North Mississippi Park Heron Rookery

   

This is the week to check out the great blue heron rookery at North Mississippi Regional Park (or the one at Coon Rapids Dam too).  I headed out to the North Mississippi rookery yesterday to take a look, right now the nests are very visible--even without binoculars.

You can get a great view of all sorts of behavior including nest building as the herons are coming in from migration.  Some have been at this rookery for a few weeks already.

Quite a few of the herons were perched on or near a nest and not moving.  I read on Cornell's Birds of North America Online that like many migratory bird species, males arrive to the nesting grounds first and establish who is taking what nest.  From there, when not foraging for food, a male will spend all his time at the nest.  Perhaps these were males waiting for a female to court or hoping to prevent other males from stealing sticks for their nests.

A few herons were already incubating eggs.  These nests will either be way ahead of the game with chick rearing or have to start over in a few weeks.  We are heading out of an unusual March--no snow in the Twin Cities at all.  This is highly irregular, March is technically our snowiest month.  It's not out of the realm of possibility for us to get snow in April.  I'm loving the opportunity to bike on the trails a whole month early, but I'm not going to hold my breath and say that we are totally free of snow for the rest of the spring.  If we get a cold snap, these already incubating herons may risk losing young and have to start over.  But that's what birds do.

So, take a moment to head to one of our heron rookeries before the leaves are out.  You can always somewhat see the nests at North Mississippi Regional Park and Coon Rapids Dam but it's ten times easier to point them to kids before the leaves are out.  If this 70 degree weather keeps up, that could be rather soon...aw man, that means that leaves will be well out when warblers get here in May.  That's going to make warbler watching a challenge.

UPDATE 2011: This heron rookery was destroyed by a tornado that ripped through Minneapolis in May, 2011.  All the nests were destroyed.  The birds did renest, some up river at Coon Rapids Dam and others at a new site at the Riverside Power Plant near the Head of Navigation on the Mississippi River. Most of the young did not survive, but the few that were rescued were eventually released later in the summer.

 

Dealing With Grackles At The Feeder

It's that special time of year when migration is in the early stages and any sign of spring is a welcome sign--even the first few small flocks of common grackles like the one above.  They really are a pretty bird in the right light.  But soon, grackles will be driving people who feed birds a little crazy.  They big dark birds fly in with their ravenous appetites and large flock numbers during migration and need the extra fuel to make it to their breeding grounds.  Those who have enjoyed chickadees, cardinals and titmice all winter will find the feeders crowded with these aggressive blackbirds.  Once insects are out in full force, grackles will go for those, but in the meantime they can be a bit irritating as they crowd out some of the smaller birds.  When I worked at the bird feed store, grackles were welcome because that always meant a bump in seed sales because the grackles eat so much.

You do have some options in dealing with grackles.  One is to feed safflower.  There's a method to feeding safflower.  I've said it before and I'll end up saying it a thousand times but you usually have to introduce your feeder birds to safflower.  Sometimes when you have been feeding black oilers all winter and then make the sudden switch to safflower, the usual feeder crowd quits coming.  It's like going to your favorite burger joint only to discover that has turned to a Mexican restaurant.  It's not that you do not like Mexican food, but when you arrived there, you were expecting to get a hamburger, not a bean burrito.  Birds are the same way.  They flew in expecting black oil sunflower and find something else.  Switching cold turkey could take a few weeks to get regular bird activity back to "normal."

It works best if you can gradually increase the safflower in your mix so that the birds get used to the change.  If you start this after you already have grackles coming to the feeders, they will kick out safflower in favor of the seed they prefer.

You can also have one feeder that is all safflower.  The grackles may go after the other feeders, but the cardinals, rose-breasted grosbeaks, chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, house finches and mourning doves have a place to go.  I usually offer safflower in a tray feeder since cardinals tend to feed more readily in that.  There are some good tray feeders in my OpenSky shop (if you purchase from there, 20% of the profits to go kid programming at the American Birding Association).

You can also try weight sensitive feeders with grackles--at least weight sensitive that have a way to adjust the setting.  I've use the Squirrel Buster II with fairly good results at keeping bigger birds out--it especially works well if you are having problems with rock pigeons.

