tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12734683429327564332024-03-19T00:14:03.042-04:00Burly BirdLaurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-1200357999348495042012-11-24T11:45:00.000-05:002012-11-24T11:45:34.911-05:00GBHE Burly Bird sticker to benefit the Heron Observation Network of Maine!<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I'm excited about the recent hatching of a new Great Blue Heron (GBHE) conservation sticker! <a href="http://www.burlybird.com/" target="_blank">Burly Bird</a> teamed with the <a href="http://maineheron.wordpress.com/tag/heron-observation-network/" target="_blank">Heron Observation Network of Maine</a> to raise money for this awesome volunteer effort led by <a href="http://www.maine.gov/ifw/" target="_blank">Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife</a>. You can read a great blog post about how the funds will be used for aerial survey efforts here: <a href="http://maineheron.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/sale-of-new-heron-sticker-will-fuel-2015-aerial-survey/" target="_blank">www.maineheron.wordpress.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Order yours today at <a href="http://www.burlybird.com/" target="_blank">www.burlybird.com</a> or <a href="http://www10.informe.org/webshop_ifw/index.php?p=5360&c=25&storeID=2" target="_blank">www.mefishwildlife.com</a> and show your support for Maine's waders!</span><br />
<br />Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-70035453973036666992012-09-19T16:38:00.000-04:002012-09-19T16:38:59.984-04:00Fall winds are blowing...<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Apparently another summer has passed. Where did the time go? September is flying by - the Virgina Creeper is already reddening and the Ash in the back field is looking pretty bald. The garden is all harvested save for the squash. The sounds of nocturnal migrants have been filling the cool night sky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I observed some great birds this summer and spent many a hour pondering their economics. Like these Sandhill Cranes in Maine, which are pretty uncommon here and only the second ones I've seen in the Pine Tree State. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">As Aldo Leopold wrote: "<i>Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language. The quality of cranes lies, I think, in this higher gamut, as yet beyond the reach of words."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I saw a couple more Black-billed Cuckoos...who knows when they'll have another big year?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I decided that terns and swifts are the most difficult birds I've ever tried to photograph. I'm pretty sure I made a fool of myself trying to get pictures of these Common Terns foraging...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">These Chimney Swifts are backyarders that never fail to out-fly my lens. My <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2012/04/batty-about-bats.html" target="_blank">St. Paddy's Day bat</a> was easier to get a picture of than this Chimney Swift...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I've been fortunate to be conducting boat surveys 20 miles off the coast of Maine this summer and have seen great birds out there. It's a rugged 16 hour shift but seeing whales and seabirds make the long days and nights worth it. Adding South Polar Skua and Atlantic Puffin (ATPU) to my Life List both deserve honorable mention, let alone adding a juvenile ATPU to my Baby List...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I can't forget about the Long-tailed AND Pomarine Jaeger lifers! I've been looking for those suckers for YEARS and finally hit paydirt. This Pomarine flushed from the log on the right and flew by the boat...I was elated to even get a photo because all I wanted to do was drool through my binos... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I will never tire of watching Wilson's Storm-petrels forage and flutter...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">And how could one ever fail to appreciate the achingly graceful oceanic wanderings of a Greater Shearwater?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Storm-petrels and shearwaters certainly conjure up August/September in Maine for me. Soon these birds will have peeled out for the winter. What a wonderful time of year! </span><br />
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Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-37006396077939326302012-07-31T16:00:00.000-04:002012-07-31T16:00:30.258-04:00For all the lady birds...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I've been getting really good looks at female birds lately. I think many of the drabber ladies get passed over or missed altogether because they're often secreted away on nests and not singing garishly from exposed perches like their testosterone-filled counterparts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I've
come to call passing over the lady birds "Painted Bunting Syndrome" or 'PBS' because the condition
first became apparent to me in Florida while looking for a Painted Bunting (PABU) at
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. We could practically taste the sighting of a
colorful lifer because the birds are regular clients at the visitor
center feeders. Yes, an easy score but also a chance to see an amazing
creature fairly close and undisturbed. We waited nonchalantly on the
boardwalk hoping for a glimpse...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A
female PABU came in and we were fairly excited, but admittedly sort of let
down that it wasn't a male in all his breeding plumage splendor. <i>Egads</i>,
there we were - two women downplaying the sighting of a female
PABU...Blasphemy! Little did we realize this was even happening until
the male PABU came in for a snack and changed the whole mood. I
realized afterward that I didn't even take any pictures of the female! I
vowed to be aware of this avi-sexism and to be better about it in the
future.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Female birds are really quite incredible. They are often the sole caregivers and clearly work very hard for a living in the bird world. Plus they're exquisitely beautiful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">How can one not appreciate the subtle hues of browns, grays, tans, russets, and creams of these female Red-winged Blackbirds?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Or the understated cap of this Missus Wilson's Warbler?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And could this Ms. Eastern Bluebird be any more coy?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">This female Black-and-white Warbler is just so ladylike with minimal makeup...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And this lady Northern Cardinal is looking rather radical with that crest and <a href="http://flickriver.com/photos/jasonliebigstuff/6313133311/" target="_blank">orange bubblicious</a> bill...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">This female White-winged Crossbill is swank despite the snow...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And though she belongs to a species of evil incarnate, even this female House Sparrow is pretty damn cute with her pantaloomy sides...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Maybe we are just desensitized to sexual dimorphism by all the species that are generally impossible to sex, like Black-capped Chickadees...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Great-crested Flycatchers...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Cedar Waxwings...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And Gray Catbirds...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Maybe it's simply that we don't even care because of the commonness of a species. Think of the last time you pondered over who-was-who in a pair of American Robins, Mourning Doves or Turkey Vultures...ummm, probably never. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I think fowl are highly susceptible to PBS - clearly hens just don't provide the same satisfaction as drakes, as evidenced by this Northern Shoveler...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Hens tend to be better appreciated when accompanied by little fuzzy babies like these Common Eider mommas...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I think it's funny that some species can remain sort of sexless in our minds while the males of other species become crowning glories of life lists! I swear to beware of Painted Bunting Syndrome and always appreciate the lady birds! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-39101046990688921572012-07-20T09:25:00.000-04:002012-07-20T09:25:36.469-04:00NOFU FOR YOU!!!<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
Northern Fulmars (NOFU) are possibly one of the coolest birds ever. Deceptively gull-like to the non-bird-nerd eye, they are really very different from gulls. These birds were a recent lifer for me and as always, the deeper I dorked out in the literature about fulmars, the more I was fascinated by the species. I'll try not to bore you with too many details, BUT - these birds can live over 40 years, don't breed until they're around eight years old, and spend most of their lives at sea...which is not uncommon for seabirds in general, but is still very awesome.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Or how about that their main defense against predators is to eject stomach oil onto them?! The scientific literature describes this oil as 'well-aimed' and highly-deterrent'. Over 20 other avian species have been recorded dying because of fulmar oil contamination! Those species included crows, owls, raptors, gulls, herons, and passerines. Even the chicks possess this super power. Don't believe me? Check out this crazy video (sorry I'm not savvy enough to embed it from the website):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><a href="http://ibc.lynxeds.com/video/northern-fulmar-fulmarus-glacialis/oil-spitting-defense" target="_blank">http://ibc.lynxeds.com/video/northern-fulmar-fulmarus-glacialis/oil-spitting-defense</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">For you landlubbers out there, Northern Fulmars are tube-nosed seabirds. They have raised structures at the base of the top bill called 'naricorns'. Who needs unicorns when you can have naricorns? These fused tubes encase the nostrils and help keep salt secretions out of their eyes. Special salt glands secrete salt and this allows them to drink seawater and survive. More awesomeness.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I was delighted to see them in the Gulf of Maine in late June. This means these guys must have been non-breeders. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">In case you are bored with the whitish NOFU's above, they happen to be polymorphic and come in many shades of gray...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">There is really no better way to beat the summer heat than cruising offshore in a big ol' fishing boat looking for birds. Even if it is near impossible for me to get a decent photograph...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">So there you have it - NOFU for you!!! Say it like the soup Nazi from Seinfeld and it should make up for my less-than-exquisite photos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-70854439584306956822012-07-12T09:57:00.001-04:002012-07-12T09:57:45.872-04:00Pleased to meetcha, or so I thought...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I heard a mystery bird song in the yard earlier this summer - it was an upslurred warbler-like song, but I was unable to match it to any song on CD, online, or even on the birdpod. I was stumped.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It took a few days of patiently waiting it out, searching for the bird making this song. I finally got my binos on it and it was nothing other than a Chestnut-sided Warbler (CSWA) singing an alternate song! </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">They usually sing 'pleased, pleased, pleased to meetcha'. Yeah, that's what I thought too.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> I was dumbfounded until some further readings reassured me that the CSWA does indeed have an alternate "unaccented ending" song. Little did I know there have been multiple scientific journal articles published on CSWA song. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I of course got a recording of him for you... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> <object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F52435832%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-gLoHy&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F52435832%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-gLoHy&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> CSWA alternate song by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/burly-bird">Burly Bird</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And photos of him...</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yiMgt0QZJYF0Jsh_Xj5YXNS9W5mRSWeGTbr76vrRbNeYMEV_xeo_8ZVl0ZTkSO_g4XWY8soNTpgr4WJvNkdG7BV2em4mLf0xdkROSJzmzG-Z5rFXMbcDaGC902SJmySRHRov8PX8q0yn/s1600/IMG_0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yiMgt0QZJYF0Jsh_Xj5YXNS9W5mRSWeGTbr76vrRbNeYMEV_xeo_8ZVl0ZTkSO_g4XWY8soNTpgr4WJvNkdG7BV2em4mLf0xdkROSJzmzG-Z5rFXMbcDaGC902SJmySRHRov8PX8q0yn/s640/IMG_0086.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">He has become a daily fixture in the yard and for the last few weeks has been singing from dawn til dusk. I appreciate his company at a point in July when most of the warblers have gone quiet. It doesn't seem that long ago I had over a dozen different members of the Parulidae family in the yard. Now it's just the steady 'witchity witchity' of the Common Yellowthroats; the occasional 'teacher teacher' of the Ovenbirds; and the random squeaky-clown-bicycle-wheels of Black-and-white Warblers. Meanwhile, this CSWA guy just keeps on belting out that alternate song... