Birdchick Blog

Amber's Awesome Osprey Image

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:22:00 +0000

I think this deserves a caption contest--bonus points for a good ICanHazCheezburger version! I think I've got another ABA Bag.

Blog Migrates Again

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:18:00 +0000

We're gonna switch over the server for the blog sometime within the next day or so and there's a chance that it may be inaccessible for 24 - 48 hours. Non Birding Bill tells me that I'm running out of disc space or something to that effect and we need to move it.

What A Crazy Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:25:00 +0000

This weekend completely fell out of my hands.

Non Birding Bill and I went to CONvergence and he premiered his movie Thac0--and it was a hit! I was bummed that I missed the initial premier because I had to help set up for a Raptor Center program at the convention. However, the movie was so popular that it ended up being reshown Sunday night--I was so proud of him. It is so cool to sit in a packed room and listen to people be entertained by something your spouse worked so hard on with all of his friends. Above is a photo of the second movie audience. It was packed both times it was shown, standing room only. I think he's going to reshow it later this month.

Go, NBB!

Our TRC program was action packed! Above is Gail Buhl toting our turkey vulture Nero. We had an hour to go through four birds and one heck of a panel to present the bird information:

Here we have Erin from MISFITS who books TRC for CONvergence, Mercedes Lackey, Gail from TRC (who you might recognize from the oh-so-viral baby porcupine video), my buddy Amber (whose photos periodically show up in the blog), me, and Larry Dixon. Between all of us, we had some fun bird stories. Amber, Gail and I were just as excited to hear Mercedes and Larry's tales of wildlife rehab as we were to talk about the birds we brought.

Once again the sci fi and fantasy community treats TRC very well--everyone donated during the program and we took home an additional $200 on top of the actual off site program fee. Misfits also makes it possible for TRC to make appearances at area schools and we are so grateful for their support.

Seeing How The Other Half Lives

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:57:00 +0000

I think my favorite organized field trip that I took at the 2008 American Birding Association Convention was the Upper Deseret Ranch Field Trip, in part because there was a double Bill for field trip leaders: Bill Fenimore and Bill Schmoker. They are two of my favorite Birding Bills and was excited to watch them as field trip leaders. Fenimore leads trips regularly to Deseret Ranch, so if you are in or near Layton, UT, I highly recommend contacting him for his daily guiding rates. He's pleasant company and he knows the area and birds like the back of his hand--also, it's privately owned by the Mormons and you're really not getting in without him. However, it is SO WORTH IT--absolutely gorgeous.

Here is a life bird that I got on the trip--a MacGillivray's warbler. I decided to see how the other half lives on this trip--I became a lister for this convention. I've always just made little checks in my field guides for new birds and about a week before the con, I decided to count them. I learned that I was 25 species away from 500 birds on my North American bird list--who knew? I also did some research and found that there were close to 40 potential species I could get in Utah. I decided to go for it.

Check out this pack of birders, focused and ready on a cool bird. One of the cool things about going to an ABA event when you are close to a birding goal is that EVERYONE comes out of the woodwork to help you. Even though I was there helping at the Swarovski Booth, some of the Leica guys came over to go my bird potential list and give tips on where to go--heck they even invited me on the flammulated owl posse. The man who organized every field trip for the convention came by to offer pointers on my list, field trip leaders made it there personal goal to get me to my 500--it was wonderful camaraderie and really reminded me of why I love the birding community. Listing is not bad and I wish more listers and casual birders would get along. They are two different types of birding but each fun in their own way.

There were some familiar birds around, like cedar waxwings. I wasn't paying much attention as everyone was watching them and Fenimore came over to me and said, "Sharon, these birds are so close and a great shot, can you get a photo?" I think that because I was so focused on getting as many species as possible this trip that my digiscoping suffered a bit for it. Thanks for the reminder, Bill.

It cracked me up that super colorful birds like this western tanager always managed to be just out of reach for a great photo...

