Finding that First "Special" Bird: Bullock's Oriole on the Tuolumne River

I've thought a lot about the fact that I have become "that guy" on the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail. People can see me from a long way off, the guy in the silly-looking hat who always has binoculars and camera dangling off his shoulders, who can't walk in a straight line because his attention is always directed off to the side or above, essentially anywhere but the trail in front of him.

I have these conversations, sometimes imagined, sometimes real, where I feel just a little defensive and want to say "I'm not really a crazy birder, I'm just getting my regular exercise and I don't want to miss it if a really interesting bird or other animal shows up". But I actually am a crazy birder. But doing the same ritual practically everyday of walking at least two miles and counting birds along the way is not really that strange. Compare the strangeness of doing that with running on a treadmill in a gym every day. You run on top of the moving machine, and no scenery goes by. You maybe have a television on the side of the room to stare at, or you have earphones blaring music. To me that's pretty boring.

How cool is it that every single walk has the potential of becoming something wonderful? Like the dad said in Christmas Story, referring to his yet unopened grand prize, "Why there could be anything in there!" Sure, there are birds that one sees every single day throughout the year, the scrub jays, the doves, the mockingbirds, the starlings. But there are almost always little surprises, the birds you see only once in awhile: Spotted Towhees, Nuttall's Woodpeckers, Belted Kingfishers, or Cooper's Hawks. They add that little bit of spice that turns a mundane walk into an interesting one.

But then there are the migrants. They can only be seen during part of the year, some only during the winter, others in the spring and summer. New seasons bring the promise of that "first of season" sighting, the excitement of seeing a beautiful and spectacular bird after an absence of many many months. It's a neat moment that sometimes takes my breath away. It happened yesterday when I saw the first Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) of the new year. The bird is not totally rare, and I will probably see a few dozen of them over the next few months, but that first moment you realize what you are seeing is just plain special. Especially when they hang out long enough to get pictures.

There are many more such moments coming over the next few months and one never knows what day it will happen. There will be the first Hooded Oriole, Lazuli Bunting, Black-headed Grosbeak, Green Heron, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Phainopepla, Rufous Hummingbird, and about twenty others before the end of the year. Every single day is a potential adventure. 

Left unsaid of course is the even rarer potential of seeing a bird that you have never seen before, or one that no one in the county or state has ever seen. Climate change has resulted in some species ranging farther north than ever before, so the day may come when I will see something really special, like a Vermilion Flycatcher or Summer Tanager on the Tuolumne River. And that, my friends, is why I am "that guy" out there walking every day looking to the sky, instead of tromping on a machine at the gym.
 

More Color for Drab Days: The Bullock's Orioles on the Tuolumne River

I admit it. I can't resist the Orioles. They are one of the flashiest colorful birds out there right now, and I'm seeing them a tiny bit more often these days. There are at least three individuals on the trail at the moment, and I am getting used to where they like to feed. The picture above shows that they might be getting tired of me taking their picture, though...

The black eye strip and black crown identifies this one as a male Bullock's Oriole (icterus bullockii). I'm on the lookout now for some sign of their unique nests. They build a hanging affair out of palm fibers, and there are several promising palms along the trail.

The females are not as flashy as the males, but I have seen one or two so far. These birds are tropical migrants with a winter home in Mexico or Central America. I always enjoy their summer sojourn on the river, and I look forward to more sightings in the weeks to come.

The Natural World Goes On: The Bullock's Orioles Arrive!

These are interesting weeks in the bird world. As spring ramps up many of our winter "snowbirds" have left, on their way to Arctic regions to breed for the summer. It would feel like a real loss, but at the same time we are starting to see the arrival of some colorful migrants out of the tropics. I saw the first Western Kingbirds earlier this week, and yesterday I had a pleasant surprise of coming upon a Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) feeding in the wild tobacco plants by the Tuolumne River. They're among my favorites (although I'm really partial to blue; I am really hoping to run across a Blue Grosbeak or Lazuli Bunting soon).

