Vir Vir Vireo

For those who need something up in an entry other than a spider, here's a bird:

The flapping just happened to turn what should have been blurry to arty. Any guesses as to what it is--hopefully, it won't be some weird thrush variation not many of us know about.

It's your friendly neighborhood Philadelphia vireo. Oooh. Ahh. No spider.

Oh, and an FYI:

If someone ever offers you an Absolute Sandman, it's not a drink.

No Wrens Here

I found one bird house that the house wrens did not take over at Mr. Neil's (the house wrens took over his wood duck boxes this summer).

I believe this is some type of funnel spider that has had quite a productive hunting spot in the form of this web built in around this wren house.

Bits of grasshopper, june bugs and daddy longlegs were all over the web. I really can't take spiders very well, but of course curiosity got the best of me, so a blade of grass twitching on the web, got the spider's attention:

Ack! She takes up the whole one inch hole! Enough spiders for me, I'm outta here. The wrens can clean this house out on their own next spring.

More Disturbing Sheep

Hey, remember the post where I linked to the sheep in spandex? Well, I hate to tell you, but there are even more disturbing photos of sheep in spandex--I'm pretty sure these weren't from the Minnesota State Fair.

I think I'm beginning to understand why of all barnyard animals, sheep were made inflatable.

Oh and one other thing about the beer man: as happy as I was this photo turned out, you can't see an important part of the outfit. He's not wearing pants. That's a long green skirt. Really, he was totally wearing a skirt.

Advice From Mr. Neil

In case anyone knows a publisher who might be interested, I'd like to turn Disapproving Rabbits into a book--Cute Overload twice in the last three months has got say something for it's popularity. If you know of someone who'd be interested in publishing it, drop me a note.

Also, I am a free agent now and if anyone would like to sponsor a 16,ooo unique visits a day blog, is in need of some article/web writing or would be interested in sponsoring a radio show or KARE 11 appearances, drop me an email.

Veery vs Gray Cheeked

"What the heck am I anyway?"

For those who love a good hard core birding debate, check out the comments on the last photo quiz (the one asking for correct id) someone is saying this is a dark morph veery? Anyone care to comment? We do get veerys (or is it veeries) in Minnesota, but I'm new to the concept of a dark morph/dark phase. There were several people involved in the id of this bird and even before I posted the quiz, I had a friend on the records committee of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union give me his thoughts. All landed on gray-cheeked.

For those not as interested in hard core birding, I promise colorful bird photos in the blog are on the horizon. Really.

When It's Time To Clean Feeders

So, I arrived at Mr. Neil's today to make use of his writing gazebo, I gave a quick check of the feeders. If you're not sure when it's time to clean your feeders or if you should at all. Let me show you a hint:

This is a photo of some fungusy thistle and chips finch mix. And let me tell you, if you have never experienced the nasal sensation that is moldy sunflower out of the shell--it's powerful stuff. ICK.

I could tell the feeders were bad before I got near them, you could see the whitish fuzz from a distance.

Visible moisture inside the feeder is another sign that it's time to clean them out. If you see that, clean out your feeders--this is a far more likely to keep birds away and even a rogue cat stalking the feeders.

I also learned another lesson today--wasps* love bird seed with dried fruit mixed in. The feeders were loaded, there were dozens if not hundreds. They were so desperate, they were even flying inside the black oiler feeders. I was suddenly regretting the offer to take care of the feeders. I've had problems with these guys with nectar and jelly, but never in a fruit mix, let alone a feeder full of black oilers. I did get all the feeders cleaned out and full of fresh food and only oilers. There are still some lurking, but now they are only after the feeders that had the fruit mix in there and probably can still smell a hint of fruit. Be careful at your feeders, y'all.

* - I am not an insect expert so if this is not a wasp, please feel free to let me know.

Cart Art

I just got this link from Gayle. Pretty cool way of turning trash into wildlife art. I love the kingfisher, but we both agree that the bittern is pretty sweet too...and uncommon subject matter.

EMAIL

We are in the process of having the birdchick.com email be hosted by google. Unbeknowst to us this will require a 48 hour changeover. So, if you need to send an email between now and Friday please send an email to birdchick @ gmail dot com.

Competition?

We have just discovered Bunny Yawns. Not sure how Cinnamon is going to take to this site.

"I don't approve of such laziness!"

Just Another Tuesday...

When I arrived at TRC, there was a package waiting for me from Annie's! Look at the box full of tasty bunny goodness! I have my suspicion that this is meant for Cinnamon so that she will finally come around to Bernie's (the alleged approving bunny) way of thinking.

I don't know about Cinnamon, but I sure do approve. How can I not approve of a six pack of Shells and White Cheddar? MMMMMMM. One thing is for sure, the Stitelers will not go hungry this week.

