Birding

[Cedars]

First post here Turtle,

 

Hoping I'm not off on the wrong foot. Starlings and Sparrows are the only

two birds that are not protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act. They are

an invasive introduced species that are continuing to wreck the habitat for the American songbirds. They are vicious killers of American songbirds. If you are a serious birder, you'd do well to trap and kill every one that you can. It is a constant battle for me to protect my dozen eastern bluebird houses from their relentless attacks. Get a V trap and do your part to protect what is left of the remaining species of American songbirds.

 

Resectively,

 

Spike Silverback

 

Hi Spike

 

Good to have another interested birder around the forums.

 

While you are correct that European Starlings, House Sparrows, and Eurasian Tree Sparrows are exotics to the USA, I have reservations about encouraging people to kill everyone that they can in an open forum. One specific issue I would point out is the female of the House Sparrow is very similar to native species of sparrows. And with these sparrows, they are not killers of other species so much as they are competitors for nest spaces and foods. But even this competition needs to be balanced with the realities noted. One being these very social birds nest within city boundries in places that native populations would not be as attracted to, due to the presence of people.

 

Starlings can be difficult to irradicate but of the three species mentioned, are by far the most detrimental to native birds. But they are opportunistic in their approach to life, as we all are. There is debate surrounding this bird and its benefits vs penalties. They are voracious eaters of insects. They do not fit into bluebird houses (and smaller) and a raccoon guard minimizes attacks on nests. When fighting over nesting spots, some of their competition includes the larger woodpeckers, who can hold their own against a pair of starlings. I personally havent had many issues with starlings until winter, when they mob the feeder for the dog food I put out for woodpeckers. One on one, they are no match. Its when they gang up (and they do) issues arise.

 

Is this an example of the v-trap you referenced?

The Purple Martin Society, NA -- The Z-Trap -- Building a Better Starling Trap

 

Then there is the counter to the killing of these exotics. Why stop there? I can list off many native species that kill desired songbirds without getting into the hawks. I spent time in my youth educating neighbors on why they shouldnt kill Shrikes, even though it pained these birders to see chickadees impaled on their plum trees spikes.

 

Yet of all these issues the greater one remains man and its behaviors towards nature that costs the largest amount of bird loss. There is so much more we can control on the human end, rather than the starling/sparrow aspect that would result in larger gains for the birds who do struggle. Think about all the cats roaming neighborhoods. The 5 acre lawns of one type of grass, mowed down perfectly uniform. The poisons used on our flowerbeds. Chemlawn. No standing deadwood. Ditches mowed even in rural areas. Imported pine trees lining properties. Not a mix of native conifers, rather one type of xmas tree symbolic of what? Not nature.

 

I like how this thread has inspired at least some people to wonder about birds a bit more than they did before, or encouraged others to increase what they already did casually, or even take up bird feeding again, remembering things they watched their grand parents do. I think altering our own behavior would be the best approach towards increasing the survival of bird species.

 

I do look forward to more birding posts from you. Are you near any of the birding areas in Arkansas? Are there any spots you would recommend? Best times of year? Unique species I might be interested in?

[freeztar]

Hoping I'm not off on the wrong foot. Starlings and Sparrows are the only two birds that are not protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.

 

Actually, according to this document from the Fish and Wildlife Service, 125 species of birds are exempt from protection offered by the MBTA:

Division of Migratory Bird Managementg - Questions and Answers, Final List of Bird Species to Which the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Does Not Apply

 

They are an invasive introduced species that are continuing to wreck the habitat for the American songbirds. They are vicious killers of American songbirds. If you are a serious birder, you'd do well to trap and kill every one that you can. It is a constant battle for me to protect my dozen eastern bluebird houses from their relentless attacks. Get a V trap and do your part to protect what is left of the remaining species of American songbirds.

 

Resectively,

 

Spike Silverback

 

I think Cedars addressed this quite well, so I won't touch on this other than to concur with her arguments.

