Birds and Beers Postponed

Tonight's Birds and Beers is cancelled due to weather. The rain date is Monday April 23.

Owl Attacks Heron On Live Cam

I love all the live nest cams that are available for us to watch online but knowing all the things that can go wrong with nesting, I keep waiting for the day when a nest cam witnesses something violent.  Sure, we've had epic peregrine battles, but when we are we going to see something pick off nestlings...we might get that this year with the Cornell Live Heron Cam. Recently, a great horned owl tried to go all Hunger Games on the incubating heron.  Check out the video and the heron gets angry and loud, so keep that in mind if you are watching this at work or if you have headphones on (don't worry, it's not bloody):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RBGYPQKt3wA

The birds have just started incubating, but if that great horned is that brazen now...will it return when the chicks hatch?  I don't think this is a matter of the owl desiring a nest, I've seen great horneds take a nest in a heron rookery--it was interesting to note that the herons didn't take any of the nests next to the owl nest but seemed to get along fine with a red-tailed hawk nesting among them.

Will the herons be able to protect their young from an owl? A few years ago there was a raccoon that was systematically climbing up trees at a heron rookery in MN and eating the young one by one.  The MN DNR got video footage of it and in some cases the parents watched from a nearby branch without attacking the raccoon that was eating the chicks alive.

How will this nest cam end? Happily with all five chicks flying off or brutally with some being eaten by an owl? It certainly has my attention.

Consolidating My Birding Tools On My Bike

In my effort to find ways to incorporate more exercise into my daily routine and cut back on using my car, I've been bike birding when I can. I've written about it before and how I attach my spotting scope to my bike so I can tote it around.

Since I've been playing around with using my iPhone instead of my SLR for digiscoping, it leaves a bit more room for toting in the backpack. In the past I have had to attach my tripod to the back of the bike with bungee chord because my backpack had the scope and the SLR. But if I leave my SLR at home I can slide the tripod into my backpack. The backpack doesn't close all the way around, but enough that it holds the tripod and scope securely in place, especially when wedged into my bike basket.

Although my bag did have one tragic accident this week.  Our rabbit Dougal decided he wanted to give chewing zippers a try and he's damaged one of the zippers on the outer pocket. Just like a bunny, they wrap you around their little paw and then when you have fallen for them hook, line and sinker they begin their chewing siege on your home. But thanks to Twitter, I have leads on someone who can repair it...can I get fixed before The Biggest Week In American Birding and Point Pelee Fest though? I love that above photo, he looks like he's been caught trying to use my iPad.

Here's a shot I got iPhonescoping while biking last week of a horned grebe and pied-billed grebe while biking the lakes around my home. I like how having a smart phone reduces what I take in the field. My phone has the ability to hold multiple field guides, the ability to submit sightings directly to eBird from the field and is a camera. The only thing it's missing is the ability to use it as a binocular and a bottle of water.

I will say, it's not quite as easy as getting shots with an SLR, it's similar to getting photos with a point and shoot as far as burst mode goes. But most of my photos end up here or on Facebook and Twitter and for simply sharing shots, I like the portability of using my phone instead of a large camera in the field.  When I need serious photos for a book project, I can still take my SLR out in the field, but for general birding or light birding, the iPhone set up works well (although some of my iPhonescoped shots will end up in my next book).

I'm still pining for an adapter to hold my iPhone to my scope.  I had high hopes last week when I was sent a prototype for a planned Kickstarter project for an iPhone adapter.  I knew it was too small to work with my scope, but it looked like it would work for my binoculars.  Alas, my Swarovski ELs are just a hair too wide for it.  But it if you have smaller eye cups, a microscope or telescope, it could work well for you.  I hope their Kickstarter is a success...maybe it will encourage them to work on another adapter that works with modern field optics with large eyepieces.

But, I do hear there are more in the works, so my dream can't be far off of securing my iPhone to my scope.  When that happens, I'll be able to take video and I have a dream of taking off and doing daily birding shows based on what I can get with my scope and phone.

