Beak of the Week – Common Loon

March 6, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Common Loon (Gavia immer)Family: Gaviidae Known for its hauntingly eerie yodeling song and gaudy summer colors, the Common Loon is often considered a symbol of northern boreal lakes – it’s even featured on the Canadian dollar coin. However, during these winter months when boreal lakes are frozen over, many Common Loons venture toward both the […]

Beak of the Week – Sedge Wren

February 28, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis)Family: Troglodytidae Sedge Wrens are small, round, nutmeg-colored birds, with curved bills, inconspicuous eyebrows, finely streaked heads, lighter chests and bellies, and thicker brown and white streaking on the backs, and tails. Their tails are short and are often raised. You are likely to hear them before you see them, due to […]

Beak of the Week – Tree Swallow

February 20, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)Family: Hirundinidae A bird must be very adept in flight to be able to catch and eat insects in mid-air, and the Tree Swallow is just that! Tree Swallows are often found flittering high above ponds, marshes, and open fields in search of their next insect meal. Tree Swallows get their name […]

Beak of the Week – Bufflehead

February 14, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)Family: Anatidae The Bufflehead is the smallest duck in North America. Male Buffleheads are small ducks with short dark grey bills, black backs, rumps, tails and wings, white underside, with thick vertical white stripes going across the wings, and a thick white patch going around the purple-green iridescent head. Female Buffleheads are dark […]

Beak of the Week – Herring Gull

February 7, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)Family: Laridae Distinguished from other local gulls by its larger size and generally bulky shape, the Herring Gull can be found in our area during the cooler months. While wintering in the Gulf Houston Area, Herring Gulls will scavenge for food along coastlines and in mudflats – as well as in agricultural […]

Beak of the Week – Sharp-shinned Hawk

January 31, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)Family: Accipitridae The Sharp-shinned Hawk gets its name from the thin ridge on its lower legs. They are the smallest hawk in North America. At maturity, these hawks have small dark grey head, nape, wing, and backside, light rufous barring on the cheeks, throat, and underside, and fine horizontal black and white […]

Beak of the Week – Buff-bellied Hummingbird

January 24, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia yucatanensis)Family: Trochilidae Like most hummingbirds, the Buff-bellied Hummingbird is primarily green, especially around the head and back. It has a rufous-colored tail and a buffy wash to its light underside, and its bill is distinctively reddish or orangey-red with a black tip. Weighing just under 5 grams (about as much as two […]