[Cedars]

Sandhill cranes have been moving overhead, leaving the staging areas and heading towards their winter grounds. I imagine Crex Meadows is falling silent now.

 

My Red-breasted Nuthatch is still hitting the sunflower seeds daily. This is the longest I have had one of these hanging around my feeder. In the past, they have just moved through during migration. My mom has some living near her all summer the past few years so we could be seeing a slight increase in their numbers around here.

 

Tree sparrows have returned this last week in large numbers. A sure sign of the cold to come.

 

A Pileated woodpecker showed up to eat suet a few days after I hung it out. Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied woodpeckers arrived within the day the suet was out.

 

I thought I heard a fox bark the other day. It would be good to have fox again.

 

I saw via landsat the lakes of Canada are icing over now. The ice line seemed to be around 100 miles north of the MN border. Smaller ponds around here are icing up some. I am still hoping for a replay of the warm December of last year.

[freeztar]

One quarter of US bird species in peril:

More than 1/4 of U.S. birds threatened: report | Environment | Reuters

[Turtle]

Not many birds at my feeders, but those few visiting seem to stick around. Most notably, a small herd of Golden-crowned Sparrows. They tend to the ground, but do come up to knock seed from one feeder and peck at the suet. Here's a clip of 3 of the gang at the suet. >>

 

YouTube - Golden-crowned Sparrows - Zonotrichia atricapilla http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Scx8Vwb-j-U

[Cedars]

Not many birds at my feeders, but those few visiting seem to stick around. Most notably, a small herd of Golden-crowned Sparrows. They tend to the ground, but do come up to knock seed from one feeder and peck at the suet. Here's a clip of 3 of the gang at the suet. >>

 

Nice Vid! Great shots of both the front and back of the birds!

 

Hey do you sprinkle seed on the ground for them or rely on spillage for the ground feeders?

[Turtle]

Nice Vid! Great shots of both the front and back of the birds!

 

Hey do you sprinkle seed on the ground for them or rely on spillage for the ground feeders?

 

Thanks. :) Other than filling the feeder & taking the occasional glance, I have got off on other projects of late, but I'm back on my feathered friends for awhile. (My favorite haunts are under water right now & I have no boots. :()

 

The camera's running & I'll let 'er run a few hours before doing a review to see if I caught another good clip. My other regular visitors include maybe just 2 Oregon Junkos (Dark-eyed Juncos), one, possibly 2, Spotted Towhee, one. possibly 2 Black-capped Chickadees, a single Scrub Jay, and one, possibly 2, Song Sparrows. Yesterday I thought I saw a Bewick's Wren on the fence; this is what got me jazzed again. :hihi: I do sprinkle seed on the ground when there is not enough kicked out of the feeders. :camera: :)

[Cedars]

I stumbled across this news release today:

 

11/13/2007~U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Comment on Proposal to Allow Falconers to Remove and Possess Migratory Peregrine Falcons from the Wild

 

There is a line being crossed here that I think should not be crossed at least at this point in time, maybe never. Falconry existed even at the peak of Peregrine loss and their placement on the endangered species list. Falcons have been and continue to be captive bred for falconers to use in their sport hunting. These are wild born animals, and while not on the endangered specie list, their numbers can not yet be described as abundant throughout their former range in the lower 48.

 

For the Bayport MN Peregrine Nesting box, I remember the excitement when a wild born male bird showed up and paired with a release bird. No one in Minnesota knows where this wild bird came from but it is likely it is the Arctic birds which have provided these wild born mates for our captive release birds, at least earlier in the re-introduction efforts of the lower 48.

 

Falconers relish their sport and place high value on their birds due to the obstacles and expense involved in obtaining their hunting partner. Falconers were a huge participant for resources, knowledge, and handling skills in the Minnesota re-introduction efforts. But this proposal must take into account the value that all persons living in the lower 48 place on the abundance of these particular birds of prey. The mortality rate of first year birds is high as suggested in the proposal and taking more birds out of the wild will impact the numbers of birds in the wild. Taking these birds out of the wild does not change the factors which lead to the high first year mortality.

