Taking Interpretation To The Streets

May 30, 2009

I work part time as a ranger for the National Park Service at the Mississippi River Visitor Center. The visitor center is located in the lobby of the Science Museum in downtown St. Paul, but it's right on the Mississippi River. Yesterday, I was working the closing shift and things were rather quiet. I was working on some promotion for the upcoming Minnesota Bioblitz (which is going to be loads of fun, if you are in the Twin Cities, you should try to come for part of it--bird banding, river boat rides, electro fishing, reptile finding--something for everyone!). I noticed that it was getting cloudy, I turned to face the window to see what the weather was doing and as soon as I did, a peregrine flew low right along Kellogg over the library. I watched it corner and waited or it to pop up over the building. It never popped. I knew it must have landed and would be perched fairly low. Since I had been out birding before I came into work, I just happened to have my scope and camera with me and made the decision to interpret the falcon on the streets.

That dark spot in the middle of the red circle is the peregrine. It was very visible to the naked eye.

A woman with a badge and big scope is quite the attention getter and many people came over to see what I was watching, which I happily shared with them through the scope. A cab driver even made one heck of a U-turn to pull over to see what the bird was. With the Mississippi River right behind us, it was easy to talk about why the bird was here.

Looking through they scope, you could see the bird was in immature plumage. I think she was hatched last year and probably was perched low (for a peregrine) because the resident pair would be nesting and don't take kindly to other peregrines sharing their hunting territory. She preened and relaxed or awhile and ended up staying after dark. She was still there when I closed for the night.

When people weren't on the sidewalks, I would go back into the Science Museum and wait for families who looked like they were leaving and say, "Psst, hey kids, want to see a wild peregrine falcon?" No one said no. My favorite group of kids wouldn't leave. Their mom kept saying, "C'mon kids, it's time to go eat." However, the kids would take turns and say, "Hey, mom, just one more look, one more look."

Unlike the programs at The Raptor Center where most kids already know so much about birds they could practically give the program for you, the people just randomly walking by knew very little about peregrines or birds in general and it was fun to just say, "Hey, check it out, that's the fastest bird on the planet right there." And they seemed genuinely surprised. I even helped a few people take photos with their iPhones.

I took a quick video of the bird...it's also kind of a fun way to demonstrate digiscoping. And, I know I call the bird a "guy" in the video, but based on size, this has to be a female:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX8pxHU_rJU&feature=channel_page[/youtube]

Birding Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve

May 28, 2009

Below is one of my favorite shots from Kazakhstan. It makes me wish I could paint. I would love to spend an entire day lost in creating this shot of a brown bird, with a stunning sky blue and rust patch on his throat, surrounded by golden reeds:

It's a bluethroat, these are actually possible to see in Alaska during the breeding season, then they head to Asia for the winter. However, it is a common bird in Europe and Asia. I love it, in my neck of the woods I have a common yellowthroat in the reeds, over there, it's a bluethroat. Although, it's not a warbler, it's actually in the family turdidae...same as American robin.

We birded our way through Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve on our way to our evening accommodations. I hope you're not tired of the long range shots of Kazakhstan. Our information about the country said that there are fewer than six people per square mile...when you are out of the major cities, you could feel it. What a treat to be out in the middle of nowhere and at times not hear the sound of human or machinery.

When we did encounter locals while we were birding, it was almost always Kazak cowboys--sometimes it was a joint effort of husband and wife and at other times, a lone cowboy on a horse with his trusty canine companion beside him.

One of the items that was noticeable in my itinerary for Kazakhstan was the note that we would be going to Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve and "small huts provide simple accommodation. We recommend a sleeping bag for this overnight stay." The photo included with the brochure showed the small huts surrounded by snow. I was fortunate that our visit was late enough in the spring that they snow had melted.

The huts were indeed simple accommodations that included two beds, a night stand, and a tv (it barely got one channel and was intended for searching out severe weather reports)--the shower was outdoors and the toilet was an outhouse (more on using the adventures of going outdoors later).

Before I left, I wondered how I could pack my sleeping bag--it's huge and easily takes up half a large suitcase. Fortunately, Mr. Neil (being a well experienced traveller) loaned me a tiny yet oh so warm silk sleeping bag. I was grateful for the toasty sleeping bag, the sleeping quarters were sparse and meant for researchers working the nature reserve and the extra warmth was much appreciated as the temps felt like they got down into the 40 degree Fahrenheit range.