Shades of yellow and orange are breaking out all over. Golden Poppies are blooming right now along the river.

Fiery Color: Six Weeks of Bullock's Orioles on the Tuolumne River

One of the really nice things about walking the same trail (the Tuolumne Parkway Trail in Waterford) three or more times a week is that one can get to know individual birds and their habits. As I hike along, I'm always watching out for the species that I know are rare or exotic (just today I saw Cinnamon Teal in a pond along the trail, the first time it's ever been reported on this particular stretch of the river). But there is also the privilege of getting to know the birds that are practically always around, because the river is their home.

The Black Phoebes have their favorite roosting spots, as do the House Wrens, and the American Kestrels. The Mute Swans are almost always floating on the pond across the river from the western trailhead. The raptors almost seem to have specific territories (or times) along the river; the Red-tails tend to be on the downstream side, and the Swainsons, Coopers, and Red-shouldered hawks more upstream. A particular dead cottonwood tree seems to be the territory boundary, as all the birds compete for roosting spots there. Underneath them, a pair of Acorn Woodpeckers are almost always drilling away at the trunk. A Green Heron likes to lurk in the pond below the irrigation canal "waterfall". If I don't see these birds when I walk, I get a feeling that something is missing.

Then there are the birds whose presence is a seasonal event. I always look forward to the spring migration because the tropical migrants who are arriving tend to be especially colorful. Their arrival was something I always seemed to miss in my ignorance before I started watching carefully a few years ago. Although they provide a splash of color, they tend to be fairly rare and inconsistent in their chosen roosting and nesting spots. If one doesn't know where to look, the birds can be very easy to miss.

One of my absolute favorites are the Bullock's Orioles (Icterus bullockii). I only saw a few of them last year and the year before. I wasn't walking the trail consistently, and I never found the area where they were nesting.

This year has been different. I haven't seen their nest yet, but I've seen a male and female consistently flying in and out of a particular palm tree on the bluffs above the water treatment plant (I hope the people living in the house there aren't too concerned about the strange man in the hat with a camera who comes and stands in front of their house every day).

Like many birds, the females are not so brilliantly colored, but they are very pretty nonetheless. I'm hopeful that there will be some fledglings to observe before long!

It's been about six weeks since I saw the first of the Bullock's Orioles on April 7, and I've noted their presence on my ebird lists twenty (!) times now. Some of the sightings included some nice shots that I wanted to post immediately, but six weeks of nothing but Bullock's Oriole on this blog would have maybe seemed...excessive.

So instead, I'm taking my favorite shots from the last six weeks in a "Best of" compilation. When I see young ones, maybe I'll post again (I don't really need excuses though). In the meantime, enjoy!

The Tropical Migrants Are Arriving! Bullock's Orioles on the Tuolumne River

Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii)

There is a lot of anticipation in this bird-watching business. You know they're coming, you're anxious to see them arrive, but you just don't know when or where that first moment is going to happen. It's been that way for me for several weeks now, wondering when the tropical migrants are going to start arriving at the Tuolumne River, especially the Orioles and the Grosbeaks, a group of the most beautiful birds there are.

The first of them arrived a week or two ago when I spotted the first Western Kingbird (pictures soon), and then a Rufous Hummingbird. Then reports starting coming in from other parts of the county of the arrival of Hooded and Bullock's Orioles, and Black-headed Grosbeaks. When would they arrive at the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail?

In a sense, I kind of knew it had to be today. I started out walking and my camera battery registered a single bar. It was almost dead. I always carry a spare, so I replaced the first battery only to find that the second one was dead. I had traded one out earlier in the week and forgot to charge it! I did a two-hour walk with a camera that was mere moments from dying, and Murphy's Law kind of dictates that if I was going to see any kind of rare or unusual bird (or Sasquatch for that matter), that my camera would be dead.

