Birdchick Podcast #44

Did you guess the movie that we referenced in the podcast?  If you did, we're gonna send you something special! Fabulous article about a study conducted on pigeons and their use of a "flap run" rather than flying.  This energy saving practice could be the key to the evolution of flight.

Tourist injured in PNG.

Careful with your camera when you travel! Macaque steals camera and takes an epic self portrait.

Most terrifying nature camera ever?

The inaccurate article I referenced.

Here's Pigeon Disturbs Cat Nap.  It's a video making the rounds on the Internet and it actually shows a ringed turtledove singing to a cat that is trying to take a nap.  If you ask me, the dove is looking for a little lovin'.   Don't worry, the cat doesn't kill the dove.


Artificial Heron Rookery

Not long after the North Mississipppi heron rookery was destroyed, there was talk of building an artificial rookery to get them to come back.  Now that the herons seemed to have settled on other islands, the situation isn't as dire--they found plenty other nesting opportunities.  However, if an area is missing good nesting sites for herons, it is possible to create it.  Here's an example of one in Utah at Farmington Bay WMA in Utah (thanks to Facebook, I have to work really hard not to calling Farmville WMA):

Heron nesting sites can disappear for a variety of reasons. Accumulation of heron fecal material can kill off vegetation or even the trees the birds use for nesting.  I think the trees and vegetation on the river islands stay in tact because of annual flooding, the river rises and the waters swamp this island washing a lot of the collected poop away.  But I've been to other areas that aren't prone to flooding and gradually, the vegetation dies.  After several seasons, storms or general wear and tear can cause the dead trees to fall.  Or maybe there aren't any trees there to begin with.

If nesting trees aren't available and the number of herons decreases then fake trees can be added.  Woodworking for Wildlife offers plans and info on how to build them and I've been to at least 2 places (this year alone) where fake rookeries have been readily used by herons.  Now, you can't just put up some poles at a pond and expect herons to use it.  Before you put it up or before you put up any bird house habitat try to think about the species you are trying to attract.  Herons usually forage less then four miles from their nest, so you need to make sure there are lots and lots food sources nearby.  If the food isn't there it won't be successful.  Kind of like putting up a bluebird box in the middle of the woods, that's not their habitat.

I was out with a digiscoping tour while visiting the artificial rookery and people in the group noted this box attached to one of the poles.  At first, it threw me for a loop.  I tried to think of all the bird boxes we carried at the bird store or that I'd seen around MN and couldn't figure it out. I noticed some movement, put the scope on it and discovered barn owls inside.  No wonder, we don't have barn owls in Minnesota so I would be familiar with this sort of nesting box.  Alas, I wasn't able to digiscope them but it was cool to see it in use. It makes sense, I've seen herons nest with red-tails and I'm sure a barn owl isn't much of a threat with their tiny feed.

Birdchick Podcast #43 Vulture Fail

Sorry about all the cockatiel noises in this one.  Kabuki was very put out about our absence over the weekend.  

Remember how the Germans were gonna use turkey vultures to seek out missing dead bodies...it's not working out so well.  Insert Sad Trombone.

Broken pipeline on the Yellowstone River pumping thousands of gallons of oil in Montana.

Male Swainson's hawk protecting nest is nailing bicyclists in Oregon.

Move over crows, pigeons can recognize faces too...

Swarovski has their Digiscoper of the Year contest open!

Birdchick Podcast #42 Gulls, Penguins and Birding Trails

Mist net study finds that trapping birds is not as fatal as some people thought. Birding sites for people with limited mobility.  Are there other states doing this?

Lost Emperor Penguin that ended up in New Zealand taken in for veterinary care.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIu5B3Fsstg[/youtube]

Gull steals camera in France and flies with it while it is recording.

Non Birding Bill's reference to an octopus that steals underwater camera:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5DyBkYKqnM[/youtube]



Dust Bathing Horned Lark

Man oh man, these last few weeks have been nuts, but fun.  I'm so looking forward to Birds and Beers tonight in Stillwater.  Hope you can make it.  Remember, if you come with nesting info to enter into MN Audubon's Breeding Bird Atlas, you are entered in a chance for a free growler of beer. Meanwhile, I leave you with a photo of a dust bathing horned lark who was my morning companion yesterday.  I'm off to check out some woodpeckers (not ivory-billed).

Bobolinks!

I have to do some work around cows this week.

I'm not going to lie, cows make me nervous.  Ungulates who stare at you and keep coming towards you are terrifying to me.  The only way they could be even scarier would be if they were bison.  That is just a lot of animal being controlled by an uncertain brain.  These are three of about three dozen cows that were surrounding me.  They just kept coming closer and closer with an expectant look.  Did they think I had food.  If I stepped wards them, they would back away, but some cows in the back of the her would run forward.  I tried mooing and that seemed to confuse them even further.

This one was really pushing its luck, "Oy, Bovine, back away from the carbon fiber tripod!"  The cows eventually went their way and left me alone, but I think being a five foot tall woman makes me feel uneasy about large cloven hoofed animals getting too close and too curious.  Has anyone made a horror movie about cows?  If not, they should.

Apart from the stress inducing cows, the big upside to my work this week is that I get to spend time in some of my favorite habitat--open grassland.  I'm surrounded by bobolinks, dickcissel, meadowlards and savannah sparrows.  Above is a female bobolink who scolded me as I walked to my work area.

Her brazen attitude on the fence made me realize that she must have had a nest nearby.  I made sure to watch where I placed my feet, the last thing I wanted to do was smush little baby bobolinks with my shoes.  Female bobolinks are crazy looking birds, they do not look like the males, they look more like sparrows.  Technically, bobolinks are considered blackbirds (for the moment, who knows will happen with future taxonomy changes).  If you get past the brownish colorization, you can kind of see a blackbird type of shape to these birds (think red-winged blackbird).

The male wasn't too far behind and flew in to chirp at me, also warning me that I was too close for comfort to his nest.  Out of habit, I pished at them and that set the male off in a frenzy of song above me.  I paused to listen to that crazy mechanical song.  I love that song, it's the general ringtone on my phone.  If this make wanted me to move a long, singing his song a few feet above my head was not the way to do it.

I love everything about these guys.  I love their song, their odd plumage (black on the bottom, blond wig on the back of the head, patches of white on the back).  This bird is too weird for color tv.  And check out those toe nails--they're so long!  I love these birds so much, they are worth putting up with a few dozen cows.

 

 

Random Coot

I just thought this was a really cool digiscoped picture of a coots face.  Normally when you see them out on a lake, you see a black duck with a white beak (yesssssssss, I know they aren't really a duck but most people describe them that way).  Often, most don't see their eyes.  Love this bright red eye.