Check it out, one of the most common birds in the world--the barn swallow! I think even though this is the same species as the one I see in North American, it seemed to have a longer tail--must be a regional difference. We had already done a full day's birding on our way to the research station with the huts. The plan was to spend the night, try out some new Swarovski equipment in the morning and then head off to see the sociable lapwing. It was a delight around the research station for anyone remotely into photography--we arrived last in the afternoon and the light was perfect. We were cut loose from the formal part of the tour and given time to explore the area while our evening meal was prepared for us. An excited group of birders at a remote research station, surrounded by new birds in perfect light while food and beer was being gathered for us when the sun went down--how could it not be more perfect than that?

There were some bugs. None of my photos do the bugs justice. I even got a video of my buddy Clay walking up through the grass to kicking them up, but YouTube just does not have the quality to convey the quantity. Here's a link to a photo of a hatch of mayflies...this sort of conveys it. They didn't really bite, but every time we took a step in the grass, a swarm flew up and they just kind of floated and would hang near your hears, or accidentally get inhaled into your nose. Corey and I both remarked at how miserable our respective spouses would be having all these bugs all over the place.

It also explained why there were so many swallows around the research station.

But the birding was just grand! I think the above is now one of my all time favorite does. It's called an Oriental turtle dove and the coloration reminded me of a kestrel--heck the birds have pointed wings, so when flying they look very much like a kestrel.

I was very excited to see one of these--this is a Eurasian tree sparrow. There's actually a small introduced population of these birds in St. Louis, MO. But it's more fun to see a bird in its natural habitat. Quite a few hung around the research station, very similar in habit to the house sparrow.

As I was walking along, I heard a very familiar sound...it took a moment to register...what was that sound...I know I should know it...then it hit me:

It was a merlin--just like the one's we see in Minnesota. Merlins can have different color variations, some are dark and some are light. In the US, usually the prairie merlins are lighter in color. Well, here we were in the short-grass prairie area of the Steppes and this was hands down one of the lightest merlins I had ever seen in my life. Merlins are a falcon like a kestrel or a peregrine. One of the things that all falcons of the world have in common is a malar stripe. That stripe that goes vertically down under each eye. Click on the photo links to some falcons: peregrine, kestrel, hobby, lanner--note that they all have that stripe? Merlins have a lighter malar stripe in general, but this bird was so pale, he looked like he had no stripe at all.

Speaking of familiar birds, we also saw several magpies. Here we call them black-billed magpies, there they are just magpies--both have the same latin name: Pica pica. Yes, I choose you.

Quite a few of the birds were out and about eating the insects we were kicking up. Above is a tree pipit that would fly off the wire and go for them.

Here is a spotted flycatcher that was also going after the insects. This bird was actually perched near a bird banding station. Some nets were out, but they were closed and tied up--easy for the birds to see and difficult or them to become trapped. The flimsy insects did get caught in them and the flycatcher took full advantage of the situation, flying down get the bugs trapped in the nets. This bird was not the brightest bulb on the tree...the next morning, one of the researchers unfurled the nets and withing moments...

The spotted flycatcher was caught in the nets and banded (or ringed as they call it over there).

As the light became too dim to photograph, all of us made our way back to the station for nourishment. I avoided tap water on this trip (and for those curious, I did not get any shots before I left, my tetnus was updated, and I opted to not get any of the Hepatitus or Typhiod vaccines). I stuck with bottled water, Fanta, beer, vodka, wine, and aquavit.

Meals were interesting, you would get something like the rice and meat dish seen above and you would think, "OK, we're near China, this is going to have an Asian flavor to it." It did not, it was quite bland and refused to make any kind of flavor statement. It was good filling food, but not a taste sensation. I would say that the one constant with all our meals was tomatoes and cucumbers. Those were served with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Often in the form of a salad with a light dill vinagerette or as in the case of our packed lunches--just raw. Bread was also a constant--we either had very dry crusty bread or a fried dough ball...kind of like a donut without the sugar.

After dinner we sat around a bonfire with our box beer. The fire was no small feet--trees are few and far between on the Steppes, so it was made with wood from old crates or collapsing building near the station.

