Birds

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  • For the Love of Trees

    BSI Blog
    dchilds13
    12 Apr 2012 | 7:27 pm
    Jeff was recently out on vacation, so I thought I would post about an interesting article I came across last week about some of the lesser-known values trees and forests provide. Hope you enjoy… -David Trees in Canada’s boreal forest Credit: Garth Lenz Trees, trees, and more trees. It’s hard to picture yourself embedded within a landscape of [...]

  • Osprey the Ultimate Fisher Video

    The Birders Report
    Larry
    13 May 2012 | 12:24 am
    ‘Nuff Said?

  • Roadrunner

    Ecobirder
    15 May 2012 | 4:31 am
    There are many birders in the world that we call listers. They are people who maintain lists of all of the birds that they have seen. Many people maintain a life list but the really hardcore listers can have state, county, city, monthly, yard list or even more. I am not a lister per say. I do consider myself to have a life list although I keep it in pictures. In my world if I do not have a picture it is not counted as a life bird.The greater roadrunner is a bird that has eluded my life list on several occasions.We have spotted them on trips to California, New Mexico and Texas in the past but…

  • Hot Bird News today!

    Penny's Hot Birding and Life!
    13 May 2012 | 11:29 am
    Red-footed Falcon (male) hawking over fields with hirundines, found by Trevor Girling along the A149 opposite the B1439 – only a couple of miles from where I work – how frustrating is that!!!Golden Oriole singing at 6am in Thornham village - via Birdguides and RBA. No more details than that though! May of course be in someone's garden and understandably don't want to share details – I wouldn't either!Black-necked Grebe at Snettisham RSPB and three more at Cantley.Honey Buzzard at Titchwell.2 Cranes at Holkham3 Temminck's Stints at CleyFinished work late afternoon and then cruised over…

  • Phriday Photo – Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Nest

    Birdfreak.com
    The Birdfreak Team
    11 May 2012 | 2:37 am
    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher nesting
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    Urban Hawks

  • Washington Square Evening

    D. Bruce Yolton
    13 May 2012 | 10:06 pm
    I only spend about an hour at the Washington Square nest this evening.  Both eyasses were having a relaxed time on the nest.

  • St. John the Divine Duo

    D. Bruce Yolton
    13 May 2012 | 9:31 pm
    I had the good fortune to be at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine nest at the right time to see two eyasses on the nest.  We never know for sure how many eyasses are on this nest until late in the season.  For some reason it's easy of for a third eyass to hide in this nest.

  • Fluffy Trio

    D. Bruce Yolton
    12 May 2012 | 10:28 pm
    The eyasses at Fifth Avenue have gotten big enough that you can see their heads during feedings.  Today, I got to see all three of them for the first time. 

  • Growing Up

    D. Bruce Yolton
    10 May 2012 | 9:46 pm
    One of the surprises of hawk watching is how fast the hawks on a nest grow.  Over the last few days, the eyasses have begun to get their chest coloring.  And their tails are now long enough that we can see stripes. It was a nice evening in park, although the high winds bounced my camera around a bit.  Highlights of the evening include watching the parents on One Fifth Avenue and watching the eyasses get close to the edge of the ledge.
 
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    The National Audubon Society's Facebook Wall

  • There have been some interesting pre-historic bird findings lately. Check out th...

    The National Audubon Society
    16 May 2012 | 12:18 pm
    There have been some interesting pre-historic bird findings lately. Check out this Scientific American article about a Cretaceous era nesting colony! A drowned nesting colony of Late Cretaceous birds | Tetrapod Zoology, Scientific American Blog Netwoblogs.scientificamerican.comLike modern birds, and like their close relatives among the theropod dinosaurs, the birds of the Mesozoic Era laid eggs and, we reasonably infer, made nests. ...

  • There have been some interesting pre-historic bird findings lately. Check out th...

    The National Audubon Society
    16 May 2012 | 12:17 pm
    There have been some interesting pre-historic bird findings lately. Check out this Scientific American article about a Cretaceous era nesting colony!

  • The Endangered Species Big Year, directed by TogetherGreen Fellow Brent Plater a...

    The National Audubon Society
    16 May 2012 | 9:49 am
    The Endangered Species Big Year, directed by TogetherGreen Fellow Brent Plater and the Wild Equity Institute, is a race against time to see and help save each of Golden Gate National Parks' 36 endangered species. Wall PhotosThe Endangered Species Big Year, directed by Fellow Brent Plater and the @[117165629995:274:Wild Equity Institute], is a race against time to see and help save each of Golden Gate National Parks' 36 endangered species. http://blog.togethergreen.org/post/2012/04/13/Honey-Why-Is-There-a-Sea-Otter-Snooping-Around-Our-Bathroom.aspx

  • Tis the season... for warblers. Check out the latest eBird spring migration for...

    The National Audubon Society
    15 May 2012 | 8:01 pm
    Tis the season... for warblers. Check out the latest eBird spring migration forecast.BirdCast Forecast: 11 - 17 May — eBirdebird.orgHigh pressure will dominate much of the country during this forecast period. The West will experience widespread light to moderate migration this...

  • What beauties! Be sure to snap your own photos for the contest beginning tomorr...

    The National Audubon Society
    15 May 2012 | 1:33 pm
    What beauties! Be sure to snap your own photos for the contest beginning tomorrow! Wall PhotosA bright spot on this cloudy day (at least near our headquarters), taken by Tim Burns and one of our Top 100 from last year's Photo Awards. The entry period for this year's begins tomorrow. http://audm.ag/PhotoAwards12
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    Celebrate Urban Birds's Facebook Wall

  • Do you live in a high-rise building? Have you ever wondered how to get birds to...

    Celebrate Urban Birds
    16 May 2012 | 2:33 pm
    Do you live in a high-rise building? Have you ever wondered how to get birds to come to your balcony? Check out this link to see the how you can attract birds: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/gardening/birds-on-your-balcony/view?set_language=en Photo of Blue-gray Tanagers eating banana in an apartment on the 10th floor! Taken by Livia Santana.

  • ¿Vives en un edificio de gran altura? ¿Te has preguntado alguna vez como puedes...

    Celebrate Urban Birds
    16 May 2012 | 2:32 pm
    ¿Vives en un edificio de gran altura? ¿Te has preguntado alguna vez como puedes atraer aves a tú balcón? Mira este enlace y conoce como: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/jardineria/bfpajaros-en-tu-balcon/view?set_language=es Foto de azulejos comiendo cambur en un apartamento ¡en el piso 10! Foto tomada por Livia Santana

  • We have the winners of the challenge "Signs of Spring." Check out this link to s...

    Celebrate Urban Birds
    15 May 2012 | 1:38 pm
    We have the winners of the challenge "Signs of Spring." Check out this link to see the winners: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/celebration/challenge/signs-of-spring-1/recognized-entries Congratulations! Thanks to all the participants for sharing your stories, poems, art, videos and photos with us, continue enjoying birds and nature! This beautiful photo by Zach Boles, PA is one of the winners, in the category "Birds and Spring Flowers"

  • Youth from the 2012 Arts and Nature workshop are recognized in Bossier! We are s...

    Celebrate Urban Birds
    15 May 2012 | 10:35 am
    Youth from the 2012 Arts and Nature workshop are recognized in Bossier! We are so excited that these youth will be starting remote internships with us!Bossier goes Ivy Leaguewww.bossierpress.comBossier Press-Tribune. The Voice of Bossier Parish

  • When you visit a beach or lake, it's easy to see gulls, but identifying them can...

    Celebrate Urban Birds
    14 May 2012 | 3:13 pm
    When you visit a beach or lake, it's easy to see gulls, but identifying them can be another matter. It can be quite a challenge! Check out this link for some tips for identifying gulls http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1918#top and continue to enjoy these beautiful and noisy birds! :) Photo of Ring-billed Gull by Jay McGowan.
 
 
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    Project FeederWatch's Facebook Wall

  • http://projectfeederwatch.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/sharp-shinned-hawk-versus-coo...

    Project FeederWatch
    3 May 2012 | 2:32 pm
    http://projectfeederwatch.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/sharp-shinned-hawk-versus-coopers-hawk/Sharp-shinned Hawk Versus Cooper’s Hawkprojectfeederwatch.wordpress.comOne of the most common tricky bird identification challenges that FeederWatchers face is is separating Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper’s Hawks. Both hawks are becoming increasingly more comm...

  • We think the Cornell Lab's streaming hawk and heron cams (http://bit.ly/GH6pbg)...

    Project FeederWatch
    16 Apr 2012 | 8:49 am
    We think the Cornell Lab's streaming hawk and heron cams (http://bit.ly/GH6pbg) are a great way to engage kids in science and nature. BirdSleuth is happy to share this new web resource that will help educators teach using the footage and then get kids outside to explore their local area! http://bit.ly/cams4eduGet a Bird's Eye View into Nesting Birds! — BirdSleuthwww.birds.cornell.eduOur high-definition cameras will give you and your students a wonderfully unique glimpse into the real lives of birds. Keep an eye on these cams and you might see something spectacular... but keep in…

  • 5 Apr 2012 | 2:55 pm

    Project FeederWatch
    5 Apr 2012 | 2:55 pm
    In the city or country, dense vegetation is better for birdsprojectfeederwatch.wordpress.comGuest post by Kayla Garcia, Cornell Class of 2013 Animals are confronted with many new challenges as the globe becomes increasingly urbanized. For birds, urbanization may affect the food supply, th...

  • Attention Teachers: We're writing an article for "The Science Teacher" journal p...

    Project FeederWatch
    5 Apr 2012 | 9:12 am
    Attention Teachers: We're writing an article for "The Science Teacher" journal published by the NSTA are are looking for high school teachers who have used FeederWatch in the classroom setting. If you are a teacher and are willing to share your experiences, please email us at feederwatch@cornell.edu . Thank you!

  • 2 Apr 2012 | 2:54 pm

    Project FeederWatch
    2 Apr 2012 | 2:54 pm
    Western finch surprises NY birdersprojectfeederwatch.wordpress.comNormally found in the mountains of the west, the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch is a very rare find in eastern North America. FeederWatcher Nancy Loomis of Booneville, New York, was thrilled to host only ...
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    Audublog

  • Mysterious movements of the Phainopepla

    gfrost
    16 May 2012 | 11:12 am
    As we noted a few weeks ago, the spring migration of the Phainopepla is a little baffling. Between March and April, the bird will breed in the Sonoran Desert, then move more seriously into Arizona and California to breed in May and June. So, the bird kind of has two migrations and two breeding periods. And yet, as we pointed out, however, the bird is still seen in warm areas throughout Southern and Mid-California as the weather warms. We saw a pair near Fresno three weeks ago. Here’s a fact, its shimmering black plumage inspired its Greek name, Phainopepla, or “shining…

  • Yellow-headed Blackbirds are making their presence known

    dogden
    15 May 2012 | 6:30 pm
    We wrote about the first arrivals of the Yellow-headed Blackbird back in March, but we are impressed at how the sightings keep pouring in. The brightly headed bird is hard to miss and its distinctive creaky call sounds like it would be better placed in the soundtrack of a Boris Karloff movie. The bird is more sensitive to the cold than its relative the Red-shouldered Blackbird, but the two bird types do share breeding grounds during the spring and summer. Large flocks of Yellow-headed Blackbirds arrive at breeding grounds in groups segmented almost painstakingly down to each bird’s sex…

  • Tricolored Blackbirds flourishing in Kern county

    dogden
    15 May 2012 | 5:31 pm
    In the last five days, two wetlands on private land in Kern county have produced Tricolored Blackbird colonies. Roughly 120 acres in all have nests. The two wetland habitats were flooded with water paid for with last year’s Five Dollars / Five Birds campaign and supplemental funding  from USFWS. Last year’s campaign was a huge success and Audubon California is seeing the impact a second year makes. Tricolored Blackbirds have an amazing ability to remember prime habitat, which underscores the importance of sustaining this program. We hope you take a moment to give five dollars to…

  • Luring the Cliff Swallow back to Mission San Juan Capistrano

    dogden
    15 May 2012 | 3:33 pm
    The LA Times published a story on Mission San Juan Capistrano’s attempt to bring back their Cliff Swallows: In a last-ditch effort to lure back the tiny cliff swallow, Mission San Juan Capistrano is trying to win the affections of the migratory visitor by playing the bird’s mating call throughout the mission grounds. The unromantic croak of the swallow, piped from an iPod tucked behind a statue of mission founder Junipero Serra, rings inside the mission’s adobe walls. To read the full story, click here.   Share on Facebook

  • Thanks to you, birds in the Klamath getting much needed water

    gfrost
    14 May 2012 | 5:16 pm
    Back in late April, we alerted all of you to a tragedy unfolding in the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Because of a shortage of water in the Refuge, thousands of migratory waterfowl were perishing on their way north for spring migration. Our alarm prompted nearly 20,000 of you to send emails to the Secretary of the Interior asking for more water at this critical time. Soon after your emails hit, the Bureau of Reclamation started new releases of water into the Refuge, and it looks like the the birds will have what they need through the summer. Clearly, public attention and involvement…
 
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    ScienceDaily: Bird News

  • Locating lice as they hitch-hike with birds for life

    14 May 2012 | 12:42 pm
    Although chewing lice spend their entire lives as parasites on birds, it is difficult to predict patterns of lice distribution, new research reveals.