Spring Signs: Blackbirds & Merganser Style

Friday, I had a meeting in Eden Prairie, MN--the southwest side of the metro Twin Cities.  As I  traveling on the highway, I noticed a large group of gulls loafing on a pond off the highway.  I made a mental note of the exit and decided to stop there on my way back home after the meeting.  When I pulled down the street, I noticed the ponds were almost completely ice free and could have some bird potential.

When I stepped out of my car, I could smell what had the gulls excited--a fish kill.  The unmistakable aroma of dead fish hung in the air.  The gulls were a mixture of ring-billed and herring and they were so chatty, you almost thought you were at a beach.  A few crows joined the gulls in the rancid feast.

A couple of bald eagles made some passes over the gulls--spooking them a few times.  The eagles flew low but did not land on the ice.   I'm not sure if the eagles were uncertain about the quality of dead fish or the amount of people walking around the lake.  The eagle pictured above eventually perched on top of a tree and watched the gulls for quite some time and never flew to the ice. I got the sense that the bird wanted its share of the dead fish but felt unsure of the situation.

I've heard red-winged blackbirds on and off the last week or two and their call was unmistakable around the fish kill lake.  We still don't have any female red-wings here yet, so the early arriving males still have some time to negotiate their territories.

There was a pond on the other side of the parking lot that was completely ice free and I noticed some splashing sounds.  A quick scan with the scope revealed about 3 pair of hooded mergansers engaging in some mating displays.  Love these little ducks!

Hooded mergansers will use wood duck boxes for nesting--I had one use a nest box at the bird store a few years ago.  It's cool to see this fish eating duck move further and further into the Twin Cities metro area for breeding purposes.  Check out that male's bill above with that dainty little hook on the end of his beak.  One of my favorite illustrations from the duck stamp contest I judged last week was of a male hooded merganser fishing underwater.

The males seemed to have each found a female and the settled down by the time I got close enough for some photos.  I was hoping I could hear their mating call but I think even if they had been giving it, the close by highway would have made it hard to hear.  You can listen to hooded merganser mating calls at Xeno Canto--I love that little croaky call.  I checked over at Cornell's Birds of North America Online for what entails the mating ritual for hooded mergansers and it reads, "Males have elaborate courtship behaviors which include Crest-raising, Head-shaking, Head-throws with Turn-the-back-of-the-head, Head-pumping, Upward-stretch, Upward-stretch with Wing-flap, and ritualized Drinking."

Not unlike humans.  BNA says that you can distinguish "ritualized drinking" from "normal drinking" in male hooded mergansers by the strongly depressed crest and almost vertical orientation of the bill.  So, if you're at a bar and a guy is trying to impress you with his drinking ability--perhaps he is trying to woo you with a merganser flirting strategy?  If you suspect that is the case and you would like to take him up on his advances, you can respond by moving your head up and down in a rapid, jerky motion with your bill (or chin) pointed downward, uttering a hoarse gack.

Here's a video that I got at Wood Lake a couple of years ago of a little hooded merganser display:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeG5KKa539A&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Red-tailed Hawk Live Cam

There's a very cool red-tailed hawk live cam at the Franklin Institute (as in Ben Franklin) in Philadelphia.  Kind of a fun change of pace from the owl owl cams and falcon cams.

Also, here's an interesting news story about bald eagles taking heron chicks from a rookery in western Washington state.  The article brings up an interesting conflict: those who love powerful eagles vs those who love elegant herons.  There are those who want to help the rookery and those who think that the eagles and herons need to work it out for themselves.

Heron chicks are certainly something bald eagles would eat and speaking as someone who has visited several rookeries--it's amazing that any heron chick ever survives a rookery.  Herons are not the most attentive parents.  For example, if a blue jay chick, great horned owl chick or crow chick falls out of the nest and begs, the parents will make a reasonable effort to continue to attend to the chick and feed it.  Herons?  If the chick falls out of the nest, it's toast.  It will not be fed and it will either starve or be preyed upon by any enterprising predator.

It will be interesting to see if this rookery ultimately fails, the herons start a new one elsewhere or if the eagles will find more tasty prey.

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]