Birds and Beers Woodcock Tailgate Party

Just a reminder that next Tuesday night is the Birds and Beers Woodcock Tailgate Party! We head out to Lebanon Hills Regional Park, have some laughs and then 15 minutes after sunset try to watch the woodcock display. The woodcocks start their display about 15 – 20 minutes after sunset, which means they will start around 8:30pm. Since the display area is next to the visitor center at the park, we’ll meet there starting about 6:30pm and have an old fashioned tailgate party–you can come early to mingle or come closer to magic hour.  Bring your own food and beverages and we’ll laugh until it’s Woodcock Time.  The park closes at 10pm, so this gives us plenty of time to get some great birding done.  Last year we had a great horned owl show up and still got great looks at the timberdoodles (aka woodcocks).

Recommended to bring: lawn chair and boots, might be a little muddy.  Dress in layers, it could be warm when the sun is out and gets cool quickly when it's dark.  Binoculars and a flashlight are a good idea too.

If it rains on Tuesday, April 19, our make up date will be the following Tuesday, April 26, 2011–same bat time, same bat channel.

Stupid Hipster Crows

Non Birding Bill and I drove by Loring Park tonight and expected to find this:

But when we arrived there, the crow roost was bare!  The roost has moved.  As I let loose a stream of profanity as to how this affects Birds and Beers, NBB said, "You know what happened, they arrived around Thanksgiving and said, 'Oh, we were here last year, this place is all played out,' and then another crow said, 'I know this other little spot that's much quieter that no one knows about and is so cool.' See your problem is that you have hipster crows."

Indeed, the roost has officially moved to Elliot Park, not too far away, but we will not get the same view we had at last year's Birds and Beers.  We should still see crows fly in but they will most likely not stay at Loring outside of Joe's Garage.  Perhaps after it gets dark, we can caravan over to Elliot Park to see the sleeping crows?  So Birds and Beers is still on at Joe's Garage for Saturday at 4:30pm.  Sounds like we'll have more beer than birds.

January Birds and Beers at the Loring Crow Roost!

The next Birds and Beers is on January 22, 2011 at 4:30pm at Joe’s Garage.  This is the one where we watch the millions of crows fly into Loring Park!

I'm looking forward to this one, the crows at Loring Park are a spectacular sight and last year's gathering was the biggest Birds and Beers we've ever had!  The only downside is that we have to pay for parking for this event but we get a spectacular show in exchange. Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of birders of all abilities–if you’re interested in birds, you’re invited. You can meet other birders–maybe find a carpool buddy, ask about where to find target birds, share cool research projects you might be working on, ask a bird feeding question, share life lists, share some digiscoping tips, promote your blog–the sky is the limit. It’s low key and it’s fun.

Non Birding Bill and I stopped by Joe's Garage the day after Thanksgiving to check out the crow roost and even took a moment to walk beneath the crows in the dark.  Loring is a busy city park, these birds are used to a bit of pedestrian traffic.  As we walked through, one of the flocks abandon their tree.  For a second I was worried that we startled them but then NBB said, "That doesn't look like a crow..."

Sure enough, it was a great horned owl passing through the roost, no doubt looking for a vulnerable crow for a meal.  Hope you can make it and again this is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon and meet some new birding friends, promote your bird club or group.

Birds and Beers This Thursday!

It's last minute, but there is a Birds and Beers this Thursday, July 29 at Merlin's Rest at 6pm! We can discuss the orange-billed nightengale thrush in South Dakota or strategies for applying to be president for the American Birding Association Presidency! Also, I booked the next Birds and Beers on Tuesday, August 17 at 6pm at Merlin's Rest.

What is Birds and Beers?  It's an informal gathering of birders of ALL abilities to meet outside of the Internet and connect.  Are you a hardcore lister--you're invited. Are you a researcher working on a cool project and want to recruit volunteers or just talk about your study--you're invited. Are you someone who just enjoys the birds you see out of your kitchen window--you're invited. Are you a birding guide and want to promote your tours and business--you're invited. Are you someone who has heard of this whole bird watching thing and want to see what it's all about--you're invited!  Looking for birders to volunteer at a booth for the State Fair--you're invited!

