Sneaking an Entry During the Meeting

I wonder if anyone caught on that I'm blogging yet?

From the earlier entry, this was the scene not far from our hotel. The double-crested cormorant on the right (just sticking its head above water was stirrin' up some fish and the herons, egrets and ibises followed the cormorant to grab the freaked out fish.

We're here to learn more about optics and talk some digiscoping and when I went out yesterday, Ann came along to try this digiscoping thing. The crazy thing about Florida birds is that the birds just do not care about people and you can get fairly close, which was good for Ann above, she doesn't have an adapter for her camera and she was hand holding her camera up to my scope.

In Minnesota, you can't get that close to a cormorant, unless they are fightless in the nest. I was just fascinated by the detail in the cormorant's feathers.
Their eyes were such a beautiful emerald green, I don't think you can see it so well in this photo, maybe if you click on it, you can see it then.

The birds were diggin' this yellow floaty thing (I think it was damming the water). Up above we have a snowy egret, tricolored heron and white ibises. It must have been kind of a corral for fish, the birds would jump into there and gorge themselves...

and then back up to loaf on the yellow floaty thing.

And it was very much monkey see, monkey do. Once one bird would start preening, the rest would follow suit. It was a kick watching the Dr Suess-like ibis clean is feathers (that's the snowy egret behind it--the bird's yellow toes).

Speaking of toes, check out the freaky toes on this great egret (note how they are all black compared to the snowy egret).

This little group of birds was so great, you could really see the size difference. Look how tiny the ibis is compared to the great egret.

The tricolored heron was a treat, we just don't get too many of these (any) where I live.

It's even pretties on the side.

And I leave you with an ibis, while I return my attention to the meeting.

Cool Bird Under a Benningan's Sign

It is very much like spring here to me. It's green, (whoa, check out all the palm trees) there are warblers chipping in the trees, and it's a mild temperature. Today, I was very comfortable walking around the hotel with light pants and a jacket, not the hot temps I was expecting, but hey, it's not freezing. Across from the hotel is a Bennigan's Restaurant. I noticed a lump that looked birdish, so I set the scope on it.

It was an anhinga loafing under the sign. Sweet. I was also excited that the first bird I saw in Florida was not a house sparrow, staring or pigeon (I have yet to notice one). As the plane was coming in for landing, we passed over a turkey vulture. As we were taxiing to the gate, I saw more turkey vultures thermalizing overhead--what kind of sign is that to see over an airfield? A bunch of turkey vultures? From my hotel window, I watched a bald eagle perched on a dead tree, I would have tried to get a photo, but the window was too dirty.

Question For A Goldfinch

Hey, did you guys see the nuthatch with the deformed bill over at Mary's View?

I've encountered some long-billed birds before, we had a peregrine come into the hawk blind a few years ago and I saw some deformed red-winged blackbirds in 2006 in Nebraska too. If you see long-billed birds you can report them to either Julie Craves or Cornell.

This goldfinch has little black feathers on his head--signs of his black cap he will have in breeding plumage. Now here is the question for the goldfinch: is he slow at molting, is this left over from last summer or is this a hint of what is to come? Is he starting his breeding plumage changeover all ready?

Speaking of signs of spring, this morning, even though it was -5 degrees F, black-capped chickadees were singing "Spring Soon!" The birds must be feeling like the glass is half full or they have read The Secret and are just trying to will the weather to be warmer.

Highlights & Gratitude For 2007

I'm a little foggy from last night's New Year's party. There was a man there who taught ballroom dance for a living and all the women took turns being twirled, whirled, hustled and rumbaed around the room. Good times.

The first bird that I saw and digiscoped for 2008--a white-breasted nuthatch. Mr. Neil tried to make a joke that seeing a white-breasted nuthatch meant a year of bad sex and Non Birding Bill wisely encouraged him to avoid inaccurate bird jokes before I have any coffee in the morning...so the fantasy writer still lives...for the moment.

