Ornitholature

Mute swan eradication program should continue, Maryland task force says

2009-06-08T21:40:00.003-05:00

A program to eliminate Maryland's mute swan population, opposed by animal rights groups but hailed by bird watchers and Chesapeake Bay conservationists, will continue unabated, the state announced today.

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Corps writes predator control plan for rare birds

2009-06-07T18:23:00.004-05:00

Two endangered birds that nest on the Missouri River system will get some extra protection under a predator control plan written by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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Nice to see the government working to protect endangered wildlife once again.

One woman's fight to protect wild birds

2009-05-27T22:02:00.001-05:00

When Nancy Brennan’s gray tabby, George, 5, brought a ruffed grouse through the cat door, it was the last of his long string of kills he had to boast about. Brennan of Duxbury is a naturalist and avid birdwatcher who found a solution to her problem by searching the Internet. “Birds see bright colors, so it made sense to create a colorful collar,” she said.

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If you care that much about the birds then just keep your damn cat in the house.

The Town That Went To The Birds

2009-05-27T22:00:00.001-05:00

When A Texas Street Was Overrun With Egrets, Neighbors Came Together For A Solution

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Climate Change Threatens Endangered Honeycreeper Birds of Hawaii

2009-05-27T21:59:00.000-05:00

As climate change causes temperatures to increase in Hawaii’s mountains, deadly non-native bird diseases will likely also creep up the mountains, invading most of the last disease-free refuges for honeycreepers – a group of endangered and remarkable birds.

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Life Bird #300

2009-05-26T22:16:00.004-05:00

Last Friday I took a quick trip up to Moorhead, MN to try and see a Painted Bunting that was hanging out a some feeders.

Unfortunately I missed the bunting but I did see my life bird #300 at the Rothsay WMA - Upland Sandpiper.

Wyoming biologists study turbines' effect on grouse

2009-05-26T22:11:00.004-05:00

In the high-stakes game of preserving sage grouse, biologists say they're still figuring out how the birds will react to the influx of wind turbines rising up from the wide-open sagebrush plains where the birds evolved.

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I hope they find a good solution but I have the feeling that the "development" will win out in the long run.

Sax-Zim Bog

2009-03-04T13:52:00.004-06:00

I've made two trips up to the Sax-Zim bog this February (2nd and 28th). In those two trips, I've seen five life birds: Hoary Redpoll, Evening Grosbeak, Pine Grosbeak, Ruffed Grouse, and Boreal Chickadee. Still, seeing two Northern Hawk Owls on the 28th was my highlight of the two trips.

Here is one of the two I found.

Think it might have been cold that morning?

Book Review: Rites of Autumn

2009-02-25T21:22:00.006-06:00

Rites of Autumn
by Dan O'Brien

In the mid 80's Dan O'Brien was working to help with Peregrine Falcon recovery throughout the Rocky Mountains. At one of the hack sites, a Golden Eagle had already taken 3 of the 4 new fledged falcons and before it could take the fourth, the group rescued it. At this point, O'Brien was faced with a difficult decision; return the bird and allow it to be used for future breeding or, since he was an experienced falconer, train the bird to hunt and make a journey south, following the natural migration pattern, and release the bird once they arrived in south Texas. Well, since the book would've been quite boring if he chose the first option, you can guess what follows.

With the help of a couple of dogs and some good friends they make it all the way to Texas and......

Well, I am not going to spoil the story but I suggest you find a copy if possible (out of print) and enjoy this great story of a bond between human and animal and the ups and downs of their autumn journey.

Star Tribune: Birds move north; global warming cited

2009-02-11T18:22:00.006-06:00

An interesting article in the Star Tribune today about global warming and its effect on the winter ranges of different bird species.

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While I don't doubt that global warming is playing a role, I think the increased northern range of some species listed is due to natural range expansion and the role of increased bird feeding and more lakes remaining ice free due for various reasons.

230 Birds or More

2009-01-29T22:50:00.003-06:00

That is my goal this year.

I started birding in late 2005 and managed to see 138 species by the end of the year. Each year I have managed to see more birds during that year than during the previous year. I am actually quite surprised with last year since I took a trip to Florida in 2007 and piled on the life birds.

So far this January, I am slightly ahead of last year's pace.

2005: 138
2006: 197
2007: 226
2008: 229
2009: 26

White-winged Crossbills

2009-01-29T18:47:00.006-06:00

I finally saw some White-winged Crossbills this morning. I've gone birding a few times in the past couple of weeks and checked most of the areas with recent sightings but have not been able to find any crossbills. As luck would have it, I was walking back to my car from my shift at the Raptor Center and I saw a tree with a bunch of cones at the base of it. At first I thought I was probably looking at a tree that crossbills had been to recently. However, I started seeing cones falling from above and as I shifted my gaze upwards I saw at least 15-20 crossbills pulling cones off all over the tree.

