Birding

[Cedars]

Outside today chopping ice off the roof I happened to look up at just the right time to see 6 full color Bald Eagles overhead and one juvenile nearing his full colors float together in a group.

 

I watched them circle overhead for about 10 minutes, the sun shining so brightly their dark wings almost looked gray. The white on their heads and tails were nearly transparent in the bright sun. It was an unusual reaction of light on these colors.

 

They disapeared north and about 20 minutes later I saw another juvenile circling around just above the tree tops, maybe 130 feet east of me. He/she was close enough I could see its massive beak sticking out.

 

8 Bald Eagles in that short of a time. I wonder how many I missed while indoors.

 

The local news today (after I saw these guys) had a segment on the birds. They are moving all around the twin cities area and this weekend in wabasha they are having a big eagle celebration. For those not familiar, Wabasha MN is a big wintering over spot for these birds.

 

So any of you in the Minnesota area, spend some time looking up this week, it seems they are begining to move in big numbers right now and for the next couple of weeks.

[Cedars]

This weekend has brought a few returning birds to the area.

Many of the big hawks are floating overhead now but I havent spent much time trying to identify which types. I have seen a few Kestrels along roadsides as I drive to and from town. A few pairs of red-tailed hawks were apparent during these outings.

 

Geese are moving in again, and ducks are returning.

 

The Hazelden eagles have returned to their nest. Its always good to see this pair has survived another winter. A few years back a mate was lost, and one breeding season was skipped as the remaining bird re-coupled. There is nothing sadder than listening to an eagle calling over and over into the spring skys for a lost mate.

 

Saturday morning as I was feeding the birds, I heard my first flock of Sandhill cranes calling in the distance. The birds were south of me, moving east. I did not get to see them, but there is no doubt as to what I heard.

 

Last night as I was out in the yard I heard the Barred Owls hooting to each other. For a while, it sounded as if there was a territory dispute going on nearby, but the g*d* neighbor dogs were barking their fool heads off (presumably at the screaming owls) so it was hard to determine exactly what was going on.

 

Yesterday I saw my first returning Trumpeter Swans floating in a spring feed pool. 4 birds, so I assume two pair. Because there were other birds in the pool (ducks) the massive size of the swans was accented greatly.

[Cedars]

I believe last summer I revealed my suspisions that a new eagle nest had been created near me, due to the frequency of my sightings of these birds.

 

Sunday evening I found the nest, south of where I imagined it would be. Less than a half mile from my front door, and if I were to estimate a straight line, approximately 2000 feet away. I do not know that they are sitting on eggs, but both birds were in the nest together, tuesday evening.

 

I also believe the reason I am seeing these birds so frequently over my house is, from the angle and height of the flight pattern, the birds would maintain visual contact with their nest.

 

Due to the cold temps and late season snows, the migration of birds has been slowed greatly around here. I had just begun to see a few warblers, and flycatchers right before the cold snap hit. They have fled south again.

 

For those in Minnesota who bird, expect a massive night migration as soon as the weather breaks (within days). If your lucky enough to be outside for the event, the night sky will scream with the sounds of wind thru wings and peeps and chirps of (no kidding) billions of birds moving thru in a massive wave of feathers. This spring is gonna be a fast and furious movement.

[Turtle]

I believe last summer I revealed my suspisions that a new eagle nest had been created near me, due to the frequency of my sightings of these birds.

 

Sunday evening I found the nest, south of where I imagined it would be. Less than a half mile from my front door, and if I were to estimate a straight line, approximately 2000 feet away. I do not know that they are sitting on eggs, but both birds were in the nest together, tuesday evening.

 

How exciting Cedars! So close! I hear the first Bald Eagles have hatched in the wild out on Catalina Island. Locally, a wounded male was found feeding on carion along a highway (it's thought the injury was received in a fight with another male), and wildlife folks captured it for treatment & re-location.

 

Please keep us posted on 'your' Eagles. Alas, my birds left when I stopped feeding them. :(

 

Birding vicariously through Cedars yet again,

Turtle :shrug:

[Cedars]

My first trip of the year to my favorite birding spot resulted in some good viewing. Tuesday I recorded 19 species ( some I didnt count such as wood peckers).