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3DJsV3gYjtehy9b6ENz2Rj_YGjFGPSwb8aRhO8oA2YL1aU6_R8YbQjMKsd6FFlfDGt-vCAEb4TJZE1OaGgEpiZ1xZA5BHBZPoBBxMmvk9H3VSvq4Beup2LXi-Qky00rs75jr3on1WgheE/s1600/CSWA+sings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3DJsV3gYjtehy9b6ENz2Rj_YGjFGPSwb8aRhO8oA2YL1aU6_R8YbQjMKsd6FFlfDGt-vCAEb4TJZE1OaGgEpiZ1xZA5BHBZPoBBxMmvk9H3VSvq4Beup2LXi-Qky00rs75jr3on1WgheE/s640/CSWA+sings.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I read that some males sing both songs, singing the "pleased to meetcha" early in the breeding cycle to attract ladies, saving the alternate song for later during territory defense against other males. I had to see him with my eyeballs - singing that song to believe it, and apparently other young male CSWA's also have to have a "visual tutor" in order to learn the two song classes. Pretty awesome. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I also read that some males only sing the unaccented ending alternate song and that these males don't have as much luck attracting females. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Maybe the local lady CSWA's don't recognize this guy?</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> Poor fella'. He does some crazy moves, conveniently and openly preening on the dead elms in the backyard...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTwBzZg5tKGe5bulZ4rFjDAUczi7fOEDbqK4By_58B_GFtjrZkfHV_vrcwkaAqZGC-St2xKRgWP9U-GcQF-Gzo9EUP3RZL_RTDpWMJREMq4lqZV-oJaQiM0IwvoQyvMkT-3xgNgXGDrn7/s1600/CSWA+buttscratch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTwBzZg5tKGe5bulZ4rFjDAUczi7fOEDbqK4By_58B_GFtjrZkfHV_vrcwkaAqZGC-St2xKRgWP9U-GcQF-Gzo9EUP3RZL_RTDpWMJREMq4lqZV-oJaQiM0IwvoQyvMkT-3xgNgXGDrn7/s640/CSWA+buttscratch.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The CSWA is a species of special concern here in Maine and I feel lucky to have had them in my yard all summer. And it was great to get a hands-on lesson in their song repertoire.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> What a pretty little bird!</span></span><br />
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</span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-34393109579031073722012-06-20T12:25:00.001-04:002012-06-21T01:29:13.160-04:00Not your typical neighbors - Black-billed Cuckoos...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Upon us are the quintessential summer days of Maine - with perfect 70 degree weather and poofy cumulus clouds framing the giant eastern white pines it truly is the way life should be. I have been spending lots of time in the yard soaking up all the sun and birdsong - </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">June has been a great month for yard birds so far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">While tending my garlic crop that will surely rival my Dad's garlic harvest this year, I heard a soft and gentle "poo-poo-poo" from the side yard. As the bird continued to sing I went over to the edge and waited the sucker out - and it showed! There it was - a Black-billed Cuckoo (BBCU) - IN MY YARD! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJbxtCATlwexwmFYhqOFgYLMY_ZHHGbeA5G_EDt_oX8hKhvqDN9zUR6ytQYIQrNJ_cHGB_wl7J8vWwl-yph8Pqbg9qnwpBdZGAFLjPTjc5GyIYKCk0B3bcSE2cCJZrIOooNJ2U4N-1aEG/s1600/Burly+Bird+Black-billed+Cuckoo+money+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJbxtCATlwexwmFYhqOFgYLMY_ZHHGbeA5G_EDt_oX8hKhvqDN9zUR6ytQYIQrNJ_cHGB_wl7J8vWwl-yph8Pqbg9qnwpBdZGAFLjPTjc5GyIYKCk0B3bcSE2cCJZrIOooNJ2U4N-1aEG/s640/Burly+Bird+Black-billed+Cuckoo+money+shot.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Then I heard a second BBCU gurgling out some guttural grunts low in the thick bushes. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Here
I was
looking at one of the most elusive birds in North America, in my yard,
flitting from branch to branch like the literature says they don't often
do. Sweeeet. He had a caterpillar in his mouth and proceeded to
perform a little ritual in the dark lower branches of a tree in the
hedge above where the grunts were coming from. I left the scene as not to disturb the precopulatory ceremony and immediately went inside to dork out in books. I read that this behavior often goes down near the nest site - I was so excited that these BBCU's might nest on my property!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Of course I didn't have my camera with me for the courtship spectacle, but later in the day one of them was kind enough to perch out in the open... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">As usual, the light was unkind to me, but what a magnificent bird...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UOz3Dr7x5YLaIBo9mru16KGbGEvDyvtWNp6kRQ5gVxRKHV8uanZztrbANHSfY44crzE37Gv5dJnSWQL7pjyfwMqVOv82MaBoDFwkwCz-_EB3l7FuCFctxhKHktXcl253lCiQ4mdKGa2w/s1600/Burly+Bird+Black-billed+Cuckoo+%25286%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UOz3Dr7x5YLaIBo9mru16KGbGEvDyvtWNp6kRQ5gVxRKHV8uanZztrbANHSfY44crzE37Gv5dJnSWQL7pjyfwMqVOv82MaBoDFwkwCz-_EB3l7FuCFctxhKHktXcl253lCiQ4mdKGa2w/s640/Burly+Bird+Black-billed+Cuckoo+%25286%2529.jpg" width="436" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Cuckoos belong to the outlandish and ancient family </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><i>Cuculidae</i></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> In North America, the </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">bizarre triangle of this family</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><i> </i>is made up of</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> Roadrunners (genus <i>Geococcyx</i>); Cuckoos (genus <i>Coccyzus</i>); and Anis (genus <i>Crotophaga</i>). </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I read that fossil records of the </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><i>Cuculidae </i></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">family date to more than 37 million years ago. That's just crazy!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I had pretty much written off the genus <i>Coccyzus</i> altogether after a failed attempt to spy a Mangrove Cuckoo in Florida last year. And a Smooth-billed Ani was out of the question. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I would have to be satisfied that I had seen a fellow, yet less-elusive Cuculid - this Greater Roadrunner, in CA that year...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Words used to describe Black-billed Cuckoos in the literature include 'retiring'; 'skulky'; 'silent'; 'sluggish'; 'uncommon'; 'solitary'; and 'easily overlooked'. Apparently the secretive members of this cuckoo society are heard </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">more often</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> than seen and are notorious for teasing bird-nerds who are cuckoo for cocoa puffs...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Contrary to General Mills propaganda (and I'm not exactly sure which cuckoo species "Sonny" is supposed to be) the Black-billed variety gorges on caterpillars, not chocolatey breakfast poofs. I rigorously tested this of course...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The scientific literature says BBCU's eat thousands of caterpillars per season -</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> a single BBCU</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> was observed eating 79 caterpillars in a matter of minutes! They tear and poke into the caterpillar nests and also pluck the juicy treats from branches and leaves. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Whole trees have been cleared of often noxious species of caterpillars in less than a day.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> Just imagine the potential benefit to orchards and forests...tent caterpillars and gypsy moths be gone! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Greater numbers of BBCU's are seen during years of caterpillar outbreaks. In my mind, this must mean that cuckoos make for happy trees. I took this picture in the area where I first saw/heard the pair - those holes look suspiciously cuckoo-billed sized...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Wait, it gets even better. Cuckoos "prepare" their meals. This involves bashing, mashing, shaking, and hammering prey items before they eat them. Many of the caterpillars BBCU's eat are hairy and these hairs create mats that stick to the BBCU stomach lining. Here's the science non-fiction hook - </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">when it gets too clogged for proper digestion </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the BBCU can slough off it's entire stomach lining and regurgitate it as a pellet. Talk about evolution at its finest!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I've continued to
hear and see them around the property, sometimes I can hear them
'cu-cu-cooing' while I'm in the house. Yesterday</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> I happened to witness them unabashedly gorging themselves in the willows in the yard. Suddenly my secret BBCU pals were overhead every few minutes, silently plucking fat n' juicy snacks from the branches as I sat drinking my coffee below! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I even witnessed the smashing and shaking of the caterpillars, yes those are bug guts slinging away to the right...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Maybe all that meal-prep helps remove some of those pesky caterpillar hairs, I certainly wouldn't want to be regurgitating my guts out anymore than I absolutely had to. Holy hairballs Batman!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Only a few times did they land on the ground to retrieve dropped caterpillars. The American Robins were on custodial duty for that. Of course my only ground shot came out blurry, but I think it was trying to imitate an Accipiter and that pose is too funny not to share...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">At one point I got up and walked away from my chair (and camera) only to turn a see a BBCU sitting on it. There was some very comical behavior as they fanned their tails, hung upside down, and stretched to get caterpillars...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I watched them fly off in the same direction, to the same area every time they re-loaded with caterpillars. They were bringing food back to babies!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Now it gets EVEN BETTER! Today I was treated to seeing the baby cuckoos themselves. BBCU's have one of the quickest egg-incubation-to-fledging periods - only about 17 days. The young then leave the nest after only a week after hatching. But they do have a flightless period that lasts a few weeks after leaving the nest. These guys were hopping around branches and testing their wings. I'm not sure anything could be more adorable...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Who knew cuckoos were so cool?! I do know that I feel really lucky to have them as neighbors and to have even seen them at all, let alone have a cuckoo bonanza! They're certainly in the running for my "Best Backyard Lifer of 2012".</span><br />
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</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-88235401703534207992012-05-24T14:41:00.000-04:002012-05-24T14:41:36.142-04:00May I have another bird...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">My most recent trip to New York made me recall a cheezy joke from my childhood:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">If April showers bring May flowers - then what do May flowers bring? </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Pilgrims.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Well NY was chock full of fresh arrivals that weren't there during my last trip. There were feathered pilgrims everywhere, so instead of boring all of you with yet another post about Iroquois and Montezuma NWR's, I've decided to mix it up and give you a larger glimpse into my latest week of NY bird surveys.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">There were more Great Blue Herons (GBHE) than I have ever seen in one place. I'm talking about seeing 25+ GBHE in one wetland area, and there were practically constant flyovers the whole time I was in the area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Yes, GBHEs are common and may not excite everyone to the same extent; but witnessing the sheer numbers of them last week gave me a whole new appreciation for them. Besides, those ridonkulous necks will never cease to amaze me...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It was a funny scene at this one area where almost all the GBHEs were standing on muskrat mounds - appearing totally nonchalant and even causing Great Egrets and Mallards to follow suit in elevated aloofness...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">At one point I was speechless from a pair of barking American Bitterns (AMBI) circling over my head. Having only ever laid eyes on a couple of AMBIs in my life, it was no wonder I went for my binos first and was rendered incapable of getting a better photo than this...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">There were warblers dripping from branches and in order for me to hear myself think and pick up other species, I had to work really hard at tuning out all the Yellow Warbler </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">(YWAR)</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> songs...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">This guy must have belonged to the Flathead Tribe of YWAR...