Fun and mystery under the feeders

Caught on camera: An eastern chipmunk does impressions of Alfred Hitchcock.

It was mammal central under the feeders today. Appearances were put in by eastern chipmunks, gray squirrels, a rabbit and our new resident woodchuck. Not that I don't enjoy the occasional mammal I was more interested in what migration was bringing our way. Earlier this week someone on the bird nets reported seeing white-throated sparrows and juncos at their feeders in Carlton County so I knew it was just a matter of time before we had them under our feeders. Sure enough, when I was setting up the camera this morning I heard the familiar "zeep" of white-throats. Denny was feeling like quite the cock of the walk because all these migrating sparrows arrived Thursday and all day today he kept announcing, "What did I say the last time I worked? That we would have white-throats and juncos by Thursday!"

I put down a tempting mixture of cracked corn, thistle, sunflower chips and white millet for the migrating sparrows. There were quite a few white-throats lurking in the brush. The new arrivals weren't as ready to pose for the camera but I did get a shot of lurking white-crowned sparrow (above right), I just love those guys. The orange bill and feet just compliment the gray of the chest and the brown wings and you're totally taken aback by the bold black and white stripes on the head. For a brown bird I think they are quite charismatic. Non Birding Bill thinks I'm nuts.

I had a flock of wierd goldfinches hanging around today. Two in particular were behaving very oddly. First, they preferred the mesh sunflower feeders over the thistle feeders. Second, they were feeding on the ground quite a bit. If that isn't strange enough...what's up with the photo on the left? It almost looks like the goldfinch is begging for food from the house sparrow. The more likely behavior is that the finch is agressing towards the sparrow to keep it away from the food source, but still goldfinches aren't known for their aggressive behavior. The sparrow looks ambivalent... perhaps it regards the finch as many of us regard yippy little purse puppies.

Added Note to this entry: I posted this and Non Birding Bill glanced at it. He saw the photo of the white-crowned sparrow and started to walk away. I told him to come back and see the interesting third photo. To which he forced the reply, "Oh look, you got a photo of the brown bird facing the other way."

"It's a completely different bird!" I shouted. "The first was a white-crowned sparrow and the other is a house sparrow. You were supposed to notice the goldfinch in the third photo."

All he could say for himself was, "Look, you knew going into this that I'm not a birder."

Ha-rumph, I say.

Anansi Boys

Mr. Neil's book Anansi Boys has come out and from what Non Birding Bill has told me it is quite popular. I think it's going to be on the NY Times Bestseller List next week. Yeah, go Neil! I have not read the tome in its entirety but I am very excited because we got the audio version from him and I am going to listen to it on my way to the Midwest Birding Symposium. I'm very excited because the audio is by Lenny Henry of Chef fame (if you haven't seen Chef, rent it, you'll love it).

For birders everywhere this book is a relief because Mr. Neil worked extra hard to make sure that all the bird info in it was accurate--he even used me as a resource. The birds may not have been documented in current literature as doing some of the behaviors in the book, but if birds were being controlled by some magical force the bird behaviors in Anansi Boys wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.

Speaking of bird accuracy, I've caught a couple of episodes of CSI in syndication and the bird calls in the background are accurate. Thank you sound editor of CSI!

To change the subject, I have discovered that some days I am the silliest person I know. Recently I have noticed a slight tremor in my hands. It became noticeable to me about a year ago and in times of stress it comes out more. One day a few weeks ago my hand really started shaking when I picked up a pot of coffee at Super America. Well, after having a battery of tests it turns out I have something called "benign tremor" which is hereditary. Basically as I hold certain objects I my hands will tremble mildly. I can take drugs if it bothers me or just deal with it. I was so relieved, I called my sister Tracy afterwards telling her what was going on and she said, "Why didn't you call me? I've had that for years, so have your other sisters." Suddenly, I started thinking of all my sisters and my mother and thinking "Yes, they do shake when they hold a cup of coffee." What a goose I've been. Of course I have been imagining all these other worst case scenarios which basically ends up with me getting some unheard of disease that never lets me bird ever again. Again, I am the silliest person I know.