...but the brown birds like this nesting cordilleran flycatcher were up close and almost seemingly eager to pose.

But where many of the birds lacked color, the Deseret Ranch landscape more than made up the palette. I sat in the back of the bus with Father Tom (well known Texas birder and one of the organizers of the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival that I'll be going to this fall). FT and I had both been on the owl posse the night before and were both operating on three hours of sleep but each kept pointing out the magnificent views and colors of the landscape.

For lunch, we stopped by a mountain stream to relax. The stream was made up of freshly melted snow and ice in the surrounding mountains. It was 90 some odd degrees out, so after lunch, I stepped in the water.

It was toe numbing cold, but felt so, so good.

Here's a golden eagle chick. Golden eagles in Utah were about as common as bald eagles in Minnesota. It was fun to scan the cliffs for patches of white--indicating lots of poop and raptor nests. We also found a prairie falcon aerie too. You really felt like you were on some sort of adventure riding around in these mountains.

Funny Moment In Sundance

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:55:00 +0000

One of the funniest moments I witnessed during the ABA Convention was at Sundance Resort. Our field trip had the option of wandering the property or taking a 45 minute chair lift ride to get a lay of the land. I opted to do the chair lift--despite my fear of heights but I had WildBird on the Fly with me and Gail (the woman who is in charge of repairs at Swarovski) with me to keep me focused on the natural beauty.

The view from the chairs was spectacular and many were aiming their cameras to get the mountain landscape and even try to get shots of birds flitting around the tops of trees, including western tanagers.

I was watching the birders in front of me snap photos and watching the people on the opposite chairs. Some on the other chairs were leisurely reading, others were coming up with mountain bikes to ride down the side of the mountain, and others were on their way up for a hike. I noticed a young attractive couple coming towards us on the opposite chairs. They were completely decked out in skin tight spandex bicycling wear. The birders in front of me were aiming their cameras towards the mountain vistas. The young woman of the biker pair struck a pose worthy of a sage grouse. She puffed out her chest, stretched out her arms and stuck one of her shapely legs high in the air, the chair moving her right into the birder's field of view of the camera. The birder put down his camera, and young attractive bike girl relaxed her pose and said with a disappointed giggle, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you wanted a picture of me!" while her male companion shook his head.

Interesting Sign In Utah

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:36:00 +0000

Blog Contest

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:19:00 +0000

Okay, Other Sharon, you are not allowed to answer this contest for 24 hours ;). Everyone else, here is the photo, can you identify the actor sitting next to me (I'm willing to bet that about 90% of blog readers have seen one of his films):

Put your answer in the comments section of the blog. You don't have to create a blogger identity to answer, but if you want to win the prize, you do need to leave your name. First correct answer with a name, wins the prize.

What is the prize you ask? An official ABA Convention Bag (made of black canvas with black rosy-finches on it) and a copy of Tim Gallagher's Falcon Fever.

Mobridge Bald Eagle Nest On Shaky Ground

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:50:00 +0000

I just got the following email and photos from my buddy Amber:

"My dad just took these photos today. It is a nest that was built in a tree that has since had a river overflow next to it. If there is a big wind, I am afraid these eaglets might drown. The proper authorities have been contacted and hopefully they will respond?"

Amber has put in a call to The Raptor Center, but I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done. The birds look to be close to fledging but they really do not have any room for error in that first flight.

Are there any South Dakota readers who have some ideas to help these birds?

What Really Happens At American Birding Association Conventions

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:46:00 +0000

Bill Schmoker sent this video--note that they are all wearing Swarovskis--that binocular can really take a beating:

Watch Where You Step!

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:40:00 +0000

I helped out at the Swarovski Optik booth at the American Birding Association Convention. I was out with a couple of the guys from the booth--Clay and Bruce. As we were going down a mountain road, Clay put on the brakes and said, "That looked like an interesting woodpecker!"

