[Birding?]

Birding?

Bird Watching Can Bring Fierce Competition Among America's 48 Million Amatuer Audubons

(CBS)   We're down to the final week of summer. For birds, the fall migration has begun and that means it's peak season for birdwatching.

This is no casual activity, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann , in fact it's one of the most popular competitions in America.

For every backyard birder out there, the sound of birds is music to the ears.

Greg Mason's one of 48 million American birders - amateur Audubons. They know a scarlet tanager from a rose-breasted grosbeak.

Or in this case, a "little green heron," as Mason points out. He gets jazzed up about birdwatching. "You start doing this, and you go to kookytown."

The annual Great Texas Birding Classic is a spirited competition for more than 200 birders. Teams keep score on the honor system. Spot the greatest variety of birds, you win.

Competitors can identify different species by sight or by sounds. It's called "ear birding." If you're in it to win it, if you "bird" to win, the birder to beat is Bill Baker.

Baker is the five-time defending champion of the Great Texas Birding Classic. His three-man team will cover 2,000 miles in five days.

"It's a quick pace," Baker said. "We don't sit in one spot very long."

Baker scouts out the entire course before the competition begins. "Every team is going to find the bird you would expect to find," he said. "So you have to go beyond what's expected in order to win."

Mention Baker's name and many birders like Susan Knock lose their bravado.

"You're going to have to beat him," Strassmann said.

"I am," Knock replied.

"Is it possible?"

"Yes,"

"This year?"

"No."

Knock was right. Baker won again, spotting 308 different species. Proving once again that with both birds and birders, there is a pecking order.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6870306n  video

[JIM]

JIM

Close MAK and Bobbie but no

Bonelli's Eagle.  How cool is this? Never heard of one Bobbie. Thanks.

[they nest close to Peregrine Falcons which provide protection from Ravens and Hooded Crows.]

Twite face imminent extinction in Ireland  according to BirdWatch Ireland (BirdLife Partner). Conservation measures have been proposed to try and save the remaining breeding population.

The Twite is one of 18 birds on Bird Watch Ireland’s red list because of its rapid decline in population with between 50 and 100 breeding pairs. North Mayo and west Donegal in Ireland are the main breeding areas.

Dr Derek McLoughlin, an expert on the species, said that the Twite has disappeared from most of Ireland, and that special conservation areas need to be set up. Although the winter population grows to about 1,000 birds with the arrival of birds from Scotland, the Irish breeding birds are being hit by loss of habitat, with overgrazing and undergrazing posing real threats.

He proposed measures which include maintenance of traditionally-managed meadows, where late cutting, and sustainable management of upland habitat would help to ensure the survival of the bird.

Twite feed mainly on seeds from plants like dandelion, thistle, annual meadow grass, common sorrel, chickweed and sea plantain. They will normally nest in long heather and sometimes in bracken, invariably on the top of wild, north-facing sea cliffs. According to Dr McLoughlin, they nest close to Peregrine Falcons which provide protection from Ravens and Hooded Crows.



(Wouldn't the Peregrines eat them)?   I see no real protection there. Hmm

   Don't listen to the voices.  Do the bird!   

   I do Every Day - usually in traffic   

here we call that "flippin"

Ok, here's todays: Could be an easy one, although they say it's a rare find in Ireland. Photo taken in Ballycotton, Co. Cork

Who me be?

[Linnet]

Ok, here's the answer: Ready?

It's a Linnet: A small Old World finch (Carduelis cannabina) having brownish plumage. AKA, LBJ!

Yes, you all got the finch part right.    Ok, on to the next.

OMG, how awful. 1 officer per 600 hunters, the poor birds don't have a chance. I'll send an email, by golly.

This was on the site also:

Will They Start Killing Eagles Now?

A Bald Eagle crashed into an Alaska Airlines jet as it roared down the runway in Sitka, Alaska, at 140 mph on Sunday, nearly causing a disaster and forcing the plane to stay on the ground.  Then, amazingly, the plane sent to replace the damaged plane ALSO HIT AN EAGLE!  We know how New York City reacted to Canada Geese colliding with a plane so one must wonder if Bald Eagles are going to face a cull?  Or are they safe because they don’t poop on lawns?

1. Chocolate

Why: Stimulates the nervous system and the heart.
Poisonous to: All species, but dogs are most likely to eat dangerous quantities.
Possible effects of poisoning: Vomiting, increased thirst, restlessness, agitation, increased or irregular heartbeat, increased body temperature, tremors, seizures.

