The black phoebe: A lifer for me.

Black phoebe photographed in Palm Springs, October, 2023

Some birds, such as the rock wren I photographed earlier this week, can be found in both western Canada and the United States.  Other birds like the black phoebe are only found south of the Canadian border; I would never hope to see one unless I was travelling outside the country.  Having said that, the rock wren is native to southern BC, but I have never seen one.  It just so happens I was at a place where both birds co-existed, and I got to see them.

Although I do enjoy birding wherever I go, there is a certain thrill associated with seeing something I haven't personally witnessed before.  Bird watchers call these first-time observations "lifers".  I don't personally go by this and do not keep a record of what I see where and when, but my photographs record much of that information.  For me, a "lifer" is an endearing moment when I get to witness a marvel of creation for the first time, and it doesn't apply just to birds.  I get the same thrill for reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and just about every other thing that moves above, on, or under the Earth's surface.  

The other thing I like to do is to write blogs on the object of my wonder.  In this case, it's the black phoebe, and I clearly remember the moment my camera focused on the dark form before me.  Phoebes are flycatchers.  I saw a different species just two days prior to this; it was a Say's phoebe, and it too falls into the category of a lifer as well.

Black phoebes like to perch in an open area, just as this one is doing, and scan for passing insects.  I saw this one leave its mount for a moment and strike the nearby air for a winged snack and then return to continue its vigil.  The males will escort a female to potential nesting sites.  When she finds a suitable one, they will build a small cup-like structure out of mud and lay eggs in it.  She may lay up to six eggs and the pair may raise up to three families in a single year.  Given their far southern range, the weather will likely allow for this.

 I used the All About Birds website (click here) for some of the material presented above.  This one and many others are an excellent source of information for my blogs and personal perusal.  If you haven't been to such a site, consider taking a couple of minutes to have a look.  I think you will be amazed.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I found a black widow spider in a plant pot today

Image
The spider I found is a western black widow spider, one of three species of black widow that occur in North America.  The fact that this one has another red patch on the back of its abdomen above the spinnerettes tells us that it is an immature individual. The one thing that people know about black widow spiders is that they are extremely poisonous.  Their venom is something like 15x more toxic than that of a rattlesnake.  The saving grace is that there is very little venom injected from a black widow bite than what a rattlesnake can deliver.   The good news is that black widow bites seldom lead to death.  You are more likely to suffer nausea, muscle pain, and swelling around the bite.  Symptoms usually last only 12 hours or so.  Death may be a result in people with compromised immune systems or in the very young or the elderly.   In 2018, it was reported that there were 1015 cases of people bitten by black widows.  Of those, there ...
Read more

The passing of a generation

Image
Kathryn's mom and dad with our children, Josh and Leanne. A generation, for North America, tends to be between 20 and 30 years.  During that time a couple will give birth and raise children to see them repeat the pattern as they themselves have done.  Each generation has its own set of standards, values, and ideals based upon their experiences and culture, and some of that is passed down to their offspring.  What changes are the life experiences of the following generation and the new customs and ideals that are blended together as a couple becomes a family. Kathryn's mom passed away a few days ago, she was predeceased by her husband several years ago.  Both of them were the grandparents of my children, the mother and father of my wife, Kathryn.  It was my pleasure to know them and to love them as my own, for to me they were Mom and Dad.  And they were there to welcome my children into the world just as my children were with them in spirit when they left it...
Read more

Hang in there, things will get better.

Image
The Svendsen Family - Eric, Samuel, Leanne, Joshua (top row), Nora, Kathryn, Chanelle, Emma If I could go back, in my mind, to a day in my life when I was really down, it would be nice to be able to see into the future.  If could see things as they are today, with the many blessings that have been given to me, it would give me hope knowing that things wouldn't always be so discouraging.   The message here is we do not know what the future holds.  When things are bad, it is hard to raise your head out of the mire to see beyond the darkness.  There are no guarantees, of course, that things will be better, but I think it is true that fortunes ebb and flow as tides do.  The trick is to see beyond the low points and not be too haughty during the high ones.  I know that, at this moment, things are very good.  What the future holds is unknown, but low and high points are likely in the forecast.   This is why taking satisfaction from the moment ...
Read more