We found a place to pull over and walked in. I was hoping for a Williamson's sapsucker, but we weren't seeing anything but robins. Bruce picked up a stick and started pounding a nearby tree, doing his best sapsucker territorial drumming. We heard some soft drumming and eventually found:

...a three-toed woodpecker. Not a lifer, but always a cool woodpecker and fun to see it outside of Minnesota. Clay then said, "Hey, Bruce, check it out." and pointed to Bruce's feet.

From Clay's excitement, we thought there was a snake. We looked down and couldn't really see anything, Clay kept pointing and then Bruce finally saw it. It's in the above photo with Bruce. Can you see it? Don't worry if you can't, I was there and can barely see what Clay was point to. Here is a hint:

There in the center of that circle is a tiny young robin! We had been there for several minutes, watching the trees, talking, banging sticks against trees and yet this young robin stayed stock still, using it's fledgling coloration to camouflage with the surrounding vegetation. I wanted to digiscope it, but the young robin was too close to focus in my scope, so I had to back up a few feet:

"You can't see me!" Fresh from the nest and already this bird knows what to do, instinct told it to just sit and hide, and the big lumbering creatures would move past, hopefully without stepping on it. It was strange that we did not hear the adult robins give their warning and freak out call. We could hear that they were busy feeding another fledgling nearby. Since we'd seen the woodpecker, we decided to move along and let the young robin be and commence to learning how to care for itself under the tutelage of its parents.

On our way out of the woods, I found a second fledgling. Like its wise sibling, this young robin also stayed stone still as I walked past. Moments like these always make me wonder how many birds (especially owls) have I walked past when focused on something else. How many birds have been just a foot away and I just didn't see it?

Cliff Swallow Swarm

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:15:00 +0000

I ended up having a day off today that I didn't realize I had--bonus day! I thought I would catch up on all my ABA blogging...then realized that after some sorting...I have it narrowed down to 92 photos. So, while I'm sorting, here is a video of cliff swallows swarming over mud to add to their nests:

For Non Birding Bill--Brown Mammals!

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:14:00 +0000

Here is a post from the American Birding Convention for my dear husband, Non Birding Bill:

I stayed at the Cliff Lodge in Snowbird, Utah for the American Birding Association Convention. As you can see in the above photo, they keep a tidy lawn. What's the secret to this well kept lawn?
Why the lawn services of Nosey Q. McFurryPants aka a family group of yellow-bellied marmots.

The marmots were a popular attraction outside the lodge. They pretty much looked like what we in the east call a woodchuck, but I think this is a higher elevation species. At any point during the day, you could see six to ten marmots feeding on the grass.

Even the babies were a part of the family business of keeping the lawn nice and trim.

After all that lawn service work, rest is good! Several mammals could be found around the lodge including various types of ground squirrels, moose, mule deer, and I heard that if you took the lodge tram up another two thousand feet, pikas!

WildBird on the Fly and I took the tram up to see what we could find. Note the snow? I must say that this Minnesota girl felt right at home in the still snow covered Utah mountains.

It was interesting to note the hardcore locals, like the above young woman. Note that she is about to ski down the side of the mountain in a mini skirt. Get down, girl, go 'head get down!

The view from the top was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! As of yet, Utah remains the most beautiful state I have visited. Alas, the bird life and the mammal life was a tad on the sparse side.

I searched and searched and did not see any pikas--bummer, but we did find a few golden-mantled ground squirrels who looked quite similar to the chipmunks we have in our yards in the east.

The view was so good, I told WBOTF that it would be perfect for one of those bird author poses. You know the ones I mean, where the bird author is toting a spotting scope and looking over their shoulder, ready for adventure. So, Amy took the photo and called me a Cheese Ball. Here is the Pete Dunne as an example. Above, I tried to do my best Pete.

