Birdchick Blog

Sky Watch Friday Carver Banding

2008-10-10T07:38:00.005-05:00

Doh, it's raining this morning, not sure I'm going banding at Carpenter. Well, I have some banding photos from last weekend and it's SkyWatch Friday, I'll work on that and see if the rain subsides:

Years ago, the summer before Non Birding Bill and I moved to Minnesota, we were on vacation with his family at Virginia Beach. We were flipping around tv channels one night and found a documentary about Minnesota--we thought this would be good prep work to watch. We had heard that we should be prepared for cold and snow year round, but beyond that, not much else. The documentary had an interview with Garrison Keillor and he said something about there are a few days in October which are perfect days (in every possible way) in Minnesota and people visit during those days and get that impression. For some reason, that was what stuck out in my mind and every October, I try to watch for that. If you are an optimist, October in Minnesota is the THE BEST. Sunny days that might require a fleece, glowing fall leaves, local farm bounties, and cool nights perfect for snuggling with your favorite person. As long as you don't think about the impending snow and cold which could easily last six months is right behind this perfect month.

Last weekend, I was going to go to Duluth to do go to Frank's hawk blind, but the wind prediction wasn't good and the sparrows were everywhere in the Twin Cities. My buddy Amber had heard that Mark was going to do some migrant banding on Saturday, so I snuck out to join them. Mark normally does banding programs every third Saturday at Lowry Nature Center. This was not a formal program, so Amber spread out a blanket near the nets, Mark set out his equipment and we banded birds in the beautiful October sun. Above is one of the many swamp sparrows moving through. It's such a pretty sparrow, it's too bad they don't visit feeders as much as house sparrows do--people would really dig 'em. I'm going to save that photo, that would be a good hair color at some point.

We got in quite a few orange-crowned warblers. This is the "drabbest of the drab" first year female orange-crowned. If you are one of the peeps going to the Rio Grande Valley Bird Fest next month, learn this bird's chip note--you'll be hearing it a lot. I know we have them in Minnesota, but I always associate them with South Texas. Speaking of which, there is still time to sign up for the bird blogger discount for the Rio Grande Fest. It's going to be awesome, some of the bird bloggers I know are coming include WildBird on the Fly, Born Again Bird Watcher, birdspot, and Mike from 10,000 Birds--oh, it's on! Looks like there's going to be a Birds and Beers too!

But I digress, back to the female orange-crowned warbler (and since it's SkyWatch Friday, pay attention to the blue sky in the back). She really doesn't have much orange to speak of, even in hand. She's a pallet of gray, drab olive, and kinda white.

Here's an adult male--a little more flashy--look at that yellow. And, you can distinctly see the orange in the crown, can't ya? Please tell me I'm not hallucinating, you can see the orange too? Okay, I admit, it is hard to see, so we used the toothpick method to get a look at the orange crown:

Now you can see the orange in that crown! It's never easy to see when the bird is not in hand. I just check Birds of North America Online to find out when one can see the orange crown on the bird in the wild and found this: "Male threat or alarm display can involve elevation of head feathers to display (barely) the orange crown (Bent 1953)."

"Don't make me barely show you my orange crown!!" Maybe these small warblers have a color orange phobia, so a little is all that's needed. Although, I'm not sure what a flock of orange-crowned warbler when confronted with a male oriole. Or perhaps, those orange feathers are so powerful that too much could be lethal? So much more study to be done.

It's always so cute when an insect eating bird tries to peck your fingers--those bills are just so soft--look at that orange-crowned warbler go for Mark's thumb. Earlier, his thumb went through much worse:

Before I arrived, he and Amber got a young male cardinal in the nets. After banding it, he opened his hand to let it go. The male decided to get in one good bite before flying off and then got so into it, refused to let go and hung from his thumb for a moment. It flew off and remarkably, Mark did not need a band aid.

Ah, looks like the rain is easing up, I should hit the road.

Tim Gallagher: Falconer

2008-10-09T14:46:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite birding dudes has an interview up at YouTube. It's a blurb about Tim Gallagher's book Falcon Fever and you see some shots of his falconry bird, McDuff:

Odds and Ends

2008-10-09T10:24:00.004-05:00

Cinnamon is driving me crazy. We have a new futon and she loves it. Unlike our old couch, she can hang out under the frame and surprise us by nudging our ankles for fun. Often, I look down between my legs and see her tocks kicked out beneath me (as seen above).

I have a small bottle of lotion that I use on my face--it's expensive, it's cruelty free, good SPF, hypo--allergenic, blah blah blah. I always get cruelty free no matter the expense--animals should not have to suffer through cosmetic testing for my vanity. Yesterday, I dropped the lotion and it rolled under the futon, Cinnamon made a jump for it. When she first reached it, her dew flap caused it to roll further and she chased it. When she caught up to it, she started chewing the dispenser. "Hey!" I yelled. "That's not your's." Knowing she was in trouble, she grabbed the lotion with her mouth, and ran away to escape into her Cottontail Cottage. I got it back, but the danger of buying expensive cruelty free products, is that your pets often want to eat them.

