HAPPY NEW YEAR
I hope 2007 brings many more lifers (didn’t get any in 2006) and great critter adventures your way with many photographing opportunities! Thanks again for such a wonderful group of people here which have made me smile and enjoy looking into your life through pictures and your blog. Be safe tonight!
American Coot
To someone that doesn’t normally get to see the American Coot, I truly enjoyed myself watching them as if they were a rare bird! Of course, they are not that rare and when they do show up they don’t let me to photograph them like what I captured here. Lucky we found two individuals that let us sneak up on them and watch them feeding around the docks. It was soo cute; they were slowly bopping up and down in the water looking for some vegetation to eat! Sibley stated that they floated like a cork! I could see that for sure with these birds!
When I first saw them, I couldn’t figure out what the heck they were doing! Then I realized that they were picking the vegetation growing along the dock’s edge! But, not all of the coots that we saw were feeding on the docks edge. A good majority of them were feeding on some kind of vegetation (probably seaweed of some kind) or maybe some small fish. I just couldn’t get enough of these American “cutes” and I just had to make them their own post!
Such an interesting bird, wish they would come inland more!
Lake Erie Birding
As, I had mentioned in my previous post! I spent the day with Jordon birding along Lake Erie in Chautauqua County, NY. I wanted to try to add a few birds to my 2006 year list. We had lots of fun trying to identify many duck spots that even the spotting scopes couldn’t help bring in closer. Lighting wasn’t the best but we did get a few good looks of some waterfowl that cooperated. Highlight of the day had to be two Red-necked Grebes that we had at one of our pull over areas.
We also enjoyed watching the Hooded Mergansers and American Coots feeding in-between the docks. It was nice to closely approach them without too much startling. We also came across some Greater Scaup and A Belted Kingfisher around the dock area which I never expected to find.
Here is my list of birds that we saw which isn’t in any particular order.
Bufflehead – 16, Common Goldeneye – 12, Great Black-backed Gull – 52, Common Merganser – 14, Red Breasted Merganser – 5, *Red-necked Grebe – 2, Horned Grebe – 6, American Crow ~, Common Grackle – 1, Double-crested Cormorant – 82, Herring Gull ~, Ring-billed Gull ~, Mallard ~, Black Duck – 1, Canada Goose ~, Pied Billed Grebe – 4, *American Coot – 50, Hooded Merganser – 57, Belted Kingfisher – 1, Greater Scaup – 7,
* My first for my 2006 list and in a few days, the list starts all over again!
Great Black-backed Gull
It has been a few weeks since I have gone out and done some real birding. I ended up taking the day off of work and took this opportunity to have Jordon show me around to some of his favorite birding spots. So, today I was up along Lake Erie with the hopes of adding a few species to my 2006 year list(which I did do). I will post our results tomorrow once I get a chance to edit more photos.
The Great Black-backed Gull’s was a species that I have been dieing to photograph for some time and never expected to find some putting on a show for us. Luckily we found a few of these guys right along the road fighting over a fish. I figured they deserved their own posting and as you can see I was very happy with how these shots turned out.
They are easily identified by their black back and one of our largest gulls seen around the Great Lakes. They have a very deep voice and these guys made me wish I had my sound recording equipment on me to get a recording.
I am soo glad that I wasn’t that fish they kept on fighting over.
My 2006 blogging review of this site
There is always that one moment in your life when something happens and your life is turned upside down! This could be your first up close encounter of that colorful small bird. You then find yourself becoming a birdwatcher within a matter of seconds. You remember those brown streaks down its body as clearly and those mini sideburns on its head. That’s right “how could I have forgotten its bright yellow ball cap on its head”?? You’re then looking through a line up of birds in your new field guide trying to figure out what it could be? Well, this Chestnut-sided Warbler wasn’t the bird that started my new love of blogging but a Black Bear visiting my bird feeder is what did me in!
