Las Terrazas Birding

After some fun times and barely birding in Old Havana, we met up with our main guide in Cuba, Hiram Gonzalez (pronounced "ear rahm" not they way we say Hiram in the US). Hiram is quite possibly one of the last people to see an ivory-billed woodpecker alive in Cuba. He's an ornithologist who specializes in endangered species on the island. If Zapata wren is your goal--he's the one you want to know to see one. 

He's also one of the most colorful guides I've ever gone with. How often do you go out with a guide who points to your endemic lifer with his half finished cigarette? He speaks very good English with a heavy accent. It took me a minute to figure out that "janky bird" was giant kingbird. At night, he'd join us at the bar and school us in birds and the better rums. But he was always so excited to show us his birds which I'm sure he'd seen more times than I've seen a cardinal. Ever time he would exclaim, while wildly flailing his cigarette, "Look AT dat!!!" 

Male Cuban martin.

We headed towards Las Terrazas to a plantation to get some of those Cuban endemics we'd been reading about so much. On the way we stopped for gas and got a lifer: Cuban martin. We  had martins zooming over the roof of our hotel. Even though it was April, I wasn't sure if there still might be some male purple martins on the island and it's impossible to tell male purple martins from male Cuban martins. But at the gas station there was no doubt.

Female Cuban martin in a nest cavity, check out the wasp nest above her head. 

Unlike purple martins, Cuban martins nest in holes in buildings--not the houses and colonies people in the United States have trained martins to use. These martins were using any hole or gap in the gas station. Cuba is know for several species that are endemic--spend their entire lives on the island. But martins fly away in winter and only breed here so their considered a breeding endemic. Kind of the way golden-winged warblers would be considered a breeding endemic to the North America. 

We continued our journey and at the first stop in Las Terrazas, it was the "holy-shit-new-birds-everywhere" sensory overload time. That lovely point where you are afraid to focus on just one bird because you might not see the other new bird right behind you ever again. Many of the endemics we saw on the first stop ended up being birds we would see almost every day like Cuban trogon, Cuban tody and Cuban green woodpecker...getting actual photographs of them was another story.

Our very first bird was the Cuban national bird, the Tocororo or Cuban trogon. As we were watching Cuban oriole and Cuban green woodpecker flew over--to a nest. 

Cuban green woodpecker. 

The farm to see grassquits!

Clouds and mist moved in as well giving things a mysterious air. After our initial stop we headed to a nearby plantation where they were setting up to feed their chickens. However, domestic fowl are not the only birds to see. This is the spot to get cracker jack looks at grassquits. 

Cuban grassquit. 

I could show you images of grassquits but it's far more fun to watch video of them happing around. There were far more yellow-faced grassquits than Cuban grassquits but we got ample looks at both. These are now considered to be part of the tanager family and are related to Darwin finches. 

I tried to get a picture of Flat Michelle with the grassquits, but they were having none of it.

So a local farmer was happy to oblige instead. 

Monfragüe National Park, A Vulture Lover's Paradise

Let me tell you about about vultures...and Iberian ham...

Birders looking badass as hell climbing up to Monfragüe Castle to do some birding in Monfragüe National Park in Extremadura. 

I recently visited Extremadura which is in the southwest region of Spain and bordered by Portugal. It's an "autonomous community" meaning that even though it's inside Spain, it governs itself. Extremadura is fairly wild and remote and offers tremendous birding opportunity as well as Roman ruins. I've written a little bit about castle birding over at the PhoneSkope blog which includes this region. If you are looking for a unique birdwatching experience, Monfragüe National Park has it.

Griffon vultures roosting on one of the may rocky cliff faces in Monfragüe. 

The big show while I was at the park was the large population of griffon vultures...which are a bit different than the turkey and black vultures we have in North America. This Old World species is ancient looking and gigantic, they make turkey vultures look practically anorexic. To give you an idea, a turkey vulture weighs about 3 - 4 pounds. A bald eagle can weigh anywhere from 8 - 12 pounds. A griffon vulture...now that beast can weigh as much as 25 pounds! Wrap your head around that for a minute--a soaring 25 pound bird! That's about the weight of a trumpeter swan!

Griffon vultures pair up for life and nest in breeding colonies along rocky cliffs. Spain hosts the largest breeding population for this species and Monfragüe National Park is a great place to view them. 