There are a lot of eastern bluebird flocks on the move in Minnesota right now. Many will head further south, perhaps not far (I remember seeing them in winter in Indiana) but some bluebirds will stay in southern Minnesota if they can find enough food.

Yesterday on my bike ride, I found this sphinx moth caterpillar running across the trail--I think it's a galium sphinx moth. I've reading about them on different bug forums and am going to get him to pupate and overwinter it. Anyone have any tips? It's a dynamite looking caterpillar.

Flying Penguins

2008-10-08T10:28:00.003-05:00

From CNN.com

In Brazil, 373 young Magellanic penguins were rescued, rehabilitated and released last weekend after their search for food left them stranded, hundreds of miles from their usual feeding grounds.

Animal-welfare activists loaded the birds onto a Brazilian air force cargo plane and flew them 1,550 miles to the country's southern coast, where a crowd of onlookers celebrated as the penguins marched back into the sea.

"We are overjoyed to see these penguins waddle back to the ocean and have a second chance at life," said veterinarian Dr. Valeria Ruoppolo of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the group that oversaw the rescue.

Magellanic penguins are warm-weather birds that breed in large colonies in southern Argentina and Chile. The young animals then migrate north between March and September, following their favorite fish, the anchovy. The birds are named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who first saw them in 1519. But changes in currents and water temperature apparently confused the juvenile birds, who strayed too far north to the warm beaches of Salvador, Brazil, 870 miles north of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Starting in mid-July, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahía, "It was just about raining penguins," Ruoppolo said. "There was not much of a food supply. The birds were stranded and emaciated. They had lost all their muscles and body condition."

While occasionally a few birds show up so far north, the unusual sight of hundreds of wayward penguins posed a challenge for animal conservation groups.

Of more than 1,600 penguins that washed ashore in northern Brazil, about half are still alive. That is a fairly good outcome, given the fragile status of young birds on their first migration, said Ruoppolo.

Some penguins are still being cared for, both in the north and south of Brazil. The newly released birds have bands on their flippers so scientists can follow their progress and learn more about their migratory habits.

On Friday, the penguins ready for release were loaded into special crates and put onto the plane for the journey to Pelotas, in southern Brazil. After their first-ever flight, the birds went on a truck ride to the Center for Recovery of Marine Animals, where they rested for 24 hours.

The birds released at Cassino Beach the next day had to meet very specific health criteria, said Ruoppolo.

"Their feathers had to be waterproof, their overall body condition had to be good, their lungs healthy, and they had to be able to catch food," she said.

The youngsters had some adult supervision for their return to the wild. They were released with a small group of adult penguins that had been nursed back to health after surviving an oil spill. Scientists expect the older birds will help guide the little ones to nearby feeding grounds.

Birds and Beers Special Edition in Belleville, Ohio--Oct 17, 2008

2008-10-08T08:26:00.002-05:00

Callin' Ohio Birders! There's going to a be a special edition of Birds and Beers in Belleville, OH when I come for the Audubon State Assembly on October 17, 2008!

Birds and Beers
At K.C.'s Steak and Ribs
419-886-2159
6pm - 8pm (or when people go home)

Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of birders of all abilities--if you're interested in birds, you're invited. You can meet other birders--maybe find a carpool buddy, ask about where to find target birds, share cool research projects you might be working on, ask a bird feeding question, share life lists--the sky is the limit. It's low key and it's fun.

There are so many people that are doing interesting things bird wise--research projects, banding, writing, etc. and we don't often find out about it on the listservs. I also notice that some of us only have a chance to meet at a stake out bird. This is a chance to get some of us together, have a drink, and talk some birds.

I must say, last night's Birds and Beers got a bit randy--I think it was the best laugh I've had all week. Someone mentioned that they wanted to start a Muskrats and Martinis, which led to discussions of taking Birds and Beers going on the road, watching the birds and sipping a little something. This time of year we could do Coors and Coots. I wondered what we could pair with owls and had trouble thinking of something and then some sweet little thing said she had an idea and wasn't going to say it out loud (and it wasn't a form of alcohol) which degenerated into double entendres of birding lingo. I'm never going to think of casting a pellet the same way again.

We also came up with a birding drinking game. Find an active feeder, fill a hat with the names of birds that are commonly seen there. Everyone draws a name out of a hat and every time their bird species comes to the feeder, they have to take a sip. You'd be in trouble if you drew chickadee, house sparrow, or starling. If a bird shows up that no one has, a player could challenge another player to identify it. If that player cannot, they have to drink from a cup that has a little of everyone's drink in it.

We wrapped it up early so we all had a chance to go home and watch the debate.

Birdchick Say Relax! Watch The Birds At The Feeder & Count 'Em!