For as long as I live, I will never forget my heart pumping almost 100 miles per/hour and this bears trashy mildew smell following it (the original post can be seen HERE). Yes, I have come across bears on numerous occasions but this one encounter was very special! It was me and the bear eye-to-eye and I had never been so scared in my life! Luckily I was able to capture a few photos before my neighbors dog started barking.
This was a time period which I had started visiting some of my flickr friends blogs and something just clicked that this would be a great experience to share through a blog? I find myself 6 months after starting this blog and excited that this will be my 100th post here on “Mon@rch’s Nature Blog”. I can’t believe how quickly time has gone by and I never would have expected to have so much to say to everyone.
I guess this is the perfect opportunity to reflect on a few of my favorite post from 2006 which I think you should go back and revisit again (or visit for the first time).
Back in August we rescued this Beaver who somehow got trapped in one of the Administration Buildings window wells. This is something that I could have never imagined having to save but there is no doubt that this has to be my all time favorite post for 2006. To see more go to: Is that a …. Your kidding me …
My saddest post for 2006 would have to be the loss of “Marshmallow” the albino woodchuck who everyone in the park tried to see but still fell in love with. This poor little thing lost its life when given the option of challenging a dog or taking its chances with a vehicle. To see more go to: It’s not my fault that I am a mutant!
My most proud moment of 2006 was when the kids and I were able to complete our two day adventure backpacking along the North Country Trail. We started from my house and hiked to the kid’s parent’s campsite. To see more go to: Day 1 and Day 2
I think one of the most interesting discovery I had for 2006 was the young Woodturtle we found that had a broken shell. To be honest, that whole day was fun discovering wildflowers, herps, birds, ect… but this Woodturtle is a critter that I think about all the time. To see more go to: Young Woodturtle
There is no doubt that I banded many wonderful birds this season. I also had an amazing year banding the Northern Saw-whet Owls and documenting each day on this blog. But, I have to give this Barred Owl the award for my largest bird banded in 2006. To see more go to: An unusual visitor at the banding station
Lycopodium by Maxwell C. Wheat is such a wonderful poem and one that I have been thinking about using for Christmas for quite a while now. I have to give this post the award for the longest planned blog for 2006. Do expect more poems by Max to be posted here in 2007. To read the poem go to: Lycopodium
There were so many posts in this blog that I wanted to include but I needed to keep it down to only a few of my all time faves! So, please take the time to review the others from 2006 and I would love to hear which post were your favorites.
Might 2007 bring many wonderful things to blog and Happy New Year to everyone!
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Dear Santa
It been a whole year since your last visit and I have tried to be very good this year. If possible could you be extra generous to all my flickr friends and blogging buddies? They have been so wonderful to me by visiting this blog and always finding ways to make me smile! I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to share my numerous nature experiences with and then the opportunity to learn from them.
If you have any extra time, I would love for you to drop off some lifer birds for me to view before the end of the year!! If you’re unable to do so, a trip to Costa Rica or even the Nikon D200 would be nice. I know that you will have a very busy Christmas night so please use the door this year. I never got around to cleaning the chimney like I had promised you last season. Have a safe trip across the world sharing joy and happiness.
Tom
PS: I hope the kitties didn’t drink any of the milk that I left out for you but you can be sure that they will leave the cookies alone!
Lycopodium
Lycopodium
by Maxwell C. Wheat, Jr.
They are the elves’ Christmas trees
Grandfather would say
of Ground Pine and Cedar
Once in the sun I laid on snow
eye level to see colored lights and bulbs
the size of frozen dew drops
They are lycopodiums, he’d say
teaching me again to pronounce the name
because scientific words have the sounds of poetry
Lie-ko-po-dee-um
You’ve got it, he’d laugh
his hearty red face broadening behind his white beard
his abundant frame rollicking
When I return home for the holidays
I always walk back to our woods
think of Grandfather assuring a small boy
Yes,I’ll see that the elves have a happy Christmas
I am glad lie-ko-po-dee-um is evergreen
Used by permission All rights reserved
Wheat, M.C. Jr. (2000) Following Their Star – Poems of Christmas and Nature. Cow Meadow Promotions. p.27
winter solstice triggers changes in the birds
In the Northern Hemisphere the Winter Solstice officially occurs on the 21 st of December at exactly 7:20pm EST. At this point the sun will reach the Tropic of Capricorn making this the shortest day of the year. Here in Allegany State Park, NY we will have just over 9 hours of sunlight which I plan on celebrating by catching up on my sleep. We will begin to increase daylight hours until the Summer Solstice on the 21 st of June when the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer. That is when I will be celebrating with very little sleep due to looking for many birds and butterflies.
