The Cleansing Nuthatch

I don't know why, but for some reason I'm have an overwhelming desire to seek out every republican in North America and have my picture taken with them...and I'm not even a republican, I'm not a democrat either but that's neither here nor there. Actually, I do know why, when someone I don't know starts to tell me what I should and shouldn't do and when I should be ashamed of myself, it immediately triggers a rebellion inside and I want to do the exact opposite.

So, I think it's time to embrace the red-breasted nuthatch:

Look at the nuthatch, breathe in the nuthatch. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. I had a gorgeous morning over at Carpenter Nature Center. The temperatures were cool, the sun was shining, and there was not the overwhelming sounds of the state fair. Ahhhhhhh.

It wasn't as busy as last week, but there were still lots of migrants moving through. Everywhere we went you could see flocks of birds flitting around. We got some warblers in the nets like the Nashville warbler above and a Tennessee warblers. I think we banded five red-eyed vireos and I got a video of one being released. With some birds, when you let them go, you can lay them flat on their backs and they sit for a moment before taking off. That's what happens to the vireo when I let it go in the video below:

And since you can't really see the brown eye so well in the video, here is a photo:

Red-eyed vireos don't get their red eyes until they are an adult. So the brown eyes on this bird tell us that it was hatched this summer. Here's an adult red-eyed vireo that we've banded in the past, you can really see the red eyes on that bird. FYI - for an insectivore, this bird really can bite.

Here is a typical male American goldfinch. This is a bird we banded awhile ago, but I want you to get a good look at what the face should look like. Now, take a gander at this male goldfinch:

Yikes! What happened to this guy? I'm not really sure. I banded this one and I couldn't see any mites running around on its head so I don't think that was it. I wondered if maybe it was an odd molting pattern. I asked Jen who works at Carpenter and she wondered if it had gotten its feathers worn off from a bird feeder or something else?

It was missing feathers on both sides of his bill, so it does seem to be a uniform pattern. The bird was molting elsewhere on his body, so it is possible that this is just a weird molt pattern. I'll be curious to see if we get this bird in the nets again.

And now, let's close with the cleansing nuthatch. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, see the nuthatch, breathe out, be the nuthatch, breathe in, love the nuthatch, breathe out, hang upside down on a tree trunk like a nuthatch...

Who Knew He Liked Birds?

This has been a weird day. I'm kind of looking back at it and asking myself, "Did that really happen or did I have too many martinis?"

My goodness, I am beat. The MN State Fair has worn me out. I love, LOVE working the MOU booth and answering bird questions. It's a good chance to talk to people who may not consider themselves birders but have an interest. It's a chance to reach people you may not normally talk to you in your day to day life. One chance to help kindle a tiny spark of interest in birds. Or just shoot the breeze with fellow bird lovers.

However, the sounds (and smell) of the State Fair are catching up to me. Tomorrow is supposed to be the Bald Eagle Recovery Day Event at the fair and I would love to go, but I just don't think that I have it in me. I think I need the peace and quiet of banding birds at Carpenter Nature Center...although last week wasn't too quiet, but at least there's no constant din of fair rides, bands, and kids having an afternoon meltdown.

When I finished the MOU booth, I headed over to the fm107 booth to say hi to Ian and Margery--I do bird segments on their show a few times a month (although I rarely talk birds). I had to thank Ian for giving me some really great advice this time last year and plus I just truly enjoy their company. I have to say, I met some unexpected people. One was CJ, the Star Tribune's Gossip Maven. When I realized who she was, I said, "Oh, I actually read your column." She thanked me for admitting it out loud and in public.

Then, I met a most unexpected bird lover. He loves cardinals and bald eagles. He loves visiting the National Eagle Center and has even had the chance to release rehabbed eagles back to the wild. He would love to watch birds watch more, especially up near his cabin but his job in Washington keeps him too busy. When he lived in St. Paul, he loved listening to Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes on WCCO. His resolution was to watch more birds and enjoy nature. Who could this nature lover be?

Republican Senator Norm Coleman. Who knew he likes a little hot all-bird action?

Showcase MN and Juvenile Hawk Story

That's Rob Hudson of Showcase Minnesota doing a bird segment with me at the State Fair today. I brought Juneau, a female peregrine falcon from The Raptor Center. We talked about the Bald Eagle Recovery Day Celebration that's going on Friday at 10:30am at the DNR Building at the fair. Okay, I know what you're thinking, "Geez, Sharon, why didn't you bring an eagle with you instead of mere peregrine if you're talking about eagles?" Number 1, it's easier to work with a smaller bird in the cramped spaces at the fair and number 2, I don't handle anything that has a wingspan that's longer than me. Besides, the peregrine falcon was just delisted a few years ago like the bald eagle was this year. It's all good.

