Endangered Species Condoms

Yes, you read that subject line correctly: Endangered Species Condoms.

And no, they are not for the endangered species themselves, they're for one of the most over-populated species out there. Susan Gets Native posted a link on Facebook about the Center for Biological Diversity is "distributing 100,000 free Endangered Species Condoms in all 50 states to highlight how unsustainable human population growth is driving species extinct at a cataclysmic rate."

According to the press release, "the goal is to help people understand the impact of overpopulation on other species, and to give them a chance to take action in their own lives, the Center is distributing free packets of Endangered Species Condoms depicting six separate species: the polar bear, snail darter, spotted owl, American burying beetle, jaguar, and coquí guajón rock frog."

So, it's a creative project that hopes to engage the general masses in real conversation on over opulation not about coming up with a wacky idea to get bloggers like me to talk the Center for Biological Diversity to you.

Oh, and if you are looking for something to do, you can sign up to be an Endangered Species Condom Distributor--which would look so awesome on a resume!  I wonder if any wild bird retail stores will take advantage of this for free promotion in their stores?  Buy 20 pounds of Finch Feast and get a free condom!

Also, I would think there could have been some better slogans than what they came up with.  Say:

If you love her, cover your piping plover.

Before they howl, hood the spotted owl.

Can't wait to see what spam comes into the comments filter with this post.

Judging Jr. Duck Stamp Entries

Tuesday was one of the coolest days of my life as a birder and park ranger!  I was one of the judges for the Minnesota Jr. Duck Stamp competition.  This wasn't the final judging for the Jr. Duck Stamp, our Best In Show entry is entered into the final round and I think it stands an excellent chance of winning.  Here's a snippet of walking through the Kindergarten and 3rd grade entries: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-8NyhLJ5Ts[/youtube]

What an honor to be part of the panel and to take a look at all the hard work kids from Kindergarten to 12th grade created.  The other judges included artists like Joe Hautman and wildlife folks like Peg Callahan of the Wildlife Science Center.

Kindergarten thru 3rd grade was fantastic, so much potential with artwork and such interesting interpretation of key waterfowl field marks.  At first glance, some of the pictures looked wildly inaccurate, like a bufflehead with a rainbow of colors on its head.  But then you realized that the young artist was trying to communicate the iridescence that can be seen when the sun hits the male's plumage in the right way.  Other pictures had a story you could tell was working its way through a kids brain.  One of my favorites had what looked like a female wood duck flying through the woods and then you noticed a cavity drawn in a tree with two sinister red eyes looking out--what was that all about?  What did that kid imagine was staring out from that cavity?  Was the wood duck flying through a haunted wood?  I don't know, but I loved it.

Our mission was to judge the different age groups: Kindergarten through 3rd grade, 4th thru 6th grade, 7th thru 9th grade and then 1oth thru 12th.  For one group, they would give us 10 poker chips and we placed a chip on the picture we wanted to stay in (no picture could have more than one chip) and we'd get to narrow down our favorites--leaving 50.  After that, all of use would get five chipa, narrowing it down further.  This would go on until we narrowed it down to five illustrations.  We could also use field guides to confirm id.  Since I have six different field guides on my iTouch, I kept that with me.

Then we five judges would be shown the final five images one at a time.  We were given numbers and we had to hold up the number we'd like to score each image.  If we had any ties, we'd have to re-score.  We only had a few ties and they were solved quickly.

The challenge I had was picking through photos that actually fell into the rules of the competition and weren't just a creative interpretation.  As much as I loved the cubism seen in the black duck it, I had to keep in mind, which of the finalists showed habitat?  It was nerve wracking.  Since the judging was public, we did have some spectators.  Peg and I couldn't help but notice that one little girl was doing some serious hand wringing while we studied the pictures.  We had to turn our backs so as not to be influenced by all her hopes, fortunately she placed well in the competition.

After we picked our favorite pictures, we had to decide on a Best in Show from all the first place winners and that one is entered in the National Jr. Duck Stamp contest.  I don't know if Best in Show has been announced on the website, so I don't want to post it yet.  But the person who won best in show was there and got to witness the judging.  All of the finalists will be up at the Science Museum on April 23 and there will be all different kinds of programs going on.  I'll be doing a program on tools birds have for surviving in a marsh habitat but there will be artists giving tips on creating waterfowl art.  I did get a video of the winner of the K-3rd grade division:

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

Don't you just want to eat him with a spoon?

