The Alaska Science Center has a new batch of satellite tracker equipped Bar-tailed Godwits, following in the wing beats of E7 and her friends:

The northward flight of Bar-tailed Godwits began in mid-March with the departure of four godwits from the North Island of New Zealand. This year we are following two populations of birds north, a group of 9 from New Zealand and a group of 15 from Western Australia (WA). The birds from WA represent a different subspecies of Bar-tailed Godwit that nests in eastern Siberia whereas the New Zealand birds nest in Alaska.

I'll be following along on their journey north and hope that, come Fall, we'll be treated to some more epic transoceanic journeys by these amazing shorebirds!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just a friendly reminder that tonight is the night to turn out your lights: Earth Hour is from 8 to 9 p.m. Hundreds of U.S. cities, businesses, and millions of people are participating; I hope you plan to, also.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The answer to last week's quiz was Northern Mockingbird.With a limited range across North America and plumage variations across that range, our bird for #92 may be somewhat trickier. Good luck & good birding!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 05:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the past couple of days I've seen some more stuff either here in the park or very close. New bird species include the arrival of White-throated Swifts - seen yesterday zipping around from the Sunset Point overlook as I was chatting up some folks just prior to my Geology Talk (leaving the talk I also saw some activity at the last prairie dog colony to emerge - almost a month later than the first!). The day prior at the laundry I saw my first Northern Flicker as well as a pair of Western Bluebirds within the park. New additions today included 1 bird and 1 mammal: the bird was a Northern Goshawk flying just outside the park; the mammals were a couple of herds of Pronghorn outside the park, they have migrated from lower elevations where spent the winter.

In the "I'll Have to Go Look for This One" department: Yesterday a park visitor reported seeing a Peregrine Falcon zooming around the park's southern end at Yovimpa Point - I'll be down there in a few days when I'm off and be sure to let you know!

And in the "Wish I Could Have Been There" department: A few days ago the park's superintendent witnessed a Long-tailed Weasel take down and drag off a significantly larger Mountain Cottontail. Can you imagine????!!!! No doubt I'd feel bad for the bunny, but that would still be an amazing bit of nature at work to be lucky enough to witness.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday, New Jersey governor Jon Corzine signed into law a bill placing a moratorium on the harvesting of Horseshoe Crabs that carries stiff penalties ($10,000 first offense, $25,000 for subsequent offenses). Hooray for New Jersey! Now if Delaware would just follow suit, things would be so much the better (well, that and an Endangered Species Act listing from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that is long overdue).

One item I learned from an op-ed piece is that the way this new law is written, the burden of proof that all is well gets shifted:

Driven by the steeply declining populations of the red knot, the new law shifts the scientific and legal burden from DEP to show that the species is harmed, to the fishing industry to show that any horseshoe crab harvest will not harm the recovery of the red knot and several other migratory birds.

I like that. We should do this across the board and make all industry financially responsible for proving that their actions won't harm the environment. Fat chance it will happen anytime soon, at least not without a major shift in the way Americans think. Not when you've got clueless people like the one who was the first commenter (of only two as I write this) in the first article I linked to above:

Maybe part of the problem is the Red Knots eating the eggs. If the eggs can't hatch then it only makes sense the population of the horseshoe crab will go down.

Why comment when you have absolutely no concept about what is going on here? It's not like this hasn't been going on for thousands of years. I lost a few perfectly viable brain cells from the searing stupidity in that comment; I'm amazed this person can actually turn on his/her computer. (Hey friend, why don't you go back to watching Survivor or Dancing With the Stars and let the thinking people run things around here for, oh, say the next few thousand years. Okay? Maybe our species will survive then.)

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While I missed getting to 30 species last week, I more than made up for it with a nice day today (38 species) and really padded my year list (9 new today and now at 57 species). I started out early in hopes of finding a Sage Grouse lek, but came up empty in that quest (I've since had the opportunity to chat with the wildlife biologist with Dixie National Forest and know where they are - snow, however, will prevent me from getting to them until more melts off). Just down the road from where I'd hoped to find the grouse I picked up a new "lifer" when I happened upon some Sage Thrashers. Another mile down the road I found a couple of first-of-the-season Northern Flickers and, a short time later, nice looks at a singing male Cassin's Finch.

I was stuck at 28 species (1 better than last week's total), with 3 new "year birds", when I gave up for the morning, headed home to have a little lunch, do a few chores around the ol' homestead, then do a little shopping. Following up on a tip, late in the afternoon I went to check out a pond down in the valley between Tropic and Cannonville (east of the park) and that is where I hit paydirt: Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, American Coot, Redhead, Cinnamon Teal, and Northern Shoveler were the new-for-the-year species I picked up out of the 10 species I found there. I also saw a small flock of swallows zip past, but they were gone before I could get the binos on them, unfortunately.