2008-10-07T23:38:00.003-05:00

You know you would rather watch birds than watch the news about the economy, so why not also do use that relaxing time to contribute to research! Just watch your bird feeders once a week for as little as 15 minutes (or longer if you so choose) and contribute to science.

The 2008-09 season of Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch gets underway November 8 and runs through April 3. You can count the numbers and kinds of birds at their feeders each week and send the information to the Cornell Lab of the Big O. Last season, participants submitted more than 115,000 checklists, documenting unusual bird sightings, winter movements, and shifting ranges- a treasure-trove of information that scientists use to monitor the health of the birds and of the environment.

Scientists learn something new from the data each year, too, whether it’s about the movements of common backyard birds or unusual sightings of rarely-seen species.

Highlights of the most recent season include the largest southward movement of red-breasted nuthatches in the history of the project -part of an expected influx of northern birds that fly farther south when their food supplies run short.

Other northern species showing up in record numbers included common repolls and pine siskins (like the little dudes above that were at Mr. Neil's last winter). Long-term data show some species increasing in number, such as the lesser goldfinch in the Southwest. Other populations continue a downward trend, such as the Evening Grosbeak throughout their range. Once one of the most common species seen at feeders in the northern half of the continent, the grosbeaks are declining for unknown reasons.

Beyond the benefits to birds and science, however, is the benefit to participants. “Nature is not merely an amenity; it is critical to healthy human development and functioning,” says Nancy Wells, Cornell University assistant professor of design and environmental analysis. Her studies find that a view of nature through the window or access to the environment in any way improves a child’s cognitive functioning and reduces the negative effects of stress on the child’s psychological well-being. Wells also notes that when children spent time with nature early in life it carries over to their adult attitudes and behavior toward the environment.

Project FeederWatch welcomes participants of all ages and skill levels, from scout troops and retirees to classrooms and nature center visitors. You can do this--chances are if your read this blog, you watch birds at your feeder anyway, this is just a way of taking it to the next level. If you do not have feeders at your home (get a copy of City Birds/Country Birds and that'll help) or go to your local nature center or refuge, find out if they have feeders, if they plan on participating and offer to volunteer or them.

To learn more and to sign up, visit Project FeederWatch or call the Lab toll-free at (800) 843-2473.

Birds Don't Steer Me Wrong

2008-10-07T12:51:00.000-05:00

I have to give some props to one of my new blog supporters.

You may have noticed a new supporter on the side of the blog, Credit River Outdoor Creations. This is actually someone I know--his name is Todd and he's been our mechanic, well since we moved to Minnesota in 1996. We know nothing about car repair and needed someone we could trust. I chose him because when I walked into Amigo Service Center for an oil change, I looked around the waiting room and saw bird houses, a birding calendar on the wall, and some birds painted into the decor. I told Non Birding Bill, "These are bird people, we can trust bird people."

Over the years we've gotten to the know the staff and recently, Todd told me that he started a little birding business selling a bird feeding pole system and a seed storage system. When he described the pole system he was selling, I recognized it right away:

It's the Plymouth Pole system--it was always one of my favorites when I worked at the bird store and a tough one to find. I've installed it at my mom's and at Mr. Neil's and show it my City Birds/Country Birds book. When the pole system is set up correctly with a raccoon baffle, it works really well to keep any manner of critter out of your feeders. It works because the feeders are above five feet and if you put a raccoon baffle on it and the pole is mounted a good 10 feet from a tree, fence, your home, or lawn furniture, it will keep squirrels and raccoons from climbing the pole. And a note, if you're short like me, use Easy Lift hangers to hang your feeders on the pole system, it makes it a cinch to get them down.

So, if your looking for a good sturdy pole system, check out Todd's site--he's a good guy and I appreciate his support for the site.

Birds and Beers Tonight

2008-10-07T07:50:00.002-05:00

Hey!

Birds and Beers is tonight at Merlin's Rest! And how did I miss that tonight is another presidential debate? The last Birds and Beers was on Obama's acceptance speech, but we still made it home in time to watch. Sheesh. Maybe this should be the last Birds and Beers until after the election?

So, if already know whick candidate you're voting for or just like to get the highlights of the debate on YouTube or the radio, see you tonight!

Birds and Beers is an informal gathering for people interested in birds to get together, have a beverage, maybe a few eats, and talk some birds. It's open to anyone who might be interested in watching birds to the hardcore lister and anyone in between.

The Difference Of Birds In The Hand

2008-10-06T21:06:00.004-05:00

Man oh man, the migrants are all over the Twin Cities right now! The trees are just full of them. Above is one of the many yellow-rumped warblers that can be heard if you listen close for their kiss sounding chip note. I had originally planned to go up to Duluth for some hawk banding, but the winds were supposed to be the worst for banding and the winds in the Twin Cities were pretty good for migrant trapping--Friday at Carpenter was pretty amazing.