  • Bird color variations speed up evolution

    9 May 2012 | 12:59 pm
    Researchers have found that bird species with multiple plumage color forms within in the same population, evolve into new species faster than those with only one color form, confirming a 60-year-old evolution theory.

  • Less is more, for female cowbirds: Findings contradict sexual selection theory

    4 May 2012 | 10:05 am
    More modest male displays attract the females when it comes to brown-headed cowbirds, contrary to sexual selection theory, according to new research. While sexual selection theory predicts that females should find more flamboyant displays the most sexually attractive, the opposite holds true for brown-headed cowbirds, a small songbird common in North America.

  • Marine food chain becomes clearer with new revelations about prey distribution

    2 May 2012 | 11:34 am
    A new study has found that each step of the marine food chain is clearly controlled by the trophic level below it -- and the driving factor influencing that relationship is not the abundance of prey, but how that prey is distributed.

  • Mobs rule for great tit neighbors

    1 May 2012 | 8:20 pm
    Great tits are more likely to join defensive mobs with birds in nearby nests that are 'familiar neighbours' rather than new arrivals, new research has found.
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    10,000 Birds

  • Scope Etiquette

    Sharon
    16 May 2012 | 12:00 pm
    I have a really great spotting scope, an angled Swarovski 80mm HD scope with a 20 – 60 zoom eyepiece (and sometimes I alternate a 25 – 50 zoom eyepiece).  I love using it and I especially enjoy sharing it with other birders when I can show them a new life bird or get a great look at a favorite. However, attending a lot of bird festivals, there’s some scope etiquette I’d like to share with people who do not have scopes.1. Watch where you walk and place yourself: Keep in mind that in group settings, bird watchers could be on all sides of you, carefully setting up a…

  • Black Butcherbirds killing a snake

    Duncan
    16 May 2012 | 6:30 am
    The Australian butcherbirds are a genus (Cracticus) of striking and aggressive passerine predators, so it is hardly surprising that when they were first discovered they were placed with the shrikes familiar to Europeans. The genus includes six medium sized butcherbirds and the much larger and terrestrial Australian Magpie (formerly assigned its own genus), and are found across Australia and New Guinea. They all typically have some combination of black, grey and white plumage and heavy blueish grey bills.Visitors to Sydney will be familiar with the Australian Magpie and the Grey…

  • What Birds Will Get Me To 300 In Queens?

    Corey
    15 May 2012 | 6:01 pm
    Few experiences birding get me more excited than adding a new bird to my Queens list. Of course, as the list grows it gets more and more difficult to add something new to it. My latest addition, a Parasitic Jaeger off the coast, finally got me to my 289th bird, well over a year since I got my 279th. Because it is much more interesting to predict the birds that will get me to my 300th Queens bird I will break from my tradition and predict my next eleven birds this time unlike the last three times I played this game and predicted my next ten.Before we go any further I will share the predictions…

  • Kite Running

    Nate
    15 May 2012 | 12:00 pm
    The bird came first, just in case you were wondering.  Sure, the official name, and associated behavioral verb, refer mostly to the Old World Kites, which look more harrier-ish than most of ours in the New World.  The name has always seemed to apply to a rather motley group of birds, from the exquisite Scissor-tailed Kite of east Africa, to the grotesque Hook-billed Kite of Central America, and various and sundry examples in between. I’m not taxonomist enough to understand why this raptor grab bag was saddled with the name Kite, but they all seem defined by a behavior rather than any…

  • Barred Owl Love, Freakin Owlsome!

    James
    15 May 2012 | 6:01 am
    Ok so I missed posting in Bird Love Week because I came down with a horrible flu. No wait, that was the excuse I used last time. This time it was because I got a strange double-dose of typer’s block. Similar to writer’s block but different. Mike and Corey (the guys that keep us all in line here at 10,000 Birds) are probably reading this and saying, “Yeah right”. Well, it really doesn’t matter what my excuse is because what I’m about to share is freakin owlsome! Even if it is several weeks late and all the animal-love voyeurs have stopped visiting the…
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    That Bird Blog

  • Pygmy Parrots – Thumb-Sized Lichen-Eaters that move like Woodpeckers

    findiviglio
    16 May 2012 | 10:45 am
    Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. I recently attended a fascinating lecture on Island Bird Diversity at the American Museum of Natural HistoryTwo Pygmy Parrot species – the Red-Breasted (Micropsitta bruijni) and the Finsch’s (M. finschii) – drew the speaker to the Solomon Islands. In reflecting back on the talk afterwards, I realized that, despite my interest, I had yet to observe a live Pygmy Parrot. They’ve never been in the collection of the Bronx Zoo, where I worked for over 20 years, and only rarely appear in museums.  Further research turned up one interesting field report, but…

  • Green-Cheeked Conures – Captive Care and Natural History

    findiviglio
    18 Apr 2012 | 11:35 am
    Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. The decision to purchase or adopt a parrot requires careful consideration. For all their wonderful qualities, these intelligent, social birds are very demanding of one’s time and finances, and not suited to all homes. One species, however, stands out as an “almost” safe bet.  The Green-Cheeked Conure (Pyrrhura molinae) adapts well to many different situations, and is less likely to display the behaviors that frustrate so many parrot owners. Although not trouble-free, it may well be the best choice for many parrot enthusiasts. Pet Qualities The word…

  • Red-Billed Quelea – Captive Care of the World’s Most Numerous Bird

    findiviglio
    9 Apr 2012 | 1:43 pm
    Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Although attracting less attention than European Starlings and other common birds, Red-Billed Queleas (Quelea quelea) outnumber them all.  Yet despite being dubbed the “Locust Bird” for its habit of moving in flocks containing millions of individuals, this attractive African weaver is surprisingly difficult to breed in captivity. Description Population size is not the Red-Billed Quelea’s sole unique characteristic. It is also the only bird in which males exhibit highly variable color patterns that are not designed to advertise their value as mates.  In…

  • Meyer’s Lorikeet – Natural History and Captive Care

    findiviglio
    2 Apr 2012 | 1:46 pm
    Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Most parrot aficionados know of the Meyer’s Parrot, but the beautiful green lorikeet bearing the same “first name” is relatively unstudied in the wild, and not commonly kept here in the USA. The Meyer’s Lorikeet (Trichoglossus flavoviridus mayeri)a subspecies of the Yellow-and-Green Lorikeet, differs from many related species in both coloration and social behavior.  A forest-dweller confined to a single island, this unique bird deserves the attention of aviculturists now, while wild populations are still relatively stable. Description Three shades of…

  • Macaw, Spouting Foul Language, Banned from School

    findiviglio
    28 Mar 2012 | 10:55 am
    Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Educators at an animal rescue center in the UK got a rude surprise when they recruited “Mr. T” to visit local schools as part of a conservation-themed program.  The 7 year-old Green-Winged Macaw was friendly and eager to show off his speaking abilities, but most of what he said was not fit for classroom use.  Before coming to the rescue center, Mr. T had lived in a private home, and had picked up a huge vocabulary…unfortunately, almost all of it consisted of curses and insults! Un-learning Bad Habits? One rescue center employee is working with Mr. T to…
 
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    Bill of the Birds on Blogspot

  • O Happy Day! Again!

    15 May 2012 | 10:14 am
    In the spring of 2008 when I walked into Salem-Liberty Elementary School, and into daughter Phoebe's 6th grade classroom, it was the highlight of my professional career. That was the day that I handed all the 6th graders their own copies of The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America—a book they'd helped me create over the previous two years.I felt such pride because the book had been a true collaboration. The kids really helped me to get the content, design, and format just right. I was also proud because I knew the book would help aspiring young birders to enjoy bird…

  • Caption Contest #22!

    10 May 2012 | 8:13 am
    Most of you know the drill by now for these BOTB Caption Contests. I mean, we've done 21 of them! For any fresh-faced newcomers, here's how it goes:Use the Comment interface at the bottom of this post to write a silly/funny/engaging/philosophical caption for the photograph shown above, then wait around twiddling your thumbs while our panel of world-renowned caption experts debates the merits of all submissions (and guzzles huge amounts of micro-brewed pale ale, or if it's breakfast time, bird-friendly shade-grown coffee and a few pale ales). They pick a winner. If it's you, you get a fabbo…

  • New Podcast Episode: Spring Sounds at Indigo Hill

    30 Apr 2012 | 11:44 am
    There's a new episode available of my podcast "This Birding Life."This episode (#36!) is a new type, I'm calling "Ear Candy" because it's audio-only. This is my attempt at creating shorter (but I hope no less interesting) episodes in between the longer episodes that come in both audio and enhanced audio (with images) formats. The longer episodes (I'm working on one about birding in Israel right now) take me a much longer time to create, which often means there are long lags between episodes. Which is why I'm hoping that Science can perfect cloning soon.This episode "Sounds of Spring at Indigo…

  • It's Arbor Day! Plant a Tree!

    27 Apr 2012 | 6:25 am
    Today (Friday, April 27) is Arbor Day, a holiday with its origins in the pioneer days on the Nebraska plains in the 1870s. Back then, farmers needed to plant trees as wind breaks to keep the plowed soil from blowing away. While I have mixed feelings about most of the Great Plains falling under the plow, which necessitated the planting of trees (that would never have naturally occurred there), I do believe that planting native trees in places where they belong is a good thing. You can read the history of Arbor Day here and learn about the Arbor Day Foundation here.The Nature Conservancy is…

  • More from the Red-shouldered Hawks' Nest!

    23 Apr 2012 | 3:33 pm
    I spent some time on a sunny afternoon at the end of last week with the spotting scope and camera, watching the red-shouldered hawks at their nest. The few times I stepped inside the back door of the office for a phone call, the action heated up at the nest. I don't think the adult hawks are the least bit perturbed by the activity around our office and parking lot. I just think my timing was slightly unlucky.We hear the adults calling to one another in the moments leading up to some sort of interaction. One will be on the eggs, glancing skyward occasionally. When he/she see the mate, short…
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    Birdchick

  • How Easy Is It To Get A Kirtland’s Warbler Shot At Biggest Week?

    Birdchick
    16 May 2012 | 7:48 am
    So, how easy is it to get a shot of a Kirtland’s Warbler at the Biggest Week In American Birding? This easy: Copyright © May 16, 2012 by Sharon Stiteler the Birdchick™ The original post is here (Digital Fingerprint: abc96a9d9852a09719efcca3f5735525 (50.16.74.139) )

  • Birdchick Podcast #111: Biggest week in American Birding, Canada

    Birdchick
    14 May 2012 | 11:16 pm
    A quick recap of the 2012 Biggest Week In American Birding. Bird festivals make it into Dear Abby or How to nail closed your coffin on the bird festival speaking circuit. Holy cow, the eagle cam drama over at the Minnesota Bound Bald Eagle Cam. One eaglet fell out of the nest, the other got tangled in nesting material but no worries, after intervention from The Raptor Center, the chick was rescued, rehabbed and back with its parents.   Copyright © May 14, 2012 by Sharon Stiteler the Birdchick™ The original post is here (Digital Fingerprint: abc96a9d9852a09719efcca3f5735525…

  • The Canada Incident

    Birdchick
    14 May 2012 | 9:34 am
    So, I was supposed to be at the Point Pelee Festival of Birds this weekend, something I was really looking forward to doing–both as a presenter and field trip leader and as a birder to the area.  The warbler watching is legendary. But Canada refused me entry to their country. I’ve been to a lot of places.  I’m not as well traveled as some of my professional bird guide friends, but Kazakhstan, Israel, Guatemala–no problem. The country immediately north of the state I live in?  Easy, laid back Canada? They’re the ones who have a problem with me? What the heck?

  • Point Pelee Bird Fest

    Birdchick
    11 May 2012 | 5:58 pm
    I regret to inform that due to a clerical error I will not be at the Point Pelee Bird Festival tomorrow, Saturday, May 11. I’m really steamed about this, it’s a customs issue. The Fest is going to try and get me in for Sunday. I apologize for any inconvenience. Copyright © May 11, 2012 by Sharon Stiteler the Birdchick™ The original post is here (Digital Fingerprint: abc96a9d9852a09719efcca3f5735525 (50.16.74.139) )

  • What Happens When North America’s Rarest Warbler Shows Up At A Bird Festival

    Birdchick
    11 May 2012 | 7:59 am
    There really aren’t many more life birds I can get in the Eastern US. Sure, there are some birds I saw when I was a kid that I’d like to see again, but for the most part, I can count on one hand the species I need to get from this part of the US. One of those is the Kirtland’s warbler, which is a possibility at the Biggest Week In North American Birding, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath. Wednesday morning, still in a sleepy haze, desperately hoping the caffeine from my coffee would finally jump start my metabolism, I made my way to the quieter east end of the Magee…
 
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    Birding New Jersey!

