Weather Advisories For April 10

This just cracks me up. Here is the current weather advisory map for today:

My county is in the red zone (Winter Storm Warning). Glad I'm not installing new bees in my hive this week. Hey, for any people in any of these zones, this would be a good time to run out for some mealworms for early nesting bluebirds and chickadees. You might toss some white millet or a finch mix on the ground for migrant sparrows. I saw some tree swallows last weekend, they're going to have a tough time with this too. This is not the first time bad weather hit Minnesota in April, that's one of the risks of returning to breeding grounds in early spring.

Early Spring Sparrows

Winter storm warning starts today, April 10 at 4pm! We might be getting 4 - 6 inches of snow sometime within the next 48 hours. I shouldn't complain...Duluth is supposed to get blizzard conditions (not blizzard like, just blizzard).

While I was checking the traps yesterday, I heard my first field sparrows of the year (above). When we finished banding, I took a few minutes to go out and look for them--there were several. That is such a sweet sound of spring and summer.

There were a few song sparrows (above) around too. They've been around for a couple of weeks now. Although, some song sparrows don't leave the Twin Cities in winter. When I worked at a bird store on the west side, we had them at the feeder all winter long.

The field sparrow is such a cute brown bird! I was really enjoying the time with the field sparrows yesterday. Tax time has been rough this year. We put it off (our own darn fault) and we're gonna have to pay and it's going to hurt and we've irritated our accountant--just all those crazy things that many of us go through this one week in April every year. I loved just standing out in the prairie at Carpenter Nature Center surrounded by the sweet songs of the field sparrows, soaking it in. And no matter how late we are with our taxes or how much we end up owing, birds are always a comfort. I tried to take a video through my scope of the field sparrow singing for people who may not know what they sound like (it reminds many of a ping pong ball bouncing on a table). There's a little heat shimmer, but you get the idea:

Junco Processing

I just got a call from my buddy Clay asking if I would be interested in being on the Swarovski Digiscoping Team at The World Series of Birding. Insert giant coffee spray through my nose here. Whoot! I am so excited, I've wanted to be on a World Series of Birding team since I was a kid. This means I'll see some kickin' birds, eat at Al's Pancake House, hang with WildBird on the Fly, and fulfill a childhood dream. May is going to be SO much fun! And after the heartbreak of dealing with taxes this week, I really need this.

Today was another day of banding chock full 'o juncos and not white-throated sparrows. I tell ya' right now, I'm feeling some confidence with a handful of junco, but in a few short weeks, all that comfort of aging and sexing will change to overwhelming and panic. Instead of a mono species day, it will be warblers, finches, flycatchers, chickadees, nuthatches, catbirds, and sparrows--just to name a few. Pile on top of that a whole new confusing criteria for aging and sexing. Yikes. But, while we have juncos, I thought I'd point out some of the things we look for when they are in hand. Above, we have a garden variety junco perched on top of a snag. It looks well put together, clean feathers in place.

But check out the tail of a junco I banded today. This is what Pyle might call "relatively abraded" when asked about the feathers on the tail. Think about watching juncos feed--they're on the ground, kicking stuff about looking for food--the tail is bound to experience some wear and tear. Depending on whether or not a junco has some fresh outer tail feathers or unmolted ones, we can get an idea of age (combined with other plumage differences).

We also use eye color as a means of aging. Younger dark-eyed juncos have gray eyes that get browner and eventually more red. This dude was fairly brown.

Now, here's something you don't want to hear from the person next to you when you have a bird in your hand, "Hey, is that avian pox on that bird's toe?" This bird had white dots on a toe on each foot. We weren't sure if it was avian pox or just some discoloration to this individual bird (any readers out there have any idea). We're not a rehab facility and the bird looked otherwise healthy so we released it after it was banded. Even though I can't really get avian pox and we weren't sure if it was pox, I didn't want to risk infecting other birds or bringing it home to my cockatiel, so I scrubbed my hands after I let it go.

Upcoming Events, Trips, and Bird Festivals

I'm hoping that Wednesday morning that we'll get a chance to band some white-throated sparrows. I bet we'll get some juncos, but if any of them have white wing bars, I'll try not to take it personally.

Say, if you have not had the chance to meet Cinnamon the Disapproving Rabbit, she and I will be at Staring Lake Outdoor Center this Saturday from 1pm - 4pm. We'll have a few books to sell but if you already have one and want it personally disapproved of, feel free to bring it. You can also meet my buddy Stan Tekiela (have him autograph books too) and find out about what field trips we'll be doing this spring and summer--we've got some fun ones planned, including an overnight to Agassiz and some shorebirding on the Minnesota/South Dakota border. Good Times.