And warblers were the main order in the nets. Here's a rather indignant looking yellow-rumped warbler in hand. It's always amazing to me how different birds look in hand. We use mesh bags to hold the birds after they have been taken out of the net. You look through the mesh to figure out what is inside--the species tells you what size band you use. I at first looked at this bird through the mesh and lamented, "Aw, couldn't I have gotten an identifiable bird?" However, the bird fluttered in the bag, and I soon noticed the yellow rump and knew what it was.

We got in a few Nashville warblers too. After this bird was banded, I went to take a photo before letting it go and it just looked so non warbler like-just not feisty enough, almost looks like a child that's been naughty. Many of the birds take on a much different posture in hand than they do the wild.

But, pish at it a few times and it perks right up--feistiness returned.

And then it gives you as mighty a peck as a tiny insectivore can deliver before flying off.

This golden-crowned kinglet is another example--a bird that is full of vim and vigor when hopping about from branch to branch, but completely deflates when in hand.

Check out that buttery-yellow crown, though--drink that in. And again, as soon as this bird was let go, its sassy nature returned.

One of my favorite birds of the day was a brown creeper...or the hunchback. Looking at the above photo, don't you expect it to say in a Peter Lorre voice, "This way, master." But think about the last time you saw a brown creeper...you never see one perched on a branch like a robin, they are always creeping down a tree, perhaps it is essential for their posture.

It's fun to take a close look at all the little bits that make a creeper a creeper--bits that you don't get to see when they are against a tree. Look at how long the toe nails are--each nail is almost longer then the toe itself, essential for life on the side of a tree. Check out that beak, perfect for squeezing into tiny bark crevices to glean spiders and insects. Hm, between the hunch and the diet, this really is the Igor of the bird world.

The tail is pretty incredible too. It's long with pointy feathers, but unlike woodpecker tail feathers, the creeper tail feathers are quite soft. Perhaps the reason is that a brown creeper isn't chiseling into trees like a woodpecker. Strong, stiff tail feathers to prop the woodpecker body are needed if they are hammering open a hole, but a creeper just needs to slink up the bark of a tree.

After getting a bunch of tiny birds that looked small and sad in the hand, it was kind of a treat to get a robust white-throated sparrow with a little bit of an attitude. These birds feel so beefy in the hand and have a bit more kick to their bite, since they need that heavier bill to crack seed shells.

The whole bird is a lovely palette of brown, rust, white, black, yellow and gray. For a brown bird, it's got it going on. Watch for them under feeders (they actually like millet) and around ragweeds, sumac, wild grape, highbush cranberry, mountain ash, dogwoods, and rose hips.

More weekend banding fun to be continued.

Here The Buzz Of Our Bees On MPR

2008-10-06T07:54:00.003-05:00

Mr. Neil's interview that was made the day we did our honey harvest is up at MPR:

You can listen to it above or read the transcript over at MPR. Interesting...there appears to be no mention of the sting...

Holy Crap! Goldfinch Retrap Info From Mr. Neil's

2008-10-03T23:05:00.003-05:00

Back in September, we had a great day of banding birds at Mr. Neil's. One of the birds we got was an already banded goldfinch--but not banded by any of us. Well, it turns out that the bird was banded in 2004 near Springfield, Illinois by Vernon Kleen! That makes this bird at least 4 years old and how the heck did it get over 450 miles north?

Skywatch Friday With Migrants

2008-10-03T15:45:00.006-05:00

Hey, have you sent in your comments regarding the proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act yet? Don't let it slip away (and yes, I'm gonna be a pest about this).

Well, it's Skywatch Friday again. You can visit their site and click to all the links to every one's photos of sky and if you wish, you can participate by creating your own blog entry with a photo of sky, adding the Skywatch Friday link to your post and then adding your link to their site. As you can see, the vivid blue skies still continue to enhance the gorgeous fall colors at Carpenter Nature Center.

I tell ya', with the all the negatives adds (on all sides) of the upcoming election and news of the economy it's hard not to get down. If you are anywhere near Hastings, MN make a trip to Carpenter, the colors do not disappoint and the grounds full of birds and a few bees give you peace of mind that money just cannot buy. And if you have a few bucks, now is the time to load up on apples from their orchard--Honeycrisps are in and they have apple cider made right on site (I'm enjoying some now as I type this entry).

The bright blue sky, mixes with the changing reds and yellows of the trees to make the perfect back drop for photographing or just enjoying birds. Not that downy woodpeckers are fugly to begin with, but their black and white coloration is oh so enhanced with the fall colors. I don't know if anyone needs a cleansing downy woodpecker, but here you are.

Later, I'll blog more about the banding bonanza that we had at Carpenter today--I banded a lot of birds and I don't think I worked with the same species twice, it was a parade of sparrows, finches, and warblers and note the bird above: I took my first junco (aka snowbird) of the season out of the nets today. I call this my first junco of the season, but it really is not. I have heard there chip notes in the bushes on the bike trail and I have chosen to ignore the blatant sign of winter.