One morning while we were out birding, there was a griffon vulture perched on a rock in the field. There was no way to stop to get a photo, but you could clearly see the bird was almost as tall as me, at least four feet tall. Our guide said the bird was probably feeding and when the afternoon faded to evening there were no thermals or warm currents of air for the bird to use to soar up to the cliff, it had to spend the night on the ground because it's too big to flap up to the cliffs in a powered flight like a common buzzard would be able to do. I asked if there was any danger of predators getting a vulture and our guide smiled and said, "No, not a bird that big."

When I used to do eagle surveys, I always knew they would be one of the last birds to hit the thermals and I wouldn't really see them lift off until after 9:30am since they are a bit heavier than hawks and other soaring birds. If vultures are your target in Spain, you can sleep in before you go watch them. 

The castle in Monfragüe National Park offers dynamite views of griffon and black vultures as well as song birds on the trail up to it. 

It's one thing to go birding in a beautiful park with a rugged landscape. Monfragüe ups the adventure by offering tours from a castle on top of hill and looking into the valley below. When you get there, you go out on the roof and survey the landscape. Vultures start to rise and it isn't long until they're on the thermals and soaring 15 feet away from you and your eye to eye with this massive, winged beast. To make it even more decadent, there's a vendor with a cart who will sell you some espresso or beer to enjoy while you take in the view.

Below are some more highlights:

Griffon vultures rely on soaring to keep their massive weight in the air, since their heavy bodies would burn too much energy for flapping in powered flight. They soar high looking for dead livestock. 

Imagine returning from vacation and a coworker asks, "What did you do?" and you can answer, "I stood on top of a castle in Spain watching vultures soar past me while I sipped an espresso."

Other species of vulture can be possible too, depending on the time of year. These are black vultures with my lifer Egyptian vulture mixed in. 

European serins serenaded us on the trails in the national park. 

Eurasian wrens are one of my favorite singers. 

One of the prized species in this region is the Spanish imperial eagle. My picture got photobombed by a griffon vulture. 

Black stork.

The park a mixture of scrub habitat among rocky cliffs and and small oak forests. One tends to think of Europe as being mostly historic cities and villages but there's a warm wildness in Extremadura that is unique to Europe. You can find spots and feel like you're in a true wilderness. 

If you are not a vegetarian, make Iberian Ham a priority when visiting Extremadura. 

Speaking of the small oak forests, one of the best cured meats I've ever put in my mouth can be found in Extremadura. Pigs are left to wander the oaks during an acorn mast for six months before they're killed. The meat is then cured for three years, but may linger in shops for another two years before purchase. It's buttery soft and can be put on the traditional breads, but I enjoyed it on it's own. I thought Austria had a handle on making my favorite cured meats, but Iberian Ham blows it out of the water. It's the sort of food after tasting it where I thought, "I have to come back here, I can't imagine never eating this ever again. I know a lot of birders like to celebrate a life bird with "lifer pie," but if you're in Spain and you're a carnivore then make "lifer ham."

 

Birding By New York Subway

I've used my time in New York for some odd birding. I love all the artwork that can be found around the city and I had a few things on my list to find: a Bansky, an Edvard Munch.  Like birding, I had to follow a series of directions and when I finally got to the Munch:some dude was standing in front of it...3 inches in front of it (and was he too close, stressing the Munch out?).  The Banksy was covered, not unlike a blackburnian warbler in the top of the fully leafed out tree canopy.  The city had painted over it, but there were a few places with loose chips and you could see miniscule pieces of it underneath.

But the subway has all kinds of art and a surprising amount with identifiable birds. This is a mosaic at the Jay Street station by Ben Snead called "Departures and Arrivals."

The birds depicted in it are all non native and invasive species. Above is a starling and house sparrows.  But I love how the artist used the tiles to capture the irridescence of the starling feathers.

The other bird is the monk parakeet which have quite the strong hold in Brooklyn.  We've rented an apartment there that has a view of the Statue of Liberty.  It's an odd sensation to be standing there in the morning, clutching a cup of coffee and taking in that symbol of American freedom and promise...and then have noisy streaks of green fly between you and statue.  Then I have to think about these released cage birds establishing a colony like so many people who have passed by Lady Liberty (though, I'm not sure the parakeets had too much choice to choose to live here).  All the brown stones on a cloudy winter day in Brooklyn broken up by noisy, flashy green parrots is so strange tho.