But I plugged along. A bird flew out of the foliage overhead that I assumed was a Starling, but my after-memory told me it had some yellow coloration. I couldn't find it, but then a second bird flashed yellow in front of me, and I knew I had one of them. I saw it land in a tree two hundred yards away, so I took a panicky first shot thinking I might not have another chance. Here's a challenge for you...can you see the Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) in the picture above?

I zoomed in and got the picture below, which is not a great shot by any means, but would suffice to confirm my identification of the bird. And then another pair of birds flew out. One of them was a female, and it landed in the middle of a tree, but I managed to get an ID shot (the second shot above). Then a male flew back to the shrubs they had originally come from and quite literally posed for its glamour shot, which turns out to be one of the best shots I've ever gotten of one of these beautiful birds.

The Orange Invasion Continues: Bullock's Orioles on the Tuolumne River

I'm loving the arrival of the tropical migrants in our region. Many are brightly colored, including the Black-headed Grosbeak, the Western Tanager, and the Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bulockii). For this year, I'm still looking for a Hooded Oriole and a Varied Thrush. But in the meantime, I've seen the Bullock's Orioles a couple of times in the last few days, with a small twist: the ladies were present. After scanning the bluffs and the treetops for any sign at all of these beautiful birds, I had two of them fly right in front of my face, and land on the shrubs a few yards away.

I didn't manage any pictures of the quality of my post two weeks ago, primarily because I was torn about which bird to concentrate on! Get a picture of the flashy male, like the ones I already have? Or get some shots of the only less slightly colorful female who was collecting nesting material? Thus I got so-so pictures of both in the end. But heck, that just means I'll have to spend some more time walking to get more pictures! And that thrush is out there...somewhere...

A Bird in Hand is Better Than Two in the Bush, But Why Not Both? Bullock's Oriole on the Tuolumne River

I don't see them often, and generally only at a distance, up in the tree canopy far above. The Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) is a tropical species, and is only in our area during the warmer months of the year. I've been watching for them for a couple of weeks, and was thrilled to see one yesterday up in an oak tree across the parking lot. I could barely see it except for the bright yellow orange color.

And that's why today was such a shock. I was standing under a much shorter tree along the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail, and this Bullock's Oriole simply landed in front of me, maybe only 20 feet away. It's going to be a long time before I again get a picture like the one above. It flew off up the hillside and got into a little chase with a second Oriole. What a privilege to see them up so close, and so unexpected.

Bullock's Orioles on the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail

One of the pleasures of the coming summer season is the arrival of the tropical species in our region. Many of them are colorful, and as a beginning birder, I was surprised by how many could be seen in our region. I was on my river walk the other day, and I went an extra half mile to the trail that extends along the River Pointe development. There's a nice line of ancient oak trees along the river, but I've not seen a lot of native birds there (mainly lots of sparrows and house finches at the backyard feeders).

This time around, I spotted a yellowish bird in the oaks that I didn't immediately recognize. I immediately thought of female orioles, but wasn't sure. I got a couple of shots and started searching more carefully. I realized there were a number of birds flitting about high in the branches. Some of them were Cedar Waxwings, but then suddenly I saw a bright flash of yellow high over my head, and there it was: a male Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii).

I did something unusual for my walks...I sat down! The birds weren't particularly upset by my presence, and there was a bench anyway, so I enjoyed watching the activity above.

I got a couple of half-decent shots and a short video. Enjoy!


I don't know, maybe he was irritated with me after all...

Bullock's Orioles (and others) on the Tuolumne River Parkway

Once you've identified them the first time around, you start seeing them more often. I saw a Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) a bit over a week ago on the Tuolumne Parkway Trail in Waterford, and then the other day I got a look at more of them. Mama was apparently feeding a young teenager in the fig trees that arch over the trail. I'll have to enjoy them while I can. In a few weeks they'll be migrating south for the winter.

