Osprey Nest Surprise!

We interrupt the regularly scheduled updates about the Detroit Lakes Bird Festival for an unbelievable osprey nesting story:

Becky Field, who currently has some of her photography on exhibit at Minnetonka Center for the Arts took a most unusual photo! Look closely at that chick in the osprey nest--that's not a osprey chick, that's a Canada goose gosling. Now it looks like the adult is bringing the gosling to the nest in its talons. The osprey is actually bringing in a fish to the nest and the gosling is behind the feet.

The platform is on private property in Maplewoods on Lake Minnetonka and Becky's friends asked her to come photograph it. They have been watching the osprey on the platform through a scope in their house and were very excited to report the arrival of their first chick to local osprey expert and bander, Vanessa Greene. She told them that no osprey chicks would be hatched this early in Minnesota. When they described the "chick" as having a fuzzy yellow head the plot thickened.

Turns out, they had observed a Canada goose up on the platform for a short time. Either the goose had been chased out by the osprey or she was just dumping excess eggs in the nest. I'm not sure what the goose would have been thinking--she could have been her first breeding season and Canada geese have to kind of learn where to put their nest so it will be safe. Or it could have been a case that she either had no mate or too many eggs in her own nest and decided to give a few out to other nests. Either way, she wasn't thinking clearly: how would the chicks have gotten down from the high platform--Canada goose chicks aren't built like wood duck chicks--they weren't meant to jump 50 feet from a nest.

Somehow, the osprey ended up incubating a goose egg and it hatched. The property owners observed this little family for several days and were expecting the gosling to die within 2-3 days as an all fish diet would not meet its nutritional requirements. Both the male and female osprey tried to feed it fish, since osprey chicks are altricial (beg for food). That would be a tricky situation since Canada geese young are precocial (they feed themselves) and wouldn't be begging its parents for food. The property owners had even watched the gosling nuzzle up to the female osprey.

Becky took some photos on both May 19. She received a call on May 20 from the property owners that they had not seen the gosling all day and is presumed dead and is either in the nest or has been removed by the osprey.

Thanks, Becky, for sharing this incredible photo and documenting this odd little event. Sometimes nature goes a little off kilter.

Interesting Vulture Movement

This just in from Carrol Henderson:

"Last night I got a call from Bruce Ause, retired director of the Red Wing Environmental Learning Center. He was out hiking on Barnes Bluff south of Red Wing last Thursday, May 17, and observed a dozen turkey vultures resting on the ground. One of them had a pale blue patagial tag on the right wing with the black letters "45." He called me to find out if I knew of anyone who was doing vulture marking studies. I did some "trolling for vultures" on the internet after he called and discovered that 100 migrating turkey vultures had been wing tagged in NW Venezuela with pale blue and with red patagial tags. So the turkey vulture observed by Bruce had wintered somewhere in South America and was passing through Venezuela on its way back to Minnesota.

Radiotelemetry studies have identified South American wintering destinations for Swainson's hawks, ospreys, and broad-winged hawks, so I thought you would like to know that our local turkey vultures are international travelers as well. Have a good day. Carrol"

I always enjoy my Carrol Henderson news updates.

UPDATE from Karla Kinstler:

There are folks in Saskatchewan who are putting herculite fabric wing tags on the right wings of young turkey vultures found in nests in abandoned buildings in Saskatchewan. I think they've done a satellite transmitter or two also. C. Stuart Houston is involved in the project, and he'll be the keynote speaker at the 2008 Festival of Owls (but there he'll be talking about the 7,000+ Great Horned Owls he's banded.)

So there are multiple groups out there putting tags on vultures....

Detroit Lakes Bird Festival--Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge

Sandhill cranes flying off the road as our jam packed 57 passenger bus was creeping along Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge. That place is definitely worth the hype.