2. Grapes, Raisins

Why: Damage the kidneys.
Poisonous to: Dogs, cats.
Possible effects of poisoning: Increased thirst, increased urination, lethargy, vomiting.

3. Garlic, Onions

Why: Damage red blood cells, causing anemia.
Poisonous to: Cats, dogs.
Possible effects of poisoning: Vomiting, red-colored urine, weakness, anemia.

4. Xylitol

(Found in sugarless gum.)

Why: Causes increased insulin secretion, resulting in lower blood sugar levels.
Poisonous to: Dogs.
Possible effects of poisoning: Vomiting, lethargy, lack of coordination, seizures, jaundice, diarrhea.

5. Alcoholic Drinks

Why: Depress the nervous system.
Poisonous to: All species.
Possible effects of poisoning: Vomiting, disorientation, diarrhea, lethargy, lack of coordination, difficulty breathing, tremors, coma, seizures.

6. Raw Yeast, Bread Dough

Why: Forms gas in the digestive track; fermentation of yeast causes alcohol poisoning.
Poisonous to: All species, but only dogs typically ingest it.
Possible effects of poisoning: Distention of abdomen, vomiting, disorientation, diarrhea, lethargy, lack of coordination, difficulty breathing, tremors, coma, seizures.

7. Macadamia Nuts

Why: Cause muscle and nervous-system problems.
Poisonous to: Dogs.
Possible effects of poisoning: Vomiting, lethargy, weakness, increased body temperature, tremors.

8. Avocados

Why: Contain persin, which damages the heart muscle.
Poisonous to: Most species―birds are especially sensitive.
Possible effects of poisoning: Vomiting, diarrhea (in dogs), lethargy, difficulty breathing (in birds and rodents).

[Gee, I need to go there!]

The passage of tropical storm Earl produced some notable seabird tallies at First Encounter Beach in Eastham, including 2 Cory’s and 350 greater shearwaters, 340 red-necked and 2 red phalaropes, 115 unidentified phalaropes, 3 Sabine’s gulls, 20 black and 5 Forster’s terns, a south polar skua, a pomarine jaeger, 9 parasitic jaegers, and 9 unidentified jaegers.

A Swainson’s warbler was banded at the Wing Island banding station in Brewster, and a bar-tailed godwit was again observed on North Beach in Chatham along with 3 American kestrels, a merlin, a peregrine falcon, 43 American oystercatchers, 2 marbled godwits, 3 lesser black-backed gulls, a black tern, and 4 Forster’s terns.

Reports from the Parker River Refuge at Plum Island included 9 Northern shovelers, 100 green-winged teal, a ruddy duck, 14 turkey vultures, 4 peregrine falcons, 3 whimbrels, a Hudsonian godwit, 2 Western sandpipers, 75 white-rumped sandpipers, 6 Baird’s sandpipers, 18 stilt sandpipers, the continued presence of a scissor-tailed flycatcher at the south end of the island, and 5 cliff swallows.

Reports from Nahant included a Bicknell’s thrush, blue-winged, palm, and mourning warblers, and a yellow-breasted chat.

At the Cumberland Farms fields in the Halifax-Middleborough area, interesting shorebird reports included 21 black-bellied plovers, 12 American golden plovers, 7 lesser yellowlegs, 2 solitary sandpipers, 2 Baird’s sandpipers, 7 pectoral sandpipers, 3 buff-breasted sandpipers, a short-billed dowitcher, 8 Wilson’s snipes, and a Wilson’s phalarope.

Reports from Nantucket included 3 Baird’s sandpipers, 40 lesser black-backed gulls, 8 Forster’s terns, a black skimmer, and an estimated 25,000 tree swallows. At nearby Tuckernuck 250 black terns were counted and a prothonotary warbler was banded. On Muskeget there were 50 American oystercatchers, 5 marbled godwits, 2 Sandwich terns, 8 Forster’s terns, 20 black terns, and a black skimmer.

Miscellaneous reports included 14 yellow-crowned night herons at Hemenway Landing in Eastham; 3 Baird’s sandpipers at Brace’s Cove in East Gloucester; a black-headed gull at Plymouth Beach; 8 great egrets, 2 buff-breasted sandpipers, and 5 stilt sandpipers at Sterling Peat in Sterling; a stilt sandpiper and 4 Forster’s terns at Squantum; 3 lesser black-backed gulls at Horseneck Beach in Westport; an Acadian flycatcher at Franklin Park in Mattapan; 21 red-breasted nuthatches in Mashpee; a yellow-breasted chat in Lexington; and 2 clay-colored sparrows at Squibnocket on Martha’s Vineyard.