We actually had a program scheduled for this morning at The Raptor Center. This surprised me because the MN State Fair happens right next to the U of M St Paul campus where TRC is located. Traffic and parking is very tricky if you aren't used to it. I got to work with our education barn owl who is so light and dainty on the fist. I have mixed feelings about the barn owl--we don't have them in Minnesota any more so it's hard for me talk about them as well as I can about a great-horned. On the other hand, I have a soft spot for the movie Labyrinth and the 13 year old inside me likes to pretend that it's actually David Bowie that is sitting on my fist...did I just reveal a little too much with that last sentence?

After my shift, I decided to do lunch at the Minnesota State Fair and see a few of the exhibits Non Birding Bill just will not do. First on the list: try the new fair food this year--Hot Dish on a Stick.

It's a stick alternated with meatballs and tater tots covered in cornmeal and deep fat fried. It's then served with a dipping sauce of cream of mushroom soup enhanced with hamburger and a few other herbs and spices. It reminded me of biscuits and gravy on a stick, only substitute the biscuits for corn muffins. Actually, pretty darned tasty and a nice alternative to the deep fried twinkie on a stick.

After lunch I went to the Miracle of Birth Barn where the U of M has all sorts of livestock ready to give birth every day at the state fair. Here we have a calf just born this morning. All readers should be very grateful that I'm only showing the front end of the cow with the adorable calf as opposed to the left overs lurking at the back end.

If you miss the live births, there is a camera crew on hand that "gets all up in that" and films each birth. The births are then shown on a rotating basis on several flat screen tvs around the barn. This video is of a sheep birthin' a set of twins. There's also video of piglets, calves and miniature horses too.

I took a sneak peak in the poultry barn. All the bunnies from the previous week have gone back to their homes. I love these tiny East Indian Ducks. One year someone had Indian Runners, but I didn't see any this year. I would love to have one of these guys, but ducks are just way too stinky and way too unlitterbox friendly for my apartment.

Eeeep. Satanic chicken.

Ya' know, if the feathers were a little darker on top, this chicken could be called Gaiman (or should that be Gaimhen--har har). The feathery top resembles his preferred "hair style".

Contest Winner

That was a tough contest to judge, the longer the contest went the funnier the answers! I had the hardest time deciding which answer to go with.

First, I have to say that I loved Dea trying to actually id the bird. That has happened to me so many times (not clearly reading directions) I offer my sincerest sympathy as a prize.

Second, Mr. Neil's guess that it was a mackerel was quite good, but he correctly identified the car behind it, thus losing points for a correct id.

I was torn between traffic cop and eastern meadow vole so I justified that you can periodically see a traffic cop in the water (didn't that happen in Smokey and the Bandit movies?) and I've yet to see a meadow vole in the water, so Janet won.

Don't give up, we will have another mis id contest soon.

On another note, I am so happy. I passed a milestone with the blog yesterday--over 16,000 unique visits in one day. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I started this and figured it would be mostly family checking it out--I always thought I'd be lucky to have 1,000 total people checking the blog out period. This really has become a fun and creative part of my life and I thank all of you for being so interested in birds and rabbits.

Miss Identification

You readers are totally cracking my...making me laugh heartily. I'm going to extend the mis id contest a few more hours until after I finish my shift at TRC.

I think I'm going to do this kind of id more often.

Cute Overload Again!

I can't believe I got picked up by Cute Overload again! Or I should say my disapproving rabbits got picked up by Cute Overload. I seriously need to think about turning them into mugs or shirts--the images, not the rabbits. Maybe a kid's book with good instructions, "I disapprove of picking your nose!"

I didn't know about it at first until a flurry of email came in from people laughing about all the disapproval. I got an email from Kit Ying Soo's site and it turns out today my favorite photo from the site is up on Cute Overload.

Photo Quiz

Okay, I have Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion to give away. A book designed to hone shaky bird skills--teach you how to tell the tough to id birds apart. What have I been doing to give them away--having tough birds to id as a photo contest. The person who really needs this book is someone who can't tell thrushes apart. So, based on Non Birding Bill's prudent suggestion I am posting this photo for the quiz:

Best incorrect answer in the comments section wins the book.

More on MN State Fair

Okay, I'm totally stealing this joke from NBB:

As disturbed as I was by the Klu Klux Lamb, I'm really glad I avoided the cow barn at the MN State Fair after reading this sign. On an even more disturbing note, when did sheep start wearing spandex?

Photo Quiz

Ugh, why did I eat so much at the State Fair...my stomach is staging a rebellion, the likes of which haven't been seen since the days of Luke Skywalker.

Here's a photo quiz. All the photos are of the same bird, just at different angles and some with flash and some without. First correct answer in the comment section wins a Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion.