Birdchick Photo Contest Winner!

I just did the random drawing for the winner for the Birdchick Photo Contest: Congratulations to Linda Munson, you win the $250 gift certificate form Eagle Optics (they will mail it to you). Linda submitted several photos and one of my favorites was this shot of a great horned owl that took over an osprey nest in Florida:

Thank you to everyone who entered.  If your photo appears in the book, you will receive a free copy when it's released in 2013 and a photo credit.

Several people emailed in and very generously offered their photos and didn't want the gift certificate.  If anyone else would like to submit photos, please feel free--I especially need photos of African and Australian species but I'm always on the look out of cool bird behavior from any wild species.

Thank you again for everyone's participation, there were some fantastic submissions and I'm excited and honored that you shared them with me and they will make this birding primer book very special.

BirdsEye BirdLog App Review

I've long been a fan of the BirdsEye app, it allows you find out what's been reported to eBird and gives you an idea of birding hot spots all over North America. It's my favorite birding app of all the apps available--even over any of the field guides. It works on either an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android.  You need some sort of Internet access, either via wireless or the 3G network. There's been a rumor that the app would eventually allow you to update your sitings from the field directly to eBird and we waited and waited for an update. Those of us with iPhones even felt a wee bit of bitterness when it was announced that the app was available to do just that via the Android and not the iPhone.

Now it is available and boy howdy have I been giving it a workout.  One thing to understand, this is a separate app called BirdLog that allows you to enter sitings to eBird from the field, it is a separate app from the original BirdsEye app that allows you to see what is being reported.

Pros of the BirdLog app:

You can enter in eBird sitings directly from the field, as it is happening if you wish.

Let's say you are bike riding on a series of trails and there's a pond that particularly birdy but there's no known birding hot spot there.  You can go into "Submit Sitings" and will tell you where you are and even let you know if you are near a birding hotspot. This is also handy if you in someplace like Nebraska and you're driving around and getting birds at various potholes.

I personally don't like hunting down locations in eBird because you have to do it by county, rather than city or township and I think it's a pain the butt to figure out.  This app does it for you.

It gives you a list of the most likely species.

It will keep track of how long you are birding in an area for you, so you can start it as soon as you hit the trail (alas, it doesn't keep track of how far you traveled, but there are other apps for that).

The app allows you to make notes, "Red-tailed territory display" or "nest nearby."

You can have more than one list going.  I have two lakes that I do as a loop when I'm bike riding and I was able to have both lists going.

Cons of the BirdLog app:

It's separate from the original BirdsEye app.

Doesn't keep track of how far you travel on the trail.

Once you have closed out and submitted your list, it's difficult to go back in and correct it (you might as well do it at home on your computer).  You can't edit the list from the app, it will take you into eBird via your phone's web browser and eBird is not set up to be viewed in a friendly way on a phone (at least not on my iPhone 4s).

When submitting sitings, it defaults to numbers, rather than letters, gently forcing you to count how many birds you are seeing.  I tend for most species to enter in "x" because I don't want to count how many grackles, red-winged blackbirds or gulls I see on the trail.  I think this is more my own personal issue.  I so often have to count birds for work and when I'm watching birds for fun, my brain doesn't want to do it.  You can still enter in "x" you just have to switch screens.

Best Uses:

Driving around on remote roads and you have no idea where you are.  This is ideal for areas like Sax Zim Bog where you are mostly driving down the road and periodically stopping to find birds.

Keeping a running list of what you're seeing in the field.

I'm particularly looking forward to using this in birding programs with kids. I can let one of them keep the bird list and carry an iPad (a good hook for the kid who doesn't want to be in the woods in the first place).

I think this is a really cool app to use with kids at home.  Why wait for the Great Backyard Bird Count or Project Feeder watch to notice birds?  You could set up a day once a week and have your kids check off the birds in your backyard, you could even use it to keep track of what day you note when certain species arrive--like orioles or hummingbirds.