Gee, I need to go there!

[(HOW COOL is this)??]

DULUTH, Minn. — There he is, sitting on the elevated hawk-counting platform at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve. He wears his Swarovski 10-by-42 EL binoculars, but he is not an official counter. He's on nobody's payroll. He wears no name tag, bears no official title.

But Andrew Longtin has become an integral part of this nationally recognized raptor observation outpost in Duluth.

"We can't figure out whether he has adopted us or we've adopted him," says Julie O'Connor, volunteer coordinator at Hawk Ridge.

A computer network engineer from Corcoran, Longtin spends most of his five weeks of vacation each year volunteering at Hawk Ridge.

Three autumns ago, he began donating $1,000 per year to Hawk Ridge so that kids would be able to "adopt" hawks that are banded there. (He had to skip last fall, though, when he was between jobs and without income.)

Hawk adoption starts at $20 for raptors such as sharp-shinned hawks, so his donations can reach up to 50 kids each fall. Each child who adopts a hawk also gets to release it so it can continue its migration.

"Nothing's going to get a kid interested in something better than, 'Here — here's a real live bird,'" Longtin says.

Beth Miller, a Hawk Ridge naturalist and elementary school teacher who has brought her fifth-graders to the site, has seen the results of Longtin's generosity.

"To put a live bird in the hand of a 10-year-old kid can be a life-altering experience for some of them," Miller says. "They talk about it all year."

Beyond that, Longtin, 46, has adopted 48 raptors, four owls and 20 songbirds in his own name at Hawk Ridge. He also puts up about $700 each fall to sponsor events during the Hawk Weekend celebration.

An excellent birder with a broad knowledge of raptors, he has become a trusted observer who assists official counter Karl Bardon with the count most days.

Longtin credits former counter Frank Nicoletti, along with Dave Carman and Ryan Brady, all of Hawk Ridge, for refining his knowledge of raptors since he first came to Hawk Ridge in the late 1990s.

"Frank was a key person for me," Longtin says. "I wouldn't bother him if it was busy. When it was slow, that's when I'd ask my questions."

He remembers one day, when his identification skills were becoming solid, seeing a Swainson's hawk at a long distance. Swainson's hawks are rare at Hawk Ridge.

"I said, 'Hey, Frank, I think that's a Swainson's,'" Longtin recalls. "Frank checked it and said, 'Good pick.' When Frank gives you a 'good pick,' that's something.'"

Growing up in White Bear Lake, Longtin's curiosity about birds was fueled by his dad, an "outdoors guy," who knew the names of plants and birds. Longtin became serious about birding in 1991, when he bought his own home and festooned his yard with bird feeders and bird houses.

The Internet led him to birding groups and birders who told him about Hawk Ridge. He's been helping almost from that first visit.

"He's the kind of guy who, when he sees a need, he meets it," O'Connor says, "whether with the right tool or dollars or food. When he saw we continuously had a low tire on our trailer, he gave us an air compressor. When he saw me standing on a rock trying to clip brush, he brought us a pole saw."

His website — www.birderguy.com — includes a page devoted to Hawk Ridge and galleries of photos he has taken there. Another page is devoted to his raptor adoptions. He wears Hawk Ridge clothing everywhere he goes, O'Connor says. He volunteers in the owl-banding program at the ridge.

"He's one of the kindest, most generous people I've ever met," Miller says.

Longtin is fascinated by birds of all kinds, he says, and he wants to pass that passion on to as many others as he can.

He watches a sharp-shinned hawk passing over the counting corral on Monday. It catches a gust of east wind and hurtles south as if fired out of a slingshot.

"It's that dream — boy, it would be nice to be able to fly," Longtin says. "If there's such a thing as reincarnation, I'd like to come back as a bird."

(HOW COOL is this)??

A very "Quickie" by Archer

(movie) "Nope, she's not here"

The video of Archer's brief visit: http://ustre.am/_Ef4g:rui

Nothing better than "LIVE"..thanks.

A very "Quickie" by Archer

(movie) "Nope, she's not here"

Hey Donna.  When was this report written?  Was it recent?

Carol, it was written yesterday but it says..."looking back", so it could have been a while ago. I'm looking for a date.

The article says June 7th but what year??? Here's another pic of one of the OBF. So cute.

They are adorable.  All Falcons are.   

They are....I'm hooked!