If you are thinking of doing any bird festivals this spring, please consider the Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds--the fantastic writer Scott Weidensaul will be there (and he's one of the better bird speakers out there) and they are planning on some new trips. This is one of the top three birding festivals in the country and I always make sure to fit it into my yearly schedule--it's well organized and the birding habitats are varied and exciting. One day you're exploring the boreal forest for black-backed woodpecker and listening to loons. The next, you could be on the prairie watching marbled godwits, bobolinks, and chestnut-collared longspurs. And don't forget the warblers: blackburnian, parula, black-throated green--don't say you don't want to go, you know it isn't true. Carpool with a friend and get some great birding in all in a weekend. Here's a link to some of my previous Detroit Lakes blog entries.

If you are too booked in May to do much birding, consider the North Dakota Potholes and Prairie Bird Festival. Not only is prairie birding some of the best birding in your life, you also get the chance to meet the folks of Bird Watcher's Digest: Bill of the Birds and Julie Zickefoose. I know many are concerned about gas prices but the folks who organize the festival are offering groups of 4 - 6 Birders 20% off the registration (you must register by May 14 for the discount). Groups of 7 or more Birders get 30% off! I had someone email and ask about forming a Birdchick Posse to North Dakota to get the discount--anyone else want to group together for the discount--you don't have to room together but if we can get a group to agree to go to the blog, we can get you a discount. Email me at sharon at birdchick dot com. Here are links to some of my blog entries about the festival.

Gross Crow And Pigeon Post

WARNING!!!!!!! If you are in the least bit squeamish, do not go beyond the shadowy rabbit photo. In fact, you might want to just skip this blog entry.

This morning as I was getting some worked finished, I noticed two crows on the roof across our ally. They had a large object which I first thought was something from the dumpster and then noticed what looked like it had chicken feet. I opened the window to get photos. Because it was cold out, the heat from my window made for some fierce shimmer and the photos are blurry...but you get the idea of what they are eating. Again, if you don't like gross stuff, or don't like the whole predator prey relationship thing, stop reading now.

When I first saw the feet, I was reminded of the quail that we get to feed the birds at The Raptor Center, but there are no quail around here. Then I realized that the bird the crows were eating had only pin feathers--it was a young bird from a nest. By the size, I realized that they were eating a pigeon nesting.

The two crows made short order of the chick. By the size and development, I would guess that the pigeon was about ten days old--which is interesting in and of itself. If the pigeon chick was about ten days old, the egg would have been laid 18 days before that, so the pigeon parents were busy in early March--at least two snow storms ago.

nest

The pigeon nest was tucked in a nook on the roof of an apartment building just to the right of where the crows were eating. I've seen pigeons in and out of there all winter and assumed roosting--I didn't guess that they were on eggs last month.

When the crows were finished, I went back to business in my apartment. About fifteen minutes later I found them working on another chick. That surprised me. It makes sense to clean out a whole robin nest--those are small chicks, but a pigeon chick is fairly large, I was surprised that they ate both nestlings right away, but when you find a huge protein source like that and you are in the process of laying eggs yourself, you're not gonna be able to resist it.

And let's keep in mind that this is gross and it may not be pretty to watch a crow clean out a nest--but they are not the only ones to do it. Blue jays do it, hawks do it, owls do it--even woodpeckers do it. Heck, even nut job humans in England do it. Crows are just more obvious about it.

Pellet Madness!

Last night on the field trip, someone turned the woodcock faucet on...and then abruptly turned it off. It was so weird, we were enjoying a balmy spring evening, we heard some woodcocks peenting and we heard some chorus frogs and then it all stopped. Hasty Brook was along on the trip and had an insanely bright light. She let me hold it and then when one of the woodcocks flew, I turned on the light--the woodcock hovered. Everybody in the group gasped and got a good look. I turned it off and it kept flying up, I think it was a tad bright for the bird. The woodcocks for awhile longer--they were all around our group--a few up close and some further away--and then they all stopped. Even the chorus frogs stopped. I'm not sure what happened, did some predator go through? Did the wind pick up too much? It was very strange.

Before the woodcocks started singing, we looked around some clumps of cedars to search for owl sign--and boy did we find it! My buddy Amber was with me and when she would disappear under a cedar and shout, "Ooooooh boy!" we knew she found something good. There were all kinds of poop, pellets--and feathers. Above are some pellet pieces and blue jay feathers. It looked like a blue jay had exploded under one of the cedars--feathers were everywhere.

Here's an up close shot of a skull in the pellet. We can tell this is an owl pellet because there are bones and a full skull in it. Owls tend to swallow their prey whole and falcons and hawks tend to rip it up, leaving bones behind. Owls also do not have as strong of digestive acids as hawks and falcons so the bones do not get digested. I think this is a meadow vole, they sure were all over the place. One was crawling around our group when it got dark and we were watching the woodcocks.