We then talked general birds and I took some audience questions. It's so much more fun doing the show in front of a live audience than in the quiet of the studios. The fair crowd has such a happy energy, you can say cheesy bird jokes and everyone laughs. The best part is that when you are doing a bird program for the fair, you get picked up by the fair transport system from The Raptor Center and then they drive you to whatever booth you are going to be in. Thousands of people are milling about and you get to ride in a van right through the ocean of people. You get curb side drop off and pick up, just like a rock star. I don't kid myself, it's not for me, it's just that I'm lucky enough to be in the bird's entourage.

And I came across a fun story about a hawk that flew into a screened in porch to get a cat. Don't worry, all involved survived. There's a photo of the bird and it looks like a young red-tailed hawk to me. Those wacky juveniles, they'll try to hunt anything.

Working The Minnesota State Fair

Man, this week has just turned nutty. I thought I had more time than I really did but between Non Birding Bill and myself, we have an action-packed schedule.

I forgot to mention that NBB is doing some children's theater at local Twin Cities parks. Cinnamon and I went out last Saturday night to watch the show. Kids in the audience loved it. Cinnamon on the other hand...If you're looking for some free entertainment for your kids, here's the remaining performance dates.

We did do the State Fair with just the two of us. I tried one of the new MN State Fair foods. Can you tell what I'm eating? Here's a clue:

That's right, SPAM. And not just SPAM bites. I was trying the deep fried SPAM curds. If you love SPAM, you'll love the curds. If you're not a huge fan, well it's just weird. It's cheese flavored SPAM, battered, deep fried and served with ranch dressing. I'll stick with elephant ears. I don't know if you can see it on the SPAM menu, but there's a big note that all of the menu items do not have trans fats. Yeah, because when you think diet and healthy, you think fair food.

We got lots of disapproving rabbit photos in the bunny barn, but we'll save those for the daily dose of disapproval. But above is a sampling.

And of course, no State Fair experience is complete for me without a visit to the crop art room. The big winner this year? A portrait of Dolly Parton!

And it was nice to see someone using their art to communicate an important conservation issue: Cats Indoors!

Al Franken was a popular subject for the crop art since he's now running for the US Senate. My personal favorite was the top portrait with the reason he's running being Franken's Staurt Smalley mantra, "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!"

Today, I did my first of three shifts at for the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. I had so much fun, I ended up staying for part of the shift after mine. We're seeing lots of birds flying over the state fair. I watched a big old honkin' Cooper's hawk flying just above the trees and landing near the midway. We've also seen merlins, red-tailed hawks, common yellowthroats, and chickadees. It's fun to catch up with old friends--and I have some cool friends.

My friend, Kelly Larson showed up with a huge pile of sulphur shelf. Kelly's been a longtime mushroom hunter and we used to work at the Wild Bird Store together. One of my favorite memories was when she sent me some oyster mushrooms that she had found through the inter-office mail system.

This is a little different than the sulphur shelf we found in Mr. Neil's yard. That one was bright yellow and was growing on the trunk of an oak tree. The stuff Kelly brought is a subspecies that grows on the ground near an oak tree, you'll note it isn't as bright yellow on the bottom as the other stuff. Kelly rocks and as I'm typing this entry, I'm cooking the sulphur shelf in some chicken stock right now It always pays to keep some chicken stock on hand.

wAZ!@@@@@@@@@@@@@@^YHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHT!

That little bit up there was Cinnamon hopping on my keyboard to let me know that she would like some attention. I can't believe she actually ended it win an explanation point--seriously, that was her, not me. Anyway, I have to wrap this up.

Blogger Video--Gr

So, Sunday I noticed a new feature on my blog dashboard. I can upload video directly to blogger instead of google video. So, I took a little video of Cinnamon to check it out. I can't upload it and have heard nothing from blogger for three days so I just went to google video myself to load it up. Now, I'm off to one of my MANY state fair shift. I took some bunny photos on Saturday when Non Birding Bill and I went as a date, but Cinnamon insists that I put them in her blog, not mine...

Here's my MN State Fair schedule this week. MOU stands for the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. If you're at the fair, stop by and ask us about birds.

Tuesday, August 28

9am - 12pm - The Raptor Center
12pm - 3pm - MOU Booth at DNR Building

Wednesday, August 29
9:15am - 11am - KARE 11 Booth (tv segment)

Thursday, August 30
9am - 12pm - MOU Booth at DNR Building

Saturday, September 1
9am - 12pm - MOU Booth at DNR Building

Start Saving Your Pennies and check the Frequent Flyer Miles

Hey, want to go San Francisco with me and (brace yourself) Non Birding Bill?

That's right, we are leading a trip to San Francisco for some birding and sightseeing--imagine it pygmy nuthatches, acorn woodpeckers, Heerman's gulls, the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill by day and China Town by night! We're even going to go to a restaurant that features "gender illusioninsts." Oooo. Ahhh.

We've had great times in San Francisco and we want to take you with us, and the beauty is that if you bring your non birding significant other, that's okay--it's not all birds and if you want to do something else while we enjoy the birds of San Francisco--you can! The trip is January 31 - February 4, 2008--a perfect balmy getaway for winter.

Details can be found here or you can call Sunshine Travel Company 1-800-926-7185.