It's low key and it's fun.  Maybe you'll find a new friend to enjoy birds in the field?  Maybe you'll learn that secret spot to finally see a Henslow's sparrow?  Maybe you'll learn some tips on thwarting grackles from your feeder?

Biggest Birds & Beers EVER!

Holy Cow!

I have just come home from the biggest Birds and Beers I have ever hosted. It was a blast and everything that I hoped Birds and Beers would become. Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of people of all interests in birds. From the hardcore lister to the beginner. It's a way for people interested in birds to get together, have a beverage, maybe some food and talk some birds. If people have a birding activity to promote--like a banding study, a bird store, a blog, a tour business--they are welcome to share. If someone is interested in finding a bird partner locally or for a day trip--this is a great way to get to know someone face to face.

We had 52 people show up! I was stunned. We took up the whole loft of Joe's Garage, some of the second tier and a large table at the bottom of the stairs. It was almost too much for me, I barely had a chance to meet everyone who came. It was a lively mix of Birds and Beers regulars and many new people.  The regulars did a great job of mixing in with the new people at all the tables and I think many friends were made.  As I paused a moment and looked around the room at all the birders sharing tales and laughing, I was so happy: this is what I had always imagined for Birds and Beers: a great big birder party.  The best part was that there was a great mix of people of all ages.  Not just a single twenty-something--several.  We even had our youngest member: Micah who I think was eight.  It was amazing!

We had all sorts of people with projects to share, including some people from the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center looking for volunteers for the avian nursery, a man who I met years ago in Kearney, NE while watching blackbirds with deformed bills--he leads tours to Nebraska and was looking for people to come watch the crane migration with him. We also had people looking for birding partners in various parts of Minnesota--it was a lively and crowded party of birders.

And then the crows started to stream into Loring Park. I joked that we should start a drinking game--every time you see a crow--Drink! However, no one would ever have been able to leave Joe's Garage had we kept that up. Some went outside, others watched with binoculars from the inside--rivers of noisy crows practically poured into the tops of the trees--it was quite the show.

As I was leaving, the moon was rising behind the roost, I had fun getting photos of the crows silhouetted against the beautiful celestial body. That's a digiscoped image of the crows and moon at the top of this blog entry.

Joe's Garage was fantastic. If you would like to enjoy the roost--try booking a table at dusk before the end of February. I have to give some major props to the wait staff. I said that we typically get 10 - 15 people at Birds and Beers and our poor but intrepid server Ashley took on our huge group and never let us see her get too frazzled. The food was fantastic--how can you not love a place that has a mashed potato bar?

We may have to do this again next winter.

Thanks again to everyone who showed up. The next Birds and Beers will be at the end of February. I'll try to schedule it before I leave for Panama but make no promises.

Follow Up On Banded Trumpeter Swan

First A couple of announcements: I'll be on Showcase Minnesota this morning sometime between 10am - 11am answering your bird questions.

And the next Birds and Beers is scheduled for this Sunday at 4pm at Joe's Garage to try and watch the winter crow roost. Now, the crows have shifted the roost a little bit to the west but we'll still have some crow action.

I got a certificate yesterday from the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center regarding the history of the above trumpeter swan with the neck collar 2M7 at Point Douglas:

This is a male trumpeter swan hatched in 2006 in Ruthven, Iowa by Mr. Guy Zenner.

Still no word on the Canada goose with the tight band, I'll be curious to see if I hear about the origin of that goose.

Christmas Bird Count & Birds and Beers

The next Birds and Beers is December 17, 2009 at 6:00 pm at Merlin’s Rest.

Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of birders of all abilities–if you’re interested in birds, you’re invited. You can meet other birders–maybe find a carpool buddy, ask about where to find target birds, share cool research projects you might be working on, ask a bird feeding question, share life lists, share some digiscoping tips, promote your blog–the sky is the limit. It’s low key and it’s fun. I'll have to head out early that night. We added a performance to our A Christmas Carol: The Golden Girls Remix and I'll have a show at 9:30pm that night.