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The songs of Ovenbirds, Blue-winged Warblers, Savannah Sparrows and Wood Thrushes were music to my ears after a seemingly endless spring spent waiting for more birds. I even got a really good look at a Brown Thrasher and heard a Black-billed Cuckoo. After seven years of trying to get a decent Northern Harrier photo, I finally produced one of a juvenal male that I can feel proud of...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Baltimore Orioles (BAOR) were especially present - flashy and brilliant in their hunter-safety attire...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhd5K_dB5cijMRzCMtlgqdnxh1BEddaHtR-nCFTPhDrMWaGEwoyp6hWmCeqI5YHEKmQoxGTbwaWqdbdxh46EP_khxaCVznXn4-r8Z-zoRcSaFdwqrXt1zRzkZ7YqYtNtuo5cwRH3uGzv6/s1600/Burly+Bird+BAOR++%282%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhd5K_dB5cijMRzCMtlgqdnxh1BEddaHtR-nCFTPhDrMWaGEwoyp6hWmCeqI5YHEKmQoxGTbwaWqdbdxh46EP_khxaCVznXn4-r8Z-zoRcSaFdwqrXt1zRzkZ7YqYtNtuo5cwRH3uGzv6/s640/Burly+Bird+BAOR++%282%29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">There were a</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> crazy amount of Bobolinks, which made me smile every time I wrote down the alpha code 'BOBO'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The BOBOs were unexpectedly hard to get good photos of - they were in constant motion, flitting into breeding display fits and suddenly bailing into tall grass...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkPjrmORqaPReCv-DhyRHKA5MZ9Yngt4oGuztg0ahOWKQnKPSrvm09g7G95_XQobLdHxGiqmm478jsY7KJ8dgnLbvDIQQpWwapYCODKIfgLlbZyxYtg5ymGP2Tya8eNXTukuEesJCgIsn/s1600/BOBO+fly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkPjrmORqaPReCv-DhyRHKA5MZ9Yngt4oGuztg0ahOWKQnKPSrvm09g7G95_XQobLdHxGiqmm478jsY7KJ8dgnLbvDIQQpWwapYCODKIfgLlbZyxYtg5ymGP2Tya8eNXTukuEesJCgIsn/s640/BOBO+fly.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApN3y2vYpwAMzscbXj1R-mbwXon5bcap_1L97Vm6uKt3eok_032bi_NhA0PIlufvVEjtmW71By6u4buFTTqLMEQZ-INB03lL77NA5StgNrGXwMa50YeVH4Bm0gNcHGJ6NL1oBhOyMZvRy/s1600/Burly+Bird+BOBO+in+grass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApN3y2vYpwAMzscbXj1R-mbwXon5bcap_1L97Vm6uKt3eok_032bi_NhA0PIlufvVEjtmW71By6u4buFTTqLMEQZ-INB03lL77NA5StgNrGXwMa50YeVH4Bm0gNcHGJ6NL1oBhOyMZvRy/s640/Burly+Bird+BOBO+in+grass.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Here is a sound recording of a displaying male BOBO, please excuse the American Robin and the YRWA in the background... </span><br />
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<object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F47324737%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-3FZ69&secret_url=true">
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F47324737%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-3FZ69&secret_url=true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Bobolink</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Speaking of alpha codes, the blatant nerd in me finds great joy in alpha codes that spell out another word. If the code spells out something in Spanish - all the better. For example: Tree Swallow = TRES. I think the </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">facial expression of t</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">his lil' TRES clearly shows it knows it's sporting some bling in the form of a band on it's left leg...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhA9Ah_OOaBjJ3cQtAt_aNIbu2y0kMEj7dFfGbKzedeSD-4oNtuP4_1C2QgRiYmgSn7m_WJcQVqPmaIPxhBqXHj2MVTRFvcsfARXCvvP0sXJgOp_Xvu670NXUtzzqwm2OYubVuDc_qKCK/s1600/Banded+TRES+%281%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhA9Ah_OOaBjJ3cQtAt_aNIbu2y0kMEj7dFfGbKzedeSD-4oNtuP4_1C2QgRiYmgSn7m_WJcQVqPmaIPxhBqXHj2MVTRFvcsfARXCvvP0sXJgOp_Xvu670NXUtzzqwm2OYubVuDc_qKCK/s640/Banded+TRES+%281%29.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygv-K_BGaqDklYs1s53oJmJaIooJu8Z8m7rAgOVIaILeglGPdqVKwHi7wh55JC-gz5BKeRQ7TdfGB7aKRQp3_Dv2QCJG6ohnIYTJEMDFlC-L5jNXICBFwpgrHZxzFZYUktahqnwanIYKx/s1600/Banded+TRES+%282%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygv-K_BGaqDklYs1s53oJmJaIooJu8Z8m7rAgOVIaILeglGPdqVKwHi7wh55JC-gz5BKeRQ7TdfGB7aKRQp3_Dv2QCJG6ohnIYTJEMDFlC-L5jNXICBFwpgrHZxzFZYUktahqnwanIYKx/s640/Banded+TRES+%282%29.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Or how about an alpha code that spells out a Spanish hello? This Horned Lark (HOLA) was almost invisible in the plowed ag fields. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Now you see the HOLA...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhE-yjAMa1rZtsWEINRcO8PoKJjaUj4hVYWPvlxGLegbcG71_nkMZFXVZFyF_pOSbzl0cQqxeQ8oDsWj_W0zplXe3MFxTwigLec1HEwgDb_f_16Wg9WwHu3gPxbWHZOsPoT1-t5kWlOT-/s1600/HOLA+%281%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhE-yjAMa1rZtsWEINRcO8PoKJjaUj4hVYWPvlxGLegbcG71_nkMZFXVZFyF_pOSbzl0cQqxeQ8oDsWj_W0zplXe3MFxTwigLec1HEwgDb_f_16Wg9WwHu3gPxbWHZOsPoT1-t5kWlOT-/s640/HOLA+%281%29.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Now you don't...</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_S6O_TS3_R9xyp34MkHLGjpAQ4StQh8Ih24iz1y8ITLVjvfwBGGbYSiVQDcUJxyWkbwosbWgKeu1Mqow-gfzMRFScT9zWuwuGWdgIThFnySfLbRhjBWY4RjFY7QzYkSVDh3WLCRSjq4mD/s1600/HOLA+%282%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_S6O_TS3_R9xyp34MkHLGjpAQ4StQh8Ih24iz1y8ITLVjvfwBGGbYSiVQDcUJxyWkbwosbWgKeu1Mqow-gfzMRFScT9zWuwuGWdgIThFnySfLbRhjBWY4RjFY7QzYkSVDh3WLCRSjq4mD/s640/HOLA+%282%29.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Another alpha code that pleases me because it spells a word is 'PUMA' (Purple Martin)...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I was delighted to see many Eastern Kingbirds catching flies as flycatchers do...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The bird I was most excited about hanging out with was this Hooded Warbler, since it's only the second one I've ever seen. After telepathically pleading with him, he finally agreed to allow me to photograph his face rather than just his rump, but refused to come down into better light...</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Here's an unfortunately blurry shot that shows some alien-looking BOBO toes... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> a Red-tailed Hawk about to relieve itself...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">As always, <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/11/best-bird-dog-i-could-ask-for.html" target="_blank">Scoobs</a> had a wonderful time...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Overall, it was a phenomenal week and NY was full of great spring birds. But I was excited to get home and find that during the six days I was gone my backyard BAORs had constructed this fabulous pendulous nest using some of the materials that I had left out for them! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Apparently a little baling twine and Scoobs fur can go a long way. The funny thing is that this nest is in the exact same location as the BAOR nest from two years ago (that one also contained some of my donated building materials). Could it be <i>that</i> prime of a nesting spot or one of the same birds from two years ago? I'll never know for sure, but nonetheless - those nests are incredibly awesome.</span><br />
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</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-46875152981615798272012-05-02T17:54:00.000-04:002012-05-02T18:52:27.059-04:00A Dissimulation of Birds...<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Being a true nerd, my love of words almost matches my love for birds. Along those lines, I also love books, and I particularly enjoy old books. I love the way they smell and feel, the secret rush of reading pages older than I am. I have a favorite in my library that warrants sharing because of its peculiar yet fascinating content. Though not really<i> </i>old, it's titled <u>An Exaltation of Larks or, The Venereal Game</u> by James Lipton (Grossman Publishers, 1968). While searching online a few years ago, I found an inexpensive and pretty beat-up hardcover copy that had been withdrawn from a library in New Mexico...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I recently revisited this etymological beauty with it's wonderful illustrations of old engravings. Then I decided to glean the historical bird-related collective nouns, or nouns of multitude, from it's pages and share them with you. Don't mention it, you're totally welcome.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Now we've all heard, and likely used the terms "a gaggle of geese", or "a skein of geese; "a raft of ducks"; "a murder of crows"; "a clutch of eggs"; or even "a murmuration of starlings". But here is a list of lesser known, and certainly lesser-used voluble treasures that will make your inner-bird-nerd giggle with delight:</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A spring of teal</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A rafter of turkeys (though I think "a goblet" would be more appropriate)</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A walk of snipe</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A fall of woodcocks</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A siege of herons</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A charm of finches</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A cast of hawks</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A deceit of lapwings</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A bouquet of pheasants</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A tidings of magpies</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A congregation of plovers</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">An unkindness of ravens (this one is unfair in my opinion!)</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A host of sparrows</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A watch of nightingales</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A mustering of storks</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A gulp of cormorants</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A stand of flamingos</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A paddling of ducks</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">An ostentation of peacocks</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A pitying of turtledoves</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A flight of swallows</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And for my three personal favorites:</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A parliament of owls</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A descent of woodpeckers (I think this one is also applicable to nuthatches)</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A family of biologists </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I motion to add "a blur of shorebirds"; "a confusion of gulls"; "a chortle of chickadees"; "a wagging of phoebes"; and "a kaleidoscope of warblers" to the list. Any thoughts?</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">If these really got you going, then I suggest you find yourself a copy of James Lipton's <u>An Exaltation of Larks</u> because it's chock full of other gems such as "a skulk of foxes"; "a richness of martens"; "a labor of moles"; "a hack of smokers"; and "an odium of politicians". But in the words of Reading Rainbow's LeVar Burton - "you don't have to take my word for it". </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I'll see you next time... </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></b>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-66085752650955023092012-04-27T15:03:00.000-04:002012-04-28T07:51:32.455-04:00If you happen to see someone with two pairs of binos...<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A recent post </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">about intoxicated birding </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">on the renowned <a href="http://10000birds.com/drunk-birding.htm" target="_blank">10,000 Birds</a> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">blog </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">has had me laughing since it was posted. While I'm sure we're all guilty of BWD (Birding While Driving), I bet there are just as many of us that can admit to birding with a buzz-on. Just as long as we don't combine the two, then I think we're okay.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">In 'spirit' of the topic, I remembered these babies sitting on my shelf and they are just too hilarious not to share...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Based on the photos on the back of the box, I think they are intended for sporting events...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">These are serious booze vessels we're talking about here, not one but TWO, separate eight-ounce flasks cleverly disguised as old-school optics...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">They thought of everything - carrying strap, funnel, labeled "power"...</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOy1aRd6E3sjTqe0BvoymIICY9TYEW0HLJTVSx9HHS9-8QEqf2qpKFUlR1_lGgWSsplGeQIGaxMIzl8TbRDQzxNJxYAPo5DDNR2EOsz6RRvOQRNTP6LIjpkojy8HvA4l3B5o-vev9UR7Us/s1600/Burly+Bird+Binocular+Flasks+%283%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOy1aRd6E3sjTqe0BvoymIICY9TYEW0HLJTVSx9HHS9-8QEqf2qpKFUlR1_lGgWSsplGeQIGaxMIzl8TbRDQzxNJxYAPo5DDNR2EOsz6RRvOQRNTP6LIjpkojy8HvA4l3B5o-vev9UR7Us/s640/Burly+Bird+Binocular+Flasks+%283%29.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I'm not sure who could consume 16 oz. of liquor and still get a good ID on a bird, but maybe they're made to pass around?</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Unless I see someone staggering around while birding I don't think there would be anything suspicious about carrying two pairs of binoculars...