A few moments later I saw a male Oriole a few yards away up in the cottonwood tree, but should have realized it was actually a Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus). The yellow head is the giveaway. That of course makes me wonder if I misidentified the female and juvenile too, but my impression is that the bills aren't curved enough to be Hooded Orioles, and they have too much white coloring on their breasts. I'm open to correction!

Bullock's Oriole Female on the Tuolumne River (plus a bonus California Towhee doing battle)

There's this subjective bias that pops up, especially during political years, where the media will comment endlessly about what some public figure is wearing, while more or less ignoring what the person has to say. And needless to say (but I will), those public figures are invariably women. It's especially evident when commentators refer (fairly or not) that a woman is "eye candy". I was guilty of this sort of judgement yesterday, but it had nothing to do with media or politics.

I had a really productive walk along the Tuolumne Parkway Trail where the river flows into the Great Valley. I got close up shots of a juvenile Turkey Vulture, I saw River Otters for the first time in my life, and I watched in concerned amusement (is that a thing?) as what I think was a California Towhee did vicious battle with himself in a car's side view mirror (above). I distracted the poor thing enough to cause it to fly away, and went on.

A male Bullock's Oriole at Merced Falls in April 2015

Then there was some other bird up in the brush, so I snapped a shot and forgot about it as I next saw the otters in the river. Later, I realized it wasn't a finch or a sparrow, and being the amateur that I am, I couldn't find it in the field guides. That's because I wasn't looking for pictures of females! It appears to be a female Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii). In bird world, it is the males who most often are ornately decorated with intense colors, and the orioles are no exception. Mrs. Geotripper and I have seen a couple of orioles in the region, but I've never noticed the females before. Now I'll have to pay better attention, and not be so subjectively biased!

Addendum: Two days later I walk again, and see four more Orioles! Got one half-decent picture...

Bullock's! Mrs. Geotripper Finds an Oriole

Durn it all. While I was busy conducting an outdoor business meeting for our upcoming field studies class, Mrs. Geotripper was serving as the official photographer of the event. But instead of taking pictures of her stunningly handsome husband holding the rapt attention of his students, she was catching a marvelous shot of a Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) that was taking in the proceedings from a high branch nearby.

We were out in the farmlands east of Turlock and Modesto. The Bullock's Oriole is a bird of open spaces in the American West, although they range south into Mexico.

Surprise! Two birds in the Bush are Worth More Than One in the Hand: Bullock's Oriole at Merced Falls

Photo by Mrs. Geotripper

I'm new enough at birding that this kind of thing can still happen. Mrs. Geotripper and I were in the car at Merced Falls trying to get a better look at the Osprey nest on the south side of the Merced River. I happened to look next to me for some reason and to my intense surprise there was a flaming orange bird right next to me, just across the street. I was trying to get a photograph, but the camera kept focusing in the branches in front (yeah, I know, manual focus, but I was fumbling too much). I signaled quietly to Mrs. Geotripper, who was at a better angle, and she got the best set of photos.

Photo by Mrs. Geotripper

It turned out to be a Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii), and it was only the second time I've ever seen one, and the first time we got any kind of decent pictures. The Bullock's Oriole is a close relative to the Baltimore Oriole, but the Baltimore is a pretty much eastern species, while the Bullock's is a denizen of the western states. In the summer anyway. In the winter, the Bullock's lives in Mexico while the Baltimore winters in Central America and the northernmost part of South America. The birds were once thought to be the same species (they sometimes interbreed where their ranges overlap a bit), but they are genetically distinct. 

Photo by Mrs. Geotripper

The Orioles are said to be common, which shows how observant I am in the wild, having seen so few. But I'll be ready for the next one! But the funny thing about the moment was that the Oriole flew away after a few moments, so I watched the Ospreys again, and then I saw movement in the same bush, and it was another bird, and it was another species, and a first sighting for me. And thus the strange title for today's post. More on the other bird in the next post.

And here are my two fuzzy shots through the branches

In the meantime, enjoy these photos of one of the most intensely colored birds I've ever seen around here!