May 2009 Archives

Okay, this is kind of goofy I suppose, but there was a lot of bird sounds this morning, so I experimented and made a little recording. Actually, I made a couple, but the camcorder, while more sensitive, makes a lot of motor noise and is pretty much unusable. So I recorded on a computer using a wireless microphone, but it isn't as sensitive, so had to use a sound editor to really pump up the audio.

The dominant sound you'll hear is the Olive-sided Flycatcher calling out "Quick, three beers!" Right after the first call - if you have the volume turned up - you'll here the brief hum of a Black-chinned Hummingbird. Around 25 seconds and at 1:30 there are faint chirps from some American Robins; at 50 sec. and 1:15, Pygmy Nuthatches; at 2:20 the chirping is from some Violet-green Swallows. Throughout, though quite faint, a Western Wood-pewee buzzes in between the calls of the Olive-sided - it's a little louder after 1:40. (The file is just a little under 4 megs.)


Morning Birds

Orchard Oriole was the answer to last week's quiz. For this week we'll get a little tricky and try to identify this juvenile bird. Good luck and good birding!

It's said that they like the tiny fruit from Manzanita bushes (manzanita being Spanish for "little apple"), but it looks like this Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis) has itself a manzana grande (big apple) to munch on here. Somehow I just don't think the little guy found it fallen from a tree, either . . .

For last week our bird was one most frequently found in the prairies and grasslands of the Great Plains, Dickcissel (Spiza townsendi).Though they look sparrow-like(especially the female), they are actually members of the family Cardinalidae.

This week we have a species from the east to test your skills - good luck and have a week full of great birds!!

One of the interesting facts about Pronghorn is, for all of their speed, one thing they don't like to do is jump. It's not that they can't, they would just rather crawl under a fence instead of go over the top like a deer. While out for a walk tonight I encountered a couple of them out in a meadow just north of my homestead then, a little later on, I found a spot where they make their way into the park. I guess they poop right before crawling under the barbed wire, too, since there were two piles of scat, one of them in the lower right corner of the frame. Notice the difference in how the ground has been smoothed where they were crawling (center part of the frame).

Funny thing is, much of the surrounding area was burned in a prescribed fire last summer. Part of the fence was lost and about 150 feet to the south the fence is down - they could have walked right in without all that effort . . . (Should have looked to see if there was any fur stuck on the barbs.) While I didn't have any luck finding the (cinnamon-blond) Black Bear this morning, I did take Roxy out into the forest and found some people fishing in her regular swimmin' hole, and so I took her to a spot on the East Fork of the Sevier. That's where we found this Western Terrestrial Garter Snake. Wasn't a big one, only 12-15 inches long, but kinda cool to see anyway.

Last week's bird is a resident of the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast (in the U.S., but ranges as far south as Brazil), distinguished by the white "V" on its face in breeding plumage, Neotropic Cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus. The species was formerly known as Olivaceous Cormorant. For this week, a milestone of sorts as we have now reached 150 of these quizzes, a bird found in the grasslands of the Great Plains. Good luck and great birding!

Living here in rural Utah, I frequently see dead animals along the side of the road, and more than a few are cattle that have wandered beyond the fences. However, I couldn't help but laugh after seeing this sign. Now what has actually happened here is the top screw has rusted out and the sign is hanging upside down, and it only took a second to actually put that together.

Still, my first thing that crossed my mind was "Huh? Watch for dead cows . . .????!!!!!"

Today I finished up my trips to Richfield to the dentist for a crown and, along the way, once again had some pretty good birds. It wasn't as productive as the last trip, but that is mainly because the ducks have pretty much all moved north; the only ducks I saw were Mallards. The day's tally of 43 species included 5 new birds for the year: Prairie Falcon (high in a snag eating something unidentifiable for breakfast), Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Cliff Swallow (hundreds near the dam at Otter Creek Reservoir), Sage Thrasher, and Rock Wren.

The wren was interesting as I was thinking while driving through Black Canyon, about 30 miles north of Bryce, that it should be pretty good habitat for either Rock or Canyon Wren. Within 2 minutes of that thought, I saw a small perched on a rock, stopped and it was nice enough to stay put long enough to figure out who he was.

