Birdchick Podcast #84: Grebmaggedon, Taped Calls & A Hooded Crane

Thousands of eared grebes crash landed in Utah winding up on football fields, a Walmart parking lot and highways in Utah.  At least 3000 live grebes were collected but a low estimate of 1500 grebes died on impact.  You can listen to Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Kevin McGowen talk about it on NPR. An article about song sparrows and how taped predator calls affect them.  An interesting article, but how often is a bird like a song sparrow going to be exposed to predator calls 24 hours a day, four days in a row by birders?

A huge discussion was started on the American Birding Association's group page about birders and why the uniform appears to be ill fitting khaki pants, vests and floppy hats.  Why is this our uniform?  Why the vest?

Remember the mystery hummingbird in Chicago (they one they tried to ID based on poop)? Well, they got a feather and they now know exactly what species it is based on DNA testing.  Find out the id here (or listen to the podcast).

A hooded crane has been reported in Tennessee.  Now the question is if this bird is truly a vagrant from another country or an escapee from a private collection.

Birdchick Podcast #84



Best Place To Watch Cranes On Earth

A large part of my trip to Israel was spent at the Agamon Hula in northern part of the country.  The story of the cranes in the valley is quite amazing and quite recent.  I've seen crane migration several times in the US, it's one of my favorite things to watch and encourage others to do (I've got a sandhill crane tattoo designed by Paul Johnsgard in the small of back, I love it so much).

But the Agamon takes to you see cranes in the way you've always wanted to view them.  Close.

And I mean REALLY close.  This is the closest that I've ever been to large flocks of cranes and it's really incredible how the whole situation works.

The story of the cranes at the Agamon started in the 1940s. There was a huge shallow Hula Lake was drained so the land could be farmed. All was well and good for about 10 or 15 years and then the peat dried out. Whole planted fields failed as dried peat combusted--some farmers lost tractors that sank in the combusting dried peat. In the late 1980s to early 1990s they began to rehabilitate the peat and the lake gradually returned, though not quite as large as it originally had been.  As the Hula Lake reformed and several birds started using it on their migration south. Some had shown up in the lake's previous glory but nothing like this.

The first year, about 15,000 common cranes used it as a staging area. Many people came to view the cranes and the area began to grow as an eco-tourism site and at this point, roughly 30,000 cranes use the area. It's an incredible site. But what makes this special is that the cranes have developed a fondness for the surrounding farm fields which presents both an incredible wildlife opportunity and a challenge.

On the one hand it's incredibly amazing that the cranes are all wedged into this area and they have grown accostomed to farm equipment. Someone caught on to this and noted that people wanted to view the cranes and thought, "What if we attached a big box that holds 50 - 60 people to a tractor and drove it through big flocks of cranes in the Hula Valley? And it works!  The cranes are very used to the equipment and as the tractors tote around groups of crane watchers, the birds casually walk out of the way but stay relatively close.  In the above photo you can see the view from our blind and beyond the cranes is a tractor pulling another blind.  As you can see, the cranes are relatively nonplussed by all the humans watching them.

It's not 100% an ideal situation. The cranes should be using the area for staging (gathering and feeding like crazy to continue their migration south). However, the cranes have found ample forage and several thousand are spending the winter in the Hula Valley roosting on the lake and foraging nonstop in the surrounding field. This is a problem, both for cranes and for farmers, as cool as the birds are, the farmers don't want to lose their income and really, the cranes should be migrating.

So, Israel has come up with a unique idea. There are fields where supplement food is set out for the cranes and a squad who patrols the area and flushes cranes from farm fields where they shouldn't be feeding by using loud noises like fireworks and gun shots--the cranes are not harmed, but flushed from areas where they shouldn't be, keeping the farmers happy and the cranes safe.

It's quite amazing how acclimatized to humans the cranes are despite being flushed from certain fields.  In Nebraska, you can't get as close to the birds and if you went out into the fields where they forage during the day, the sandhill cranes take off.  In the Hula Valley in Israel, you can get quite close and the refuge is happy to help you get there.  It's great for getting photos, for sketching or for just sitting there and enjoying the spectacle of thousands of cranes.

Even in the hides built around the refuge to visit birds throughout the year are visited by cranes.  You don't even have to keep quiet.  While I was in the above blind several people were inside chatting animatedly in Hebrew.  Even when we were in our tractor blinds our guides had microphones and speakers and spoke at a very normal level when close to the cranes and the birds were not perturbed.

Common cranes are only part of the magic of viewing birds in the Hula Valley, but they are a great part.  To view them at their peak you need to visit in early November. There are always great birds at the Hula, but for a crane migration spectacle, plane on early to mid-November. After visiting the Hula Valley, I may have to adjust my tattoo.

Oh and to give you an idea of how similar they are to sandhill cranes in North America, check out this video, they sound almost exactly the same:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTw6fp6JB_4[/youtube]

 

I Think I Saw A Few Cranes In The Hula Valley

On my way back from the Hula Valley to Tel Aviv, I'm taking advantage of the wifi on our base. I've seen a lot of crane migration in my life and I've loved them all, but Israel is creeping up to the top spot in my heart.  The Hula Valley is an incredible story of conservation, partnership and sheer biomass beauty.

Here's an up close shot of one of the 30,000 cranes.  It is a common crane (Grus grus) and they sound an awful lot like sandhill cranes but look a bit different.