Alas, no pikas, but he marmots were cute. Here's some video of the yellow-bellied marmots. Here is the adult marmot (FYI, the sound behind the wind is the raging river from the snow melt):

Here is the baby marmot:

American Dipper

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:54:00 +0000

One of the target birds for me on this trip was an America dipper. I've always wanted to see one of these guys and no, not because in the photos it looks like the dullest bird ever. It's super cool.

First, you look for dippers in this type of stream. They actually move around the water's edge and even walk under water to get at all sorts of aquatic invertebrates. I'm actually standing on a bridge, taking this photo and a dipper nest is under my feet. The water is incredibly cold, full of freshly melted snow.

One of the striking things is that you will notice a white eyelid. They use this when they are in the frigid water looking for food to keep insulated. One of the cool things about the American dipper is that they kind of fit their name: they dip...they constantly dip. I went to Cornell's BNA to see if I could find out what the dipping is all about and under the "Priorities For Further Research" it reads, "Why do American Dippers dip? This remains one of the biggest mysteries about the species, with many theories but no answers. Why do South American species not dip or dive? How does the American Dipper compare with other stream birds in North America (Spotted Sandpiper, Louisiana Waterthrush [Seiurus motacilla], wagtails [Motacilla spp.]), in Europe, and in Asia?"

Some things that even Cornell doesn't know. I can't wait until some hard working graduate student unwraps the code of all the bobbing birds out there--what is that all about? And here are some videos I took with my digital point and shoot camera and spotting scope of a dipper dipping and preening and scratching. You can hear our field trip group in the background. If you click on the YouTube link, there's a link under the video that gives you the option of watching it in high quality and see the dipper in more detail:

As if that isn't cool enough, it even dips on one foot:

Flammulated Owl Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:55:00 +0000

Ah, a few minutes to blog at the Salt Lake City Airport.

One of the best parts of an American Birding Association Convention are the sub parties. There are field trips, but there are people who may have missed birds or need birds that are not part of the offered field trips, so people come together and form little posses to get target birds. A target bird for me (and several others) that was not offered on any of the trips was flammulated owl--a tiny dark eyed owl that would make screech owls look big. They are in the mountains and are best found at night. I can understand why the ABA may not want to risk a night time mountain hike...but that doesn't stop some of us from doing it on our own time.

The guys working the Leica booth went out and scouted it the night before. Jeff Bouton came back the next day with dizzying tales of how close this hard to see owl was--it could be digiscoped! Another posse was assembled. Now, here's the kicker to this story. We were driving out to see an owl after dark and may of use had field trips meeting the next morning at 3:45 am or 4:00 am. But, this is a once in a lifetime bird for many of us, so off we went.

We loaded up three vehicles (thanks, Barb, from Borderland Tours for letting me ride with you), drove to the mountain the canyon that was about 45 minutes away, then up we went--we had to cover five switch backs and for those of us not used to that altitude, it was strenuous.

We made it up there and I found myself surrounded by good friends and soon hooting flammulated owls. There were at least four surrounding us in the dark. Soon, one came in, we shined the flashlight and viola:

Isn't it cool! Now Jeff would like to clarify:

"The autofocus picked up the stick above and in front of the bird (it is perfectly focused). Too bad, I had one shot though and it is at least a documentation shot. If I’d gotten one more shot off I would have nailed him! maybe next time…"

He doesn't need to apologize, it's an INCREDIBLE shot considering he was digiscoping on the side of the mountain in the dark with only a flashlight to show the owl. It's a cool, cool shot. When I saw the owl I shouted, "Holy Crap!" and a sixteen year old birder named Erick said, "Holy Crap is right!"

We both got lifers. Flammulated owls are birds of mountain pine forests and eat almost entirely insects (although a few tiny mammals and birds are possible). They are a unique small owl because they have brown eyes (like a barred owl) so that makes them look freaky and according to Cornell's BNA the "specialized syringeal anatomy in these small birds (males < 60 g) produces hoarse, low-frequency notes sounding like those of much larger owls." It's true, they have a bass voice.