  • Solo

    Rick Wright
    8 May 2012 | 9:55 am
    The woods are full of birds these past damp days, and the air is full of the squeaky jangle of Gray Catbirds. Listen to that huge flock of birds, I say to myself–and then realize once again that it’s a single catbird singing from deep in the thicket.

  • Free Field Trips with the Linnaean Society of New York

    Rick Wright
    8 May 2012 | 8:29 am
    Upcoming field trips I’ll be leading for the Linnaeans: October 20, 2012: Sparrow Workshop Note that this follows my October 4 lecture to the Brooklyn Bird Club, “Sparrow Tales.” November 10, 2012: Sandy Hook April 27, 2013: Brigantine The trips are free, but registration is required and the group size is limited. To get complete information and to sign up, check the registration page about two weeks before each trip.

  • While I’m Away…

    Rick Wright
    7 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    … give Bill a call or send him an e-mail for private guiding in New York or New Jersey. You can’t do better!

  • Warbler Food

    Rick Wright
    7 May 2012 | 7:26 am
    Untold millions of Red Admirables have been streaming through New Jersey the past couple of days, and millions of those millions have no doubt fallen prey to happy birds. Saturday at Sandy Hook we saw everything from Barn Swallows to a notably early Olive-sided Flycatcher taking the bright butterflies from the sky. The star of Saturday's show at Sandy Hook. The most startling act of predation I saw was committed by a Myrtle Warbler. Yellow-rumps are famously adept flycatchers, of course, but their preferred mode of hunting is the sally and the flutter, flashing out from a twiggy perch to…

  • History Everywhere You Look

    Rick Wright
    6 May 2012 | 12:38 pm
    After two exciting days at a couple of the hottest spots around, I decided to duck the binocular-brandishing crowd today and try someplace new. I didn’t exactly close my eyes and point at the map, but I did settle on a green blotch in the atlas I’d never heard of, and so set off for Nutley’s Memorial Parkway. It turned out to be exactly what I’d hoped for: a nice strip of trees and bushes along an urban watercourse, and I had it all to myself until the earliest of the dog walkers and the promptest of the morning joggers showed up. And there were birds: half a dozen…
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    ABA Blog

  • 2012 World Series of Birding in the books

    Nate Swick
    16 May 2012 | 1:00 pm
    The grandfather of all birding competitions, the famous World Series of Birding, was held in New Jersey this past weekend.  After 24 hours birding the Garden State from end to end, this year's winner turned out to be Team Zeiss, led by Cape May stalwart Pete Dunne, along with Tom Reed, Will Russell, and Luke Steitz, with a grand total of 207 species, narrowly beating out the Wicked Witchities' second place 204. It's important to note that the World Series is not just the state-spanning competition celebrated on stage and screen (maybe just screen), but loads of other,…

  • Upcoming Bird of the Year Event!

    Robert Mortensen
    16 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Friday May 25th through Monday May 28th is the Evening Grosbeak Weekend Out, one of the celebration events tied to the ABA Bird of the Year program this year. It's an opportunity for birders everywhere to get outside and look for Evening Grosbeaks and all other feathered beings too. More importantly it's an opportunity to introduce others to the wonderful world of birding. Please consider inviting a non-birder to go out birding with you for a couple of hours during that weekend. Show them all the beautiful birds they've been missing out on. Perhaps provide a friend or family…

  • #ABArare - Tundra Bean-Goose, Eurasian Bullfinch - Alaska

    Nate Swick
    15 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    Ryan O'Donnell, guiding for St. Paul Island Tours and birding on the complete opposite side of the continent from many of the other recent exciting reports, has discovered and photographed a pair of East Asian goodies on St. Paul Island in the Pribloff Islands, western Alaska.  Bith an ABA Code 3 Tundra Bean-Goose on 5/12 and an ABA Code 4 Eurasian Bullfinch on 5/14 have passed his way of late.  This is the seventh record of the Tundra Bean-Goose for St. Paul, and the earliest record for this species. As for the Bullfinch, it's the first spring record for the…

  • Blog Birding #81

    Nate Swick
    14 May 2012 | 7:00 am
    ABA Blog contributor John Puschock is on his way to Attu for several days.  You can follow along at North American Birding Blog: We just went through a large concentration of Least Auklets south of Semisopochnoi. Crested Auklets were scattered in with them. In the early morning, we also had a few Parakeet and Whiskered Auklets, giving us the Aethia grand slam. We also had a few Thick-billed Murres, our first of the trip. Canada's Committee on Endangered Wildlife just updated the status of several species, including five birds.  Bird Canada is up on the changes: The Committee…

  • Let them know we're Birders

    Nate Swick
    13 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    Via Living Bird The end of the Biggest Week in American Birding, the Ohio bird festival on the shores of Lake Erie, is as good a time as any to touch on the economic impact birders have on local economies.  The Biggest Week is a phenomenal example not only because of the way the organizers have sold the businesses of Ottawa County on the festival, and birding, as a driver of tourism, but because those gains have been quantified in a very real manner.  Businesses know when the birders come and birders are really good about making sure their presence is felt in the community. Beyond…
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    Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus

  • Birds Vol 1 #5 – The Black-capped Chickadee

    Lee
    16 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5 * CHICKADEE. Bird of the Merry Heart.Here is a picture of a bird that is always merry. He is a bold, saucy little fellow, too, but we all love him for it. Don’t you think he looks some like the Canada Jay [...]

  • Start Birdwatching Today: Enjoy The Lord’s Paintbrush – U.S.

    Lee
    15 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    I trust you are enjoying our “Start Birdwatching Today!” series. We have been trying to motivate you to go out and observe the many birds around you. Seeing as our subtitle is “Birdwatching from a Christian Perspective,” I want to do a few articles that you won’t see in most birding books. We believe that [...]

  • Ian’s Bird of the Week – Black-winged Petrel

    Ian
    14 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    Ian’s Bird of the Week – Black-winged Petrel ~ by Ian Montgomery Newsletter – 5/14/12 Three weeks ago we had the Cape Petrel. Here is the Black-winged Petrel, another species, like the White Tern and Grey Ternlet, that I had seen twenty years ago on Lord Howe Island and was keen to photograph on Norfolk [...]

  • Birds in Hymns – Pleasant Are Thy Courts Above

    Lee
    12 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Psalms 84:10 KJV) Words - Hen­ry F. Lyte, 1834 Music - Ben­e­ven­to, ar­ranged from Sam­u­el Webbe, Sr.,  (1740-1816), 1792 Al­ter­nate tune:  Maid­stone, Wal­ter B. Gil­bert, 1863 Pleasant Are Thy [...]

  • Birds Vol 1 #5 – Marsh Hawk

    Lee
    11 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5 * THE MARSH HAWK. NE of the most widely distributed birds of North America is the Marsh Hawk, according to Wilson, breeding from the fur regions around Hudson’s Bay to Texas, and from Nova Scotia to Oregon and California. Excepting in the [...]
 
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    Ecobirder

  • Pink-edged Suphur

    16 May 2012 | 4:18 am

  • Roadrunner

    15 May 2012 | 4:31 am
    There are many birders in the world that we call listers. They are people who maintain lists of all of the birds that they have seen. Many people maintain a life list but the really hardcore listers can have state, county, city, monthly, yard list or even more. I am not a lister per say. I do consider myself to have a life list although I keep it in pictures. In my world if I do not have a picture it is not counted as a life bird.The greater roadrunner is a bird that has eluded my life list on several occasions.We have spotted them on trips to California, New Mexico and Texas in the past but…

  • Tuesday Tweets

    14 May 2012 | 4:31 am
    Well it is time again for Tuesday Tweets. I have been a little disappointed in that this meme has not really taken off. There are some really great people who have continued to support the meme and I am very grateful to them however I am contemplating expanding the meme to see if I can get some more participation.This week's featured bird is the yellow warbler. Warblers migrate through this area at this time of year. Most are heading up to Canada or at least northern Minnesota but the yellow warblers stick around through the summer. Welcome to Tuesday Tweets. To join in the fun,…

  • Cobra Clubtail Dragonfly

    13 May 2012 | 8:39 pm
    Clubtail dragonflies are part of the family Gomphidae. They get their name from the enlarged tip at the end of the abdomen that many have. However not all clubtails have a club tail. The easiest way to tell whether a dragonfly is a member of the Gomphidae family is to see whether the eyes are separated. Gomphidae are the only dragonflies with separated eyes. Many Gomphidae are found along rivers. The cobra clubtail pictured here is typically a river species. The nymphs prefer large rivers usually with a sandy bottom. I photographed this dragonfly at Damn Number One on the…

  • Evening Primrose

    12 May 2012 | 10:48 pm
    Evening primrose is a family of flowers native to North and South America. They come in annual, perennial and biennial forms. Many are yellow in color and only open their bloom for less then a minute in the evening. This is how they got their name but it is not true for all of the evening primrose family. Evening primrose is most easily identifiable by its stigma which has four branches which appear like a cross in the center of the flower. This evening primrose was photographed in Texas.
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    The Birders Report

  • Ash-throated Flycatchers Nesting in a Natural Cavity

    Larry
    15 May 2012 | 10:40 pm
    Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) photos by Larry Jordan Ash-throated Flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens) migrate to Northern California from Mexico and Central America every Spring to nest. They are cavity nesting birds and I one of the species that nest in my birdhouses every year. Every May I look forward to waking up in the morning hearing that sweet gurgling call. The gathering of nest material and actual nest construction is done probably entirely or mostly by the female Ash-throated Flycatcher  seen here (click on photos for full sized images). How do I know that the…

  • Osprey the Ultimate Fisher Video

    Larry
    13 May 2012 | 12:24 am
    ‘Nuff Said?

  • Stop Senator Jim DeMint’s Attack on Public Broadcasting

    Larry
    11 May 2012 | 11:25 am
    They’re at it again! So far this year, Congressional opposition to public broadcasting has been pretty quiet. But yesterday all that changed when Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) began circulating a letter to his colleagues asking that the federal government eliminate future funding for public broadcasting. Right now, Senator DeMint is pushing his letter to every office in the Senate- asking his fellow Senators to sign on. We need to counter this dangerous attack on public broadcasting, and demonstrate the strength of the public support for public broadcasting to every Senator! Please, help…

  • Hummingbirds of the West at 10000 Birds

    Larry
    9 May 2012 | 12:00 pm
    Calliope Hummingbird (Stellula calliope) Male photo by Larry Jordan Check out my latest West Coast Beat Writer post on “Hummingbirds of the West” over at 10000 Birds!