But if we are talking sky, it's only appropriate that we talk about migration and birds that are pouring out of the skies on their journey south. Carpenter was loaded with white-throated sparrows today (like the bird above) so watch for sparrows lurking under your feeders--and it wouldn't hurt to put out a bit of white millet for them. One of my favorite things about the fall are the nights up at Frank's hawk banding station in Duluth and you can hear white-throated sparrows chipping to each other overhead as large flocks head south. Some of my favorite moments in life have included listening to night migrants with friends...I remember laying on a bench in Cape May, NJ a few years ago do that same thing WildBird on the Fly. Good times.

Here's a tan morph of white-throated sparrow. Look at those gorgeous rufous feathers mixed in with other shades of brown on its back--what a classy little brown bird! Speaking of migration, blog reader Tammy sent over this news link from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about night migration:

"Right around sunrise Tuesday morning the NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan radar (MKX) showed some curious circular reflectivity returns. The echoes developed suddenly and then grew in size between 6:45 AM and 7:30 AM. The MKX staff suspects these to be birds taking off right at sunrise. Some of the echoes initially show returns as high as 30 dBZ, which would equate to a decent shower if the returns were made of rain drops. These are likely dense clusterings of geese heading out early to feed in the fields."

You can read the full story and see the radar images here.

So, keep your eyes and your ears to those fall skies!

Comment On The Endangered Species Act Changes! NOW!

2008-10-02T11:05:00.003-05:00

Hey, remember the proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act? The current president wants to give more say to federal agencies, so if the highway is going through and endangered nesting ground, the highway department can decide for themselves whether or not to keep going with the project. We need to stop shaking our heads and asking, "How much more damage can he do?" and act to keep this damage from happening.

They have opened a comment period for its proposal until Oct. 14.

BUT, here is the kicker, they are not accepting e-mails, you have to either phone in or hand write and snail mail in why you think this is a bad idea, and you have to do it through the Department of the Interior by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to:

Public Comment Processing Attention: 1018-AT50 Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 4401 North Fairfax Drive Suite 222 Arlington, VA 22203

The Sierra Club is also accepting comments online which they will compile and send to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service too. You can use their form to help start your letter and submit it online, they will send it on all at once, but it is important to personalize it.

Also, keep in mind that the DOI will post the public comments, so careful about including your personal information in your comments. This needs to be done and it needs to be done now. Do it for peregrine falcons and bald eagles who needed the list and are now off--they are successes. Do it for birds that may need it in the future like the red knot, or birds that are on there now like the California condor, piping plovers, short-tailed albatros.

Comment loud and comment now! Spread the word to your friends, send them the Sierra Club link, put this in your FaceBook status updates, comment now!

Please.

Wind Turbines Not That Bad For Birds?

2008-10-02T09:17:00.002-05:00

I am so up in the air and ill informed when it comes to wind energy and birds. We need an alternative, renewable fuel source, but is the cost to birds too high? I'd love to go to the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative conference at the end of this month to try and get some answers, but I think I'll be in Cape May.

Well, according to one British study, wind turbines do not drive birds from farm land. According to Reuters:

Wind turbines do not drive birds from surrounding areas, British researchers said on Wednesday, in findings which could make it easier to build more wind farms.

Conservation groups have raised fears that large birds could get caught in the turbines and that the structures could disturb other species.

"This is the first evidence suggesting that the present and future location of large numbers of wind turbines on European farmland is unlikely to have detrimental effects on farmland birds," Mark Whittingham, whose team from Newcastle University carried out the research, said in a statement.

But scientists found only one of the 23 species studied, the pheasant, was affected during their survey of two wind farms in eastern England.

The survey studied the impact of two wind farms on about 3,000 birds in the area, including five species of conservation concern -- the yellowhammer, the Eurasian tree sparrow, the corn bunting, the Eurasian skylark and the common reed bunting.

The researchers recorded the density of birds at different distances from the turbines and found that aside from the pheasant, the structures posed no problems.

The study did not look at the danger of the birds colliding with the turbines, which has been a worry of conservationists, Whittingham said."

Read the full story here.

I also found the same story at the BBC News with further comment from Whittingham: He added that previous research had shown that turbines did have a negative impact on larger species, such as waterbirds and raptors, which are primarily found in coastal and upland regions.

"There is increasing conservation concern about the impact of wind farms on these species in these areas, so applications to build new turbines are increasingly focusing on other sites, especially lowland farmland in central and eastern England."

However, the study did reveal that the distribution pattern of common pheasants had altered as a result of the wind farms.

Dr Whittingham told BBC News that the surveys were carried out over the winter months: "We would advocate that [a study] during the breeding season needs to be done as well."

Read the full BBC article here.

