Bluebird Not Thrilled With Woolly Bear Caterpillar

There have been a ton of eastern bluebird flocks milling about when I've been doing my fall surveys.  Their calls follow me everywhere on my surveys...and they always sound like they are apologizing for something.

One of the birds caught my attention because he was just wacking the crap out of something on the fence post.  I've seen birds do this with large mealworms or other bugs.  I was curious about the prize the bluebird had.

It was a woolly bear caterpillar. I figured the bluebird wanted to subdue the large caterpillar before swallowing it but seeing that it was a woolly bear and that the stripe in the center of a woolly bear is supposed to predict the how harsh the coming winter will be, I can only assume that this bluebird is still bitter about how long and snowy last winter was and is not thrilled with the prediction for this winter.

Hey, if you're not squeamish about handling live mealworms, here's a video I found of someone who uses them to hand feed bluebirds:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjxJgxQVd3w[/youtube][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjxJgxQVd3w[/youtube]

Emergency Camera Repair

Someone asked to see my MacGyver-like camera battery door repair.  This is what I came up with when the camera door broke in North Dakota:

I used a couple of hair rubber bands and a wad of paper to keep the battery in place.  The hair rubber bands stretch out too quickly so I've switched to regular rubber bands.  I kind of like it, it makes my camera look like it's about to fail and not worth stealing.

Be The Eagle

Got this via @wr3n on Twitter.  I think we should adopt this attitude today.

Thank you, Internet.

Duck Survey Time Again

This is a shot of pelicans outside the plane window when we did our waterfowl surveys on Tuesday.  I posted some more photos and info for my beat over at 10,000 Birds.

The Many Faces Of Savannah Sparrows

 Mr. Muttonchops!

I think brown birds are beautiful as it is, but I love putting them in beautiful backgrounds when the opportunity presents itself.

I always thought of house sparrows as the most common sparrow ever and that's true in urban areas of the US but out in the farm fields, especially the cornfields, it's savannah sparrows all the way. And no 2 savannahs seem to look the same during migration.

I've never seen on with so much rufous on the wings, but Sibley assures me that this an acceptable color morph.

The Big Year Movie Review

Holy cow!  Last night was AMAZING! Showplace Icon is now my favorite place to watch movies: they have Bacon Popcorn (with actual bacon), you can have a nice beverage, not just overpriced soda and the seats are REALLY comfortable.  And the price for the VIP ticket isn't much higher than a regular movie ticket.

Swarovski Optik is awesome.  They gave away a pair of binoculars, had enough prizes for anyone who showed up and picked up the Birds and Beers bar tab.  I know they've always given back to the birds and the birding community by helping out bird festivals but wow, how cool to have them so supportive of Birds and Beers!

But the movie.  The movie was a pleasant surprise.  I was hopeful when I saw that Roger Ebert gave The Big Year 3 out of 4 stars but really tried to keep an open mind about the movie.

I think Hollywood has set the bar so low when it comes to birds and birding portrayed on screen that anyone who watches birds girds themselves for the worst.  After last night's screening of The Big Year, everyone looked at each other in surprise and said things like, "Well, that wasn't bad!"

I just realized that the guy in this photo with Owen Wilson was also Delmar in O, Brother Where Art Thou.

Are there inaccurate birds and situations--totally.  But they weren't that egregious.  I think it made birding on Attu a little more glamorous that what it really is and I'm not sure they fully captured the extreme weather you will find yourself in and not see the bird.  But I think it did express the fun, the camaraderie...and even the lifer dance!

What I loved about the movie was that it's a snapshot of what it's like to be a hardcore birder.  They got the essence of it, what drives some of us to watch birds.  They don't make birders look like nerds, dweebs, the awkwardly socialized.  They portrayed us as people who are like anyone else, but who happen to be passionate about seeing birds...not unlike a sports fan.

It's not life changing, but there were a few situations I could relate to: choosing work or a really good bird fallout and balancing family and the chase of the birds.  If a non birder came up to me at a party and said, "Oh you watch birds, I saw that Big Year movie and you are like that," I wouldn't cover my head with my hands and say, "That is so not birding."

One lesson that I think birders will be left with in this movie: You can either be the greatest birder in the world or have sex on a regular basis.  Glad I'm not #1.

Also, the American Birding Association does have an actual annual publication on birders who do Big Years.  Another great reason to be a member!

Wet-tailed Hawk

In the midst of all the last minute planning for The Big Year Birds and Beers I still have to work and I'm in the middle of 3 different bird surveys.  One is my fall waterfowl surveys in conjunction with the National Park, US Fish and Wildlife, MN DNR and WI DNR and the others are for bird monitoring for private companies.