  • Violet-green Swallows Are House Hunting

    Larry
    8 May 2012 | 2:37 am
    Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) photos by Larry Jordan About a week ago I began seeing Violet-green Swallows (Tachycineta thalassina) flying overhead. The year before last, I was fortunate to have Violet-green Swallows nesting in one of my birdhouses but they also nested in this same oak tree last year. I noticed the female (above) and male (below) flying around and perching near this oak that has several good cavity nesting holes. This one oak tree has two very popular cavity entrances, one on the East side of the tree and one on the West side. The photographs taken above were…
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    BIRDINGBLOGS.COM

  • Jamaica’s Endemic Birds Part 4

    Rich Hoyer
    15 May 2012 | 2:06 pm
    This week I’ll discuss another five bird species endemic to Jamaica, the first half of the oscine passerines. Also called songbirds, these more “advanced” passerines don’t all actually have nice songs, though when analyzed, their voices are usually quite a bit more complex than those of subsocines. On Jamaica, however, some of these have wonderfully evocative and enchanting songs, creating an unmistakable soundscape that brings to my senses the smells of allspice, a moist tropical breeze, and the lilting Jamaican accent. Jamaica has two endemic and very distinctive…

  • World Series of Birding Movie

    Gunnar
    12 May 2012 | 8:03 am
    I have arrived at Cape May after a lovely week at the Biggest Week of American Birding.  Many lifers, both birds and birders. Lifers were Greg Miller, Kenn and Kim Kaufman, Dawn Fine, Linda Rockwell, Doug Gochfield, Birdchick, Mark Beaman, Adrian Binns, Mike Watson, Lena Samsonaenko, Nemesis birders, etc.  Also several year ticks such as Jeff and Liz Gordon, Dale Forbes, Mark Hedden, Rafa Campos, Kevin Loughlin, Steve Ingraham…. The list goes on and on and on. Many friends from the Facebook and Twitter were seen and  new were added. Now it is the World Series of Birding. A couple of…

  • Biggest Week alerts to your cellphone

    Gunnar
    7 May 2012 | 8:42 am
    Biggest Week of American birding – a case scenario Many years ago in the infancy of Twitter (like 3 years ago),  I wrote a blog post on my blog called Twitter for birders part 2. Rare Bird Alerts with Twitter which explained that Twitter hashtags (#subject) could be used together with a RSS reader as rare bird alerts. This still work as described, although few have put the system to the test. Now I am in Ohio at the Biggest Week of American Birding helping out with the guiding representing my bird tour company Kolibri Expeditions. It works like charm. I provide guiding, get exposure…

  • Jamaica’s Endemic Birds Part 3

    Rich Hoyer
    4 May 2012 | 2:53 am
    The next five Jamaican endemics I’ll talk about are all suboscine passerines. I’m a compulsive categorizer of everything, and it is so gratifying to know how birds sort themselves out into families and orders, if not so cleanly into species. So if you’re not familiar with the concept of “suboscine passerine,” a very quick lesson follows. First, all birds can be sorted into passerines and non-passerines, based on genetics (but originally recognized and defined based on morphology). While passerines are a unified group of closely related birds also often called…

  • Spring mania

    YoavPerlman
    2 May 2012 | 4:49 am
    Yoav Perlman shares his exciting spring migration experiences from southern Israel Israel is world-famous for the huge volume and variety of migration, as entire populations flying between Eurasia and Africe funnel through the country twice a year. This amazing phenomenon is what makes Israel so great for birding, and as a young birder I grew up into this spectacle. Migration is visible anywhere around the country, but spring migration in southern Israel tops the cake. Huge numbers of migrants occupy every green spot in the desert, be it an agricultural field, city garden or sewage farm.
 
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    Penny's Hot Birding and Life!

  • North Westerlies bring......

    15 May 2012 | 4:27 pm
    Puffins, Manx Shearwaters, Leach"s Petrol and a possible CAPE GANNET!!!!!!!! See here:http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2440793&postcount=16191

  • Hot Bird News today!

    13 May 2012 | 11:29 am
    Red-footed Falcon (male) hawking over fields with hirundines, found by Trevor Girling along the A149 opposite the B1439 – only a couple of miles from where I work – how frustrating is that!!!Golden Oriole singing at 6am in Thornham village - via Birdguides and RBA. No more details than that though! May of course be in someone's garden and understandably don't want to share details – I wouldn't either!Black-necked Grebe at Snettisham RSPB and three more at Cantley.Honey Buzzard at Titchwell.2 Cranes at Holkham3 Temminck's Stints at CleyFinished work late afternoon and then cruised over…

  • Ratty steals the show!!!

    12 May 2012 | 5:30 pm
    Got up late – work is exhausting at the moment.The good news is that I have a wonderful long holiday coming up soon – two and a half weeks in fact – can't wait!!!!!!After visiting my parents I went to Holme Marsh Reserve.Holme Marsh ReserveAs I parked the car, I noticed that the hedge that lines the ditch on the right side of the public footpath had been completely hacked down – whoever had ripped this out was not a professional hedge cutter. It was a total mess and sections of hawthorn trunk were just left in untidy heaps and partly across the path. Also why had this hedge been…

  • Bird News in Norfolk

    11 May 2012 | 3:56 pm
    Main Highlights today:Temminck's Stints x 2 at CleyPacific Swift? at Strumpshaw turned out to be an aberrant Common SwiftProbable Black Kite NE of ThetfordRed-rumped Swallow at CleyBlack Redstart at old visitor centre, Cley

  • Rare Bird Alert Weekly Review 2nd-8th May 2012

    10 May 2012 | 2:47 pm
    http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/weeklyreview2012no10.aspx?s_id=246710436Main Highlights in Norfolk today:Red-rumped Swallow CleyRed-rumped Swallows x 2 at BlakeneyWryneck at Snettisham RSPBTemminck's Stints x 2 at CleyPallid Harrier (probable) at Stiffkey FenGrey-headed Wagtail, Cley**LITTLE SWIFT - unconfirmed report on Monday, over Buckingham MarshesKentish Plover flew west over East Bank, Cley
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    The Zen Birdfeeder

  • Wednesday at the Watering Hole

    The Zen Birdfeeder
    16 May 2012 | 9:59 am
    I have five birdbaths out this spring for the birds! Here's just some of the activity I've had at them. Couples bath Hey, no arguing in the bath!! Gettin' clean Black-capped Chickadee Rose-breasted Grosbeak Migrating White-crowned Sparrow Looks like water...

  • Rain Rain Go Away, Don't Dilute My Nectar Today

    The Zen Birdfeeder
    15 May 2012 | 10:50 am
    On a rainy day like today, we can really appreciate some of the lesser known benefits of our new WBU High-Perch Hummingbird Feeder. We make nectar with a sugar and water mix that most closely approximates the nectar in flowers....

  • Wildlife Wednesday - Chatterbox Squirrel

    The Zen Birdfeeder
    9 May 2012 | 8:23 am
    TAKE A BREATH, WILL YA?? Turn your speakers up for maximum chatter enjoyment!

  • Our Pear-eating Catbird

    The Zen Birdfeeder
    8 May 2012 | 8:52 am
    Gray Catbirds returned to our yard just a couple days ago and they have been active and quite vocal. Here's a video of one enjoying the pear I left in a tree, and doing his characteristic cat "meew" call as...

  • A Photogenic Supermoon

    The Zen Birdfeeder
    7 May 2012 | 9:37 am
    The Supermoon through the pines. Digiscoped with Vortex Razor Scope and Sony Cybershot P&S I betcha the Supermoon over the weekend was one of the most photographed moons in history! Word of the Supermoon spread like wildfire and with the...
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    Birdfreak.com

  • Bird Photography Weekly #194

    The Birdfreak Team
    13 May 2012 | 1:18 am
    Join in now on the 194th edition of Bird Photography Weekly!! Help spread the word with these badges: Copy this code to place this badge: <a href="http://birdfreak.com/category/bird-photography-weekly/"><img src="http://birdfreak.com/images/bpw-sharing-logo-wide.jpg" width="225"/></a> Copy this code to place this badge: <a href="http://birdfreak.com/category/bird-photography-weekly/"><img src="http://birdfreak.com/images/bpw-sharing-logo-smaller.jpg" width="125"/></a>

  • Phriday Photo – Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Nest

    The Birdfreak Team
    11 May 2012 | 2:37 am
    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher nesting

  • Review – What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World

    The Birdfreak Team
    9 May 2012 | 8:35 am
    What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World by Jon Young is an easy-to-understand guide to learning bird vocalization and how to interpret the dynamic world of animals. The American Robin is common, bold, and entertaining and provides the starting point of learning the secrets of birds in What the Robin Knows. This sometimes overlooked, boisterous bird is a great study subject because they are so common and often obvious in their behaviors and vocalizations. Mr. Young explains that there are five types of vocalizations of birds: songs, companion calls, territorial…

  • Bird Photography Weekly #193

    The Birdfreak Team
    6 May 2012 | 1:17 am
    Join in now on the 193rd edition of Bird Photography Weekly!! Help spread the word with these badges: Copy this code to place this badge: <a href="http://birdfreak.com/category/bird-photography-weekly/"><img src="http://birdfreak.com/images/bpw-sharing-logo-wide.jpg" width="225"/></a> Copy this code to place this badge: <a href="http://birdfreak.com/category/bird-photography-weekly/"><img src="http://birdfreak.com/images/bpw-sharing-logo-smaller.jpg" width="125"/></a>

  • Bird Photography Weekly #192

    The Birdfreak Team
    29 Apr 2012 | 1:16 am
    Join in now on the 192nd edition of Bird Photography Weekly!! Help spread the word with these badges: Copy this code to place this badge: <a href="http://birdfreak.com/category/bird-photography-weekly/"><img src="http://birdfreak.com/images/bpw-sharing-logo-wide.jpg" width="225"/></a> Copy this code to place this badge: <a href="http://birdfreak.com/category/bird-photography-weekly/"><img src="http://birdfreak.com/images/bpw-sharing-logo-smaller.jpg" width="125"/></a>
 
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    Round Robin

  • World Series results: Epic day of migration finds Cornell Lab teams at front of pack

    Hugh
    15 May 2012 | 12:41 pm
    http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/redheads_after.jpg Two members of Team Redhead went the extra mile and dyed their hair for the competition. Clockwise from left: Hope Batcheller, Brendan Fogarty, Jack Hruska, Eric Gulson, Ben Barkley. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/antipetrels_camp.jpg The Anti-Petrels in camp before the big day: Hugh Powell, France Dewaghe, Charles Eldermire. Photo by Benjamin M. Clock. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/antipetrels_midnight.jpg At just before midnight, the Anti-Petrels were a blur of activity as…

  • Scouting Day 2: How to Scout for Warblers in New Jersey

    Hugh
    10 May 2012 | 10:30 pm
    http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/prairie.jpg A good warbler day can add upwards of 20 species to a team's total—so it's important to have a plan. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/mtnlaurel.jpg Resident warblers sing from territories in Belleplain State Forest, where the mountain laurel is just coming into bloom. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/peregrine.jpg Our shorebirding was briefly interrupted by a Peregrine Falcon hunting at high speed. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/cre_bins.jpg Charles Eldermire of…

  • Scouting Day 1: Warblers, Sandpipers, Herons, and Rain

    Hugh
    9 May 2012 | 8:54 pm
    http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/bd12_1.5.jpg Despite the rain, Ovenbirds still sang loudly in our campground. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/bd12_1.2.jpg Marsh Wrens were nesting in the saltmarshes of northern Cape May. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/bd12_1.7.jpg A mess of shorebirds kept a safe distance from a Green Heron at Heislerville. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/bd12_1.6.jpg The rain led to heavy fog as Team Redhead did their best to scout the ocean.

  • Student Birding: New Team Lineup Preps for World Series

    Hugh
    8 May 2012 | 9:52 am
    This week, some 62 teams are converging on Cape May, New Jersey, for the World Series of Birding, now in its 29th year. Starting at 12:00 a.m. Saturday morning, those birders will cup a hand to their ears and start counting birds. And they won’t stop until the following midnight. Our own student team, the Redheads, will be among them, scouring Cape May County for somewhere close to 200 species. Each year as soon as they finish their final exams, the team scoots down to New Jersey to scout their World Series route. The results are impressive—they’ve won the Cape May County…

  • Eleven Out of Twelve: a Tour of Australia’s Wet Tropics Endemics (Part 1)

    Hugh
    4 May 2012 | 7:33 pm
    http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/aus_macleays.jpg Endemic #1: Macleay's Honeyeater (by JJ Harrison) http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/aus_femaleriflebird.jpg Endemic #2: Victoria's Riflebird (female; by Kelson via Wikipedia) http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/aus_maleriflebird.jpg Endemic #2: Victoria's Riflebird (male; by Kelson via Wikipedia) http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/aus_piedmonarch.jpg Endemic #3: Pied Monarch by Tim Lenz http://www.birds.cornell.edu/roundrobin/files/2012/05/aus_golden.jpg Endemic #4:…
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    The Meadowlands Blog

  • Don Torino's Latest Post

    NJMC
    16 May 2012 | 1:07 pm
    Don Torino, who leads many of our walks with Bergen County Audubon, writes about the recent butterfly invasion and the public's apparent disconnect with nature in his latest post on the wildnewjersey.tv blog. Don writes that at a local nursery "there was a strange thing happening. No one seemed to notice these butterflies. There were no second glances, no comments, no smiles, no recognition at all. I suddenly felt lonely. I wanted everyone to enjoy this experience with me. After all, this didn't happen every day. So to the embarrassment of my wife. I said in a loud voice,…

  • Mill Creek Marsh: The Full List

    NJMC
    16 May 2012 | 12:37 pm
    We had a slightly wet but invigorating Third Tuesday of the Month walk at Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus. Highlights of the 30 bird species we saw included several Forster's Terns, four types of shorebirds and some great looks at the often elusive Yellow Warblers. Full list follows. Meadowlands IBA--Mill Creek Marsh, Hudson, US-NJ May 15, 2012 10:00 AM - 11:45 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.0 mile(s) Comments:     This is the third-Tuesday of the month walk sponsored by  the Bergen County Audubon Society and the N.J. Meadowlands Commission. 30 species Canada Goose  X Gadwall  X Mallard  X…

  • Question Mark?