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I've never actually used them, but all I know is that when I saw them, I had to have them. Now I must add - please drink and bird responsibly! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span></b>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-72485628359788659832012-04-22T15:34:00.000-04:002012-04-22T15:34:17.626-04:00Iroquois and Montezuma NWR's...<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I swung through the Iroquois and Montezuma NWR's again on my latest foray to conduct Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl surveys in NY. While both visits fell during a poor time of day, there were still some feathered friends kind enough to allow for viewing pleasure. It was still very much spring and not yet summer, but the Tree Swallows were out and about, looking perfectly coiffed in all their sapphire glory...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">This little guy obviously meant business and was likely to pull a Monty Python's Holy Grail-style rabbit-attack if anyone dared to not obey the sign...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Though my digi-scoping skills clearly have gone to rust, I was very excited to see my only-second-ever Caspian Tern on it's migratory pit-stop at Iroquois. I think it may have been asking that American Wigeon for directions...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Since my last visit, Iroquois staff have been busy setting up nesting tubes for the ducks...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And the fowl, in turn, have been busy occupying them...</span></b> <br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLZc-adfKuyTbn3fAML2PJhpwVlUlbxghbSp4T4uqJD4ZNOSi41Dh4coJwnGWyZTUmmHHOGq2ygj9ilX6MjFm3Fz4y_dIo4I_2fsmxT7lgxUY9fHW4t68YN1HFvpvIxRCTPoCWY5SAJtO/s1600/Burly+Bird+duck+nest+tubes+%281%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLZc-adfKuyTbn3fAML2PJhpwVlUlbxghbSp4T4uqJD4ZNOSi41Dh4coJwnGWyZTUmmHHOGq2ygj9ilX6MjFm3Fz4y_dIo4I_2fsmxT7lgxUY9fHW4t68YN1HFvpvIxRCTPoCWY5SAJtO/s640/Burly+Bird+duck+nest+tubes+%281%29.JPG" width="640" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I finally got a photo of a militant Red-winged Blackbird (RWBL). The word for that red-shoulder - 'epaulet', must be related somehow to the term for military uniform shoulder boards - 'epaulette', which is french for "little shoulder"...how perfect. But I prefer to think that the RWBL's came first - inspiring military, runway, and rock-star fashions alike...</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I saw more American Coots than I've ever seen in Maine and was delighted to actually <i>hear </i>them as well. They made a sound I can only liken to a squeaky bicycle horn crossed with a kazoo...</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Then at Montezuma there were these distant swans </span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">adorned with sassy green wing tags</span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">. I think they were Tundras, but admit I was too hurried to bust out my scope and window mount. The tractor trailer trucks on I-90 made for such a lovely background...</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">American Kestrels were seemingly everywhere and Turkey Vultures kept materializing out of nowhere...</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Scoobs eventually tired of all the roadside birding, signaling it was time to head out...</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Overall it was fun, fun, fun - and I look forward to once again stopping by these magnificent examples of habitat conservation and management during my next trip to NY.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span> </span></b>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-11662339196640264942012-04-02T14:30:00.000-04:002012-04-02T15:20:30.850-04:00Batty About Bats...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Over the years I have been fortunate enough to work with some really cool people studying bats. Bats are often poorly understood by the general public and unfortunately have an undeserved reputation as being creepy. This misconception could not be further from the truth! In reality, they are gentle creatures who care for their young and eat more insects than you could even imagine. They are really quite beautiful when viewed up close - a perfect example is this Eastern Red Bat (<i>Lasiurus borealis</i>)...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Bats are in the order Chiroptera which means "hand wing" or "winged hand" aptly named because those bones in their wings are actually their fingers. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Bats are the only mammal capable of powered flight (versus gliding like my <i><a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/12/holy-glaucomys-part-ii-and-then-there.html" target="_blank">Glaucomys</a> </i>pals).</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> And even more awesome - their knees bend backward making them capable of catching insects with their webbed tails and of doing things like this...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Sadly, many bat species are in serious decline and scientists are working hard to understand and combat a fairly recent discovery of a bat illness called <a href="http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome/about.html" target="_blank">white-nose syndrome</a> (WNS) that has been decimating bat populations across the eastern United States. WNS gets it's name from a fungus called <i>Geomyces destructans</i> that often grows in little tufts on bat noses. WNS basically causes bats to use up their winter fat reserves earlier than usual. Many of the afflicted bats emerge from their hibernacula too soon - only to find the world still in the depths of winter. With nothing to eat, the bats freeze and/or starve to death. In the five years since the discovery of WNS in New York, over 5.7 million bats have died and WNS has been confirmed in 18 states and also in Canada. Terrible you say? How can I help you say? There exists a wonderful group of bat conservationists called <a href="http://www.batcon.org/" target="_blank">Bat Conservation International</a> (BCI) and if you're looking for a good cause to donate to, this is it! When you become a member of BCI you know you're helping bats all over the world AND helping scientists battle WNS here in the States. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Back in the days before WNS, capturing and handling bats was a much simpler task where a new pair of surgical gloves for every bat and strict decontamination protocols were still a thing of the future. In these pre-WNS photos of a federally endangered Indiana Bat (<i>Myotis sodalis</i>) you can see the arm band and the antenna of the temporary radio transmitter that we used to track his movements...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I've noticed fewer and fewer bats in my yard over the last few summers. This year on St. Patrick's Day I had a bat foraging in my yard during broad daylight. My theory is that it was too cold at night for bugs but warm enough during the day for hatches of flying insects. This little guy must have been pretty hungry and opportunistic to be out and about...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">After consulting with some of those aforementioned pretty cool people, it is likely that this St. Paddy Bat was a Northern Myotis (<i>Myotis septentrionalis</i>). I felt pretty lucky to even have a possible myotis species in my yard as members of this genus have been hit pretty hard by WNS.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">While there is absolutely no reason to be freaked out by bats, there <i>is </i>reason to be freaked out by the recent decimation of once healthy bat populations. It is quite possible species that were fairly common in the not-so-distant past will someday be listed as endangered. I really hope the situation doesn't come to that and maybe the bat house I put up last year will one day even have residents...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Hopefully the battle against WNS will someday be won and the future for bats will be better. Our world would certainly not be the same without them. </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-20524579238870983292012-03-13T17:54:00.000-04:002012-03-16T12:36:42.702-04:00Florida Lake...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A year ago this week I was in Florida on <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/11/florida-avication-part-i.html" target="_blank">avication</a>, exploring hundreds of thousands of acres of protected lands looking for birds. <i>Sigh</i>. Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints, there will be no such extravagance this year. Instead, I am determined to enjoy my local surroundings and avifauna all the more. And though I may not be able to go to Florida this year, I <i>can</i> go down to Florida Lake anytime. I am fortunate enough to live less than a half mile from this gem...</span><br />
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It's still mostly ice-covered now, but soon there will be American Bitterns 'gump-de-gumping' from it's edges, thousands of swallows skimming it's surface, and Wood Ducks nesting in it's tree cavities and nest boxes...</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The lake was named 'Florida' because it's shape resembled the Sunshine State. It is indeed a shining local example of land reclamation and conservation. Some brilliant folks had the foresight to acquire multiple land parcels surrounding the lake and turn the whole area into public open space. Approximately 167 acres were put into conservation with help from local land trusts, the <a href="http://www.maine.gov/spo/lmf/" target="_blank">Land for Maine's Future</a> program, and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</span> <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">grant through the <a href="http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA/index.shtm" target="_blank">North American Wetlands Conservation Act</a></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">. The area is designated by the state of Maine as <a href="http://www.maine.gov/dep/land/nrpa/birdhabitat/bird_habitat.html" target="_blank">High Value Wading Bird and Waterfowl Habitat</a> and provides some of the best (and only) habitat of it's kind in the whole area. There is now a great network of trails and more than</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> 100 bird species have been documented on the property. Thanks to all these conservation efforts, this is the only type of MALL that can be seen from here...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Historical beaver activity contributed to the great wetland habitats found at Florida Lake today. As a result, there are some really good spots for birds like these Hooded Mergansers to hang out...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Apparently beavers are still hard at work creating and maintaining wildlife habitat in the area...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Not only do I love Florida Lake but I also happen to have a dream for it. There exists yet another adjacent land parcel that in my opinion also needs to be acquired. This would expand the Florida Lake area by about 30 acres. Unfortunately, this parcel has quite literally been trashed and would need some major clean-up and costly restoration efforts...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I have a vision of beavers returning to this place and creating more and more high value habitat. This vision includes the Least Bittern, Great Blue and Green Herons I've seen out there being able to forage in cleaner water, the breeding woodcocks and saw-whet owls not having to work around piles of trash, and hearing more than just one Whip-poor-will out there in three years. This vision includes opening up more acreage for people and wildlife to peruse and enjoy. Even though we're on the non-oceanfront side of L.L. Bean, I believe if we continue to rebuild it, they will come. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Can we really put a price tag on the value of conservation lands? To me they are priceless and worth the costs and efforts to protect. For my dream to become a reality, a rigorous grant proposal will need to be written, matching funds will need to be secured, an ambitious restoration strategy created, and the right people convinced that taking this project on will be worthwhile for the town and it's residents. Act locally, right?! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I'll be needing all the luck I can get on this daunting journey of getting this parcel picked up and protected. It will certainly be a challenging endeavor...but SO worth it!</span></div>