Judging The Jr. Duck Stamp

Tuesday morning I'm heading over to the Burnsville Civic Center as a judge for the Junior Duck Stamp Contest.  I had grand schemes of Twittering during the event, but I was reading over my rules as a judge and there will be no Twittering!  Check them out:

• Must have cell phones off throughout the judging process

• Only the designated state coordinator & volunteers may touch the art work at anytime

• No food or drink in the area for the judging

• Maintain quiet while judging is taking place

• There should be no comments about the art work; no pointing to a particular piece, no naming of the artist, etc. throughout the judging process

• The public is welcomed to attend. In previous years we have had students, parents, teachers, & grandparents attend. They are invited to the judging floor to look at the art prior to the judging of each grade category.

• When judges are not judging, they should be in the breakout room or sitting in designated area

From there all the judges are given poker chips and we look at the art and place poker chips next to artwork we want to keep in the show and whittle the group down and then do some scoring.  I'm so excited to this tomorrow.  I'm excited to be a judge (in a park ranger capacity), I'm excited to see what kids have come up with, I'm excited to just be part of the process.

This is open to the public, but I realize it's on a Tuesday and most people have to work.  But if you have some free time, do come to the Burnsville Civic Center to check it out.  There will be a second event with the winners at the Science Museum on April 23.

Mississippi Flooding In St Paul, MN

It's an oddly exciting day at the National Park I work for (Mississippi National River and Recreation Area)--the river is flooding and it's odd to be excited by the flood and watch what the water will do.  Since our visitor center is based in the Science Museum lobbby, we're right on the Mississippi River in St. Paul, MN.  We have an awesome view. That's a giant tree working it's way down towards Raspberry Island (which is mostly submerged at this point).

St. Paul has closed Sheperd Rd. from behind the museum all the way to Hwy 61 in preparation for the flood.  One of the officers I spoke with said parts were already under water.  I spent a majority of Sunday afternoon roving and interpreting the flooding--what ranger wouldn't rather be outdoors on a sunny day?  The river is in flood stage at 14 feet and when I was at the river it was at 16.4 feet.  It's expected to crest on Wednesday at 19.5 feet!

Across the way, Harriet Island was flooding.  The police were trying to clear people off of it, but would have a better shot at herding cats.  As soon as they would get one group to move on, 12 more people would walk in from the other side.  Once church let out, the Harried flooded with people and the police seemed to give up.  I have a feeling that tonight some serious barricades will go up and Harriet Island will be off limits for real tomorrow.

The Padleford boats are still docked at Harriet but barges have been placed in front of them to prevent debris from damaging them.  If you watched the water up against the barges you could really get an idea of how strong the current was flowing.  Here's a video I digiscoped:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ-E8oOzQOA[/youtube]

Did you hear the house finch singing on territory in the background?  Here he is:

He was duking it out with another male for space in this tree outside the museum--prime real estate in downtown St. Paul and relatively safe from flooding...I wonder if the river will affect some of our early nesters like wood ducks, mallards and Canada geese?

If you want to watch some of the flooding, there's a great view from the Science Museum and be sure to visit us at the Mississippi River Visitor Center in the lobby.  To watch the predictions for the crest, check out NOAA's website.

Recent Red-winged Blackbirds

This week has been fun for watching returning migrants.  One morning there's the usual winter birds and then the next morning you hear a robin on territory (had our first one singing outside of the apartment today).  I went to Carver Park this morning before work and a flock of red-winged blackbird males were lurking in a cedar tree working on their song. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRUs_yli-jY[/youtube]

Random Tree Sparrow

This is a random photo I got an American Tree Sparrow on Friday.

I wonder how much longer I will see these guys and how soon they will be replace by incoming field sparrows?