I'm not sure about the insect and fish depicted in the mosaic but I wonder if they are non natives too?  What is that, a lion fish?  It's a colorful mural and worth a peak if you are ever in New York.  A real treat can be found at the Museum of Natural History Station:

Check out the whooping crane!  Actually, when we hit this stop, I grabbed my camera and said aloud but to myself, "I need photo of that crane and dodo."  Non Birding Bill immediately walked over.  I said, "I didn't mean you, there's a dodo outline behind the crane!"  But he does make a good representation for the scale of the mosaics.

There are all sorts of animals all over the station and it's worth taking the time to explore and see what's there.  It's an evolutionary chain from the Big Bang to the plethora of fauna seen on this planet.  I love the random birds on there. It's not all cardinals and eagles, it's cool birds that perhaps the average person may not be aware are out there like the above black-bellied whistling ducks.

I think this was my favorite--a pileated woodpecker in the subway!  Who knew?

Here's a break down of all that can be found at that station.  The large work is called "For Want Of A Nail." It's interesting to note that some species have a tiny question mark made of really tiny tiles mixed in them.  I think it's supposed to represent a question of whether or not these species will remain with us in the future.  But there didn't appear to be one on the whooping crane so NBB wondered if there was some street artist inserting mosaic tags.

Here are some of the other birds:

Laughing gull.

Kiwi.

Killdeer.

Okay, not birds but still cool--monarchs!

Love that monarch caterpillar!

Ruby-throated hummingbird.

 

 

Spring Migration, It's On!

We have turned a corner winter wise up in Minnesota--I was up and at 'em early in the morning this weekend and I heard a robin singing on territory in my neighborhood!  I took the above photo of an American robin outside of the National Eagle Center in Wabasha on Sunday (that's roughly 80 miles south of me).  I was stationed at a binocular booth all day and it was a great vantage point for watching the birds use the Mississippi River as a major highway.  Saturday was bright and sunny and my biggest surprise was seeing a meadowlark zoom right overhead.

I love this photo of a bald eagle tucked behind some branches bursting with red buds about to pop.  That's spring!  It was crazy how migration really turned a corner this weekend.  The previous weekend I struggled to see a red-winged blackbird and I passed clouds and clouds of them on my way down.

Both days, on my drive down I saw several groups of hooded mergansers involved in courtship display in the backwaters of the Mississippi.  Speaking of hooded mergansers, have you seen the shots Picus Blog just posted--amazing!

While Saturday was beautiful and offered great views of spring birds (like the above robin), Sunday was cooler and drizzly which eventually turned to fog and was utter crap for getting photos.  You could still see migration working through the skies until the fog got so thick that we couldn't see across the river.  We would scan the skies with the scopes and watch strings and strings of tundra swans heading north as well as a whole host of other ducks like ring-necks, scaup and common mergansers.  I even got my first of year pelicans.

I'll be at the National Eagle Center one more time this month.  Next Sunday, I'll do a digiscoping workshop on how to take photos and video of birds and wildlife using a binoculars or spotting scope with a digital camera.  I think it starts at 11am.  I'll also have my pro cleaning kit if you would like me to tidy up your optics for you too.

Big Year Movie News & Rumors

I had a very interesting day tracking down information about the movie The Big Year (the movie based on the book with the same name about 3 guys who try to see the most birds in North America in one year) starring Jack Black (above), Steve Martin (above) and Owen Wilson.

First, let's clear up some gossip that was making the rounds on the bird festival circuit this fall.

1.  The movie will open July 4th weekend in 2011.  According the movie's publicist, there is no release date scheduled as of today.  And I believe that, because last night I got the following email from someone I will call a Henchman of my National Secret Network:

"I just saw the movie, The Big Year in NYC.  It was a focus group.  I never heard of the movie prior to tonight, and I know nothing about birding.  Steve Martin was at the showing.  If you'd like to ask me any questions, I'd be happy to answer.  I googled the movie and saw your website."

More on that later in this email (WARNING THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS).

If the production company is doing focus groups, they are deep in editing and wouldn't come up with a release date until they got a sense of how the movie would work with audiences.

2. And this rumor is a Doozie: Debra Shearwater of Shearwater Journeys is suing the production company over something to do with the film, most likely her portrayal in the movie by Anjelica Huston.

