Wow! My yard is absolutely teeming with birds. It is difficult to get an accurate count of the types of species and of the overall numbers just because of the constant activity. But I did my best in this eleventh week of my observations for Project FeederWatch.
Here's my count for the two day period.
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
White-winged Dove - 3
Rufous Hummingbird - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 3
American Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Carolina Wren - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
American Robin - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 9
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Pine Warbler - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 5
Chipping Sparrow - 1
Northern Cardinal - 5
Red-winged Blackbird - 14
Brown-headed Cowbird - 24
House Finch - 1
American Goldfinch - 84
House Sparrow - 7
So, 27 species in all for the period. I feel sure there were some that I missed, and I know my totals for some of the species are off. The American Goldfinches, for example. There were way more than 84 present at one time in the yard, but I couldn't accurately count more than that.
The goldfinches, by the way, have done something that I did not think was possible. They have crowded the House Sparrows away from the feeders! When I see sparrows at the feeders now, there are usually one or two, whereas in the past there might have been twenty. They mostly feed on the ground now, but there, too, they are crowded by the goldfinches which feed...everywhere!
I'm also quite sure there were more Chipping Sparrows and House Finches present than the one that I counted for each species. But the Orange-crowned Warbler continues to show up as a singleton - I've never seen more than one at the feeders this season. It is a very faithful visitor, though. I can just about set my watch by its appearances.
The biggest changes noted this week were the overall increase in numbers and the appearances from members of the blackbird family. Were there some Brewer's Blackbirds among those groups? It's possible but I couldn't confirm it.
As we count down toward the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count in mid-February, the numbers of the birds continue to increase. It should be a very interesting count this year. Have you signed up for it yet?
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
This week in birds - #97
A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:
White Ibis photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, February 2013.
*~*~*~*
South Africa has made a valiant effort to control poaching and protect its rhinoceros population, but in 2013 a record 1004 of the animals were killed there. At this rate, the country is losing the fight to save these magnificent critters.
*~*~*~*
The winter's most famous irruptives, the Snowy Owls, are still turning up in the darnedest places. Like McPherson Square in downtown Washington, D.C. in the middle of rush hour traffic. And in Delaware, feeding on a dolphin carcass. Finally, at least 20 of the big white birds have been seen in New Jersey this season.
*~*~*~*
The data are in and 2013 is confirmed as the fourth warmest year on record since those records have been kept. Meantime, in winter 2014, global climate change deniers in the Northeast are chortling over the cold weather there and claiming that it proves that global warming is a hoax, while, in the southern hemisphere, several countries, like Australia, are suffering through some of the hottest summers ever.
*~*~*~*
As the sea ice melts, the diet of polar bears is changing. Instead of feasting on seal pups, they are eating more Snow Geese and dining on plants.
*~*~*~*
And in California this winter it has been so warm that the bears in the Sierra Nevadas that would normally be hibernating are awake and active.
*~*~*~*
North America's most endangered songbird, the Kirtland's Warbler, may be making a comeback, however slowly. In a very hopeful sign, Bahamian researchers have reported finding some of the birds wintering on San Salvador Island for the first time in 46 years.
*~*~*~*
It was reported this week that scientists in Brazil have discovered a new species of river dolphin, the first new such species found since 1918.
*~*~*~*
The Hoatzin is an exceedingly strange bird only found in South America today, but new fossil evidence seems to indicate that it may have originated in the Old World and, at some point, made the transit to the New.
*~*~*~*
It seems that almost every week brings word of a new major oil spill somewhere. 2013 was a historically bad year for such spills. Many of those were from trains, but almost as much oil spilled from burst pipelines.
*~*~*~*
"Bug Eric" reports on a very handsome and interesting mason wasp with the tongue-twisting scientific moniker of Pseudodynerus quadrisectus.
*~*~*~*
Why do tree-dwelling sloths take to the ground to do their pooping? And does it have something to do with moths? Stranger things occur in Nature!
*~*~*~*
Birders seem to be vying to come up with the most unusual type of "Big Year" in 2014. Here's a birder who is doing a Phone Skope Big Year, seeing how many birds he can photograph employing a digiscope and his iPhone.
*~*~*~*
Around the backyard:
I'm having to refill my bird feeders almost every day now. A few more Chipping Sparrows and Red-winged Blackbirds are showing up to partake of the feast and the American Goldfinch flocks have more than doubled in size. It is not unusual to see a hundred or more fly up when I head out to the feeders. But they don't go far and they settle back down as soon as I leave.
I'm continuing to see lots of the big hawks over my yard - chiefly Red-shouldered and Red-tailed.
Warblers, too, have been very plentiful around the yard this week. All in all, it has been a very good week for bird watching.
Friday, January 24, 2014
How and where do birds sleep?
There's a really interesting piece in Slate.com today about the way that birds sleep. It seems that a lot of people have misconceptions about that. They think that birds sleep in their nests. But the sole purpose of nests is to provide a place to hold eggs and chicks, and once that purpose is fulfilled, that nest is so nasty that no self-respecting bird is going to want to sleep in it.