On another note:

I am wrapping up my time as an employee of Eagle Optics--it was a great job but some parts of the telecommuting weren't working as well as they could have. We kicked around the idea of moving to Madison but Cinnamon just would not approve--she was worried she might lose street cred for being a cheese head bunny and be mistaken as a Packer fan. Plus, it would make KARE 11 and fm107 apprearances way too challenging--and I don't even want to think about how hard it would be to find someone who is as excellent at coloring my hair as Rachel at Studio 411. I still plan on purchasing optics from them in the future and to help and support Eagle Optics in any way that I can.

MN State Fair Report

I don't know what is wrong with me, but I truly love the Minnesota State Fair. Above is a photo Non Birding Bill took of me enjoying a fave fair food--the scotch egg on a stick (for those who don't visit pubs very often, a scotch egg is a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage and deep fried--mmmmmmm).

Everyone else in Minnesota loves the fair too. We call it the great Minnesota get together, and boy howdy do we get together. I'm pretty sure we have the largest state fair in the nation.

Normally we have the bunnies the first weekend and the following weekend they are replaced with the chickens and ducks. However, some roosters were in early. Look at this fellow feeling like he is the cock of the walk. He is the Shaft of roosters.

There were also some fancy pigeons on display. Some with bell bottomed feathers on their feet and this one with poofy feathers on the head.

This pigeon looked like it was trying awful hard to be a bald eagle. Dude, just accept your prey status.

This pigeon looked like it really had some identity issues. It looked like it's trying to be a Bonaparte's gull. Sounds like it needs to watch some Brady Bunch episodes to learn how to just love being what it truly is: a pigeon, not a gull. Poor, little Jan bird.

When not looking at birds at the State Fair (or eating elephant ears and fried cheese curds) I love to check out the crop art. People take bird seed and get artistic with it. Some of it is pretty amazing, not only for the art, but for the subject matter:

Sister Wendy? Who would have expected her to be immortalized in dried seed? Portraits are pretty par for the course when it comes to crop art. Some of it is quite striking:

A smoking Vincent Price with an ominous bat behind him paying tribute to all those scary movies.

Here we have Desi Arnaz...

...and his former wife Lucille Ball! This was actually one of the winners in the crop art. Even the hair on her head is some type of plant material.

This was a surprise. Someone was inspired by the oddest of comics Fred Bassett--I never got that cartoon. All Fred ever does is state the obvious. Must be British humour.

Every now and then someone tries to make a deep political statement with their crop art. On the surface this looks like an homage to Popeye the Sailor Man...

...but closer inspection reveals that the artist is trying to use this as a metaphore for the country's oil problems.

So, just how progressive is our State Fair? We have a lactation station--sponsored by fm107. This is for all the new moms out there who need a quiet cool place to nurse their babies. NBB and I stopped to say hi to Mary Jo Pehl who is now a co-host on the Cathie Harnett Show. They were doing it live at the fair, always fun to watch. While there we met Amy who has been on with Ian and Margery like myself. I found myself really enjoying Amy's condo purchasing whoas and triumph while checking her blog tonight. This truly is the Great Minnesota Get Together!

Here we have a giant Red Wing Shoes boot...ooohh...ahhhhhh. I don't like to stay too late at the fair, so I watch for signs when it is time for us to head home.

My first sign is when I can start to smell beer as we are walking along--then it's time to go.

All in all the State Fair was a good time. I'll be back again on Labor Day to do a segment live at the KARE 11 booth.

MN State Fair Bunny Disapproval

We visted the Bunny Barn at the Minnesota State Fair today and there was a whole lotta disapproval goin' on.

"I don't approve of how bored life has made me."

"I disapprove of only being admired for my overwhelming cuteness. I gotta brain too, y'know."

"I disapprove of being compared to an Ewok."

"I don't approve. Period."

"I disapprove of the Oedipus complex."

"I don't approve of your assertion that I resemble Winston Churchill."

"I don't approve of how this place smells."

"I disapprove of your need for my approval."

"I disapprove of being told I look like Cinnamon."

"I don't have time to disapprove of you."

What does Cinnamon have to say?

"I think I'm too overwhelmed with pride in my species to disapprove of you going out and looking at other bunnies."

Friday Activities

Yesterday the nets were hopping at Carpenter. I took my friend Amber along and it seemed we were constantly checking the nets. The nets by the orchard were especially busy, every time I walked by there were at least six new birds in them. As I would be trying to get a vireo or flycatcher I could hear a large flock of robins, chirping as they watched our activity. Robins just seem a little scary this time of year as they lurk in bushes and trees quietly chirping to each other. They sound like they're planning something.

Of course the bird in the previous post was the back of a red-breasted nuthatch. Good call. I was just mentioning that it's August and we should start seeing red-breasteds in the Twin Cities.

