Week Of Field Trips

I started a part time job with the National Parks this week. I'll be doing a lot of what I normally do, but for the parks service. I'll mostly be at the Mississippi River Visitor's Center at the Science Museum, so if you find yourself in St. Paul, stop in and say hello. This week has been a week of field trips to learn about the Mississippi River and cool places to visit.

For example, at the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, you can see some early mines that were part of Minnesota's first brewery. The above mine belonged to a brewery once owned by Jacob Schmidt and he would keep lager in there (sometimes helping to maintain a cooler temperature by putting ice from the Mississippi in the mine). There is also a cave sacred to the Dakota called Wakan Tipi, but it is completely blocked from the public for safety reasons.

While we were walking around, there was a pair of red-tailed hawks soaring over us. The above bird hung in the air like a kite, made a steep dive, and landed on this branch attempting to rip it off. It was gathering sticks for the nest--it was very cool to watch.

This is one of the many mounds found at Indian Mounds Park in St. Paul. The mounds were created by the Hopewell Indians and used for burial. I love that there are Indian Burial Mounds right in St. Paul--surrounded by playgrounds and bluebird houses.

As a matter of fact, here is one of the bluebirds hanging around the park. There's a point where you can stand in front of a mound and see not only the nearby downtown St. Paul skyline, but also the Minneapolis skyline. An Indian burial ground right in a major metro area--how has there not been any sort of zombie attack or poltergeists going on?

We also stopped at Lilydale Regional Park which is known for its fossils. Our guide kept telling us that we'd just go a little farther. He really wanted us to go up this hill--there was a clay pit we really had to see...I'll admit that I was skeptical.

We got to the pit and he was correct, it was worth it. The water that trickles out forms huge ice falls which people can get permits to climb in winter. All the rocks in this area are covered with fossils:

This was one of several rocks that I picked up and you could easily see fossils--don't ask me what kind--it looks like some coral and a few shells. A few hundred million years ago this area was at the bottom of a sea. When you get into the park, you can see layers of sandstone and on top of that is a layer of shale that's chock full of the fossils--you are supposed to get a $10 fossil collecting permit from St. Paul before you take anything home. You will also find a ton of bricks at the park too, as it used to be a brickyard. I would have a tough time at this park in May. I'd want to look down for fossils, but since it's right along the river I would be watching for warblers too.

Spring Birds At Carpenter Nature Center

It was another action packed day at Carpenter Nature Center. Despite the big seasonal movement and warm temperatures, we didn't get huge amounts of birds. Above, some of the guys in the glass are playing with a spectrograph--there's always something scientific going on. At first they were just looking through it, but then Paul (in the pink shirt) tried to take a photo with his digital camera. Can we party or what!

Local weatherman Sven Sundgaard stopped by to film a bird segment for KARE 11. Jim Fitzpatrick (the guy teaching my banding class) is demonstrating how we band birds. I had a minor panic attack today. While they were filming a segment, a chickadee flew into the nets. I need practice getting birds out of the net and chickadees are one of the hardest birds to take out. They grab on to the net with both feet and do not let go. While you are trying to take the small ball of feathers out from entanglement, they peck at your fingernails--usually right where the nail meets the cuticle or between the nail and skin (if you're thinking "ow" you're thinking right).

I thought that I had it easy, since most everyone was over watching the filming, I could practice getting the chickadee out of the nets without everyone staring and making me nervous. After a few moments, fellow classmates Paul and Sue came to help--and I needed it. The wind kept blowing in and out of my face and Sue get reminding me to take deep cleansing breaths to stay calm. I almost had the chickadee out (and cuticles intact) when I hear a shout behind me. "Hey, Sharon, hold on, we want to film you getting the chickadee out of the net."

"Nooooooooo!" was my panicked response. Even though the bird was already mostly out, I could see that the net was twisted and I needed calm to get it out. However, the crew and group was around me before I knew it. Sue continued like a faithful Lamaze instructor, "deep cleansing breaths" but it was to no avail--my hands were shaking and no amount of being told, "Just calm down was going to help." The camera was on my fingers and even though I do tv segments all the time, that's me talking and doing things I'm 110% confident in. I'm still learning about banding and was just not ready for that audience. Sure enough, the bird fluttered and ended up tangled in the net again and I had Jim take over. Too much pressure. I know I'll get the hang of it like I got the grip down, but it's just going to take lots of practice.