Hazel of Disapproving Rabbits fame also had a vet appointment today. She's nine years old and has always has some chronic respritory problems but is still in pretty good health for a rabbit her age...good grief, I just realized I'm going on and on about doctor appointments and ailments--what the heck, I'm in my thirties now and talking about aches and pains! Eeep! Must stop. Sorry about that.

Anyway, because of health good news and some other exciting news I'm going hawk trapping this weekend. My schedule has gotten really weird and I've had to give up some planned trips to Hawk Ridge this fall but it is leading to some pretty interesting developments which will be announced in
the next week or two. All I will say now is that blog entries about bird watching and birder gossip should be on the increase...

Penguins Make Lemonade

This from www.cnn.com

KIDNEY COVE, Falkland Islands (Reuters) -- There's a mating ritual going on in the minefield.

Fortunately the would-be lovers are penguins, too light to detonate the deadly mines laid more than two decades ago during a war on the far-flung Falkland Islands.

Thousands of penguins and other feathered and amphibious friends choose to nest and rest in no-go zones. The British estimate that some 25,000 land mines, mostly sown by Argentine forces in the 1982 war with Britain, remain.

On a recent day, the squawking penguins were busily finding partners, preparing nests and waddling about the mating grounds.

Wildlife numbers in the mined areas appear to be on the rise and conservationists cannot hide their enthusiasm about this unorthodox form of protecting lands previously trampled by people or overgrazed by sheep.

It is the bright spot in a long-term land mine problem -- one that is not likely to go away because de-mining is difficult, if not impossible, in the peaty soils and shifting sands of this South Atlantic archipelago.

Read the rest here.

Murmuration of Starlings

Here's an exerpt from a story from the Daily News Record:

MARYLAND - About a dozen animal control officers from the county gathered Monday night along Phillips Store Road in northern Rockingham County to disperse a murmuration of starlings that has settled there.The officers spent the evening, from 7 to 8:30, setting off a cannon to send the starlings on their way. Others fired starter pistols loaded with fireworks. The idea is to make so much noise that the birds will be discouraged from staying, said Sgt. Felicia Glick of the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office.

Glick noted that people have been complaining about the birds. "Birds have been roosting on homes and in trees in the Mayland area, creating a nuisance," Glick said. Leona Layman, who lives down the street from where the cannon was fired, is one of the many victims. Across the street is a densely wooded area, which the birds love, she said. Charles Harrison, who lives just down the road from Layman, agreed. The birds have been a problem for the last three or four years, he said. Both Layman and Harrison got in touch with Supervisor Pablo Cuevas, who called in animal experts. They were able to determine that the birds were a nuisance, Harrison said.

Mark Robb, wildlife specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was helping county officials with their efforts. He estimated that this small area was playing host to about 100,000 starlings. Once a murmuration gets this large, the best way to get rid of them is through a major concerted effort, as officials were doing Monday evening, he said.

The animal control experts came armed with several weapons. Some used handheld starter pistols and shot fireworks into the sky, along with noisy "bird bangers." Also, a propane gas cannon set off a loud bang every two minutes or so. The device is commonly used at major airports to keep birds away from the flight path, Robb said.

I give points to the writer of this story for working in a "murmuration of starlings". However, I get the giggles thinking about an expert being called in to determine that 100,000 starlings is officially a nuisance. And, the best way to deal with the problem is a propane cannon going off every two minutes along with starter pistols and fireworks at night...yeah, I can see how that wouldn't be irritating at all.

New Species?

I was sifting through some of my photos from the NovaBird Camera and I came across this dude. One of the fun parts of the camera is finding out what birds are visiting your feeders that you may not be aware of. The other fun part is that sometimes the birds move too fast for the camera and it distorts the bird. How cool is that? Not only can you add to your life list but you can invent new species. This is a super magical camera and we must all bow down to its greatness.