The main concern of a bird looking for a bed for the night is to find a place that is safe from predators. A second concern may be to have some protection from the weather, but first and foremost is always the fear of predators.
The predator problem is such a threat to birds' survival that they have evolved a brain that will help them to meet it. They are essentially able to sleep while one-half of their brain stays awake and alert for danger.
This technique, called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS) allows the bird to have one hemisphere of their brain in a deep sleep while leaving the other hemisphere awake and alert. They are also able to turn USWS on and off depending on how safe their roost is. The Slate story gives the example of a large flock of ducks roosting on an open lake. The birds at the center of the flock are pretty safe and can shut down completely, while the birds on the outer edge are more vulnerable and have to keep half the brain alert.
So, birds, it turns out, sleep - it's called "roosting" as anyone who has ever raised chickens knows - in a lot of different places depending on what kind of birds they are. Big water birds like geese and ducks will generally sleep floating on the water. Big wading birds, like herons and egrets, usually will sleep perched in waterside trees. Shorebirds sleep in large flocks and utilize USWS and they are cryptically colored to fool predators. Hawks, eagles, and owls sleep pretty much wherever they want to. Grouse and quail which are favorite foods of so many predators depend on their coloring and on vegetation to hide, and they also generally sleep in flocks with half a brain awake. Woodpeckers roost in protected places like tree cavities or under roofs and bridges. Birds like crows, swallows, swifts, and starlings roost in large - sometimes gigantic - flocks for safety.
But the birds that we are most familiar with, the perching birds from the order Passeriformes, tend to roost in dense vegetation. These are our backyard birds like cardinals, sparrows, jays, and finches and around dusk you can see them flying into bushes, hedges, and trees where they will grab onto a a twig that suits them and settle down for the night.
So the next question is, how do they keep from falling off their perch while they are asleep? The answer once again is evolution. The perching birds have evolved "flexor tendons" in their legs that involuntarily clasp shut when a bird sits on a perch and they won't relax and release again until the bird straightens its leg. The grip is so tight that some birds, such as hummingbirds, have been observed sleeping upside down in apparent safety and comfort.
So the next time you see a cartoon of a little bird crawling into its nest at night and pulling a tiny blanket up to its beak, you'll know that it is just that - a cartoon. The true story of how birds sleep is a lot more complicated and a lot more interesting.
The main concern of a bird looking for a bed for the night is to find a place that is safe from predators. A second concern may be to have some protection from the weather, but first and foremost is always the fear of predators.
The predator problem is such a threat to birds' survival that they have evolved a brain that will help them to meet it. They are essentially able to sleep while one-half of their brain stays awake and alert for danger.
This technique, called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS) allows the bird to have one hemisphere of their brain in a deep sleep while leaving the other hemisphere awake and alert. They are also able to turn USWS on and off depending on how safe their roost is. The Slate story gives the example of a large flock of ducks roosting on an open lake. The birds at the center of the flock are pretty safe and can shut down completely, while the birds on the outer edge are more vulnerable and have to keep half the brain alert.
So, birds, it turns out, sleep - it's called "roosting" as anyone who has ever raised chickens knows - in a lot of different places depending on what kind of birds they are. Big water birds like geese and ducks will generally sleep floating on the water. Big wading birds, like herons and egrets, usually will sleep perched in waterside trees. Shorebirds sleep in large flocks and utilize USWS and they are cryptically colored to fool predators. Hawks, eagles, and owls sleep pretty much wherever they want to. Grouse and quail which are favorite foods of so many predators depend on their coloring and on vegetation to hide, and they also generally sleep in flocks with half a brain awake. Woodpeckers roost in protected places like tree cavities or under roofs and bridges. Birds like crows, swallows, swifts, and starlings roost in large - sometimes gigantic - flocks for safety.
But the birds that we are most familiar with, the perching birds from the order Passeriformes, tend to roost in dense vegetation. These are our backyard birds like cardinals, sparrows, jays, and finches and around dusk you can see them flying into bushes, hedges, and trees where they will grab onto a a twig that suits them and settle down for the night.
So the next question is, how do they keep from falling off their perch while they are asleep? The answer once again is evolution. The perching birds have evolved "flexor tendons" in their legs that involuntarily clasp shut when a bird sits on a perch and they won't relax and release again until the bird straightens its leg. The grip is so tight that some birds, such as hummingbirds, have been observed sleeping upside down in apparent safety and comfort.
So the next time you see a cartoon of a little bird crawling into its nest at night and pulling a tiny blanket up to its beak, you'll know that it is just that - a cartoon. The true story of how birds sleep is a lot more complicated and a lot more interesting.
Monday, January 20, 2014
FeederWatching - Week #10
It was an exciting weekend of FeederWatching - the most productive weekend yet for this season with a grand total of 26 species counted.
Much of the excitement was caused by the Red-shouldered Hawks which were in courtship mode. The pair spent much of their time circling and swooping in the sky over my yard, calling noisily all the time.