Made my day if not my week.

First birding of the year

2009-01-18T17:48:00.007-06:00

I finally got out today for the first time this year and was able to get in a few hours of birding before it started to snow and the roads got a bit slippery.

I stopped by the visitor's center at the MN Valley NWR, Black Dog Lake, and a quick trip through Acacia Park Cemetery. I did not see anything unusual but the first trip of the year is always nice because everything is new all over again.

First bird of 2009 - Red-tailed Hawk (ok, I have seen some house sparrows and pigeons but I wasn't looking for them and I didn't "look" at them so I am not counting them).

Surprise of the day - 11 Wild Turkeys at Acacia Cemetery.

Miss of the day - Northern Shrike (been seen at Black Dog).

Overall - 23 species seen today:

Canada Goose

Trumpter Swan

Mallard

Common Goldeneye

Common Merganser

Wild Turkey

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawk

Rock Pigeon

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

European Starling

American Tree Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Northern Cardinal

House Finch

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow

Raptor Center

2009-01-14T11:59:00.003-06:00

I'm feeling excited today. Next week I am going to start volunteering at the Raptor Center again. In late late 2005 and early 2006 I helped out in the clinic but my job kept getting in the way so I had to stop. Finally, my work life has settled into a nice routine and I am able to startup once again.

Book Review: A Falconry Manual

2009-01-13T22:24:00.007-06:00

A Falconry Manual
by Frank L. Beebe

While scouring the internet for more information on falconry, I noticed Frank Beebe's name quite often. He seems to be regarded as one of falconry's modern masters. So I logged on to the Hennepin County library system and found this book was the only book they had by him.

First, a couple of things:

The book was written in the early 80's and while I am no expert, I assume the rules and regulations regarding falconry have changed somewhat since then.

Also, Mr. Beebe writes often of his unhappiness with regulations and the organizations responsible for making many of those regulations possible. I don't doubt that some mistakes have probably been made my groups like the Peregrine Fund and others but everything I have read up until now, including books by bird/raptor enthusiasts who are falconers, usually praise the overall efforts of these groups. I am assuming that it was much more difficult to acquire a raptor (especially a peregrine) in the early 80's and that lead to much of Mr. Beebe's distrust.

With that in mind, I found the book to be very informative although lacking in enough detail to make it a "bible" of falconry. The illustrations are not detailed enough to walk you through the construction of a hood or jess. This might be intentional on the author's part. Before you can become a falconer you should spend a lot of time as an apprentice to a falconer (I believe it is even required in Minnesota).

The book is a great primer to those interested in a "behind the scenes" look at falconry as opposed to other books, like my previous review, which focus mainly on the hunting itself. I look forward to reading many more books like this one, including others by Mr. Beebe. I just wish my library had them.

Book Review: A Rage for Falcons

2009-01-06T19:37:00.008-06:00

A Rage for Falcons
by Stephen Bodio

I've become somewhat obsessed with falconry lately. I've always found in fascinating but not something I would ever be able to do. In recent years, especially after volunteering at the UMN Raptor Center, the idea has developed and I started thinking about what it would take and how I could do it. However, over the past 2-3 months, I have started to obsess about it. I spent a handful of days hunting pheasants in October and during some of the walks, I started imagining having a falcon high overhead, waiting for a bird to flush. Now, I find myself searching the web, requesting a wide range of books from the library, and thinking more about it.

Until I am able to go out on a hunt with a falconer, books like A Rage for Falcons should be able to keep my obsession in check. Bodio, himself a falconer, has written a book that is part falconry how-to and part memoir of his favorite falconry moments. The how-to is not really a step-by-step guide to becoming a falconer, but instead takes you through the process and emotions of trapping your falconry bird or finding an eyas in a raptor nest. For anyone interested in falconry, I highly recommend it.

Also, it has a great title.

Book Review: The Life of the Skies

2009-01-03T22:40:00.008-06:00

The Life of the Skies
by Jonathan Rosen

Life of the Skies is not your typical book about birds or birding. Rosen, a novelist and editorial director of Nextbook, a Jewish culture and literature website, has written a book that is more an extended essay on our physical and emotional connection to birds than it is a book on the history of birds or the people who watch them. Interjecting personal stories with avian history, poetry, and ecology, Life of the Skies is a great book for anyone with an interest in birds.