I worry some people think entering sitings to eBird is only for those who are hardcore birders and are out in the field, but backyard species are important too, especially as the globe's climate is changing and we will see more shifts in bird populations.

Here's an intro video that shows you how it works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNliquYImFw&feature=youtu.be

Notes from the Bird(er) of the Year

Hello all, NBB here. Sharon is in deadline mode, and has asked me to fill in for her. As I have received many thousands of questions about my recent honor, I thought it best to simply post the entirety of my speech here. Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the board, Mister President, Your Majesty.

Thank you for attending this gala to celebrate the first time I have been awarded the American Birding Association Bill Stiteler Award for Birder of the Year. This is award is a great honor, not just for me, but for the ABA, and indeed, all of humanity back to and including cavemen, who painted their walls with crude drawings of the birds and possibly dragons they saw soaring high above, creating the first field guides and no doubt the first argument over whether Grog saw a Yellow Chested Uuuugh Uuuugh or a Chestnut-Sided Graaaaah. In those savage days, birding arguments were settled with a sharp rock to the back of the head.

So really, not much has changed. But I digress.

When those Neanderthal-citizen-scientists stared in wonder at the creatures who were not tethered to the earth, they, like us, dreamed of understanding those awe-inspiring creatures, just as they, like us, also dreamed that one day the American Birding Association would give me this award.

It has not been an easy road to this honor that I so richly deserve. Some have said that my relatively recent entry into the birding world, lack of extensive bird knowledge, mocking stance towards birders, and general disinterest in birdwatching itself should have precluded me from winning this award, let alone having it named after me. Well, here I stand before you, wrapped in glory as very definitely the most important birder of this epoch. And where are the naysayers? Lying in a ditch somewhere with a sharp rock in the back of the head.

Birding faces many challenges in the year ahead, not the least of which is the birdwatchers themselves. As we have seen time and time again, fragmentation of the community of birders can only lead to petty squabbles that distract us from the truly important issues of conservation, appreciation, and promotion of the hobby. It is my hope the birdwatchers will set aside the things that divide us and instead choose to focus on the things that unite us.

Namely, me. Because in honoring yours truly, Bill Stiteler, as the recipient of the Bill Stiteler Award for Birder of the Year, the ABA has shown that there are some issues that we can all agree on, like how much I really, really, really, really deserved this. Let us all walk hand in hand into this new Golden Age of Birding, and also make the award bigger when you give it to me again next year.

I thank you.

Birds & Beers and Photo Contest Reminder

Don't forget you still have time to enter my photo contest.  Rules here.  The winner gets a $250 gift certificate to Eagle Optics!  I need photos of birds all over the world, especially birds at feeding stations, bird nests, birds at windows (ie fighting reflections), birds flying.  The most important thing for submission is that the photos be IN FOCUS.  Contest Details here. And I've set the date for the next Birds and Beers and it's that special time of year when it's time to get our timber doodle on!

Thursday, April 19, 2012 RAIN DATE, Monday, April 23, 2012

This is our annual Woodcock Tailgate Party and we head out to Lebanon Hills Regional Park, have some laughs and then 15 minutes after sunset try to watch the woodcock display. The woodcocks start their display about 15 – 20 minutes after sunset, which means they will start around 8:20pm. Since the display area is next to the visitor center at the park, we’ll meet there starting about 6:30pm and have an old fashioned tailgate party–you can come early to mingle or come closer to magic hour.  Bring your own food and beverages and we’ll laugh until it’s Woodcock Time.  The park closes at 10pm, so this gives us plenty of time to get some great birding done.  Some years we’ve had great horned owls show up and still got great looks at the timberdoodles (aka woodcocks).

Recommended to bring: lawn chair and boots, might be a little muddy, insect spray (ticks could be a possibility).  Dress in layers, it could be warm when the sun is out and gets cool quickly when it’s dark.  Binoculars and a flashlight are a good idea too.

For up to date info, check the Facebook Invite Page.