So, I am still up in the air on the wind issue. On the surface, this news story seems to say, "Hey, wind energy isn't that bad to birds as long as we avoid migratory flyways and focus on farmland...however, the study was done in the winter--not during the breeding season. We still need to know how this affects nestlings. Will it still be okay? Will the young birds learn how avoid wind turbines when they learn to fly? Or, will fledgling and breeding birds chasing each other have a higher mortality around the turbines? Are the turbines okay in winter, but not something birds want to nest on during the breeding season? I know when we go to Felton Prairie during the Detroit Lakes Festival of birds, there's a wind turbine and there are breeding marbled godwits, chestnut-collared longspurs, upland sandpipers, bobolink, and western meadowlarks just to name a few.

And there's still the raptor and waterfowl issue to deal with. I see this as hopeful news, but we need more study. It would be great if we could avoid migratory flyways with the wind turbines.

What I Enjoy About Digiscoping

2008-10-01T08:37:00.001-05:00

First, Birds and Beers will be Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 6pm at Merlin's Rest. I'm sorry to people who can't make it to Tuesday and only on Thursdays, but my Thursdays are a little nutty for the next few weeks. The next one will be on a Thursday.

Birds and Beers is an informal gathering for people interested in birds to get together, have a beverage, maybe a few eats, and talk some birds. It's open to anyone who might be interested in watching birds to the hardcore lister and anyone in between. It'll be a great way to ignore the nasty political adds on tv, the baffling candidate choices, and the state of the stock market and focus on birds.

Speaking of not wanting to turn on the tv or visit news sites, I'm so grateful to birds and digiscoping. It's nice when the news starts to sound too terrible, that I can find a place and simply watch birds. I love visiting a well traveled feeding station and the Minnesota Valley NWR is just one of those places. I needed photos of woodpeckers and just really took a moment to focus on birds. When someone asks what drew me to birds, I can only answer, "It's the way I'm wired, I love everything about them." Even just watching their natural daily functions. Take a look at that down woodpecker above. This small woodpecker as the ability to hang on the bottom of the feeder, use that stiff tail to prop itself up, and still manage to work out a peanut from just that position. I wonder if I would be willing to do that for a Klondike Bar? Although, that would be a messy way to get one.

I know some "pro photographers" who poo poo amateurs like myself. "You can't get a head on shot of a bird, that's not going to sell." But it's the imperfect shots that I appreciate more--because that's how you actually see birds in the wild. There's a reason that the Mad Bluebird photo is one of the most commercially successful bird photo ever taken--it has character. Again, I take comfort in this nuthatch getting ready to fly of this feeder, the way The Stranger in The Big Lebowski takes comfort in "The dude abides." The position, the shape, the ability of this bird to survive for years in the wild being despite being tiny and sometimes enduring temperatures well below zero degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not looking to sell images, just enjoy birds.

Here's another photo that would never sell, but I take a moment to appreciate how all these functional colors work into a beautiful pallet. Sure black and white blends well with trees and a little flash of red serves a purpose in mating and territoriality, but it's just beautiful. I could stare at that red, white, and black for a good half hour.

Again, it's just nice to find something to take your mind off all the gloom and doom in the news.

On a fun note, yesterday on Big River Journey, our boat was just coming into downtown St. Paul and we watched a very healthy looking coyote drinking from the river. I wish I had my digiscoping set up then. The coyote in perfect sun with the St. Paul high rises looming behind it.

H to the O to the L to the Y to the CRAP!! Heron Eats Rabbit!

2008-09-30T16:54:00.005-05:00

WARNING!!!

WARNING!!!

WARNING!!!

Disapproving Rabbit fans and general cute bunny lovers (that means you, Non Birding Bill) do NOT want to click on any links or even read the following blog post.

STOP READING NOW!

But it is bird related and I find this horribly fascinating as a birder and I think that's enough stahling.

A grey heron has eaten a rabbit--and there's photographic documentation. Yeperooni that is the headline. I just did another Big River Journey today for the National Park Service today and I was just discussing the things that great blue herons will eat: fish, frogs, smaller birds, snakes, nestlings (there's a reason red-winged blackbirds bop the on the head). A little boy brought up that his neighbor told him a heron was chasing chipmunks on their lawn. It's not common, but a small chipmunk is certainly not out of the realm of possibility for a great blue.

Well, according to the Telegraph in the UK, Ad Sprang got photos of the great blue heron's cousin, the grey heron getting a rabbit. Not just a wild rabbit, a domestic looking rabbit.

This is the final photo...as you can make out from the heron's bulge, this did not end well for the rabbit. I'm not going to post all Al Sprang's photos here in the blog, there's just too much of a conflict of interest between the bunny lovers who read my blog and the birders. Just follow this link...

Creature Comforts - Being a Bird

2008-09-29T14:18:00.002-05:00

If you need a break from the headlines...here's something from Nick Park called Creature Comforts: Being a Bird:

Showcase Minnesota Feeders

2008-09-29T10:52:00.002-05:00

Cinnamon got a shout out from a caller to Showcase Minnesota today! Craziness!

