If it's pouring down rain after 6pm--Birds and Beers will be canceled tonight. If it's raining, I might go to the Fringe Speakeasy instead...if you'd like to still have the beer part and your interested in the Minnesota Fringe Festival.
Interesting Stuff At The Nest Cam Site
When will my bees arrive?? They could be here any moment this week and the anticipation is killing me. Cornell just sent a Twitter note about an interesting observation at the Carolina wren nest cam. The video picked up one of the Carolina wren parents finding a dead nestling and trying to remove it from the nest. Here is the video and if dead baby birds bother you, I would recommend avoiding this video. It's about five minutes long, but is worth watch until about 2 minutes 45 seconds into it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa_BCfWKXUo[/youtube]
What I find fascinating is that Carolina wrens are cavity nesters. It's dark in that nest, so how did the adult know there was a dead chick in there? It appears to forage around for it from way at the bottom of the nest, under the live chicks. What could be sensed? Most birds do not have a highly developed sense of smell, so that was probably not it. Many also can't count since you can sometimes put in chicks from another nest. Very curious.
The above video ends with the wren getting the chick out of the clutch, attempting to get it out of the box, but the chick gets caught on the edge. The adult wren then goes back to the brood to look around. Is it looking for another dead chick or to find the chick it dropped? Eventually the wren comes back, discovers the dead chick on the edge of the nest cup and gets it out of the box:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnJq6xYaWz0[/youtube]
And if that was a little too morbid for you and you need a cleanse, check out the uniform female rangers had to wear in the 1970s. They really rocked the go-go boots.
Banding Brown Birds
It was a busy day of banding brown birds at Carpenter Nature Center last Friday. Above is a female purple finch that flew into the nets. It was interesting to not the changing of the guard we had going on migration wise.
Although, the first bird I banded was not a migrant, but a house sparrow. I know this is a non native species and they can wreak havoc with bluebird and purple martin nest boxes, but the males in breeding plumage are a very striking bird. Check out that jet black bill. If you are not familiar with house sparrows in the US, they were brought over from Europe. House sparrows are cavity nesters and will aggressively compete with our native birds (like bluebirds, wrens, tree swallows, chickadees, nuthatches and purple martins) for nest holes. If a house sparrow wants an already taken nest cavity, they will use that thick and pointy bill to attack whoever is already in there. They will peck a hole in the back of the heads of the adult or young birds and even build their own nest on top of the carcasses. I once found a freshly dead white-breasted nuthatch on a birding trail. It had a hole in the back of its head. I looked straight up from where the nuthatch was on the ground and saw a small cavity in the tree trunk with a house sparrow poking its head out.
But the most common sparrow we banded last Friday were white-throated sparrows. Yikes, the way that white-throated sparrow looks in the above photo, I think he roughed up poor Sam Peabody. It was funny, the Friday previous we had nothing but juncos, however a week later there were absolutely no juncos and tons of white-throats. These guys are on their way to Canada for nesting, but watch for them foraging for millet under your bird feeders.
Here was fun sparrow that we weren't expecting--a swamp sparrow. The last time I saw one of these guys was at Cape May, NJ last October. Incidentally, these sparrows have the longest legs of any other sparrow in the US, most likely to help with foraging in water in a swamp.
Here's another sparrow that is a spring favorite for me--a field sparrow. They have one of the best bird songs out there. Check out how long this bird's tail is. Many of the birds we banded had longish tails.
It kind of threw me when we got in some pine siskins and they barely have a tail at all. They were so stubby, just something I had not noticed until they were in hand.
Here's an up close view of the little stub tail. Many of us had big numbers of pine siskins this winter and I've heard through the Minnesota birding grapevine that some are already building nests in Minnesota.
Above is our banding crew at Carpenter. If you'd like to watch our banding, we open it to the public every fourth Friday of the month. Although, we band every Friday so if you're at Carpenter on a Friday morning, you'll see us milling around, checking nets.
This Saturday, you can watch my buds Mark Newstrom and Roger Everhart at Lowry Nature Center as part of the Youth Birding Clinic. It’s geared for kids between the ages of 10 - 19 and includes bird banding, forest bird hikes, grassland bird hikes, wetland bird hikes, a session on digital photography, and birding by bike. I’ll even give a presentation on techno birding. All sessions take place at Lowry Nature Center. You need to register for the event, so call 763-559-6700.
Woodcock Birds and Beers Reloaded
Well, it was a mixed bag at last week's Birds and Beers, but we had a first!
Birds actually showed up to Birds and Beers! For those new to this site, Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of birders of all abilities. Normally, we meet at a pub and talk some birds. This time, we decided to take it on the trail to a park to gather for some socializing and then watch woodcocks. As we had our little tailgate party going in the parking lot of the park, this pair of mallards waddled over in the parking lot to join in the fun. I think they sensed chips and crackers (and a few bird suckers). They were welcomed with open arms.