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<br /></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-69670403219633837932012-03-09T17:08:00.000-05:002012-03-09T17:08:08.004-05:00NY Wanderings...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A recent trip to upstate NY produced some good early spring bird sightings. The state fortunately has some sweet National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) that I have been meaning to stop at for ages and finally did. I like to think my tax dollars go to support places like this...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I was really excited to see some guys that I haven't seen recently like HUGE flocks of Snow Geese...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And what appeared to be a billion Canada Geese chillin' on the ice with over 200 Tundra Swans...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">As goes the sometimes dismal luck of a birder, Montezuma NWR was closed to humans. I wish ALL of my taxes could go to NWR's so that they don't have to be closed on a random Wednesday when spring migration is starting. Fortunately, they were open for birds and there were at least some fowl hanging out near the closed visitor's center. It was fun to watch a bunch of small kids looking the ducks up in their field guides and excitedly check off Northern Pintail (NOPI). Those parents get giant gold stars in my book - recruit the youth! I never tire of gawking at NOPI even though they clearly know how handsome they are and probably have giant egos for fowl...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Other highlights of trip included giant flocks of raucous Red-winged Blackbirds which means that spring is surely close by...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVg3U7XYVnyAFcH0PvpO_7ZYQt07Vmuosg3GptUJW1W45prJOrvTGpxxeKbq0BFOPamvcrFHOo0eP3XoQ2MGwRAFZUcSW4hAorrg_1mzD-Gfjoz0AbSvc2blfh9ormPmoZmM-QrRLOpGLj/s1600/Burly+Bird++%285%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVg3U7XYVnyAFcH0PvpO_7ZYQt07Vmuosg3GptUJW1W45prJOrvTGpxxeKbq0BFOPamvcrFHOo0eP3XoQ2MGwRAFZUcSW4hAorrg_1mzD-Gfjoz0AbSvc2blfh9ormPmoZmM-QrRLOpGLj/s640/Burly+Bird++%285%29.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And this male Northern Harrier wishing he was big enough to take down one of those geese...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Scoobs of course takes birding very seriously and this money-shot of her sweet face made up for the crappy harrier shots...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">When I arrived home I was delighted to hear a Northern Saw-whet Owl toot-tooting so loudly out back that I could hear it inside the house... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I'm hoping to see and hear more spring beauties everyday! </span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/burly-bird"></a>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-85152195716810033412012-03-03T09:20:00.000-05:002012-03-03T09:21:26.406-05:00EABL's, PIWA's, and TUVU's, oh my!<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">After a great dumping of snow brought March in, </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">yesterday morning </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I found myself flinging my shovel aside to run for my binos and camera when a flock of Eastern Bluebirds (EABL) spontaneously materialized around me...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">These two took turns as sentry while the other one preened...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">There must have been over a hundred AMGO's (American Goldfinches) chattering and zoooping and potato-chipping away overhead in the trees when I noticed a tiny rogue picking low on a trunk in a very un-finch-like way. It was this little Pine Warbler (PIWA) all bedecked in yellow spectacles and looking really damn cold...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-6DqfsmD0_xXxkVbp-rEPM2ZHE3luSbT1BN4dXUrJZ5d6Vlw_jo54QoCICUuaKPeK7yZCaj0a-kW5avZ9QtPE5CktVGKAnVZPnr-fq8FouBvLekvLsa4Qmwc3n2dyPs9uGl0oS3Ld8at/s1600/Burly+Bird+PIWA+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-6DqfsmD0_xXxkVbp-rEPM2ZHE3luSbT1BN4dXUrJZ5d6Vlw_jo54QoCICUuaKPeK7yZCaj0a-kW5avZ9QtPE5CktVGKAnVZPnr-fq8FouBvLekvLsa4Qmwc3n2dyPs9uGl0oS3Ld8at/s640/Burly+Bird+PIWA+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">This is the second PIWA I've seen here this winter, but thanks to my <a href="http://maineseasonsevents.com/" target="_blank">sister</a> loaning me her old camera, I was able to actually get some better photos than I got of <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2012/02/early-birds-and-cat-killed-glaucomys.html" target="_blank">the last PIWA that came</a> to visit...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The yard was a cacophony of cardinals, Purple Finches and chickadees all turned up to 11 and singing their "springs a'comin" songs. The <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2012/02/early-birds-and-cat-killed-glaucomys.html" target="_blank">early-bird Hermit Thrush</a> even made another appearance but was in no mood to be photographed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The woodpeckers were not to be outdone - two Pileated's swooped through and I was almost scalped by a pair of Hairy's. Then these first-of-the-year Turkey Vultures (TUVU) flew by and I almost went blind trying to get a picture of them as they cruised off into the sun...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Even though it's freezing rain now and I have both wood-stoves cranking, I was intoxicated by the sounds of spring in the 'back 40' yesterday. I wonder when the woodcocks will show their little peenting faces...bring on spring!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-52877837032326265142012-03-01T11:02:00.000-05:002012-03-01T11:12:58.778-05:00Beachsleepers...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Who doesn't love the beach? The birds are great, the tides are predicted, and there is a heightened sense of finding wondrous treasures at any moment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And who doesn't love owls? Owls are awesome to see anytime and anywhere. But sleeping owls? Those seem to be extra adorable, and sleeping owls on the beach are even better. I was birding a beach on Block Island about 15 miles off the coast of Rhode Island when I had one of those moments of uncanny sixth sense birders randomly get. I just had to look at that little hole up on the bluff behind me...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Low and behold, there was a slumbering lifer in there! This sleeping Barn Owl was clearly in the hands of Morpheus as I spied on him from 50 feet below...</span><br />
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Previous to this encounter the only BANO I had seen was this headless one that washed up on a different beach...</div>
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Speaking of dead things on the beach...on a different day birding Block Island, I was trying to get <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/11/best-bird-dog-i-could-ask-for.html" target="_blank">Scoobs</a> to pose for <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">a picture but she wouldn't stop making this face (which for you non-doggers means "stupid human, there's sumpin' not right here")...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Nuala was clearly trying to tell me something along the lines of "quit counting gannets and look where I'm looking". Just compare the set of her ears and eyes in the photos above to these normal shots of her contemplating the Atlantic... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Well, I eventually did look where she was looking, and feeling foolish, saw this GIANT male Gray Seal (<i>Halichoerus grypus</i>) on the beach about thirty feet away. Thankfully Scoobs knows better than to take on those rocks and we have the whole Jedi-leashless-dog thing going on. I think it's funny that the Gray Seal's scientific name basically means "hook-nosed sea pig". I also think <i>'grypus' </i>would make a good name for a dog...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I watched our friend through my binos over the course of an hour, at which point in my biological opinion I figured him for dead. The thing was massive, and right there - this is what my dog was trying to tell me. Duh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Talk about sea monsters, the males average 800 lbs, grow to 10 ft, and can live up to 30 years. This fellow had to be pretty close to that and was not just huge but obviously old. He was gray faced and haggard, scarred from previous undersea battles that frighten me to even contemplate. I watched to see if he was breathing, staring at the parallel nostrils on this roman-nosed rarity, gawking at the sheer bulk of him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I remembered coming across this Atlantic White-sided Dolphin a few months earlier, but that beachsleeper was <i>clearly</i> dead...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And while the whole dolphin scene was kinda ooky, I admit it was fun to watch Fish Crows steal the eyeball...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I continued birding while Scoobs laid at the base of the scope, </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the seemingly lifeless beast of a sea mammal on the beach to our west. Before heading out, I wanted one more picture of this behemoth creature and took a few steps closer...</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I was pretty convinced he was a goner and I'd be getting a closer forensic inspection, but life as a wildlife biologist is always full of unexpected, humbling lessons...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It suddenly snorted and inhaled deeply, the sounds of an ancient life returning from the deep. It's rheumy-cataract eyes slid open and my heart stopped. Only in the presence of a wild mountain lion have I been so scared (but that's another story...). I scrambled back to the trail and packed up my gear pretty quick, making sure Scoobs was headed up the trail as the seal slowly woke up and then heaved his mass across the rocks and into the waves. He stopped when he got into the water and looked back at us with those milky old-man eyes. Is was as though he were a bit confused to see us, and I hope he was napping deeply and hadn't hauled out on this secluded beach to expire...either way, I felt bad that I disturbed him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It's incredible the things you see and learn on beaches. There are usually some interesting ducks and shorebirds to skulk and if you're really into it, loads of gulls to sift through and ID. The sound of the ocean lulls me into a state of peace and somehow re-balances my perspective on life... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Now if I could only catch a glimpse of my nemesis bird, the Snowy Owl, on a beach like everyone else seems to have done this winter...</span></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-737152699263182552012-02-22T14:40:00.000-05:002012-02-27T14:16:13.353-05:00Raven Ranting...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Last week I had the chance to see one of my favorite authors give a talk about his behavioral ecology work with ravens. <a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/author/microsite/About.aspx?authorid=4380" target="_blank">Bernd Heinrich</a> has written loads of books about the natural world and someday I will have read them all. A fellow New Englander, he splits his time between Vermont and Maine so these states often provide the backdrop for his stories. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">He's studied and written about everything from bees, to birds, to bugs.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;"> He writes with passion, knowledge, and humility about his experiences with wildlife and the world out of doors, connecting the scientific world to the public. He speaks the same way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">A small-framed and rather fit man who must be approaching his 70's, Bernd Heinrich was humorous and insightful. He used old-fashioned slides from a projector which I found charming. It was a delight to see the man's passion as he spoke about the years he spent experimenting with the behavior of ravens. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">He has
trapped, tagged, followed and/or observed hundreds of ravens
over the course of his studies. He has documented roosts acting as
information centers where ravens share information on where to find