It shouldn’t be too long before the birds start courting each other and being their nesting. Yep, I said that the birds will begin nesting here soon! By mid to late January there will be Great Horned Owls sitting low in an old hawk nest or they could even be in a squirrel nest. Mid February you can expect our Bald Eagles to be busy adding sticks to their nest and then sitting low through numerous snowstorms that will hit us. Ravens will disappear in the top of a hemlock tree deep in the forest with only a few occurrences of that bone-stuck-in-their-throat sound. Once groundhogs day arrives many of our songbirds will show changes in their behaviors with their songs being a common occurrence. Red-shouldered Hawks will be displaying high in the sky and Bluejays will be tricking me with their mimicking of numerous hawk species. Once warblers arrive, most male birds will have their testosterone at their highest levels and territory lines will be laid out. O, how spring is my favorite time of the year!!
Summer Solstice will be here in no time and I will then be discussing their fledging of nestlings and preparation of migrating south for the winter. How time flies when having fun with the birds.
White-Blue Peacock
White-Blue Peacock, originally uploaded by chi liu.
Isn’t this an amazing photo of this half white and half blue peacock? Saw this today on flickr and thought this would be perfect to add to the blog! No photoshop was used on this bird, it is the real thing! Would love to hear what you think about it!
Sorry that I haven’t posted anything recently, I have been quite busy doing the holiday thing and currently my truck is being inspected, ect… gives me little time to travel around the park.
Regarding nature related things going on; Sunday December 17th, 2006 we had both Big Brown Bats and what looked like Northern Long-eared Bats still out and about. It was fun watching them flying up and down the road in search of insects. I would have expected them to be in hibernation already but with this mild winter…… I guess anything is possible! For sure this has been the latest in the year that I have seen any bats species flying around.
Last nights walk around the lake brought some fun activity with a Northern Cardinal. I took my Audubon squeakier with me and they came right up to me! Of course, too dark to try to take any pictures, so I just enjoyed the moment! Besides that, everything has been very quite outside.
Along the Allegheny River during the CBC
After working in section 3 during our Christmas Bird Count last Saturday, I ran into Tim starting the second part of his section along the Allegheny River. I was excited to join him and I just knew that being down along the river that I would be doubling my species (as I did).
We hiked through the riparian old field with hopes of waterfowl or anything else unusual!! Of course it was unusually quite with no birds!! Then, as we were getting closer to our vehicle we heard a flurry of birds! Hard to decide which way to look first – over there it’s a woodpecker! Quickly we identified it as a male Red-bellied Woodpecker – cool!! We were able to check off; 5 Black-capped Chickadee – 2 Blue Jay – White-breasted Nuthatch – Downy Woodpecker – 2 Hairy Woodpeckers!! Wonderful – there is not just one but a pair of Cardinals! It is about time that the birds started getting good!! Then, we come across another woodpecker! Isn’t that the Red-bellied?? We discuss how we saw it fly away – could it be the same bird?? Nope, female – red only on back side of its head! Another check – 2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers!
It is funny how within a matter of seconds we are finding all these birds together where we were hiking in very suitable habitat for an hour without a single peep. During the winter months, there are many birds that almost seem to follow the chickadees around as if they were the pied piper. Why might you ask? Hard to tell but these birds are working together as a team with each bird filling a different ecological nitch. As the nuthatch is looking under the bark, the chickadee is at the end of the branches and cardinals are feeding on the seeds on the ground – ect… It is easier to work together as a team than when by yourself! This can also be true as humans who have different skills. Next time you’re out birdwatching this winter, just check out the chickadees and I bet there will be other birds flying around with them.