And it's totally an adventure to fly over thousands of ducks on the Mississippi River, but I do enjoy surveys on the ground, enjoying the autumn air and the last ambient sounds of leaves rustling in the wind.  Almost all of yesterday was perfect.  Most of my survey spots are on the side of the road so if rain comes I can quick duck in.  I have one survey spot that is almost a mile walk from the car on uneven terrain.  It's a lovely walk and very birdy, but I don't mind it.

Even though I do have to wriggle under an electrified fence on my walk there. Just adds a bit of adventure to my work...and as someone mentioned on Twitter, it's also excellent motivation for not eating too much...Non Birding Bill texted that it looked like a storm was approaching.  Normally, it's so quiet out here I can hear a storm when it's still 40 miles away.  I didn't hear anything until a half hour before I was supposed to leave.

On the walk back, I could see the storm moving my way fast.  I hustled to get back to the car...except at the electric fence, I took my time there.  I could see hills disappearing and fading as the rain came closer and closer.  Just as I was putting my scope in my trunk, buckets of rain hit.  I made it just in time!  I drove to my next survey point and the hard and fast rain soon passed.  When it was finished, I noticed a couple of odd shapes.

Closer inspection revealed waterlogged red-tailed hawks.  I saw about three different birds, all in this posture.  If you've ever wondered what birds do after a rain--spread out the wet wings so they can air out the feathers.

Poor wet-tailed hawk!  Drenched feathers have to affect flight and one's ability to hunt.  It's gotta be uncomfortable too.  I wonder if they get frustrated the way humans do when rain hits after they water their yard.  Do hawks think, "Dang it, I just bathed 2 hours ago in that pond and of course it rains!"

Many of the smaller birds took refuge in the remaining corn stalks.  Warblers, sparrows and juncos were all over the leaves after the rain passed.  Above is a winter plumage chipping sparrow.  It kept flipping its wings--I would guess to try and flip off extra water on the feathers.

I have one more day of surveys today and then tonight it's our Birds and Beers and Big Year event.  NBB though not a birder has been a huge help in the last minute preparations.  When we got the Swarovski 10x30 CLs yesterday he posted them so people could see them...and to taunt me a bit.

They are a sweet little pair of binoculars...complete with a Batman-like insignia.

The Grand Prize at the Big Year midnight screening this Friday

Okay, gang, this just got real. Because we have in our hot little hands the grand prize for Friday's midnight screening of The Big Year. A pair of 10x30 Swarovski CL Companion binoculars. Retail value? One Grand. And we're giving it away to one lucky winner. So what do you need to do to win?

Just come to the midnight screening of The Big Year at the Showplace ICON theater in St. Louis Park, MN on Friday (that's the Friday, midnight screening, so stay up late on Thursday). You can buy your ticket online here using Fandango. Since we're in the VIP, you'll be able to enjoy food and cocktails while you watch Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black compete to see the most birds in one year. Sharon will be there around 10:30pm on Thursday to socalize in the bar and give away some other prizes.

Big Year Screening & Swarovski Optik

Okay folks, it's almost time for the Big Year and Birds and Beers!  Call the showplace icon and get tickets ahead of time to ensure a seat.  The number is 1-800-326-3264 and you want the Midnight VIP screening of The Big Year.

Showplace Icon is going to offer a special midnight screen Friday morning at MIDNIGHT (so you’ll need to plan to stay up late Thursday, October 13!).  There are even going to be prizes—Swarovski Optik is coming and everyone who comes to VIP event is entered into a drawing to win their prize.  Rumor has it that it's the new CL 10x30s.

I'll have some other prizes too and I’ll be there at about 10:30pm to have a drink and socialize–there’s a bar in the Icon below the theater and then carry on the fun above.

Don't tell me this is too late of an evening for you to do--really nice binoculars are on the line.  Also, I'm doing bird surveys all week (we're talking 10 - 11 hour days) and I have to go to a meeting on Friday.  This is why we have things like shade-grown coffee and Red Bull.

Golden Eagle vs Chukar

I can't believe I forgot about these photos.  While cleaning out my iPhoto cache today I came across a picture of a chukar at Antelope Island in Utah.

Okay, so it's a very mediocre photo of a chukar.  I was driving around, just taking photos of anything when I tried to get a shot of this chukar.  They are all over the island and I always end up seeing them on the sides of roads or in parking lots. They also have a knack for scurrying in to grass or brush as soon as a lens is aimed at them.  Less than a minute after I got this photo, the chukar dove into the grass. I told myself to look up and about 10 feet above my rental car windshield was a golden eagle.

I wasn't able to get a camera on the golden until it was well past, it moving moving fast!  Scott Mehus at The National Eagle center says that if you see turkeys running like a bat out of hell from a field near a goat prairie around Wabasha, MN, chances are good there's a gold eagle overhead.  The golden made a dive for the chukar and missed it, but boy, what a treat to have right in front of the car.

After that I got bonus time of watching the golden eagle circle on thermals coming off the bluffs on Antelope Island. It was great to be able to see the golden hackle feathers (the feathers on the back of the head).