In fact, it was a great weekend for hawk watching in general, because in addition to the Red-shouldereds, both of the other hawks that I know to be in residence here now also showed up. A Red-tailed Hawk spent a lot of time circling over my yard, sometimes flying along with the Red-shouldered Hawks. The Cooper's Hawk made several assaults on the birds at the backyard feeders while I was watching. As far as I could tell, he never actually managed to catch one, but he chased a flock of House Sparrows into the shrubbery and perhaps got lucky there.
I was also excited to witness a visit by a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It was the first time I had seen one in my yard this winter. I always look forward to their seasonal trips to this area.
Additionally, it was a very good weekend for doves in my backyard. Three of the four resident doves put in an appearance. Here is the complete list of birds counted this weekend.
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Eurasian Collared-dove - 1
White-winged Dove - 1
Mourning Dove - 1
Rufous Hummingbird - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Carolina Wren - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
American Robin - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 2
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Pine Warbler - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Northern Cardinal - 6
American Goldfinch - 27
House Sparrow - 10
Seeds are being consumed from the feeders at a much faster rate these days. Even the nyger seed feeders have to be refilled often, and the suet cakes disappear as if by magic! The birds are hungry at mid-winter, but they repay us for their food bill by their entertainment value. Actually, I think I come out ahead on the transaction.
Much of the excitement was caused by the Red-shouldered Hawks which were in courtship mode. The pair spent much of their time circling and swooping in the sky over my yard, calling noisily all the time.
In fact, it was a great weekend for hawk watching in general, because in addition to the Red-shouldereds, both of the other hawks that I know to be in residence here now also showed up. A Red-tailed Hawk spent a lot of time circling over my yard, sometimes flying along with the Red-shouldered Hawks. The Cooper's Hawk made several assaults on the birds at the backyard feeders while I was watching. As far as I could tell, he never actually managed to catch one, but he chased a flock of House Sparrows into the shrubbery and perhaps got lucky there.
I was also excited to witness a visit by a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It was the first time I had seen one in my yard this winter. I always look forward to their seasonal trips to this area.
Additionally, it was a very good weekend for doves in my backyard. Three of the four resident doves put in an appearance. Here is the complete list of birds counted this weekend.
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Eurasian Collared-dove - 1
White-winged Dove - 1
Mourning Dove - 1
Rufous Hummingbird - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Carolina Wren - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
American Robin - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 2
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Pine Warbler - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Northern Cardinal - 6
American Goldfinch - 27
House Sparrow - 10
Seeds are being consumed from the feeders at a much faster rate these days. Even the nyger seed feeders have to be refilled often, and the suet cakes disappear as if by magic! The birds are hungry at mid-winter, but they repay us for their food bill by their entertainment value. Actually, I think I come out ahead on the transaction.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
This week in birds - #96
A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:
A male Vermilion Flycatcher seems to glow on a gray day at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, January 2013.
*~*~*~*
The Fish and Wildlife Service is proceeding with its plan to reduce the invasive population of Barred Owls in the Northwest in order to help protect the indigenous Northern Spotted Owl. So far they have shot 70 of the Barred Owls.
*~*~*~*
Ever wonder how birds survive in extremely cold weather like that experienced recently with the polar vortex storm? Well, down and feathers are among the warmest of insulations, but the real key is being able to find enough food. Birds eat as much as they possibly can to generate the heat they need.
*~*~*~*
The California Condor is on a similar trajectory to the Passenger Pigeon, a bird which became extinct one hundred years ago this year. The condor is luckier though in that it has the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service will soon be releasing its fifteen year plan for protecting the bird.
*~*~*~*
Flocks of birds that fly in a v-shape formation are conserving energy. But how and why do they learn to do that? Is is instinctual or learned behavior? Scientists are learning that the answer is more complicated than they thought.
*~*~*~*
Honestly, sometimes I just despair over the stupidity of the human race. A mated pair of endangered Whooping Cranes have been shot by some idiot in Kentucky. That is a federal crime and wildlife officials will be offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the culprit.
*~*~*~*
The conservative government of Canada (of all places!) seems to be conducting an all-out assault on the scientists of that country. They are closing research facilities, firing scientists, and, most appallingly, destroying scientific records. Their actions seem directed primarily at scientists and institutions that work in the field of climate science, but this has a ripple effect to other areas of scientific endeavor. And you thought this only happened in places like Texas.
*~*~*~*
Common Ravens are known for their intelligence and it seems that they have figured out that greater height gives them an advantage when looking for prey. In the American West, they tend to build their nests on tall utility poles so that they can look out over a wider area.
*~*~*~*
All things in Nature are related and if we pull on one thread, there is no telling what we may unravel. Specifically, large carnivores like mountain lions are very important to the health of the ecosystem, not only, it turns out, for their prey but for other species, even including insects and plants.
*~*~*~*
To find out how falcons hunt their prey, scientists strapped backpacks containing video cameras on them, and they learned some very interesting and somewhat unexpected things.