Well, I learned an interesting tid bit at the festival--the field trip to Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge sold out before the field trip to go birding with David Sibley! I'm pretty sure that it had more to do with the awesomeness of the location rather than the cool factor of guides. I don't care, I'm so glad that I was one of the guides for the Agassiz trip--we saw 25 species of shorebirds on the trip!! Whoot! Whoot! Whoot! And really cool shorebirds at that! Above are some of marbled godwits (the big birds). Check out the dunlin in the back--that's the little guy with the black belly.

We had some unusual birds, above on the lower left is a red-necked phalarope (the other bird is a semipalmated plover). We were expecting Wilson's but we ended up getting the red-necked too. I couldn't do a lot of digiscoping because the priority was making sure the 53 paying customers got to see the birds and the light wasn't that great for it either. It was fun though, because as soon as someone would point out one really cool shorebird like the red-necked phalarope and then get the group focused on it, then someone else would shout, "Stilt Sandpiper!" It was a good problem to have. We even had crazy numbers of more unusual birds--like 90 some odd hudsonian godwits.

I loved this scene--it's a black-bellied plover surrounded by a posse of semipalmated plovers. Wish we could have been closer, but at least we got to see the bird. That was a cool new bird for quite a few people on the trip.

The place was lousy with American bitterns--at one point three of them were flying around the bus. Bitterns are secretive birds who stand straight up and use their stripey plumage to hide amongst reeds. The above blurry guy was one that I saw running in short grass. When he noticed our bus coming he shot his head up to hide himself but then suddenly realized that he was surrounded by short grass. We stopped the bus and he ran to a very sparse patch of taller grass and assumed the position. The bus windows distorted the shot, but you get the idea.

It was a diverse group and people wanted different birds--some wanted to focus in on shorebirds, others wanted better looks at area specialties. While Doug Buri and Kim Risen would focus in on peeps (small shorebirds that give me a headache), I would call in a sora or get some yellow-headed blackbirds (above) or bobolinks in the scope. By the end of the day, our bird list topped out at 135 species, which may be a festival record. It was awesome. I get the sense that they will offer the trip again next year and hopefully we will have more time than just four hours to bird there. We had such limited time. The trip was two hours out there, four hours to bird, and another two hours back. Next year they could easily add another two hours for birding--we really could have added more warbler species and I would have loved the chance to photograph red-necked grebes.

Ah, Prairie Birding...

Ah, prairie birding: the thrill of longspurs; the agony of icy high winds, and ticks...

...and interfering cattle!

Speaking of ticks...ew! As I was driving home today, I had my iPod in my lap so I could easily skip or repeat songs. I had just finished eating a Nut Goody and went to press the wheel on my iPod. I put my finger on the click wheel and felt a crumb--oh if only it had been a crumb! I looked down on my iPod only to discover it was not a crumb from my candy bar:

It was a blood sucking tick--ARG! I pulled over to (take a photo) and remove it. Vile creature! Does this mean that I need to get my iPod tested for Lyme's disease? After having typed this entry, I suddenly feel like I have ticks all over me--ick.

I am so tired, I'm pretty sure that in the last 48 hours that I have had roughly 7 hours sleep--but I loved every minute I was awake. Birding festivals are like chocolate chip cookie dough for me. I make it, and I start eating--it tastes so wonderful that I know I should stop. But I don't stop, I keep on going--even when I start to get to the point that I can tell I should stop--it's so good, yet I keep at it...and then I finally get to the point where I'm moaning and asking, "Why did I eat so much?" However, I still have the great memory of how much fun it was to eat the bowl of dough. I am so tired and achy and about to loose my voice.

Lots of stories of the fabu Detroit Lakes Festival--the birding was great, albeit a tad of on the cold side yesterday and today. I sang so much karaoke--it was a great audience who pretty much danced to anything anyone sang. We learned from Krazy Karaoke Dave that I did several firsts:

1. Sang a Liz Phair song ("Polyester Bride")
2. Called someone (NBB) on my cell phone during the instrumental break of a song, picked up singing right on cue, and sang the rest of the song to that person over the phone (Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over"--how could I not do that?)
3. Sang the song "Xanadu" (which is opening as an off Broadway musical this month--I wish I could go!)