I week or two ago I was tagged with a top birding moments of 2007 (for the life of me, I can't remember who tagged me) but I wanted to wait until 2007 was fully over before I put it together. I also get a wonderful email from a friend expressing gratitude for moments in the last year, so I think this will kind of morph into that as well since I have so much to be grateful for.

A huge highlight was getting to perform Play on Birds with Non Birding Bill at a Nature Festival in Ohio. I love doing this show and I love working with my husband on stage. I hope we get the opportunity again.

Digiscoping has just taken over my birding life and I've observed some really great moments with it. One big highlight was getting some great photos while at a meeting at Eastman Nature Center.

I also got a chance to digiscope a singing male indigo bunting. The bird was so focused on singing, he never noticed me. He sang so long that after I had taken all pictures I could, I just had to finally take the time to just enjoy him. What a treat and what a great bird to have such a beautiful bird in existence.

A big highlight was getting the chance to photograph and video a male golden-winged warbler at a bed and breakfast in Vergas, MN. If you follow this link, that will take to the post to watch the video of the golden-winged warbler and also of a bobolink that was singing at the bed and breakfast as well.

North Dakota was another great time, and getting the chance to observe ruddy duck courtship display was a definite highlight. I just happened to find them while exploring some remote gravel roads and spent and hour watching the males display and the females take their time in showing any interest. North Dakota was also a great chance to hang out with great friends and explore Clark Gable's grandparent's home and find a burrowing owl.

Young Cooper's hawks provided no end of entertainment from bathing in a puddle of a neighboring roof (she's a dirty girl) to nailing a pigeon right in front of my apartment building. I never ceased to be amazed at the incredible amount of nature right in front of our eyes in a busy metro area. Going out in the middle of nowhere is fun, but incredible wild stuff is happening anywhere, as long as you go out and take a moment to notice.

Banding hawks in the fall is always fun, but this year was particularly exciting because I got a chance to "yank the pigeon" and help bring hawks into the nets. I also slept in a van out in the fields to prove that if I need to, I can still rough it.

I finally had a chance to improve my shorebird watching skills! Doug Buri offered a weekend workshop in August and he promised me that I would learn my shorebirds. I was skeptical, but he promised that I would see least sandpipers within five feet of me. The man did not lie and not only can I had identify shorebirds in my area, I find them quite beautiful. I hear he's offering two workshops next year--I highly recommend them!

Carpenter banding is always fun, but this year when we had an adult sharp-shinned hawk try to get one of the juncos we had just trapped, was a big highlight--Hellziggy took the above photo. We ended getting the sharpie and banding it as well as the junco. This is not to be confused with a separate sharpie/junco incident that happened in December.

Having a young titmouse sit on my head while at Mr. Neil's was another highlight.

Speaking of Mr. Neil, I finally got vindication with a saw-whet owl. For years, I have insisted that one should be in his woods. I had found saw-whet feathers in wren nests, I had found poop, but never the saw-whet--until this year when I found the above bird sleeping in a pine. Whoot!

Birds were only part of this magical year. Beekeeping has opened my eyes to a whole new world, and words cannot express what it felt like to have a worker bee lick nectar off of my bare finger. From having a massive panic attack when installing the bees, to requeening problems, to even giving sex advice, to my first bee sting...this has been one weird year and I cannot wait to see what new adventures lay ahead of us in 2008.

And let's not forget the porcupet--the baby porcupine who was found on the side of the road next to his mother who had been hit by a car. He was being cared for by a friend of mine who is a professional wildlife rehabber. By the time he was in her care, he had already been imprinted on humans and could not go back to the wild. He is now living at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Mn and goes by the name Clover. His videos are still a sensation on YouTube.

Birding also got me a brush with coolness when the Colbert Report filmed a segment at an Eagle Festival in Connecticut.

