The Danger Of A Stake Out Bird

July 13, 2011

On Monday, a bird call woke me from my sleep. Half asleep I thought, "Why is a robin singing with a cardinal type whistle note?" Something didn't add up. I rolled over and pressed nose to the screen trying to wake up and figure it out. This is not a sound I hear in my Minneapolis neighborhood...so different...so familiar...what does it sound like?

I went to the bathroom and it sounded as though the bird were right outside the window. I stepped over the tub to the window and pished...then saw it--a Carolina wren! Rare for Minnesota and no wonder I couldn't place it in my half awake state. I stream of profanity let loose from my mouth as I tried to figure out how best to document it. My bedroom and bathroom are both the worst for digiscoping. I dashed to my camera. All my noise woke up Non Birding Bill and he asked drowsily, "Wait, what is it, what's wrong?"

This is not the Carolina wren outside my window, this is one that I took a picture of one in Cape May, NJ. But you get the idea of how distinctive they look.

"Carolina wren outside our window, not supposed to be here," I said searching for an SD card for my camera. By the time I got it, I came into the bedroom to find NBB upright in bed and aiming his iPhone to our window where the bird feeders are. Here's the video he got (you can't see the wren, it's perched just above the feeder, but you can hear it):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQEuDWTiPQ0[/youtube]

Alas, the wren flew off before I could get any kind of photo. I posted the news to my Twitter and Facebook account and then got a couple of messages from local birders telling me that they have either never seen one or at least not in Minnesota and could I let them know if it comes back...panic set in.

The bedroom is by far the MESSIEST room in my apartment--it is the land of laundry and books and the occasional computer part NBB is playing with. I mean, I look at our apartment as a place to sleep between birding trips, not a display of indoor decorating. I can live with people seeing that chaos, but the bedroom? Yikes! Worse yet, there's a whole host of embarrassing things in there. I can't have people in my apartment...at least not the bedroom. The bedroom window is the only window my apartment building allows me to have feeders, the other windows face a paring area and people don't like seed shells and bird poop on their cars, so it's not like I can move the feeders.

Mercifully, the Carolina wren has not returned but I'm still a bit stressed that it could at any moment...

Birdchick Podcast #46 Conjoined Birds

July 12, 2011

Holy Mackerel! Birding is Fun sent me a link to a news story about a person caring for conjoined American Robins. Whaaaaaaaaaaa? There's even an update...a vet separated the birds and discovered that their skin fusion was not the result of natural causes. Some water birds like pelicans and terns are breeding well despite their surrounding areas getting dumped on by BP last summer (still not buying your gas BP).

The challenges of the Exxon Oil Spill in the Yellowstone River.

Fantastic article over at Mother Jones on the whole--are feral cats really a problem for native wild birds? A quote from the article: "The American Bird Conservancy's campaign to convince pet owners to keep cats indoors has had some success—bird deaths have declined by a third in areas that passed ordinances against free-ranging cats."

Also, note the statistic chart of what kills how many birds. Fascinating.

Let's end with fun: baby screech owlies!

Yes, they're real! These orphaned Western Screech Owls are being weighed in WildCare's Wildlife Hospital. They will stay in care until they're old enough to be released back into the wild. Orphaned birds like these are always raised with others of their own species and contact with humans is kept to an absolute minimum.

Random Puffbird

July 11, 2011

Birdchick Podcast #45 We "Discuss" Bird Reporting In The News

July 8, 2011

When eiders dump eggs, they try to do it in a nest of a female they are related too. What happens when a reporter who knows nothing about birds attempts to write a story about birding...sigh.

Naturalist and BBC legend David Attenborough inadvertently helps solved a murder from 1879!

A peregrine falcon named Lady Gaga...who names these birds??

Fabulous blog post from Sparky Stensaas on an observation of a young brown thrasher trying to eat a snake, meanwhile one of the adults tries to give it more bugs.

Breathe. You Won't See Every Bird On Earth. A Nyquil Post.

July 7, 2011

I am a terrible bird watcher. I hate getting up early in the morning. The older I get, the less I care about distinguishing flycatchers (yet, oddly admire those who live for it). I hate birding in the rain--even if it is a life bird that I may never, ever get the chance to see again.

But when I'm forced to get up early in the morning, I'm generally rewarded with cool birds like the above horned lark skulking out on a gravel road above. Rewarded so long as it isn't pouring down rain. I enjoyed having that moment with the horned lark, watching it skulk out of the grasses, keep an eye towards the sky for a an aerial predator and go about its business of being a lark.

As one gets older, I think you take stock of what you can no longer do. I grew up with the notion from my mother that I could do whatever I set my mind to, I think a lot of US kids get that: This baby could grow up to be president, a movie star, a sports star, a Playboy Bunny--or all of them! As you get older, you realize certain things. For example, I remember thinking at my 27 birthday, "Oh wow, I'm too old to pose for Playboy, huh."