The other side of seeing more species migrating into the area is that many of the winter birds are now heading out. I haven't seen a Rough-legged Hawk in about 2 weeks and see fewer Bald Eagles and Horned Larks these days.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

On Thursday & Friday mornings, in between the chatter of flocks of Robins moving around North Campground, I heard some owls. Friday's was easy as it was a faint but familiar "hoot" I had heard many times before: Great Horned Owl. The call I heard Thursday morning was unfamiliar and turned out to be the source of a little frustration. What I heard was a slow "toot" (or "too", I suppose), and the first thing I did was run in and grab my Palm with Handheld Birds installed. I knew from other rangers that Northern Saw Whet Owls were present in the park so that was the first one I pulled up, listened to the recording, and determined that the cadence was too rapid for what I was hearing. I did a quick check of the park checklist and next up was the Northern Pygmy Owl, but it was still wrong. So was Long-eared Owl. Next I went to my computer and checked my Guide to Birds of North America software, still no match for what should be present in the park.

At that point I decided to see what my Sibley guide (the desktop version) had to say about voice and it turned out that Northern Pygmy Owls calls vary regionally. Maybe I should have checked there first or, in hindsight, checked the description with the Handheld Birds software because I would have learned of these differences there also. It does seem odd, however, that in 2 different software programs, they provide recordings of Northern Pygmy Owls from the smallest portion of the species range (southern Arizona). The really odd thing about Handheld Birds is the description:

Primary song is a slow, monotonous series of took notes. "Mountain" form from southeastern Arizona into Mexico gives paired phrases . . .

Seems kind of silly to me that they would include a recording that isn't the "primary" song. The same could be said for the other software which - and this is arguably worse - doesn't even mention the fact that the song is variable. I'm sure it is hard to put every little bit of information one might need and one very good reason I rely on multiple resources. But this issue of voice is kind of critical, I think, and should be clearly pointed out, especially when a field guide, electronic or otherwise, is dealing with a family of birds (owls) that are frequently heard and not seen.

I could rant a little more about it (there are discrepancies between Sibley's "big book" and his western field guide, for example), but won't.

Two days later I still think it is pretty cool that I heard that little owl, even if I didn't see it.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week's bird was a Dark-eyed Junco (gray headed race). For this week we have another gray bird that ranges across large parts of the country. They're supposed to be resident (but rare) here in the park; I'm still looking . . .

Good luck and good birding!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was my Best Birding Day So Far This Year; I was hopeful that I would hit 30, but came up 3 short in the end. On a positive note, I added 4 new species to the year list, bringing that total to 45; all were within the range of the Bryce checklist area, too. The additions are Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe (a big surprise I found hanging around the edges of a pond where I was checking out the ducks), Vesper Sparrow, and Savannah Sparrow. The only (bird) species I managed to photograph was this male Greater Sage-grouse. They should be lekking soon, if not already, and the spot where I shot this one seems to be a major hangout for them. This was the third time I found them there and, who knows, it just may be one of the leks . . .

Birds weren't the only thing happening today, either. Since it was quite a bit warmer and the winds were a little calmer than yesterday, the Utah Prairie Dogs were up surveying the scene again. I am kind of surprised that I have not seen any chipmunks yet and, to date, only one Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel. Maybe later in the week if the weather holds (though the weather has already proven that it can be schizophrenic this time of year 'round these parts).

(Today's birds: American Robin, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Mountain Bluebird, Greater Sage-grouse, Ferruginous Hawk, Western Meadowlark, Townsend's Solitaire, American Kestrel, European Starling, House Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon & Gray-headed), Red-tailed Hawk, Western Scrub-jay, Killdeer, Savannah Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Canada Goose, Wilson's Snipe, Western Bluebird, Steller's Jay, Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Mallard, Golden Eagle, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I am going to quit writing about "signs of Spring" because every time I do we get Winter weather again. After my last post we got about 4 inches of snow and yesterday, though the sun was shining most of the day, the winds behind the front were gusting up to 30 mph and the high temp was barely above freezing here on the plateau. The prairie dogs retreated back into their burrows and the birds were nowhere to be found in the park except for a lone Turkey Vulture (first of the season) and a Rough-legged Hawk. I added another 16 species down in the valley, including one additional "year bird" to add to that list when I saw a bunch of female Red-winged Blackbirds at someone's feeder in Tropic. I'm now at 41 species in the state and 29 species on the park's checklist since January 1.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three weeks ago it was the prairie dogs stirring and, during that period, more and more of the colonies have become active. Then it was the Say's Phoebe singing at the Visitor Center (though it promptly disappeared for several days when a cold front came through but has since come back). The robins, though present all winter, have begun returning to the plateau in greater numbers along with a few other species. Three days ago I saw a Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel seeking out some food around Sunset Point - another first for the season. Now the Mule Deer have made their way from the park's lower elevations and are browsing up here (watch out for the cat you guys!).