And I can't talk about what an amazing year it has been without talking about Cinnamon and Disapproving Rabbits. That has been one wild ride to have a web page we put up for fun and have it turn into a book. To have signings and have people come from different states to meet my bunny is just overwhelming. When I looked over the blog in the last year and how it has morphed and changed, I noticed that Cinnamon has been featured less and less. I'm not sure why. At first, I thought it was my infatuation with beekeeping, a new subject to write about. Then we started a separate blog for Disapproving Rabbits so I wondered if I was keeping it separate. But, I also get some strange emails (greatly overshadowed by some really wonderful and funny ones) from fans. I wonder if the few odd/unpleasant ones are making me feel protective of my bunny's privacy and the fun times we have. Or is that she is getting older and I want to distance her to protect all from being too emotionally invested when the inevitable happens? Not sure, but we'll see what happens in the coming year.

Birds and Beers has been a real treat. Above is a photo from the first Bird Blogger Conference where many bird bloggers got to meet face to face for the first time. I'm hoping to expand Birds and Beers in 2008 where anyone who is remotely interested in birds from beginner to kinda interested to very interested to birding has taken over my life will get a chance to sit down, share a beverage and talk some birds.

And I would like to once again thank EVERYONE who reads the blog, leaves comments, sends emails, or spreads the word. I feel incredibly honored that people are interested in what I put on here and make it such a fun part of my day and my life. I've made some great new friends and connections and I love it when someone sends a note to tell me that they noticed some bird or activity that they never would have noticed before if they had not read the blog. We also did some good this year when readers from here did the "Click for Condors" and helped Ventana Wildlife Society win $10,000 in grant money. Not bad at all. Thank you very much, and here's hoping you have wonderful new year and share new adventures.

Thank you.

Fun Birds 10 Minutes From Uptown

First, Birds and Beers will continue, I just haven't scheduled January yet. I will get it squared away after the first of the year. I just needed to get the holidays out of the way.

Second, a BIG THANK YOU to Metro Magazine for including my blog in their list of "The Best Homegrown Blogs We Read Just About Every Day." It's nice to know a non bird related magazine is interested in birds...and bees...and disapproving bunnies.

Third, someone reminded me to mention The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up in February. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it. I'm tentatively booked at a bird festival that weekend. But if you're not doing anything that weekend, count the birds in your backyard.

I did have some time to do some birding today and headed over to the Minnesota Valley NWR Visitor's Center about ten minutes from my apartment.

I was hoping I could do some digiscoping from inside, but the visitor's center was closed. I wasn't wearing as many layers I should have for the outdoors, but I had some emergency hand warmers stashed in my coat and tucked those in my gloves and gave it a shot.

Light snow was falling and many birds were tucked in the bushes awaiting their turn at the bird feeders, like this female cardinal. When I arrived, I met a fellow digiscoper out in the parking lot, he was leaving as I was arriving. He showed me photos of a sharp-shinned hawk he had just photographed perched near the feeding station. I was bummed that I had missed that, but a cardinal is still a very cool sight in the snow.

The birds were still very wary about coming to the feeder. That hawk must have been fresh in their minds. The cardinals would come to the feeder, but the slightest chip note would send them flying back to the shrubs.

I found one downy woodpecker with a band on his foot (its male, they way the head is turned, you cannot see the red spot on the back of his head).

I've been trying to get better photos of tree sparrows. This little one cracked me up with its snow mustache over his bill. As I was following this bird around with my scope, I noticed a rusty brown bird about twice his size. I looked it up and it flew to the brush.

Holy crap! Is that what I think it is? Is this a fox sparrow? The upside about finding this bird at this point (besides that I wasn't expecting it) was that I got so focused on the bird, I no longer paid attention to how cold I was. Whoot. Even better, I am super-duper sore right now, I signed up for yoga again and am in severe pain after the first class. The last time I took yoga, I remember having such intense pain for three days after the first class. I thought it was just exaggerated in my memory. No, it wasn't an exaggeration...I'm in pain in places I didn't know could feel pain. At least this time I won't make the mistake of having Non Birding Bill rub Icy Hot all over my entire body to ease the sore muscles. That wasn't pretty. Icy and hot all over, I couldn't get comfortable for hours--take my advice: only use Icy Hot on one body part at a time.