 

Highlights include:

20 Trumpeter Swans (16 were clearly paired up)

1 Red-necked Grebe (first for me)

1 Lesser Yellowlegs (other shore birds nearby but I was unable to identify)

1 pair of osprey with one bird on the nest site, another flying nearby

9 Pied-billed Grebe

106 Ring-necked ducks (under reported)

17 Sandhill cranes ( a group of 11) rest in pairs or singles

5 Northern Harriers

 

I watched a common loon trying to eat a bullhead. I am unsure if the bird finally gave up and let it go.

 

One normally active eagle nest platform was empty of birds. Not sure if this pair has been lost or if they abandoned the platform for a better nesting site.

 

Two spots with wolf prints. Two spots with bobcat prints. A spot where the beavers have a regular highway across the road over one of the dikes. The path is well worn with beaver, mink, otter, and turtles using this path.

[Cedars]

Today around 6 pm central time, I was finishing up a project I wish I would have never begun. Re-doing my brick sidewalk. Anyways, out of the corner of my eye a flash caught my attention. A Sharp-shinned hawk flew by, around 4 feet off the ground, no more than 15 feet from me. It landed on a low oak branch around 30 feet away.

 

Sharp Shinned

 

With its back to me, I could see clearly the square tail so I could identify it (Coopers hawks have rounded tail end). It spied the ground for a mouse or chipmunk, oh how I wished I had a camera! I knew if I moved the bird would be gone. But then, it had to have seen me, I was making all kinds of scraping noises and moving around alot, for hours, in the front of my house.

 

The kitten was on her leash so I was concerned the hawk was pondering a meal.

 

The hawk hopped and turned, now she was facing me. I stood motionless, not wanting to disturb her. Then she flew back towards me, landing on a branch on the oak, no more than 20 feet away. She looked over her shoulder and in a turn, hop she corkscrewed her way towards the ground and grabbed a cowbird that I never saw until she hit him. Wow!! It was sooo cool. She flew west to the next big oak and landed on a branch around 10 feet off the ground, the cowbird dangling from one talon as she glided thru the air. I never heard her wings make a noise, not when she flew by, not went she flew away with her prey.

 

Cowbird

 

She perched for a bit on the branch, maybe two minutes before flying away to the south. I watched as she began to tear into this meal, little feathers floating away towards the ground. In the late winter, and early spring I had found numerous feathers and some fur around this same area I now watched feathers float. I think this must be a favorite perch for this bird.

 

I had thought a hawk was nearby earlier in the day, from the warning cries echoing around various points during the day. Last week I watched (what I assume was this same bird), hunting birds in the yard after it had made my cockatiels go bananas and launch in a chaotic flight around the living room.

 

I heard an oriole calling in the yard earlier, time to get the feeder up. And around 20 minutes after the hawk episode, the pair of Barred owls began hooting and calling alot. Unusual for them to be so noisy in the day hours. I hope something didnt get into their nest.

 

Barred Owl

 

Another good day of birding.

[Cedars]

Bird watching at Crex Meadows was another good day (yesterday). We arrived at around 7:30 am to begin. This day, a crowd was at the meadows, counting birds and attending events at the visitor center. Birders are nuts, so even with this early arrival, we were in the middle of the pack.

 

Many, and I mean HUNDREDS of Yellow warblers were in the meadows.

Yellow Warbler

 

The Wood Thrush were dominant in the meadows, moving thru, and seemed to be in pairs at this time of their migration.

Wood Thrush

 

Wood thrush song (beautiful when heard uninterupted)

Wood Thrush Song and Sounds

 

Another bird I positively identified (and added to the 'spotted this day list' at the center) was the Vesper Sparrow.

 

Vesper Sparrow

 

I probably heard a Le Conte's Sparrow (after discussion with below volunteer), but was unable to see the bird so I wouldnt add it to the list.

 

Le Conte's Sparrow

 

 

Chatting with one of the volunteers at the center, he gave me some information regarding bird sounds.

 

The Le Conte's sparrow is extremely illusive and hard to spot. Most birders rely on sound verification of a Le Conte's sighting.

 

Least Bittern Calls:

 

Two Quarters.

 

Make an OK hand signal

Cup one quarter in the hole you create with your thumb and index finger, so the flat side of the quarter can be tapped like a drum. wrap the rest of your fingers on that hand to make a cup/tunnel.

 

Tap the top of the quarter with another quarter Tap -- space --Tap--space Tap-tap-tap.

 

So if your out wandering the wetlands, and you hear a Tap---Tap---tap-tap-tap noise, you are probably listening to a Least Bittern.