Last December in Arkansas, one of the men on my search team did studies on mixed flocks of birds for his graduate project. His research showed that in a mixed flock of downy woodpeckers, black-capped chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches and red-breasted nuthaches, the the red-breasted were the most aggressive and the Sam Jacksons of the flock. Nobody messed with them. So tiny, so cute, so aggressive.

Here's a male downy woodpecker that we got in. You just don't see them head on like this, since they're normally facing a tree. We also got in a couple of other interesting birds, which I am saving for a photo quiz later.

I survived KTIS and was on very good behavior. Last night I had a message on my cell phone from the guest host Steve Moore that the producers at the station were a little wary about a bird watcher filling a whole hour on the show. Is birding really that exciting? How could they have thought that? Of course birding is exciting and I apparently surprised them and they may have me back on again. That would be fun.

Last night we were having dinner and a drink with a friend at Herkimer in Uptown. Outdoor seating is a premium in the Twin Cities--enjoy the outdoors while we can. As we were sitting outside, we could see nighthawks kettling up for migration. I would excitedly point them out and at first the surrounding people thought I'd had too much to drink but would look up and see the flocks. The second kettle quickly headed south but a third formed and then got so high you could barely see the specks in formation...the third one looked to be heading north instead of south like the first two kettles, but I'm sure the nighthawks figured it out.

What Bird Is This?

Who is this shaggy back?

Correction

My radio interview today is at 12:05 p.m., not 1!

When it Rains it Pours

I was well on my way to going to the State Fair for my segment on KFAN Outdoors, when a nasty storm showed up. We already had a pretty hefty storm in the Twin Cities this morning so the sewers were not prepared for this downpour. Here's an intersection behind our building:

This intersection is infamous for flash flooding, which we learned the first year we were here and discovered our little Dodge Shadow flooded after a night of rain. Ah, we were so young then, we laughed our butts off when water flushed out of the tail pipe when we started the car...little did we know about all the problems that accompany a car with water damage--ah, the learning curve during that first year of marriage. We now avoid this intersection like the plague for parking. It doesn't flood every year, but it's always a distinct possibility.

I ended up doing the segment at over the phone and then made some Quesadillas. Cinnamon hopped in my lap:

"I don't know if I approve of that, let me taste it to be sure."

Don't worry all you veterinary types that read the blog, I did not give my rabbit a beef and cheese filled bite. She ended up getting a fresh strawberry instead.

Oopsie or Bold Ad Campaign?

While thumbing through the latest issue of Living Bird put out by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this full page ad by Wild Bird Chow caught my attention:

So, on the left we have a blue tit usually seen in Great Britian and on the right we have an American goldfinch, typically seen in the eastern half of the United States. Underneath is the headline "Birds of Different Feathers will Flock Together". I am wondering if the idea is that Wild Bird Chow is so awesome tasting that birds from across the Atlantic will fly over to eat this wonderous mix or if it was a matter of someone in the art department doesn't know a thing about birds and just picked two pretty birds with colors that compliment each other. If it's the former, why put that in the Lab of Ornithology publication that hard core birders love to read--why not put that ad in Reader's Digest where people aren't thinking about bird accuracy? Blue tits aren't migratory, if you see one in the United States like I did last year, it's more than likely an escapee.

Wild Bird Chow, what were you thinking? Perhaps this was even a more clever ad campaign to put two birds together that you would never see and then get bloggers like me to talk about it, further spreading the word about their brand of bird seed...

Birds are a Movin'

This came in yesterday from Hawk Ridge on the Minnesota Bird Listservs:

A substantial movement of birds occurred at Hawk Ridge on August 22, with 241
birds banded. This is the first significant migration of birds since
operations started on August 4th. Sixteen warbler species comprised the bulk
of birds banded, with highlights being a Connecticut and 2 Bay-breasted
warblers. Additionally, the first Brown creeper and second Slate-colored junco
added to the early season diversity.

Red crossbills continue to be observed nearly every day. The vast majority of
birds appear to be moving south, although, an occasional flock has been
observed heading north. Many of these flocks have ranged from 15 to 30 birds,
with a couple 40+ flocks.

Dave Grosshuesch

Hawk Ridge Bird
Observatory

I am experiencing some migration right now. I am supposed to be tucked away and writing in a gazebo where there is no internet or bird feeders to distract me...but there is a big mountain ash tree right outside the kitchen window and it is chock full of birds eating the berries. Last night it was all robin action but now every time I look up it's a new bird: red-eyed vireo, rose-breasted grosbeak, ovenbird, redstart, Nashville warbler...must fight temptation...must...tear away from...internet and birding...must go to gazebo...and write...urg...