Uhaul Goshawk

This morning Non Birding Bill and I went to Sunny Side Up for breakfast and as soon as we parked, I gasped and whispered "Goshawk." There it was, larger than life painted on the side of a Uhaul parked on 27th Street. I pretended I was an unsuspecting pheasant and NBB snapped a photo.

The only disappointing part of the ad is there is no information about goshawks or the Tongass National Forest at www.uhaul.com like it suggests. I went to check as soon as I got home so I could add a link to this entry and there was nothing there. I felt like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" when he learned his Orphan Annie Decoder was in fact a crummy Ovaltine commerical. However, I found it oddly comforting that some advertising executive thougth a goshawk would be a good draw for the Uhaul website.

The bird with man hand sized feet

THE MN ZOO EVENT
Special presentation-Harpy Eagle: Spirit of the Ceiba Tree

Date: Thursday, October 20, at 7:00 p.m. at the IMAX Theatre

Enjoy an evening with cinematographer Neil Rettig and his amazing film featuring the harpy eagle from the rain forests of South America.

When: Presentation by Neil at 7:00 with the film to follow.
Where: the IMAX Theater at the Minnesota Zoo
Price: $20 per person, $10 for children age 12 and under. Proceeds go to the Minnesota Zoo's conservation programs.

RSVP: For reservations call 952.431.9200

There are a lot of web sites dedicated to this very impressive endangered raptor including The Peregrine Fund and at Whozoo.

March of the Penguins Controversy

I guess some groups have latched onto the movie March of the Penguins as an example of family values. I've just been skimming it not really wanting to bring attention to it but today Non Birding Bill pointed me to a blog by Jim Emerson with some disturbing news about the origional French version of the movie:

Two of the dumbest things that human beings habitually do are: 1) attribute human characteristics to natural phenomena (the “pathetic fallacy” – e.g., that Tropical Storm Rita has “furious winds,” when a swirling mass of wind and vapor experiences no emotion whatsoever); and 2) attribute human characteristics to animals (anthropomorphization -- like the syrupy advertising tagline for “March of the Penguins”: “In the Harshest Place on Earth, Love Finds a Way”). I want to throw up every time I see that. (But at least they took out the talking penguins in the original French version and replaced them with a voiceover by Morgan Freeman.)

Okay, did you catch that last part about the penguins talking to each other in the French version?!? What the heck? What would they say? Imagine the following in a french accent:

Penguin 1: Zut Alors! C'est very cold out today, mon ami!

Penguin 2: Hon hee hon hon hon. C'est la vie! When do ze lovely lady penguins come back to us to keep us warm?

Penguin 1: I have no idea, but I could really go for a baguette.

Penguin 2: Moi aussi!

A flock of Franklin's gulls were flying around behind the store yesterday presumably eating insects. Denny quizzed Melissa and me on why these were Franklin's gulls and not ring-bills or Bonaparte's. The breakdown:

Black spot behind the eye.

Dark back, much darker than ring-billed.

Heavy lumbering flight, not bouncy and fluid.

I was thinking back to the last time I saw Franklin's gulls like this and it was right before a storm, a flock was flying around for insects right in front of the storm cloud. This time we got a storm again, although much later after seeing the gulls. Are these weather birds in the fall.? This morning is absolutely wonderful, there's a nice fall chill in the air and one of the main reasons I live in Minnesota. I took a quick look at the weather for Duluth this weekend and Sunday is supposed to be winds out of the Northwest, perfect for hawk watching.

This weekend should be busy at the store, we're having our Member Appreciation Sale. Saturday, I will be at the Blooming Wild Bird Store with Stan from 11am - 2pm and at our White Bear Lake Store from 3pm - 5pm.

Non Birding Bill and I ate the sulfur shelf last night and it was mighty tasty. Even though it's often called "chicken of the woods" it really doesn't taste anything like chicken. It sort of has a chicken texture, but it has a very woody flavor that I think goes really well in an omelet.