food. He described his Maine ravens as being shy, wary, sensitive, curious, and intelligent. My favorite was his repeated references to anecdotal evidence, which happens to be one of the best parts of being a wildlifer. Sure, hardcore, statistically analyzed data are the juicy meat of any scientific study, but it's recalling the anecdotal evidence that lights up researchers faces and often sparks the initial questions that lead to good research. He spoke of witnessing raven interactions and behavior that can only be described as play. Of hearing vocalizations from mated pairs in captivity, sounds that could only be described as affectionate. It's these stories and experiences that season the juicy data meat for me. More of his enthralling raven tales can be read in these two great books...get them, read them, love them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">As a generally anti-social loner birder, I always learn something about humans when I venture out of my shell into the populous. What surprised me that night was the number of gray haired, older yuppie-type folks in the audience. I guess I was expecting a bunch of younger people or something. I got a kick out of the audience's clearly disgusted response as he described collecting roadkill, and hauling cow, moose and deer carcasses out to raven study sites - and much to my delight, showed many pictures of ravens on carcasses as well. The best were the photos of squirrel skins that his ravens had turned inside-out to get to the meat because their bills couldn't puncture the hide effectively. I heard more than one 'ewww' from the back. Maybe these people were expecting to hear about the spiritual, touchy-feely side of ravens, not the hardcore rigors of science and wildlife biology. Ha!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">After the talk there was a pretty long question-and-answer period where some good questions were asked. Sadly, a few folks appeared to just want to sound intelligent in their questions. I mean really people, we came here to hear about his experiences, not to grill him on the natural history facts about a species that you could easily find out yourself. I mean, if you know what extra-pair copulation is, then you probably know of a source to look it up for ravens, right?! I found his answers of "I'm not sure" to this type of question highly satisfying. The really comical part - and here my raven rant begins in earnest - was the line of people that queued up to have him sign stacks and stacks of books afterward. Geez Louise, this was not a book signing but I'm pretty sure some folks came with the sole purpose of getting their beat-up paperbacks signed by the author. I'm sure he goes through it all the time but I felt a bit embarrassed by the whole scene. But not too embarrassed to approach him quickly after the throng had cleared to give him some <a href="http://www.burlybird.com/" target="_blank">Burly Bird</a> stickers and thank him for all the hours of endless reading entertainment. Yes, I'm kicking myself for only having the artwork for the Common Raven Burly Bird and not the actual stickers...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Seeing his face light up and smile when he saw the bird stickers goes down on my tiny list of 'Encounters with Famous People'. Right next to Willie Nelson touching my hand </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">as he signed my ticket stub </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">at Billy Bob's in Texas, which I should add is the largest Honky Tonk in the world. I guess I should be embarrassed for myself, but a Willie Nelson concert seems more likely a place for that kind of fan behavior. And besides, the lady ahead of me that night had Willie autograph her bra, so I didn't feel too bad. Yes Bernd Heinrich, you are on my list with Willie Nelson and probably lucky that nobody wanted their undergarments autographed that night...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Now to design a behavioral ecology study on my resident <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/12/holy-glaucomys-part-ii-and-then-there.html" target="_blank"><i>Glaucomys</i></a>, secure grant funding, and create/complete a Master's on winter roost behavior of flying squirrels in Maine... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;"> </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-11483872212962992902012-02-16T10:01:00.000-05:002012-02-27T14:17:30.211-05:00Early Birds and Cat-killed Glaucomys...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Some birds have been showing up in Maine lately </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">that we don't usually see during winter</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">. It's only mid-February and we've had Turkey Vultures cropping up all over the state, Northern Harriers making appearances, and warblers and woodpeckers (think Red-bellied and Red-headed) that just don't seem normal for these parts this time of year. This isn't too surprising given the mild winter and continued reports of summer birds being spotted all over Maine (think orioles and warblers), but I'm grateful for the infusion of birds anyway...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">I've spent a lot of time looking at the usual suspects this winter. Loads of ducks, juncos, American Tree Sparrows, and sometimes just empty, birdless landscapes...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">This week I was visited by some early birdies at my feeders - a Hermit Thrush showed up...providing what COULD have been a sweet berry-in-the-bill shot...if I had myself a better camera...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">And then as if the Hermit wasn't enough, it was joined by this adorable little Pine Warbler...that I almost peripherally wrote off as an AMGO (American Goldfinch)... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">These photos may be the final straw on needing a new camera. They could have been great shots, but they're clearly sub par. Yikes, a new camera is not really in the budget now...perhaps I can convince my sister to loan me her old one (the <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/11/florida-avication-part-i.html" target="_blank">Florida AVICATION part I</a> and <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/12/florida-avication-part-ii-glades.html" target="_blank">II</a> photos were taken with that one)...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">And on a depressing note, there has been a cat lurking around my property lately. I'm not sure if it belongs to someone or not, but if it does have an owner I really wish they'd keep it inside. There has been a pissing incident in the garage already, and nobody likes the smell of cat urine - <i>especially </i>if you don't even have a cat. Needless to say, <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/11/best-bird-dog-i-could-ask-for.html" target="_blank">Scoobs</a> was not impressed. There have been cat tracks in the snow and now the resident <i>Glaucomys </i>are starting to fall victim to the </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">wanton killing</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;"> of this potentially <a href="http://joomla.wildlife.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=845&Itemid=183" target="_blank">feral cat</a>. This little guy was found in the garage, barely consumed. Wasted wildlife really chaps me. I hope it leaves the birds alone, but I doubt it... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">But what course of action do I really have? I could try and attach a note to the cat (if it even has a collar) to inform the owners (if it even has owners) that their cat is destructive? Somehow I don't think that would work, I'd have to live-trap the thing and that seems like going a bit too far. And the cat is only around at night, do people really leave their pets out all night? If it were a strange dog pooping in a person's yard and killing their chickens I bet something would (or could) be done. Civil suits would ensue and neighbors would become enemies! Why are cats any different? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">And to leave you on a positive note, I'm really looking forward to seeing one of my favorite authors, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bernd-Heinrich/e/B000APKZ2S" target="_blank">Bernd Heinrich</a>, give a talk on ravens tonight at Bowdoin. I can savor the feel of being on a college campus again for a couple of hours - cradled by the intelligent arms of academia, all while listening to one of the most entertaining writers of the natural and biological world. Oh, and it's FREE! While I realize that most people get this excited only over rock concerts, nerds like myself clearly get much more fired up over informational lectures on corvid behaviors! I'll keep you posted...</span></div>
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</div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-984625710991273742012-02-09T11:44:00.001-05:002012-02-09T11:44:14.589-05:00Lefty White...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">In 2010 a special Gray Catbird took up residency in the
backyard and began displaying and behaving unmistakeably male. There are plenty of catbirds out there every year, but this
guy had some white feathers on his left wing. He was quite friendly and spent the entire
summer seemingly within a 50 meter radius around the hammock. We all get
used to seeing our backyard birds, but when one becomes so easily
recognizable as an individual, it multiplies the fun exponentially. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Could he really be called
anything but Lefty White?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I'm
not sure if he was a case of partial leucism or if maybe an old wing injury
could have caused it. I didn't see him again in 2011, though I admit to paying close attention to each and every catbird that was around, hoping to catch that glimpse of white again on one of the mewers. I wonder what became of Lefty White - did he survive that fall's migration? Did he get picked off by a predator because of his flashy patch? I'll never know his fate, but it was fun to have him around while he was here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Of
all the hours I seemed to have spent in the close proximity to Lefty
White that summer, this is somehow the only photographic documentation I got of him -
I know, this is inexcusable. At least he spread his wings and tail a little and made sure his dark cap was visible...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWA6SJIR9_Wuei1sCje14VYosEvu-XrJqTFB8NYL1qCV_MlJ4ai7MZsVyeat_kPVQH_vOv1BOpahdcjFjrp-rhj_pZaNOa5exNbTGCWndhENeqMYrYjSoW42ZCQY5h4IfyQSztoeEjMTfF/s1600/Burly+Bird+Lefty+White+GRCA+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWA6SJIR9_Wuei1sCje14VYosEvu-XrJqTFB8NYL1qCV_MlJ4ai7MZsVyeat_kPVQH_vOv1BOpahdcjFjrp-rhj_pZaNOa5exNbTGCWndhENeqMYrYjSoW42ZCQY5h4IfyQSztoeEjMTfF/s640/Burly+Bird+Lefty+White+GRCA+crop.jpg" width="624" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Just so you don't feel ripped off by the lack of decent bird photos in this post, here is a cool video I found online that may satisfy your need for more Whitey a la <i>Dumetella</i>...</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rE9QwnF5ZdY?fs=1" width="459"></iframe></div>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-28968094855596653582012-02-03T15:35:00.000-05:002012-02-15T16:20:18.218-05:00Vermont Trappings and Trackings...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I clearly stray from birdy posts now and again, but this is just too fun a tale not to tell...it was the year that Mustelids, yes weasels, helped steer the course of my destiny...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjXHNbK-wGEAiEJxKid1bEk7un_h7HrbAuYzXMSWQbnaBc7CeIlUl4VlwfOL6es6UBp0hZjIqdpO9WJACWV6bTPcKAeW5-YkH8oqvzS5XuQ4MAmq0cdKFBSta0PFCbrCxJg2q01AS5PTA3/s1600/Burly+Bird+Blog+VT+trappings+%2810%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjXHNbK-wGEAiEJxKid1bEk7un_h7HrbAuYzXMSWQbnaBc7CeIlUl4VlwfOL6es6UBp0hZjIqdpO9WJACWV6bTPcKAeW5-YkH8oqvzS5XuQ4MAmq0cdKFBSta0PFCbrCxJg2q01AS5PTA3/s640/Burly+Bird+Blog+VT+trappings+%2810%29.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I met my friend Mark in Mammalogy class at the University of Montana working in a group project on the fisher (<i>Martes pennanti</i>:<i> </i>fate weasel #1). </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Upon graduating </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">he had accepted a Master's position at UMASS and needed a superstar field grunt for the season to </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">collect data for
various wildlife passageways that had been installed under a new highway
</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">in Vermont</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> He must have been really blown away by my work ethic on the fisher project because he offered me the position. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It is well known that roads impact wild creatures - they create barriers to animal movements, fragment habitats, and they're EVERYWHERE. The craziest part is the sheer volume of roadkill from vehicles. I've read estimates that over 1 million critters are killed on U. S. roads EVERY DAY. Insane. But we all need and use roads and highways, so why not try and make them a little more wildlife friendly? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Needless to say I was all fired up to study these passageways that had been put in for wildlife to use for safe crossing. I couldn't wait for</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> the extensive small mammal trapping, trackbed monitoring, remote
camera maintenance, and yes, even the roadkill surveys...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> Of course I left a big chunk of my heart in dear old 'Montucky', but I packed up <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/11/best-bird-dog-i-could-ask-for.html" target="_blank">Scoobs</a> and headed east to 'Vermontana'...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It was a lot of hard work - I religiously put out, set, checked, packed up, rotated, reset, and re-checked over 400 Sherman live-traps in four areas at two sites. Hundreds of mice were ear-tagged and their movements tracked using mark-recapture methods. We lugged 50 pound bags of tracking substrate (local marble dust) up and down embankments and over fences. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Fabricating new and improved tools for keeping the track beds in shape was fun. I'm talking about hi-tech instruments of wildlife biology here - such as this paint roller attached to a broom handle used in conjunction with a weighted heavy-duty shower curtain...all custom made and highly technical...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Here you can see the road overhead, the track beds, and funnel fencing on one of the passageways. Compared to other wildlife crossings, these were quite spacious... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">We used motion-activated cameras to cover critters that were crossing through the stream corridor where track beds were impossible to install...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Oh, and of course I got some help from Mark every once in a while...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Animals indeed used the passageways. Mark created tremendous amounts of thesis matter filled with juicy statistics. We documented woodchucks, weasels, turkeys, house cats, bobcats, coyote, deer, mice, mink, skunks, opossum, fisher, river otters, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, muskrats, turtles, frogs, and snakes... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">We even had track plates at either end of this long culvert. Unlike the weasels and raccoons that loved this dark, creepy tunnel - only once did I make my nearly six-foot frame go all the way through. It was rough. My skin crawls just recalling the experience. After that one-time shortcut, I never again thought twice about scrambling back up the embankment, across the road, and back down the other embankment to check the track plate on the other side...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">One day on the trap line, I came across a long-tailed weasel (<i>Mustela frenata</i>: fate weasel #2) who had it's tail caught in the door of a trap. However, it's entire body was on the <i>outside</i> of the trap. If it had been as big as a grizzly, I might not be here today. This was a total anomaly - it had never happened before, and it never happened again. We caught relatively few weasels overall and usually only when they were munching our tagged mice. As I struggled to free this incredibly angry creature from it's current situation, I felt awful that he had spent time stuck like that - able to see the world around him, but unable to run around in it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">After freeing the unharmed but seriously chagrined weasel, I received a phone call from a wildlife laboratory job I had interviewed for the year before. They had a vacancy and wanted to hire me. I had to sit down. I thought about it quickly, I was still reeling from the weasel encounter...then suddenly it was all very clear to me - if I accepted this position, <i>I</i> would be just like that weasel, with <i>my</i> rear trapped inside and the rest of me wanting to be out and about in the world, traipsing hillsides and clambering through forests. I told the lady thank you, but I had decided to move back east. I declined the job and ended up making the full move eastward - all thanks to fate weasel #2. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">(This is not <i>the</i> actual fate weasel, but the only photo I have of a long-tailed...)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">L</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">ater on that fall I saw a mink (<i>Mustela vison</i>: fate weasel #3) skulking along the river in the backyard. Upon checking the mail later that day, I had a job offer from a company in Maine for some more rugged, outdoor fieldwork. This was a no brainer - fate weasel #3 had already paid me a visit that morning - and I accepted the position.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The trilogy of fate weasels began with the fisher inadvertently bringing me an opportunity to work back east for a while. The second fate weasel, the long-tailed, helped me decide to move back east for good. The third fate weasel, the mink, was a good sign to start migrating back to Maine.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Would I have ended up where I am today if not for the timing and presence of these weasels? As they say here in Maine "it's hard tellin', not knowin'", but I find it difficult to believe that the universe wasn't giving me some sort of spirit-critter guidance through these life choices. For that I am grateful and will always pay close attention to any weasels I see in the future...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-33647314304805851452012-01-30T20:26:00.000-05:002012-02-08T17:30:19.778-05:00Golden Oldies...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I apologize for being M.I.A. lately, I've been out and about doing Short-eared Owl and Northern Harrier surveys and trying to catch up on some "home tasks" that have been nagging away at me... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">For example, I've been meaning to scan my old hard copy, pre-digital photographs into my computer for years. I figure if I scan just a few every day, I might be done by the time I die. My fears of having the originals get destroyed without having backups makes me feel kind of ooky and makes it clear to me that I have fully moved into the digital age, despite my lacking a smart phone...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">While I wish I could say that I've been birding since I was a wee chitlin', I actually didn't become a full-blown bird nerd until my mid-twenties. But I can say that I've always loved critters, whether furred or feathered, and have always found joy in animals, be them wild or domestic. If you ask me, being more comfortable with animals than people is a classic sign of a future nerd. Here are a couple of "prophecy shots" from memory lane that I couldn't help but share...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And this one is especially for <a href="http://www.iusedtohatebirds.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">Jen</a></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">, the Florida/early 90's/fanny-pack/macaw parallel is just too uncanny...I am still laughing out loud...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Thanks for joining me in a little reminiscing, I promise the next post will be more current!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-83790144366194424902012-01-16T08:00:00.000-05:002012-02-08T17:31:11.759-05:00Niagara Falls, finally...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It seems like I've driven by Niagara Falls a million times on my cross country adventures but have never stopped to oooh and aahhh over the grandeur of our nation's oldest state park. Luckily I was deployed, if you will, for some bird surveys in the region</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> and finally took the chance to go see the spectacle for myself...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> Needless to say, the falls are crazy. Any place where 675,000 gallons of water/second gush over a dropoff that high couldn't help but inspire awe and make you feel small. Apparently Nikola Tesla discovered the alternating current system in Niagara, making the area the birthplace of commercial hydro-electric power. Sweeeet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And I found this pretty wild - in 1969 the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) (I like to pronounce the acronym so it rhymes with Versace) actually stopped the flow over the falls to study erosion. Visitor numbers to the dry falls apparently broke records. It's worth Googling a picture of...</span><br />
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But it didn't take very long for my attention to be diverted to the hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls swirling below over the turquoise waters where Lesser Scaups and Common Mergansers were loafing on the shores amongst Common Goldeneyes and more bobbing bath-toy Bonaparte's. Of course they were all just too far for photos...</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Huge rafts of Common Goldeneye were floating on the Niagara River, but unfortunately these massive rafts were not conveniently located in the waters adjacent to the pull-off where we could get pictures. New Yorkers certainly have a certain style of highway driving, and I didn't feel like risking my life to get a photo. Plus it was raining and we were pressed for time on this whirlwind tour. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I really think these pull-offs should be everywhere - but I found myself imagining birders clogging the roadsides and the town building this in an effort to keep the crazy fowl lookers contained in one place...maybe this road needs a bird lane...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">These unreserved Mallards of course posed for photos...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">While these Common Goldeneyes played it cautious and peeled out immediately...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A highlight of the visit, and something I've never seen before, was this melanistic Eastern Gray Squirrel. These black beauties are interestingly common in the Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario regions...yeah, these photos aren't going to win any awards either, but the documentation is there and the thing was adorable...</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdRTPH0dVx5t4M8z3gnd63KQ6Monik6WzzCwr0erKGd4XZmMo4mUJ3MlGeQtsTU05SQ8imIbZ6k6bPZZ_uybSpaJHOjXwE2x5BDvqD0LIzx84runaJot6cBk9C76eOX7X59Pi_PVpQ9op/s1600/Burly+Bird+melanistic+Gray+Squirrel++%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdRTPH0dVx5t4M8z3gnd63KQ6Monik6WzzCwr0erKGd4XZmMo4mUJ3MlGeQtsTU05SQ8imIbZ6k6bPZZ_uybSpaJHOjXwE2x5BDvqD0LIzx84runaJot6cBk9C76eOX7X59Pi_PVpQ9op/s640/Burly+Bird+melanistic+Gray+Squirrel++%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipm32k7jI9yg_VxMEHQhtB2gAkB4jfv1ktwJ0lKXlDKU8wbEp9cneLF09A2M9uxpONLk1yMrCytJxTRzfx02XjbNujIj6QDBBU9rOSHpfTUuGLO8FfCtXDHGsdktrbDAwlPZdMzNsWY8Av/s1600/Burly+Bird+melanistic+Gray+Squirrel+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipm32k7jI9yg_VxMEHQhtB2gAkB4jfv1ktwJ0lKXlDKU8wbEp9cneLF09A2M9uxpONLk1yMrCytJxTRzfx02XjbNujIj6QDBBU9rOSHpfTUuGLO8FfCtXDHGsdktrbDAwlPZdMzNsWY8Av/s640/Burly+Bird+melanistic+Gray+Squirrel+%25281%2529.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And how about the knobbly knees on this Ring-billed Gull?</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMuFw88ttI_aoQg9KMuuRmIG4zQ8s-S72FEdaBbkeMy-4xNf1UQKOKforp8pwJbfTFbuEzRBmB_UwK5laKj8iGTy9RsK2svZCrpgWxXqTAtF3QYm53bz1PMI7BUa7APGORU8y-YjOTcPM/s1600/Burly+Bird+Niagara+Falls+Ring-billed+Gull+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMuFw88ttI_aoQg9KMuuRmIG4zQ8s-S72FEdaBbkeMy-4xNf1UQKOKforp8pwJbfTFbuEzRBmB_UwK5laKj8iGTy9RsK2svZCrpgWxXqTAtF3QYm53bz1PMI7BUa7APGORU8y-YjOTcPM/s640/Burly+Bird+Niagara+Falls+Ring-billed+Gull+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Or the speckled head on this fella'...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">What a cool place Niagara Falls is, with an interesting history and awesome birds!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-6497697054370183352012-01-09T11:57:00.000-05:002012-02-08T17:32:03.971-05:00Moments of Bird Joy...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I've been fortunate enough to count birds in some pretty cool places. Be it by air, by bog, by sea, by mountaintop, or by marsh - I am usually enraptured by the avian world I find around me...</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I readily admit to many moments of talking to myself, exclaiming to myself, and laughing out loud by myself. These nerd fits can be triggered by anything from a nasal laugh of a Fish Crow on the beach, to a spectacular dive from a Northern Gannet, or a particularly friendly flock of Dark-eyed Juncos. Although I would likely be embarrassed if a stranger were to witness one of my moments of complete avian-induced joy, I love the feeling where you know you are the only human witnessing something awesome. Whether it's a visit from a Horned Lark tinkling it's migratory bells...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Or a Brown Creeper skulking about overhead...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Or a Common Yellowthroat whichity-whichiting away at your elbow...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">There always seems to be </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">a little extra </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">something to appreciate somewhere nearby.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I recall some
feverish moments of pajama-clad hilarity last winter when Bohemian
Waxwings converged upon our yard to gorge on berries. In a bird-induced stupor I counted 60 one
morning as they fluttered around like moths...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I also recall whole moments of grinning like a fool while flocks of mixed-species warblers suddenly descended from migration and happened to forage around me. Beaming on mental overload as my mind tried to file all the different field marks, postures, colors, sounds, and behaviors. Some people may think this is madness, to be so enthralled by moments of avian chaos. To find sheer joy in what you have yet to learn. But it's these moments that fuel my birding fires and keep the drive alive for me...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Fortunately, generations of birders before me have paved the road to 'nerdvana'. I can submerge into one of many field guides and satiate my hunger for more information. This means moments of bird joy can be found not only in the field but also behind a book...what a wonderful thing it is to be 'addicted' to birds!</span></div>