    NJMC
    16 May 2012 | 12:27 am
    We photographed this Question Mark on Saturday morning at DeKorte, with wings open and wings closed. Also has a Mourning Cloak, Silver-spotted Skipper, a dozen+ American Ladies, several Red Admirals, sulphurs, Cabbage Whites  and a Black Swallowtail. Photo pointing out the "question mark" symbol on the butterfly's wing follows.

  • Sunday's Ridgefield Walk: the Full list

    NJMC
    15 May 2012 | 12:55 pm
    We had a great Mother's Day Walk in Ridgefield, with walks at the Ridgefield Nature Center and Skeetkill Creek Marsh and stops to see the nesting Monk Parakeets (above) and the nesting Bald Eagles. In all four dozen of us participated in the event, including a budding birder or two (right). Highlights included five warbler species and those majestic Bald Eagles. The next event brought to you by the N.JU> Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society is River Barge Park Day this Saturday in Carlstadt. Check this blog for the latest info. Full list and pic of a…

  • Torturous Tuesday Teaser 051512

    NJMC
    15 May 2012 | 3:40 am
    Marco Lips asks: How many Black-crowned Night Herons can you see in the photo? No, not the above photo -- the one that follows!
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    The Birder's Library

  • How to Help Warblers

    Grant McCreary
    14 May 2012 | 9:10 pm
    I hope you enjoyed Warbler Week. If you did (or even if you didn’t), please consider doing something to help out these birds. Here are a few suggestions. Perhaps the main thing you can do is to purchase shade-grown coffee. Yes, it really is that important. Anything with the Smithsonian “Bird Friendly” seal you can know with certainty will by 100% shade-grown, organic coffee. The American Bird Conservancy does some fantastic work on the behalf of warblers (and all the other birds as well). Please consider donating to them. What’s more, until June 20, all donations (I…

  • The Kirtland’s Warbler: The Story of a Bird’s Fight Against Extinction and the People Who Saved It

    Grant McCreary
    11 May 2012 | 9:10 pm
    I’ve been at least vaguely aware of the Kirtland’s Warbler for almost as long as I can remember. As a kid, I was very interested in endangered animals, particularly birds. So it’s not surprising that the Kirtland’s, one of the rarest birds in North America, would have caught my attention. But I can’t remember knowing anything about the bird, other than that I’d likely never see one. Unhappily, I still haven’t seen a Kirtland’s. But I know much more about them now that I’ve read The Kirtland’s Warbler: The Story of a Bird’s Fight Against Extinction and the People…

  • Favorite Warbler Book

    Grant McCreary
    10 May 2012 | 9:13 pm
    As I was kicking around ideas for today’s Warbler Week post, I thought about doing one on my favorite warbler book. But I realized there was a problem with that…I didn’t know what it was. Just as I can’t single out one particular warbler as my favorite, there are too many warbler books to pick just one. I don’t know about you, but when I think of warbler books, I think of identification guides. There are several such guides, but at least among this group I do have a clear-cut favorite – A Field Guide to Warblers of North America, in the Peterson field guide…

  • Revisited Review of A Field Guide to Warblers of North America

    Grant McCreary
    9 May 2012 | 10:36 pm
    I reviewed A Field Guide to Warblers of North America, in the Peterson guide series, a while ago. Actually, it was one of the initial reviews posted when I started this site. Well, I hesitate to call it a “review” – it was just a few short paragraphs with no images. But I’ve remedied that now. If you don’t already have this guide (and if you’re a birder in North America, you should), check out the new and improved review of A Field Guide to Warblers of North America.   This post is a part of Warbler Week – a celebration of warblers in print and…

  • Digital Warblers

    Grant McCreary
    8 May 2012 | 8:48 pm
    No, I’m not referring to some creation by ILM similar to some of the “birds” in The Big Year movie. Rather, this is about warblers in digital media. These birds are featured in all kinds of books, but are sadly underrepresented in the digital realm. In fact, I’m only aware of two items: a set of DVDs and an iPhone app. Watching Warblers Watching Warblers West These two DVDs from Birdfilms almost single-handedly make up for the lack of warblers in digital media with their exceptional quality. Together, these two films feature all the breeding warblers of the United…
 
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    Mon@rch's Nature Blog

  • California Birders

    mon@rch
    8 May 2012 | 2:45 pm
    Just had the opportunity to meet two great birders from California who were photographing east coast birds here in Allegany State Park. They had just got done photographing a Chestnut-sided Warbler and commenting on the great birds we had! It was nice meeting you guys and hope you come back to Allegany!!! Subscribe to Mon@rch All Rights Reserved ©2006-2012 Filed under: iPhone

  • April Snow

    patacoate
    26 Apr 2012 | 1:21 am
    Male Cardinal By: Pat Coate The very mild winter we just had took the sting out of Monday’s forecast of 8-12 inches of snow. Despite snow falling all day, we actually ended up with just a few inches since the ground and roads were warm enough that a lot of the flakes just melted away. We had a steady stream of visitors to the feeders, including the pictured male cardinal. Our backyard grackles got the worst of the storm. Snow building up on the hedge where they built their nest finally caused the hedge to topple over and spilt the nest to the ground. Subscribe All Rights Reserved…

  • Horned Grebe

    patacoate
    18 Apr 2012 | 11:44 pm
    Horned Grebe (breeding plumage) By: Pat Coate While spending a wonderful weekend visiting my daughter in Milwaukee I snuck in a quick walk at one of the downtown parks along Lake Michigan. There were a number of interesting migrants in the area including a beautiful pair of Horned Grebes in breeding plumage. Horned Grebe The Horned Grebe’s feet seemed set farther back than most ducks (as seen in above photo), which was verified when I checked the fields guides. Success fishing The pair was diving for fish in a shallow inlet where the water was clear enough that you could watch them…

  • Birch Run Ponds

    patacoate
    11 Apr 2012 | 10:28 pm
    Osprey By: Pat Coate Stopped by the Birch Run ponds to see if the osprey were back. A pair were back and seemed to be settling in to the nest. The short trip netted close to 25 species, including the song sparrow and juvenile red-tailed hawk pictured. Red-tailed Hawk Song Sparrow Subscribe All Rights Reserved ©2006-2012 Filed under: iPhone Tagged: birch run ponds, Osprey, red-tailed hawk juvenile, Song Sparrow

  • Fun in the Woods and Lessons Learned

    patacoate
    28 Mar 2012 | 11:07 pm
    Stream in 9 Mile Forest By: Pat Coate – Actually a special guest column this week by friend Kathy H. with an entertaining, well-written account of our recent adventures in the 9 Mile Forest. “Pat and I began our hike at 2:15 pm. The rain/drizzle had stopped; skies were still heavy with clouds. We walked in with a “solid” plan (mine): down to the stream as soon as we started to hear it, then follow along crossing springs as we met them staying on the right side of the main stream so that the road was to our right. Having just walked the stream two weekends ago I felt…
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    Red and the Peanut

  • A Cheery Veery...

    13 May 2012 | 9:39 pm
    ...I'm sure I don't have to tell you where I found this beautiful Veery Thrush--Magee Marsh, of course, during the Biggest Week! I was walking the boardwalk near dusk when I saw him moving around in the undergrowth. I've never been able to get a decent shot of a Veery. They skulk around on the ground in the leaf litter, and when they do come up for air, they stay tucked deep in thickets and shrubby areas in the woods. This bird was no different. I didn't even try to photograph him because it was getting dark and he was well concealed. I was just watching him through the binocs, hoping he…

  • Black-throated Green Warblers at Magee Marsh during the Biggest Week in American Birding

    12 May 2012 | 7:01 am
    I'm back home from the Biggest Week in American Birding and am already missing the warblers! I'm definitely returning next year for the event, and I'm adding a day to my stay. This year I was there Monday-Thursday, but next year I'm adding in Friday :-) I'm going to get Matty and Rick up for a few days too. Spending a week birding and photographing warblers at Magee is heaven. I loved it...A Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens) clings to a vine looking for something to eat along the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. He was singing up a storm, and all eyes were on him!It's easy to see where…

  • The last bird of the evening...a spunky Yellow Warbler!

    9 May 2012 | 11:16 pm
    Photographing my last bird of the evening on the last evening of my trip made me feel a little sad. The phenomenon of spring migration along Lake Erie is addictive, and I knew tomorrow it would be very hard to walk away from the Magee Marsh boardwalk and the "easy pickin's" of its colorful neotropical songbirds. The only consolation was my farewell bird was a specific male Yellow Warbler that had been tugging at my heart all week. You may be wondering how it was possible to separate one male Yellow Warbler from the hundreds that sing and flit along on the boardwalk! Simple...he was the mate…

  • Lens envy...

    8 May 2012 | 10:48 pm
    ...do I even need to say anything?Monster camera lenses can be found all over the boardwalk...Chestnut-sided Warbler on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh...lucky for me the warblers at Magee don't care what size of lens you have. They come in so close a 200mm lens with a 2x extender picks them up just fine! The Biggest Week in American Birding at Magee MarshWhoa......today was another stellar day of birding. I was on the boardwalk by 7:30 a.m. (for those of my friends that know my night-owl ways, be impressed...) and quickly started adding warblers. My birding friend, Rob  Ripma (The…

  • Wow! It really is Warblermania here...

    7 May 2012 | 9:46 pm
    I made it to the boardwalk at Magee Marsh by 3:45 and birded until 8:00 p.m. I have never seen so many warblers in one place at one time! Everything you've heard about the boardwalk during spring migration is true! Pretty much...wherever I looked, I saw something, and I wasn't even there at prime time...A Palm Warbler looks at me as I snap his photo on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. I'm exhausted! I took some really cool photos today, but I ran out of light quickly. I'm getting up early tomorrow and hope to get a few more shots tomorrow. Here's a quick list of what I saw…
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    Birding Is Fun!

  • Great Salt Lake Bird Festival

    Robert Mortensen
    16 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    This weekend is the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival. I am very excited to be participating this year in a couple different ways. First, Greg Miller, of The Big Year fame, with whom I had a ton of fun birding last year at the Midwest Birding Symposium, is coming to lead a couple trips and to be our keynote speaker. I am in charge of The Big Stay at Farmington Bay, a 24-hr bird-a-thon similar to The Big Sit. Pledges for each species will go toward the Great Salt Lake Nature Center at Farmington Bay. If you would like to do a one-time donation, click here! Saturday morning, I will also be team…

  • Enjoying my Wingdale Hanging Bird Feeder

    Robert Mortensen
    15 May 2012 | 8:41 am
    Black-Headed Grosbeak checking things out before diving into the seeds  The good folks at Yard Envy asked me to try out their Wingdale Hanging Bird Feeder and to share with you my experience. It's on sale now, so check it out! First of all, its a a beautiful bird feeder. I love the design, especially the shingled roof. I'm sure my neighbors are also pleased to see something a little more aesthetic. The Wingdale feeder is simple to assemble and easy to refill as the roof slides up the cord and reconnects on two small wooden dowels. I've had the feeder up now for over a month. It did take…

  • As the Crow Flies

    Chris Petrak
    14 May 2012 | 3:07 pm
    American Crow Large, black, ubiquitous, and noisy - the crow does not make many people’s list of favorite birds. Maybe that’s because the crow is also intelligent. Forbush wrote that the crow “knows too much; his judgment of the range of a gun is too nearly correct. If Crows could be shot oftener they would be more popular.” Birdwatcher’s Companion says: “Some taxonomists believe the crows to be the most highly evolved of all bird families, based on the charming (if self-serving) notion that mental development is proof of evolutionary ‘excellence.’” Henry Ward Beecher, the…

  • White Ibis

    Robert Mortensen
    14 May 2012 | 1:49 pm
    While in North Carolina, I saw lots of White Ibis. Being from the intermountain west, this is a cool bird to see, so don't knock my excitement about it. Not an amazing photo, except that I captured the Ibis on the left in mid-number two. If you love bird poop as much as I do, you've got to check out Mia McPherson's post "Oh...poop!" Birding is Fun contributor Heidi Ware also keeps a "poop list". Doesn't everybody?!

