Author Archives: Two Shutterbirds

Happy New Year from Two Shutterbirds!

Ring out the false, ring in the true. –Alfred Lord Tennyson

Ruby-crowned Kinglet in Snowy Thicket, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona
Ruby-crowned Kinglet in Snowy Thicket, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Several recent snow storms turned southeast Arizona into a spectacular landscape of snowy desert, mountain, and forest. We took several opportunities to chase birds around in the white–a real treat for Houstonians! Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

As we put 2018 in the rear-view mirror, we wish all our friends and readers the happiest new year! Here’s to a 2019 that is quite unlike 2018! Cheers!

Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona
Sharp-shinned Hawk in the Snow, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Canon EOS 7DII/300mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Hand-held. Natural light.
Chihuahuan Desert in Snow, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona
Chihuahuan Desert in Snow, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Canon EOS 5DIII/Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 @16mm. Hand-held. Natural light. Although this is a crop-sensor lens, it will not vignette at 16mm on a full-frame sensor.

©2019 Christopher R. Cunningham and Elisa D. Lewis. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Those Pesky (but Wonderful) Woodpeckers!

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
  Only this and nothing more.”–Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
Northern Flicker (red-shafted), Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona
Not so Innocent: Male Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) on Agave Bloom Stalk, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

A few nights ago as we lay in bed, around 4 am, an eerie scratching noise pried us from the arms of Morpheus. Having had roof rats in our Houston house many years ago, we were terrified that rodents had found their way into our new Arizona house–those suckers were really hard to get rid of! After wondering who or what was making the noise, Chris got out of bed, grabbed a flashlight, and proceeded out the balcony door. Fully expecting to find a cliff chipmunk living it up on our roof, he was startled to discover a female Northern Flicker attempting to chisel her way into the stucco beneath the eaves! “You have a whole forest, but you have to drill into my house!” exclaimed Chris.

Pileated Woodpecker, Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, Washington
I Make Everywhere Look Like WWII: Female Pileated Woodpecker, Kalaloch Beach, Olympic Peninsula, Washington. The whole retention wall, composed of large conifer logs, looked like it had been riddled with gunfire. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Even the most dedicated bird-lovers must have doubts from time-to-time when it comes to woodpeckers. Up in the North Woods of Minnesota they are reviled pests. Once Chris watched in fascination as a Hairy Woodpecker chiseling into a log cabin at a lodge in the Colorado Rockies. He was fascinated, mainly because he had never before had such a good look at this species,* but also at the audacity of the creature. Taking such liberties with private property in broad daylight, ten feet from a human onlooker!  Doubtful the owner of the lodge would have been so charmed.

Female Williamson's Sapsucker, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Trust me! The trees love it when we do this! Female Williamson’s Sapsucker on aspen, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Despite their tendency to knock holes in trees and human structures, woodpeckers are among our favorite birds. We are always thrilled to see them. Even in the middle of the night. Well . . . .

Acorn Woodpecker. Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona
Acorn Woodpecker, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Notice how the branch has nearly been chiseled out of existence. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). High-speed synchronized fill-flash.
Fledgling Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
Fledgling Golden-fronted Woodpecker(?), Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. Unfortunately Santa Ana NWR is on the chopping block as a result of Trump’s wall. Visit before the place is trashed. Canon EOS 7D/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

*Even though they look very much alike in books, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers are readily distinguishable in person. The size and robustness of the bill is very different.

©2018 Christopher R. Cunningham and Elisa D. Lewis. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

We are Still Here!

The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself and to be worthy of your own approval.–Denis Waitley

Baby American Tree Swallows, Potter Marsh, Alaska
American Tree Swallow Fledglings, Potter Marsh, Alaska. Parents were circling around, occasionally alighting to deposit bugs, mostly craneflies and mayflies, into gaping maws. Legs can be seen protruding from the mouth of the youngster on the right. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Regular readers will no doubt have noticed a decline in the rate of posting on twoshutterbirds.com. This is not by choice! This drop-off in productivity has been the result of a number of factors affecting our luxurious new post-Harvey lifestyle. A change in Chris’s teaching schedule has also meant the loss of an hour after work every day–the time he used to work on bird photography. Chris having a tenacious head cold the past few weeks hasn’t helped, either. In any case, for the near-term we’ll likely not be as productive as we have been in the distant past. Keep checking back! We’ll keep slogging forward, and a new equilibrium will eventually be reached!

©2018 Christopher R. Cunningham and Elisa D. Lewis. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Twoshutterbirds Takes a Break!