*~*~*~*
I tend to think of Norway as a very enlightened country but I may have to reconsider. It seems that they are intent upon exterminating their wolves.
*~*~*~*
Although macaws will lay up to four eggs in their nests, they will only raise and fledge one chick. Scientists are studying this behavior to try to determine its evolutionary basis and why it would benefit the species.
*~*~*~*
Around the backyard:
It was very noisy in the backyard this morning. A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks engaged in courtship displays in the sky above the yard. They were sometimes joined in their flight by a third hawk, a Red-tailed.
No doubt about which one this is. That red tail is a flag.
Two of the hawks flying together.
One of the Red-shouldered Hawks flying right over my head.
*~*~*~*
There was another interesting visitor to the yard today - a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, the first one I had seen in the yard this winter.
*~*~*~*
The feeders are dominated now by the American Goldfinches. Whenever I look at any of the feeders, they seem to be covered in goldfinches. That even includes the nyger seed feeders which they have finally discovered.
*~*~*~*
I hope your backyard birds are well fed and that you are finding time to enjoy them this winter. Happy birding!
*~*~*~*
The Fish and Wildlife Service is proceeding with its plan to reduce the invasive population of Barred Owls in the Northwest in order to help protect the indigenous Northern Spotted Owl. So far they have shot 70 of the Barred Owls.
*~*~*~*
Ever wonder how birds survive in extremely cold weather like that experienced recently with the polar vortex storm? Well, down and feathers are among the warmest of insulations, but the real key is being able to find enough food. Birds eat as much as they possibly can to generate the heat they need.
*~*~*~*
The California Condor is on a similar trajectory to the Passenger Pigeon, a bird which became extinct one hundred years ago this year. The condor is luckier though in that it has the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service will soon be releasing its fifteen year plan for protecting the bird.
*~*~*~*
Flocks of birds that fly in a v-shape formation are conserving energy. But how and why do they learn to do that? Is is instinctual or learned behavior? Scientists are learning that the answer is more complicated than they thought.
*~*~*~*
Honestly, sometimes I just despair over the stupidity of the human race. A mated pair of endangered Whooping Cranes have been shot by some idiot in Kentucky. That is a federal crime and wildlife officials will be offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the culprit.
*~*~*~*
The conservative government of Canada (of all places!) seems to be conducting an all-out assault on the scientists of that country. They are closing research facilities, firing scientists, and, most appallingly, destroying scientific records. Their actions seem directed primarily at scientists and institutions that work in the field of climate science, but this has a ripple effect to other areas of scientific endeavor. And you thought this only happened in places like Texas.
*~*~*~*
Common Ravens are known for their intelligence and it seems that they have figured out that greater height gives them an advantage when looking for prey. In the American West, they tend to build their nests on tall utility poles so that they can look out over a wider area.
*~*~*~*
All things in Nature are related and if we pull on one thread, there is no telling what we may unravel. Specifically, large carnivores like mountain lions are very important to the health of the ecosystem, not only, it turns out, for their prey but for other species, even including insects and plants.
*~*~*~*
To find out how falcons hunt their prey, scientists strapped backpacks containing video cameras on them, and they learned some very interesting and somewhat unexpected things.
*~*~*~*
I tend to think of Norway as a very enlightened country but I may have to reconsider. It seems that they are intent upon exterminating their wolves.
*~*~*~*
Although macaws will lay up to four eggs in their nests, they will only raise and fledge one chick. Scientists are studying this behavior to try to determine its evolutionary basis and why it would benefit the species.
*~*~*~*
Around the backyard:
It was very noisy in the backyard this morning. A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks engaged in courtship displays in the sky above the yard. They were sometimes joined in their flight by a third hawk, a Red-tailed.
*~*~*~*
There was another interesting visitor to the yard today - a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, the first one I had seen in the yard this winter.
*~*~*~*
The feeders are dominated now by the American Goldfinches. Whenever I look at any of the feeders, they seem to be covered in goldfinches. That even includes the nyger seed feeders which they have finally discovered.
*~*~*~*
I hope your backyard birds are well fed and that you are finding time to enjoy them this winter. Happy birding!
Friday, January 17, 2014
The Orange-crowned Warbler
Orange-crowned Warblers are never as plentiful in my yard as the other two winter warblers, the Yellow-rumped and the ever-present Pine. Some years, like last winter, they never show up at all, but this year has been different. They still don't show up in pairs or small groups like the Pine Warbler or in somewhat larger flocks like the Yellow-rumped, but there is at least one that now shows up regularly at my feeders.
The Orange-crowned is a very active little bird, always flitting about, and is great fun to watch. He will always be a welcome visitor in my yard.