Saw more Western Kingbirds than I have ever seen in a single day, too. Only a few south of the reservoir, but north of there were pockets with a lot of them, perched on fences or utility poles or lines. Also got to watch a pair of Common Ravens relentlessly mobbing a Golden Eagle, obviously unhappy the bigger bird was in the neighborhood.

Close to home I have a pair of Mountain Bluebirds who look to be nesting in a snag not far from my front door (have I mentioned that already?), and a pair of Pygmy Nuthatches in another snag nearby. They were busy gathering nesting material this morning and bringing to back to the cavity in a slit about 30 feet up the tree.
 
Full list below the fold . . .

Today is International Migratory Bird Day - a great day to get out birding if you can (I have to work!). Or go out and count them by participating in the Spring Migration Count like some of my friends at Halifax River Audubon in Florida will be doing. And a number of teams have converged on Cape May, N.J. where they will be participating in the annual World Series of Birding.

For "my" part, last night I did my evening program Wings on the Wind at the lodge, and we'll be handing out some "junior birder" booklets to all of the participants in the park's Junior Ranger program today. And, since I'm doing an astronomy related talk tonight and don't go to work until later, I will have a little time this morning to get out do a little bird watching for fun, and see if any "new" birds have arrived in the park in the past few days.

No matter where you live, there just might be and IMBD event near you, and if there isn't, there will be some birds around you can watch for a while.Then for the next 365 days, until IMBD rolls around again, do bird friendly things like by shade grown organic coffees, support one or more of the many organizations that work to help birds, and, when it comes time to vote, quit electing these know-nothing, so-called conservatives who have tried in the past, and continue to fight now, protections like the Endangered Species Act and also live in their climate change denial fantasy world (these people will be the death of us all).

So get outside, see what the birds are doing, and have a great International Migratory Bird Day!  

 

The little golden jewel in last week's quiz is a species I've only seen twice (not enough!) was a Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea). One of only two New World Warblers that nests in cavities (the other is Lucy's Warbler), they like swampy hardwood forests and get their name from the bright yellow robes worn by Roman Catholic clerks.

This week's bird could be tricky - look over those field marks! Good luck and great birding!!!

I'm probably late to the party (I just got the email this morning, though), but the Cornell Lab has started up a new online video series Inside Birding. The first few episodes are on learning how to be a better birder - the keys to identification - and, though I've only watched the first one, it all looks pretty good. They even bring up some of the same techniques I introduce in my Let's Go Birdwatching evening program! How about that?

Personally, I want to an episode on identifying those pesky $(@*&! sparrows . . .

Check it out!!!!!!!!

There's certainly a few I haven't seen yet, including Western Tanager, Green-tailed Towhee, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Chipping Sparrow, and Black-throated Gray Warbler. Each of the past couple of days I've caught fleeting glimpses of a pair of hummingbirds, though not long enough to identify other than to rule out Rufous. I've also been a little concerned that my dripper/bird bath wasn't seeing a lot of activity, but the robins have now found it and their splashing around will probably help attract others.

A couple of interesting and somewhat unexpected species for the state have been reported on Utah Birds: At Antelope Island Causeway (bridge to the Antelope Island State Park near Salt Lake City) some Red Knots were seen and, in Salt Lake City, a male Painted Bunting. Regarding the Red Knots, the Sibley guide's range map does show green dots for Utah, so there are historical records for the state, though they are certainly rare. It would interesting to know if they are of the rufa subspecies which are in such a drastic state of decline. Last year a male Painted Bunting was also seen in the state, though a bit further south if I remember correctly.

Speaking of buntings, I need to work real hard and finally get Lazuli Bunting - supposed to breed here but I'm still looking . . .

Update: Chalk up another: Right after I posted this I went outside with Roxy and, though I don't have time to go chase it down, I did get the season's first Green-tailed Towhee by voice. 

Last week's shorebird was tricky one, Wandering Tattler (Heteroscelus incanus), a species of limited range found on rocky coastlines that breeds in Alaska and western Canada and can found in winter in California, Oregon, and Washington. For this week we'll head to the forests of the eastern part of the country. Good luck and good birding!