KARE 11 Segment 03-15-11

Here are links to some of the things I talked about on KARE 11 Today this morning:

Safflower is a great tool when dealing with grackles at the feeder.

Now is a great time to watch for bald eagles along the Mississippi River (especially before the flooding kicks in).  Drive down to the National Eagle Center this weekend and take part of their SOAR events.  I'll be there Saturday and Sunday with Swarovski scopes for people to use and will do a professional optics cleaning on your binoculars.  Saturday is a Birds and Beers gathering at Nelson Creamery from 4pm to 6pm--meet other birders and enjoy some tasty cheese and beer.

Favorite Live Cams At The Moment

There are a ton of live streaming bird cams going on throughout the year and two of my favorites are going on right now.

One favorite that has a brief window is the Sandhill Crane Live Cam at Rowe Sanctuary in Kearney, NE this month.  The cam is best viewed at dawn and dusk but it appears to run all day and the sound is INCREDIBLE.  If you've never birded Nebraska in March, you're missing out!  A million snow geese and a 60,000 sandhill cranes can be found at dawn and dusk along the Platte River.  If you cannot travel and sit in one of the blinds, you can at least enjoy the sites and sounds of crane cam.  I especially enjoy hearing the robins and red-winged blackbirds that haven't quite arrived here in Minnesota just yet.

The second cam is a live cam on an Allen's hummingbird nest.  The quality on the video is amazing and again, you can hear great birds like the house wren, giving us a taste of spring to come.  She has 2 chicks right now and they grow fast.

The Tsunami and Nesting Seabirds

Non Birding Bill and I talked about this on Monday's podcast, but here is a first had report. The stories and images coming for Japan after the earthquake and tsunami are heartbreaking. The tsunami not only devastated many towns in that country, but it also affect nesting albatross and petrels on Midway Atoll.  Albatross nest on the ground and petrels nest in burrows.  Chicks and adults were washed into and stuck in vegetation or washed out to sea. Some adults were so waterlogged that they could not fly off the water. Petrels in their burrows were buried. This blog is the story of someone on the island who was there to help. They couldn't save all, but they saved many. With all of the heartbreaking stories coming from this immense natural disaster, it's nice to find hope where we can.

For those who missed the podcast, the oldest albatross, Wisdom, did survive the tsunami as well.

Random Red-bellied Woodpecker

Male red-bellied woodpecker coming in for some suet dough.

Siskins Are Moving

I went out to Mr. Neil's yesterday to deal with some of our beehives that died over the winter (it was a hard winter, lots of beekeepers lost hives, it's part of the hobby). While walking around outside, I could hear titmice singing territory song and then I heard a golden-crowned kinglet.

I looked out the window and among the goldfinches noticed someone a little streaky.

It was a pine siskin!  Some winters, we get tons and tons of siskins that show up, but this winter we didn't see very many pine siskins at all. I was glad to see this one siskin and thought it strange that it was alone--you generally get a buttload of siskins, not just one or two.

I looked out the window five minutes later and the number of siskins outnumbered the goldfinches.  I went outside and the trees were full of them, their chipping and trilling took over the chorus of other birds.  Here's a link to what they sound like--does that sound familiar?  Have you heard that in your yard?

I think this is definitely a sign that spring is on its way--even up there in the northern states (finally).  Between the kinglet and the large siskin flock, these are birds moving north.  Can red-winged blackbirds be far behind for me?  Watch for these finches at your feeder, you'll notice them from goldfinches by their extreme streaky plumage.  They love Nyjer (aka thistle) and above the birds are eating sunflower seeds.

Birdchick Podcast - Dead Deer, Bent & FLAP

This has to be a Friday podcast because it got a bit weird!  Non Birding Bill was not prepared for the talk of dead deer.  Here are links to some of the subjects: Arthur Cleveland Bent

FLAP - Slide show at the Royal Ontario Museum and lawsuit.

Valmont Owl Cam check out the live shots.  Here's a video of crows mobbing the owls.

Twin Cities Naturalist blog entry of a great horned owl visiting their deer carcass...and taking off with a leg.