Of course if the forecast for the next couple of days is correct, we're going to be thrust right back into winter with a foot or so of new snow. Yikes. But I don't mind too much because I learned this week that I've been hired on for another 6 month stint through the summer!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here it is Friday already and time for another quiz! Our bird last week was a female Hooded Merganser. For this week we have a species I hadn't seen in the park for a few months now, but they have been seen along the roads the past few days foraging where the snow has melted. Good luck and good birding!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I didn't do much bird chasing on my day off today, but did go check out the Utah Prairie Dogs to see what they were up to. There are a lot more out and about now as the weather continues to warm; some of the colonies that were not active are now showing signs of stirring, with the occasional head peering out from behind a mound of snow. This one knew there was nothing to munch on near the hole and had ventured out to where the snow had melted beside a road. Looking at those paws, it appears things are a little on the gooey side, too.

While I wish I could say that I had seen them (better still, wish I could get a photograph), but all I can come up with for now are more tracks. The difference in these tracks and the last ones is this: these are about 100 feet from the front door of my trailer. Apparently momma and her kittens have been roaming around North Campground sometime in the past couple of days (top one is a kitten; the last one, according to the books I've checked, would be the front paws side by side when "bounding") . We had snow Saturday night so that means these were made since that time or they'd be covered just like the first set I found. There's also some prints in the mud near the campground's restrooms a 100 or so yards away - they've been wandering around here just a little. Spooky in a way, yet kind of exciting; will definitely have to keep a closer eye on Roxy when we're outside . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Especially since about 2/3 of the total was attained while driving to the "big city" for provisions today. And would have probably ended up with more if I could ID sparrows while zooming by at 60 MPH. I did add four new species to my year list and ended up with a total of 25 species on the day - that would be the most I've seen in a day since back in August or September.

Just in case you're wondering "How does a guy identify 16 or 17 species of birds while driving"?, it really isn't that hard. My friend Kevin Karlson teaches a technique called "Birding by Impression" and, while I haven't taken his class, I have read about it and had sort of developed the same thing independently in my almost 9 years watching birds (he's far better at it than I am, though). It is a matter of being familiar enough with certain species that I can be doing 70 down I-15, see a large, dark figure with a bright white head and tail in a tree and, in a split second, the brain registers "Bald Eagle". An electric blue bird with a gray belly perched on a fence post or wire: Mountain Bluebird; similar color blue with a red breast: Western Bluebird. Horned Lark is a cinch with a quick glance and I am able to make out the head pattern as it flies along in my direction of travel. Stocky brown bird with a bright yellow breast equals Western Meadowlark. And so it goes. Robins, pigeons, Red-tailed Hawks, or whatever, if I am familiar with the species habitat, flight characteristics, obvious field marks, etc., it doesn't take but a second to make a positive identification. (Sometimes I do stop, though. At 100 yards off the highway that raft of ducks with green heads demanded a closer look with the binoculars because, as it turned out, it was a mixed group of Mallards and Green-winged Teal - and I would have probably just thought "Mallard".)

What I found amazing was the seemingly sudden appearance of Mountain Bluebirds; I saw close to 50 in a matter of a few hours, almost like someone had released from a cage or something. The other 3 new "year birds" were the Green-winged Teal (lots of them, too), a Great Blue Heron, and California Gull. The teal and bluebirds were within the boundary limit of the Bryce checklist area, so will pad that year list, too. Totals are now 39 species within the state and 27 on the Bryce list since January 1.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I made the mistake of going through most of the 171 comments accompanying the article in the Orlando Sentinel I linked to the other day about the pro golfer who killed the Red-shouldered Hawk. The stupid in some of the comments burns (actually, not all the comments are from Floridians, there are a couple of examples from around the country here, too):

"Well The homeless need feeding who told wildlife to take the bird. It was a charity shot. Cook it up!!!!!"

"Maybe I could get him to aim at some of these sandhill cranes that are continually shrieking around my neighborhood."