What's Up With Hummingbird Migration?

Last night on Twitter, someone sent me a link to Hummingbird.net announcing, "Hummingbirds are here!"  And low and behold it looked like ruby-throated hummingbird migration was a month early. I don't expect hummingbirds in Minnesota until the first week in May, MAYBE the last week in April. But then I remembered, I just recorded an interview about migration with Outdoor News and right before it I checked my BirdsEye App to see what eBird reporters had seen hummingbird wise...there's a huge discrepancy.  Check this out:

On the left is a screen shot from my BirdsEys app that gives me up to the date info from what people are reporting in to eBird (it's vetted information, if something doesn't gel with their expected birds, you get a request for clarification or documentation). On the right is the Hummingbirds.net map. This is something where anyone can enter a siting and it's not really vetted.

So what's going on here?  Are eBird users just not interested in backyard birds and only pursuing hardcore rarities?  Are there just too few eBird users and they are missing those early ruby-throated hummingbirds?  Do people reporting to hummingbird.net  seeing a few early birds? Are they confusing hummingbirds with hummingbird moths or other smaller birds (don't scoff, you'd be amazed what people mistake hummingbirds for, even someone you would consider well educated)?

There are some migrating birds that can arrive early and though it's a gamble, they can navigate a few cold snaps.  For example--tree swallows, unlike other swallows will eat berries if insects aren't available.  They are one of the first swallows to return.  Osprey and loons need open water for fishing.  If the ice out is month early on the lakes, it's possible to see them that early.  However, bird migration triggers vary from species to species. For some it's hard-wired timing or daylight length and temperature has little to do with it.

I posted the above image this image to my Facebook page to see what others thought. I personally am more inclined to trust the eBird reports since they are vetted and in the past when I've linked to the Hummingbird.net sightings page, it was often a good two weeks before I saw hummingbird activity myself and have been a bit suspect of it. A rule of thumb for Minnesota has been that once you see yellow-bellied sapsuckers, you can see ruby-throated hummingbirds because the wells that sapsuckers drill on trees not only produce sap but trap minute insects, a valuable back up food source for early hummingbirds that can find little nectar from flowers in a cold spring. Corey Finger over at 10,000 Birds said that doesn't work for New York because they have sapsuckers all winter and he directed me to an interesting blog post by Jim McCormack on this same subject--note all his photos of hummingbird moths.

This morning I found an email from Marshall Illiff, the project leader for eBird who tried to answer some of these questions over at the Massachusetts bird list serve (lots of birders are noticing this).  You can read his full email here, but I'll highlight a few of Marshall's insights below:

"eBird is now a source of up to 3 million records (from over 200,000 checklists) each month. Although I really wish that more people in more places were reporting their birds to it (contact me if you want to get started!), I believe it now has enough information to provide an incredibly accurate and detailed look at the advancing front of bird movement in the USA.

Check out these maps, for example, of the next species that will hit Massachusetts.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher:  -- already early to our south, they may arrive next week (and will be ridiculously early if they do)

Louisiana Waterthrush:-- Likewise, ridiculously early for Maryland and New Jersey. They should reach us within the next 1-10 days, so check territories near you.

These maps above match the chatter on the listservs about what people are seeing; eBird and the listservs provide quasi-independent verification of what birders are seeing.

Yes, this spring is remarkable, and *population-level* arrival in New England of things like American Woodcock, Killdeer, Eastern Phoebe, Tree Swallow, and Pine Warbler are all far ahead of schedule (averaging 10-14 days or more in most of the cases I have looked at). However remarkable though this is, these are all birds that would be expected in Massachusetts within two weeks of their actual arrival. There is a temptation to say -- hey, it's an early spring, "anything is possible." But that simply is not true. I am willing to stick my neck out and say that, in this decade anyway, a March Eastern Wood-Pewee, Blackpoll Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, or Alder Flycatcher is simply NOT possible. These are species that do not even arrive on the Gulf Coast until mid to late April, and their arrival in Massachusetts follows 2-3 weeks behind that (only three of the four have occurred in April, ever, and those only barely). There is concern among scientists that these birds may *never* "learn" to arrive earlier, which could have drastic consequences for those species. My point is that anything is NOT possible, and that despite the remarkable weather, bird migration is also governed to some degree by an internal clock and by the simple challenge of geography. All four of these birds I mentioned winter in South America, and it takes a long time and a lot of preparation (i.e., fattening up) for these birds to make the jump.

