Red Eyed Vireo Bird – Passerines – 5/22/2014

This Red- Eyed Vireo was photographed behind my house in Muskego, Wisconsin.

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The Red-Eyed Vireo is a small olive- or gray- backed bird, much like wood warblers but rounder head, with unbarred wings and with a strong black-bordered white eyebrow stripe. The bill has a more curved ridge and a slight hook. The red eye may not be obvious. It has a range from Canada to the Gulf States. It has a range of woodlands, shade trees, and groves. It feeds on mostly insects and berries. During summer it is usually around, but it is not most often seen, as it tends to stay out of sight in the leafy treetops.

 

 

Brown Creeper Bird – Passerines – 3/21/2015

The Brown Creeper was photographed in Muskego, Wisconsin crawling up trunks of trees.

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The Brown Creeper is a very small slim tree climber that is brown above and white below with a slender decurved bill and stiff tail. It has a range from southern Alaska, Canada, United States to Nicaragua. It has a habitat of woodlands, groves, and shade trees. It is usually seen after its voice is heard as a single high thin seee sound. It ascends trees spirally from the base with its tail braced against the surface. It feeds on mostly insects in the bark.

 

Nashville Warbler Bird – Passerines – 5/12/2013

This Nashville Warbler was photographed in Muskego, Wisconsin

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The Nashville Warbler has a gray head, yellow throat with a olive-green back and no wing bars. It has a bright white-eye ring. Males may show a dull chestnut crown patch. It has a range of southern Canada, and western and northern United States. It has a habitat of cool open mixed woods with undergrowth, forest edges, and bogs. The diet is mostly insects including beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers,  leafhoppers, aphids, including eggs and larvae.

 

Blue Gray Gnatcatcher Bird – Passerines – 5/12/2013

This male Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher was photographed in Muskego, Wisconsin

This female Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher was photographed at Veterans Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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The male Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher is a tiny bird blue-gray above and white below with a white eye-ring and a black stripe above, and a long black tail. The female has similar looks as the male except may be grayer, and doesn’t have a black stripe above the eye and forehead. It has a range from southern Oregon, and southern Ontario to Guatemala. It has a habitat in open woods, oaks, pines, brushy areas, and thickets. It has a diet of mostly insects. It is often seen high in trees or taller brush.

 

Great Horned Owl Bird – Birds of Prey – 5/1/2010

This Great Horned Owl was photographed at Wehr Nature Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This Great Horned Owl was photographed with a VHS video in Muskego, Wisconsin in 1988.

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The Great Horned Owl is either red-brown or gray in color with large tufts. It varies regionally from very dark to very pale and has a white throat bib. It habitats in North America in forests, mixed woodlands, streamsides, open country, shady suburbs, and city parks. It roosts during the day in high perches, and is active at night. It has no regular migration but may wander long distances in fall and winter. It’s diet is varied, mostly mammals and birds. May begin nesting very early in the North-late winter.

 

Red Breasted Nuthatch Bird – Passerines – 10/19/2012

The male Red-Breasted Nuthatch was photographed at bird feeders in Muskego, Wisconsin

This female Red-Breasted Nuthatch was photographed in the tree on a cloudy day in Muskego, Wisconsin

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The Red-Breasted Nuthatch has a gray back, a black cap, a white stripe above the eye, a black stripe through the eye, and rusty underparts. It is compact, short tailed, and strong clawed. They nest further north and higher in the mountains than their relatives the White-Breasted Nuthatch. It has a range of southeastern Alaska, Canada, and western and northeastern United Sates. Its habitat is conifer and other trees. The diet is mostly insects and seeds. The Red-Breasted Nuthatch came to the feeders with other White-Breasted Nuthatches and Black-Capped Chickadees.

 

Baltimore or Northern Oriole Bird – Passerines – 5/7/2012

The male Baltimore Orioles were photographed at the Wehr Nature Center in Franklin, Wisconsin or in Muskego, Wisconsin.

The female Baltimore Oriole. It looks considerably different from the male.

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The male Baltimore Oriole is flame-orange and black with a solid black head. The female and immature are olive-brown above and burnt orange-yellow below. They range from southern Canada to most of the United States. The habitat is open woods, riverside groves, and shade trees. The diet is mostly insects, berries, and nectar. They are commonly seen shooting through trees during their migration and nesting periods.

 

Palm Warbler Bird – Passerines – 5/8/2010

The Palm Warbler is one of the first Warblers that I photographed. This one was photographed from an uptairs window.

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The Palm Warbler is brown above and yellowish or whitish below. In the spring it has a chestnut cap. The breast is narrowly streaked. It has a habitat of wooded borders, low trees, bushes, and ground cover. It likes to hide behind branches and cover in shaded places. It has a normal range of Canada and the NE United States. It Winters in the South United States to the Caribbean area. They feed on insects and berries.

 

Cooper’s Hawk Bird – Birds of Prey – 10/14/2010

The Cooper’s Hawk photo was taken from my back door as I was watching a swarm of smaller birds in the backyard at a feeder. Its height is estimated at 20 inches.

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The juvenile Cooper’s Hawk is a short winged long tailed bird that is brown with a streaked breast and white belly. The tail of the female is rounded, the male less so. Its range is from south Canada, United States, to northern Mexico. Its habitat is mature forest, open woodland, wood edges, and river groves. Feeding on birds and small mammals it hunts by stealth, approaching its prey through dense covering, as seen here, and then pouncing with a rapid powerful flight. Its short wings and long tail make it fast and maneuverable for quick threading among the branches of the trees.

This is my second Hawk to photograph. I was watching a swarm of smaller birds passing through my yard, landing briefly, and then passing on. I saw something larger passing overhead and landing in a tree over a bird feeder. Looking up I had just enough time to get these photos before it took off. It took awhile to identify the bird with the wide tail banding to be a Cooper’s Hawk.

This short Cooper’s Hawk was photographed in Muskego, Wisconsin. It has an estimated height of 14.5 inches.

 

Downy Woodpecker Bird – Nonpasserines Land Bird – 4/13/2011-2015

This male Downy Woodpecker was photographed at Whitnall Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The female Downy Woodpecker was photographed at the Estabrook Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Select this link to see photos or a slideshow of the Downy Woodpecker

The Downy Woodpeckers are checkered and spotted with black and white, and a white back, breast and undersides. The male has a small red patch on the back of the head. The Hairy Woodpecker is larger in size than the Downy. The Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers are the only Woodpeckers with a white back. It has a range from Alaska and Canada to South United States. It has a habitat of forests, woodlots, willows, river groves, orchards, and shade trees. It feeds mostly on insects, and seeds and suet at bird feeders.

This is the smallest of the woodpeckers in North America. It is common and widespread, however avoids the arid southwest states. It is familiar to urban areas and parks and feeds on weed stalks, bird feeders, and large trees.