Monday, January 13, 2014
FeederWatching - Week #9
All the usual suspects - well, most of them anyway - turned up for my ninth weekend of Project FeederWatch. There were also a couple of new entries; one expected, the other one pretty much unexpected. Here's this week's list:
White-winged Dove - 5
Rufous Hummingbird - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 5
Carolina Wren - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 50
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Pine Warbler - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Northern Cardinal - 5
Red-winged Blackbird - 2
American Goldfinch - 22
House Sparrow - 10
There were slightly fewer species than in the last couple of weeks but more birds in total because the Cedar Waxwing and American Goldfinch flocks increased by quite a bit.
The two new species on the list were the Red-winged Blackbird and the Pileated Woodpecker. I had been expecting the Red-winged Blackbird to show up but the Pileated Woodpecker was a very pleasant surprise. Pileateds are infrequent visitors to the yard and so it is always a special treat when one drops in.
I was happy to find the Orange-crowned Warbler at the feeders this week, and, likewise, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I had only seen both of these birds feeding in the shrubbery previously.
As we near the mid-winter point, I would expect the numbers at the feeders to increase even more. Surely, most of the wild food has been depleted by now and birds will be searching elsewhere for a meal. I would especially hope to see more members of the sparrow family at my feeders. They've been mostly absent so far - except for House Sparrows, of course.
White-winged Dove - 5
Rufous Hummingbird - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 5
Carolina Wren - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 50
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Pine Warbler - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Northern Cardinal - 5
Red-winged Blackbird - 2
American Goldfinch - 22
House Sparrow - 10
There were slightly fewer species than in the last couple of weeks but more birds in total because the Cedar Waxwing and American Goldfinch flocks increased by quite a bit.
The two new species on the list were the Red-winged Blackbird and the Pileated Woodpecker. I had been expecting the Red-winged Blackbird to show up but the Pileated Woodpecker was a very pleasant surprise. Pileateds are infrequent visitors to the yard and so it is always a special treat when one drops in.
I was happy to find the Orange-crowned Warbler at the feeders this week, and, likewise, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I had only seen both of these birds feeding in the shrubbery previously.
As we near the mid-winter point, I would expect the numbers at the feeders to increase even more. Surely, most of the wild food has been depleted by now and birds will be searching elsewhere for a meal. I would especially hope to see more members of the sparrow family at my feeders. They've been mostly absent so far - except for House Sparrows, of course.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
This week in birds - #95
A roundup of this week's news of birds and the environment:
While much of the country has been blanketed under heavy snows for the past couple of weeks, the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California has had seriously meager amounts of snow this winter. This is very bad news for cities west and south of the range which depend on snow melt from these mountains for their water. It is also bad news for the animals which depend on rivers and streams being replenished by snow melt from the mountains.
*~*~*~*
Birders choose to do their birding in many creative ways. Here is a birder who is attempting a Big Year...on bicycle!
*~*~*~*
The recent rash of Bald Eagle deaths in Utah, which I had reported here in my last roundup, has been determined to have been caused by West Nile virus. We think of this as primarily a summer disease, but apparently the temperatures there have been conducive to the spread of the mosquito-borne virus. Evidently, the eagles got the disease by eating waterfowl that had been infected.
*~*~*~*
The EPA has published the first rule governing emissions of carbon dioxide from new power plants.
*~*~*~*
Salvage logging in the area where the Rim Fire occurred in 2013 may be putting at risk the rare Black-backed Woodpecker which depends on that habitat.
*~*~*~*
A tracking device recovered from a male Red-necked Phalarope from Scotland has revealed a unique migration by that bird. He flew thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Pacific.
*~*~*~*
The Northern shrimp population in the Gulf of Maine has collapsed and, consequently, a moratorium has been put on shrimping in that area for the foreseeable future. This has dire economic implications for local restaurants that depend on the crustaceans. The shrimp are moving out of the Gulf and going farther north in reaction to warming waters. The same thing is happening with the famous Maine lobster.
*~*~*~*
Several bird conservation groups are attempting to block the installation of a wind farm on the shores of Lake Erie in the path of an important flyway for migrating birds.
*~*~*~*
Antarctic penguins are attempting to adapt to the fast-changing climate which is affecting even that frigid area. In some cases, the penguins are having to climb 100 foot high ice cliffs to get to their breeding ground.
*~*~*~*
It is accepted fact - at least by people who accept the idea of evolution - that birds' skeletons have structures that are equivalent to our fingers. Now researchers are attempting to discover which "fingers" the birds actually have.
*~*~*~*
We are nearing the centennial anniversary of the death of the very last Passenger Pigeon, a bird named Martha who died in a zoo cage. These wild and beautiful birds were essentially blasted out of existence by human hunting. Just in time for the sad anniversary, a new book by Joel Greenberg has been released. It is called A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon's Fight to Extinction. I heard a discussion of the book on NPR this week. It sounded very interesting.
*~*~*~*
While residents of the northern hemisphere have been dealing with heavy snow and record cold temperatures recently, residents in the southern hemisphere have had the opposite problem - record high temperatures in many places. For example, parts of Australia have been suffering with temperatures that climbed upwards of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
*~*~*~*
Around the backyard:
The feeders, including the hummingbird feeders, have been under heavy pressure by hungry birds all week. I've had to refill them a couple of times. This is a drastic change from the recent past. I was particularly glad to see the return of the House Finches and the American Robins this week.