Naturally, someone (there were a few) from the anti-abortion lobby in Florida had to chime in; while they are entitled to their opinion on the matter of abortion (as long they don't advocate shooting doctors or blowing up clinics), I fail to see the relevancy on this issue - killing this bird was an illegal act, abortion in this country is not:

"It's sad when an animal is killed there are fines, and jail time.Yet innocent Unborn Babies are Killed"

Many, like this one, have trouble with the language and even want to blame the whole affair on the bird (emphasis added):

"Wow! One out of 10. Great shot. I could hit golf balls at a bird for the next 50 years and not hit one. Watch out Tiger, this guy is comming after you. Stupid bird. He really didn't mean to kill it dead. He was most likely trying to hit close enough to scare it off. I bet he never dreamed he would actually hit that bird."

A supreme idiot, this one:

"Good I hate birds. I am going to share this story with my Bird Hating Club this is classic."

There's more lunacy (and a couple of comments from the more rational people) below the fold . . .

"Oh Spare me it is a glorified frigging chicken"

"We got a murder rate going through the roof and County and local police are more worried about a bird."

"One freakin hawk...you'd think the guy was a convicted murderer for crying out loud."

"What do you say about a police system in Central florida that's more efficient in hassling the local citizenry over petty low level "crimes" yet grossly innefficient in stemming violent crimes and the rising level of gang activity."
"Tell the bird watchers association to go fly with the birds."

"I can understand his situation, and the way he feels. There definently is a lot more to worry about in life. But, if the judge makes him waste time, then best of luck to ya. Do your time if you have to and take it for what it's worth. There are a buch of people who have greater lapses in judgement every day than over just a stupid bird. "It just seems as though we all are beginning to live in a "sudo jail." everyday for profit, God help us!"

There's about an equal number in the comments who actually have some idea how to use the gray matter between their ears:

"I am a hunter so I'm not against killing animals. The simple fact is he broke the law and should be punished. Just saying he is a animal lover cause he has cat's doesn't mean anything. I have pets to. If I shot game animal or a protected species on accident I would expect to be punished."

" 'Unfortunately accidents' do not take 10 trys. He DELIBERATELY tried to hit the bird. What did he THINK would happen if he hit it ? People do not want to 'bury him', they want to see him held accountable for his actions. Why ? Because the average man is tired of the wealthy and celebrities who feel they are above the law. This isn't Hollywood's fault, nor is it the fault of the bystanders who didn't stop him.......he needs to step up and take responsibility for his actions...he half hearted 'we have adopted cats' is just ridiculous."

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last night after work I took Roxy for a walk at one of our usual locations for such endeavors. We walk along a Forest Road that is used for Cross Country skiing in the winter, never more than about 1/4 mile from the road that leads into Bryce. I couldn't help but notice the series of very large - about 4 inches by my crude measurements - tracks. There is no doubt in my mind as to who made them: Felis concolor. With paws that size it must be one big Mountain Lion - and I think it was accompanied by a couple of little ones, though in the crusty snow those prints weren't as distinct.

Update: I changed the photo after waking up to some sun and having shadows helps to make the print show up better. The quarter - which measures just under an inch or 2.5 cm - is there for scale; this a large animal that I don't think I would want slapping me around. I also took a few pics of the smaller prints; they are about 70 or 75% the size of the adult's prints.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council has done the right thing and reversed their decision from last month regarding the harvest of Horseshoe Crabs on Delaware Bay and has set the limit at "zero". I think the state of Delaware is still going to permit the taking of 100,000 males and I am unaware of any attempts to reverse that at this point, but a least with the NJMFC decision the crab population will have a chance to recover a little, which can only be good in the long run fro the Red Knot.

In the meantime, we are still waiting for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to make a decision on listing the Red Knot as an endangered species. They were petitioned (again) a little over a week ago, maybe something will happen soon and that would probably bring things to a halt in Delaware, too.

(Hat tip to John at A D.C. Birding Blog for this latest Red Knot news.)

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Back in 2003 a minor league pitcher for the Daytona Cubs hit a killed an Osprey with a baseball and got little more than a slap on the wrist for punishment (a fine and community service).

This morning I read on this week's edition of Loose Feathers over at A D.C. Birding Blog that a pro golfer in Florida killed a Red-shouldered Hawk. According to this article in the Orlando Sentinel the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) has issued an apology from Tripp Isenhour who said he was "only trying to scare the bird". However, according to witnesses, the fatal blow came on this TENTH ATTEMPT! The self-proclaimed "animal lover" has been charged and faces the prospect of jail time and fines up to $10,000. In my opinion he should get the maximum and a lifetime ban from the PGA to go with it. As a society we really need to send a message that this kind of behavior just cannot be tolerated.