 

I think it is in the F&WS best interest to table this proposal until a future point in time when these birds can be described as abundant in the lower 48. I would rather see crowded nest box young taken from that environment to be sold to proven falcon breeding programs (or some such bidding) rather than allowing the taking of wild free flying birds.

 

Comments are open for public input until February 11, 2008. Links to comment areas are provided in the article.

[freeztar]

Fortunately there are 6 alternatives they are considering.

The preferred alternative doesn't look SO bad.

 

The preferred alternative is to allow take of peregrine falcons

between September 20th and October 20th from areas of the continental

areas south of 31degrees North latitude and east of 100 degrees West

longitude, and within the State of Alaska. The allowed take would be

consistent with management goals outlined in the DEA, and would be very

unlikely to have negative effects on any portion of the populations of

peregrine falcons in North America or Greenland.

http://frwebgate2.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=997132275952+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

 

So if they go with the preffered alternative, then no falcons would be able to be collected in MN (or where I live in N. GA for that matter).

 

It does seem kind of backwards to me as I always thought that falcons were more populous up north, but I'm not familiar with the original management plan which is probably what the decision is based upon. :shrug:

[Cedars]

Fortunately there are 6 alternatives they are considering.

The preferred alternative doesn't look SO bad.

WAIS Document Retrieval

 

So if they go with the preffered alternative, then no falcons would be able to be collected in MN (or where I live in N. GA for that matter).

 

It does seem kind of backwards to me as I always thought that falcons were more populous up north, but I'm not familiar with the original management plan which is probably what the decision is based upon. :shrug:

 

Nice additional info link there, however, this plan of taking birds via trapping under this plan seems to run contrary to the FWS 2006 monitoring plan.

 

http://www.fws.gov/pacific/news/2006/Q&As/PeregrineQ&A.pdf

 

How many of the nests successfully produced fledglings?

The number of young actually produced (productivity) varied from 1.45 to 2.09 across regions and averaged 1.64 for the nation.

 

Thats a pretty low average fledge rate from a bird that lays 2-5 eggs per site (cornell numbers). And thats fledge numbers, not survival to breeding numbers.

 

What's the status of the peregrine falcon now?

The peregrine falcon will be monitored at least through 2015 to ensure that it no longer needs the protection of the Endangered Species Act.

 

I think the F&WS should consider the above as a factor in this also. These birds cannot be considered abundant yet. And the parts about bird numbers improving faster than expectations is just puffery for the real issue, which is Have they recovered enough to allow hobby exploitation of these birds? It always bugs me when one of our government programs tries to pad an issue with "worldwide distribution". I dont care that there are many Peregrines in Russia, the important factor is How many exist in the USA.

 

I have no quarrel with the sport of falconry and have talked to some of the falconers who participated in the re-introduction program here as they attempted to capture some hawks with a pigeon on the border of my property.

 

But I also know they can breed their birds in captivity, gather fledges in various states (as your link shows) and really need to focus in on this gathering effort rather than taking a fully wild bird out of its environment and into a cage when the need is a personal hobby.

 

These birds do escape on occasion. A few years ago a young falconer lost her bird and the news coverage on it was nightly as they pleaded for people to watch for this bird as it had tethers hanging from its leg and there were very legitimate concerns for this animal to become tangled and die. The risk is increased by a multitude for a wild animal to not survive. An example would be a wolf pup taken from a den escaping with a trailing leash vs a wild trapped animal, which MAY be semi bonded to its people. The chances of the pup as an adult seeking out its familiar owner calls is much higher than the same chance of the adult wild animal returning to its captor.

 

There is no pressing need to supplement falconers desires by trapping wild and independent birds for this hobby, and the risk to the birds adapting to captivity at this later stage of development must be taken into consideration for this proposal.