But on to some of the other birds. We got in our first robin of the year. Someone else actually banded this bird, but I wanted to hold it for just a second. I have been handling tiny juncos all winter and I wanted to see what a big beefy bird like a robin would be like in my tiny hands--just fine. Whew.

missing toe

We still have some juncos around. These are not the ones we've had all winter, those guys have already gone north. This one probably wintered in Missouri, Texas, or perhaps Illinois. One of the juncos I had was was missing a talon...or is it claw on a songbird...whatever it's called, the bird was missing a toenail. It looked like an old wound that was well healed over and the bird had adapted to it very well.

We did get in one fox sparrow--wow, this has just been fox sparrow week for me. They're at Staring Lake, they're at Mr. Neil's, they're pretty much all over the Twin Cities. Talk about a beefy sparrow--these guys are robust! And if you're wondering what the big deal is about this brown bird, check this out:

Look at those gorgeous rufus colors on the wings, rump, and tail. That's not just any brown, that's a special brown. Really, it is. Just soak in that reddish brown for a few minutes.

Like Sue says, "Deep cleansing breaths" breathe in the fox sparrow, breath out. Breathe it in, deep cleansing fox sparrow.

Non brown birds will be coming to the blog soon. I swear.

Falcon Fever

I just got a copy of Falcon Fever by Tim Gallagher from Houghton Mifflin. Some of you may be familiar with Tim as an award winning nature photographer, or from when he was an editor for WildBird Magazine, or as the current editor of Living Bird Magazine, or as one of the guys who rediscovered the ivory-billed woodpecker.

I interviewed Tim a couple of years ago about the ivory-bill search. As he was giving me pretty much the same answers that everyone else was getting, I remembered that someone told me he was a falconer. I asked him what he like to fly as a falconer and the whole interview changed, his face lit up and he became animated as he described flying merlins and peregrines. This is a true passion for him.

If you do not know anything about falconry, this book is a good way to be introduced to it. The first half focuses on his brutal childhood with an alcoholic and abusive father. Falconry became a release for him and a way to connect with nature and wildlife. Anyone who has ever felt the pull to the wild will thrill along with Tim's adventures and his early trainings of hawks. You will also learn some surprising things about Tim--like he did a few drugs and even spent time in jail! I was on the edge of my seat as I read that and wondered how he made it from such a low point in his life to where he is now. The book doesn't really explain that and if I have one thing I would change, it would be to tell that story.

The second half of the book does not focus on that journey but starts at a point later in his life, after the ivory-bill rediscovery and he feels the need to reconnect with falconry and retrace one of his boyhood idols Frederick II, the thirteenth century Holy Roman Emperor who wrote one of the earliest falconry manuals. Tim spends a year going to falconry meets, hunting with some of the worlds best falconers, and taking roads much less traveled in Italy and trace the steps and history of Frederick II.

If you know someone who is a falconer, they will love this book as a gift and probably recognize many of the names mentioned. If you are curious as to what this falconry thing is all about--this explains the magic and thrill these obsessed hunters find in the fields with their birds. Falconry is not about a person and their pet bird, but a hunting partnership between human and bird--one where the bird can decide to leave the human if the human doesn't keep up. This is a well written book and easy to read, I recommend it.

The Benefits Of Relieving Yourself In The Woods

This is the post that I was debating about: is it too much information? But Non Birding Bill said that is was gold...hm, interesting choice of words in hindsight.

I was bebopping around in Mr. Neil's woods on Sunday. I was in hot pursuit of a ruffed grouse and the report that a black-backed woodpecker had been seen (I did not see it). After spending so much time trying to get photos of fox sparrows on Saturday, I was amused at how abundant and cooperative they were for my camera. Note the guy above. He just perched right above me in the woods and sat for several minutes. We're banding at Mr. Neil's on Sunday, I hope a few stick around.

It did seem to be a brown bird bonanza day. I was trying to get a photo of a brown creeper, but boy they just do not sit still. I got this shot and then aimed my scope up a few feet higher in anticipation of getting the perfect shot...

...however, just as it was perfectly centered in the frame, it took off! Curses!