As we changed directions along the Allegheny, we come across many other wonderful birds like the White-throated Sparrows, Tree Sparrows, Red-tailed Hawk, and even a Great Blue Heron! But, what I truly enjoyed was exploring this section of the river without 2 feet of snow on the ground. We saw many mussels on the river bottom and could have almost picked up this Bald Eagle bait (I think it’s a sucker) along the rivers edge. It was reinsuring this river system is doing so well after seeing all this out in the field after discussing the Upper Allegheny River Basin at the Nature Conservancy meeting last week.
While avoiding stepping on the numerous Skunk Cabbage plants poking out of the ground, we had a wonderful afternoon. Although the birds didn’t appear as we had anticipated but we saw a wonderful diversity of wildlife along the Allegheny River. I would love to see this area during the summer months.
365 days on flickr
I joined flickr one year ago and uploaded some butterfly pictures to a world which I never expected to change my life like it did. I have learned soo much from everyone and I have made such wonderful friends on the site. I helped Bird Mom in organizing camp flickr and attended some other flickr meets that have been scheduled. I have been encouraged through flickr to create this blog and share all my experiences with everyone. I started a few groups like herps and insects in the hand. So much has been learned by just looking at everyones pictures. I would like to thanks everyone for just being there for me when I need a smile. THANKS!
Pictures which made the top 500 on flickr’s explorer
1. Saying So Long for Another Season, 2. Waxwing when we use to have leaves!, 3. Herring Gulls riding the wind, 4. Northern Saw-whet Owl, 5. darner species, 6. running away newt, 7. Red House Creek, 8. a Happy Red Squirrel,
9. Summer Velvet, 10. Trouble Bears, 11. summer azure, 12. mamma and the kids, 13. cecropia moth, 14. big campfire, 15. Along the side of the road!, 16. Office Visitor,
17. Sharp-shinned Hawk, 18. can I help you with something, 19. woodfrog eggs, 20. an older monarch photo, 21. Snowdrops in the Rain, 22. Northern Saw-whet Owl, 23. Mini Me!, 24. Scotish Highland Cow,
25. Red House Lake, 26. A Summer Millipede, 27. Viceroy, 28. Gray Comma Looking a little camouflage!, 29. NSWO, 30. White Admiral
Did the Christmas Bird Count Today
Today I participated in the 57th Saint Bonaventure Christmas Bird Count or also known as the 107th Audubon Count. Tonight the group reflected the past 57 years in counting birds in this circle. I learned that Dr. Eaton has participated in every St. Bonaventure count since he started it back in 1950. He told us that “back in the early years that they would be happy with 20 species of birds”. Over time they slowly increased their numbers which currently averages around 50 species. With low numbers this year we found ourselves discussing better optics and other ways to increase our numbers (like taking a boat down the Allegheny River).
My day started today in section 3 with an American Kestrel stirring up 70 European Starlings. I then hiked through the woods for an hour with only a handful of chickadees. Hmm, so is this what the day is going to be like?? Quickly I learned that this year we needed to work for our birds but working hard would result in good birds!! I did have many new finds for my section and satisfied in the total numbers of birds that I observed.
The Cattaraugus County Bird Club as a team recorded 40 species and individually counted 3026 different birds. I was able to see 28 of those 40 species in 2 of the 6 sections within the circle. These numbers are much lower than our typical 50 species days from years past. I would have to believe that these numbers are low because of the unusual warmer temperatures and I can’t wait to see how other circles have or will do this season.
