Hawk Hungry For Puppet Thrasher

From WSBTV:

A red-tailed hawk, apparently confused by a puppet shaped like a bird, swooped into a Midtown Atlanta parking lot Friday sending two workers ducking for cover.Jeff Domke and Alan Louis, employees at the Center for Puppetry Arts, were in the facility's parking lot at 1404 Spring Street taking pictures of a puppet designed to look like a brown thrasher, the state bird of Georgia.The brown thrasher puppet must be pretty realistic because the hawk, a respected hunter, tried to turn the puppet into breakfast.The hawk, which can reach speeds up to 120 mph in a dive, made contact with Domke on the hand and head before realizing its target wasn't a real bird."I suppose the hawk paid us a compliment on Jeff’s design," said Louis.No human, hawk or puppet was injured.

Junior Ranger Event and Young Birder's Guide

We had a small but intrepid group at our Junior Ranger bird walk tonight. One of the cool parts was a junior ranger who showed up Bill Thompson's book: The Young Birder's Guide. She was workin' it too. Checking the birds off as she found them, double checking the info. This is an awesome book: It uses great photos (and fabulous illustrations by Julie Zickefoose) to illustrate birds. Each page contains basic information and some wow fact about birds. There's a section that helps you figure out which birds you will see in which habitat too. I don't think this book needs to be limited to just young birders, this is a great guide for any birder ready to graduate from the starter guides. The only thing that keeps it from being a perfect guide is that it encourages kids to dress like stereotypical birder. Kids, you don't have to wear a vest and floppy hat to go birding--resist the propaganda.

We didn't have huge amounts of birds, but we had some oh so cooperative cedar waxwings and robins. The best part of the evening came as we were ending the walk. We were going down the trail and the kids were finding lots of turkey feathers. I don't think anything sinister happened to a turkey, just typical molt feathers. I paused to listen for birds at an opening in the woods and noticed an odd piece of bark hanging in a tree, then I realized that the bark had a bird tail shape--wait a minute! That was a turkey sitting on a branch in the tree. I froze and whispered for all the kids to get behind me. There just above us, right off the trail was a turkey. As I pointed her out, a small second turkey poked its head up from under her wing, then another, and another--about five or six half sized turkey poults emerged from her body (that seems like it was a late nest). They atttempted to fly off the branches, suddenly, about six more adult sized turkeys burst from hidden corners higher in the tree. It was a whole roosting flock. I felt bad that the turkeys were disturbed from their roost, but then again, they chose to roost right off of a well traveled biking and hikin path in an urban area. They'll get over it, I'm thinkin'.

Thanks to everyone who came.

Fall Transitions

Watch out, Buckeyes! I'm coming to Bellville, Ohio next month! On October 18, I'll be giving a presentation on how to start your own nature blog for the Audubon Ohio State Assembly. It would be fun if we could work out a Birds and Beers there. Suggestions anyone? Non Birding Bill is coming to Ohio with me ( but wants to make it clear that he will not be participating in any birding). His family lives in nearby Mansfield, so I'll get to visit the in laws as well...and enjoy some of the frightening dolls of small town Ohio. Oh hai, and for my Mom, here is an article about the assembly. I'm actually really excited about this, Kim Kaufman and Jim McCormack are leading field trips on the October 19th and I'm hoping to tag along.

Boy howdy, I need to be careful about going out with librarians on a Tuesday night for dinner and drinks. I have a librarian friend who is...your fantasy librarian you would see in 80's music videos. Business by day (glasses and smart clothes) but in the evening, the pencil comes out of the bun, the hair falls, the glasses disappear and well, you find yourself a tad hungover on a Wednesday morning. So, I did some light Wednesday morning digiscoping. The above great blue heron perched on the wood duck box somewhat mirrored my state of mind.

I found it interesting that after a few minutes, the great blue heron went to sleep, above the reeds, out in the open. I wondered if this bird had migrated in the night before from Canada or northern Minnesota and was just that exhausted. Migration is going in full force. Yesterday while workin' on my fitness on the bike trails, I realized that this was the first day I did not see any swallows along the trail. Come to think of it, I didn't see any while out birding, they have moved south.