 

And, talking with the above gentleman about bird sounds, I discovered, the raindrop, Plop sounds I heard the two American Bitterns making in the meadows are a Pre-vocalization sound and for a birder to hear this, they must be very close to the bird (we were).

[Cedars]

A couple weeks ago I snapped these pics of an Eastern Phoebe,

http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/falls/eaPh.jpg

their nest,

http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/falls/eaPhNest.jpg

and the 5 eggs.

http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/falls/eaPhEgg.jpg

The eggs pic is a bit blurry because I had to hold the camera over my head to point into the dark nest.

 

The nest is located under a sandstone overhang, about a foot from the top, so about 6 feet off the ground. The judging by the size of the nest, and its bowing shape, it must have been used for at least the last 6-7 years, and maybe longer (not necessarily the same pair).

[Cedars]

She really changed the world with her book Silent Spring.

 

Today would have been her 100th birthday.

Quote from wiki:

"Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 — April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist whose landmark book, Silent Spring, is often credited with having launched the global environmental movement. "

 

Rachel Carson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

And one man prevented her from being honored again this day (the woman has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980, the highest civilian honor in the USA.)

 

Sen. Tom Coburn (oklahoma) derailed approval of a Senate resolution honoring the life of Carson.

 

"Obviously her central claim about what it does to ecosystems was largely correct," Hart (a spokesman for Sen. Coburn) said by telephone. "But her approach was consistent with a lot of environmental rhetoric which tends to sensationalize the facts."

 

Story here:

Senator blocks honor for environmental icon - Environment - MSNBC.com

 

So today, if you see a bird, think back on Rachel Carson for a moment.

[TonyH]

Hi folks, what a long thread this is! I've just joined the forum and being a semi-serious birder noticed this thread and got sucked into an hour of reading through it. I hope you don't mind an Australian joining in, the birds might be a bit unfamiliar to many of you. However, I'm fortunate to have travelled much of the world including North America on numerous occasions and have many fond memories of some of the birds there you've been discussing, so different to what we see here. Woodpeckers and hummingbirds especially! In my yard we get mostly honeyeaters (noisy miners an an occasional brief visit from an eastern spinebill), magpies (the Australian kind), kookaburras, butcherbirds, crimson rosellas, rainbow lorikeets, sulphur-crested cockatoos and crested pigeons. Of course these are the common "suburban survivors" and there is lots more variety in nearby bushland areas.

 

Regards

 

Tony

[Cedars]

Hi folks, what a long thread this is! I've just joined the forum and being a semi-serious birder noticed this thread and got sucked into an hour of reading through it. I hope you don't mind an Australian joining in, the birds might be a bit unfamiliar to many of you. However, I'm fortunate to have travelled much of the world including North America on numerous occasions and have many fond memories of some of the birds there you've been discussing, so different to what we see here. Woodpeckers and hummingbirds especially! In my yard we get mostly honeyeaters (noisy miners an an occasional brief visit from an eastern spinebill), magpies (the Australian kind), kookaburras, butcherbirds, crimson rosellas, rainbow lorikeets, sulphur-crested cockatoos and crested pigeons. Of course these are the common "suburban survivors" and there is lots more variety in nearby bushland areas.

 

Regards

 

Tony

 

Hey Tony! Good to have contributions to the birding thread from a global perspective. I look forward to learning about the birds down under.

[Cedars]

I've been spending a lot of time at Crex Meadows this last month. Today I took 189 pics. I decided to share this one first.

 

This is the first of the babys born this year that have been reported. Someone beat me to the wildlife center and reported this batch first today, but my report still counts too. Its a tie.

 

Welcome to Crex Meadows

 

The babies (cygnets) are a little late this year but still within the normal range for the area. There are 7 babies, but the ones head is kinda hidden by the grass. The tag on the adult bird reads H 56. It is one of the crex reintroduction birds. I should have asked how old this bird is, but I think they quit doing the reintro in '97 or '98 so he/she is at least that old.

[Turtle]

thought i'd pop in & touch base so y'all know i'm still in the game. :lightning welcome new contributors and always a pleasure to read Cedar's expositions. especially nice Cedars to see you have added photos to your repoi...repat...rep... to your collection of skills. :)

 

i watched a crow & a blackbird gang up together to attack a red-tailed hawk yesterday. no more than a couple hundred feet high and the hawk rather casually reeling around a circle as the crow & blackbird took turns diving & attacking. the crow dove from above and targeted the head, while the blackbird (brewers blackbird) would dive down below the hawk and then pull up steep under it and attack the trailing edges of its wings.

