Nazca Boobie Field Assistant

If I were single, I would so apply for this field assistant position. Anyone in dire need of a change of pace or a month and half to escape your current life and do something really cool in a remote area? Check this out:

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS--NAZCA BOOBIES. Two field assistants needed mid-Mar to early May 2009 for work on breeding biology of Nazca boobies on Espanola Island, Galapagos, Ecuador. The assistants will join a group totaling five continuing a long-term study of this species. Majority of the work will be identifying banded parents at nests and banding nestlings, 8-10 hrs per day of physically taxing and fascinating work in an incredible place. The group will live in tents and a primitive field camp on this uninhabited island, a day's boat ride from the nearest civilization. Requirements: physical fitness, tolerance of heat and sun, cheerful can-do attitude. Previous field experience a strong plus, Spanish desirable. All expenses paid, including travel from your home base. No salary. These positions will be filled as soon as possible. Please send a CV, contact information for three references, and cover letter to DR. DAVE ANDERSON at Wake Forest University ((EM: da AT wfu.edu).

New Year Is Off To A Bang Thanks To The Blog

I'm playing with a host of motion sensitive cameras lately--I'm loving all the pine siskin action this winter.

My favorite photos are the ones where the birds fly a little to fast and the camera speed can't keep up, so they come out a little funky. I'm noticing that quite a few of the birds that Mark and Roger have banded are still sticking around, like the above titmouse. We haven't banded too many of those, perhaps it is the titmouse from this banding session?

So, I'm off to a kind of funky week--funky in a good way. I am Non Birding Bill-deprived. He left Monday for Mac World Expo. I leave Thursday for Bird Watch America. NBB returns on Friday, I return on Sunday. It's unusual for us to travel separately at the same time and of course, it's always strange with the spouse is away. So the week is weird to begin with.

Then, I got a call the other night. It was Guatemala. They wanted to know if I'd like to come on a fam tour (kind of like a press tour) in February.

After I picked up the pieces of my exploded brain, I said, "Can I have 24 hours to make sure I can get the time off from the park service?"

I also needed some time to figure out my passport. Well, thanks to some great advice from well traveled friends, the help of my mom and brother gathering up a certified copy of my birth certificate down in Indiana the process is plugging along. If all goes well, at the end of February, I'll be bringing you some fun entries of the Central American birding experience. Does anyone have anything specific you'd like me to look into in Guatemala--or advice?

I have to thank Mike over at 10,000 Birds for putting the good word in for me in Guatemala. The bonus is that I'll get hang with him while I'm down there. When we end up at bird festivals, we're both so busy, we barely have time to talk. Speaking of Mike, did you hear is weird little explanation of the "12 Days of Christmas" over on the December 24, 2008 podcast of Birdwatch Radio? Check it out if you didn't, it's worth a giggle.

And I got a nice note from Julie Zickefoose in an interview she did for Nature Blog Network. She got started blogging by guest blogging for me when I went on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker search the first two weeks of December 2005. Here's one of my favorite Chet Baker entries that she did. It was strictly selfish. She's one of my favorite writers and I hoped that if she got hooked on blogging she would start her own. She did.

Anyway, it's an interesting interview, check it out.

Okay, now I need to get my stuff together for Atlanta. I'll be heading to Bird Watch America to see the latest and greatest in birding product coming down the pike. Is anyone looking for anything in particular? Let me know, and I'll see what I can find out.

Tuesday Morning Titmouse

I got this titmouse with the Wingscapes Cam.

Check out this post and there should be a link to a fabulous shot of a red-tailed hawk coughing up a pellet. The photos are by Art Drauglis. Awesome shots of the hawk, but the pellet truly is the money shot.

Prairie Chickens Of The Sea

I have just got prairie chickens on the brain today! First, I've been booked as the keynote speaker for The Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival in Oklahoma in April (hot dog--an automatic life bird at that fest).

Second, I met my now new favorite bird filmaker at the MOU Paper Session last December, Steve Furman. His latest is a documentary for kids about prairie chickens. What I love about Steve's work is that not only is he giving us a gorgeous view of prairie chickens, but he's also doing it in a fun and hilarious way. Check out this preview and then order his movie.

