Annual Waterfowl Fieldtrip
Sleeping Bufflehead
Today the Cattaraugus County Bird Club had their Annual Waterfowl Fieldtrip along the Allegheny River and Conewango Wetland Area. We had a wonderful birding day with 53 species of birds and we survived glacial like temperatures!
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Timberdoodle [Video]
American Woodcock photo by Grace – April 2007
One of the easiest ways of finding the American Woodcock (aka Timberdoodle) is to take a trip into a wet meadow around dusk and then wait. Not long after the sun sets you will witness one the most amazing flight display of any of our birds here in the North East. The male Timberdoodle will do its peent call for about 10 or 15 minutes and then take flight into the sky in a circular direction! The American Woodcock has developed a unique flight feather that allows the bird to create a whistle sound when heading towards the sky! After 2 or 3 circles, the bird will return to the earth with the most beautiful lullabies that you will ever hear! Once it has returned to the same location in which it started . . . the American Woodcock will return in peenting again and then repeat its flight display until it’s too dark to see! Below is the video that I captured on Easter Sunday of their display here in Allegany State Park!
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Saturday Birding
Tundra Swan and Canada Goose
Mike and I went out to do some Saturday Birding over at Swamp Road in Randolph today. We were not disappointed with an outstanding array of waterfowl, which included: Tundra Swans, Canada Goose, Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Redhead Ducks, Bufflehead, Northern Pintails, Scaup species, Common Golden-eye, Ring-necked Duck and American Wigeon. Highlights of the day included a Red-bellied Woodpecker (CHECK), American Coot (CHECK) and Rough-legged Hawk (CHECK). All of which were first for 2008’s for me!
Daytime Barred Owl [video]
A hunting Barred Owl in the Rain
This evening I went on a dusk birding trip for some Short-eared Owls within our county (with my birdclub friend Mike D.). This has been a fun project that we have been doing for many years and are never successful in finding any owls (of course). We went a little early this time to look for waterfowl (scouting for tomorrows trip) and came across this bird. We discussed this large bird we found and trying to decide if it was a Red-tailed Hawk or Rough-legged Hawk (something didn’t look right). We moved my truck for a better angle, pulled the spotting scope out and noticed this bird had dark eyes. Could this have been a Short-eared Owl?? Naaa just a Barred Owl!! Wait . . . it wasn’t even dusk yet??
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Our Nesting Eagles
An adult Bald Eagle on the Nest
I got a phone call from a birding friend that one of our Bald Eagle pairs started sitting on her nest last week. After work I jumped into my truck and headed over to see if I could find the nest again. The nest looked a little different from the last time I saw it because a windstorm damaged it last fall. After spending the winter rebuilding/repairing, the pair finally was able to get their eggs laid. Young should hatch in just over a month and the young will be fledging from the nest by mid July. I just love this time of the year.
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Pileated Woodpecker [video]
Pileated Woodpecker
Yesterday I came across this enormous black and white woodpecker with a conspicuous bright red crest, while it was working on excavating a huge hole. Actually, I found this bird not far from my mother’s house and was amazed that it allowed me to pull my vehicle right next to it . . . . and it wasn’t spooked!! This Pileated Woodpecker has very little red on its forehead and was lacking the red on the malar region making it a female. Looking at the first photo up close . . . you will notice her brown coloring contrasting with its black wing feathers, which can sometimes be difficult to reliably age the bird (believing that the faded brown feathers were her Juvenal feathers). But, seeing the gray/tan eye coloring (Adults have bright red eyes) will confirm that this woodpecker is a second year bird (meaning she was born during the summer of 2007).
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Redstart [Poem]
Redstart
Fiesta flashes
of vermilion orange
flung from flaming tail,
fire wings
of Cuba’s “Little Candelita”
tumbling
plummeting upward
in Canadian green
of long spruce
under which
our eyes
tango
By: Maxwell Corydon Wheat, Jr ©
Bird Banding News!
Female Brown-headed Cowbird
My friend Jen from “A Passion for Nature” solved her banded bird mystery yesterday! If you are interested in learning about about her amazing “find” . . . . please visit her post!! Don’t you love science?