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. –Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Sandhill Cranes in Flight, San Bernardo National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico
Sandhill Cranes in Flight, San Bernardo National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

It’s been a busy summer, but now it’s time to fly away from the exotic plants and animals of the desert and get back to work work. For a while we’ll be too busy to spend much time on twoshutterbirds. But, dear reader, never fear! We’ll be back on the ball in no time flat with more images of, and prose about, our beloved feathery friends (and others)!

Staghorn Cholla, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona
Staghorn Cholla (Cylinderopuntia versicolor), Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Canon EOS 5DIII/100mm f/2.8L IS Macro. High-speed synchronized macro ring-flash.
Desert Bird of Paradise, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona
Desert Bird of Paradise (Erythrostemon gilliesii), Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. This plant is native to the Tropical Americas and has been naturalized in parts of the Southwest. Canon EOS 5DIII/100mm f/2.8L IS Macro. High-speed synchronized macro ring-flash.

©2018 Elisa D. Lewis and Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Reminder: A Two Shutterbirds Talk (May 2)

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. –Marcel Proust

A Calliope Hummingbird Sticks out his Tongue, Franklin Mountains State park, West Texas. Canon EOS 7D/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.
A Male Calliope Hummingbird Sticks Out His Tongue, Franklin Mountains State Park, West Texas. The Franklins have become a frequent stopping point on the long road trip to Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Canon EOS 7D/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Don’t forget to join us for . . . . 

Topic: Birding Cave Creek Canyon (and Other Adventures), Arizona and West Texas

Time/date: 7 pm/May 2, 2018

Place:  Houston Audubon’s Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary, 440 Wilchester Blvd, Houston, TX 77079

Synopsis: Cave Creek Canyon (CCC) in the Chiricahuas of southeast Arizona is one of the great birding destinations of the United States. Especially known for a diversity and abundance of hummingbirds, CCC is an important migratory route for Neotropical migrant songbirds entering the West and contains birds and other biota from the surrounding deserts, grasslands, and Madrean Highlands (Sky Islands). Since they first visited CCC about five years ago, Chris and Elisa have been drawing up plans to visit as often as possible and ultimately wish to retire to this area. Although they have much yet to learn, join this husband/wife photo-birding team at they relate some of their first avian encounters in this incredible area. We will also discuss the Franklin Mountains of West Texas, a frequent stopover site on the way to CCC with excellent photobirding and a similar avifauna.

©2018 Christopher R. Cunningham and Elisa D. Lewis. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Birding Cave Creek Canyon: A New Twoshutterbirds Presentation

Nature is the art of God. –Dante Alighieri

Female Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona
Female Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Topic: Birding Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona

Time/date: 7 pm/May 2, 2018

Place:  Houston Audubon’s Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary, 440 Wilchester Blvd, Houston, TX 77079

Synopsis: Cave Creek Canyon (CCC) in the Chiricahuas of southeast Arizona is one of the great birding destinations of the United States. Especially known for a diversity and abundance of hummingbirds, CCC is an important migratory route for Neotropical migrant songbirds entering the West and contains birds and other biota from the surrounding deserts, grasslands, and Madrean Highlands (Sky Islands). Since they first visited CCC about five years ago, Chris and Elisa have been drawing up plans to visit as often as possible and ultimately wish to retire to this area. Although they have much yet to learn, join this husband/wife photo-birding team at they relate some of their first avian encounters in this incredible area.

©2018 Christopher R. Cunningham and Elisa D. Lewis. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Merry Christmas!

That’s the true spirit of Christmas; people being helped by people other than me. –Jerry Seinfeld

Arctic Tern, near Potter Marsh, Alaska
Portrait: Arctic Tern, near Potter Marsh, Alaska. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

What a year! But we wanted to take time to wish all our readers and naturalist friends the merriest Christmas. May joy find you! Cheers, Chris and Elisa

Parakeet Auklet, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska
Parakeet Auklet on Rock, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light. Natural light.

©2017 Christopher R. Cunningham and Elisa D. Lewis. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Two Shutterbirds Takes a Break (Again)!

I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad. –George Bernard Shaw

Black Skimmer Flock, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas
Black Skimmer Flock, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Shaw’s words have a special significance for those of us who live in Houston . . . . In any case, we’re taking a few days off to enjoy the holidays but will be back on the ball soon to share more images and prose about our delightful feathered friends! Cheers, Chris and Elisa

©2017 Christopher R. Cunningham and Elisa D. Lewis. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Two Shutterbirds: On Hiatus

 

Alligator with Great Egret Nestling, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas
Stay Out of the Water: Alligator with Great Egret Nestling, Smith Oaks Rookery, High Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Late last week we evacuated to Huntsville for the epic floods associated with Harvey. At this writing, we don’t know the extent of the damage to our house, but we’re expecting it to be severe. Given the uncertainties and the likelihood of being extremely busy for the next few weeks, we’re putting Two Shutterbirds on hiatus. But don’t despair, we may be back with more images of our avian friends sooner than we think. Cheers, Elisa and Chris