We were treated to the music styling of a young woman not only dressed in traditional costume, but also played a small guitar of Kazak folk tunes. It started with her and later her father played a few tunes on the instrument. The small guitar looking instrument only had two strings, but both players got incredible harmonies out of it. I caught a little on my camera--and do listen, it's incredible for how simple and instrument it looks:

Woman playing traditional Kazak music around the fire--her instrument only has 2 strings.

A lovely way to end a day of amazing birding and it was exciting to know that more adventures awaited us.

Odd Birding Moments In Kazakhstan

May 26, 2009

Most of the time I was in Kazakhstan, I just kind of looked around with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and wondering, "How the heck did I get here?"

I also had some strange birding moments. Take the above wood sandpiper (it looks very similar to the yellowlegs we see in the US). This should have been a target species for me in it's native habitat. However, I had already seen one--almost a year to the day I took this photo on the Steppes. This time last year, Clay Taylor and I were on a digiscoping team at the World Series of Birding. Right before we arrived, a wood sandpiper had been reported in Delaware, so we both headed over to see it. And now, here Clay and I were watching it in it's natural environment. I looked at Clay and said, "Can you believe this, we saw this species last year."

"Yeah," he said, "3000 miles away."

Who would have thought that a year later we'd be in Kazakhstan watching it in it's native environment. Life is strange that way.

There were other birds too, like the European birders were always quick to point out the common cranes--a beautiful species...that I also saw last year in Nebraska--how weird, I should have been way more excited about that bird. Not that it wasn't cool to see, but just strange that there would be birds I had already seen as rarities in North America.

There were some odd challenges on this trip. As one of only three Americans in the group, I was totally in the minority and much different target birds than the many European birders. To them, lapwings, wagtails, and ruffs were common birds. To me, they were lifers. There are some birds I'm content to get a brief look and trudge on for more unique species, but there are some iconic birds like northern lapwing that I really wanted a good look at. I didn't get the look I was hoping for of a lapwing, but I'm sure I'll be in England at some point.

The European birders were very excited about black larks...and they were hard birds to get close to. Many wanted to get it's photo, but being a bird of open space, they were wary and it's hard to sneak up on a bird without any cover for you yourself to hide in. But it seemed as though we stopped for just about every black lark we passed.

The closest we got to a lark was this young one about ready to fledge. It used its cryptic plumage to blend in with the surrounding vegetation rather than fly away from potential predators on uncertain wings.

Meanwhile, a couple of the Brits thought I was nuts for wanting the bus to stop to stop for ruffs. These are a charismatic species of shorebird that sometimes make it to the US--it's rare bird worthy in my state, but it's a bird I have not managed to see. To have a chance to see one--let alone a whole flock was just too much. I asked the bus to stop for a photo. One of the Brit's said, "Oh, that's not much of a look, let's keep going."

"Oy," I said, "we've stopped for a bunch of black larks, we can stop or this girl's lifer ruff."

He was right, it wasn't the best look at a ruff--they're barely poking above the grass, but this was as good as it was going to get for me on this trip.

All part of the fun of negotiating birds on a trip. I could understand their logic. This would be like me leading a trip in North Dakota to go see a Baird's sparrow and someone was freaked out and wanted to stop because they just saw their lifer Baltimore oriole fly over the bus. My logic would be, "Orioles are feeder birds, we can get it later, let's go for the harder to see Baird's sparrow."

However, that person may not have another shot while they are in the country--all part of the fun and challenge of birding!

I Learned Why It's Called A Rookery!

May 23, 2009

Hey, if you're looking for a good reference of collective bird names, check this out. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling about as giddy as a a conventicle of magpies. I've had more than one person ask me why heron colonies are called "rookeries" and I've never gotten around to looking up the answer. Well, I had the chance to find out first hand why they are called that.

We found a few spots in Kazakhstan where several large nests were built in the trees--not unlike heron nests.

Only these were not built by herons, but were built by rooks. They look like crows with a sort of reverse goatee thing going on. The area around their bill is featherless and shows pale gray skin. As we were looking at a rook in the field guide, my buddy Clay read, "Rooks nest in colonies called 'rookeries."

We both looked at each other and said, "Duh!"

I was excited at this realization--ah rooks--nesting together in a rookery--like a heron rookery. I was surprised that I didn't figure this out sooner. I have been vaguely aware of rooks, but since they are like crows and crows in my neck of the woods are not colony nesters, I never put two and two together.