  • Sky Island Birding

    Jeremy Medina
    13 May 2012 | 5:00 am
    May is a great time to visit Mt. Lemmon, especially as the temperature starts to rise in Tucson.  At 9,157 feet, it is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains.  It's consistently 20 degrees cooler up there than the desert below.  The different life zones, known as sky islands, range from desert scrub at the base to mixed conifer forest at the summit.  This makes for some great birding.  Here are some of the cool birds I've seen there: Ash-throated Flycatcher- Babad Do'ag Vista Lucy's Warbler- Molino Basin Campground Black-throated Gray Warbler- Bear Canyon…
 
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    A DC Birding Blog

  • Trillium

    12 May 2012 | 9:00 am
    Another non-threatening three-leaved plant is trillium. Trillium is a genus of spring ephemeral plants, which means that they complete their entire life cycle prior to the summer solstice. Trillium plants sprout a single stem, at the top of which are three large leaves. Above that is a single flower, which may or may not be on its own stem. Some species have mottled leaves, and the flowers can appear in various colors.I think the dark flowers in this post are Trillium cuneatum, which has a variety of English names.I think this yellow flower is Trillium luteum.Posted on A DC Birding Blog under…

  • Loose Feathers #342

    11 May 2012 | 9:00 am
    Snowy Egret / Photo by Gregg Aronson/USFWSNews about birds and birdingIf you have not seen them already, it is really worth checking out David Sibley's ongoing series of posts on bird song identification. There are three posts so far: Learning to Listen to Bird Songs, Pitch, and bird song identification, and Tempo, and bird song identification.Birds that have more than one color morph evolve new species faster than those that only have one color morph.The Peruvian government does not have a clear answer as to why 877 dolphins and over 1,500 seabirds have turned up dead on its shores since…

  • Reforming the USDA's Wildlife Services

    10 May 2012 | 9:00 am
    Bobcat at Tule Lake NWR / USFWS PhotoLast week I linked to some important investigative reporting from the Sacramento Bee on the practices of the USDA's Wildlife Services program, which is responsible for controlling wildlife that affects agriculture. On Monday, the Sacramento Bee followed up with an article on suggestions for reforming Wildlife Services. There are some who argue that the agency cannot be reformed and should be abolished altogether. Under that view, the agency is too closely tied to agricultural interests, which provide much of the agency's funding, to move beyond the lethal…

  • Gray Catbird

    9 May 2012 | 8:00 am
    This Gray Catbird was foraging under the bird feeders yesterday morning.Posted on A DC Birding Blog under a Creative Commons 3.0 License.

  • Jack-in-the-Pulpit

    8 May 2012 | 9:00 am
    Most readers have probably heard the expression, "leaves of three, let it be," which warns of the itchy rash that usually results from touching poison ivy. This is a reasonable precaution to take if you are unsure of a plant's identity, especially since reactions to poison ivy exposure can be extremely unpleasant. However, not all three-leaved plants are necessarily toxic. Some are worth looking at more closely.One such plant is the Jack-in-the-pulpit, which blooms for a short time in mid-spring. The plant sprouts one or two stalks, each with three leaflets. These may be large or small; the…
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    The City Birder

  • Treehugger Tuesday

    15 May 2012 | 7:48 am
    Here's a great TED talk with environmental scientist and founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, Amory Lovins:

  • Upcoming Nature Trips

    14 May 2012 | 11:10 am
    Below is a list of upcoming nature trips within NYC's five boroughs for the weekend of May 19, 2012 - May 20, 2012: Audubon Center in Prospect Park (Brooklyn) Saturday, May 19, 2012 Introduction to Birdwatching Every Saturday, 12 – 1:30 p.m. Explore the Park's natural areas and learn how to look for amazing birds. Sunday, May 20, 2012 Discover Tour Every Sunday, 3 p.m. Discover the Prospect Park you never knew! Meet birds and other wildlife on this walk, guided by a naturalist. ********** New York Botanical Garden (Bronx) Saturday, May 19, 2012 Debbie Becker leads a free bird walk at the…

  • Bird Migration Forecast

    13 May 2012 | 2:26 pm
    Cornell's eBird website has released their bird migration forecasts for this week. I've excerpted the sections relevant to folks here in the northeast, but you can read the entire forecast here. BirdCast Forecast: 11 - 17 May High pressure will dominate much of the country during this forecast period. The West will experience widespread light to moderate migration this week, as high pressure and warmer temperatures build in across most of the region. Moderate to heavy movements will occur in the Great Plains, despite scattered precipitation that may inhibit movements locally. Despite largely…

  • New York City Rare Bird Alert

    13 May 2012 | 8:42 am
    Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, May 11, 2012: - RBA * New York * New York City, Long Island, Westchester County * May. 11, 2012 * NYNY1205.11 - Birds mentioned WHITE-FACED IBIS+ (+ Details requested by NYSARC) Cattle Egret Black Vulture Red Knot Lesser Black-backed Gull Black-legged Kittiwake Least Tern Gull-billed Tern Common Tern Black Skimmer Parasitic Jaeger Yellow-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Cuckoo Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Wood-Pewee Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Veery Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER Cerulean Warbler…

  • Cool Raptor Video

    11 May 2012 | 7:28 am
    Check out this really cool behind the scenes video of a raptor photo shoot for the Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene, Oregon:
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    The Birdchaser

  • Bobolinks are Back

    9 May 2012 | 7:51 pm
    The Bobolinks are back at Hoffman Park just up the road from my house.  The males are chasing each other and the females across the large fields.  Hard to get close enough for a photo--especially when they seem to fly to the other end of the field whenever I get out my camera!

  • Party Wren is in Da House Tonight!

    3 May 2012 | 7:22 pm
    Everybody's gonna have a good time! I watched this House Wren building a nest in a box at Voorhees State Park in Hunterdon County, NJ today.  Interestingly, he didn't want to use the official nest entrance hole, but insisted on going in and out of the more protected ventilation hole at the top right above the "real" nest hole!

  • Rarity in the Fog

    31 Mar 2012 | 5:49 pm
    It started raining about 11pm last night, so I suspected any migrants passing through might get knocked down and headed out early to Spruce Run Reservoir just down the road.  Here's what I could see when I wasn't wiping the mist from my scope. This is with my 36x optical zoom.  I could only see a bit better with my scope.  The birds on the left are Buffleheads.  The four on the right are

  • Trash Bird

    30 Mar 2012 | 11:09 am
    OK, can you tell what it is?  The bird, not the trash :-) Here's a better shot. Here's a slightly fuzzy shot of the bird hopping up and surface gleaning from a bare branch. All in all a nice walk this morning around the boat launch at Spruce Run.  Relocated the Vesper Sparrow found this morning by Frank Sencher, as well as my first of year Palm Warbler shown here, and first

  • Belly Up to the Box

    29 Mar 2012 | 10:31 am
    This morning on the way to work I watched a female Wood Duck checking out a nest box at Assiscong Marsh in Flemington, NJ.  The action was over 100 yards away on the other side of the marsh, but I was able to capture most of it. First the duck flew up to the entrance of the nest box.  This is the same box that has had a red morph Eastern Screech-Owl in it for the past week or so.  I wasn't
 
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    Earbirding.com

  • Identifying Eastern and Western Warbling Vireos

    Andrew Spencer
    30 Apr 2012 | 10:39 pm
    Warbling Vireo, Illinois, 8/18/2010 by Ken Schneider (CC 3.0) Warbling Vireo is among the many widespread North American species with east/west vocal forms that meet on the Great Plains.  Along with other examples of this type of song diversity (Marsh Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher), eastern (gilvus group) and western (swainsonii group) Warbling Vireos may represent two species, and if they are ever split, song would be the best way to identify them. Look at a range map of Warbling Vireo and you’ll see that it continues in a pretty much unbroken swathe across North America.  The eastern…

  • A Dove Detective Story

    Nathan Pieplow
    15 Apr 2012 | 3:36 pm
    Singing White-winged Dove, Monterrey, Mexico, 4/11/2010. Photo by Ereenegee (CC 3.0). I love an auditory mystery. For many people, an avian auditory mystery is a “whodunit” — a quest to find out what species of bird is singing.  But my favorite mysteries are “why-dunits.”  These are puzzles solved not by the identity of the singer, but by the meaning of the sound. Major why-dunits are more common than you might think.  Let me put it this way: it’s difficult to take your camera to a local park and capture a bird plumage or behavior that has never before…

  • My Sounds on the Radio

    Nathan Pieplow
    19 Mar 2012 | 6:43 pm
    My friend Jason Beason, the eminent Black Swift researcher, appeared today on Colorado Public Radio’s daily news show Colorado Matters, reporting on the recent breakthrough in Black Swift research.  The producer used my recording of Black Swifts at the beginning of the segment.  You can listen to the entire interview on the CPR website. My recording of a Least Sandpiper also opened a BBC radio segment back in December, in an article on the crazy wave of vagrant birds that Britain had last year (including Least Sandpiper).  Unfortunately, you can’t listen to that show online…

  • Black Swift Wintering Grounds Discovered

    Nathan Pieplow
    2 Mar 2012 | 5:53 pm
    This bird is always late to the party. It was one of the last North American bird species to be described to science, in 1857.  Its nest was not found until 1901.  The first audio recording of its voice was not made until 1993.  And every summer, across most of its breeding range, it is the last species to arrive from the south, often not appearing until the end of June. But most remarkably of all, it was the only North American migratory bird to enter the 21st century with the location of its wintering grounds still a complete mystery. The migration routes and wintering grounds of…

  • Identifying Black-capped Gnatcatchers

    Nathan Pieplow
    28 Feb 2012 | 11:43 pm
    Black-capped Gnatcatcher, California Gulch, AZ, 5/16/2009. Photo courtesy of John Schwarz, Birdspix.com (click for link). This photo was taken only three days after my recordings from the same location, so it may be of the same individual. Just 30 years ago, the dapper Black-capped Gnatcatcher was ultra-rare north of the Mexican border.  Today it can be found with some regularity in decent numbers in several different locations in Arizona and New Mexico.  But separating it from the more numerous Blue-gray Gnatcatchers can be a real challenge, especially in winter, when the males don’t…
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    Birdman blogs

  • Consummate irony : water commodified - 'drink bags' in an African forest

    admin
    11 May 2012 | 9:41 am
    The consummate irony of klepto-capitalism run amok. Wasted drinking water bags litter a narrow forest trail in Sierra Leone Posted via email from Afrotropical's posterous read more

  • Behaviour of Common Swifts in Africa (2) - "Screaming Parties"

    admin
    6 May 2012 | 8:25 am
     Behaviour of Common Swifts in Africa - "Screaming Parties" Dear Jochem, Agreed, and because here in Africa (north of the Republic) there are so few locals or residents fortunate to call 'bird-watching' their hobby or profession. In Sierra Leone there's likely only one or two persons out in the field on most days of the year. Interestingly they are still here today (May 6), perhaps not so many today. I frequently saw a flock, of perhaps fifty birds, feeding in a swirling mass in and under a forest-generated layer of cloud this morning in the Kunsulma hill range of Tonkolili district. The…

  • The behaviour of Common Swifts in Africa - "A Three Palms Screaming Party"

    admin
    5 May 2012 | 1:47 am
    It's May Day parties for some - for the uncommonly swift ... A view of the Kunsulma Ridge in early January 2011, before the erection of the Zain (now Bharti-Airtel) tower Since April 29, when my bird observations resumed in northern Sierra Leone (9*N by 12*W), until today I have been watching flocks of up to 80 "Common" Swifts.  Quite possibly they are all members of the same 'meta-flock' as all my observations have been within a radius of 6 km of our Tonkolili study site. There were heavy evening showers earlier in the week, hopefully the beginning of the northbound ITCZ rains, after…

  • The WMO Status of the Global Climate in 2011

    admin
    23 Mar 2012 | 10:59 pm
    Via: http://reliefweb.int/node/485142 The WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 2011 is the latest addition to a successful series.  Although global mean surface temperatures in 2011 did not reach the record-setting levels of 2010, they were nevertheless the highest observed in a La Niña year.  A number of climate extremes, in particular precipitation extremes, were recorded around the world. Many of the extremes associated with one of the strongest La Niña events of the past 60 years had  major impacts…

  • Guidebirds - better birding cuckoos technology

    admin
    19 Mar 2012 | 9:21 am
    Going for Gold  - England's Olympic Birds - Oh My Gaia! - the Goldfinch takes gold.  Isn't that Charming? With England being still a wintry kind of place, and August quite a way away, there'll be no mention here of some of our avian competitors from Africa - the African Golden Oriole, the Silverbird, let alone the Bronze-tipped Courser. Whatever it seems from a perusal of English birdy websites that it's currently in vogue to delve into the causes of recent declines in Europe of those bird…
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    Nemesis Bird

  • Back in Florida!