In between counting birdies, I did find many photographing opportunities but for most of the morning I was having all kinds of problems with my camera. Ever try taking pictures with a 400mm lens with it manually set on F22 ? When the sun came out, most everything was strongly washed out due to the auto ISO requiring it to be set on 1600. It wasn’t until I completed section 3 and move over to section 1 that I realized my F stops were so high!! I missed some very close encounters of a Golden Crowned Kinglet showing its colors on his head. I also missed out on numerous Sparrows and Chickadees that came close to investigating my pishing. The only picture which I would say was acceptable to publish was this Common Merganser. A good rule of thumb is once your camera is working again, the birds will not cooperate like this White-breasted Nuthatch mooning us.
I will include all 28 species that I saw in the comments box. I can’t wait to see how everyone else did.
St Bonaventure Christmas Bird Count
This Black-capped Chickadee is counting its seeds at the feeder! Tomorrow I will be counting the birds during the 107th Christmas Bird Count in the Saint Bonaventure circle here in Cattaraugus County, NY. I have been doing this circle since 1994 and been doing section 3 for the past 8 maybe 9 years now. After the count we all have dinner together to discuss who had the best birds of the day.
If you would like to participate in a count near you, please visit this “Audubon CBC” site. Stay tuned to hear what birds we end up finding in this circle.
Late December Bat
I took a quick walk around Red House Lake this evening with temperatures around 50 degree’s. Things really seemed like spring weather. Snow has mostly melted away and half of the lake has already started thawing out. We are only lacking the singing birds and spring time butterflies. I did find something unique though. To my memory, I have never seen a Big Brown Bat flying around looking for food this time of the year. This winter is starting to become a very interesting season!
Geminid Showers
Normally I am not fond of rain showers but those Geminid meteor showers last night were spectacular. I would like to thank Driftless Skies for alerting me to the Northern Lights and Geminid’s occurring right now. Last night’s watch was very enjoyable due to the warm temperatures and crystal clear skies. I did not encounter any aurora but I think the possibilities tonight will be much better.
Most every night I have been finding myself staying up late because I am unable to break my bad habits from two months of owl banding. But, how could I have missed this meteor shower last night?? When “going” and “returning” home from work in the dark every day, one must find nature activities any chance I get!
I quickly got my butt outside after watching the David Letterman show with his “science kid” guests. It took a few minutes before my eyes could adjust to the darkness but slowly some stars started to appear. I started to wonder “where are these meteors”?? Then you think you see something out of the corner of your eye! Was it – yep it was! Again, Again and Again they fly across the sky with ewww’s and awww’s!!. One or two appeared to have a small tails following as it enters earth’s atmosphere and boy – were they bright. I caught one greenish meteor in the lower southern sky that had to be my favorite for the night. They happen so quickly, you wonder, what color was that one?? Last nights showers were not the best shower ever but was still one of the better ones with meteor’s seen about once every +/- 20 to 30 seconds!!
I started to realizing how much I miss the night time sounds and wildlife. Due to the lake being frozen, I didn’t hear any more Geese honking and Eastern Screech Owls appeared to be very quite. Everything appeared to be so peaceful until those Coyotes started howling. The Coyotes are very commonly heard around the house and I love how once one dog starts howling, many others from across the valley join the song. You can almost distinguish different individual’s howls once you take the time to listen! It almost makes you want to join the pack and howl along!! FYI: I didn’t start howling but really wanted to!! My neighbors already think I am nuts!
After spending more time outside than I should have, I finally made it to bed. Ever close your eyes and reflect everything you just did? Well, couldn’t sleep because those howls stayed in my head and I kept on visualizing those shooting stars streaking across the sky!! Only difference was that I wasn’t getting any warbler neck trying to look up at the stars for a half-hour straight. But, those are the moments that you remember forever.
I only hope weather allows me to give tonight another try with the possibilities of the Northern Lights appearing. I hope you get out as well and enjoy the natural light show instead of watching your television. Ok, its Thursday night and maybe I will do both!
Marine Toys for Tots
Every year the staff of Allegany State Park collect unwrapped toys for the Marines Toys for Tots Foundation. Today the Marines arrived to pick up all these wonderful toys to be distributed to many needy children in the local community.