Anyhoo, back to the fox sparrow. At first the fox sparrow started feeding kind of like a chickadee: it would fly out under the feeders, grab at a seed and then fly back into the brush. I usually only see this species during migration when there are all kinds of dry leaves and they do that characteristic kicking with their feet, but this bird wasn't doing that in the snow.

I love looking at sparrows head on (it doesn't have to be fox sparrows, it can be any sparrow). They have such great masks. It was interesting to see how the rusty browns on this bird just popped out of the brush, especially since it was surrounded by the more muted colors of juncos and tree sparrows. At times, this bird was about as bright as a cardinal. Right after I got this photo, my batteries died in my camera and I put in my spares. As I put the camera back up to my spotting scope, the sparrow was gone and I suddenly heard a loud flutter of wings, all the downy and hairy woodpeckers gave sharp "cheeps" and their wings flapped with such intensity, you could hear each distinctive flap. I looked over to the feeders, they were bare. I thought that the sharp-shinned hawk must have returned and I glanced around:

There it is in the top of the tree. Note where my scope is in relation to the hawk. I didn't move the scope from here for the photos--just keep that in mind for the next two photos. Let's look at it through the scope:

It was a haggard bird and I wondered if it was the same sharp-shinned hawk that hunted the feeders here last winter?

When I took the first photo and my camera focused, the hawk turned and looked right at it. There is not beeping sound on my camera, this was just the sound of the lens adjusting. I know harriers have a great sense of hearing...I wonder what the stats are on the sharp-shinned hawk sense of hearing? It was at about this point that the batteries on my camera totally died and I had to go back to the car, which was good because my fingers were numb. I don't know if the sharpie ended up getting any of the birds, it was still perched in the tree when I left.

UPDATE: Check out fellow MN Blogger EcoBirder, he has photos on Dec 13 and Dec 29 at the same spot of an adult sharpie--perhaps the same bird?

Chickadees Are A Popular Subject In The Star Tribune

The chickadee flies up to the suet log and demands a share of the peanut butter suet.

The downy woodpecker accepts and doesn't fend off a rival for the fat. Must be having an off day.

In the December 18, 2007 Home and Garden Section of the Star Tribune, Minnesota birder Jim Williams wrote an article on chickadees and how they survive the winter. Today, December 26, 2007 TV hunting personality Ron Schara had a front page article in the Star Tribune on chickadees and how they survive the winter. Either the Star Tribune editor was ready for a Christmas break or really loves chickadees. I bet it's the latter!

Stranded At Mr. Neil's

Well, our plans got a little derailed today as this puffed up blue jay in the snow hints at.

We got some unexpected snow. Some of the snow was expected, but where exactly it fell and how much was not. We knew some snow was coming but there wasn't supposed be too much falling where we live. We went out to Mr. Neil's to take some photos (I was hoping to see some common redpolls, a few have been reported around the Twin Cities, so I figured it was a matter of time before some would show up at Mr. Neil's.) and spread some Christmas cheer...then the wind picked up and dusty snow fell and then I received an email note from the City of Minneapolis that a Snow Emergency has been declared so we have decided to stay at Mr. Neil's and avoid the treacherous roads. It's not so bad being here, apart from Mr. Neil trying to get Non Birding Bill and me to drink some kind of liquid fungus he's been growing. But on the upside, when my toes get frozen, I can use the sauna.

The wind has been particularly nasty. It's already about 10 degrees, but the wind makes it feel well below zero. Above, this red-bellied woodpecker was trying to position himself in the least windy area around the suet log. I went out to artfully arrange some bittersweet berries and pine boughs. In part to create an artistic back drop for photos, but to also help create a wind break for the birds while they feed.