Albino Hummer in Hudson, WI

Ed Colosky who owns Wild Birds Unlimited in Hudson, WI emailed this:

I thought you might like seeing this bird. One of my customers took this
picture here in Hudson. It's an albino Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Anyway, I
thought it might be of interest.

Have a great day,

Ed

For the record, any photos of albinos are always of interest to me, and I love getting them. Hummer migration is just getting underway so if you live in Hudson and south, keep your eye for this little ghost at your nectar feeder. From the email, it looks like this photo was taken last Saturday. Here was a note that came with the photo from Marsha:

It was fighting with a couple of other ruby-throated hummingbirds over the salvias. It took a long rest in the hawthorn after all the flying around. It appears to be an albino...orange bill and red eye. Really gorgeous to see flying across the prairie.

Sweet photo! Thanks, Ed, and thank Marsha for me too.

The Bathing Beauty

First, I have to say that I am totally rockin' this William Shatner CD called Has Been. Yes, that's right I said William Shatner. Some of you may remember him from Transformed Man or even Golden Throats, but let me tell you he has really grown as a musician. He can feel, he can touch (let's see how many of you get that reference). If you haven't heard it, I highly recommend downloading:

Common People
You'll Have Time (I want this song as my sig file!)
That's Me Trying
I Can't Get Behind That (I have fond memories of listening to this with WildBird on the Fly while driving around in Maine)

Now, who was our mystery bird:

Well, is this a chicken? Is this a ptarmigan? I thought this one was going to be too easy, but the lack of head really stumped some readers. This bird is a raptor:

It's a Harris hawk! The funny thing was that Non Birding Bill snapped these photos at Game Fair and tonight when I was talking to him he asked, "What's that a photo of again?" He took the picture and he couldn't remember? Crazy boy! Here's a comparison of the Harris and the ferruginous hawk:

I love his photo, it looks like the Harris on the left and the ferrug on the right are having a tete a tete, but are really contemplating an attack towards each other. My money would be on the ferrug, if they were to fight. Oh sure a whole gang of Harrises might take out a ferrug, but they're not that tough when there's just one.

So, Andrea had the first correct answer! Whoo hoo, go Andrea. Don't forget to email me your snail mail address so I can send you the winning lens pen. Ohhhh. Ahhhhhh. Those things really are handy.

I'm currently hanging out in the big scary old house that is Mr. Neil's home. I've never been in here completely by myself before (save for a few cats). I'm just bursting with creativity right now and he's been kind enough to allow me to use his writing quarters. The best part of the whole deal is that I get to raid some green tomatoes out of the garden for my frying pleasure. Mmmmmmmmmm, I loves me some fried green tomatoes!

I swear, this place as the most forgiving birds. There have been no bird feeders out all summer due to bear activity. Last week NBB and I put up three new feeding stations and it's loaded with birds in less than a week! I couldn't believe the rush hour like activity that was surrounding the feeders when I arrived today--even a pileated came in to the gigantic suet log. Robins were raiding a fruit bearing tree right between the feeders. Robins always make me nervous this time of year. They form these large flocks that always seem to give their warning calls and their kind of secretive. It's as if they are up to something sinister and they don't want us humans to find out.

Well, I am just all over the airwaves the next few days. Tomorrow morning I'll be on A Balanced Breakfast (at 5:50am for you early risers--they do have live streaming over the internet), then I have down that I'm supposed to do KFAN Outdoors tomorrow night at the State Fair, but I don't have a set time so I'm not so sure about that one. Friday afternoon, I will be on a KTIS show called Along the Way with Kim Jefferies (but she is away so it will actually be with Steve Moore who I met when he interviewed me at Birdwatch America last January). And then there's Saturday night at 9pm when I'll be on the Flirtologist Show aka the Jill Speigel Show. The last two radio programs are new ground for me. I think KTIS is a religious station...boy, I really hope I can behave. Jill Speigel will also have an animal psychic on the same show...again, I really hope I can behave.

You can call in for both the Kim Jeffries show 1-800-571-2755 and on the Jill Speigel show 651-641-1071. Feel free to call with questions or to harass or to remind me to behave.

Life Took Over

I don't know what happened, but I my schedule just kind of took over and I was too busy to blog--you should see our home. Friday, Saturday and Sunday it was get up at 5am, go to Game Fair, close up the booth at 6pm, go home, eat, sleep, repeat. Non Birding Bill came along to part of Game Fair to give me a potty break and it was interesting to get his perspective on working a booth.

"This is BORING!"

How could he think this is boring? He was shocked and asked, "This is all you do on the road, answer 2 questions: What does that equation mean on binoculars and why are some pairs more expensive than others? How do you stand it?"

