Birdchick Podcast #94: Scott's Wild Bird Food Fined For Selling Contaminated Birdseed

Whoa! Scott's Wild Bird Food was fined $4.5 MILLION for 2 incidents that go back to 2008.  One is for selling bird seed contaminated with pesticides that their own staff ornithologist warned was toxic to birds and wildlife, the other was for selling lawn and garden products with falsified U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pesticide registration numbers. This got my attention because the nature blogosphere was taking the National Wildlife Federation to task for partnering up with Scott's as a sponsor. The NWF works to promote protecting the environment and protecting wildlife and you know, creating that whole Certified Backyard Habitat...partnering up with a major pesticide producer is a dangerous business.  As a result of public outcry, NWF announced they were ending their partnership with Scott's.

In other news, are you ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count?  Mark your February 17 - 20 on your calendars!

Woman get's kinglet caught in her hair.

Slow mo video of a goose flying upside down.

WildBird Magazine has a really great contest going.  All you have to do is make them chuckle with your most amusing birding adventure...

The murmuration video we were talking about.  Watch how the starlings use those crazy aerial moves to evade an aerial predator:

A Peregrine Falcon repeatedly divebombs a flock of starlings coming home to roost. Shot at dusk from the racetrack roof of the old FIAT factory in Torino Italy. Starlings roost in the center atrium of the building at night.

Birdchick Podcast #92: is going a little "blue..."

You were warned by the title. First up, James Currie the host of Birding Adventures got a show on National Geographic. Rather than playing it safe, he went with falconry for a topic.  I admire his balls on this and as someone who enjoys falconry (and went just this past Tuesday) I applaud him.  You should check it out, falconry is generally misunderstood in the birding community and it's a wonderful way to learn raptor id (if a falconer ever invites you out, say yes).  You can get a taste of Mr. Currie below...is he the hottest birding tv host we've ever seen: discuss!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s1EJ5cXlvoM#!

Aerial Assassins premieres Friday, January 20th at 10pm EST. It will re-air Saturday, January 21st at 1am EST and Friday, January 27th at 3pm EST

Now for the hilarity:

A piece of advice.  If you have an iPhone...maybe don't use it to send your birding report to your local birding listserv as some poor woman learned with a roadrunner report to Colorado's list.

Crows start more stuff than Exlaxx.

Bird Watching Magazine (the UK version not the formerly named Birder's World) is offering a contest for a luxury birding trip to Scotland...can one have luxury and Scotland at the same time?

Busch Garden's has a new animal care facility.  Watch a flamingo get laser surgery!

Canopy Tower is having a last minute special for February, it's well worth it if you are looking for a mid winter break.  I've been there and if I didn't have other plans for New York, I'd be going.


Birdchick Podcast #89: FAA Frees Cranes!

I saw on Facebook today that the FAA has decided to allow the Operation Migration Whooping Cranes to continue their southward migration: "The FAA has granted an exemption to Operation Migration that will allow pilots to continue to aid the whooping crane migration. Normally, the FAA limits light sport aircraft and pilots to personal flights without compensation. Because the operation is in “mid-migration,” the FAA is granting a one-time exemption so the migration can be completed. The FAA will work with Operation Migration to develop a more comprehensive, long-term solution."

Bird Watching has more here.

A Falcated Teal in California is making the news--even in the Huffington Post!

Puffin found wandering the streets of Montreal is sent back to the wild.  That poor bird is way off course from the Grand Banks to Montreal!

What kind of jobs can I expect as an ornithologist?

Some of NBB's friends created this fan version of The Hobbit trailer:

The Hobbit Trailer you know and love, sweded...because! It's not a traditional swede, but we decided to try something a little different as we pull people together for future sweding. Please enjoy! Watch the original trailer here: http://youtu.be/JTSoD4BBCJc Directed (and acted) by Jerry Belich & Melissa Kaercher, as well as the rest of the wonder cast Thad Dahlberg, Eryn Hildebrand, Rebecca Walpole, and Viktorija Kristupaitis.