 

Birdchick Podcast #49 Parrots Naming Babies & Bird Colors

David Sibley shares some ideas for dealing with birds flying into your windows over at Birdwatching Magazine.  I particularly like the idea of using monofilament fishing line on the outside of the windows. Study concludes that green-rumped parrotlets name their chicks (insert dramatic chipmunk).

Remember those wildfires in Arizona?  Early estimates indicate that 80% of nesting sites for hummingbirds were lost and important fueling areas for migrating hummers is gone and KAYTEE is putting together emergency kits for hummingbirds!

Whooping cranes with satellite transmitters show that the birds are stopping in dangerous oil lands areas.

Interesting development and information regarding the sustainability of a sandhill crane hunt in Kentucky over at Vicki Henderson's blog.

Bird coloration guide?  Would you purchase a guide to bird color descriptions to help you describe and id birds?

What Non Birding Bill made me for breakfast.

Birdchick Podcast #49

Migration, Carlos Avery and a Pub Quiz

Merlin's Rest put out the call for Guest Pub Quizzers and I'll be leading the Pub Quiz this Sunday, September 19 at 7:30 pm.  If you know me and the blog, you have an idea of what kinds of quesitons I'll ask, but I do promise that it will not all be bird related.  I'll have some cool prizes...perhaps even some honey from our hives for the winning team.

I keep trying to deny autumn this year and I can't.  I took this photo two days ago at Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area.  One can't deny red oak leaves as a sure sign that it's getting colder and the days are getting shorter.  My denial was broken in full yesterday when we went on a canoe/kayak paddle in my park for work...it was a tad chilly on the river and my fingers had that dry skin ache that is exclusive to cold, dry air.  Sigh.  I did get one pleasant reminder of fall--Mr. Neil's housekeeper called to say that they found a 20# patch of Hen of the Woods in our usual patch--my favorite wild edible.  We will have some tasty soups and sauces with that fungus this winter!

Canada geese are on the move and I got word that my waterfowl surveys start soon--at the end of the month.  My route got expanded this year, but I'm also nervous.  I went on a ride along for this new extension last year and the amount of ducks and species mix is a lot to take in.  Will I be able to count them all?  We'll do our best but I feel this year's survey is of utmost importance.  When we do this again for the next few years?  Will those numbers change with the Gulf spill?  Despite "capping of the well" the spill is not over, there's still a ton of oil in the water, it's below the surface so you can't see it, but it's affecting the food supply.

Of large concern to me is the recent fish kill in Louisiana, Check out This Is Not A Road.  Disturbing amount of fish and also interesting that in this fish kill it's several species of fish.  I've seen fish kills--we get them along the Mississippi in spring and even on some of our lakes,  but it's usually one species of fish.  This huge fish kill in Louisiana is SEVERAL species and includes sting rays and a whale.  The government says that the oil spill is not the cause even though oil is clearly visible on the fish in close up shots.  They official report is depletion of oxygen...which happens this time of year and does cause fish kills but usually not this large and the depletion is caused by the dead zone in the Gulf (created by fertilizer pollution from farmers on the Mississippi River) and most likely exacerbated by the oil and more likely the chemical oil dispersent put in the Gulf).  There's a great report on the fish kill from the AP on YouTube and an explanation on New Scientist.  I think we'll see more problems.

Sorry for that tangent.  I'm not exactly sure what to do about the oil spill.  I want people to know that it's still a problem and that many birds (and other coastal creatures, not to mention people's jobs) are in peril, but I don't want this blog to become your daily downer.  Just promise me you won't buy into the idea that oil spill is over and we still have problems to solve, 'k?

Back to birds:

There's a feed plot at Carlos Avery and I chuckled at this goldfinch, it was eating the tassels.  I know finches are primarily seed eaters and I've recently learned that they eat all matter of plants, but I'm beginning to suspect that there's not a piece of vegetation they won't eat.  I do have to hand it to them as far as creativity.  You pheasants and your bobwhite go for the corn kernels, goldfinches go tassels.  Great way to avoid competition.

Warblers, like the above yellow-rumped warbler were flitting among the tassels too.  The appeared to be after tiny insects rather than the plants themselves.

All the grasses and shrubs along the road were alive with small birds.  If you could see their shadows rustling among the leaves, you could hear their contact chip notes.  A little pishing (for non birders, say the word "pish" only in a loud whisper) made some of them pop up to investigate the sound.  Above are some swamp sparrows (the one on the left looks like its still molting heavily).

I love swamp sparrows and they blend so well with the changing fall foliage.  I especially love it when see a sparrow head on, they look like cranky old mean with muttonchops.  I almost feel like this one should shouting in a wheezy voice, "Hey you, whipper snapper, quit that pishing racket!!"  As I was taking their photos, I could hear sandhill cranes calling in the distance and I noticed that they were flying above me:

I would guess that this is a family group of cranes.  Perhaps they were doing some laps, getting their wing muscles in shape and teaching the young birds the mysteries of finding a warm column of air spiraling up to glide in.  Those thermals save energy when on long journeys.

These cranes are far enough south that they have avoided the Minnesota sandhill crane hunt, but depending on their route, they will have to watch out for the hunts in Kansas and Texas as well.  Good luck, cranes.