The original plan with this Birds and Beers was to tailgate a bit at Lebanon Hills Regional Park until the sunset, then we were going to look for woodcocks. All went according to plan--it got dark and the woodcocks started to do their "peent"...for about two minutes then they abruptly stopped singing, never to be heard for the rest of the night! We heard some other birds including wild turkey, great horned owl and barred owl, but the woodcocks...they totally teased and ditched us. I felt bad, this was a life bird for some in the group. However, with birding, that's the way it sometimes crumbles, cookie-wise.
But, Birds and Beers regular and all around good egg, Linda Whyte has suggested that we use this coming Wednesday's rain date for Birds and Beers to go to Cliff Fen in Burnsville and try for woodcocks there. Which I think is a capital idea. She emailed me directions and a map!
Cliff Fen Park is just east of the 35W bridge, on the south side of the river, and you access Cliff Road East from Highway 13 or Cliff Road W directly from the 35W exit and Frontage road just south of the river.
Once in the lot, you walk along a dirt drive/path at the edge of the adjacent ballpark, passing close by some small cinder block buildings, and find a brown wooden sign with information about the Scientific and Natural Area. This marks the entrance to the path that crosses the tracks, and there is no other trail through the area. The trail will lead past a pair of power stanchions, just after which we should find a likely open patch to do a stake-out.
So, we're going to try again for the woodcocks on Wednesday, April 29 and this time we'll meet at about 8pm. If it's raining, it will be cancelled.
Now, there is one small snafu that could happen. I might not be there. I just got word that our bees are supposed to arrive any time this week. If I get the call that our bees arrive on Wednesday, then I will have to go out and hive the packages--must get them installed in their new home right away. But Linda and the rest of the gang will be there. Who knows, maybe my absence will insure that the woodcocks will put on a great show?
If you can't make this Birds and Beers, we are planning another one before I go to Kazakhstan either May 7 or 8 at Coon Rapids. As soon as I get the details worked out, I'll post them in the blog and on the Facebook Twin Cities Birding Group.
I have to say that I really enjoyed the tailgate end of the Birds and Beers this time. It was fun to gather and laugh while doing some light birding. It fit well with the theme that Birds and Beers is an informal get together for other birders to meet...and this time have birds join the party.
four-canyons-tnc
Oklahoma Porcupines
One of the fun things about the Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival that I attended in Oklahoma was the opportunity to see an area owned by The Nature Conservancy normally closed to the public called Four Canyon Preserve. It wasn't very bird--the top of the canyons were so windy, you could barely hear any song, but the views were stunning and a reminder that Oklahoma is not all flat land.
porcupine-nose
Though we did not see much in the way of birds, we did see some porcupines. I grew up in Indiana and didn't have much experience with porcupines until I moved to Minnesota. I don't have mammals on my radar quite like birds, so I just assumed in my head that porcupines were a northern species. I did not expect to encounter in them in Oklahoma. However, I did notice a couple of dead ones on the road as soon as I arrived.
porcupine-lair
When I came home from the trip, I looked through one of my mammal books and was surprised to find that their range extends all over the western US. One of our birding group noticed this porcupine lurking under some cedars. At first, the porcupine only showed its backside, but I stayed behind while the group continued on the trail. When it was quiet, the porcupine turned around.
porcupine-ok
I slowly snuck in for a closer look. Apart from the now famous porcupet that my friend Gail took care of, I've never spent too much time up close with a porcupine. I moved slowly and quietly, the porcupine was sort of cornered in this nook. I'm sure it realized it had the upper hand in the situation. Porcupines cannot shoot their quills out, but if it decided to charge and run past, even brushing my leg would leave me with a few quills. But it seemed chill and I didn't dilly dally with my photos, just a few quick snaps and then I went on my way to catch up with our birding group.
Oh, and for those curious about how female porcupines are able to give birth without getting "quilled," it because the young are born with soft quills that harden within about two hours after coming out.
sleeping-porcupine
From the top of one of the canyons, we looked down and I spotted another porcupine sleeping in a tree. I read in one of my mammal books, that many porcupine specimins in museums were found to have healed fractures. The speculation was that while porcupines are known as good climbers, they might also be good fallers too. Perhaps they fall out the trees and just learn to deal with the injury?
While we watched this critter, our guide told us that there were many porcupines in Oklahoma and many ranchers shoot them because porcupines chew the bark on trees, making them look bad. It's funny that some ranchers don't like the aesthetics left behind by a porcupine since I have had the same feeling about the aesthetics of some of the overgrazed prairie we passed.
From Owl Cam To Loon Cam
The Viera Owl Cam of the great horned owls nesting in a planter in Viera, FL has wound down to a close. The young owlet is out and about exploring life outside the planter and the last video is of the owlet perched and dosing on a trash bin. Speaking of odd great horned owl nesting habits, have you heard the story of the great horneds nesting in a Home Depot in Arkansas? Is our world starting to become more like Futurama?