But other birds were moving in. I heard the chip notes of white-throated sparrows and sure enough, I found a pair hidden in some trees. This is sort of that denial time of late summer early autumn in the Twin Cities. It's still fairly warm, lots of insects are making sounds: katydids, cicadas, crickets, but key birds are gone like the swalllows and migrants are pushing through--warbler waves are hidden in the tops of many trees. Even as I type this, I can hear yellow-rumped warblers making their chip notes in the trees outside my apartment. In another month or two, the trees will be silent. Sigh.

Lots of young birds were learning the ways of the flocks, like this young cedar waxwing. You can tell this is a bird that was hatched this summer by the vertical stripes down the breast--that's one way we tell immature from adult raptors. Immatures tend to have vertical striping, adults tend to have horizontal (or no) striping.

Anyone else noticing fall transitions out there?

Oh, and for international birders who read the blog, did anyone see this photo over at Cute Overload? Some of their readers suggested it was a red-tailed hawk--which I know for sure it is not a red-tail. Is this a snake-eagle? Anyone want to hazard a guess?

Celebrate Urban Birds Contest

Cornell Lab of Ornithology has started the Celebrate Urban Birds website.

They want to see your photo, drawing, or video of a Little Green Space that's good for birds (remember the bald eagle nest that's in a Minneapolis neighborhood across from the airport?). Have you noticed a spot that birds like because it provides shelter, food, or water? It could be an ivy-covered wall, flowers next to the stoop, a windowbox, a container garden on a rooftop or balcony, your school garden, or the potted plants by your library entryway.

Send a photo, drawing, or link to your video to urbanbirds@cornell.edu . They'll send the first fifty entries a copy of the new "Celebrate Little Green Places" poster and there will be other great prizes, including a $100 gift certificate from Johnny's Selected Seeds.The deadline is October 31. For more information, visit the Little Green Places contest site.

Birds Are On The Move

Hey, how about a head on hump day merlin? Anybody need any cleansing out there? This should work. Isn't that a dynamite shot? It's from my buddy Frank Taylor. It rained a ton at the blind last weekend, but they still got some cool birds in like this female merlin. I was not able to go, but hope to make it back there soon. Last fall, I had more time than money, this fall I have more money than time. But that's the way it crumbles, cookie-wise.

Frank also sent over a great shot of two sharp-shinned hawks, one adult (haggard in falconry terms) and one immature (passage in falconry terms). It's a nice compare/contrast. They had a great if not heart breaking show involving a peregrine (heart breaking because the peregrine got away): Frank reports,

"At 11:02 am Amber spotted an immature male Peregrine falcon coming right at us from the northeast. At about mid-field it started chasing a female Kestrel. It was pressing the Kestrel hard with twists and turns and when it started to close the gap, the Kestrel shot right into the woods, just to the north of us, in an effort to shake it off. As the Peregrine came back into the field, Rick pulled the lure and it came straight in and bound to it at the base of the net. Because it hit the lure and stopped right there, the net did not fall and as soon as Rick ran out of the blind, it released its grip and took off toward the north. Holy Spiccollli!! . . . What A Great Show! There was not even a scratch on the lure as it was wearing our super-dooper, extra thick, protective leather, jacket-harness."

So Frank's efforts to put his lure pigeons in thick leather harnesses really does work to save the pigeon. For more on Frank's set up, visit my Hawk Banding 101 link.

Hawk migration is well underway. I digiscoped some broad-winged hawks soaring over the MSP Airport this morning. We don't quite see the numbers in the Twin Cities that they see up at Hawk Ridge, but still fun to see a small kettle. Speaking of Hawk Ridge, they are having their big Hawk Weekend Event this coming weekend. If you're outside of Minnesota, visit the Hawk Migration Association website and see if there's a place near you.