But the one thing that hurts the most as I get older is the realization that I won't see every single bird this planet has to offer--no one has. I even get a little down when I realize just based on time and money that I'm not going to be able to visit every country or even every US city the world has to offer. To see all the birds species in the world is a perilous pursuit, just check out the "famous birdwatchers" on the Birdwatching Wikipedia page and it lists all the horrible deaths (and even gang rape) of people who have attempted such a challenge--not to mention some of the bitterness that can come from family as you choose travel over family time. And truth be told, as much as I lament my husband's lack of birding interest, I genuinely enjoy his company and find leaving him behind a big fat bummer.

If time is running out, money is in limited quantity and I can only see so many birds in this lifetime, I do feel much better about not wasting energy on all the flycatchers that look exactly alike and focus on the ones I really find interesting. And, not being a field guide author, the pressure is off for me to care about flycatchers that look the same.

As much as I hate getting up at 4 am, I do appreciate things that force me up at all hours and give me great moments. And more and more, I find myself content to spend time with birds that I've seen several times before but still give me great views. Above is a savannah sparrow that had a nest near where I was stationed. I think that's why digiscoping appeals to me. Sometimes I'll glimpse a brown bird in a gorgeous green background and I want to save that, the green only enhances the subtle beauty of the sparrow.

This pair of savannah sparrows scurried past me several times with beakfuls of squishy bugs for hungry nestlings. I see this species in several states, but I enjoy their familiarity, much the same way I enjoy red-tailed hawks. They also have a sweet, delicated and I fear under appreciated song.

Like the horned lark. This is really a common bird, but many new birders find it evasive and don't realize that the brown bird with black tail stripes they flush as they drive down gravel roads is a potential lifer. But, if you plant yourself on a gravel road, they come out. When you get a chance to see one, they really are striking with the black horns, mask and bib. Horned larks surrounded me not only on the ground, but in the air too. Their territory song serenades me overhead as I note and count certain bird species.

And so I may not get to see every single bird there is out there, but I am content to sleep in as much as I can and smile while a horned lark takes a dust bath in the middle of a gravel road a few feet from where I'm standing.

Stealth Horned Lark

July 6, 2011

No, Mr. Horned Lark, I can't see you at all. Really.

Birdchick Podcast #44

July 7, 2011

Did you guess the movie that we referenced in the podcast? If you did, we're gonna send you something special! Fabulous article about a study conducted on pigeons and their use of a "flap run" rather than flying. This energy saving practice could be the key to the evolution of flight.

Tourist injured in PNG.

Careful with your camera when you travel! Macaque steals camera and takes an epic self portrait.

Most terrifying nature camera ever?

The inaccurate article I referenced.

Here's Pigeon Disturbs Cat Nap. It's a video making the rounds on the Internet and it actually shows a ringed turtledove singing to a cat that is trying to take a nap. If you ask me, the dove is looking for a little lovin'. Don't worry, the cat doesn't kill the dove.

Artificial Heron Rookery

July 6, 2011

Not long after the North Mississipppi heron rookery was destroyed, there was talk of building an artificial rookery to get them to come back. Now that the herons seemed to have settled on other islands, the situation isn't as dire--they found plenty other nesting opportunities. However, if an area is missing good nesting sites for herons, it is possible to create it. Here's an example of one in Utah at Farmington Bay WMA in Utah (thanks to Facebook, I have to work really hard not to calling Farmville WMA):

Heron nesting sites can disappear for a variety of reasons. Accumulation of heron fecal material can kill off vegetation or even the trees the birds use for nesting. I think the trees and vegetation on the river islands stay in tact because of annual flooding, the river rises and the waters swamp this island washing a lot of the collected poop away. But I've been to other areas that aren't prone to flooding and gradually, the vegetation dies. After several seasons, storms or general wear and tear can cause the dead trees to fall. Or maybe there aren't any trees there to begin with.

If nesting trees aren't available and the number of herons decreases then fake trees can be added. Woodworking for Wildlife offers plans and info on how to build them and I've been to at least 2 places (this year alone) where fake rookeries have been readily used by herons. Now, you can't just put up some poles at a pond and expect herons to use it. Before you put it up or before you put up any bird house habitat try to think about the species you are trying to attract. Herons usually forage less then four miles from their nest, so you need to make sure there are lots and lots food sources nearby. If the food isn't there it won't be successful. Kind of like putting up a bluebird box in the middle of the woods, that's not their habitat.

I was out with a digiscoping tour while visiting the artificial rookery and people in the group noted this box attached to one of the poles. At first, it threw me for a loop. I tried to think of all the bird boxes we carried at the bird store or that I'd seen around MN and couldn't figure it out. I noticed some movement, put the scope on it and discovered barn owls inside. No wonder, we don't have barn owls in Minnesota so I would be familiar with this sort of nesting box. Alas, I wasn't able to digiscope them but it was cool to see it in use. It makes sense, I've seen herons nest with red-tails and I'm sure a barn owl isn't much of a threat with their tiny feed.