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Canvasback
Canvasback
The canvasback is a local migrant who breed mainly in western North American. They can be quite numerous in there wintering waters but inland where I am located . . . . they are not as common. As a result you can understand how pleased I was to see these guys on Lake Erie last Wednesday. They are typically very skittish but there were a few who let me get close before swimming away. (more…)
Yes . . . A Long-eared Owl
Long-eared Owl
This week Young Naturalist J was off from school (winter break) and once I learned the crew would be out trying to band Short-eared Owls . . . I just knew we had to go. Weather was a little iffy but the great banding team did a wonderful job getting everything set up! (more…)
Movement of Northern Saw-whet Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owl and the moon!
I am soo excited; I don’t know where to start. . . . ! Have you ever wondered where the bird you are looking at has been or where they are going? Previously I have discussed some interesting banding recoveries where I recorded two different Black-capped Chickadees who moved 3350 feet from their breeding territory to where they had been wintering (these were my own recaptured birds). I have also discussed on numerous occasions some exciting banding nights where I recaptured some foreign recaptured Northern Saw-whet Owls that had been previously banded by another bander. I am proud to announce that “today” I received a report that another bird bander recaptured one of my Northern Saw-whet Owl last fall (the first time this has ever happened to me, yah!!)!!
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The Banding [part 2]
Short-eared Owls amazing face pattern
Yesterday’s post was about the excitement of catching these two Short-eared Owls . . . Today I will be writing about the banding process, transmitter and releasing the owls (and a few cool photos). (more…)
Rufous vs Gray
From the Peterson Field Guide.
The Eastern Screech Owl is a species that have two distinct morphs and live within the same population (polymorphism). It is generally known that gray-morphed Screech Owls are more frequently found in the North and the rufous-morphed birds are mostly found in the South. Many publications will discuss this relationship with the rufous-morphed birds not being able to handle the colder winters and I know there are some studies are trying to prove that. I did find an interesting publication by Mosher and Henny (1976) who explains how the rufous-morphed Screech Owls oxygen uptake is greater than the gray-morphed birds when exposed to lower temperatures. I have also heard about the relationship with the different morphs and tree species that are found in the areas !! (more…)
Murmuration of Starlings
A Murmuration of Starlings
What is a Murmuration of Starlings? It really isn’t much except being a fancy way to describing a group of European Starlings that you might find together. The Encarta Dictionary says; mur•mu•ra•tion (noun) 1. murmuring – an act or sound of murmuring 2. starlings collectively – a flock of starlings! Many other critters have different names for describing there group gatherings. . . . here are a few my favorite examples; “a cloud of gnats”, “a walk of snipe” and “a band of gorillas”!! I wonder if the gorillas have hippy gorillas or monkeys who follow them from gig to gig?? (more…)
Annual Waterfowl Survey
Today a few of us from the Cattaraugus County Bird Club participated in the NYS DEC / NYSOA annual waterfowl survey. Each January a quarter of a million ducks across New York State are counted by bird clubs, state officials and your average birder. We are also participating in the Mid-winter Bald Eagle Survey, where we are locating Eagles wintering along the Allegheny River. The results of these two surveys will help determine the long-term monitoring of waterfowl and Eagle populations within New York State during the winter months.
Canada Goose with a cold wake up call.
An Interesting Office Visitor
Have you ever been inside Wal-mart or Home Depot with birds flying around the store?? I feel sorry for those birdies and I find myself wondering who’s job it is to get them back outside safely?? Well, you know who gets the call whenever something is flying around the offices in the Administration Building!! I have rescued Chimney Swifts who accidentally fell down the chimney because someone forgot to close the damper. I am the one who saves the Little Brown Bats who accidentally finds there way inside whenever someone leaves a doors or window open due to hot temperatures during the summer. I have even rescued things like a Luna Moths (stuck between the storm windows), Hummingbirds, Meadow Jumping Mouse, Flying Squirrels, Ring-necked Snakes, and a ton of Chipmunks!! But I am rarely called upon during the winter months for unexpected critters that find there way into the offices (well, unless they are mice)!
Today’s Black-capped Chickadee.
Birds – 2007 Checklist
Red-necked Grebe that was rescued.
