Photo Friday – Northern Gannets

This is what these beautiful creatures look like before they get oiled.

Wordless Wednesday

Prairie Warbler
Originally uploaded by sjdavies1969

In anticipation of the migrants that are on their way back north. See you soon!

Seiurus

Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapilla, Maryland 04-18-2010

The springtime return of warblers is a highlight of the year for those of us who live in more northerly latitudes. The New World warbler genus Seiurus contains three species – Ovenbird S. aurocapilla, and the two waterthrushes, Northern Waterthrush S. noveboracensis and Louisiana Waterthrush S. motacilla. Here in Maryland, we’re fortunate to have two species that breed locally – Ovenbird and Louisiana Waterthrush. Northern Waterthrush breeds to the north and passes through as a migrant.

Ovenbirds have just recently returned from wintering grounds in the Caribbean and Central America, while Louisiana Waterthrush is an earlier migrant – in fact, one of the first warblers to return here in Spring. We found both species on territory along Fenno Road in Prince George’s County this last Sunday, 04-18. Ovenbirds were singing loudly from woodlands everywhere:

Ovenbird singing, Maryland 04-18-2010

Louisiana Waterthrush is harder to find, usually along watercourses in forested areas.

Louisiana Waterthrush, Maryland 04-18-2010

I don’t have any decent photos of Northern Waterthrush taken locally. I took this shot of a Northern in Panama last year, where this species is a common winter visitor (clicking through will bring you to bigger images):

Northern Waterthrush, Panama 03-22-2009

The two waterthrushes pose an identification challenge. These two images illustrate some of the differences – Northern is more heavily streaked below, especially on the throat, and lacks the warm buffy area on the rear flanks of Louisiana. Differences in the shape and color of the supercilium are helpful but can be difficult to see, depending on the bird’s posture (not particularly helpful in these images, for example). Louisiana also has a heavier bill:

Louisiana Waterthrush, Maryland 04-18-2010

The other closely related species is Swainson’s Warbler Limnothlypis swainsonii, which has a more southerly breeding distribution and is rarely found in Maryland. I photographed this Swainson’s in the Great Dismal Swamp of southern Virginia last year:

Swainson’s Warbler, Virginia 06-13-2009

Swainson’s lacks the streaking below, but the superficial resemblance to the waterthrushes is obvious. Indeed, the song of Swainson’s is quite similar to that of Louisiana Waterthrush. Note also the especially heavy bill.

Flickr Tags: Seiurus,Northern Waterthrush,Louisiana Waterthrush,Ovenbird,Swainson's Warbler