[Cedars]

Someone posted a link to this slideshow of nesting sandhill cranes. Some outstanding photos. It appears to be a florida nest from what I can pick up from the website. These birds nested in a heavily populated area as you can see from some of the photos later in the show.

 

The slideshow wont be available much longer. If you have dialup, I would click on the images on the left side and navigate the pics that way.

 

ROBERT GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY - Presented by Phanfare

[Cedars]

I was begining to worry some. Its was nearing christmas and my Coopers hawk had not shown itself. I had some indication that there was some kind of raptor around after finding a bird foot laying on the snow with no tracks nearby. Times when I went outside and there were no birds making any noises. Times where fresh food was laid out and No birds.

 

Yesterday it happened. I spotted a Coopers hawk with a fresh kill in my bird feeding area. I had been wrapping the last of the gifts when the kill occurred. But there it was, 20 feet from my window standing on top of a bird on the ground. I watched for a while as still as I could. But the bird flew off with its prey after about 10 minutes. I dont know if it saw me or the feral cat (who wont survive the winter) that was coming around from behind the garage.

 

So I went out and explored the spot. I have my plow person do the birding area also so the fresh 5-6 inches of snow had been removed.

 

The first picture shows the melt area from the prey on the snow and the hawk standing on top. The second picture shows the bill left behind after the hawk flew away with its dinner. After looking at the bill, the prey bird was a European Starling. Third pic is the starling bill. One starling down, 19 to go.

[freeztar]

Down with the Starlings!!

:edevil:

[Turtle]

Up with Chickadees. :shrug: This one has a look at its reflection in the camera lens, and who can blame it.

 

YouTube - Black-capped Chickadee -Poecile atricapillus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAXSbi33MNc

[Hill]

The Great Backyard Bird Count occurs from February 15-19 (Friday-Monday) occurs in the US and Canada. A joint project of Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the project allows many thousands of birders to participate in some citizen science.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

 

Participants count birds anywhere for as little or as long as they wish during the four-day period. They tally the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time. To report their counts, they fill out an online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count web site.

 

As the count progresses, anyone with Internet access can explore what is being reported from their own towns or anywhere in the United States and Canada. They can also see how this year's numbers compare with those from previous years. Participants may also send in photographs of the birds they see. A selection of images is posted in the online photo gallery.

 

In 2007, participants reported a record-breaking 11 million birds of 616 species. They submitted more than 80,000 checklists, an all-time record for the ten years of the count.

Great Backyard Bird Count

[freeztar]

The Great Backyard Bird Count occurs from February 15-19 (Friday-Monday) occurs in the US and Canada. A joint project of Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the project allows many thousands of birders to participate in some citizen science.

Great Backyard Bird Count

 

You are a gem Hill, thanks!

 

My eyes and ears are wide open. :hihi:

[freeztar]

Well, I was just bird watching...What you say freeztar, it's well past sunset over there...I know, something strange just happened.

 

Right out my backdoor is an octagonal stand-alone screened gazebo. The door had been left open and when I went outside a few minutes ago, I heard some rustling in there. I flicked on the porch light and a male robin was stuck in the gazebo. It was trying to hop and fly through the walls, obviously with no success. The entrance to the gazebo faces the back door and is about 5 feet away. Knowing that the robin would avoid me, I retreated inside and watched through the window. A minute later, the robin figured it out (or got lucky or whatever) and escaped.

 

It looked utterly confused once it was free. It looked up at the bush by my door, and to me it looked like he was thinking, "Can I make it, or am I going to bounce back again?". (I know, I'm anthropomorphisizing )

 

It finally made the leap of faith and flew up to the top of the four foot Elaeagnus next to the door. When I left watch to come post this he was still sitting there after about 5 minutes, not moving at all (creepy really). Let me check now...Yep, he's still there.

 

So a few questions...

Can they fly at night at all? I would imagine they would have a hard time orienting and such. It's not too cold outside (about 48F right now), but is it possible it will not make it through the night? Should I try to scare it away? Porch light on or off? It may be confusing him. :doh:

 

Told you it was strange.