Still So Tired

I took this with the NovaBird camera at my mother's house. Any guesses on what it is? It will be identified at the bottom of this post.

This is one of my favorite birds, and they love to eat nuts of any sort in or out of the shell as well as mealworms, sunflower seeds, suet and pumpkin seeds.

I'm so tired, I feel like I just had a "lost weekend" with a bottle of 15 year old scotch but alas, it was just the trip and not alcohol related at all. Well, "Ivory" Bill Stiteler and I returned home last night at around 11:30pm. We actually made really good time and would have been home about 6pm but we made a side trip to Neil's Wednesday when we left for Indy our power was out so we stopped by their house while they were sleeping, made ourselves some tea, "borrowed" two travel mugs, filled the feeders and left a note that we had visited. So we had to return the mugs.

Bill and Neil geeked out over computer stuff for a bit while I unwound by taking in a gorgeous summer evening which I really needed after spending nine hours in the Saturn. I discovered that the chickadees had fledged from the bluebird box and bluebirds had started a nest with one egg already laid. It's nice when I give friends a particular bird house that the actual bird it is for nests inside it. Also the trees were full of singing red-eyed and yellow-throated vireos. I found two separate indigo bunting territories, heard a rose-breasted grosbeak singing in the distance as well as the song of a savannah sparrow in a nearby field. It was so far out you couldn't hear traffic and the humidity I had endured in Indianapolis was far away as a cool summer breeze carried the fragrance of honeysuckle. Even a few crickets were chirping, it was just the perfect evening...til I heard distant but distinct voice calling. I couldn't make out what they were saying exactly, but I'm sure it had something to do with dinner being on the table and they weren't waiting for me to get back. I knew if I didn't respond Bill would assume I had broken my leg so I let out a barred owl call thinking they would realize they don't have those around there and that they would know it was me. That didn't work, they still kept calling my name as I hurried up the road. So I started calling, "Marco" to which they gave the requisite "Polo" and understood that I was on my way. It was a tasty dinner of left over beer butt chicken and a salad made from the garden (except for the pesky daddy long legs that someone neglected to take out of the lettuce).

After dinner Bill and Neil geeked some more and I took a bath--I love visiting there, the home is full of good people, and the yard gets great birds, but what I love most is the giant whirlpool bath. The boys I think were sensing my tiredness and irritability and Neil suggested I use his bath and as I sat soaking in the tub I kept thinking how wonderful and decadent my life is when I can listen to fabulous bird songs and then relax in a hot tub--hmmm, it's the best! After a good soak I finally had to put my foot down and get Bill and I home because I had KARE 11 this morning. I still didn't get enough sleep and was so unfocused on the show this morning, I didn't talk about all the stuff I brought. Ah well, at least I was able to get my clothes to match.

So, now I have to fish through about 300 email messages (I'm on too many birding list servs) and catch up on some much needed sleep. I'm so excited, Friday I leave to go pelican banding again! Woo Hoo! Barf city here I come!

Bird in photo: Tufted-titmouse

Tired Tired Bog Entry

I'm so tired, my mother is wearing me out. It's not so much that she talks a lot, it's that she forgets conversations so we have to repeat stuff...a lot. While she was chattering today, I held up the Song Sleuth and it identified her as a red-bellied woodpecker...funny, I always thought of her as a yellow-breasted chat.

I do love my mother, I really do.

I went out with Mom, some sisters, a cousin and an aunt to see a bald eagle nest that they have been watching near a construction site. Between my sisters, cousin and myself the workers had their pick of a blond, brunette and red-head. One very nice gentleman offered to drive us in closer for a better view and I was able to get this photo:

We also passed a cemetary with some cute young foxes playing with each other:

Got some photos of blue jays visiting Mom's deck, using the Nova Bird camera:

Look at his cute brown eyes:

Trapped in Indiana

Somebody emailed me a photo two days ago asking me to id the bird in the photo. Due to a power outage and a roadtrip I didn't have a chance to respond. The photo is of an immature bald eagle.

I am currently in Indiana for a moment for a wedding. My mother is sitting next to me as I type this. Any words mom?

"Fried Chicken"

I'm grateful that it's not as pornographic as it could have been. She's really enjoying the road to senility.

For those interested there is a FABULOUS article about the Minnesota owl irruption inthe July issue of Wild Bird Magazine. Whoever wrote it should be getting multiple book deals and possibly a Pulitzer...(okay, I'm the cheese ball that wrote the article, but it's still a good read). Also, a good friend Jeff Bouton has an article in there about how to tell sharp-shins from Cooper's hawks--and he actually has some good tips in there. Who knew?? He's more than just a pretty face.

Techno Birding

I have another fun new toy to play with. It's called a Song Sleuth and you can aim it at bird songs and it will come up with a list of candidates. And that's not the coolest part, you can also use it to record calls so if your not sure of the bird call or if you disagree with the Song Sleuth's deduction of the call you can record the call and take it home with you--it works even better if you use a shotgun mic with it to get a better aim at the songster and more accurate recording.

