White-shouldered Tanager (Tachyphonus luctuosus)
Here we have a male White-shouldered Tanager (Tachyphonus luctuosus) a common tanager in forested and open habitat areas such as plantations. They have a very similar coloration to the White-lined Tanager and are difficult to distinguish quickly, but with some practice and a little time one can note their size differences and the varying amount of white in the wing. Like most tanagers they can be found in mixed feeding flocks with a large variety of species. Sean often finds them mixed in with our friends the Tennessee and Chestnut-sided Warblers. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser...
Read MoreTennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina)
In only a couple of months Tennessee Warblers (Oreothlypis peregrina) will be here in our backyards, and yesterday’s blast of warmth was a lovely preview of what’s to come. The migrants are moving…what have you seen? Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Costa Rica while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreThe Four MoSI Warblers
The 2014-15 MoSI, or Monitoreo de Sobrevivencia Invernal (Monitoring of Winter Survivorship), protocol banding season for the Nicoya Peninsula Avian Research Station is now in the books. Here we have four species, in the form of Neotropical migratory warblers, that were banded and recaptured over the years at the station: the Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina), Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia), Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea), and Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracen). Banding research is critical to gain an understanding of where and why they return to...
Read MoreNicoya Peninsula Avian Research Station seeking volunteers
The Nicoya Peninsula Avian Research Station is seeking volunteer banding technicians for a winter project in northwestern Costa Rica. The research is aimed toward the study of molt and aging criteria in Costa Rican resident bird species, and collection of data from wintering Nearctic-Neotropical migrants for the Institute for Bird Populations’ MoSI Program. Winter participants will aid in the operation of four bird banding sites on the Nicoya Peninsula. These positions are opportunities for students, educators, amateur or professional ornithologists, and nature enthusiasts to visit one of...
Read MoreDowntown birds
Can you identify this “urban” bird? It was blasting its song over the main site for the New York State “Special Concern” Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtles in downtown Jamestown this past Sunday! It is not obscured and it is close but this is a difficult angle. Yep, that is actually a Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina)! There was a surprising bunch of migrants at the site and I noted the following: Eastern Kingbird 1 Warbling Vireo 2 Red-eyed Vireo 1 Swainson’s Thrush 1 Gray Catbird 2 Tennessee Warbler 3 Nashville Warbler 4 Common Yellowthroat 1 Cape May...
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