Rooks are a common bird in Kazakhstan and in Europe. One of our fellow participants by the name of Mike Weedon thought it odd that I came all the way to Kazakhstan to get a photo of what would be a common garden bird for him--but one person's common bird is another's lifer.

Here's a video that isn't all that exciting, except that you can hear other rooks calling the background. I chuckled because I realized that when I was a kid and watched the movie, The Last Unicorn, rook calls were used in the background.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMx3D63ZMxQ[/youtube]

Prepping For The Bio Blitz 2009

May 23, 2009

Friday was a fun and active day--between the weather, the birds and friends it was just a day where you look around and think, "Isn't great to be alive?" It's been wonderful to come home to spring birds and many of the Minnesota migrants have returned--even the common nighthawk, I heard one outside of the apartment my first night home.

We did some banding at Carpenter Nature Center and though we didn't get huge amounts of birds, we got a good variety--especially woodpeckers. Above is a downy woodpecker male, we got in two of those, plus a hairy and a red-bellied woodpecker. I completely missed the red-bellied because...

... fellow bander Larry showed me shots of a scarlet tanager that was singing along the oak savanna trail at Carpenter. Since it was slow, I took off after it. The tanager was singing on territory and moving around like crazy. It was a challenge getting him in decent light (the best I could do was the above photo) and then I just gave up to watch him...that red is practically impossible to recreate and sometimes it just fun to watch a bird with your eyes, not with your camera's viewfinder.

After banding, I met up with a group who are helping to plan the Minnesota BioBlitz. It's going to happen in the National Park that I work in: The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area--specifically in Crosby Park.

Here is one of the many indigo bunting males staking claim on some territory along one of the trails--they should still be around for the BioBlitz June 12 - 13, 2009. We're going to catalog all the wildife we can find from bugs to plants to birds to mammals to reptiles to fungus and everything in between. We'll have walks, rides on a river boat, bird banding, and a whole host of stuff.

While walking the trails, a fellow ranger said, "I haven't seen a pileated woodpecker in a long time. I'd like to see one again." Within 2 minutes of her saying that, a male showed up. He stuck his head in a hole right off the trail...I'm about 90% certain he was feeding something inside the hole. He then flew off to another tree and did some territorial drumming. Here's a video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZlEnq2LZPM[/youtube]

It never ceases to amaze me how effortless woodpeckers look when they make that loud drumming sound. Incredible creatures.

Crosby is going to be a great spot for the BioBlitz--it's in the metro area, so it's easy to get to. Since it's right on the Mississippi River, there's going to be some great wildlife to see. If you are in the area, you should check it out, it's free and open to the public.

The Steppe Family

May 22, 2009

So in some ways it was like being around one large blended family when birding the Kazakh Steppes: What gull is that? Steppe gull. What eagle is that? Steppe eagle? Oh, cute! What mammal is that? Steppe marmot.

Above is a Steppe eagle being mobbed by a hooded crows, rooks, and carrion crows (apparently the crows did not get the memo that they should be Steppe crows).

Now, if you're wondering why is this area called The Steppes--is it one large stair case? No, it's basically short-grass prairie and I think the word steppe comes from a Russian word...which I don't have the keyboard to spell. Although, I just went to Babel Fish and typed in "Steppe" and it gave me this: Степь.

Quite a bit of the birding was like birding in North and South Dakota. But unlike North Dakota where we're only seeing less than 1% of the prairie that was once there, in Kazakhstan...it goes on and on and on. Our tour info read that there are less then 6 people per square mile in Kazakhstan. When you got out of the cities, you could feel how that number was true.

Above is a pair of Steppe marmots...kind of like groundhogs where I live. Although, with their coloring, they kind of looked like over sized prairie dogs.

Most in our group where digiscoping our adventures--using point and shoot cameras or SLRs attached to our spotting scopes to get photos. A few in our group would use their own cameras. It was fun to watch them sneak up closer and closer to the marmots. I actually have video of their movements...but I'm pretty sure I'd destroy some European relations if I posted it. As the photographers crouched closer and closer...

...the marmots crouched lower and lower in response. One finally went down in the burrow. The remaining marmot did not appear to buy our efforts at hiding:

It stood guard and barked at us. Here is a video and you can hear the high pitched barking (and lots of wind).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUp0szhgJvg[/youtube]

We all got our shots and then left the barking marmots in peace.