*~*~*~*
My Christmas present was a new Apple iMac. Its delivery was delayed by snow and inclement weather, but it finally arrived and I'm trying to learn to communicate with it. It's a bit like learning a whole new language.
My first real computer was an Apple, way back in the Stone Age of computing, and for several years, we always had Apples, but at some point, we started getting PCs. It's what we had at our offices so it seemed practical, I guess.
I've had an iPad for a while, but this is my first "big" Apple in years. I love it! It is faster than the speed of light and can leap tall buildings in a single bound! Now, I just have to master it.
Most especially, I have to learn how to deal with my photos on the iMac. You may notice that this post is photo-free. I hope by my next entry, I'll be more proficient in using my new toy!
While much of the country has been blanketed under heavy snows for the past couple of weeks, the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California has had seriously meager amounts of snow this winter. This is very bad news for cities west and south of the range which depend on snow melt from these mountains for their water. It is also bad news for the animals which depend on rivers and streams being replenished by snow melt from the mountains.
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Birders choose to do their birding in many creative ways. Here is a birder who is attempting a Big Year...on bicycle!
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The recent rash of Bald Eagle deaths in Utah, which I had reported here in my last roundup, has been determined to have been caused by West Nile virus. We think of this as primarily a summer disease, but apparently the temperatures there have been conducive to the spread of the mosquito-borne virus. Evidently, the eagles got the disease by eating waterfowl that had been infected.
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The EPA has published the first rule governing emissions of carbon dioxide from new power plants.
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Salvage logging in the area where the Rim Fire occurred in 2013 may be putting at risk the rare Black-backed Woodpecker which depends on that habitat.
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A tracking device recovered from a male Red-necked Phalarope from Scotland has revealed a unique migration by that bird. He flew thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Pacific.
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The Northern shrimp population in the Gulf of Maine has collapsed and, consequently, a moratorium has been put on shrimping in that area for the foreseeable future. This has dire economic implications for local restaurants that depend on the crustaceans. The shrimp are moving out of the Gulf and going farther north in reaction to warming waters. The same thing is happening with the famous Maine lobster.
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Several bird conservation groups are attempting to block the installation of a wind farm on the shores of Lake Erie in the path of an important flyway for migrating birds.
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Antarctic penguins are attempting to adapt to the fast-changing climate which is affecting even that frigid area. In some cases, the penguins are having to climb 100 foot high ice cliffs to get to their breeding ground.
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It is accepted fact - at least by people who accept the idea of evolution - that birds' skeletons have structures that are equivalent to our fingers. Now researchers are attempting to discover which "fingers" the birds actually have.
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We are nearing the centennial anniversary of the death of the very last Passenger Pigeon, a bird named Martha who died in a zoo cage. These wild and beautiful birds were essentially blasted out of existence by human hunting. Just in time for the sad anniversary, a new book by Joel Greenberg has been released. It is called A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon's Fight to Extinction. I heard a discussion of the book on NPR this week. It sounded very interesting.
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While residents of the northern hemisphere have been dealing with heavy snow and record cold temperatures recently, residents in the southern hemisphere have had the opposite problem - record high temperatures in many places. For example, parts of Australia have been suffering with temperatures that climbed upwards of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Around the backyard:
The feeders, including the hummingbird feeders, have been under heavy pressure by hungry birds all week. I've had to refill them a couple of times. This is a drastic change from the recent past. I was particularly glad to see the return of the House Finches and the American Robins this week.
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My Christmas present was a new Apple iMac. Its delivery was delayed by snow and inclement weather, but it finally arrived and I'm trying to learn to communicate with it. It's a bit like learning a whole new language.
My first real computer was an Apple, way back in the Stone Age of computing, and for several years, we always had Apples, but at some point, we started getting PCs. It's what we had at our offices so it seemed practical, I guess.
I've had an iPad for a while, but this is my first "big" Apple in years. I love it! It is faster than the speed of light and can leap tall buildings in a single bound! Now, I just have to master it.
Most especially, I have to learn how to deal with my photos on the iMac. You may notice that this post is photo-free. I hope by my next entry, I'll be more proficient in using my new toy!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
The goldfinches
(Cross-posted from The Nature of Things.)
The most recent book that I finished reading, just a few days ago, was The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. The MacGuffin of that book is a small painting of a pet European Goldfinch that was painted in 1654 by the Dutch artist Carel Fabritius. It seems coincidental and somehow appropriate then that the stars of my backyard these days are the American Goldfinches that visit us in the late fall and winter.
The goldfinches arrived in my yard several weeks ago, around the end of November. As soon as I saw the first ones in the area, I filled my nyger seed feeders and hung them in the backyard. They continued to hang there unutilized until this week.
Finally, this week as the extreme cold hit our area along with most of the rest of the country and as the wild food for the birds began to be depleted, the goldfinches have started visiting my feeders.
