Bobbie, we have the channel...thanks!

http://rfalconcam.com/forum/index.php?action=post;board=22.0

A place called Wildcat Ridge: Stumbled on it by accident on Google.

OMG, what a total "DUH" I am...lived here all my life and never knew this. HAWKS....EAGLES...BEAVERS..and so on. It's about 2 miles from my house. I'll be going there for sure as this is prime Hawk season. It's a part of the Split Rock  Reservoir which is owned and maintained by Jersey City, yes, the "famous" Jersey City. I've been to Split Rock but not lately, those were my partying days. Now I know where to go to see NATURE. I do see there are    but hopefully they will be hibernating....like TOMORROW!!! I feel so  not knowing this.

Donna,
I love your captions too...they crack me up!!!   

Thanks but well ya know, it was before my   

Oh.. yes that was Beauty 

9:55 arrives at nest







9:41 leaves

Still no Penguins but some beautiful clouds again!

I've been keeping a list of bird-related myths for quite a while now.

When I first opened the shop, I'd hear some of these on an almost daily basis. With so much information and so many people observing birds, most of these myths have gone by the wayside, but some still persist.

For instance, less than 20 years ago it would be routine for me to hear someone state that hummingbirds didn't perch. I'm not sure where that one came from, maybe it's because you can't see their feet all that well when they fly. Or maybe it's because they belong to the order Apodiformes: 'A' meaning without, "pod" meaning feet. Of course hummingbirds do have feet, but they weren't made for walking. The best they can do is shimmy along a perch if they land too far away from the feeder hole. However they can use their stubby little legs to reach over a wing to scratch their heads.

I haven't heard this for years, but at first I was laughed at when I tried to sell a hummingbird feeder with perches.

Then came the short-lived myth that you had to remove the perches to keep the birds flying while they fed. The theory was when a hummer drank cold nectar in the morning, it got something akin to a super brain freeze and could die. If hummers had to hover, they would generate heat and wouldn't drink too much, too fast.

The biggest problem for me was that the best hummingbird feeders on the market don't have removable perches, so people thought they had to buy more expensive, harder-to-clean feeders, just so they could remove the perches during cold periods. I'm glad this myth has disappeared. I don't miss it.

Did you hear the one about the hummingbirds migrating south on the backs of Canada Geese? Raise your hand if you've ever believed this to be true. This used to be a common myth, one I'd often have to politely debunk several times a day. I don't think anyone still believes this but, just in case...

It's now the first of September and most of our hummingbirds have left. The geese, however, (except for our non-migratory imported Ontario geese), aren't here yet. I think hunting season starts sometime in October and runs almost until Christmas, when our migrating geese head out, so even if a hummer could hitch one up and ride it south, they don't leave at the same time of the year.

Which leads me to the next myth and the reason I'm writing about myths this week. This one is alive and well. I'm getting a couple of calls a day asking when the feeders should be taken down so the hummingbirds will migrate.

The answer is you don't have to take them down: the birds will migrate on their own even if there is a great source of free nectar, they've been doing it for centuries, it's in their genes.

Hummingbirds migrate in response to the shortening day length, and sunlight sure does dwindle in August. From the first to the last, we lose 1 hour and 45 minutes of light. If that doesn't send all migratory birds on there way, it at least has them packing their bags.

So, if your neighbour leans over the fence and says, "Yep, you better get those feeders put away," volunteer to come over and mow down all his remaining flowers. You wouldn't want them to keep the hummers from migrating.

We still have all our feeders out, and all but a handful have left. The next time we clean them, we will only put out a few and later only one or two of our most conspicuous feeders so any late travellers coming through from further north can stop a while and refuel.

This is also the time to be looking for any species other than the ruby-throated, as it tends to be quite late in the season when they show up.

There are still some questions around red food colouring in hummingbird nectar. I think it's agreed on that the new red colour isn't harmful, but if you're using a commercial hummingbird feeder and not the kid's hamster bottle, it likely has quite a bit of red on it. If the hummers don't see that, it's unlikely that red nectar is going to make that much difference. The strongest arguments I can come up with for not colouring are: if you spill it in the house or on your deck, instead of a sticky mess you have a sticky mess and a red stain. And if you leave the jug of red nectar in the fridge, your kids will drink it.

Probably the most persistent myth ever is the old "birds choke on peanut butter." Even though there is no evidence of this ever happening, the myth won't die. It likely lives on because at the end of every mention about peanut butter not being harmful to birds, they say, "But if you're still worried about choking birds, mix in some corn meal."

You don't have to mix it: some birds love straight peanut butter. I've actually seen a nuthatch pick the cornmeal out of the mix and drop it to the ground. I wish birds did like corn meal; it's much cheaper than the other ingredients that go into suet cakes.

Last fall I had the bottom of a container break out and about 20 gallons of peanut butter plopped out on my driveway. For the next week a mixed flock of about 200 blackbirds, blue jays, my dog, some raccoons and I think at least one skunk, feasted. Not even one blackbird required the Heimlich. In fact, the only things I noticed that were different were a very soft luxuriant coat and some interesting bowel movements on the part of the dog.

The resident squirrel did have a mental breakdown trying to get all that peanut butter for himself. I don't think he slept for a week. He still twitches when he walks by the spot.

I still get the "birds feet stick to metal perches" one quite regularly but, fact is, they don't. I've found a few reasons for this: birds don't have sweat glands in their feet. If they did, why would they be sweating on a day when their feet would freeze down?

Another reason has to do with birds having natural heat exchangers in their feet to conserve body heat, so the warm foot won't stick to the cold metal.