I'm sure that marmot is feeling very macho and said to its partner, "Did you see that? That group of twenty humans stopped near our burrow, about a half dozen of them closed in and my mighty bark forced them to flee. I am Macho Marmot, Terror of the Steppes!"

Just don't try that strategy with a Steppe eagle, dude.

Landing In Kazakhstan

May 20, 2009

We departed Frankfurt, Germany for Kazakhstan. Our flight left in early afternoon and between the long flight and time change, it was well past 11pm when we arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan.

As we de-boarded the plane, a woman in a corner wearing a lab coat and mask aimed some kind scanner at us to see if anyone was carrying a significant fever (presumably over swine flu fears). We got our bags, made through the above security screening and taxi drivers and were on our way to the hotel. The taller building had these odd lights surrounding their structures which gave the illusion that they were sparkling. We checked in and I made to my room a little after midnight. I called my husband through Skype to let him know I was alive and what my initial impressions were. I told him I had to meet the group at 6:30am and he told me to get to bed. As soon as I hung up, I heard outside my hotel room door:

"Hey, Shaz, you awake?"

It was my buddy Clay Taylor. I could hear mischief in his voice, so I said, "You betcha!"

"You gotta come out and see this!"

I stepped out and found on the hotel's spiral staircase:

that the jet lagged and somewhat slap happy Swarovski employees had artfully displayed all of their spotting scopes onto the stairs. Pictures were being taken at all angles and all this was going on well past 1am and we had to meet at 6:30am.

When I made it back to my room to settle in for a few hours sleep, I noticed this sticker on the mini bar. I'm not sure what the hotel was trying to tell me. Perhaps that I should feel comfortable enough to dawn a Speedo in my room and have some ice cream.

I'm also not sure if I have officially said why I went to Kazakhstan in the blog. Swarovski Optik is introducing some new equipment including spotting scopes, eye pieces, and digiscoping adaptor. They invited a group from the US and Europe to not only test out this new equipment but to also witness some of the work they are funding with the sociable lapwing with BirdLife International.

When the group introduced themselves at breakfast that first morning, I was struck that only Corey Finger of 10,000 Birds and myself were the only attending from the US. I was also the only one there remotely representing a birding publication from the US (you can find my articles in WildBird Magazine). The rest were editors of other birding publications from England, Germany, Italy, all over Europe--I'll go more indepth later, I have a new affection for birding with Eupopeans--especially the Brits. It's like birding with regular people who happen to have a strong interest in birds.

Anyway, with the group of people who were invited, I was honored to be included as an attendee and was constantly looking around asking myself, "How the heck did I end up here?"

Proving once again that the Talking Heads Letting The Days Go By is my theme song.

We started our birding adventure on the Steppes which was basically large tracts of short grass priaire. So much of it reminded me of the Dakotas. I had to contain myself as we passed common birds to make it to the assigned birding patch. But I couldn't help but salivate as we passed dozens of red-footed falcons nesting right off the side of the road.

However, a pair of demoiselle cranes was enough to force our buses over before we reached our destination. They were distant, but with the scopes we could get some souvenir shots. My point and shoot camera isn't strong enough to catch every detail when the bird is at a distance. When I looked through with my naked eye, I could see this birds blazing red eye--what a cool start to our birding trip.

One of the common birds we saw right away was this stonechat. As the birds popped up on the prairie, I was able to get some shots and felt a great relief that I wouldn't as challenging a time taking photos as I did under the heavy tree canopy in Guatemala.

A super exciting bird that I got to see at a great distance was a wild flamingo! I always thought that I would have to go to Africa to see one of those wild and untamed, but they also breed in Kazakhstan. Not the best view in the world, but still I was able to make out that iconic shape in the distance.

I was suprised by the overlap of species that I saw, that I could see in the US. Above is a short-eared owl--we saw a couple of them. I love this photo, the owl hidden in some brush, it would be hunting soon...note the big fat pellet on the ground in front of it (even its little ear tufts are up). This was not the only bird. At one point, I was watching some waterfowl and I heard the familiar "meep, meep, meep" of a gadwall. I thought it was a ringtone on my phone and then remembered my phone wasn't working and saw three fly overhead. It was nice and fun to see some familiar birds.