The woods were full of hermit thrushes foraging on the ground. I love these birds. They are so secretive when they feed, it's hard to remember that they are the glorious singers we'll soon hear up north. I lost total track of how long I was in the woods chasing down all these brown birds. As I was following the thrushes, I heard a red-tailed hawk call from not too far behind me. It's sound I hear the education red-tails at The Raptor Center make in their mews. I wondered if there was one on territory nearby. I know a pair is nesting nearby, but did not think that the nest would be in this direction. I soon found myself far off on a path I do not normally travel looking for the nest. The sound of the red-tail was getting louder and louder, but I couldn't see anything in the bare trees that looked like a hawk nest. I reached the end of the path, it ended right at a bend in the creek. I noticed that I had a dire need to pee. There was a place just right for needs, and I assumed the position. From that angle, there was a clearing in some tangled buckthorn with a view of some pines across the creek:

Oh hey! check out that lump in the pine. I couldn't see it when standing on the path, but from this lower angle, it was quite visible. I finished what I started and then got the large lump in the scope.

I watched for about five minutes and then saw a large lump emerge. That looks like a hawk. Then to confirm it, I heard the loud, scratchy "keeeeeer" of a second red-tail--right over head. Then a third bird appeared. There was lots of screaming and it looked like a territory skirmish was underway. The red-tail in the nest took to the sky and the two hawks drove out the third.

After the intruder left, both red-tails returned to the nest. I was excited to find the nest, but a tad bummed that it is not in a place that is easy to photograph from a distance. Once the buckthorn leafs out, it will be well hidden.

I worried about posting this because, me peeing in the woods might be too much info and really, do you need that image floating around in your head? But as I said, NBB said "How can you not blog about peeing in the woods?"

Anyway, it led to finding a cool nest.

Spring Bee Inspection

On Sunday, we did our first big inspection with the Olga hive after having sealed her up for winter and my goodness was she active! With the sun and balmy forty something degree temperatures, we expected some activity, but they were buzzing around like crazy. I didn't realize how much I missed them, missed the smell of the smoker, the smell of the wax and hive, the buzz and hum of happy bees.

Here's my faithful bee assistant poking the bees during the inspection. Actually, Mr. Neil is not poking the bees, he's doing them a great service of removing a layer of dead bees that have built up at the bottom of the hive. There were so many that they were blocking the bottom entrance.

Look at that pile of dead bees. That's really just the tip of the iceberg. We decided to lift the whole hive off the bottom board...

Ewww - a whole layer of dead, wet bees. We were a little alarmed to find that in the corner was a frozen puddle of bees. After Mr. Neil scraped out the bees, we decided to turn the hive around so that future moisture would be able to roll out, rather than collect in the hive. We did leave a hole open on the other side so that workers who were out foraging could find a way back in without too much confusion.

Part of the inspection included checking their food reserves. I had put in a pollen patty a couple of weeks ago (that's how bees get their protein). Last time, there was half of the one I left them last fall and I put in a fresh one for good measure. Sunday, there was only half of the fresh one left. I have a feeling that next weekend I will need to put in a new one. We checked for signs of brood. If there were three to six frames with brood, I was to switch the top box with the center box. I found three frames of brood, not a huge amount, but brood none the less. We went ahead and switched them.

Olga still had some good honey stores left--I think she's going to be busting out all over with honey this summer. She already provided us with extra honey her first year. I'm betting this summer will be intense. We noticed a weakness in the corner of the hive that had let in some moisture, probably from the last snow storm (the wind blew off the insulation and since it had been fairly warm we left it off). You can see it in the corner--the mold is the black stuff. The bees were probably soon going to cover the fungus with propolis, but we scraped it off.

While we were getting all of this done, the workers came out and completely covered us. Above is Non Birding Bill (say it like Eddie Izzard with me) "Covered In Bees!" Even though they covered us, they didn't really seem all that angry, they were more curious (I'd like to say, happy to see us, but that would be anthropomorphic now, wouldn't it).

We kept smoking our suits, but they would just come right back. Above, NBB is smoking Mr. Neil. For some reason, Mr. Neil decided to start our bee-venture by forgoing the sensible hood on his suit and putting on our spare pith helmet with bee net. It looked good, but left a space on his neck for bees to crawl in, so after much smoking and removal of bees, he put on his helmet.

The bees were really, really interested in the tops of our hoods. I noted this on Mr. Neil and NBB and tried to get them to pose bent over side by side because, together they looked like an odd pair of boobs with nipples made of bees, but when they realized what I was doing, they stood up.

After we finished, I stood by them for a few more minutes, just watching them come and go. I love the above shot, a few girl hanging at the corner of the hive and another flying in.

Bee season has officially begun.

Whoot!