 

i watched several minutes before deciding to run in for my camera to get some video, but they flew off before i returned. :cup:

 

here's an old video clip to fill the void; a northern red-shafted flicker calling from the feeder. :lightning ;)>>

YouTube - Northern Red-shafted Flicker - Colaptes auratus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEVUrvdl9TY

[Racoon]

This story made me sit up sick when I heard it on the radio during the early morning the other day!! :) :doh: :doh:

 

People like this royally piss me off!

 

US Fish and Wildlife issues charges for widespread killing of birds of prey

 

“I laughed and laughed when I heard this story because of all the pain staking measures they took to get these birds to adolescence and than to have someone take them out simply was bliss!! …Shoot, shovel and shutup!”

 

Quotation from roller pigeon website celebrating the illegal killing of juvenile peregrine falcons from the Saint John’s Bridge Posted on All Roller Talk Forum.

Audubon Society of Portland was saddened and sickened to learn that roller pigeon enthusiasts in California, Oregon, and Texas have been charged with “fatal beatings and killings” of protected birds of prey including Peregrine Falcons, Cooper’s hawks and Red-tailed Hawks. The scope and scale of these killings is staggering with California estimating that the taking in Los Angeles alone may have ranged from 1000-2000 birds of prey annually.

 

These illegal killings apparently included young Peregrine Falcons from the Saint Johns Bridge that had to be removed from the bridge during construction activities. These birds were raised in captivity by the Audubon Society and released on Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. According to a posting on the Birmingham Roller Pigeon Website, a pigeon fancier living near the refuge subsequently killed these birds. The posting mocked the community effort that went into trying to save these birds and described the killings as “bliss.”

 

Home Page — Audubon Society of Portland

 

 

Audubon commends the US Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agents Office for their outstanding work on this case. If the charges are proven, this will stand as one of the most significant crimes against birds since the Migratory Bird Treaty Act made it illegal to kill native birds of prey as well as other native bird species in 1918.

 

Violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act can result in penalties of up to $5,000 and/or six months in prison. Portland Audubon is urging the US Attorney's office to seek the maximum penalties allowed by law.

[Cedars]

i watched a crow & a blackbird gang up together to attack a red-tailed hawk yesterday. no more than a couple hundred feet high and the hawk rather casually reeling around a circle as the crow & blackbird took turns diving & attacking. the crow dove from above and targeted the head, while the blackbird (brewers blackbird) would dive down below the hawk and then pull up steep under it and attack the trailing edges of its wings.

 

Reminds me of an incident that happened tuesday when I was roaming the meadows. There is a side trail very few people take. So as I walked along the dike I flushed a red-winged blackbird from her nest. She screamed a few alarm calls and OMG you would have thought I was blasting a shotgun and attacking birds with the voracity of a mink. The alarms rang out thru the meadows. I was trailed by squawking blackbirds for the entire time I was on this trail. Hovering overhead screaming so loud I couldnt hear any other types of birds. I would end one birds territory and another was waiting above to keep up the harassment. I looked out over the swamp and there were several other blackbirds hovering over their territory watching for the danger (me). It was kinda cool to watch how far away I would have to be for them to decide I was no longer a threat so they could return to their favorite perch (approx 200 feet). What sucked was the 1/2 mile or so I had to put up with this clamor.

 

One of the cool pics of the day yesterday:

A bird I was trying to identify had flown into these bushes. I stopped to check it out and saw this face peering out at me. It is about 20 feet away.

[Cedars]

This story made me sit up sick when I heard it on the radio during the early morning the other day!! :) :) :)

 

People like this royally piss me off!

 

It goes on much more than is discovered.

 

I think that it is 5,000 per bird so if they killed 100 that could be $500,000 restitution fines along with the jail time.

 

I hope the judge has the authority to ban these persons from involvement with this roller pigeon stuff also.

 

Here is the weaslie response by that particular website:

 

National Birmingham Roller Club

[Michaelangelica]

Science Show

Bald Eagles of Chilkat River Reserve (audio 25 mins)

You have to LISTEN to this guy.

He is so excited by his topic

The audio will only be there for 4weeks from 23 June 07

(Can anyone attach a podcast here?)