Some birds from Western KY

All things winged.

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Reptiluvr
Posts: 258
Joined: April 23rd, 2011, 7:49 pm

Some birds from Western KY

Post by Reptiluvr »

So while I was working on a Northern Bobwhite project I caught some cool passerines as well and photographed a few of them. We also had a couple Ruby-throated Hummingbirds get overheated during the summer and retreat into the shaded compound. I saw more juvenile animals (especially birds) this year than I have ever seen before in my life. It was pretty cool.

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Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) partially hatched nest by photographerp, on Flickr
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Full Term Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) embryo by photographerp, on Flickr
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Full Term Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) embryo by photographerp, on Flickr
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Female Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) on Nest by photographerp, on Flickr
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Juvenile and mother Northern Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) by photographerp, on Flickr
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Male Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) by photographerp, on Flickr
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Male Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) by photographerp, on Flickr
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Dickcissel by photographerp, on Flickr
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Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) by photographerp, on Flickr
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Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) by photographerp, on Flickr
Hatchling Sparrows by photographerp, on Flickr
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird by photographerp, on Flickr
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Juvenile American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) by photographerp, on Flickr
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Juvenile Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) by photographerp, on Flickr
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The Jake-Man
Posts: 224
Joined: June 25th, 2012, 4:08 pm
Location: Lebanon Pennsylvania

Re: Some birds from Western KY

Post by The Jake-Man »

Wow. Any of those photos are better than the best bird photo I have ever taken! Great job.
Reptiluvr
Posts: 258
Joined: April 23rd, 2011, 7:49 pm

Re: Some birds from Western KY

Post by Reptiluvr »

Yea, having a bird in hand makes taking pictures a lot more feasible. Most of those were taken with my camera macro lens in one hand and the bird in the other. It's also easy when there's helpless juveniles that can't fly away from you and just sit still for a photo.
VICtort
Posts: 691
Joined: July 2nd, 2010, 6:48 pm
Location: AZ.

Re: Some birds from Western KY

Post by VICtort »

Those are great experiences no doubt, it is not everyday ones sees a hatchling woodcock or even a kildeer. If you care to state, what is the goal of your project with bobwhite quail? How do you find the nests or are they captives? I have found a couple of acitive valley quail nests over the years, under cover I was flipping, I recall an old car hood...and the female just sat motionless as I gently put the hood back down.

Thanks for posting, Vic
Reptiluvr
Posts: 258
Joined: April 23rd, 2011, 7:49 pm

Re: Some birds from Western KY

Post by Reptiluvr »

The project is a collaboration between KY Fish & Wildlife and UT-Knoxville. Quail Unlimited have a foot in there too. The Peabody WMA tracts are disjunct pieces of land that used to be coal mines. They are now reclaimed, mostly with invasives planted by the coal company. KFW wants to see if they can manage the land to boost quail populations in hopes of attracting hunters and thus more revenue. They have two tracts they are working on where a piece of the land (not exactly half...) is treated and the other is not. The treatments are agricultural food plots, brush piles, fire breaks and disc blocks. They want to know habitat preference, home range and whether there are more or less quail in treated sections. We used radio telemetry to track the quail, that's how I found the nests. I found 18 total from May to August, around 40% of my quail, including two males that sat on nests.
VICtort
Posts: 691
Joined: July 2nd, 2010, 6:48 pm
Location: AZ.

Re: Some birds from Western KY

Post by VICtort »

I am glad you mentioned Quail Unlimited, it is popular in some factions to pick on hunters and the gun and bullet crowd, but there is no question they pay to play. This is one reason they have the ear of various agencies, and the herp people are often ingnored, as they just don't have the influence of various sportmans groups. Plus they often contribute expertise and equipment for joint ventures with agencies, and on private lands. Duck Unlimited, for example, can generate millions each year for ducks...thus they are a major player in conservation efforts. Interesting project, it sure would be a good thing if these reclaimed lands could support some healthy native wildlife and flora... BTW, do herp populations seem to reclaim these lands? good luck, Vic
Reptiluvr
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Joined: April 23rd, 2011, 7:49 pm

Re: Some birds from Western KY

Post by Reptiluvr »

The herps are there. I found Garters, Black Rats, Black Kings, Black Racers, Ground Skinks, Bull Frogs, Leopard Frogs, Blanchards Cricket Frogs, Cope's Gray Tree Frogs, Bird-voiced Tree Frogs, Eastern Narrowmouth Toads, Fowler's Toads, American Toads and the first recorded Smallmouth Salamander on Peabody. No venomous species even though a mile away Copperheads could be found. I only found 2 ground skinks the entire time I was there, so they are not at all plentiful.

I personally don't appreciate "conservation for hunting" by "enter game bird here" Unlimited and many F&W agencies. That's not conservation. That's population manipulation to be knocked back down again. I would call it sustainable hunting because conservation just isn't the right word.
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