    Alex Lamoreaux
    16 May 2012 | 12:17 pm
    Classes are over, the Birding Cup is over, the Biggest Week is over and now I am back down in Florida. Anna has been down here since January working with the 'Southeastern' American Kestrels around the Gainesville area, and now I am also working with her. Our primary tasks are monitoring the kestrel nest boxes, banding chicks, and finding natural cavities. I have been down here for over a week now and everything is coming along very nicely - many nest boxes have chicks that need to be banded and we are also having some great luck finding kestrel pairs feeding young in natural cavities…

  • Eastern Screech-Owl Chicks

    Anna Fasoli
    14 May 2012 | 7:57 pm
    Between the American Kestrel nest boxes that I monitor in Marion and Levy Counties, three boxes are occupied by nesting Eastern Screech-Owls!  Two families have hatched 2 eggs, and one has hatched three.  I don't have any photos of when these owls were recently hatched, but check out this post, "Whats in the Box? Part Two" to take a look at the adults on their eggs. From earlier box checks, I knew that the owl family I wanted to check on should have 2 babies at about 19 to 20 days old. This was just my best guess from observing chicks that I thought were about 2-3 days old a few weeks ago…

  • More migration with complicating precipitation

    Drew Weber
    14 May 2012 | 4:07 am
    Regional Overview Last night saw moderate migration over the region as rain storms moved through Pennsylvania and southern New York. Pennsylvania Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation. Despite the rainy conditions, there was a fair movement of birds. The rain may have put down birds, and at this point in the season we have to start thinking about terms and shorebirds as well. In addition to warbler spots, check flooded fields and lake edges. As always, please leave me comments on what you find out in the field. Maryland Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized…

  • Heavy migration especially along the coast

    Drew Weber
    13 May 2012 | 5:03 am
    Regional Overview Last night saw strong migration across the region as winds were light and mostly from the south. The coast saw the heaviest movement of birds, but migration was still strong further inland. Small patches of precipitation were moving across some areas, but they were likely not big enough to influence migration and cause any fallout. The later migrants such as Alder Flycatcher and Mourning Warbler should now be showing up on territory and as they migrate through. Lots of other species are already establishing territories and some even are already tending young in the nest.

  • Birding Cup Results!

    Drew Weber
    12 May 2012 | 5:23 pm
    We are excited to announce that the Nemesis Birders won the Birding Cup with 151 species! Read below for a summary of our 24 hours of birding. The Nemesis Birders with the Birding Cup We started the evening of the the Cup by scouting out areas around Bald Eagle State Park. After some lucky finds, we headed to our starting place and waited until 7pm to twitch the Peregrine Falcon that so nicely perched on the bridge in McElhatten. Next we swung by a wetlands in Mill Hall and saw the American Bittern we had scouted half an hour previous. Peregrine Falcon at McElhatten Next we headed back to…
 
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       Notes from the Wildside

  • Maumee Bay Conference Center

    4 May 2012 | 9:50 pm
    Our booth at the Maumee Bay Conference Center has all of our trip info and our guides will be there to tell you about our trips each evening during the Biggest Week in American Birding!Come say hi!- Posted using BlogPress from Kevin's iPhone

  • Wildside at Magee Marsh

    4 May 2012 | 11:01 am
    Visit our booth at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory this week during the Biggest Week In American Birding at Magee Marsh in Ohio! Enter our contest to win binoculars or a trip to Puerto Rico!- Posted from Kevin's iPhone

  • Dry Tortugas and Key West video

    1 May 2012 | 12:48 pm
    The following video was filmed by my good friend James Currie of Birding Adventures TV who joined me on our April 24-27 Dry Tortugas trip.  

  • Biscayne and Boardwalks

    22 Apr 2012 | 10:01 pm
    My morning quest for the LaSagra's Flycatcher at Bill Baggs State Park on Key Biscayne met with the same result as yesterday! I am sure that it is the change in weather pattern and the high winds that are keeping it out of sight. Migrants were fewer, though there was a Blackpoll and Rose-breasted Grosbeak along with a handful of Cape May Warblers (above). On the lighthouse jetty sat a lone

  • Searching for LaSagra's Flycatcher

    21 Apr 2012 | 7:08 pm
    It has probably been 15 years since I last saw a LaSagra's Flycatcher. That one happened to be my first, one that I found on Key Largo. For some reason, in spite of coming to southern Florida almost every spring for the last two decades, other than that bird, this species has not been around at the time that I was. However, springtime in this sub-tropical region can be excellent for rarities and
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    716BIRDS

  • I HAVE MOVED

    admin
    26 Apr 2012 | 2:33 pm
    I have a new web page up for my business. Please Visit my New Website / Blog at www.nextgenerationnature.com Check out my new blog to see what I’m up to by clicking the link in the menu under the header.

  • Help A Hobo

    admin
    6 Feb 2012 | 7:11 pm
    I have not updated this blog in quite some time as I have been working feverishly to get a business started. I have a new website up www.nextgenerationnature.com, check it out. That happens to be the name of my new business as well, coincidence, I think not. From this point on I will start updating the new blog and eventually this url will forward to that one. Enough about all of that.  I need work people! If you are part of a bird club, garden club or any other kind of club or group and would like to here the fantastic tale of a guy that lived in his car for an entire year in search for…

  • √ Matt Stenger

    admin
    2 Jan 2012 | 10:26 am
    This year I wandered the mountains and canyons of the west, the coastlines, tundra, high plains and northwoods. I waded into swamps and rivers and great lakes alike. I crossed creeks and deserts, valleys and prairies in search of birds and the meaning of life. My journey ran much deeper than check marks. Birds have always inspired me, given me cause to enter wild places and look closer. They have awed me with the beauty of there colors and songs. Birds are alive in the most spectacular way and even as child I found this intensity intoxicating. It is this wonder that inspired me to go on this…

  • THE END?????????????????????

    admin
    31 Dec 2011 | 10:29 pm
    Today Kathy and I went car shopping. By noonish we were on our way to Rhode Island to look for Black headed Gull. We checked all the usual gull spots with little luck. In fact, by the end of the day we hadn’t seen anything worth getting excited about. The sun was setting and I was ready accept My last chase as a loss as we started scanning one last area. In no time a flock of gulls flew over and sure enough, there, in the middle of a group of Ring-Billed Gulls was a Black-Headed Gull flapping past. As if that wasn’t enough, the sun hung low with a warm orange glow and the ocean…

  • Christmas Owls

    admin
    25 Dec 2011 | 2:06 am
    This afternoon I took a long nap. That’s why I’m up at 2:30 am. Well… that and the fact that I’m overthinking my situation and allowing fear of the unknown to settle into my gut. I’m thinking about my year coming to an end, about my lack of a job, about how I’m going to make it, about how sad I am that I have to reincorporate into a world that, frankly, I no longer understand or relate to. In between all these thoughts my mind bounces to the girl, you know the one, from Massachussettes that I met in Alaska? How on earth am I going to pull this off? My…
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    World Bird Sanctuary

  • Manchester United Methodist Church Helps WBS

    16 May 2012 | 6:00 am
    Recently a church group from the Manchester United Methodist Church contacted the World Bird Sanctuary and volunteered their services for an annual “workday”.  WBS was grateful to these volunteers for all their help.  Here is their group leader, Vickie Foster’s, description of their day at the World Bird Sanctuary.“We had the pleasure recently, of working at the World Bird Sanctuary during our church’s Faith in Action Day.   Members of the work party clean a weathering area while two eagles supervise“A crew of 25 members from Manchester United Methodist Church…

  • Rehab Releases

    14 May 2012 | 10:30 am
    One of the hardest jobs at World Bird Sanctuary is working in the Rehabilitation Department.  I don’t mean in terms of physical labor, although keeping the Wildlife Hospital clean is by no means easy.   Each department at World Bird Sanctuary has quite a lot to maintain.A Great Horned Owl recuperating in our wildlife hospitalWhen we receive a bird into our hospital, we immediatelycheck it over to determine any injuries.  Any treatable injuries are immediately addressed, and if no physical injuries are apparent we, along with our vet, attempt to determine the problem with…

  • Really Weird Birds: Part 3

    12 May 2012 | 7:10 am
    On Tuesday, April 24th, I participated in the judging of a creative contest hosted by the World Bird Sanctuary.Younger children who entered had to also submit in writing why they like birds.  Many of them said things along the lines of, “because they are cute and fluffy and can sing pretty songs!”  So innocent!  Little do they know that there are many birds that are none of the above.  Many are downright gross and merciless!  One such example is the Marabou Stork, native to sub-Saharan Africa.  The marabou stork’s wingspan can reach 10 ½ feet, making…

  • Backyard Birds: The Carolina Chickadee

    10 May 2012 | 6:00 am
    The second bird in our Backyard Bird Feature is the Carolina Chickadee, Poecile carolinensis.  There's nothing much cuter than a baby ChickadeeIn the St. Louis area we are on the border where Carolina and Black-capped Chickadees occur and in this area they look similar and will even do each other’s calls.  World Bird Sanctuary’s Bird Banding team has found that 99% of the chickadees on our property are Carolina Chickadees, so this is the species I will focus on.  Carolina Chickadees are about 4.8 inches tall.  They have a black cap and bib with white cheeks. …

  • Anthropomorphism

    8 May 2012 | 6:00 am
    Anthropomorphism is an attribution of human characteristics to a non-human, such as animals, plants, phenomena or inanimate objects.  It is a common occurrence in cartoons, television shows, books and movies. A prime example of anthropomorphism is the movie Ice Age.  All the characters had humanlike characteristics.  We all know that animals do not really act and think like people do.  Tsavo, displaying the regal bearing of a Bateleur Eagle When you work with animals as much as we do here at World Bird Sanctuary, it can sometimes be difficult not to wonder what…
 
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    Another Bird Blog

  • Scorchio

    12 May 2012 | 10:13 am
    Every day is just sunny and 25 degrees, not like the UK weather we watch on Sky TV.This week we spent time in the north of the island visiting a few tourist honey pots and such like. Of course wherever you go in Menorca there are birds pretty much exclusive to this part of the Mediterranean and although they are never easy to find, the Mediterranean birds in the gentle Menorca landscape make the island a great place for a visit. First stop today was Punta Nati with a stop en route to see if the roadside Cattle Egret colony still prospers. Of course it’s still there but impossible to…

  • Yes, That island Again

    6 May 2012 | 7:56 am
    Here’s a quick update for blog readers and apologies that I do not have time to visit all my internet friends blogs and answer their comments. i will get back to you all soon. In the meantime and a week on the sun tans are taking shape and we are acclimatised once again to the Menorcan pace of life. After 4 days in Es Mercadal we moved on to Santo Tomas, a quiet seaside resort in May, a place to strike out for a walk east along the shore and then inland to Es Migjorn Gran or west towards the resort of Son Bou. Either way is good for a spot of immediate birding with Audouin’s and…

  • In Menorca

    1 May 2012 | 10:11 am
    It’s that time of year where we find ourselves in Menorca again. We took an early flight arriving a few days before most tourists and in advance of resorts opening for the season, so booked in at a local hotel in Es Mercadal, a quiet town in the centre of the island. Es Mercadal is within easy reach of good birding spots, including the hot spots of Tirant and Cap de Cavallaria. Tirant is always the first spot to visit, a mix of habitats including marsh, reedbed and farmland, so we weren’t disappointed with a tally of Woodchat Shrikes, Bee Eaters, Squacco Heron, Purple Heron and Marsh…

  • Quickie

    26 Apr 2012 | 7:32 am
    A morning of showers dictated the agenda this morning, a quick tour of Pilling shore before domestic arrangements called a halt.At Lane Ends the Willow Warblers and Blackcaps seem to have arrived in decent numbers, unlike some others yet to put in an appearance; no Reed or Sedge Warblers yet. This morning I counted 3 Willow Warblers singing plus 2 Blackcaps, and managed to get a shot of a Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla in between it flitting fast and low through the bushes while singing its head off. One of the Blackcaps wasn’t as good a songster as the one pictured here, and at first I…

  • Saved By A Goldfinch And Seven Whistles

    24 Apr 2012 | 12:45 pm
    In twenty five years of birding and ringing this spring has been possibly the quietest I’ve experienced, with both a lack of numbers and a shortage of species. Birders are good at theorising or coming up with excuses as to why birds don’t do as we would like, but my own humble explanation for the season’s dull migration is the constant northerly winds and cool weather which has blighted the whole of April.This morning I went out to the moss hoping for a change of luck and stuck a couple of nets up whilst wandering about. Explorations through and around the ringing site generated 7 or 8…
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    A Birder´s Blog

  • BIRDWATCHING IN KHAO YAI, APRIL 2012

    davidcabedo
    21 Apr 2012 | 9:42 am
    My trip to Khao Yai was very rewarding.After driving 2 hours from Saraburi,the rain catches me in the middle of the road,inside the national park.A heavy rain,with lightnings,really frightened me.Even more, lights of the headquarters were off so we decided to put our tent inside the canteen.After we woke up at 4 o clock,we brought our stuff to Laem Ta Kong campsite,at 6 km from the headquarters.I woke up quite early,around 6 o clock and I rode to Pa Glua Mai Campsite , as i knew some good spots for birdwatching.I walked along the road to Haew Suwat waterfalls.At around 7:00 o clock in the…

