present in summer. Feed on insects and berries.

Veery (Catharus fuscescens) - Veerr Brown-and-white thrush, similar to a wood thrush but unspotted. Present in summer. Feed on insects and berries. 

Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) - Hipchee Brownish sparrow with heavy streaking and red stripes on the head. Present year-round. Feed mostly on insects and seeds. 

Swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) - Sees Brown sparrow with an unpatterned belly. Present year-round but most abundant in spring, summer, and fall. Feed mostly on insects. 

White-eyed vireo (Vireo griseus) - Pikchikawee Gray-and-yellow vireo with white eyes. Present sparingly in summer and fall. Feed on insects and berries. The word pikchikawee is derived from a mnemonic I saw for white-eyed vireo calls!

Yellow-throated vireo (Vireo flavifrons) - Ee’earp Mostly gray bird with a yellow-olive head and white underparts. Present sparingly in summer. Feed on insects, fruit, and seeds.

Warbling vireo (Vireo gilvus) - Wiuwiu Dull gray bird with a slightly lighter belly. Present in summer and early fall. Feed mostly on insects, but eat berries as well.

Blue-headed vireo (Vireo solitarius) - Wee’rip White-and-olive bird with a blue-gray head and white eye rings. Present in summer and fall. Feed on insects and small fruit.

Marsh wren (Cistothorus palustris) - Pich Little chocolate-brown bird with a distinct body shape, often seen perched while bobbing its tail. Present year-round but most abundant in summer. Feed mostly on insects.

Alder flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) - Rebeer Grayish-brown and white flycatcher with a small head crest. Present in summer. Feed on insects - can be seen flycatching, darting off a branch to catch bugs mid-air! 

Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) - Weebee Small flycatcher with a dark brownish-gray back and white underparts. Present year-round but most abundant in summer and fall. Feed on insects and berries.

Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) - Wikbwip Small heron with brown-and-cream streaking and a long striped beak. Present in spring and summer, sometimes seen in fall. Feed on fish, frogs, insects, and other aquatic life. Bitterns have some unique nicknames - my favorite is “mire-drum”.

[i-identify-birds-in-posts]

Veery (Catharus fuscescens)

imagine spending 700$ on ticketmaster meanwhile his concerts are literally free

[armadillidiumvulgaree]

turdidae appreciation post!!!

[all photos taken from the national audubon society website!!]

[adult male eastern bluebird Sialia sialis]

[adult male varied thrush Ixoreus naevius]

[american robin fledgling Turdus migratorius]

[adult american robin Turdus migratorius]

[adult wood thrush Turdus migratorius]

[adult veery Catharus fuscescens]

(a few of my faves)

[fatchance]

Veery (Catharus fuscescens), at Wehr Nature Center at Whitnall Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

[squawkoverflow]

A new variant has been added!

Veery (Catharus fuscescens) © Gustav Mützel

It hatches from beautiful, bright, brown, central, colored, indistinct, rare, reddish, spiral, upper, warm, white, and wooded eggs.

squawkoverflow - the ultimate bird collecting game          🥚 hatch    ❤️ collect     🤝 connect

[histsciart]

Happy Feathursday!

Nest and eggs of a veery (Catharus fuscescens). SciArt by Virginia Smith Jones for Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Vol. 2 (1886). View in Biodiversity Heritage Library (@biodivlibrary) with thanks to Smithsonian Libraries (@SILibraries) for digitizing. 

[geopsych]

Also saw this which appears to be a veery, another kind of thrush! And I saw my first catbird of the year. I’ll soon be seeing and hearing countless catbirds all the time but first catbird of the year is still a thing.  From now until the 20th of May I will probably give up all pretense of being a responsible person and just go out birding whenever I can. At some point at the end of it I’ll post a list of migrating birds I saw. You can see anything anywhere now. I had an ovenbird in my back garden the other day. Keep your eyes (and ears) open if you’re in the eastern US!

[occasionallybirds]

A trio of thrushes

Swainson’s thrush (Catharus ustulatus)

Wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)

Veery (Catharus fuscescens)

May 2020

Southeastern Pennsylvania

[kdmenvs300019-blog]

Art: it’s in our Nature

The prompt “who are you to interpret nature through art” appears to question whether we have the ability or authority to use art for nature interpretation. I believe any nature interpreter has the potential to use art to inspire people. We cannot overlook the opportunity to use the arts to inspire and teach people about nature.