I have to step out to do some eagle banding, we will continue our Kazakhstan travels soon.

From Frankfurt With Love

May 19, 2009

I love this shot of the full moon visible from our flight to Europe.

My journey to Kazakhstan started with a trip to Frankfurt. My flights worked out to go from the Twin Cities, to Detroit, to Frankfurt and then on to Kazakhstan. Originally, I was supposed to do this all in one day, but for whatever reason, it saved $1000 for me to arrive a day ahead, spend the night in Frankfurt and fly to Kazakhstan the following day--which I'm really glad happened that way. It gave me a chance to catch up with the time change...and finally do a bit of European birding. This was my first time across the Atlantic.

I was able to walk around the hotel and all the birds were new like the above chaffinch. I also looked forward to experiencing some of the iconic birds of Europe like the nightingale which I did not see, but only heard. This was fine with me, the song of the nightingale is written about so often, I'm not sure I would have counted it if I did not hear it (even if I saw it). Here's a sample of the nightingale song.

Some birds were just down right confusing to my little American brain. Above is a blackbird--as a matter of fact, this is the very blackbird referenced in the Beatles song, Blackbird Singing In The Dead Of Night...which this bird did do...right outside my hotel room window. However, if you look at the shape of this bird, it resembles an American robin, not something like a red-winged blackbird. Check out the bill on this bird.

Robins that I see are in the genus Turdus, their scientific name is Turdus migratorius. Well, the blackbird above has the scientific name Turdus merula--they are in the same genus as North American robins. European blackbirds are not the same as North American blackbirds, they are like our robins.

It gets more confusing!

Here is what a European robin looks like. It's not shaped like a Turdus at all (did I actually type that last sentence, yes I did). The European robin's scientific name is Erithacus rubecula, it's not in the same genus as North American robins, about all they have in common are featers, an orange breast and a love of insects for breakfast.

Anyway, here is another exciting (at least to me) Turdus that I got to see--a fieldfare. My only regret is that when I was finally able to get my hands on my digiscoping equipment, it was softly raining and the light was terrible. But I had a great time watching something shaped like the robin I'm used to, but colored in a different way.

This is a green finch. After hearing the nightingale, seeing the blackbird, and then seeing this bird I thought, "All I need now is a linnet and I have a song from Sweeney Todd." I didn't get one around the Frankfurt hotel, but did later in Kazakhstan. Score!

Here were some European goldfinches. This was interesting, because I periodically see these sold in pet stores in North America. It strikes me as odd that it's illegal to own North American birds as pets, but European birds are ok. Actually, according to this website, you can get some of the birds in this post (like the chaffinch and green finch) and some of the birds I saw in Kazakhstan as pets. Whoa, I just did some digging on their price list and found that one of their South American species for sale is a "yellow hood blackbird" which looks remarkably like a yellow-headed blackbird...that's not legal. And as much as I love those birds, I would not want them singing in my home on a regular basis.

Another fun bird to see what a white wagtails. I ended up seeing several different versions of this bird throughout my travels and each one is very striking. I'm sure it's a common bird, but it's a striking one to see.

That is a sampling of the birds that jump started my Kazakhstan journey. After an afternoon of birds, I met up with some of our other travelling companions, had a meal and got a good night's sleep before board a plane for parts unknown.

My Head Exploded

May 18, 2009

Hey Gang! I'm back in the country and sorting through photos and thoughts about visiting Frankfurt and Kazakhstan. What a trip! One quick apology about the lack of contest entry yesterday. Non Birding Bill graciously ran the contest while I was away and thought that I was only running the contest for eight entries, not 10 (because I wasn't gone for 10 days). I wanted 10 on the off chance my jet lag was so crippling when I got home that blogging would have been a bad idea. I've seen Mr. Neil in such states and now having experienced it myself, I'm sorry for all the times I've made fun of him when he was like that.

So, we will have the ninth and tenth entries up today and the voting begins tomorrow. And a big thanks to my non birding husband for running the blog with all the great guest entries while I was trekking on the other side of the planet. And a big thank you to everyone who entered!

So, some initial thoughts on Kazakhstan:

When I was a kid in Indiana and imagined what my life would be like as an adult, I dreamed that I would travel to remote places that not everyone would go to. I wasn't quite sure what the country would look like, but I knew in my kid brain that it would be rugged, remote, and beyond anything I could imagine. Kazakhstan was like that or me. Some of the landscape reminded me of Utah and some of it reminded me of Oklahoma and North Dakota. But it was a remote area, full of wind, great birds, and breathtaking landscapes.