Winter Robins

I woke up this morning with a headache and the news about the selection of the new Doctor Who doesn't help. I think this picture sums up my thoughts on the matter. However, lots of robins were bustling around the tree branches outside the window and that perked me up a bit. I could not resist my digiscoping equipment and tried for some photos through my dirty storm windows:

Every winter we get robins around the Twin Cities. This winter we seem to have more centered in the heart of the metro area and I wonder if our trees are having a bumper berry/nut crop this year. I see flocks on a daily basis in our neighborhood. Sometimes you can hear one robin quietly singing to itself. I wonder if these are birds hatched in the summer of 2008 and practicing their territory songs for the breeding season of 2009?

This robin had a black bill. I wonder if it's from eating berries? I tried to read through some of the food habits of American robins on Birds of North America Online, but was unable to find anything conclusive about winter food habits. In one study, plant material consisted of 90% of their diet, but varied in other areas. I could guess that they could find some animal material. When I worked at the bird store in Wayzata, there was a bait shop in the same mall. They would toss out old minnows and in the winter, robins would fly down and eat them. They are resourceful creatures. I should go out there and see if I could digiscope that.

Mostly, the robins were eating snow on the roof of the apartment building across the way. Birds will eat snow for moisture if they can't find open water. I got a video of it (and you can hear some Ting Ting in the back ground):

Nikon Australia Contest

This just came into the Inbox and seems like a worthwhile contest. It's a drawing to win a trip to Australia wrapped in a promotion for a the new Nikon EDG binocular:

Nikon® Inc., in conjunction with Australia's Northern Territory and Discover Downunder® proudly announce the "Nikon Downunder" Sweepstakes, offering the chance to win the ultimate birding safari in Australia's Outback and the coveted Nikon EDG binocular.

To enter the "Nikon Downunder" sweepstakes, visit www.nikondownunder.com from Jan. 1, 2009 through April 30, 2009. The prize package, valued at up to $8,657.85, features roundtrip airfare for two from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Darwin, Australia, three-nights accommodation at Feather's Sanctuary in Darwin and a three-day/two-night Odyssey Safari's birding tour with a specialist small group led by an experienced eco-guide.

To catch all of the action in Australia's Outback the winner will also receive one Nikon EDG binocular, the first birding binocular to harness the optical superiority of Nikon's highly acclaimed ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass for high contrast images that are extremely bright, razor sharp and free of flare. Some of the unique birds one can see in the Northern Territory include the White-lined Honeyeater, Chestnut-quilled Rock Pigeon, Banded Fruit-Dove and White-throated Grass-wren.

* No purchase necessary. Promotion ends April 30, 2009. Open to all legal U.S. residents who are 21 years of age or older. Visit www.nikondownunder.com for detailed prize information and complete Official Rules. Void outside the U.S. and wherever prohibited.

First Bird Seen (and Digiscoped) in 2009

Stumbled down to the kitchen this morning and there were birds everywhere and the first bird seen and identified was a pine siskin. Well, technically there was a junco too, but couldn't fit it into the shot. So, I'm going with siskin.

Also, in my inbox this morning is an interesting story from the Telegraph of a kingfisher photographed eating six different kinds of fish! Check it out. Thanks for sending it, Laura.

Hope you all had a good time last night and here's hoping for getting along, good bees, good bunnies, good times and good birds in 2009. We had a quiet night of me, Non Birding Bill, and Mr Neil playing Wii Fit and watching Father Ted and The Muppets. It was a quiet highbrow affair until about midnight when...well...I think the Muppets did a fine reenactment here.

That Wii Fit is mean. It assessed me out to be a 50 year old, overweight, unbalanced tart. Mr. Neil and NBB both assure me that as I play more and figure out what the Wii wants, I'll get younger and fitter. I've never had a bird do that to me before. Perhaps I will stick to trudging in the woods.

Raptor Center On MPR about 08/09 Snowy Owl Irruption

You can read or listen to the story here. Do check it out, there are some great shots of the birds!

Black-capped Chickadee Butt

Oh, the dangers of talking while digiscoping.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, when you digiscope, you get hundreds of not quite perfect photos. If you're just trying it out and you feel that most of your photos are crap, don't feel bad, it takes several tries and maybe even a little tweaking on the computer to get good shots. The other day I was taking shots at a feeding station at a local nature center. When you plant yourself in a chair with your spotting scope and digital camera, people have questions. So, as I was shooting, I was chatting. When I downloaded the photos, I discovered a disturbing amount of chickadee butt photos. I'm not sure what my subconscious is trying to tell me.