I told him "No, usually at a bird festival, I'll lead a field trip before working the booth." This was different, this was a hunting show. He didn't buy it. He wanted to try and nap under the table, but the constant gunfire from the firing range made that impossible. Well, that and I wouldn't let him--there's no sleeping at a trade show booth! NBB doesn't like working for me, I'm a task master.

Monday it was a KARE 11 appearance and then a long meeting at Adventure Publications. When I came home NBB said in a tempting voice, "Snakes on a Plane." I had a choice: blog? snakes on a plane? blog? snakes on a plane? As Cinnamon outed me, I opted for a date with NBB to see Snakes on a Plane.

"Snakes on a Plane" is pure fluff and highly inaccurate but a good time. I could watch Samuel L. Jackson read DVD setup instructions and still be entertained. I think the snake cam was a particularly nice touch. I actually wondered if snake experts enjoyed this movie. I mean, if this had been "Snipes on a Plane" I would have been huffing and puffing at all the blatant inaccuracies, I may not have enjoyed that movie (ie: snipes wouldn't attack people like that). If you want a movie that has its tongue planted firmly in its cheek, and you love a little Sam Jack, this is a must see. If you want to take your movie enjoyment to a another level, purchase a pack of rubber snakes and hide them in your bag. When the snakes pop out of the air masks and overhead compartment in the movie--start tossing your rubber snakes out in the audience.

Tuesday I spend the day helping a birding workshop at MS Camp. My trip there was down right comical. I didn't think it possible to get that lost in this day and age of Mapquest but the forces of travel were against me yesterday morning. First, Minnesota is infamous for similar sounding town names: Maple Grove, Maple Plain, Maple Lake, etc. So, I got off on the wrong foot with Mapquest when I entered directions for Maple Grove and I should have put in Maple Lake. So, I was in fact a little over an hour away when Mapquest led me to believe I was 38 minutes away. When I finally figured out the poor directions, I followed the hand made map provided by MS Camp...which was a little off. So I grabbed my handy Hudson Street Atlas for the Twin Cities. Wouldn't you know it, the highway I needed fell right in the corner of four different pages: ARRGH! I had to call NBB to have him help me find the highway.

I did finally get there and the original plan was to do the talk at the bird feeders around Camp Courage, but they hadn't been filled in a long time (spider webs covered some of the feeding ports). We went out to purchase some black oilers during lunch, knowing our chances of getting birds to come right away was slim, but we needed something. All the birds were catching on to my use of an iPod to get their attention and I wouldn't be able to call them in during the afternoon like I did in the morning. Right outside the camp, we found a pond with a heron and cormorant rookery. It wasn't too far, so we took the campers in their scooters and wheelchairs to the pond and saw more birds in five minutes than we would have at the whole time at the bird feeders. A young bald eagle flew over and that was a treat for the group. I tried to pick out binoculars that would be easiest for people with MS to use--eight power so it won't pick up on tremors, light weight. The most popular were Stokes Talons, Stokes Meadowlark, Vortex Viper.

And now, due to popular request (or down right demands in some cases) a photo quiz. What is the bird in this photo:

First correct answer in the comments section wins a free lens pen to clean binoculars, scopes and camera lenses.

I Disapprove

I, Cinnamon Q. Rabbit Pants, would like to officially state for the record that I have disapproved of the monumental lack of posts the last few days. Birdchick is blatantly slacking. Oh, yes, she claims to have been "working non stop" since last Friday, but I will have you know that last night when she could have been prudently updating her blog, she chose--willingly, mind you--to go see Snakes on a Plane (a movie I highly disapprove of).

Please feel my pain and know that I understand the frustration over no updates. It's a wonder that I get fed at all. If anyone would care to submit a donation, I could use the following:

Timothy hay
FRESH parsley
green tops of carrots (green tops only, no carrot please, I'm watching my figure)
copious amounts of dried fruit, especially cherries

Thank you.

Bleary Post

Just what everybody wants: an antler toilet paper holder!

Here's the trick shooter blowing up somthing. I don't know what it was, but it made a nice poof.

Here he is blowing up a cabbage. He was demonstrating why women should learn how to shoot, because the next time the husband brings home an unexpected guest for dinner, you could make a salad--shot gun style. After you shot all your veggies, you tell your hubby and his friends to go graze it up in the backyard.

Just Another Day At Game Fair

Huge sigh of relief at the Stiteler household that Chet Baker is on the road to recovery and back home.

There's been a request for another photo quiz, that will come next week, I am just too swamped with Game Fair this weekend. I am learning that on the fourth day of being next to a shooting range is not as fun as the first day. It's so hard to explain a diopter between bangs.