NOT TRUE. I sent Debi a message telling her what I had heard (which I was surprised because I had  heard how excited she was about the production). According to Debi, "There is no chance of this rumor being true!!"

Big Year publicist knew nothing of it either.

Now...let's get back to the email I received from my Henchman...and again, there may be spoilers in here so if you want the movie to be a total surprise, stop reading.  If you've read the book, you kind of know what happens and this fills in actors with characters in the book (and not in the book).  So here we go with the Henchman's notes:

General Movie:

Henchman said, "I would describe the movie an informational dramedy."

Birds looked real except for one owl that appeared to be CGI (and that they were still in the process of editing it, it was black).

Jim Parsons plays a blogger who tracks the three main characters on his blog called Ichabod Crane.

John Cleese narrates the movie and subtitles are used to give bird info throughout the movie.

A big part of the drama was keeping the fact that all three were doing a big year secret.  Almost every birding scene involved small groups of background actors doing the same.   They discussed the weather and the "fallout" from El Nino a good bit.

A birder takes his new wife to Attu and she expects it to be a an exotic getaway (oh, how many non birding spouses have fallen for that one?).

Steve Martin is playing the Al Levantin character in the book. I have heard from other sources that the characters will not have the same names as they had in the book. I'm sure it has something to do with not having to get permission from the actual people they are based on.

Steve Martin's character reminded Henchman of the CEO in the movie Meet Joe Black, except he didn't care what happened to the business he created.  He was just ready to move on in life and birds.

Martin's character doesn't have many of the jokes, but the woman playing his wife is funny (I think that is JoBeth Williams).  He's constantly pestered by employees of his company while he's out birding--even when he's on Attu--yes, Attu is in the movie.

Jack Black is the Greg Miller character.

Jack Black's character can id any bird by sound and is tested on this quite a bit.  His father is played by Brian Dennehy.

Jack Black's love interest was shown to be the only person involved for the love of birds (which I believe is played by Rashida Jones).  Of course they all love birds, but the competition was priority number one.  Her life list is less than their year lists.

Black's character gets most of the jokes.

Owen Wilson is the Sandy Komito character.

His nemesis bird is a Snowy Owl, he keeps missing it.

According to Henchman, Wilson's best scenes are with Anjelica Huston when he starts a mutiny on her boat because he wants to go for a bird and she steers it towards a whale instead.  She wasn't in the movie enough.

Owen's character is married and his wife is pregnant, but birds come first for him and the wife and baby come second (I think his wife is played by Rosamund Pike).

So, a big thank you to my mysterious Henchman who fed me his notes on the movie.  One final thing he said was that the first part of the movie was slow, the last two thirds moved faster.  He found it good and that birders will probably get more out of it, "I think you will love the movie while I thought it was merely "good" because I was expecting so much from that cast."

A Plea To Birders

I posted this on Facebook and Twitter, but I'm going to add it here as well.  There was a segment on the Katie Couric news show about the Great Texas Birding Classic and while I think it's awesome that birders were in the news and equally awesome that most of those birders were wearing Swarovski.  However, I did see something troubling. Just watch 10 seconds of the video.

Birders (or bird watchers if you prefer), for the love of Pete, when a news camera is on you: DO NOT IMITATE BIRD CALLS.  No one wins when that happens.  I'm sure your black rail call is awesome and brings all the rails to the yard, but really, it will not help bring more people to the fold. I can't think of one non birding person who would see that and think, "Yes, that rocks, I don't know what birding is, but I'm going to do it right now!"

I think young kids will watch that and think, "Holy crap, is that the sort of people who are outside in the woods?  I'm staying in with my video games where it's safe."

I get asked to bird calls by the media and I refrain, it's easy to do.  Really, you can say, "no."  You can tell they think they will get the funny sideshow factor in their segment by asking you to do it and I've seen more than one reporter aghast at my refusal but then you see something in their eyes, perhaps something new--respect.  I kindly offer to do bird calls with my iPod Touch, but I refuse to do it with my lips (okay, maybe I've whistled the two note black-capped chickadee call, but that's it--I'll give you a pass on a chickadee--but no soras, no blackbirds, please for the sake of humanity, don't do a puffin).

So, please.  If we want to keep birding (according to Katie) the second most popular hobby, stop doing bird calls on tv and the news!

Thank you.