Even though the nyger seed feeders were waiting for them, the first feeders the finches visited were those filled with black oil sunflower seed. This is their pattern every year - they always go for the sunflower seeds first.
But, finally, yesterday they began visiting the feeders that had been hung just for them.
The number of goldfinches in my yard has been down quite a bit this winter over recent years. Last winter, for example, by this time, I was seeing flocks of more than fifty of the little birds around my feeders and those numbers were swelled even more by the addition of their cousins, the boisterous little Pine Siskins.
We have no siskins this year, though, which in fact had been predicted by the Winter Finch Forecast. Some years they don't make it this far south, and, indeed, fewer goldfinches also seem to have come south this year. What I'm seeing now are flocks of 10 to 20 birds.
I suppose the flocks could still grow as more of the wild food is exhausted farther north and the cold weather may continue to push them southward, but so far it has been a very lightly populated winter on the finch front.
Though we have no Pine Siskins and fewer American Goldfinches than in some years, we do still have our resident House Finches to help the goldfinches in brightening our winter days.
A House Finch and an American Goldfinch share a feeder in the backyard.
As a family, the finches are certainly among the most beautiful and the most interesting of our backyard birds.
The most recent book that I finished reading, just a few days ago, was The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. The MacGuffin of that book is a small painting of a pet European Goldfinch that was painted in 1654 by the Dutch artist Carel Fabritius. It seems coincidental and somehow appropriate then that the stars of my backyard these days are the American Goldfinches that visit us in the late fall and winter.
The goldfinches arrived in my yard several weeks ago, around the end of November. As soon as I saw the first ones in the area, I filled my nyger seed feeders and hung them in the backyard. They continued to hang there unutilized until this week.
Finally, this week as the extreme cold hit our area along with most of the rest of the country and as the wild food for the birds began to be depleted, the goldfinches have started visiting my feeders.
The number of goldfinches in my yard has been down quite a bit this winter over recent years. Last winter, for example, by this time, I was seeing flocks of more than fifty of the little birds around my feeders and those numbers were swelled even more by the addition of their cousins, the boisterous little Pine Siskins.
We have no siskins this year, though, which in fact had been predicted by the Winter Finch Forecast. Some years they don't make it this far south, and, indeed, fewer goldfinches also seem to have come south this year. What I'm seeing now are flocks of 10 to 20 birds.
I suppose the flocks could still grow as more of the wild food is exhausted farther north and the cold weather may continue to push them southward, but so far it has been a very lightly populated winter on the finch front.
Though we have no Pine Siskins and fewer American Goldfinches than in some years, we do still have our resident House Finches to help the goldfinches in brightening our winter days.
As a family, the finches are certainly among the most beautiful and the most interesting of our backyard birds.
Monday, January 6, 2014
FeederWatching - week #8
The frigid weather has brought more birds to the feeders over the weekend, and consequently, I had my most successful Project FeederWatch session for this reporting season, even though my time in counting the birds was really quite limited. I tallied a total of 23 species for this latest report.
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
White-winged Dove - 1
Rufous Hummingbird - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 4
Carolina Chickadee - 4
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 1
Carolina Wren - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
American Robin - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 2
Pine Warbler - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 4
Northern Cardinal - 5
House Finch - 4
American Goldfinch - 3
House Sparrow - 20
This week marked the first observation this winter of American Robins in the yard. They may have been there all along, but they typically appear very early in the morning and late in the afternoon and I had missed them before. This week I saw them early in the morning.
This week also marked the reappearance of the House Finches. I had not seen any of them in the yard for several weeks, but there were four at the front yard feeder when I first looked out my window this morning. They are always welcome visitors.
Another first this week was the first visit to the feeders by the American Goldfinches. Although they have been in the yard for several weeks, I had not seen them visiting the feeders at all, but today, there they were, consuming the black oil sunflower seeds. I still haven't seen them visit the nyger seed feeders, set up especially for them.
This was also the first appearance by a Red-shouldered Hawk on my counts. I've had Red-tailed Hawks a couple of times, but this lone Red-shouldered was hunting over my backyard on Sunday, where, earlier, I had also seen the Cooper's Hawk.
I missed seeing the Orange-crowned Warbler this week, but I probably just wasn't out and observing when he visited. The other two winter warblers were present in the yard in relatively large numbers this weekend.
Overall, I was happy with my first FeederWatch count of the new year. Things should become even more interesting in coming weeks as the wild food continues to get scarcer and the birds look for other sources of food. They will find my feeders stocked and waiting for them.
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
White-winged Dove - 1
Rufous Hummingbird - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 4
Carolina Chickadee - 4
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 1
Carolina Wren - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
American Robin - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 2
Pine Warbler - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 4
Northern Cardinal - 5
House Finch - 4
American Goldfinch - 3
House Sparrow - 20
This week marked the first observation this winter of American Robins in the yard. They may have been there all along, but they typically appear very early in the morning and late in the afternoon and I had missed them before. This week I saw them early in the morning.