Jamaican Birding Opportunity

-Tired of cold weather, 4 hours of light, and watching the bird feeder? Do you like sun, good food and warm tropical oceans? We have the answer. Be a field assistant on research studying migratory (primarily American Redstarts) and resident birds in Jamaica. We are looking to save 5-7 people from winter depression. Project begins mid-Jan and continues until early to mid May. Assistants can expect long hours in the field, six days per week, wading in mangrove swamp and maneuvering through dense second growth scrub. Competitive applicants will have some experience in netting, banding, and bleeding birds. Ability to re-sight small active color-banded birds is also preferred. These positions are voluntary but travel to and from Jamaica as well as food and lodging is provided. Start date is approximately early to mid-Jan, 2009.

Send cover letter, CV, and contact info for 3 references to PETER MARRA, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20008 or email (preferred–EM: marrap AT si.edu).

Trying To Make Birders Less Socially Awkward

According to Slate:

The bird-watching site, Birdpost, looked like the most promising new social networking site debuted at TechCrunch50, the Sundance of the Web start-up world. Birdpost's target audience is less narrow than you may think: There are 18 million birders in America, and they spend $32 billion each year on their pursuit, according to the company's founders. Birdpost allows users to share data on where they've made their finds. If I'm birding at Lake Dell Valle in California and spot a bald eagle, I'll add the bird to my Birdpost profile. (I can do it from my computer or my phone.) If you've been looking for a bald eagle, you'll get an alert telling you where I've just spotted one. Birdpost also has a way to make money—it's free for now, but it'll begin to charge a subscription fee once it attracts many users.

Now, my questions is, why do this over eBird? Has anyone tried both and have a comparison? I'm curious to see how this is going to further affect birding listservs. I've already noticed a difference on one of the Minnesota birding listservs. Hardly anyone posts to that particular list anymore (apart from rare bird alerts) because members of the list take it upon themselves to post back channel emails to new people who post sightings of palm warblers (that's not rare enough) or to photographers (quit posting links to your photos, you're only trying to make money off of them), or people who post backyard bird sightings (I pay good money to have the listserv emails sent vis text to my cell phone, you're wasting my money), or bloggers (quit spamming the list, we know you make money per click on your website). On that last one, I'd love to know how a blogger can make money per click--how did I miss that gravy train? Add that to the envitable infighting that happens every few months, I can see why BirdPost looks good.

In other news, Minnesota BirdNerd has filmed the rarely seen, Happy Bird Bander Dance.

Warning: Don't Hunt & Eat Cute Birds That Taste Like Fish In Front Of A Camera

From the BBC News:

TV watchdog Ofcom has ruled that an episode of Channel 4 show The F Word featuring chef Gordon Ramsay eating a puffin did not break the rules.

Ofcom received 42 complaints over the show which saw Ramsay "sky fishing" for puffins and eating its fresh heart.

The regulator said the sequence was not in breach as it occurred in Iceland, where the puffin forms a popular part of the national diet.

It also noted the birds were killed in a humane way with minimal suffering.

Viewers had complained that the practice of killing puffins was cruel, the local tradition of eating their fresh hearts was offensive, and that, whilst not protected, puffins were a species under threat.

However, Ofcom said that The F Word had historically contained items featuring the rearing, hunting or killing of a variety of animals for food, including those not usually eaten in the UK.

Warning

It ruled that viewers should therefore have been prepared to some extent for an item similar to the one complained of.

Ofcom also noted that the programme began at 2100, and that a verbal warning about the killing and gutting of birds was broadcast at around 2145, immediately before the section showing these images.

The regulator said it appreciated the concern of viewers who were unhappy that puffins should be caught and eaten in this way.

But it added it did not consider the item went beyond the audience's general expectations for the programme, which had consistently challenged conventions in the UK about the acceptability of various foods and ingredients from around the world.

In the same report, Ofcom also noted 31 complaints from viewers over a BBC News report about an incident in Jerusalem.

Footage showed a Palestinian man ramming buses and cars with a bulldozer, killing three people and then the man being shot dead in the cab of the vehicle by an off-duty Israeli soldier.

However, as the BBC later publicly acknowledged that broadcasting the footage of the moment of death was not justified editorially, Ofcom said it considered the matter resolved.