What a trip life is! Going up a mountain, in the dark, on trails that have a steep enough drop off that one mis-step could garner you an injured limb, being surrounded by tiny, tiny owls hooting, not hearing any human traffic (apart from the group), a distant breeze, the mountain air, fragrant wildflowers, and great old and new friends.

I love birding. Although, I did not love only getting three hours of sleep before meeting my field trip. But hey, flammulated owls are worth it.

I must get to my gate, I am so looking forward to some sleep tonight. Hope their are not too many typos in this...

At Work Trying To Get Black Swifts

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:23:00 +0000

Bird Uganda Safaris (is here with their primo give away) and got a shot of me and another convention participant trying to get our lifer black-throated swifts:

Beats the heck out of "swift neck."

Word On The Street At The ABA

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Above is a beautiful Bullock's oriole we saw on a field trip in Vivian Park yesterday. See, Non Birding Bill, they aren't all brown and gray out here. So, here are some of the topics birders are discussing at the American Birding Association Convention in Utah:

Falcons are more closely related to parrots than other raptors??

Yes! That is the word on the street here at the ABA Convention and on the birding listservs and blogs. There's an article about at the Chicago Tribune and Grrl Scientist has a bit more detail here in her blog.

So, what does this mean to you? Your field guide orders are going to change. But aren't they always changing anyway. I still get confused seeing waterfowl up front instead of loons and grebes.

The other interesting deal going down is that a man attending the convention has scanned in his National Geographic Field Guide and placed it on his iTouch! He said that it took him three weeks and he showed me how he can zoom in on the illustrations and you can easily view the text. He also used the Thayer Software for birding and has all the North American bird calls to go along with it. Now, because it's proprietary to National Geo, he can't sell it, but he has offered to mail a disk of the scanned guide to anyone who wants it--for FREE! He doesn't want money and he just seems to enjoy getting a good guide on an iTouch.

I was going to blog out loud to National Geographic and say: "Yo, dudes, why aren't you doing this--getting a good field guide onto an iPod, iTouch, or iPhone? You did such a fun job with the Palm Pilot thing." And when I checked email yesterday, I got this in my Inbox:

Introducing National Geographic Handheld Birds Online

Now all of the power in National Geographic Handheld Birds™ is available Online! Access Handheld Birds™ from any full-featured web browser on a computer or mobile device such as the iPhone. With the new online features Handheld Birds™ is a must-have for any bird enthusiast!

Here are just some of the new Online features:

-Compare species side-by-side
-Search on multiple selections for criteria
-Search with new “family” criteria
-Add notes to checklists and individual species observations
-Manage your checklists and lifelists
-Set date ranges for checklists for a single day or over months
-Order species in checklists by name, taxonomic order, and count
-Download checklists to your desktop or store them online
-Set personal preferences
-Manage up to 100 checklists at a time

For a limited time only, you can get a full 1-year subscription to Handheld Birds Online for only $25. That’s a 50% savings off the regular price!

This now makes it compatible with an iPhone or iTouch when you are online.

Techno Birding is getting interesting folks.

Now That Is A Hardcore Birder

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:57:00 +0000

Double binocular harnesses!

Birds Non Birding Bill Won't Understand

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:58:00 +0000

Just a quick and dirty entry:

Got some exciting life birds today (and just in case there is still a question, a life bird or lifer is a bird that you observe for the first time in your life and add to your life list):

A cordilleran flycatcher--I can hear how overwhelmed he is in my head. Check out that buffy/olive goodness.

And an American dipper. This bird was nesting under a bridge and would come out and swim around in the water and periodically dip its tail while grabbing who knows what for food.

And though the birds were brown, the views were spectacular. This was from our stop at Sundance--it's not just for movie festivals and skiing. I've enjoyed Robert Redford movies, but I've never been so grateful to him as I was today looking at the beautiful land that be bought and preserved.