Granted, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, which winter in Mexico and Central America, and increasingly in the Southeastern US from North Carolina to Florida and west to central east Texas, are a different case. Their normal arrival dates are earlier (about 25 April-5 May in New England). But regardless that is about one month from now! Could hummingbirds be one month early? Could any bird?

eBird has a rigorous data quality system, with over 370 volunteer reviewers managing several thousand regional checklists that define bird occurrence in each of the twelve months of the year. Any submitted record that falls outside of expectations is flagged for review. I double-checked to make sure there were no Ruby-throateds lost in the eBird review purgatory. There were two, form Indiana and Wisconsin, and one of those lists has many other suspect species on it (Wood Thrush!). In other words, it isn't like the eBird review process is keeping hundreds of hummingbirds hidden.  The New England result of that data quality process? eBird has this graph of Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration, averaged across all years for these states: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York: http://tinyurl.com/75gt2js. The actual numbers? In early April, 1/12355 has reported Ruby-throated; in the second week of April, 0/12826; in the third week, 15/12778; and in the third week, 308/17522 (giving a whopping 1.27% chance of seeing a hummingbird in any of those states in the last week of April…although this chance increases later in April and is probably higher in lowland areas vs. mountainous ones).

Furthermore, the New England-New York arrival takes a full month to occur, with obvious arrivals continuing through the week of 15-22 May and beyond. So we are at least two months from the end of hummingbird migration into New England.

Delving into the literature for this region, here is what I find.

- Cape May, New Jersey (Sibley 1997): extreme early date = 29 March, with bulk arrival not until late April (based on his histogram) - New York (Levine 1998): "extreme early date = 14 April (coastal and inland)" - Massachusetts (Veit and Petersen 1993): extreme dates of 18 Mar 1973 in Sudbury (fide Baird) and 26 Mar 1969 in Chatham (Fuller, fide Baird). [Bird Observer database may have additional info] - New Hampshire (fide Pam Hunt and New Hampshire Bird Records): record early date 8 April, and 14 total April records, with just 5-6 before 26 April

I can't help but wonder if the early dates for Cape May, Massachusetts, and eBird (1st week of April) were carefully vetted. All are far enough outside of the main arrival period as to raise questions. They may be correct. But maybe not. No system is infallible, and all of these raise my eyebrows a bit given how far outside of the norm they are.

Prior to posting this, I checked with bird records managers in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and North Carolina. Without exception, they responded with skepticism about the posted arrival dates and had never heard of verified (i.e., documented with photo) or even credible reports of hummingbirds as early as mid-March in their regions. Never, and that's including this year. Early spring or not, all were skeptical that the data could be believed."

So should you put out a hummingbird feeder in the northern US? It can't hurt, but I wouldn't trust the Hummingbirds.net map that you will have tons of hummingbirds right away.  If you do have hummingbirds...and even a photo, let me know...or better yet, join eBird and submit your sightings.

Birdchick Photo Contest

Hey Gang! I'm working on a book project and it needs some photos! Most of the book photos will be my own but if I need others, that has to come out of my own pocket. I don't have huge amounts of cash but I do have a $250 gift certificate from Eagle Optics. So here is what I propose:

Submit your photos via email to me. If I choose your to be in the book, you get a photo credit, a free copy of the book and your are entered into a drawing to win the $250 gift certificate. If this sounds reasonable to you, please send me photos!