The Toys for Tots Foundation was started by a Colonel William L. Hendricks in 1947 after his wife tried to donate a toy she had made. Unable to find any local organizations, they started their own foundation and collected 5000 toys that year. It was such a huge success that they went nation wide and over the years distributed more than 351 million toys to nearly 166 needy children. To hear more about the history behind this foundation, please visit their website at www.toysfortots.org .
We always try to remind everyone who donates toys that it isn’t just little children who are needy. It is also the older children who are easily over looked and could use some items like makeup, basketballs, or even card games. If you have not donated any toys yet, please try to find a drop off locations near you. If not, try to schedule your office to start collecting toys for next year!
Upper Allegheny Basin Workshop
Recently I have been involved in a two day workshop sponsored by the Nature Conservancy and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. They have brought together many scientist, universities, governmental partners and natural resource professionals to assist in putting together an in depth conservation plan for the Upper Allegheny River Basin.
This was the second of four workshops scheduled for completing this plan. This workshop was focused on establishing the threats of the Upper Allegheny Basin. Back in April 2006, they had their first workshop and kicked everything off by bringing everyone together for the Allegheny Biodiversity Symposium. I presented an oral paper on the Changing Butterfly Fauna in Allegany State Park and one of 50 papers/posters presented that day. I felt honored to be involved in this important long-term conservation plan for the Allegheny River System and can’t wait to see the finished product.
winter blues
A good birding friend once told me that he “makes it through the winter knowing the warblers will be back in the spring”! I now live by this saying; well maybe just during the winter months!
Nesting Female Hooded Warbler
I figure with the shortest day of the year around the corner, why not just post a reminder of summer time fun!
I would love to hear what helps you make it through the winter months?
Evening Birdwatching
Tonight a few of us from the Cattaraugus County Bird Club went in search of the Short-eared Owl! It has been a few years since anyone has recorded them within the county and I would like to add them to my county list. In years past we have traveled to see these birds in the neighboring counties. I still remember that one owl in Genesee County that landed on a telephone pole right next to our vehicle. It would hunt the field right next to us and then return back to that same pole. If only I had my camera on me!! Then there were those 5 or 6 Short-eared Owls in Niagara County that decided to roost in someone’s Christmas decorated shrubs right next to their house. They looked like very large ornaments but these ornaments would disappear one by one once it got dark. I now wonder what we might encounter here in Cattaraugus County?
We started the adventure in an area heavily population by the Amish because they have what we think is the Short-eared Owl’s preferred hunting habitat (hay stacks, large open fields and fence post). Early evening we located our first of the seasons Northern Shrike and light phased Rough-legged Hawk (sorry about the picture below, it was quite a distance away). I hope that in the next few months that I will see more of them and get some better pictures to post.
About 20 minutes before dusk, Tim saw an accipiter in the tree which we needed to investigated closer. It was spooked and as soon as it took flight we were confident that it was an immature Coopers Hawk. But, what we didn’t expect was that it would be chased by another bird of prey. Tim was outside the vehicle with a better view and asked if we had seen the Merlin!! Mike and I quickly jumped out of the vehicle and said, “Merlin”?? Tim pointed to the tree that it was sitting in (photo below) and became very excited. After we all got some wonderful looks we tried to get closer and of course it took flight again. We tried to follow it but the Merlin disappeared while chasing some starlings. I strongly cropped this picture to make it full framed but the picture of it in flight shows its field marks better. This is a species who’s population in this area have been increasing over the past few years and could be our first winter record for this bird. No doubt that it was the best bird of the night.
Obviously we didn’t find any Short-eared Owls but we did had a fun trying. I will be attending a workshop organized by The Nature Conservancy for the next few days. I am not sure when I will be able to update the blog again but I promise to put some good stuff on here soon.
I think winter is finally here
Allegany State Parks Red House Lake officially froze over yesterday. I recorded the low temperature for the day as being 9.1 degrees Fahrenheit. I guess that’s enough to freeze it over good enough to keep the ducks out. What a difference this is from just the other day.
