KARE 11 Showcase Minnesota Appearance

If you just caught my KARE 11 appearance and wanted to know more on economizing your bird feeding operation, here are some tips (you can also get my book City Birds/Country Birds) and have all of this advice at your fingertips:

The price of many popular bird feeding seeds has gone up due to companies like Frito Lay switching to sunflower oil and many farmers dedicating more land to corn than sunflower. There's just not as much sunflower available for bird feed, bringing the prices higher (not to mention the fuel costs to transport it). If you are only going to purchase one bag of seed, only use black oil, you'll get the most bang for your bird feeding buck.

And don't worry, even small birds like goldfinches will eat black oil sunflower seed!

Avoid mixes that look like this (at least in Minnesota in Wisconsin). Unless you live out west and plan on getting California Quail, this mix will be a waste of money. It may be cheaper than sunflower, but you will get fewer species of birds per dollar with a mix like this.

If you're going to get a mix, it should look like the above--mostly dark in color, a sign that it is chock full of sunflower. Other ways to offer seed and to save on money and birds just kicking it out, is to get a seed cake--seeds held together with gelatin, birds love it and it takes them awhile to eat it. Plus, it's harder for starlings to take over. One of my favorites to offer is the Mr. Bird line and my favorite to put out for the birds is the Pecan Feast.

Nutra-Saff aka Golden Safflower is growing in popularity with chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals and grosbeaks. It's not popular with starlings and house sparrows, which will make it last longer in your bird feeders. Talk to your local wild bird specialty store and ask if they carry golden safflower (this is different than the usual plain white safflower, it's got a thinner shell).

A lot of birds love peanuts and mixed nuts out of the shell, but starlings can take that over and finish it in the blink of an eye. If you're going to offer nuts, offer them in the shell. Starlings cannot crack it open, but woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice and woodpeckers will be able to eat them.

If you want to offer suet, but have crows and blackbird eating it before the woodpeckers get hold of it, offer the suet in an "upside down suet feeder." Woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches can hang upside down to get access to the suet without any problems, but starlings and crows have a much tougher time (they'll try, but will not be as successful). Keep in mind, that if you switch to an upside down feeder, it may take awhile for the birds to figure out how to use it--maybe a month or two. But once they do, they will be loyal visitors.

Other things you can do include investing long term in your bird feeding. Shop around for clearance fruit bearing trees and plant them. This showy mountain ash is popular with cedar waxwings, robins, and grosbeaks. Also look into red osier dogwood, grey dogwood, chokecherry, and pincherry.

Never underestimate the value of a good brush pile. Maybe you can't keep a tree like this felled oak laying around your yard, but a small brush pile full of branches for birds to hide in makes a great roosting spot for juncoes and tree sparrows in the winter. You might even find a cardinal lurking in there. Don't forget a water source like a heated bird bath too.

All little tips for economizing on your bird feeding budget this winter.

Downy Displays In Ohio

So, while birding at Funk in Ohio, I noticed a couple of downy woodpeckers hopping/chasing each other. The two males were swinging their heads back and forth and giving each other the hairy eyeball (or would that be the downy eyeball--ha ha, I crack myself up). I went to BNA and sure enough found this as an explanation for their behavior: "Both sexes use similar threat displays: tail fanned, crest raised, bill held high and waved back and forth jerkily as if dueling with an invisible foe with a sword. Crest-raising identifies sex, exaggerates size, and reflects aggression."

BNA also mentions, "Wing Flicking—a rapid slight extension and raising of the wings is a mild threat display that with increased intensity becomes the Wing Spreading Display."

There was a third male that wanted in on the action, but he was doing his display well away from the other two--Fierce!

Audubon Ohio Assembly 2008

FYI, things my get a little more PG-13 than usual later on in this entry, for parents reading with your kids, you might want to read alone first. Yeah, that's right, Jim, I'm goin' there!

Man, I ate a lot of pie this weekend. I think this was the most pie offerin' bird event I've been too. We had pie with lunch, pie for afternoon break, pie with dinner. Pie, pie, pie! And good pie too, not that pumpkin pie which the best piece you've ever had isn't much different than the worst piece of pumpkin pie you've ever had.