One of the pellets revealed a whole tail and foot of a mouse! You usually do not find undigested skin, Amber and I found this very exciting, much to the amusement of the group.

Amber also found a piece of an intriguing skull. It was avian and not mammal--it was very light weight, but what could it have been? The bill was no longer attached to the skull, so that important clue was missing.

bird skull

Further inspection of the skull revealed a tiny red feather--a clue! There were also come dark feathers too. Could this have been a cardinal at one time? The group's guess was probably not because the skull was quite large. I was looking at the photos above and compared them to a pileated woodpecker skull on Skulls Unlimited and I think we have it narrowed down. I'm not convinced that this is a pileated, but it is some sort of woodpecker, perhaps a red-bellied. But, whatever owl has been hunting here, it sure has been successful!

Juncos With White Wing Bars

It was another big junco day at Carpenter Nature Center on Friday morning--we banded 56! I think I'm finally getting to a certain comfort level handling small birds. Of course, I have all sorts of stuff memorized about dark-eyed juncos--wing measurements to tell sex, eye color to determine age...soon it will be a whole new ball game with several new species.

While we were banding birds, a couple of people from The Raptor Center stopped by with an adult bald eagle to release--with a news crew in tow! Above, Al Rasmussen (on the left) is about to be handed a bald eagle he found injured on his property. The eagle was suffering from lead poisoning and had made a full recovery at TRC.

Here's Al releasing the bird. You can see the Fox 9 news crew behind him--I felt bad for the camera man. He had positioned himself about where I was so the sun would be behind us for a well lit shot. However, the on air talent that was with him insisted that he move to the other side...aiming the camera towards the sun. If you go to the Fox 9 website, you can see the video...and that the on air talent apparently didn't know where he was. He wrote that the eagle was release at the Eagle Center in Hastings. The Eagle Center is in Wabasha, the eagle was released at Carpenter. Oh, Fox 9, will you ever learn?

After the release, we went back to banding. I took a junco out of the net and noticed something funky right away with the wings. Funky is a color description in the Pyle book (the bird bander's bible), but looking at the bird, you could see that this junco had white wing bars. I grabbed a National Geographic Field Guide and found that there is a subspecies called the white-winged junco which has two wing bars and is a tad larger than a dark-eyed junco. The white-winged should have a #4 retrice (tail feather) that is white or almost white. This bird had an almost all white #4. It was on the large side and I thought I nailed it and felt proud of myself for using the Pyle book without beating my head against the wall.

Alas, this bird is very dark (and true white-wings are very light) and records for white-wings in Minnesota are few and far between. This bird may actually be a dark-eyed junco with white wing bars, but not a white-winged junco. Confused yet? It gets worse. Juncos used to be divided into five separate species (one being the white-winged) and are now lumped into one species (the dark-eyed junco) so it doesn't really matter--white-winged junco or just a junco with white wing bars--this is still a dark-eyed junco. But why do we need a subspecies of dark-eyed junco that has white wing bars called white-winged junco and yet also have just dark-eyed juncos with white wing bars that are not white-winged juncos? Oh crap, did I just make the universe implode again? The bird is under review and I'm going to go have a drink now. Ah well, this is what training is all about, right?

We heard purple finches singing around Carpenter and even watched a female flitting in the trees. Another woman who is in the banding class with me is named Erin and she caused one of my best belly laughs on Friday. She walked over to one of the ground traps and shouted, "Oh, hey, it's a house finch!" She stuck her hand inside the trap and then we heard, "Oooooooooooooooooooch!" The rest of us looked at each other and said, "Purple finch!" Even though house finches and purple finches look similar, there's much more bite in the large bill of the purple finch. Look at that above photo, he's ready to bite someone there.

Look at that raspberry coloration on the head--just drink that in for a moment--I kind of need that myself after the headache inducing junco. Breathe in the purple finch, breathe out the purple finch. In. Out. In. Out.

After we closed down the traps and nets at Carpenter, I nipped over to the Prescott railroad bridge to see some peregrine falcons. And I got a great shot of a peregrine butt (or should I say vent). The male and female both made a few passes at pigeons, so that was fun. I do have a question for the pigeons--seriously, you guys think that roosting and nesting as the same bridge as a peregrine falcon is a good idea? Really?

I also stopped at Point Douglas to check out the waterfowl. Above is a male redhead displaying to a female. Ah, duck love, beautiful and humorous all at once. I met a fellow birder who I know mostly through email. He was out on his lunch break watching the scaup. In Minnesota, we tend to get lesser scaup, but greater scaup are possible. However, telling them apart can be a bear.

I tried to see if I could pick out some greater scaup and thought I had, but my better duck photos are all of lesser scaup. But ducks are a good sign, that means the water is opening up and spring is really coming. It's so fun living here: Monday we get eight inches of snow, Friday it's sunny and 60 degrees.