Art and nature share a connection based on beauty, and nature interpreters can help people find beauty. Freeman Tilden, a pioneer of nature interpretation, suggested that interpreters “…prepare the visitors to be receptive to beauty” (Beck and Cable, 2011, p. 135). Though not a nature interpreter, our guide at the Guelph Art Gallery did much the same thing: she presented us with information that we could use to form our own opinions about the art. I agree that as interpreters, we cannot dictate what is beautiful to our audience. We can, however, help people find beauty in nature. And that appreciation can motivate people to protect wildlife and landscapes (Beck and Cable, 2011).

I had to look closely at shape, texture, and patterns when I drew this wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus). Close observation helped me appreciate these little frogs and their place in nature! Drawing is my own.

I’m sure I’m like many of you in that I find beauty in nature. Nature is the main subject of my art and photography. A key realization for me occurred when I was reminded that “[nature’s beauty] encompasses all of our senses” (Beck and Cable, 2011, p. 137). Previously, I’d only really considered natural beauty that is perceived visually. Things like the vibrant colours of leaves in fall, or the symmetry of the shoreline reflected in calm water, or the intricate patterns of a bird’s plumage. I think because I’m more of a visual learner I’ve always narrowed in on visual beauty in nature.

I tried to capture the beauty of early morning with mist coming off the river in this painting (based on a local landscape). Painting my own.

The textbook describes how we can help people find beauty in ordinary landscapes (Beck and Cable, 2011). Yes, we can show people where to look for beauty, but let’s not forget to teach people how to look for beauty.  How can you use your senses to perceive natural beauty?

What is a beautiful sound in nature? For me, birdsong is the most beautiful sound in nature (especially the Veery, the Common Loon, and the White-throated Sparrow).

How about a beautiful smell? I love the smell of fir and cedar.

Maybe there’s even a beautiful feeling you find in nature. I love how dark rocks that have been exposed to sun all day continue to radiate heat after sunset.

Turn your volume up for this one! You can hear a few Veeries (Catharus fuscescens) singing. Video my own.

Beck and Cable (2011) suggest encouraging your audience to slow down and inspect details while searching for beauty. I think we can use multiple artistic media to do this. For example, recording audio of some sounds they heard; using sculpture to recreate a texture found in nature; writing a description of the landscape around them; or using paint to match the colours they see in nature.  Art can be a powerful tool for noticing and appreciating beauty in nature.

Citations

Beck, L., & Cable, T. T. (2011). The Gifts of Interpretation: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture. Urbana, IL: Sagamore Publishing.

[dreammains]

Early hird late bird kohls

2012, Scott & Durden 2014).Įxtralimital transport of ticks between continents by wild birds can occur, during hemispheric and intercontinental flight ( Hoogstraal & Kaiser 1961, Olsen et al. minor, are transported from the southeastern United States and the Neotropics by passerines ( Scott et al. These songbird-carried Amblyomma ticks include: A. Some other Neotropical and southern Nearctic Amblyomma species have been previously reported during spring migration on songbirds (Passeriformes) in Canada. rotundatum on amphibians and reptiles can cause exsanguination and death ( Keirans & Durden 1998). Of note, severe parasitic infestations of A. In South America, this obligate, hematophagous ectoparasite is also known to feed on certain mammals, including humans ( Guglielmone & Nava 2010). rotundatum is now established in localized areas within the southernmost fringe of the Nearctic Region. 2011) and southern part of Florida ( Oliver et al. This parthenogenetic tick has a biogeographical range from Argentina to Mexico, including the Caribbean Islands ( Jones et al. Amblyomma rotundatum Koch, 1844 is a hard-bodied tick (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae) that is typically found on amphibians and reptiles. Ticks are vectors of many human and other animal disease agents ( Nicholson et al. rotundatum into Canada, and be alert that this tick species signifies an unforeseen public health risk to humans. Health-care providers should take note that migratory songbirds can transport A. rotundatum is known to harbor bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. rotundatum thousands of kilometers during northward spring migration. We provide formidable evidence that migratory songbirds can carry A. rotundatum and the first record of this species on a bird anywhere. Notably, this novel collection is the northernmost record of A. rotundatum on a Veery constitutes a first tick-host record, and a new distributional record in Canada. In the laboratory, this nymph molted to a female in 44 d. During our tick-host study, we collected a nymphal Amblyomma rotundatum Koch, from a Veery, Catharus fuscescens (Stephens) (Passeriformes: Turdidae), at Long Point, Ontario, Canada. Migratory birds disperse engorged ticks across Canada during northward spring migration.

[ticornis]

SOME SPRING MIGRANTS FROM PROSPECT

 PARK, BROOKLYN; NY

Here is a sample of migrants birds photographed in Prospect Park during this Spring migration (May 2020).

Enjoy them!!

Be Safe, Keep your Social Distance!!