So, what am I looking for? Birds from all over the world--really any species from penguins to hawks to backyard birds. Things I especially need: European species at feeding tables, nesting photos (any species, worldwide), but really any species of birds outdoors and not in zoos.  The book is a bird watching book and essentially and Everything You Need To Know About Birding (we're still arguing title). It comes out in 2013.

Photos must be sharp and in focus! I cannot stress the in focus part enough. Photos must be high resolution for print quality, at least 300 dpi or the largest photo size your camera will export.  Also, photos must be your own, meaning you have the right to send them to me.

Please email photos to sharon at birdchick dot com and please include your name, how you would like your photo credited and your mailing address.

Contest Deadline: April 2, 2012

Gift Certificate Winner will be announced April 3, 2013 and I will contact your via email and announce it here in the blog.

The important legal bits (please read):

By submitting an image to me via email, you agree to give me, Sharon Stiteler aka BirdChick.com and Perseus Books the right to use that image in my book and anything related to the book. This may include, but is not limited to, reproduction on the World Wide Web, print in the book or magazine form, retransmission via email, and distribution via all electronic means related to the book including but not limited to eBook, audio book or app. You also agree that you have no implicit right to financial compensation from my use of the image. If you don't like this, please do not send me a photo.

ABA's Bird of the Year: Evening Grosbeak

Last year the American Birding Association introduced their Bird of the Year campaign to highlight a species in trouble.  We got stickers to place on our binoculars, scopes, computers, phones, etc.  Something that could show we are members of the ABA and talk about birds that might need some extra protection and help.  This year, the program is expanding, thanks to some help from Robert Mortensen, founder of Birding Is Fun.

Here was last night's official announcement of 2012's Bird of the Year.  I love this video so much:

http://youtu.be/YvKoRpDVpMg

Adorbs, Jeff!

So, if you are a member of the ABA, you will be getting your latest issue of Birding with the stickers included.  The stickers are supposed to be made of more durable stuff than last year's sticker and they feature the artwork of the fabulous Julie Zickefoose!

Since I use my iPad for bird programs at the park and I need stickers on mine to separate it from the park iPads that's where I placed one of mine, as well as on my Swarovski scope.  The ABA also has suggestions for other things that you can do for evening grosbeaks (whether you are an ABA member or not):

• Report our Evening Grosbeak sightings to eBird, and participate in events such as Project FeederWatch, Great Backyard Bird Count, and the Christmas Bird Count. Our sighting reports are very helpful to bird science and will enhance our understanding of why, when, and where Evening Grosbeaks move.
• Introduce friends and family members to birding. A gift package of a bird feeder, a starter bag of wild bird seed, and a field guide is a great way to do it! Help them learn to identify their feeder birds and keep an eye out for Evening Grosbeaks.
• Get outside. And in the process, check out all the other birds that share the world with us.
• Get involved. Join your local bird club. Volunteer with local conservation organizations.
• Go to www.aba.org/join to learn how to get involved in the American Birding Association.
• What type of conservation projects can you think of that would benefit Evening Grosbeaks? Email us BoY@ABA.org

Maybe I'll submit one of my iPhonescoped photos.  So, why should we have some concern towards the evening grosbeak?  According to recent studies from data collected by Project Feeder Watch, the overall population of evening grosbeaks has decline by 50% between 1988 and 2006...and no one knows why.  This used to be a common winter feeder bird.  Some years you would see more than others, but even I haven't seen that many the last few years and I live in a place where I should be able to find them easily.  I was excited when I got the photos of evening grosbeaks in this post on a January trip to Sax Zim Bog and realized that it had been a few years since I'd seen one of these birds that looks like a goldfinch on steroids.  It's a good idea to not take what used to be a common bird for granted, so let's keep an eye on it.

The ABA also has some fun events planned throughout the year that includes a photo contest to show how you used your ABA sticker, a chance for members to show off their evening grosbeak photos, and a media contest--submit artwork, media regarding the evening grosbeak as well as a blog carnival. Check out the Bird of the Year page for more information.