If you are sad to see the owl cam go, one of the coolest cams I stumbled upon last year was the MN Loon Cam. I even got to meet Larry Backlund, the man who has the loons on his property and blogs about them. I just checked the website and it's live. I saw a loon swimming around the camera this morning, but no loon on the nest as of yet.
demanding-meadowlark1
Other Oklahoma Birds Besides Prairie Chickens
For the record, I did see other birds besides lesser prairie chickens in Oklahoma. As a matter of fact, while I was focused on a pair of male chickens in the middle of a stare down, a yellow blur moved in front of them. I adjusted the focus of my scope to reveal a meadowlark. I'm not sure which one this is. We heard both eastern and western meadowlark singing around the prairie chicken lek and I'm not bold enough to call it based on plumage. The bird did not sing while I got its photo. I love this shot of the meadowlark with the chickens blurred in the background.
If you are new to birds and have never heard a meadowlark call...or not sure if you have, check them out at Xeno Canto. Here is the western and here is the eastern. I grew up with eastern meadowlarks in Indiana (a beautiful evening song) but the westerns are quite striking.
stuck1
I have to say that there was quite a bit of adventure to our birding--one day about 4 different vehicles toting participants to birding spots got stuck in mud along the minimum maintenance roads. There had been quite a bit of rain beforehand. I heard through the grapevine that many vehicles got stuck on the way to the lesser prairie chicken leks. A tractor was required to get the vehicle out. Since that road was blocked, the field trip leaders cut a barb wire fence (with the fence owner's permission and the understanding it would be repaired) to get the vehicles to the blind--that's dedication to get birders to the birds! And what a great adventure to see the bird.
library-3796
I really dug the sparrow action at the festival--check out this feeding station. Harris sparrows (dudes with the black beards) and a white-crowned sparrow. Harris sparrows are just amazing little birds. First, they look cool with the beard, but second, I was just reading on Cornell's newly revamped All About Birds site that they are the only sparrow that breeds in Canada and nowhere else. Here I was in Oklahoma watching these little brown birds, they still had thousands of miles to go to the breeding grounds.
lark-sparrow
Another incredibly common bird in Oklahoma was the equally striking lark sparrow. Just about anywhere there was a barb wire fence, you could find one of these guys perched nearby. Lark sparrows have an interesting nesting history. They are capable of building nests, usually in a shrub or tree, but they have been documented nesting in old woodpecker cavities. This species has also been known to reuse old nests of mockingbirds and some notes suggest that there is a bit of nest sharing going on--perhaps unintentional. Field studies have found eggs and young of both mockingbird and lark sparrow in the same nest. Oh, lark sparrow, please do not go the way of the cowbird.
Birdchick Podcast #2: Ivory Billed Woodpecker
In today's podcast, we tackle Sharon's experiences looking for the Ivory Billed Woodpecker and other viewer questions. Craig, thanks for your questions and do know that we kid because I love. [audio:http://www.birdchick.com/wp/podcast/podcast-2.mp3] Download the mp3.
Questions? Leave 'em in the comments.
Singing Western Meadowlark
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OjLpVD_djs[/youtube]
Coming Birding Events
There are a couple of fun birding events coming up both in Minnesota that you might be interested in. I'm giving a program at one of the events, the other happens when I'm in Kazakhstan. May 2, 2009 - MOU Youth Birding Festival
This is a new event and I couldn't find a website for it, but did manage to locate the details. It's geared for kids between the ages of 10 - 19 and includes Bird banding, forest bird hikes, grassland bird hikes, wetland bird hikes, a session on digital photography, and birding by bike. I'll even give a presentation on techno birding. All session take place at Lowry Nature Center. Call 763-559-6700.
May 14 - 19, 2009 Urban Bird Festival
The annual Urban Bird Festival in Ramsey County, a fun, free, close-to-home celebration of springtime birds. The festival features guided bird walks at many area parks and golf courses, a bird expo and a spaghetti dinner (one of the few events charging a fee). The festival is designed for beginners as well as experts, and families and others. The public is invited to attend just a single bird walk or every event. Walks cover easy terrain and generally take about two hours. The dinner on May 16 features local humorist and bird columnist Clay Christensen, “The Birdman of Lauderdale.” His topic is “Attracting and identifying yard birds.”
The festival’s schedule on May 16 features a bird expo with a full day of displays, demos and hikes at Harriet Alexander Nature Center in Roseville. A birding adventure by canoe and a tour of the habitat-rich Arden Hills Army Training Site (formerly known as the Twin Cities Arsenal) are highlights on May 17. Daily hikes and events are open to everyone and will be led by the area’s birding enthusiasts.