Junior Duck Stamp contest.

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Uptown Great Horneds Still Around

The Crossley Birds and Beers was a blast. He was a fun interview and a blast after his talk--I think we closed the bar. If you would like to find out if Richard Crossley is coming to your town, check his site.

The great horneds near my home continue to incubate. It had been awhile since I took my scope and camera to the owls so I took them out yesterday. Even for a week day, several people passed beneath.  The keep an eye on the passers by but otherwise stay still.

Once again, the male was right over the main walkway. In this photo he's looking down  on a dad and his toddler son who had no idea they were walking right under a very large owl. This also leads me to wonder yet again--how many owls do I walk past on a regular basis.  I'm willing to bet that the number is very high.

Laysan Albatross Is The Oldest Living Wild Bird #birding #birds

And she's still raising chicks!

That's right.  According to bird banding records, a Laysan albatross on the Midway Atoll is now officially the oldest living (and breeding birds) in the wild!  She's at least 60, but most likely older than that, since she was already breeding when she was initially banded.  According to the press release from USGS:

"A Laysan albatross named Wisdom, is at least 60 years old and was spotted in February 2011 raising a chick at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Islands. The bird has sported and worn out 5 bird bands since she was first banded by U.S. Geological Survey scientist Chandler Robbins in 1956 as she incubated an egg. Robbins estimated Wisdom to be at least 5 years old then since this is the earliest age at which these birds breed, though they more typically breed at 8 or 9 after an involved courtship lasting several years. This means, of course, that Wisdom is more likely to be in her early sixties."

When you think about all the hazards that face albatross from ingesting plastic and lead to the sheer amount of energy and distance they travel when not breeding, this is amazing.  Here's the current list of the top ten longevity records according to bird banding studies.  Interesting to note the the oldest birds tend to be fish eaters.

Crazy Amounts of Snow Geese

Check out this US Fish and Wildlife video about water management for spring migration.  Crazy amounts of snow geese in this! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT9mieYWymg[/youtube]

Apparently this link was broken yesterday, it's fixed now.  If you can, go directly to YouTube and watch it in HD.

Eagles Fighting Over Carp

I spent the weekend at The National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN as a Swarovski Field Tek for a new company called Big River Optics who sells binoculars and spotting scopes through the Center.  I'll be there next Saturday and the following weekend (when we have a Birds and Beers) answering questions about digiscoping, binoculars and scopes.  Also, if you have Swarovski binoculars or a scope and would like a pro cleaning (similar to what they would do at the Swarovski headquarters) or if you need a minor eye cup adjustment, I'll be there to do that too.  Stop in and say, "Hi!"  It's not a bad way to spend the weekend--along the Upper Mississippi River watching bald eagles (like the above immature) float by.

We did get to watch some eagles squabble over a carp, right across the river from the Eagle Center.  An immature bald eagle got a huge carp and an adult came in to take over.  Other immatures came in to see if they could snatch a few morsels or the fish.

The adult was very intimidating to the younger birds.  As it would chase off one immature eagle, another would try to sneak in to claim the fish.

The immature eagle on the right almost had the fish when the adult charged it.

I love the eagle on the gound on the left.  It's as if the bird is say, "Oh crap, this just got real, I'm gettin' out of the way!"

The adult appears to have won the stand off with that particular immature.

Alas, the adult's charge was full on and it tried too late to put on the brakes.  It slid right off the ice and into the water.  Above, it's just about to go in.

It managed to turn around and get out quickly.  I missed that shot and this picture of it getting out is blurry.  Still, not a bad behavior capture for something on the other side of a river from where I was standing.

The adult was the overall winner of the carp.  A few of the immature were able to sneak in and get a few tidbits, but the adult ate the most.  It didn't have an easy time of it.  Below is a video and in the first part, an immature slams it from above.  You'll know when it's about to happen because the birds on the right look up and see it coming.  And watch how the eagles run around on the ice...it's hard to take them as majestic when they run like that.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1FTyksKEJE[/youtube]