Other songs I sang included "Holding Out For a Hero", "Sledgehammer", and "Space Oddity". Others did participate in the karaoke but a new rule about not blogging such activity has been ratified or I don't get invited anymore. What happens at Detroit Lakes, stays in Detroit Lakes. I will say, the other participants rocked very hard.

I must sort photos of godwits, phalaropes, and bobolinks for updates--and shower--and sleep.

YAWN.

Hello, all, NBB here.

Sharon apologizes for the lack of posts, but between birding, working the booth, and of course, the all-important karaoke, she hasn't touched the internet for most of the weekend.

Some highlights she asked me to pass on:

• Her tour saw a record number of birds yesterday.
• At some point, they saw a red knot, which she assures me is something to be excited about.
• People are wondering why I'm not there. Non-Birding Bill, people; Non-Birding Bill.

She'll have lots of info for you as soon as she gets back, and thanks you for your patience.

And So It Begins

Well, I've seen some nice purple martin action so far. That's a male and female above. I can never see and hear enough of these large swallows. They have such a musical song--most swallows have a more click-ish type sound--like little dolphins. Purple martins sing it loud and sing it proud.

I did a demo of birdJam outside. We got into the who ethics of calling in birds. When to do it, if you are going to do it, do it responsibly, etc. As we got into some of the controversy, I referenced an infamous story about a pygmy nuthatch. Years ago before I moved to Minnesota, a pygmy nuthatch was reported along the Red River in North Dakota. Just a short trip across the Red River puts you in Minnesota. The nuthatch was at a feeding station on the North Dakota side and someone played a tape and it flew over to the Minnesota side--and was a first state record...or was it? The jaunt across the river was minimal and the bird probably would have flown over of its own accord (if it hadn't already). It caused a huge rift in the birding community and accusations and arguments exploded all over. What is "artificial means of attraction" when it come to birds anyway? Technically, a feeding station is artificial attraction. The distance the bird flew was only a few hundred feet--was it really that big of deal? It wasn't nesting, it wasn't on territory--what did it matter?

Anyway, this story has reverberated throughout the birding community. I had heard of it, but never knew the parties involved. Last year at the Rio Grande Valley Bird Fest, Jeff Gordon referenced it during his program "The Top Ten Birding Moments of the last 100 Years". Well, as we were discussing it, a man laughed, raised his hand, and said, "That was me!"

Ah, connections.

And now I leave you with a male tree swallow. I must go to bed, I have to get up at 4:30am for my field trip. I'm so excited, the Country Inn and Suites in Detroit Lakes (where I am staying) is going to have breakfast and coffee going by 4:30am--sustenance--Whoot!

On My Way

I just ran out to grab some sunblock before leaving for Detroit Lakes and I found SPF 70! Thank you, Neutrogena!

I got my list of assigned field trips and I am so excited! I got all the trips I wanted...although, it looks like Sibley won't be on any of them. Hmmm, did I freak him out last year at Cape May? But I do get to hang with some of my favorite peeps, including Kim Risen, Jeff Bouton, and Doug Buri (a dude who knows his shorebirds). This evening I do a bird call program with the birdJam and then I have to set up my booth. I'm going to have an actual Birdchick Booth and will be promoting the website and selling birdJam and Handheld Birds - two of my favorite birding gadgets.

Here are my field trip assignments:

FRIDAY
Agassiz – Departs at 5:30am- 2:00pm
Gary Tischer
Jeff Bouton
Kim Risen
Doug Buri
Sharon Stiteler

SATURDAY
Rothsay- 5:45am -11:30 am
John Voz
Doug Buri
Bob O'Connor
Sharon Stitler

Felton/Ulen/Helliksen Prairies- 5:45am-2:00pm
Scott Kahan
Bob O'Connor
Doug Buri
Sharon Stiteler
Jeff Bouton

And then I drive home. I'm supposed to have internet access at the hotel, so there should be updates while I'm on the road. If you're out at the fest, stop by the booth and say hi. If you're not at the fest, I hope you're out enjoying the birds where ever you are this weekend.