  • BIRDWATCHING IN KRABI,MARCH 2012

    davidcabedo
    20 Apr 2012 | 5:53 am
    Hello to all my visitors, Sorry for my delay posting new posts but I was busy in my work.My trip to Krabi was not as I expected.After spending 12 hours by bus from Bangkok,finally I arrived to Krabi town.Without many tourists in it,Krabi town looks like a pleasant small town with not too many things to do there.The Krabi river, just beside the town, passes through a  good mangrove forest.There are many boatmen that offer you a trip around the river but if you are just looking for the kingfisher and the pitta the best option is to walk along the mangrove boardwalk.I went there my first…

  • AMAZING LONG-TAILED BROADBILL IN THAILAND

    davidcabedo
    16 Aug 2011 | 9:01 am
    This is a video of another superb bird : Long-tailed Broadbill.This video was taken in Kaeng Krachan National Park but I saw them many times in Khao Yai National Park.The first time I saw them in a mixed flock around 3 pm perched in a trunk,near the main road.The second time I found them on the nearby of the campground area in July 2007.In May 2008,I saw a couple of  them nesting in a tree,close to the campground area.Their nests are unmistakable: a tear shaped nest with its entrance hole in the center of the nest.Most of  broadbills make this kind of tear shaped nest. Filed under:…

  • BANDED BROADBILL IN KHAO YAI NATIONAL PARK ( THAILAND )

    davidcabedo
    16 Aug 2011 | 8:07 am
    Hello to all my friends !!! Sorry for my delay but I was busy working in Thailand !! This is a stunning Banded Broadbill that i saw in Khao Yai National Park at 4pm,beside the main road !!! The photo is not very good because the weather was not good.However this is one of my favorite birds in South East Asia !!   Filed under: THAILAND Tagged: BIRD WATCHING, birds, nature, Thailand, TRAVEL

  • CHECKLIST BIRDS SEEN IN PALAWAN,MARCH 2011

    davidcabedo
    5 Apr 2011 | 11:09 am
    BIRDS             LOCATIONS Grey Heron.Lake Danao Great Egret.Lake Danao and cultivation areas Eastern Reef-Egret.Albaguen Island Intermediate Egret.Lake Danao and cultivation areas Little Egret.Lake Danao and cultivation areas Cattle Egret.Cultivation areas Little Heron.Sabang Osprey.Lake Danao Grey-headed Fish Eagle.Narra and Albaguen Island Japanese Sparrowhawk. Sabang Changeable Hawk Eagle.Sabang Crested Serpent-Eagle.Port Barton track Tabon Scrubfowl.Sabang Palawan Peacock Pheasant.Sabang Barred Buttonquail.Narra Thick-billed Green Pigeon. Sabang and Narra Pink-necked Green…
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    St Margaret's at Cliffe Photo Diary

  • Ginger Who?

    13 May 2012 | 7:23 pm
    After being away for a month I thought that it was about time that I caught up with what was happening at the Restharrow Scrape. As I made my way across Worth marshes, on the Ancient Highway there was little to indicate that spring had arrived and that summer should be just round the corner.I did stop to watch this Meadow Pipit collecting food, showing that it, at least, was getting on with the necessary for the breeding season.When I got to the Scrape it was greeted by a major surprise, a brand new large extension to the hide. This should ensure that there will be enough accommodation when I…

  • A bill for all Oceans

    9 May 2012 | 6:17 pm
    A walk along the cliff top was a little disappointing with very few birds about. A small passage of Swallows and House Martins reminded me that despite the weather we are now at the high point of spring and we should be seeing and hearing all our summer visitors and resident birds signalling their intent to breed.One noisy pair did grab my attention with a raucous noise, a pair of Fulmars were sitting on a ledge just behind one of the bushes on the edge of the cliff. Trying to overcome my dislike of heights I managed to get a decent view of this pair billing and cooing.The complex bill of the…

  • Garden Butterflies

    7 May 2012 | 5:57 pm
    I've been back a week from my month in the Pacific and the time has flown by, with me mainly sitting at my desk, sorting out photos and records, and trying to get to grips with the various changes in current taxonomic thinking that complicates the task of knowing what ones seen! As I looked out of the window I realised that one of my favourite butterflies was restlessly flying round the garden. I also realised it was time that I got back into the habit of taking photographs HERE. Orange Tip(I also seem to have missed the complete reorganisation that "blogger" has made in its method for adding…

  • Back from the Dead

    29 Apr 2012 | 7:16 pm
    The rarest Albatross in the world was declared extinct in 1949, but happily some survived at sea and returned to breed in 1954. I photographed this bird three days ago, 12 nautical miles from the Japanese island of Torishima where millions had been slaughtered for their feathers until their protection in 1934. Despite this they stopped breeding on the island and in 1949 it was thought that the last had perished. However from 25 known birds that returned in 1954 there are over 1900 birds breeding on Torishima and a second small population has been discovered on some islands off the Korean…

  • Real estate Fulmar style.

    20 Mar 2012 | 6:33 pm
    The hope that something unusual might have arrived at the Restharrow Scrape was only partly fulfilled by the sight of three Brent Geese at the far end of the lake.Although they are a common sight passing along the coast and regular in Pegwell Bay they are less frequently seen on the scrape.They remained at a distance and I had hoped the they might be closer if I returned later, but not long after I left the hide I saw them fly out to sea, as I was coming out of the Elms.The reason I was wandering in the Elms wasn't to see this rather cute Goldcrest, but because Ian (Hodgson) and Steve (Ray)…
 
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    BSI Blog

  • Celebrity Whimbrel Now a Movie Star

    Jeff
    14 May 2012 | 12:05 pm
    ‘Hope’ is becoming increasingly familiar with this blog. Not just because we do our darndest  to be optimistic (and several conservation gains in Canada’s boreal in the past few years have affirmed this right—including recent good news in Quebec). But because one amazing Whimbrel named Hope has provided much joy for this blog over the [...]

  • Eagle Owl at 1000 Frames/Second

    dchilds13
    7 May 2012 | 4:44 pm
    What happens when you combine a hungry Eagle Owl and a high-speed HD camera? A remarkable glimpse of what the last seconds of life looks like for many voles… Note: this isn’t particularly new, but I thought I would share it in case you haven’t come across it yet. The last few seconds gave me goosebumps…

  • Buntings and Redpolls

    dchilds13
    24 Apr 2012 | 4:14 pm
    Two seed-loving birds that breed up north in the boreal taiga and arctic tundra, the Snow Bunting and Common Redpoll, paid visit to our colleague Valerie Courtois of the Canadian Boreal Initiative recently. She lives way up in Goose Bay, Labrador, so they likely spent their winter down in southern Canada or the northern US [...]

  • For the Love of Trees

    dchilds13
    12 Apr 2012 | 7:27 pm
    Jeff was recently out on vacation, so I thought I would post about an interesting article I came across last week about some of the lesser-known values trees and forests provide. Hope you enjoy… -David Trees in Canada’s boreal forest Credit: Garth Lenz Trees, trees, and more trees. It’s hard to picture yourself embedded within a landscape of [...]

  • Hope Returns

    dchilds13
    9 Apr 2012 | 6:02 pm
    In our last post we highlighted the Northern Waterthrush – a small bird frequently found in mangroves throughout the Caribbean that heavily relies on the boreal forest up north for summer breeding. Hope, in her wintering grounds in St. Croix Credit: Lisa Yntema Another bird that shares such mangrove habitat and also heavily relies on the boreal [...]
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    BIRD CALLS and SONGS

  • Nocturnal migrants May 11-13th 2012

    14 May 2012 | 11:08 am
    The following were recorded over my home in Elkins Park, PA. Common Nighthawk (1.01am). Nighthawks call mostly at twilight on their breeding grounds, but not often during nocturnal migration. Birds occasionally sing while migrating during the night, as with this Veery (4.35am). reduced time scaleDickcissels are uncommon migrants in the Delaware Valley. The flight call is an unmistakable low buzz (10.30pm). Shorebirds can be quite vocal while flying at night:Least Sandpiper (12.01am). Semipalmated Plover (11.52 pm). Solitary Sandpiper (3.41am). Both cuckoos vocalize frequently during…

  • A few spring migrants

    6 May 2012 | 9:34 pm
    The following were recorded today at the Pennypack Preserve in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania just north of Philadelphia. Migrants were abundant, and among the 21 species of warbler I came across, there was a Wilson's Warbler that sang an extended version of its song (also called flight or attenuated song). The BNA account states that for Wilson's Warbler there is "no evidence for an uncommon extended song, eg a flight song, as occurs in some warbler species" (such as Common Yellowthroat and Ovenbird). The extended song is heard at 25s, 94s and 134s into the cut. It sounds similar to the…

  • Virginia Rail duetting

    15 Apr 2012 | 10:58 am
    Grunting by Virginia Rails is usually a duet by a paired male and female, with the female calling at a higher frequency. Grunting by several pairs (April, NJ) Grunting calls are thought to be used in pair recognition and territorial defense (whereas the ti-dick and less often heard kicker calls are thought to be soliciting vocalizations by unmated males and females respectively). Virginia Rails have been reported to respond more to playbacks of duetted grunts than single bird grunts.

  • American Robin whisper song

    26 Mar 2012 | 4:55 pm
    This is a recording of the whisper song of an American Robin, a male that sang quietly a few feet from me without opening its beak; the only sign that it was singing was the movement of its throat. The song had a ventriloquial sound to it, and at first I looked around to find the bird that was singing, before I realized that it was the lone bird perched right in front of me. The whisper song differs in several ways from the normal song. There's more repetition, the rate of delivery is faster and the phrases are shorter. Like the dawn song, there are no breaks in the song and there are…

  • Carolina Chickadee gargle song

    25 Mar 2012 | 9:33 am
    The chickadee gargle is generally termed a call but it has some characteristics of song: it is complex, is learned, has dialects and is used mostly by males. The gargle has been most studied in the Black-capped Chickadee, where each bird has a repertoire of about 20 gargles. It is used as a close-range aggressive vocalization year-round. These are recordings of a Carolina Chickadee singing before sunrise in mid-March (on two different days at the same location, probably the same bird). The song consists of gargles and the regular four part song in an eventual variety pattern. The bird was…
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    Gwent Birding

  • What I did on Sunday

    14 May 2012 | 4:03 pm
    On Sunday I went to Boat Lane and I saw a Garganey and two Greenshank and then I went to Goldcliff and I saw a Red Kite and some waders and a Spoonbill dropped out of the sky and then I went home and got my things ready for school and put them in my satchel on the table by the front door so I didn't forget them and have to do PE in my pants again.Red Kite, safely added to the 'birds-that-have-upset-the-Lapwings-at-Goldcliff-this-year list'.

  • Meaningless acronyms, No.1: SPA

    11 May 2012 | 12:42 pm
    Thought I'd give St. Brides another go this morning, not the highest of high tides so most of the waders should have been on, or around, the Costa del Newport. Unfortunately, a local fisherman had taken up position right in the middle of the 'beach'. As a result the birds were dispersed, with most along the rocks between the beach and the lighthouse; they were also pretty flighty, and made flightier still by flyover Kestrel and Peregrine (a Little Egret didn't help either). Finally, when they were on the deck, the westerly had them hunkering down and mostly out of sight; I probably saw less…

  • Where the wild things were today

    8 May 2012 | 5:44 pm
    This morning's high tide at, arguably, Gwent's most important wader roost produced three Curlew Sandpiper, one Sanderling, seven Turnstone, 15 Whimbrel and plenty of the common stuff.Picking out the Dunlin from amongst the plastic detritus, all part of the fun at St. Brides. About 1,000 of the little fellas were present this morning, a significant proportion of the Severn Estuary population at this, or any other, time of year.Numbers of Ringed Plover have fallen over the last few days, 200 were present on Saturday, 45 today. The estuary holds nationally important numbers during spring and…

  • From one extreme...

    7 May 2012 | 3:14 pm
    Two Tufted Ducks and a whole lotta water falling from the sky. Despite a reasonable height to the tide at Goldcliff (the pill was covered), the variety and number of waders on show was less impressive than yesterday.  In the end, the best bird of a chilly five hour vigil, came from 'team wildfowl' in the form of a snoozing male Garganey.  Didn't set out to do five hours at the pools, but the near biblical precipitation meant the timing of my return to the car was largely out of my control. Luckily, I had planned ahead and, when the clouds finally parted, I was well prepared for the…

  • Where? There! Up, up, up in the air

    6 May 2012 | 1:53 pm
    Herman Van Rumpy, still hanging around, just a little higher up than on Friday.An early start for International Dawn Chorus Day and a circuit of all the usual songsters at Uskmouth; nothing out of the ordinary but 5 Greenshank and decent numbers of Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit were better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.Afterwards, the falling tide at Uskmouth produced: 2 male Scaup, 1 first-summer Mediterranean Gull, 1 Brent Goose, 1 White Wagtail, about 10 each of Yellow Wagtail and Wheatear, 1 Spotted Redshank, a handful of Greenshank and Grey Plover, lots of Bar-tailed Godwit,…
 
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