This week also marked the reappearance of the House Finches. I had not seen any of them in the yard for several weeks, but there were four at the front yard feeder when I first looked out my window this morning. They are always welcome visitors.
Another first this week was the first visit to the feeders by the American Goldfinches. Although they have been in the yard for several weeks, I had not seen them visiting the feeders at all, but today, there they were, consuming the black oil sunflower seeds. I still haven't seen them visit the nyger seed feeders, set up especially for them.
This was also the first appearance by a Red-shouldered Hawk on my counts. I've had Red-tailed Hawks a couple of times, but this lone Red-shouldered was hunting over my backyard on Sunday, where, earlier, I had also seen the Cooper's Hawk.
I missed seeing the Orange-crowned Warbler this week, but I probably just wasn't out and observing when he visited. The other two winter warblers were present in the yard in relatively large numbers this weekend.
Overall, I was happy with my first FeederWatch count of the new year. Things should become even more interesting in coming weeks as the wild food continues to get scarcer and the birds look for other sources of food. They will find my feeders stocked and waiting for them.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
A new year of birding
I like to start each new year with a day of birding. For the past several years, it has been our family tradition to visit Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge on New Year's Day - or as close to New Year's Day as we can manage. This year, we decided to stay a bit closer to home with a trip to Katy Prairie and particularly to Paul D. Rushing Park on the prairie.
Hubby and I had planned to go on New Year's Day, but a minor household emergency caused us to postpone the trip. We finally managed to get out there yesterday and spent a good part of the day looking for birds. It was a fairly successful adventure. The photography was a bit less successful.
Most of our time was spent at Rushing Park, which is a marvelous facility. If you live anywhere in the area and have not visited the park to see its birds, you really should make the effort to do so this year. You will be well-rewarded.
While following the Chain of Lakes around the park, we took over 200 photographs, but most of them, frankly, were crap. We had the bright early morning and mid-morning sun in our eyes everywhere we walked and it was hard to get a good angle on the birds with our cameras. Here are some of our better efforts.
The first bird to greet us at the parking lot was the ubiquitous Northern Mockingbird.
In the meadows, the Eastern Meadowlark was plentiful.
And at the edges of the lakes and waterways, the little Killdeer was ever-present.
This somewhat backlit Loggerhead Shrike was perusing the short grass beneath this barbed wire, looking for a likely meal.
I always have trouble identifying sparrows, especially those from the genus Melospiza or Passerculus. But this one, I think, is a Savannah, based on its yellow lores.
After some consideration, I decided this one was a Song Sparrow.
And this one? A Lincoln's, maybe?
Telling a Greater Yellowlegs from a Lesser Yellowlegs can also be problematic, but I think this is the Greater, based on the proportions of the bill. Both were present in the park this day.
These may not look like White Ibises but in a few months, they will be snowy white.
No doubt about this identification. It's a Great Egret. There were plenty of Snowies around as well, and we saw three Great Blue Herons but I was unable to get a usable picture of them.
We saw both the American Pipit and the Sprague's Pipit at the park. The ones with the plain backs are the Americans and the ones with the striped backs are the Sprague's. This high stepper is an American.
As always, there were plenty of American Coots around. Definitely not an endangered species!
There were also lots of Mallards.
The male American Widgeon is one of the prettier ducks, I think.
And the Gadwall is definitely one of the plainer ones.
We saw plenty of Northern Pintails.
And lots of Canvasbacks.
Here are a couple of Canvasbacks having their nap.
I watched an American Kestrel hunting above a meadow on Longenbaugh Road. The bird hovered for what seemed like minutes, hanging above the field. Then it dropped like a stone to the the grass below and rose with some small creature in its talons - most likely a mouse or vole. It carried its meal to the top of this utility pole where it proceeded to dismember it. The kestrel is a deadly hunter and also one of the prettiest members of the falcon family.
After several hours on the prairie on a cold, cold but brilliantly sunny winter day, we decided to call it quits even though I hadn't seen all the birds that I had hoped to see. It was a good start and there will be other days of birding. Maybe even a trip to Anahuac sometime soon.
Hubby and I had planned to go on New Year's Day, but a minor household emergency caused us to postpone the trip. We finally managed to get out there yesterday and spent a good part of the day looking for birds. It was a fairly successful adventure. The photography was a bit less successful.
Most of our time was spent at Rushing Park, which is a marvelous facility. If you live anywhere in the area and have not visited the park to see its birds, you really should make the effort to do so this year. You will be well-rewarded.
While following the Chain of Lakes around the park, we took over 200 photographs, but most of them, frankly, were crap. We had the bright early morning and mid-morning sun in our eyes everywhere we walked and it was hard to get a good angle on the birds with our cameras. Here are some of our better efforts.
After several hours on the prairie on a cold, cold but brilliantly sunny winter day, we decided to call it quits even though I hadn't seen all the birds that I had hoped to see. It was a good start and there will be other days of birding. Maybe even a trip to Anahuac sometime soon.
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