How Blue Do You Need To Be?

Who needs orioles when you have indigo buntings?

So, I had a little time this morning before I buckled down and started packing for the Detroit Lakes Festival, (I'm heading out tomorrow morning). I thought I might head down to Wood Lake Nature Center and maybe to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge and attempt for some oriole photos since I didn't have much luck last Saturday.

Orioles were just not in the cards again today. When I got to Wood Lake--which literally had warblers dripping from the tree branches, there was just too much construction going on. It's already noisy there since it's bordered by a major interstate, but today there was lawn mowing and construction and all the sound was giving me a headache.

So I went to the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge Headquarters, though also noisy since it's next to the airport and right on an interstate as well--but no lawn mowing and a male indigo bunting was singing like there was no tomorrow.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I ended up taking about 113 photos of him instead. I'm kinda hoping that my bad luck with orioles continues this spring--up until today I didn't have any terrific indigo bunting photos like these.

The male bunting was making the rounds on his territory, alternating his singing stations in some shrubs in front of me, a lone tall tree to my left and a whole line of trees behind me. The shrubs had a small rock fence in front of it.

The male indigo bunting flew over to the shrubs and sang and then flew down to the fence. The above photo is the male singing on the fence (the wind was blowing so his nictating membrane is over his eye to protect it from dust--that's why it looks weird). He sang so long, I got tired of taking photos and then I thought to myself, "Dude, what are you doing? This is the best look at an indigo bunting you've ever had in your life! Quit taking photos and just enjoy it, ya' door knob!"

And I did for another ten minutes.

Oh, and we figured out the photo contest mix up. Both Leanne and Philip were incredibly understating--and again, thanks to all the readers who VERY KINDLY pointed out my mistake--I love you guys--you make blogging so much fun. Leanne is still getting the Singing Life of Birds book and I told Philip that I'd get him an autographed Sibley this weekend. So, it's all good.

Fowl Call

I made an error in the contest. Both Philip Chaon and Leanne guessed northern rough-winged swallow for the eye contest. I have the blog set up so that I get an email alert as soon as someone comments. For whatever reason, his comment never showed up in email so to me it looked like Leanne got the id first. Thanks to some alert readers who noticed Philip's guess came in before Leanne's clued me in. Both Leanne and Philip will get a prize--just need to work out what it will be.

Serves me right for doing a contest during migration when my attention is divided.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Kudos to everyone who made a guess at the photo id contest--it was pure evil on my part. The northern rough-winged swallow is not a bird I normally talk about, it's brown and nondescript and just not a bird people pay a lot of attention to--even though they are there and easy to see if you look. A big pat on the back to Leanne for the correct answer.

Here's the original photo of the bird that was zoomed in for the contest. We had two swallows fly into the nets at the same time at Carpenter--near the bird feeders of all places! Since these aren't birds that will come to bird feeders, our best guess is that they were chasing each other over a territory battle and both landed in the nets at the same time.

At first, there was some talk that it might be a swift, but a check of the tail--and running fingers along the wing confirmed that this was a northern rough-winged swallow. The barbs on in the primary wing feathers on a male rough-wing are distinctly hooked and running your finger over them kind of feels like running your finger over a nail file. Females do not have as distinct barbs. I don't think scientists have figured out the reason for the barbs yet--if anyone knows or has an idea, please let me know in the comments. I would have gotten a photo of the barbs, but the birds were flappy and stressed and we wanted them back out on the wing ASAP.

Again, thanks to everyone who guessed. It's not easy to put your name to an id when you aren't sure.