Our 2nd New Bird of 2014, The Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher

        Today's featured feather friend is the Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher.  We spotted the bird along County Route 835 in Hendry County after a six-hour outing at STA-5 (Storm Water Treatment Area), south of Clewiston.  A rare visitor to Florida, their normal range is the central plains states and Texas.  They migrate through Mexico to winter in Central America. 

        The Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher is a slender Kingbird with a very long, stiff and forked tail.  Adults are similar in appearance with pale gray heads, white underparts, salmon-pink flanks and dark gray wings.  Their distinctive long, forked tail is black on top and white on the bottom.  Males have longer tails than females, while juveniles are duller in color with shorter tails.  These birds are up to 14.5 inches in length with the tail making up over half their length.

        The Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher is the state bird of Oklahoma.  Click on the links below for more information about this beautiful bird and enjoy these photos of the Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher, Life bird #216 and Florida bird #212 for us.....tweet.....tweet!!

Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher
(Taken 1/18/14, Hendry County Florida)

Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher
(Taken 1/18/14, Hendry County Florida)

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/scissor-tailed_flycatcher/id

                               http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scissor-tailed_Flycatcher

Our First New Life Bird of 2014, The Eurasian Wigeon

         An eventful ending to 2013 came when Cedar Waxwings showed up in our backyard on December 31st, giving us an even 200 species for the year.  The first bird seen in 2014 by Joan was a stunning male Painted Bunting, while Dan's first bird seen was a sweet Carolina Wren.

        Our first outing of the year came on January 2nd.  Acting on a tip (a "rare bird" alert), we drove south to Cape Coral in Lee County and found a male Eurasian Wigeon.  He was swimming in a pond with other ducks, exactly where he was reported to be.  It sure would be neat if that happened more often.  He is our first new "life bird" of 2014.  Click on this link to see a short video of him swimming with the other ducks -----> http://youtu.be/nWglBqGxD9A  

        The Eurasian Wigeon is a medium-sized duck from Europe and Asia, hence the name.  They are rare visitors to the United States.  When they appear in the U.S., it is usually along either coastline, however, individual birds have appeared in nearly every state.  Eurasian Wigeons are around 19 inches in length, weigh about 1.5 pounds and have a wingspan of close to 30 inches.  Males have a reddish-brown head with a buffy forehead.  Their bill (male and female) is pale bluish-gray with a small dark tip.  He has a pale gray back and flanks, a white hip patch and a pinkish breast.  The female has a warm-brown to grayish-brown head, breast and flanks, with a reddish-brown back.  Juveniles are similar to adult females, but duller.

        This year is off to a great start.  Enjoy these photos of our newest feathered friend and our 215th life bird, the Eurasian Wigeon.....tweet.....tweet!!

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Wigeon/id

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Wigeon