Here are the feeders that I had on there. I got them all form the Wild Bird Store in Wayzata, but you can order them online as well...or stop into any wild bird specialty store:

Solar Powered Squirrel Proof Feeder (I've got one hanging at Carpenter Nature Center. Keeps both squirrels and staff off with a mild zap).

Recycled Plastic Hopper (all purpose) bird feeder.

Acorn shaped recycled plastic feeder (good for peanuts out of the shell or black oil sunflower).

Conversation With Non Birding Bill

2008-09-28T22:30:00.002-05:00

Birdchick: Man, this house finch I took a photo of today looks really peaked.

Non Birding Bill: Is it okay?

Birdchick: Yeah, it's just molting, see the pin feathers.

Non Birding Bill: Well, it doesn't need those breeding feathers this time of year.

Birdchick: Well, it's actually growing in those pink feathers now.

Non Birding Bill: You just can't let me have anything, can you?

Big River Journey

2008-09-26T09:20:00.004-05:00

Hey, if you are interested, The Winter Finch Forecast is out, if you want to try and figure your chance of seeing some irruptive species. Crossbills, goshawks, and boreal owls might be a possibility in northern states.

I have been part of the coolest thing through the National Park Service this week. It's called Big River Journey and it's basically a classroom on a river boat. Students go around to different stations on the boat as it goes between Harriet Island in St. Paul and Fort Snelling in Minneapolis and learn about macro invertebrates (leeches, dragonfly larvae, and other water beetles), geology, ecology, river stewardship, birds, and how to be a riverboat captain--it's awesome. I bet you can't guess which station I was assigned to? It was birds of course, but the best part for me what that for some of the kids who came on the boat--this was their first time one a boat, let alone on the Mississippi River. One boy looked over at me and said, "This is so cool, I knew I was going on a boat, but I didn't know I'd get to see a bald eagle today!"

By hardcore birder standards, we didn't see great birds, but for kids who don't watch birds, we kicked some major butt. Many thought ring-billed gulls on a river (and not on the ocean) was quite a treat. I think almost every group got a great look at bald eagles and herons. We also saw lots of turkey vultures--quite a few eating dead fish along the river, and some gratuitous peregrine falcon flights. We spent the first few minutes of the station going over adaptations some birds have for living along the river and then the rest of the time using binos to watch for birds and signs of birds--like cavities in trees or on cliffs, swallow nets, whatever.

For me, it was the first time in a long time where I really felt like I was making a difference when giving a bird program, it was the best. I believe Big River Journey is offered twice a year, in the fall and in the spring. Read more about it here and maybe talk to your school about signing up for this amazing event.

MPR At The Honey Harvest

2008-09-25T08:07:00.005-05:00

It was time to do some honey harvesting at our three hives. We had a rather large posse going out: Me, Mr. Neil, Non Birding Bill, Lorraine, Kitty, and Euan Kerr from Minnesota Public Radio.

We had so many people coming, that we were short on bee suits. NBB wore long pants, with a red shirt (the color red doesn't bother bees), just a helmet with a net and gloves--go NBB. Euan was there to interview Mr. Neil about his latest book, The Graveyard Book. What a brave man, you're scheduled to do an interview and told, "Hey, why don't don't you come out with us to our hives!" And he comes along in full bee suit to record part of the interview. What a good sport.

And then we put him to work! The honey supers (boxes where bees store excess honey and no brood) are incredibly heavy and you sometimes need two people to take them out. Now, last year, I used something called Bee Quick to get the bees out of the hive. It didn't work as well this year. I suspect that the bottle I purchased last year lost some of its potency because the bees did not vacate the supers quite like they should have. I think we'll just have to get a fresh bottle every year. Here's a video of Mr. Neil and Lorraine trying to shake out the last few bees from the honey super...and notice the irritated bee buzz:

Don't you just love the maniacal Lorraine giggle?

We checked the MimiKo hive first--no honey production--but the bees are so incredibly friendly, did some hand feeding. Next we checked the county-fair-blue-ribbon-winning Kelli hive next--three supers with honey in all (she made both comb honey and regular honey), but not willing to give up the supers, she got a little angry. We were talking about the differences between the two hives. How Mimi doesn't make much excess but she is so, so friendly and how Kelli works hard and made a terrific amount of honey her first year. Mr. Neil told me that the two women who painted the hives have been following their progress on the blog and discussed this as well. Kelli said, "When I painted my hive, I put in the message, 'Be productive.'" To which Mimi replied, "That's funny, I told my hive to 'Be friendly.'"

And that's what the hives are.