The device itself hangs around your neck like binoculars and you do aim it toward the singing bird in question just like binoculars by holding it up to your eyes. I actually got a little worried around the Empire Substation. Birders already look incriminating enough with their high powered optics around neighborhoods and now another device to make us look stranger and like we're up to no good. I can see this being a valuable tool for somone that has trouble remembering bird calls.

Invasive Species

So, some are on the tad blurry side, but I finally got some fun blackbird photos with the NovaBird Camera (which we have at the Wayzata store now-whoo hoo). We also just got in a new refridgerator to accomodate the amount of mealworms we are selling. It looks a little out of place in the front of the store, so I'm thinking I can cover it with some of the photos from the bird feeder cam. The following are birds that not many people care for, but I love these photos nonthe less.

"I am a lonely asparagus, someone please love me."

Canada geese do eat everything! This one apparently tried to eat the camera.

"It places the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again."

Peregrine Banding

Photo Warning: The third and fourth photos are dried, pieces of birds. Those with weak stomachs may wish to stop after the second photo (they're not as bad as the unhatched merganser though).

Today Bud Tordoff and Mark Martell banded peregrine falcons along with Lori Arndt and Jane Goggin from The Raptor Center. They were banding the chicks on the Colonnade building, not too far from the bird store, so I was able to sneak out of work for a little bit to get some photos:

Mark Martell masterfully holds a 21 day old male peregrine falcon chick.

"Mock me now, human, but one day I shall dominate and terrorize pigeons in your urban neighborhood!"

The nest had two male chicks in it. What was interesting was that the male of the pair that produced the chicks is the grandfather of the female that laid the eggs. Hmmm, could that sentence be any more confusing? Bud assured that though this is a taboo in human society, this is the norm for this type of species where there are few breeding pairs spread out in an area. I didn't see any cleft palates or third eyes so it must not be too bad.

My favorite part of when they band the chicks is what they take out of the nest. The banders grab the chicks and then quickly clean up all the bones and feathers around the nest box. It's a treasure trove of interesting finds. Bud is an ornithologist and has been president of a few ornithologists societies so his bird fu is so strong he can tell you species right away by looking at a feather or two. Here are some highlights:

Here is the head of a pied-billed grebe.

Any guesses? On the left is the bill of a black-billed cuckoo. On the right is the bill from a yellow-billed cuckoo. I haven't seen either species yet this year, I wonder if these are countable?

One year when Amber and I went out with Bud and Mark we found nighthawk parts in the peregrine boxes. Nighthawks have been on a steady decline in the last few decades and part of me wondered if peregrines being reintroduced into metro areas was a contributing factor? There have been several theories about nighthawk decline, usually people accuse crows but I think it's several factors with migratory habitat destruction number one on the list, not peregrines or crows.

The Hummer Helmet

You have to see this photo at the Million Dollar Idea website. Because birders don't look dorky enough as it is.

Here's a link about the device in the West St. Paul Sun Current. Part of the problem is that they tested it at Wood Lake Nature Center. Don't get me wrong, Wood Lake is a fantastic place to go bird watching but if you want to guarantee hummers I would think you would want to get further from the metro area. We just don't get that many around here. The further north you go, the more hummers increase. I think habitat is a key factor, not only do hummingbirds rely on nectar for food but they eat a large amount of teeny, tiny insects. Pesticide use is much higher in the metro area affect hummingbird insect food supply as well as probably affecting hummingbirds themselves. Plus, the hummingbird migration was on the late side this year, had they taped it later in the month he could have had a better chance.

The Toast Manifesto

This is completely non-bird related, but I'm incredibly stressed at the moment and when I am, I have a tendency to surf the net to escape other things I should be working on. Anyway, I came across The Toast Manifesto written by some guys I went to college with. I had no idea it made it this far, but it really is good laugh.

I hope I don't regret posting this when I wake up in the morning.

New Warbler Hybrid

I lurk on one of the geekiest birds lists out there. It's called something like Bird ID Frontiers and it's mostly the bigwigs of birding debating gulls and various and sundry shorebirds. Every time I begin to think that these guys grok birding on a level I will never come close to understanding and thinkg about unsubscribing, a really cool post comes through. Today it was about a newly discovered and well documented warbler hybrid by Allen Chartier. He has posted photos and sound files on his website. The bird was banded at Metro Beach Metropark in Michigan on May 14, 2005.

Suspicious Blackbirds

So, I keep setting the Nova Bird Camera on the ground trying to get crows and grackles (they really are attractive birds--really, the are...honest). However, they just won't come near the camera. I don't know if they can hear the picture being taken or what, but most of the time, they stay on the outer edge of the food pile and I get blurred photos of our black bird friends. Although, the gawky Canada geese are finding the camera right away. I'm pretty excited, I think we might actually start carrying these in the store Friday.

Here we have a disapproving cowbird. Apparently, this species frowns upon being filmed while eating some tasty millet.

This first year red-wing blackbird gives a hairy eyeball to the Nova Bird Camera.

Is it Night of the Lepus or a wild rabbit coming in for some peanuts in front of the camera? Wild rabbits tend to be way more approving than fat sassy rabbits that hang out in a bird store.