Crazy Pileated Bills

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:28:00 +0000

Someone posted photos on MnBird of a female pileated woodpecker at the Minnesota Zoo. Check out her bill in this photo and this photo--it's crazy long! I wonder if it's a result of the bill not being worn down enough in captivity or if it's part of the larger bird bill deformity problem?

Here is a link to a photo I took of a female pileated--note how much shorter her bill is compare to the bird in the zoo.

Speaking of pileateds, here is a video I got of Mr. Neil's pileated eating cashew suet:

Wednesday In Utah

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:18:00 +0000

When I first arrived, I tried to do a quick blog post and kept getting error messages. I called Non Birding Bill and he looked into it. Apparently, I had used up all the space on the server. Ooopsie. He cleared some space and I should be good to go over the weekend, but we're going to have to change next week.

I have the potential to get many lifers on this trip. So far, I've been too overwhelmed saying hello to old friends and hanging out at the Swarovski booth to really dig in. Clay, the Swarovski Rep when to a local bird store (which also does not have mealworms at the moment) and picked up a droll yankee feeder, some sunflower hearts and hummingbird feeder for people to test scopes on. Two key birds that I needed were showing up to them (Cassin's finch and black-headed grosbeak). However, they had the knack of showing up when I wasn't looking. Every time I went out, it was just pine siskins. I eventually did get one (above). Here's an even better shot:

It's hard to tell from the light in this photo, but you can tell them from purple finches by this little brown mark on their cheek that resembles a mutton chop style beard. Tomorrow, I get to go out on the reasonably timed 5:45am field trip and will surely rack the lifers up. Saturday, I have a brutal start time of 4am...ah well, it could be worse, there is a field trip leaving at 3:45am too.

Hey, if you are interested in some up to the minute updates, Born Again Bird Watcher is blogging from the floor to his blackberry.

test

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:23:00 +0000

testing from utah

Look Out ABA

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:52:00 +0000

I just checked into my room for at Snowbird for the American Birding Association Convention. Check out the view:

I think this is the fanciest place I have ever stayed at for a birding convention. Also of note: my first bird in the state was a black-billed magpie. Beats the usual house sparrow, starling, or rock pigeon.

The place is packed with birders. Everywhere I turn there's either floppy hats or khaki.

Squirrel In The Window

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:27:00 +0000

This squirrel has made a little sleeping nest on the window ledge in our bathroom. They do this every summer and only stay a few nights. They don't seem to be bothered by the light on at night or the early or late shower. Here's a video of him getting comfy:

Holy Crap! Go Florida!

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:18:00 +0000

More good conservation news:

LOXAHATCHEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Fla., June 24 (Reuters) - The state of Florida announced on Tuesday it intends to spend $1.75 billion to buy a large chunk of Everglades land from U.S. Sugar, one of a number of sugar companies blamed for polluting the precious wildlife habitat.

U.S. Sugar Corp., one of the largest privately held U.S. agriculture firms, will abandon its Florida sugar plantations and go out of business in six years, handing over about 187,000 acres of farmland to the state's efforts to restore the Everglades, company and state officials said.

The purchase, lauded by environmentalists as the "missing link" in the restoration project, will be paid for with $50 million cash and $1.7 billion in certificates of participation, similar to bonds, that will be sold in public debt markets, the South Florida Water Management District said.

The land deal would revive an effort to turn sugar cane fields back into marshes and waterways that would help cleanse polluted Everglades water and carry it from Lake Okeechobee to the southern reaches of the Everglades and Florida Bay.

Read the rest of the story here.

Mealworm Shortage?

noreply@blogger.com (birdchick) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:11:00 +0000

Hey, I'm hearing from some people in Minnesota that they are having a tough time finding mealworms for bird feeding. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, please leave a comment in this blog post. You don't have to be a member, you can do it anonymously, but do include what state you are in.

Thanks!