Who knew weimaraner puppies had blue eyes? Yeah, the puppy dealership booth across the way brought out some heavy ammunition today at Game Fair. Cute little weimaraners--so, tiny, so irresistable. The man running the booth was very clever by saying, "Go ahead and take the pup back to your booth and let it bring in customers." He smiled, knowing that I will instantly fall in love with said puppy and feel an urge to bring it home. He even offered to trade the wee weimaraner for a pair of binos....processing...tempting...processing...no, no I can't. I can't trade binos for puppies and I can't have puppies in my apartment. So there. No puppies for binos...

"I don't approve of weimaraners!"

So, at the end of the day all these little bugs started flying around. I noticed that quite a few had originated from my booth. All the ant mounds in the area were crawling with ants with wings. I wish I was an entomologist, some kind of hatch or dequeening was going on. The winged ants were different sizes and their silver wings made the grass blades dance. One by one they took to the air. Cool. I wonder what was happening, almost all the mounds were exploding with them.

So, still on edge from the sword incident last week, I must be a little more sensitive than usual. When I came home from the fair tonight I noticed this in the bushes in front of our building:

Is that real? I don't know guns at all. I called Non Birding Bill down, he was in the Reserves, he would know. He didn't. We decided to not touch it and flag down a police car (we live near a police station, they pass by frequently). I felt so stupid asking, "Excuse me, officer, is this a real gun?" He took photos, bagged it and said it was probably a toy and took it away. It was probably just one of those stupid lighter guns--which I'm relieved that it was a toy and not a real gun.

And now I leave you with a funny series of photos of the ferruginous hawk at the Falconry Booth. I don't know what it was doing today or what was going on in its head...or with its head.





Anyone got a caption for this last photo? All I can come up with is "Urrrrrp."

Really, dude, how do you expect prey to take you seriously as Nature's Perfect Killing Machine?

Off Week

"I disapprove of Chet Baker being sick. I demand he get better."

Between the strange activities of last week and worrying about Chet Baker and a few other things, I am feeling off. I have a huge surge to do something creative, like I have something inside that is bursting to get out.

Hints of autumn and of change are in the air. I get the most excited right now, it's like Christmas Eve for me, right on the edge of fall migration--I love fall migration. It's weird but sometimes I feel a pull too. I remember in college when I was walking home from one of my theater classes, I heard Canada geese fly in the distance and watched them fly over. I wanted to go with them, I felt this need to travel. I remember having a fleeting feeling that I was on the wrong path. Theater, the wrong path?

Yesterday we were at Mr. Neil's replacing all his bear ravaged feeders. Mr. Neil asked that I help him harvest some of his pears. I wasn't much help, flocks of migrating nighthawks were moving overhead. I just held the bowl while Mr. Neil filled it, which was the best plan anyway, I'm too short to get pears anyway. When I check email that night, the people were reporting lots of nighthawk movement on the bird listservs in Minnesota.

I did get some creative juices going. I really enjoyed getting the feeders all back up and running. I set up a finch area and an all purpose area, raccoon proofed it (no, I didn't bear proof it but there is evidence that the bear that attacked the original set up was hit and killed by a car). We were able to salvage some of the feeders, and there were some spares that we used to replace the feeders that were annihilated. The hummingbird feeder is not my first choice, as a matter of fact I had squirreled it away in favor of a Hummzinger long ago:

Here's a shot of the old Hummzinger but it was nowhere to be found so I had to make do with that hour glass shaped one--hummer migration is underway and they were buzzing about impatiently.

We picked up the raccoon resistant poles system from Ed at the Wild Birds Unlimited in Hudson, WI. Ed such a sweet guy, and when I stopped in, the guys from NovaBird happened to be there. Poor Non Birding Bill was out numbered (foolish man should know better by now than to accompany me to a bird specialty store). I had good news for the guys from NovaBird, I had an unplanned test with some pigeons and learned that they're motion sensitive camera can survive a two story fall from an apartment window ledge! I love that camera, where would my blog be without it? As a matter of fact, my NovaBird Camera took the above photo ruby-throat at the feeder.

Ed mentioned that he's doing a day trip up to Hawk Ridge with Kim Risen. The motorcoach goes up Saturday, September 16 at 6am with hot coffee and donuts. They will bird at Park Point and then head to the Ridge for all day hawk watching with an "incredible sandwich" for lunch. Should be a good time if you are a first timer and want to see what hawk migration is all about.

Because When You Think Birds, You Think Jackie Chan

Actor Jackie Chan stars in UN-backed TV announcement warning about deadly bird flu

World-famous actor and martial arts expert Jackie Chan stars in a United Nations-backed television public service announcement alerting children and their families around the world to the dangers of bird flu, which has killed more than 130 people worldwide and led to the deaths of 200 million birds.