I think winter is finally here. Note the current and before pictures!
North America Marsupial
Wednesday evening while returning from the Bill Thompson III talk, we came across an Opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) near where I had my truck parked in Allegany State Park, NY. Those red reflected eyes from the vehicle are unmistakable. After being skunked (not getting a good photo) of the skunk last month, I wanted to approach this little critter from a different angle. It started to run away as I approached and I did my very best to get between the goldenrod field and the Opossum. Everything happened so quickly but what I do remember is that it froze in place as if I couldn’t see it! No doubt that it played possum on me which is where it probably got its name. Opossum isn’t spelled how you expect it to be spelled, so I always call it the O’ possum.
Slowly – I moved closer and it allowed me to capture these pictures! You could tell that it was looking out the side of its eye, as if to wonder “what was the proper second for it to bolt away”! Moments later this gray mammal took advantage of me trying to get that close look and took off in a blink of an eye! I do remember looking at their funny feet and almost hairless tail. They can use this tail for assistance in climbing and on occasion hang upside down in a tree by their tail only.
As most know the Opossum is a members of the marsupial family (same family as the Kangaroo). They are unique mammal because the female carries their undeveloped young in an external abdominal pouch. I have seen an Opossum once around the feeder where the female was carrying around ~10 little ones. Those cute (yes I said cute) little ones quickly disappeared once I shined the flashlight on her (going into the pouch around the sides of her) and then she snarled at me. I quickly backed off realizing what I just witnessed.
You need to be very careful around the Opossum because they have very sharp teeth and will bite if they are threatened. What is unique is that they have more teeth than any other mammal in New York State (with 50 teeth total, 26 upper and 24 lower). They have a very large distribution across the east coast from the Great Lakes down to the tropics and South America. They typically live in hollow trees but on occasion are found under porches or even living in woodchuck holes.
The Opossum will leave little evidence that they in an area and are solely nocturnal. The males are more nomadic than the females and both just wonder around the woods/wetlands. They are omnivores and will eat nearly anything they can. Majority of their diet is smaller animals like insects, mice and even ground nesting birds (eggs, chicks).
I truly enjoyed getting this close encounter with this funny looking O’ possum last Wednesday. If you ever encounter this cat sized critter, please appreciate how unique it really is and get a good look of it. I promise it will be something that will remember for a long time.
Facts taken from: Jackson, Hartley H. T., 1961. Mammals of Wisconsin The University of Wisconsin Press. pp17 -25
Bill of the Birds talks about Roger Tory Peterson
On Wednesday Bill Thompson III spent the evening talking to many guest and members of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI) in Jamestown, New York. B3 is the third author who has been invited to speak at the Distinguished Speaker Series at RTPI which was funded through the Johnson Foundation. He is best known as the editor and author of the magazine Bird Watchers Digest which was started by his father in the late 1970’s. He visited the institute to discuss his newest book called “All Things Reconsidered” which is a collection of essays written by the late Roger Tory Peterson.
During the “meet the author” reception; Bill told us some wonderful fun stories about himself as a kid becoming a birder. I will not get into too many details on how he had skipped school, ect… but I must admit that he had some wonderful roll models. I did love how his Grandmother insisted that when he was a little baby that his first words were “junco”!
During the lecture, Bill told us about how Roger Tory Peterson had been involved with the Bird Watchers Digest magazine since its very beginning. We learned about how his father confronted Roger in the mid 1980’s about doing an article for the magazine. Roger had thought about for a few minutes and ended up agreeing to do a column for the magazine (which continued up until his death in 1996). Bill went into wonderful discussion on how he was able to put this book together in honor of Roger Tory Petersons death 10 years ago. I strongly suggest you read this book to hear the whole story!!