Red-wings

Ah, Spring, you did just what I thought you would do.  You pushed it all the way to the edge with your warmth, even giving me 60 degree days. Yesterday, I biked to a meeting and got a slight tan for my folly of a lack of sunscreen.  Each day on the bike trail gave a new migrant.  Monday it was just juncos practicing their territory song.  Tuesday a few groggy red-winged blackbirds showed up (like the bird above), Wednesday you gave me bluebirds around my beehives--all so wonderful.  And today, you give us back the cold.  Even the red-winged blackbirds seemed to be singing, "I came back for this?!?"

I was out today with my buddy who runs Avian Images and after the warm temperatures of earlier this week, we were hoping for a warm day at Wood Lake Nature Center.  We didn't get it. But it was still nice to see red-winged blackbirds here, a sure sign of spring--much better than the confusing robins that we see all winter.

Black Penguins, White Puffin & Hybrids

Last week, the interwebs were stoked over the photos of the "Shaft of King Penguins." This week a mostly white puffin has been photographed.  I know many of the headlines read that the black penguin was a one in a zillion color morph but they seemed to ignore a smaller black Adelie penguin that Noah Stryker took and posted in his blog in 2008. Meanwhile, Minnesota Bird Nerd has some interesting posts up about a possible chickadee/titmouse hybrid (not unlike the hybrid someone guest blogged here last year).  He also has another post up about a possible junco/white-throated sparrow hybrid as well.  And if you enjoy MN Bird Nerd's blog and banding, be sure to head out to Lowry Nature Center this Saturday.  He and Mark will be publicly banding birds--should be pretty good bird wise with the temperatures changing and warmer weather.  Maybe we'll get a fox sparrow?  I have to give a program at the St Paul Library on Saturday afternoon, but plan on being at Lowry in the morning for some good birding times.

Meadowlands Birding Sign

Forgot to post this earlier.

Thank you Pepsi and Meadowlands for making a Birder Sign.  Refreshing change from seeing only Welcome Hunters signs.

Spring In Sax Zim Bog

Boy!  I needed yesterday.  I got one last look at a rough-legged hawk before they head north to their breeding grounds.

When Non Birding Bill opened his show MacBeth: The Video Game Remix, we engaged in the traditional opening night party after wards.  When I woke up the following Monday morning, I wasn't sure if my body was having a bad reaction to my first long bike ride after winter, I was slightly hungover or coming down with a cold or flu.  By the afternoon, it was obvious that I was getting sick.  I hoped it would be mild, I had a busy weekend ahead with work and a friend from Michigan was coming to town and requested a Birds and Beers on Saturday night and a trip to Sax Zim Bog on Sunday.  I sensibly spent the rest of the week sleeping, watching movies and eating lots of spicy food.  Saturday I felt okay and had a terrific time at Merlin's Rest (so good that between it and Daylight Savings Time I managed only 3 hours sleep before leaving for the bog).

It was such a perfect day at the bog--mostly sunny, blue skies, a few colorful clouds, temperatures in the fifties and most of the snow melted.  The sun brought out the color of the bark on the dogwood, grasses and pussy willow.  I also had excellent company in the form of BlobbyBirdMan (aka Mark). I wondered if we'd see many sunny signs of spring and we did.  Above you might notice a dark lump in a distant bare tree.  That was Blobby's lifer porcupine.

I tried to digiscope it as a souvenir for him but the porcupine appeared to be rather lethargic or doing his best impersonation of a sloth.  We hoped we would hear ruffed grouse drumming and we did.  It was distant, so we walked into the bog a bit, we found a log and sat for a long stretch to listen.  About every ten minutes we would hear the tentative drum beating and then accelerate.  I've always thought it more of a sound that you feel inside your rather than hear.  Mark described it as more of a heart beat type sound.  After being sick all week, I treasure the time spent on a log with no talking and natural sounds (periodically broken up by the sound of a distant train or surprisingly close ATV).

I did get off with a rather dubious start.  The first bird I stopped our car for ended up being a starling.  But not long after that, I stopped at a spot that looked good for black-backed and three-toed woodpeckers.  As soon as I turned the engine off in my car, I heard soft tapping and it wasn't long before Mark got his lifer black-backed woodpecker.  We also had a small flock of boreal chickadees show up too.