I came to Bellville, Oh for the Audubon State Assembly and gave a presentation on Blogging, The New Nature Journal. I had some geek out moments on this trip: Jim McCormac, Kenn & Kim Kaufman sat in on my workshop (people I very much admire). I also got to meet Greg Miller (if you read The Big Year, he was the guy that put it on credit card). A totally nice guy with a great sense of humor, wish I had more time to go birding with him.

On frosty Sunday morning, I went out birding with Jim to look for sparrows at Funk WMA. The trip was wonderful--a frost blazing in the sun, fall leaf colors, a good variety of birds, and Amish buggies clip-clopping in the background...periodically interrupted by trumpeting sandhill cranes.

Song sparrows (like the bird above) as were swamp sparrows. The target birds of the morning were Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow or LeConte's sparrow. We did not get the LeConte's but with some good effort of both Jim and fellow trip leader Ethan Kistler our group got a pretty darned good look at a Nelson's. It sat long enough that everyone got a good look in the scope. I didn't get a chance to digiscope it, but another bird for another day.

We had a small flock of white-crowned sparrows around us to. Jim said that this was the handsomest sparrow. I argued that is was the Harris's sparrow and other sparrows like the Nelson's were included and the white-throated and well we all agreed this was in fact a great looking bird, but no consensus was reached as to what is the handsomest sparrow.

Funk was a glorious place for birding and the variety of birds was just right and we even had a little mini hawk migration with some Cooper's hawks and red-tails moving through.

We even found something a little curious while going down the path. I wasn't sure what this was exactly...I know what I think it looks like, but really have no idea what this is. I tried to digiscope it to see if that would give me an answer.

Not a serious answer. I really have no clue. Non Birding Bill thinks it has something to do with being a gas marker.

This was a bumper on one of the vehicles in the parking lot at Funk WMA--which reminds me, some Ohio birders told me this morning that I sound like Sarah Palin when I talk. I was asked to say "donut" and "Ohio" and "Oh no." Hmmmm. I'm sure it's my Minnesota accent and the fact that she sounds Minnesotan (at least in cadence). I always thought that my Minnesota accent was an improvement over my original Hoosier accent, but now I'm not so sure.

More coming soon, I have to read up on some downy woodpecker behavior first.

birdJam for the Yucatan


Anybody need some bird calls for the Yucatan?

birdJam has just completed the editing and development of the new birdJam Maker Add-On Module for the Yucatan Peninsula. Both Mac and Windows versions are available and priced at $19.99; photos are not included.This new add-on module formats and organizes the new CD of Bird Songs of Mexico: Yucatan Peninsula, Volume 1. This 74-minute, 90 species collection is remarkably free of extraneous noises such as wind, insects, and other species of birds.

The CD and accompanying booklet were recorded and produced by Antonio Celis-Murillo, Fernando Gonzalez-Garcia, and Danny Meltzer. The CD and booklet are priced at $19.99. Both the birdJam Maker Add-On Module and CD/booklet can be ordered from the birdJam Online Store.

Hey! It's a Honduras Bird Festival!

This February, the Central American country of Honduras will host the first annual Mesoamerican Birdwatching Festival, organized by the Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance (MEA).

The event will feature three program segments: a guide training/certification course (February 13-20), a Birdwatching Festival (February 21-26), and a post tour for birdwatching company representatives and nature writers (February 27-March 5).

Honduras is located in the heart of Central America, allowing for a rich diversity of species from the northern and southern countries of the region. While only 740 species (and counting) have been registered in Honduras, along with one endemic, many are very desirable and easy to observe. In the Mosquitia region nearly 500 species have been recorded, the north coast more than 400, the Lake Yojoa basin over 400, and 400 within the department of Copan.

The principal objective of this annual festival is to elevate interest in bird watching in Mesoamerica on a national and international level in an effort to increase sustainable tourism. This will then create employment, and most importantly, help preserve the ecosystems where the birds live and nest. The festival will subsequently be held in a different Central American country each year.