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<span id="goog_259320593"></span><span id="goog_259320594"></span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-17982730185727105872012-01-03T15:50:00.000-05:002012-02-08T17:33:27.620-05:00Happy New Year...Here's to a birdy 2012!<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">If there is one thing I have found in life, it is that years are like birds - they just keep flying by... </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KAo6kT8V4TM/TwNEsf6t6NI/AAAAAAAAAyY/sYKACi5hzA0/s1600/Burly+Bird+flock+of+HERG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KAo6kT8V4TM/TwNEsf6t6NI/AAAAAAAAAyY/sYKACi5hzA0/s640/Burly+Bird+flock+of+HERG.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Out with the old, in with the new. 2012 brings with it hopes of making further progress on this old house in the form of a kitchen overhaul, and of course seeing lots and lots of birds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I started the new year with a little rare bird chase. As I've mentioned before, I don't often trek many miles for a locally spotted rarity, but a Yellow-breasted Chat hanging out in Portland sent me over the edge. I had to try for it. Strike 1. But we happened into the gentleman that had originally found it (and who had seen it again that morning!) and he told us about a Greater White-fronted Goose just down the road hanging with some Canada's...BINGO, quick and simple lifer to start the new year right! While no one likes a chain link fence background, we were urban birding and took what we could get...</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_KdA_Si7W0s/TwNICTttuQI/AAAAAAAAAyk/AY9Ejq0cbQE/s1600/Burly+Bird+greater+white-fronted+goose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_KdA_Si7W0s/TwNICTttuQI/AAAAAAAAAyk/AY9Ejq0cbQE/s640/Burly+Bird+greater+white-fronted+goose.jpg" width="640" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gFyCnm_0jps/TwNIDiaLpSI/AAAAAAAAAys/LT9-D0k1Z3Y/s1600/Burly+Bird+GWFG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gFyCnm_0jps/TwNIDiaLpSI/AAAAAAAAAys/LT9-D0k1Z3Y/s640/Burly+Bird+GWFG.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> Still suffering terribly from Snowy Owlitis, and having been repeatedly skunked by them in 2011, we went for the two Snowy Owls that have been sighted regularly on small islands off of Biddeford...strike 2. But we did see some pretty cool seaducks and these Wild Turkeys...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I'm just happy to have started the year of two-thousand-twelve with a small bird adventure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Looking back on 2011, I smile at the memories of the juicy lifers I checked off my list. I totaled 52 lifers for the year, which brings me up to 350 total species on my Life List. These are some paltry numbers compared to some other Really Serious Birders I know, but I am pleased with my progress nonetheless. That breaks down to one new species a week! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A few highlights of 2011 included: 3 new hummingbird species (Allen's, Anna'a, and Costa's), 3 new raptors (Swallow-tailed Kite, Snail Kite, and Short-tailed Hawk). I also had a <i>Sayornis</i> closeout with a Black Phoebe spotted at the Salton Sea. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Nemesis birds that I finally got included <i>BOTH</i> American Bittern <i>AND</i> Least Bittern (the latter was right behind my house!), Black-necked Stilt, Black Skimmer, Wilson's Warbler (also a backyard lifer), Vermilion Flycatcher, Greater Roadrunner, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and Clapper Rail. All those lifers and other than the <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/12/florida-avication-part-ii-glades.html" target="_blank">photos from FL,</a> the only "decent" (and I use that word lightly) photo I got was of this Vermilion Flycatcher...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">By far, my favorite lifer experience of 2011 had to be the Greater Roadrunner. This guy approached us not once, but twice on the front patio at my friend's house in Southern California. The roadrunner proceeded to communicate by clapping it's bill and flaring it's crest at us from 2 feet away for at least 3 full minutes. It was awesome - one of those bird moments that I'll never forget. I was lucky to have at least had my cellphone on me and was able to capture some grainy photos of the Greater Roadrunner Experience...</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiOduuPAaGY/TwOBrG0HfkI/AAAAAAAAA0I/mPSUzPO4B74/s1600/Burly+Bird+Greater+Roadrunner+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="434" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiOduuPAaGY/TwOBrG0HfkI/AAAAAAAAA0I/mPSUzPO4B74/s640/Burly+Bird+Greater+Roadrunner+2.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nLLSNc4f6c0/TwOBr0-K9FI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/kGJWr5yzf7c/s1600/burly+bird+greater+roadrunner+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">As the years slip by and the Life List grows, I know it will be progressively harder to see so many new birds in one year. So here's to a birdy 2012, may it be full of adventure and lifers!</span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-15583500708874260982011-12-29T16:07:00.000-05:002012-02-08T17:26:43.543-05:00Holy Glaucomys! Part II: And Then There Were Four...<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Again, this may not be very birdy - but I believe it is applicable in the category of bird feeding. The resident <i>Glaucomys</i> (see previous post <a href="http://burlybird.blogspot.com/2011/12/holy-glaucomys.html" target="_blank">Holy <i>Glaucomys</i>!</a>) are becoming more comfortable in my presence. One has been closely approaching me in the garage every night, and I must say he (she?) is adorable. Yes, I am a Biologist, and yes, I squeak and kiss at him and call him 'Peanuts'. I have to admit to putting up a little shelf for him to sit on when he comes to hang out. He raids the bird feeders and suet and enjoys chewing this deer antler hanging in the garage...</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cBb9IcrRpRQ/Tvov8BEFeuI/AAAAAAAAAwE/scR1uMMFwb4/s1600/Burly+Bird+glaucomys+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="546" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cBb9IcrRpRQ/Tvov8BEFeuI/AAAAAAAAAwE/scR1uMMFwb4/s640/Burly+Bird+glaucomys+4.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-82dYULKuXOk/Tvou9FxRMBI/AAAAAAAAAvg/d-02IkypIEM/s1600/Burly+Bird+glaucomys+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="618" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-82dYULKuXOk/Tvou9FxRMBI/AAAAAAAAAvg/d-02IkypIEM/s640/Burly+Bird+glaucomys+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MXKYwHzr4JM/TvovbhDuZLI/AAAAAAAAAvs/5vvV31_Pcv8/s1600/Burly+Bird+glaucomys+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MXKYwHzr4JM/TvovbhDuZLI/AAAAAAAAAvs/5vvV31_Pcv8/s640/Burly+Bird+glaucomys+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Now I haven't done any rigorous scientific investigations into the size of the </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><i>Glaucomys</i></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> population living with us, but my hunch after cohabiting with for them two years is that n = 2, certainly no more than 3. But life as a Wildlife Biologist, even at home, is always full of learning surprises. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I cleaned up the bird food bag in the garage that I had found Peanuts raiding - but I left a couple of peanuts on his shelf in condolences that he would now again have to travel the 20 extra feet to the birdfeeder. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I think Peanuts told his family that the human is cool and to come on out - the next night I witnessed four, yes, four flying squirrels casing the joint. My estimate of 2-3 individuals was clearly too conservative.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The bizarre thing was that all four were friendly and playful. I mean, these wild creatures were all in the garage with me, with the lights on, for over an hour. Basically, they could have beaten me up if they wanted to, but they seemed curious and entertained instead. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> Granted, we have had some pretty warm nights lately. But this is just crazy. Four doesn't seem so bad seeing as I've heard stories of as many as 50+ in one home. I'm not sure how I'd handle that many...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Now they sit on their little shelf like gargoyles while I'm out there, even while I'm talking on the phone, with the light on - and they don't run away. In fact, one might say they're a bit playful. They like to climb up the wall and come over above your head. There have been moments of some sort of a 'pop goes the weasel' game and many long minutes of just hanging out a couple of feet away...</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ira73QNZt-A/TvpoEiT8J4I/AAAAAAAAAwc/IZ-seRwb5LE/s1600/Burly+Bird+2+Glaucomys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="394" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ira73QNZt-A/TvpoEiT8J4I/AAAAAAAAAwc/IZ-seRwb5LE/s640/Burly+Bird+2+Glaucomys.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">After seeing the four of them together, I began to observe slight differences - I swear Peanuts is unmistakable, and then there was this guy - much darker than the others. BINGO! I believe my <i>Glaucomys </i>conundrum has been solved...maybe there is a Northern Flying Squirrel (<i>Glaucomys sabrinus</i>) living <i>with</i> our Southern Flying Squirrels (<i>Glaucomys volans</i>)! I guess this one'll be called Yankee. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I dunno, maybe I'm wrong, but this one definitely looked different from the others...co</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mpare the darker tail tip, base of belly hairs, and fur under the eye of 'Yankee'...</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dxTQz9O9pTs/TvpqX5V9RfI/AAAAAAAAAw0/6vnMltHV2EI/s1600/Northern+maybe+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="542" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dxTQz9O9pTs/TvpqX5V9RfI/AAAAAAAAAw0/6vnMltHV2EI/s640/Northern+maybe+.jpg" width="640" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j-g0TuRcacc/TvpqZW4x2EI/AAAAAAAAAw8/1AFs3fgpy7A/s1600/Northern+maybe+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="520" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j-g0TuRcacc/TvpqZW4x2EI/AAAAAAAAAw8/1AFs3fgpy7A/s640/Northern+maybe+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Compared to the paler under eye, lighter tail, and creamier belly of this one (aka 'Mops')...</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xV_nk8DCh6Y/Tvpsei7r8lI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FX2gbE4p_jk/s1600/Burly+Bird+Mops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xV_nk8DCh6Y/Tvpsei7r8lI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FX2gbE4p_jk/s640/Burly+Bird+Mops.jpg" width="438" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">They are usually silent, but one night Peanuts was chatty so I recorded this communication...not that I studied the language of 'Glaucomic' in college, but I believe this squirrel is saying that he wants a bird feeder hung in the garage...</span></div>
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<object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F31803681%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-vjlV1&secret_url=true">
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I swear they're
not pets! I've read that it is legal in some states to keep flying
squirrels as pets, but Maine is not one of them. I believe all is legal
with the <i>Glaucomys</i> here though - they are still very much wild even if they like to hang out with their human landlord on occasion. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I know I've mentioned the long, cold winters here in Maine - but these little pals are making this one much more fun. I'm sure by spring I'll be ready for them to move out again, and look forward to seeing them glide overhead between the willows while I sit barefoot in the hammock. But for now, I have to admit it is a bit creepy to walk into the dark garage and know that I'm not alone... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span>Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273468342932756433.post-64427855521950467952011-12-26T17:21:00.000-05:002011-12-28T14:26:34.938-05:00Sounds From Different Grounds...<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I figured we could all use a break from the relentless holiday music of late... </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A few years ago I realized my little Canon Digital Elph does sound recordings. Sure, they're totally amateur but listening to them brings me right back to the moments I recorded them. Being able to mentally relocate for a moment here and there is an essential survival strategy for Maine winters. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A few summers ago I was </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">reviewing pictures from the day on my camera, </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">close to sleep in bed on a screened-in porch, at a magical lakeside Maine camp. I was getting ready to sleep, playing with the camera menus when a bunch of Common Loons decided to hold council less than 50 ft away. At that exact moment, I discovered the sound recording feature on my camera and recorded this golden nugget...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">This Chuck-will's-widow </span><span style="font-size: small;">(that has to be the coolest bird name ever)</span><span style="font-size: small;"> was recorded one night in Florida when we pulled over to watch a big ol' orange full moon rise up on the way out from Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest...say <i>that </i>ten times fast! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">This one is a local Great Horned Owl that frequents the 'back 40'...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And if you can hear past the other bird chatter, there is a Hooded Warbler singing in this one recorded on a mountaintop in western Maine... </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">If you can ignore the bit o' wind in this one you'll hear a Yellow-headed Blackbird in North Dakota. I've always thought zombies would make sounds like Yellow-headed's - if I ever make a zombie movie, I will be sure Yellow-headed Blackbirds are dubbed in for the zombie noises.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">And since it would uncharacteristic to have a photo-less post - I will leave you with one of Scoobs counting Northern Gannets in Rhode Island...Scoobs says she thinks NOGA would be a cool name for a dog...</span><br />
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<br />Laurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09823589589857736272noreply@blogger.com0