One of Mark's target birds was a bohemian waxwing and we saw several flocks.  What was interesting was the very different attitude the birds had compared to last November when winter was just getting underway.  Back then they were in large flocks and the birds stayed close together calling with a bit of urgency.  The flocks we saw yesterday were very loose and calling but with an easy going frequency.

Some of them even appeared to be setting up pairs.  The really exciting thing was the the waxwings weren't eating berries but jumping out into the blue and catching insects!  It's warm enough for insects!  Whoot!  That was also confirmed on the drive home when several large bugs left tacky yellow smudges on my windshield.

There were still good numbers of pine siskins about but we didn't see much in the way of grosbeaks or redpolls.  Some of the feeders were coming down in the bog too.  The feeders on Blue Spruce road were missing.  The home owners said that the pole came down during the melt and broke all the feeders.  I asked if they needed some new ones.  I figured birders would be willing to donate some since so many of us enjoy the feeders.  They said that they get plenty of donations and that they would put them up again next fall.

The feeders on Admiral Road were still going only now instead of a big old hunk of deer carcass, there's an actual bird feeder and suet cages.  I heard that there had been some complaints from residents in the bog that the deer carcass would attract wolves.  I think wolves are in the bog whether deer carcasses are hung or not--I actually saw one there a few years ago crossing the railroad tracks.  But if the locals will allow feeders for public enjoyment as long as it's not a deer rib cage, that's a reasonable compromise. It's really nice that there are people willing to maintain public bird feeders in the bog.  I know some mornings I don't always want to fill the feeder out the window.

We saw mostly red-breasted nuthatches and black-capped chickadees at the feeder.  Some blue jays and some grays also flew in.  Red-breasted nuthatches were definitely pairing up.  Look at the female red-breasted nuthatch above.  By that swollen little cloaca, I'd say she's in them mood for some mating.

Speaking of mating, Mark spied a distant northern hawk owl and when we pulled over, we briefly saw a larger one beneath it mantling.  The larger hawk owl dove lower into the trees and I wondered if we caught the tail end of a food pass between a male and female northern hawk owl?  The smaller of the two continued his watch for prey from the tops of snags.  We heard a bit of vocalization which is called the "scree yip" on the Cornell Owl CD.  It can be used as either an alert to an intruder or during food pass.  We were way too far out on the road to be causing it, so perhaps it was related to food passing.  I hope they stay and raise a few chicks.

At another stop, we heard a woodpecker quietly working away at some bark and I hoped it would be a three-toed for Mark, I've seen them here before.  Alas, it ended up being a hairy woodpecker, but I loved that it gave an excuse to sneak and see the green of the bog.  When you look from the outside along the road, it looks like such a dark and foreboding place and inside the light filtered through the trees is a shady green.

The spongy green floor looked to tempting.  I wanted to take off my jacket and lay there for hours, feeling the cool of the green and enjoying the warm air.  It almost seemed to say, "Sharon, winter is over for sure, spring and summer is definite in its arrival." But I'm not falling for that siren's song.  It's too early in March for me to believe that we will have no more snow.  I thought I would take an alternate route on the way home to try for a few species we missed.  My navigational system and Google Maps took me to Great River Road.  When we were about 6 miles from our destination, we saw an orange sign that read road work was ahead and there was suddenly no pavement.  I went a few miles and felt the shifting mud from the melted snow get more unpredictable and said, "I'm not so confident about this road..."

Famous last words!  I swerved to the right side and was properly lodged into some mud.  DOH!  As I started to figure out how to explain my location to AAA, Mark walked to a neighbor who confirmed we were still on the Great River Road and that he's now so house bound, his neighbor down the way has to fetch his mail and drive him to town, his driveway is a mud trap.  Mark thought it would be faster to look for this neighbor.  We went about a quarter of a mile and their first sing of humans we passed was an old cemetery.  I was beginning to worry this was going into urban legend territory and learn that this man hasn't had any neighbors for 30 years.  Another half mile we found the neighbor who kindly offered to dislodge my Kia with his truck and gave us a route that would be on higher and drier ground. I owe him a big box of chocolates.

We made it out of the mud before sunset and on our way out we were rewarded with a very close northern hawk owl.  It was too dark for digiscoping, but I got a quick photo with my blackberry.  All and all it was a great adventure to cap off a week of being sick.