Everywhere you looked, you would see a vast space chock full of potential adventure and discovery. New birds were everywhere, but there were a few familiar species that can be seen in the US.

One of the biggest surprises was finding the Steppes covered in miniature blooming tulips and irises--they grew wild on the short-grass prairie! Beauty was everywhere.

My adventure actaully started in Frankfurt. I arrived a day early and was able to do a bit of birding outside the hotel. When I landed at the Frankfurt airport, I wondered what my first bird would be. Would it be a house sparrow, starling or pigeon like I usually see in the US, only in Germany they would be natives and not introduced species like they are in the US? But it wasn't! Right there, hovering next to the runway, a saw a common kestrel--what an awesome first bird for me or Europe!

There are many more stories and photos coming, stay tuned!

May 8, 2009

Hey, if you enjoyed the waxwing post from earlier, check out Minnesota Birdnerd's photos of banding waxwings are Carver Park, it's very sweet. And speaking of banding, I surprised the Friday banding crew at Carpenter Nature Center by showing up for banding the day before I leave for Kazakhstan. Yes, I should have been packing, but it's spring migration and when I missed this date last year (because of the World Series of Birding), I missed cool stuff like indigo buntings...and I wasn't disappointed today.

I also needed to go because if I think about where I'm going too much, I kind of freak out. I've read about Kazakhstan and have always wanted to go, so when this opportunity came my way to go with Swarovski to see the work they are doing with BirdLife International for the sociable lapwing (a fancy killdeer), I could not say no. But odd things hit me (and I'm sure part of it is the great bio I'm reading at the moment called Life List) like, this is the furthest distance I have ever been from Non Birding Bill since I met him in 1994. I've been out of the country, but not this far out of the country. It's odd to think that I'll be on the other side of the planet from him. So, going through my routine keeps me from freaking out with excitement and nervousness.

And I wasn't disappointed with banding today. We actually got in a male indigo bunting! This male is still has some brown and has not quite molted into his breeding plumage, but boy is he still a cool looking bird. It's interesting that up here, when these birds first return in the spring, you can see them at bird feeders eating white millet, Nyjer, and sunflower hearts. However, once the insects are out in full force, they don't visit feeding stations as often. It's always a treat to see one of these birds.

We had so many goldfinches int he nets, that I lost count of how many we banded. At one point, there was just a big group of them on the table to be processed. It seems like the males have turned bright yellow overnight. When I first approached the net to take out the above male goldfinch, I heard a familiar chipping noise. I looked down to find...

...a common yellowthroat. I took the yellowthroat, while my more experienced friend Jen took the higher goldfinch. It was fun to see warbler up close again.

I fun surprise in the net was this Harris sparrow. Just a few weeks ago I was in Oklahoma watching flock of Harris sparrows (still molting into their breeding plumage), I wondered if this guy came up through Minnesota? After handling warblers and goldfinches, this bird felt really robust in my hand. And I suddenly realized how big this bird is when Jim Fitzpatrick was at the table banding a rose-breasted grosbeak and it took the same band size as this Harris sparrow!

And speaking of banding grostbeaks, what bander's day is complete without the skin splitting cardinal? This female was originally banded last year and she's out for revenge. She nailed me several times, even after I finished reading her band number. I took her outside, opend my fingers to let her fly away and she gave me one last hard chomp before taking off. One of the other banders got a great laugh out of it. Always happy to provide comic relief.

As I was out and about, I noticed that catbirds were back at Carpenter in full force, many were practcing their territory songs. They were mimicing, but not quite as well as they could have. I wondered if these were males getting their songs ready to impress the females. Here's one, and you will also hear the "meow" sound that the birds are famous for:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqtigoZ6NBg[/youtube]

The same catbird flew to another perch and you could clearly see it was banded.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cYOMpgawd4[/youtube]

The bird was singing in an area near the orchard where we have nets set up. They seem to be the most productive in the late summer and early fall--especially when young catbirds are learning to fly. I wondered if this was a male that hatched last year and is practicing his song to attempt breeding? Tough to say without actually reading the band.

Okay, I seriously need to get down to packing.