I decided to split up my 2007 Nature Checklist into 5 different categories; Butterflies & Skippers, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals and Birds! Birds are my last species in this series that I have been keeping track of within Western New York State, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. I have also taken the birds and split them up between non-passerines (88) and passerines (111). This was one of my best “bird” years with many great species and 6 lifers (5 of which were at Cape Cod)! Although, it would have been nice to have gotten one more species to make it exactly 200 for 2007! Maybe I can break that 200 barrier in 2008 and do a little traveling (which is how so many are able to get their numbers up)?? (more…)
Do you know your Bird Eggs? [QUIZ 2]
Looking at each egg will make you wonder what advantages or disadvantages it might have. Take for example cliff nesting birds who building their nest on large ledges. Maybe those eggs which are more pointed are less likely to roll off the ledge because they will instead roll in a tight arch?? Why are birds eggs colored differently?? Maybe from a predator’s vantage those green or blue eggs could look like a hole in the vegetation?? Those birds with white eggs might not need to be camouflage because both parents take turns incubating the eggs while protecting the white coloring from predators?? Maybe cavity nesting birds require that white coloring so that the parents don’t accidently break the egg while in the darkness of the cavity?? Are duck eggs oilier than normal eggs to help keep them more waterproof? So many questions that are being looked at by ornithologist today and their findings are helping us understand the unique features in the development of these eggs.
Checking out an Eastern Towhee Nest.
By posting these two birdQUIZs, I am hoping you will also look closer at each egg and try thinking why each egg looks the way that it does. This exercise will help you finding the proper owner of the broken or hatched egg shell that you find laying on the ground. Good Luck with the quiz!! (more…)
Do you know your Bird Eggs? [QUIZ 1]
Bird Eggs come in an array of shapes and sizes. They can be found elliptical, spherical or even oval in shape. Smaller eggs (like the Hummingbird) are the size of a pea and the larger eggs (like the Ostrich) can almost be the size of a football. Eggs are sometimes colored in ways of making them appear to be camouflage so that potential enemies are unable to locate them. An example would be the Killdeer who will lay her eggs on the rocky ground but assist in distracting the predator away with an injured wing display. Some species of birds have colors that will vary from egg to egg where others will always have the same reliable pattern. Many of our cavity nesting birds will have white or neutral colored eggs since they do not need their eggs camouflaged. Ducks eggs are larger in size in proportion of their adult sized body. Ducklings need to be ready to swim away as soon as they are born where most other nestlings are born feather-less and helpless. They do most of their developing within the first few weeks in the nest.
Hooded Warbler on her nest.
There are many different things to take in consideration when identifying the eggs of birds. Size, shape and coloring are the main ingredients in making the eggs identification but they are not always the most important details. Behavior and the birds natural history is sometimes very helpful way to identify a broken (or hatched open) egg that you might find on the ground. The birdQUIZ below is designed in helping you use everything I talked about in making the proper identification of these eggs!! Good Luck! (more…)
The Christmas Bird Count
Cattaraugus County Bird Club participants of the CBC
Today I participated in the 58th Saint Bonaventure Christmas Bird Count (108th Audubon). I was happy the count was scheduled for today and not during tomorrows “big snowstorm”. Around 6pm this evening the snow has already started falling and is coming down hard! The temperature for the count was around 20-25F and we had very the cold blowing winds!! (more…)
Saint Bonaventure Christmas Bird Count
Photo from last years St. Bonaventure CBC
Tomorrow I will be counting the birds during the 108th Christmas Bird Count in the Saint Bonaventure circle here in Cattaraugus County, NY. I have been doing this circle since 1994 and been recording for section 3 for the past 10 years now. After the count we all have dinner together and will discuss who had the best birds of the day. (more…)
Understanding the bird’s toe arrangement
Red-tailed Hawk toes up close
Birds are recognized as being the “superb flyers” of the world. Although their wings are what helps them fly . . . . it is their feet and bill that help distinguish what ecological niche that hey live in. By studying their feet we can understand unusual behaviors and where they spend most hours of the day (tree, ground, water). We can look at the birds of prey who have armor protecting it from being bitten and sharp talons for grasping its prey. The grebe toes are lobed which will expand or contract as the bird swims or dives under water. Chickadees will uses its toes for grasp sunflower seed and then peck through the shell to get to the meat of the seed. Although there are many obvious features of the birds feet that helps it survive (as listed above) . . . I plan to discuss the 5 different toe arrangements that our birds have that help make those obvious features work! (more…)
My Irruption Northern Saw-whet Owl Year
First Northern Saw-whet Owl of the Season.
This year the Allegany State Park (Northern Saw-whet Owl) banding station was open for 28 nights and captured 83 different individuals with 90 total NSWO captures. We did not capture the hundreds of owls like the big migration sites but this stations numbers this season was significantly better than my previous three years of banding combined. The last two weeks in November resulted in very bad weather conditions (lake effect, strong winds and rain) which considerably reduced the number of net hours that the station typically operates. (more…)
Mon@rch's Nature Blog 