To get updates on when the next Birds and Beers will be, become a fan of Birds and Beers on Facebook and when a new event it planned, you’ll get a notification. Or check back here.

I imagine that we will be talking quite a bit about Christmas Bird Counts. And, hey, if anyone in the Twin Cities would like to try out a Christmas Bird Count, I'm looking for volunteers. We'll count any bird we see like the cardinal above to house sparrows to eagles to ducks to hopefully something really cool like maybe a Thayer's gull.

The Christmas Bird Count started in reaction to the 19th century tradition of people going out to shoot as many birds as they could on Christmas Day. In 1900 a group went out and counted birds rather than shoot at them and the tradition as grown to the big December event now. The data collected is used to document winter bird population trends in North America.

I've always wanted to participate, but for many years I worked retail and getting time off on a weekend in December is next to impossible. This year, I'm helping out with St Paul Audubon and their Christmas Bird Count area, specifically the Lilydale Area on December 19, 2009. I'm looking for people to help with the count!

This is my count area. If you live in this area, have some feeders (or not) and want to track what birds you see and turn those in, that would be great! If you want to bird Lilydale Park, we should have a great time. If you're thinking, I don't want to watch birds outside of the warmth of my vehicle and want to cruise some neighborhoods for birds, I can use you. Let me know in either the comments or drop me an email: sharon at birdchick dot com.

If you don't live near the Twin Cities but want to participate, find out what Christmas Bird Counts are in your area and see if you can help them.

Birds & Beers & OpenSky

Birds and Beers is this Thursday, October 29 at 6:30pm at Merlin's Rest and we have something to celebrate.  I've been testing the waters with OpenSky--creating a shop that only has products I like, use and enjoy.  Well, I thought to myself:  all the best bird companies give back to the birding community and I'd love the blog to be able to help with that.  I told OpenSky that I wanted 10% of my share to go to young birder programs for the American Birding Association.  They said, "Great, we'll match that!" What a cool company!  I never had the chance to go to any kind of bird convention or one specifically for kids.  I would love it if the shop gets enough sales to provide a full scholarship to some aspiring kid birder!  So, if you have any birding needs, check out my OpenSky Store and know that all the things in there are products that I love and that you can see in my photos in my blog and that 20% of the profits are going to help fun young birder programs!  I'm so excited about this and happy that the blog can help kids in some sort of way.

To help celebrate, OpenSky is offering discount codes for five products and you'll be able to get the discount code by attending Birds and Beers this Thursday. Wingscapes BirdCam, EZ lift hanger, Aspects Hummzinger Mini, Finch Flocker, Green Mesh Feeder.

As always, Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of birders to get together and talk some birds.  Anyone from the hardcore lister to the backyard birder to someone who has heard about birding and wants to find out what it's about is invited to attend.  If you have a bird blog--come and tell us about it!  If you are a field trip leader--come and share your upcoming trips!  Have a cool research project--we'd love to learn about what you are doing!  Have a Christmas Bird Count in need of some volunteers--come ask us!  It's low key and fun--many new birders to the area have found some great birding partners.

Birds and Beers Thursday

Don't forget that Birds and Beers will Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 6pm at Merlin’s Rest. Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of birders of all abilities–if you’re interested in birds, you’re invited. You can meet other birders–maybe find a carpool buddy, ask about where to find target birds, share cool research projects you might be working on, ask a bird feeding question, share life lists, share some digiscoping tips, promote your blog–the sky is the limit. It’s low key and it’s fun.

Birds and Beers

The next Birds and Beers will July 9, 2009 at 6pm at Merlin's Rest. Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of birders of all abilities–if you’re interested in birds, you’re invited. You can meet other birders–maybe find a carpool buddy, ask about where to find target birds, share cool research projects you might be working on, ask a bird feeding question, share life lists, share some digiscoping tips, promote your blog–the sky is the limit. It’s low key and it’s fun.

One thing will talk about is having the next Birds and Beers on a Mississippi River boat.