Near Totality, Casper, Wyoming
Near Totality, Casper, Wyoming. The moon has just passed the sun, and the light will soon return. Canon EOS 7DII/500mm f/4L IS/Thousand Oaks Optical metal foil solar filter/mirror lock up/cable release. Natural light.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1: 5

©2017 Elisa D. Lewis and Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Eclipse Plumage (and Other Phenomena)

When the moon covers the sun, we have a solar eclipse. What do you call it when birds do that?–Kim Young-ha

Totality, Casper, Wyoming
Totality, Casper, Wyoming. Elisa imaged the total solar eclipse on 8/21/17. Canon EOS 7DII/500mm f/4L/Thousand Oaks Optical metal foil solar filter/tripod/mirror-lock-up/cable release. Note the orange solar prominences. After sticking her toes in the astrophotography water, she is looking forward to the 11/9/19 transit of planet Mercury. Natural light.

Ducks are a bit weird. If you’ve ever scrutinized your reference books or field guides you may have noticed that sometimes the bright plumage of the drake is labeled “winter” and not “breeding.” This is because many species of drakes with brilliantly-colored plumage during most of the year molt into a relatively drab, female-like plumage called eclipse plumage during a short post-breeding period in summer. Their nearly year-round brilliance is briefly in eclipse.

Mallards, Cheney Lake, Anchorage, Alaska
Mallard Drakes in Eclipse Plumage, Cheney Lake, Anchorage, Alaska. If you look closely you can see tiny flecks of green in the cheek area of the bird in the foreground. The drake behind is not as far along in process of molting into eclipse. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

After our return from a recent Alaska trip, several birder friends from Texas asked what we had seen. Chris replied “Mallard drakes in eclipse plumage, for one.” The reaction was similar to the one he gets when someone asks why there are not astronomical eclipses all the time (“The plane of the moon’s orbit is inclined by 5 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic.”): bewildered stares.

Mallard Drake Molting into Eclipse Plumage, Cheney Lake, Anchorage, Alaska
Mallard Drake Molting into Eclipse Plumage, Cheney Lake, Anchorage, Alaska. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

This reaction is likely because only a handful of duck species breed in Texas, and more than half of these (Mottled Ducks and Fulvous and Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks) lack strong sexual dimorphism and a brilliantly colored drake. Only in Blue-winged Teal and Wood Ducks does the the possibility exist of seeing a drake noticeably in eclipse along the Upper Gulf Coast of Texas. In the case of the former, the casual birder would likely think he/she was looking at a hen. In the case of the latter, likely a juvenile or hen. Also, since none of these Texas duck species are typically a cause for excitement among birders, these drakes probably wouldn’t get a second look. In northern regions, where many duck species breed, an oft-asked question among those not clued-in to eclipse plumage is: “Where do all the beautiful drakes go in the summer.”

Mallard Hen, Cheney Lake, Anchorage, Alaska
Mallard Hen, Cheney Lake, Anchorage, Alaska. Note the orange bill. The “black saddle” is just coming in. Note that the cheek area is darker than that of the drake in eclipse. Mallard drakes have olive-yellow bills, too. Even in eclipse the drakes have showier rufous breast feathers. This bird also had ducklings in tow, helping with the identification. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

What is the purpose of eclipse plumage? An adaptationist explanation is that after breeding the drakes no longer need the brilliant colors, so when they enter the molt for their primary (flight) feathers, they lose their showy colors, too. This makes sense ecologically in that when molting primaries they are unable to fly, so being more camouflaged like the females would be adaptive. The hens typically molt their primaries later in the summer, when the ducklings are quite independent.

Travel birding is a worthy endeavor because the insights you gain can be applied frequently at home. The next time I see drakes in the summer here in Texas, I’m sure to look a little harder at them. Maybe you will, too.

Mallard Drakes, Lake Superior, Wisconsin
Mallard Drakes in “Winter” Plumage–even though the photo was taken in June! South Shore, Lake Superior, Wisconsin. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

©2017 Elisa D. Lewis and Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Twoshutterbirds Takes a Break!

Sonny: Is there any special country you wanna go to?

Sal: Wyoming.

Sonny: Sal, Wyoming’s not a country.

–Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, near Reef Rookery, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska
35° F Bird: Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Pribilof subspecies, Leucosticte tephrocotis umbrina), near Reef Rookery, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Only three songbird species are common on St. Paul in summer: Gray-crowned Rosy-finch, Lapland Longspur, and Snow Bunting. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

What with Elisa up in Wyoming to observe the astronomical, and Chris back in thrall attending to the physical, we’re tapped out. Not to worry–we’ll be back on the ball soon with more images and prose celebrating our feathery friends. As we enter these sweaty dog days, we’re dreaming of the first blue norther (and northern and high places)! If you’re on the Texas Gulf Coast, we bet you are too!

©2017 Elisa D. Lewis and Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.

Photo-birding St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska: Larids and Fulmars

I’m off to sit on a cliff. –Nik Kershaw

Black-legged Kittiwake in flight, near Reef Rookery, St.Paul Island, Alaska
Black-legged Kittiwake in Flight, near Reef Rookery, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Kittiwakes rarely stray far from the sea. The best way to photograph birds in flight on St. Paul is to stand at the edge of the cliffs and go hand-held with short focal length lenses. Canon EOS 7DII/100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS. Hand-held. Natural light.
Nest-sitting Black-legged Kittiwakes, Ridge, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska
Nest-sitting Black-legged Kittiwakes, Ridge, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska. KIttiwakes have sharp claws to grasp rocky nesting cliffs. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Hand-held. Natural light.

One of the great surprises for us on St. Paul Island was the low diversity and abundance of larids. We saw nothing like the large mixed flocks of seagulls and terns we are accustomed to around here. To be sure, there were lots of Black-legged Kittiwakes (and a few Red-legged Kittiwakes), but we only observed two species of gulls, Glaucous and Glaucous-winged, and no terns whatsoever. One of the local guides also said there were Herring Gulls around, but we couldn’t swear to seeing one. Further, the only confident identifications of Glaucous Gulls we made were a couple of completely white juveniles that we saw from a distance. Thayer’s Gulls and Black-backed Gulls do occur in the Pribilof Islands in summer, but none were apparent to us.

Glaucous-winged Gull in flight, near Reef Rookery, St.Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska
Young Glaucous-winged Gull in Flight, near Reef Rookery, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska. This identification is based on the white spots near the tips of the primaries that are beginning to come in. Glaucous-winged Gulls interbreed with Western Gulls (in the south) and Herring and Glaucous Gulls in the northern part of their range–further complicating identification nightmares. Canon EOS 7DII/100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS. Hand-held. Natural light.

We know a lot of birders can take or leave gulls (Elisa for one!), a likely reason being difficulties in identification–especially the dramatic changes in appearance many species make from year to year early in life. Chris generally makes an effort to identify any gulls that he sees when visiting coasts. And terns are among his favorite birds, which is why he found the absence of terns on the island a bit of a disappointment. Based on reading, we had reason to expect Arctic Terns on St. Paul. Luckily, we saw Arctic Terns around Anchorage so we didn’t miss them entirely during this trip. Aleutian Terns can theoretically make an appearance on the island during spring and fall, but not summer. Oh, well.

Northern Fulmar in Flight, Ridge, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska
Northern Fulmar in Flight, Ridge, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Northern Fulmars spend most of the year out to sea and only return to land to breed. Canon EOS 7DII/100-400mm f/4.5L IS. Hand-held. Natural light.
Nest-sitting Northern Fulmars, Ridge, St.Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska
Resting Northern Fulmars, Ridge, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Hand-held. Natural light.

Another big surprise was the small number of Northern Fulmars. According to the literature, the Northern Fulmar is one of the most common tubenoses in the world and one of the most abundant breeders on St. Paul Island. But we saw only a few breeding pairs. More fulmars are killed by commercial fishermen than any other seabird, but fulmar populations are large. In the North Atlantic, fulmars have even increased in numbers in recent years. Perhaps had we visited a bit later we would have seen more.

One of the things about travel birding is that it forces you to confront your assumptions. At first we thought the low diversity and abundance of gulls on St. Paul might have had something to do with island biogeography (or the toll humans have been taking on nature). Now it seems clear it has more to do with larid biogeography. Most gulls really do stick close to continental shores and do not range far out to sea. Exceptions include Herring Gulls, Glaucous, and Glaucous-winged Gulls (and the kittiwakes, the most sea-loving of all the gulls, of course)–exactly the ones that occur on St. Paul. Despite the fact that we see seagulls by the sea they are not really seabirds, at least not the way alcids and tubenoses are.

Calling Mew Gull (Breeding), near Potter Marsh, anchorage, Alaska
Calling Mew Gull (Breeding), near Potter Marsh, Anchorage, Alaska. Like many gulls, the Mew Gull sticks close to the coast of the continent. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

©2017 Elisa D. Lewis and Christopher R. Cunningham. All rights reserved. No text or images may be duplicated or distributed without permission.