Mr. Chan tells the girls and boys, who come from all over the world, that birds can pass on flu, or avian influenza, to people, so it’s important to stay away from sick and dead birds, especially chickens. He then nods approvingly as 8-year-old Ava pipes up: “But playing with paper birds is fine.”

You can read the rest of the story here.

Now, I loves me some Jackie Chan almost as much as I love goshawks (he's on my list of five) but is he really who we want informing the world about avian influenza?

Wrens Out Of Control

With all my travels I have been negligent in tending to Mr. Neil's yard. NBB and I finally had a chance to visit today. If you recall, the last time I was in his yard, all of his bird houses had been wrenned pretty hard. Okay, the wood duck box in that post had a few sticks, today it was this full:

Geez Louise! I have never seen a wood duck box so full of house wren sticks. This is insane! Mr. Neil said that he has seen at least one brood come out of the box. I stuck my camera in over the top to get a photo and discovered...

...brood number 2! There they are, two tiny almost ready to fledge house wren chicks. When I checked the second wood duck box about a quarter of mile away, it too was filled to the brim with sticks, but no brooding chamber, it was strictly a decoy nest. You would think filling up a wood duck box would tucker out a tiny house wren.

The wrens in the wood duck box did confirm something I have always suspected. I know Mr. Neil must have saw-whet owls on his property (habitat is so perfect) but I have never been able to find one. Here the wrens have found a saw-whet feather and lined it in their nest. Now, this is the second brood of house wrens, meaning the top nest was made fairly recently. Owls molt in the summer, are saw-whets nesting on the property?? Or was this an errant feather that fell over the winter? I have only looked for saw-whets in winter when they migrate down into this area, not really in the summer, perhaps I shall have to double up my efforts? This would be south of their traditional breeding range...hmmmmmmm. This is a very owly place, I have identified great-horned, barred and long-eared owls here a saw-whet would be nice to add to the list.

More On Game Fair

Here is an interesting firearm. This rifle has a six foot barrel that acts as a silencer. The sign in front of it said that it was developed by the Minneapolis Parks board to be used for culling deer in the metro area. So, all those people who have been upset because they thought they heard gun shots when the deer were culled were hearing something else. This thing does not sound like a gun at all.

Okay, I totally get the fun of gun ownership after the Game Fair. The front of my booth faced oodles of puppies. The back of my booth faced the firing range for shooting clays. Skeet shooting looks so satisfying and so much fun. A little clay disk flies into the air and depending on the skill of the shooter bursts like a firework display, gets chipped and slants off in a different direction or just disappears in a puff of smoke. At the end of the day a trick shooter comes out and throws things in the air to shoot--the best of which included shooting a watermelon and then a cabbage. The cabbage was really cool--it burst and showered the audience in little leaves. I approve of shooting clays and veggies and support a person's right to do it.

I'm pretty sure WildBird on the Fly blogged about this when she went to Shot Show, but the camo lingerie was at Game Fair as well. The interesting thing was that I saw two women actually wearing some out in the summer heat at the Fair.

Here a creative bit of recycling. These guys turned used beer bottles into duck and goose calls.

I truly do believe the birders can find some useful stuff at Game Fair. Check this out, here is something hunters get very right--comfort in the field. These are blinds that you lay in for duck hunting. Why couldn't birders use this for hawk watching? Lay down in your comfy little blind and watch the hawks fly over. Throw in some scotch and I'm there!

Here is a boat that you use to hide your hunting self when duck hunting. How many times has a birder been on one side of a lake seeing distant shorebirds, ducks and waders and just can't get close enough to see the birds, even with a scope? Behold, the camo boat allowing you to sneak up on the unsuspecting birds.

In the decoy section I found a blowup sandhill crane doll...do I really want to know what that's used for? Please tell me it's not like blowup sheep--eeeeew. Actually, this is probably used for sandhill crane hunting. It is legal in some states. I have talked to a few people who have actually hunted cranes and am told that it is some of the tastiest meat you will ever eat in your life--better than turkey, better than grouse, better than pheasant! However, it's one of the hardest birds to hunt, they are very wary, even of decoys.

Speaking of decoys I picked up a catalog for Hard Core Decoys which is making me giggle because it makes geese sound so butch. The different postures come with names like "The Searcher", "The Sentry" and "The Super Sentry". Here's a description for their snow goose decoy set:

"The first plastic full-body snow decoy ever designed to be anatomically correct in overall look and motion. This has become a sure fire replacement to some of the old techniques used to decoy the decoy-shy snow goose. By throwing a Ross' goose into the package we brought realism to the next level."

There is also the Signature Series designed by champions of the goose calling world:

"The two most unique decoys ever constructed--a great conversation piece in any spread!"

Fake geese? A conversation piece?

New Headshot?

Weird

While doing a search for blue jays in Google's image search engine, I found this.

Birds at the Game Fair