(Sadly, according to a poll accompanying the article in the Orlando paper, over 25% of the respondents don't think he should be punished at all. Not surprising coming from one of the few states that still is debating whether real science should be taught in schools.)

Where I'm coming from: Florida has a really bad record when it comes to dishing out punishment for crimes of this kind. When an 18 year old killed 2 Whooping Cranes in 2000 near St. Augustine his sentence was 75 days and 200 hours community service. A mere slap on the wrist and, if I remember correctly, we was arrested again before his sentencing for shooting out a bunch of store windows with a BB gun. The baseball player that killed the Osprey did a whopping 100 hours of community service for his crime. It's a joke.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In the past it has seemed to me that ducks (and geese) were always among the first to make the move north each spring. I know that I have seen a few now that there is a little open water around here again. So, with that in mind, have a go at this week's quiz bird.

The answer to last week's quiz: Wilson's Plover.

Good luck and good birding!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 06:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I said in the last post, my main mission was to shoot some stills of the Utah Prairies Dogs and here are a couple of the keepers. It took a lot of patience to wait for these three to get lined up. They were in and out of the hole, sometimes a fourth would make an appearance but hang out in the back, or they wouldn't all be looking the same general direction. But I stuck with them and it paid off, even if the one on the left is squinting a little (I bet you would be too after being holed up for 4 months, then coming out to all that bright white snow . . .)

This "kissing" is a somewhat common behavior and a form of greeting/recognition of another member of the coterie. It really isn't so much a "kiss" but touching incisors. Though they live in colonies, each coterie has its territorial boundaries; if it were an interloper a fight would likely take place (though in late summer and fall they will often share "common areas" at the edges of their territories).

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Don't want this to get too out of hand since the files are kind of large but, after spending some time shooting a lot of stills (look for a couple or three to be posted tomorrow sometime . . .), here's about 1:30 worth of Utah Prairie Dogs. There weren't doing much except hunkering down in the wind - you can hear it in the soundtrack, but you get to hear them barking, too.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 12:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While looking around for something the other day I happened to find my video camera (which I haven't used in a couple of years, I think) and decided that, since it will be part of my summer job (if I get it), it could be fun to create a "RoxyCast".

After some experimentation with other options for creating the video, the display size is a little larger than I'd originally posted but the quality is far better (file size is a little over 13 megs - ouch - if you have a slow connection). In the original version it was hard to tell that there was a Bald Eagle in the tree (in order the clips are: Roxy, a Horned Lark, the Bald Eagle, a Red-tailed Hawk, and a Utah Prairie Dog). Another lesson I've learned is it is really hard to hold the camera steady with the zoom at full magnification - and that problem is really magnified when a certain black & white passenger won't sit still while I'm trying to shoot from inside the cab of the truck. Only the last clip of the prairie dog was shot using a tripod (of course I knew the necessity of a camera support from shooting stills all these years). Then there was the problem of the sound of either constant panting and/or lapping up water - that's one reason why I dubbed in music instead of you hearing actual sounds of nature.

This shot is a panoramic of the Grand Staircase I stitched together from separate images - another experiment. I've done it before and have learned a few things about shooting this kind of stuff since the last time but, to be honest, the software I used doesn't do a perfect job. I shot the sequence from the north end of the Kaibab Plateau looking to the north up the Grand Staircase. The Grand Canyon is about 30 miles behind me and from where I was standing I could see over 250 million years of Earth's history in the rocks.

The first set of cliffs are the Vermilion Cliffs (210-230 Million Years Ago) , then the White Cliffs(210-180 mya), Gray Cliffs (~140-100 mya), and finally the Pink Cliffs (60--40 MYA and includes Bryce!). Click here for a version that points out each of the "steps" in the Staircase. There is a first step, the Chocolate Cliffs (240 mya), but they are not visible from this vantage point. This "staircase" climbs over 5,000 feet in a just over 30 miles!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's not enough that the prairie dogs are out of their burrows but as I was walking in to work this morning I heard what I though was a familiar song. My first reaction was "No way!" but I walked back to my truck, found it with my binoculars, and sure enough, perched on the peak of the Visitor Center roof: First Of The Season Say's Phoebe. A pair raised 2 broods below the eaves last summer - maybe could be one of them . . .

For my year lists that makes #34 for Utah, #24 for the Bryce Canyon National Park checklist.

(Update: On the way to a dinner party last night added Mallard to bring the state list to 35)

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)