And to give you an idea of how loud our girls are on a forty degree spring day, here's a video. NBB says that if you listen to it with your eyes closed, it sounds like we're doing something naughty.

Sapsuckers And Grouse

I woke up this morning hoping to dash out to look for a grouse drumming log. I put on a cup of coffee and was chit chatting with Non Birding Bill when I looked behind him and saw a male yellow-bellied sapsucker--I was so excited on a nearby pine! It was low and in great light. I grabbed my scope and NBB grabbed my camera and I went to work trying to get a photo. I was getting some okay photos, but it was through a window and it wasn't as crisp as I would like them. Sapsuckers have never been a very cooperative bird for me and I didn't want to scare it off.

But it continued to peck when I went outside so I got some great shots. It's weird, I was trying to find information about sapsuckers and tree health and I couldn't find a conclusive study about whether or not sapsuckers damage healthy trees or go after trees already in ill health. There did seem to be information from tree people calling them pests and information from bird people saying that we don't know for sure and most trees survive. Looks like more study needs to be done.

I did go out to look for grouse and NBB came with me. Mr. Neil told me that a week ago he heard strong drumming. We went to the area he described and sure enough we heard the drumming. We slowly followed a trail up the hill and I spotted this tangle. I saw a log...I saw a grouse shape--we found the grouse! It was frozen, it knew we there and we were not going to get to see it drum. After about thirty seconds it took off.

In spring, male ruffed grouse find a log and beat their wings against their chest to attract a female. If you've never heard it before, let me tell you, it's a crazy sound. It's such a low resonance, I tend to feel it as opposed to hear it. My friend Larry from banding has been giving information on what to look for in grouse drumming sites. This one fit the bill--it was a clearing, but the log itself was surrounded by some branches.

We found some grouse poop, but not a lot. I wonder if this isn't the usual log? I wanted to set up the motion sensitive camera, but the log is on someone else's property and in full view of a cabin. No one was home for me to ask and I momentarily thought of setting it up anyway, but NBB wisely pointed out that leaving a motion sensitive camera for someone to find might freak them out. I'll try again next weekend. Nonetheless, it is a goal realized--I've always wanted to find a grouse drumming log. Now I just need to get some footage of it in action.

And now I leave you with a video of the sapsucker drilling. There's a bee entry coming up, we did our first big spring hive inspection. I also have an idea for another entry, but I'm not sure. NBB says it's gold. I'm worried, that it might be too much information. I'll sleep on it.

Sunday Morning Sapsucker


I meant to go tramp out in the woods and look for some grouse, but I have become a slave to a yellow-bellied sapsucker right outside the kitchen window. Will I ever get a shot of his face? However, I am enjoying the way his plumage blends in perfectly with the pine bark.

Sapsuckers are here, hummers aren't far behind.

This is the best look I've ever had of a male yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Taunted By Fox Sparrows

Non Birding Bill went out with me today to Staring Lake Outdoor Center with Cinnamon. We were there for the open house and when we arrived, there were a ton of sparrows under the feeder. I tried to take a break here and there to get photos of fox sparrows, but the closest I came was getting a vent shot.

We had kids giving Cinnamon lots of love, completely oblivious to the disapproval. I got a kick out of the people at the table next to me showing snakes. They kept making a point to say within ear shot that it was a good thing they didn't bring the big snakes. Apparently, the big snakes would have been overly excited sensing a rabbit--that's food after all. One in particular was making a big show of staying as far away as possible from the rabbit. The first time I heard them it was amusing. After the thirteenth time, it was just tiresome and I said, "Yes, I get the food chain. I understand."

Oh well, I'm sure I've done the EXACT same thing when doing raptor programs. "Oh, better keep that purse puppy away. That's making the hawk awful interested."

I tried a few more times to get photos of the fox sparrows. I did get this lovely grackle. A whole flock discovered our apartment feeding station yesterday and made short work of the suet. Guess it's time to switch to safflower.

I did get a lovely song sparrow, but the fox eluding not only my digiscoping but the motion sensitive camera. After we finished at Staring Lake, NBB and I head out to Mr. Neil's for dinner. We arrived just as the afternoon sun was hitting my beloved brush pile.

I scattered some seed on the larger branches and nestled my body and my spotting scope in some of the surrounding shrubbery and waited. The chickadees and juncos flew in first. Note the disapproving junco above. Next flew in the song sparrows and finally...

A fox sparrow popped up and perched on one of the branches and gave me a few minutes to get the fluffy bird. Love those sparrows!