Birdchick Podcast #88: Whooping Cranes Grounded, Yellow Cardinals

The news EXPLODED this week! We talked about the minor birdmaggedon in the last podcast and how local police tried to put a ban on fireworks.  Turns out someone may have been trying to intentionally kill them.  Jerks.

Another whooping crane has been shot in Indiana.  It is as though the state government is working really hard to say that they don't want birders to ever visit. At all.

Speaking of whooping cranes, something fishy is up with Operation Migration.  They've been grounded for several days because a former pilot filed a complaint with the FAA. Is this a legit concern about birds or someone who has sour grapes with an organization he no longer works with?  It seems unlikely that the whooping cranes will complete their migration this year.

I mentioned this before but now it's getting some serious attention in the bird world.  US Fish and Wildlife is offering a "take permit" for eagles.

How do tiger sharks end up with songbirds in their stomachs? Because migrating birds get distracted by oil rig lights, fly around them, get exhausted and fall in the water.


Also, we started the podcast with different music.  How awesome are our friends?  They do things like translate the Flintstone's Theme into Yiddish and then sing it...and put it on YouTube:

Note: There's a bit of German interference, e.g., "oys Bedrock" instead of "fun Bedrock" Ah well - next time ... Other videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/AvuncularFeldspar)

Birdchick Podcast #87: Minor Aflockalypse, Snowy Owls, Resolutions

Only 200 birds were found dead in Arkansas this New Year's as opposed to the thousands found last year. Really cool snowy owl video from Cornell:

Snowy Owls lead nomadic lives and travel vast distances from year to year searching for productive feeding areas. Some years, most recently in the winter of 2011/2012, conditions cause them to come south in great numbers. Get an intimate look at these white owls from the north through video and photographs captured by the Cornell Lab's, Gerrit Vyn.

Birdchick Podcast #86: Mathematical Pigeons & One OLD Chickadee

OMG, we can all finally relax, someone claims to have solved the mystery behind The Birds (the Hitchcock movie and the Daphne du Maurier story). A black-capped chickadee banded in Minnesota is the oldest on record...by four months.

Pigeons (aka flying rats) can do math and are smart like monkeys.

That wacky North Korean media claims that roosting magpies are really hanging out to mourn the death of Kim Jong-il.

Birdchick Podcast #85: Birding Apps

This podcast is mostly NBB and I talking about birding apps and NBB giving advice on what to do first if you get a Droid or iPhone for Christmas.  These are apps that tickle my fancy, if you would like to add your favorite and why, feel free to do so. Apps mentioned in the podcast:

Sibley App

BirdsEye bird finding app

Audubon Guides apps

iBird apps

I didn't mention it in the podcast, but there's a company called Bird Guides that has some excellent European birding guides too.  The have a Birds of Brazil and I'm hoping they'll be adding other countries.  How awesome to not have to pack a giant field guide when traveling abroad.

Birdchick Podcast #84: Grebmaggedon, Taped Calls & A Hooded Crane

Thousands of eared grebes crash landed in Utah winding up on football fields, a Walmart parking lot and highways in Utah.  At least 3000 live grebes were collected but a low estimate of 1500 grebes died on impact.  You can listen to Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Kevin McGowen talk about it on NPR. An article about song sparrows and how taped predator calls affect them.  An interesting article, but how often is a bird like a song sparrow going to be exposed to predator calls 24 hours a day, four days in a row by birders?

A huge discussion was started on the American Birding Association's group page about birders and why the uniform appears to be ill fitting khaki pants, vests and floppy hats.  Why is this our uniform?  Why the vest?

Remember the mystery hummingbird in Chicago (they one they tried to ID based on poop)? Well, they got a feather and they now know exactly what species it is based on DNA testing.  Find out the id here (or listen to the podcast).

A hooded crane has been reported in Tennessee.  Now the question is if this bird is truly a vagrant from another country or an escapee from a private collection.