Then we checked the combined Kitty/Olga hive (and we actually had the Kitty namesake with us). We warned Kitty and Euan that we needed to be ready for this hive. Someone asked if she's a mean hive. This hive isn't a mean or angry hive, it's just that she's older and doesn't tolerate any shit. There really is no other way to explain it. We had the smoker at the ready, we took off the top lid--bam! Mr. Neil got stung through his sock near the ankle! It's one of those rare areas where a bee could breach the bee suit. Some beekeepers wear boots (Mr. Neil often does) others duct tape the bee suit pants over the shoes to prevent the breach, but we didn't and he got stung very quickly. Kitty/Olga was living up to her hype. We went back to work--bam! Euan got stung--right through the bee suit, a complete breach of the beesuit.

It was at this point we decided to put the fume board on top of the hive and leave it for 20 minutes to a half hour to really let the essential oils do their work--bees do not like the aroma of the Bee Quick and it pushes them deeper into the hive, leaving all the honey supers bee-less and allows es to harvest the honey relatively pain free. Also, leaving the hive for awhile meant Euan could continue his interview, the boys could also treat their stings and the rest of us could get a much needed break and have a snack.

I took a moment to take the Ross Rounds out of their frames--the easiest way to harvest honey if you can talk your bees into making comb honey (instructions for how to extract from Ross Rounds can be found here). It was weird having Euan along. He's a terrifically nice guy, and again, I must say that he was a very good sport to come out to our hives and still keep a genial nature after being stung. But the weird thing is that you hear him all the time on MPR (he's the dude with a hint of a Scottish brogue) and so it kind of felt like we were taking the radio out with us. I made sure that when he went home, that he got some fresh comb honey. We take a lot of people out to the hives and sometimes we just give them the smoker. It keeps them busy and if they get nervous at the hives, they have something to hold on to and most of the time we can work with minimal smoke. Euan went right in there, lifting the heavy supers, taking one for the team and getting stung, all while he was just trying to get an interview. When the interview is up, I'll post a link.

Here's Lorraine's account of the day...oh dear, and a photo of Kitty and I wrestling in the bee suits.

Kitty also has her own perspective here.

And here is a video of the Kelli hive entrance--note the drone hanging out in the front:

Public Service Announcement - Hillside Is The Worst Coffee In The United States

2008-09-24T21:34:00.000-05:00

So a few weeks ago, I was at a reliable outdoor retailer and found Hillside Self Heating Coffee. There were a variety of flavors, but I figured a French Vanilla Latte would be the safest to try. I thought it would be the perfect addition to my banding trips in the Duluth. After a night in the van, a warm can of self heating coffee would be a great way to start the morning in a cold blind waiting for hawks to fly in.

The instructions told me to remove the seal on the bottom of the can, turn it upside down and then push on the button until the green water disappears. The green water was supposed to go into a part of the can that would heat the coffee. I was curious how the the green water heated the coffee and what was in place to keep it from mixing with the coffee.
From there, I was supposed to put it on a flat (flame proof) surface. Frank didn't seem too excited to have it heat in the blind, so I set it outside to warm up. There's a pink dot that turns white with the coffee is heated. After about ten minutes the pink dot turned white, I opened the top and took a sip. HORRIBLE, AWFUL, ROTTEN, EW! I took another sip just to be sure. HORRIBLE, AWFUL, ROTTEN, EW! I'm not a coffee snob--I'll drink gas station coffee. The only time I found coffee undrinkable was in a tiny town in Utah and I figured it was due to the town's aversion to caffeine...this was worse. I was seriously concerned that some of the mysterious green water that heats the coffee made its way into the coffee.

I wanted to pour the beverage out, but noticed what was on the lid. It practically orders you to drink it from the can (telling you to enjoy it is just asking a little too much). I wondered, were they trying to tell you that it tastes better in the can or that it was a hazard to release out into the world if you don't drink it.

So, for the record, if you come across any Hillside "self heating" beverages--do not go there. Even if it's on clearance and think "what could it hurt?" It'll hurt your tongue's feelings. And I did a little googling tonight and found some interesting blogs about Hillside:

Extinct Beverage Tasting (yeah, it's extinct for a reason).

and

Hillside Coffee and their Hot Cans of Doom (unlike this blogger, I didn't get injured)

and as if that wasn't enough:

An FDA Recall notice:

"REASON
Self-heating cans containing beverages and soups may be contaminated with spoilage organisms or harmful pathogens due to leakage of the can seam."

Hillside is the worst coffee I have ever tasted in my life. I would rather drink coffee (with cream) that has been sitting at room temperature for 48 hours, than ever drink this again. It was so bad, I need a cleansing falcon:

Doesn't this shot of that tundrius peregrine falcon look like a good FaceBook profile shot? It says, "I'm hot but can have a good time and maybe just a little bit of fun wackiness is mixed in!"

Networks: Raptors, Talons, Bird Eaters, Born On The Tundra

Sex: Female
Hometown: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Relationship Status: Single

Interested In: tiercels, small ducks and pigeons I can eat, stooping

Looking For: hunting partner, other birds I can eat

Activities: hunting, flying, diving, migrating

Interests: pigeons, teal, nighthawks, flickers, pheasants, starlings, grebes, grackles, blue jays,