Guide Training / Certification Course (February 13-20):

The guide training course in the Lake Yojoa basin will last five days and be field intensive. Sessions will be conducted by trainers with extensive field experience in guiding, habitat and bird biology. Identification of birds by sight and sound will be emphasized, as well as their names in English. Students will also attend technical seminars and complete an exam (in English) at the end, with the results appearing on their diplomas. The guide training courses is limited to 30 people.

Bird Watching Festival (February 22-27):

The Bird Watching Festival will last four full days, and each will be filled with field trips to a number of different sites in the Lake Yojoa basin accompanied by qualified guides. Attendees will also have the privilege to bird with Robert Ridgely, author of various bird guides in Central and South America, and considered by many as the leading Neotropical ornithologist. Each evening, there will be presentations and seminars touching on various bird topics. The Bird Watching Festival is limited to 100 people.

Post Tour (February 27-March 5):

The post tour will include visits to Copan Ruinas, the Lancetilla Botanical Gardens in Tela, the Lodge at Pico Bonito near La Ceiba, and the Aguan Valley. The objective is to show the richness that Honduras has to offer along the north coast. The tour will be limited to ten international bird watching company representatives and nature writers.

Visit Birding Honduras for registration info.

Curious Waxwing

Oh dear, I may be coming over to the dark side of digiscoping...a Canon digital SLR, the Rebel XSi. There are certainly advantages using an SLR, but I like the small, pocket size and ability of taking video by using a point and shoot camera for digiscoping. I will say, feeling the click of the camera with every shot is oddly satisfying...let's see if I can get the photos there.

I went to the Minnesota Valley NWR to give it a test run and a most accommodating cedar waxwing flew down to the fly thru feeder. That's not supposed to be a seed eater, what's up with that? Sometimes during migration you'll see warblers and vireos at feeders. They're attracted by the general bird activity and flying to check out the food source. In some cases, they'll go for fruit or even suet if it's cold and there aren't enough insects available. Like this pine warbler at Mr. Neil's.

But this cedar waxwing had its eye on other things. It made sure the area was clear and then flew down to the bird bath for a sip. Alas, I did not get a photo of the waxwing on the bath, a herd of retired US Fish & Wildlife Employees (at the refuge for a convention) came out. One told me a rather naughty joke about mullen. He said that if you saw mullen growing in a field, then that meant that the soil was so bad, two Irish men with a bottle of whiskey couldn't even raise hell on it.

I think he doesn't like mullen.

Want To See Some Art Ducko?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the city of Bloomington Minnesota, are hosting the 2008 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest this weekend (Oct. 17 and 18) at Bloomington Center for the Arts.

The winning design chosen during the contest will be made into the 2009 - 2010 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, or "Duck Stamp" the cornerstone of one of the world's most successful conservation programs (a GREAT gift for any time of the year for birders, wildlife watchers, and hunters--and you're giving back to birds and wildlife at the same time).

I wish I could go to this, but will be in Ohio. If anyone is around in the Twin Cities this weekend, check it out. If you cannot make it to the BCA, you can view the finalists here. I personally hope one of the ruddy duck paintings make it.

Skywatch Friday--With Trumpeter Swans

Well, here it is, Skywatch Friday and I'm not going to make it to Carpenter Nature Center--I'm leaving on a jet plane for the Ohio Audubon Assembly this weekend. I'm looking forward to hanging out with some Ohio birders and hopefully a few will come to Birds and Beers. Anyway, last Friday at Carpenter, the clouds were down right funky. They were so thick, almost like the consistency of whipped whole cream. Planes would cut through the clouds near the Minneapolis Airport leaving a streak long after they disappeared. The fall colors are still peaking and brought out the blue beauty in the clouds.

Sounds like they have a new meme cookin' over there called My World Tuesday--basically, you show your world in photos. If I could create my world, it would be permanent autumn. I just love those colors.

I found this photo from Carver Park a week ago. I was trying to get bluebird photos when I heard what sounded like an old toy trumpet. Then two huge trumpeter swans flew over--such beautiful flashes of white in the sky blue sky against the autumn colors.