I first had the opportunity to meet Bill Thompson III, from the American Online Birding chat room which I assisted in hosting from 1996 to 2001. Bill was one of the original people who assisted in getting this chat room established through AOL. Throughout the years, I had the opportunity to hear him and his wife speak at the Federation of New York State Birdclubs annual meeting (now called New York State Ornithological Association). My most memorable meeting of B3 and his family was at the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage here in Allegany State Park, New York – June of 2002.
I can’t remember if it was Bill or Julie (I think it was Julie because I remember the pet frog and bird story) but one of them was the main speaker under the big tent at Camp Allegany. What I do remember is Bill pulling out his guitar and the two started singing together. The most memorable part was that my 8 year old field assistant and I were invited to join their family out to France Brook road to do some birding. The kids (about the same age) had a great time identifying the numerous birds that we encountered and then found some cool insects together. This was a time period when I was really starting to learn my butterflies and Julie had pointed a few species out that I hadn’t learned yet. This will be a day that I will remember forever.
Even if you were unable to make it to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute to hear his talk, you can still learn from him at his Birding Blog at Bill of the Birds. His wife is also an remarkable blogger at Julie Zickefoose’s blog. I would like to thank Linda O. for first introducing me to their blog after the Scott Weidensaul’s talk. I knew that I had to add them to my RSS feeds ASAP and I know that you will equally enjoy their blog sites.
what is that in my bluebird box
Yesterday, I took a little hike down ASP Rt. 2 looking for some Shrikes or any other unique winter bird hiding in the shrubs. Being so quiet, I found myself looking inside some of my bluebird boxes that I have not checked since August (removing the older nest left by the bluebirds).
One of the boxes had been filled up with grass. Anyone who has worked with nest boxes knows that I am about to deal with some little furry mammal (not birds). Sure enough, there were 2 Deer Mouse holding their ground and not wanting to leave the box. I was just glad they didn’t run down my arm like they normally do when I open the box.
I questioned if I should have left these mice alone or just evict them. If this box was regularly used by Tree Swallow’s, I probably would have let them spend the winter there but this exact box has been one of my better Eastern Bluebirds boxes for the past 5 spring/summers. I am afraid that these mice might discourage any bluebird looking for a winter roost or for when the birds decided to start investigating for an empty box. I am also concerned that the urine left by the mice could attract predators which might destroy the box trying to get inside (This summer I had a Black Bear shred apart a box to get inside, ugg). Anytime you remove a mouse nest, you should always use protection over your face so that you don’t inhale any of their dandruff. You should also try leaving the box open for a week to dry the soaked mice urine left buy these cute furballs.
Last spring I encountered this Red Squirrel in one of the new boxes built by some Boy Scouts. It is hard to believe that something so big can live in such a little box. I have found that these squirrels do all kinds of damage by chewing the hole bigger which can then make it easier for predators (raccoons, ect..) to steal the baby nestlings or eggs from the box.
It can become a full time job taking care of all your bluebird boxes but very well worth seeing and hearing the birds out in the fields. I promise to keep you updated with this blog on how the boxes are doing here in Allegany State Park.
Morning Hike
The sun woke me up this morning and I had decided that I needed to take a nice hike. While filling the feeders, I found a cool bird wing imprint in the snow. Then I decided to head down to France Brook which always brings me some excitement. Had the most fun crunching the ice puddles along the road!
Birds were acting funny and the Bluejays kept on making these strange clicking sounds. To my surprise there was an adult Bald Eagle near the Beaver Ponds. It was a stunning bird and took off before I could get a good picture. Suddenly the Common Ravens circled and started chasing the Eagle. It was wonderful thing to watch! Besides this excitement with the eagle and Raven; there was your typical birds moving around in the shrubs which I enjoyed watching.
Tree Sparrow with more sticks in the way!! The one picture is of it itching.
Enjoyed finding a Song Sparrow in there!
After my hike, I visited my family and lost a bunch of money at the Casino!! Ugg, they opened a section in the new building and I had to check it out! It’s going to be a LONG time until I visit that place again!!
Mon@rch's Nature Blog 