The feeding stations were not as active as usual. No squirrels showed up, I'm sure they were hunkered for the day, sleeping in their nests. The birds, like the tufted titmouse in the above photo stayed hunkered only moved if hunger absolutely drove them down.

Alas, the wind was so bitter, that not even an extra layer of clothing or my hand warmers could keep me comfortable. The hand warmers have been helpful in the past with keeping my rechargeable batteries going in my camera. But today, they camera kept freezing up. I decided to give up the ghost since all my batteries were failing, my fingers were going numb, and no matter what direction I was standing in--snow insisted on pelting my cheeks.

When I got into the house, I looked out the kitchen window and lo and behold, one common redpoll was among the goldfinches. The feeder is so close to the window that I had tough time getting it in focus. I got as far back as I could and at this point the scope started fogging up after having been in the cold for so long. I managed one photo and then finally my batteries went kaput for good and I hit the sauna.

Countable Birds?

I had some errands to run yesterday. I needed to pick up some seed for Mr. Neil's house and I needed some seed to take onto Showcase Minnesota with me. I went to Cardinal Corner in Newport and decided to take a quick trip over to Point Douglas Park to see if I could find a Barrow's goldeneye. Two had been reported in that area mixed in with some large flocks of common goldeneye, bouncing between the Minnesota and the Wisconsin side of the river. Barrow's is an unusual bird for Minnesota and you can see some great comparisons of the two species over at Bill Schmoker's site.

There were oodles of common goldeneye and some trumpeter swans. Note the swan above on the left that is leaning forward? It was trying to break up some of the ice to get through to the other side. It was interest to watch the swan rock back and forth and push its way through.

There were some other species mixed in with the common goldeneye, including redheads and a canvasback (and the ever present Canada geese). I wasn't really seeing anything that looked like a Barrow's goldeneye. Local birder Tom Bell said that you watch for a black thumb mark on the side of the bird. I wasn't really trying that hard either. I don't know, we seem to have Barrow's goldeneye reported every year in Minnesota, but it's not a bird that I try for very hard. So, I just decided to focus on some digiscoping and see what kinds of shots I could get. It was warm(ish) day in the 30s, there was sun and I was just happy to be out on a day when we have only eight hours of daylight.

When I was going through my images on iPhoto I noticed this photo. There is a merganser, but check out the duck in the top center of the photo. Here's a zoom in:

There's a thumb! It's a Barrow's goldeneye! I haven't seen one before and I don't know if I'll count this one. I didn't realize I was seeing it while I was there but found I had it when I came home. However, if this was a bird I didn't know but was trying to id and needed to take the image home to consult some field guides, I would. If you see a bird out in the wild but didn't know it was there, can you count it? I shall ponder this...

Christmas Bird Counting

I helped out with the Eagan Christmas Bird Count today. Most of the trails were fairly well groomed, but the temps in the Twin Cities started out at -5. But it was at least 20 degrees by the end of the day.

Actually, Linda the woman in the above photo had us hiking pretty hard and fast on some snowy hills. All the hiking had us sweating under our multiple layers of pants. And if you're looking at the above photo thinking that it doesn't look so bad, check out where we had just come from:

Yes, that is where we had just come from. Hoo-wee. Linda wore me out but kept me warm.

Since the goal was to try and count birds, I didn't have a chance to do huge amounts of digiscoping but I did get an okay shot of a tree sparrow.

We wrapped up at about 4pm and since it was evening, I thought I would drive by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport to see if a snowy owl had shown up yet. I passed by the glycol plant and there on one of the light posts was a snowy owl.

I got out of the car and tried to digiscope a photo of the snowy, but the light wasn't the best, but good enough for the blog. And it's usually best not to lallygag around the glycol plant at an airport with a spotting scope taking photos.

It's a one way road out of the plant so I drove slowly past the lamp and stuck my camera out the window to get one last photo. I love living in Minneapolis where a snowy owl is less than eight miles from home.