Whatever the reason, it's obvious that their feet won't stick to metal. You see hundreds of birds perched on uninsulated hydro wires, wire fences, metal railings, etc.

I had one otherwise intelligent customer refuse to buy a high quality feeder because it had metal perches. But he did buy a four-arm iron hanger.

I almost blew it when I asked how he kept the birds from landing on the hanger while awaiting a turn on the plastic feeders.

September 04, 2010

The arrival of September, the absolute perfect month, is the stuff of dreams for birders. This 30-day period features virtually everything. All species of birds are migrating with their respective populations at an annual peak, the possibility of getting hit by the "great undeveloper," a.k.a. a big hurricane," and the potential for seemingly any bird to arrive on our shores.

As this is being written, formidable Hurricane Earl — packing winds of 130 mph — is churning about, 100 miles northeast of Cape Hatteras, on a path heading north. By the time you read this it will have passed during the night.

From projections and estimates, it appears Nantucket and most of the Cape and Martha's Vineyard will bear the brunt of Earl's power. Nantucket is expected to be closest to the eye as it races northeast toward Nova Scotia around 1 a.m. this morning. Forecast winds are for close to 100 mph, or at least gusts that strong, and hurricane force gusts are predicted for the entire region.

For birders, today is comparable to being a child on Christmas morning eager to see what the bearded one brought during the night. Or liken it to an Easter egg hunt. In this case instead of colored eggs and candy the target is to find storm-driven birds from faraway places and remote oceanic islands. Powerful and disruptive low-pressure systems such as Hurricane Earl often displace bird species hundreds and occasionally thousands of miles from where they would be normally.

Hurricanes can transport pelagic (ocean dwelling) birds from the South Atlantic to the North Atlantic, drive tropical birds into cold northern waters and disrupt migrating birds. While often causing short-term disastrous damage on certain species, they are part and parcel of life for migrant and oceanic bird species. The birds are able to detect the approaching low pressure and are remarkably adept at "dodging the bullet."

More often than not birders are disappointed after the passage of a hurricane because so few birds got caught up in it. Occasionally though a hurricane will live up to its fearsome reputation. There have been times, albeit rare and decades apart, when after a major hurricane Cape and Island beaches were entertaining bird life more appropriate to Florida than to Massachusetts.

While not altogether good news for the birds, hurricans provide lasting memories to local birders and all acknowledge that they have witnessed something they may never see again in their lifetime.

Pelagic birds

For almost all of last weekend some 60 birders were on the Motor Vessel Helen H out of Hyannis looking for birds, mammals, whales, manta rays and anything else there was to see more than a hundred miles south and east of Nantucket.

They went out to "The Canyons" where the continental shelf drops into the deep of the Atlantic and where the Gulf Stream flows. The trip was one of the best for pelagic birds ever in New England.

They were treated to great views of white-faced storm-petrels, one of the rarest and most sought after seabirds in the North Atlantic. Many onboard got terrific photos of this and other rare species. The group had 24 individuals of this species-far and away the most ever seen in this ocean.

They got good looks at band-rumped storm-petrels with some dozen individuals reported of this tropical ranging species. Other great wildlife sightings included Audubon's shearwaters, a great skua, long-tailed jaeger, both red and red-necked phalaropes and great views of spotted dolphins. The group returned to Hyannis at dusk on Sunday after spending two days and a night out at the shelf edge.

This week and weekend are historically one of the best weeks and weekends of the year for many unusual species to appear, including among others buff-breasted sandpiper and Baird's sandpiper.

It has already been a good fall for both species, with numbers reported from all over the Cape and Islands. These globetrotters are on a tight schedule, moving from the high Arctic to southern South America, and if they do appear on the Vineyard it happens during a very small window of opportunity. That time is now. Throw in the passage of a large tropical storm system, such as Earl, and it just does not get any better.

Until next week — keep your eyes to the sky!

Keeping its talons tightly gripped on a branch, a  Barred Owlet  will sometimes lie down on its stomach, turn its head to the side, and fall asleep. A young owl doesn’t fall out of the tree while it snoozes, because its back toe, the hallux, holds onto the branch. The hallux will not open or let go until the bird bends its leg. (I didn't know that) 

Nice going MAK, glad you saw your 1st "Majestic" Osprey. Love their call as Janet said, especially when it's echoes over a lake.

Janet: Pool....yay, way to go. 

Mark Chapman of Fairport e-mailed me these photos, with this message: “I have noticed bluejays and cardinals in my backyard that are missing all of their head feathers. Do you have any idea what’s going on?�
The best discussion of this I’ve found is at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, which devotes a page of their website to this phenomenon, in conjunction with Project FeederWatch.
“Each year FeederWatchers report several cases of ‘bald-headed birds,’ mostly Blue Jays and Northern Cardinals,� the lab notes. “One possible explanation for this phenomenon is an abnormal replacement of feathers (molt). Most bald-headed bird reports occur in summer and fall, which are typical molting times. Many of these strange-looking birds may be juveniles undergoing their first prebasic molt, which produces the first winter adult plumage. For some unknown reason, the bald birds may have dropped all of their head feathers at once. Staggered feather replacement is the normal pattern.�
Other cases of baldness may result from feather mites or lice, the lab adds, or some other environmental or nutritional factor. “But no one knows for sure, and the condition has not been well studied. Fortunately, new head feathers grow in within a few weeks.�
Go to www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/BaldBirds.htm for more on this subject. In fact, go to the home page at www.birds.cornell.edu and browse through all the links at this informative site, from profiles about individual birds to tips on feeding to projects in which amateur birders like you and me can help scientists keep track of bird populations.

A pair of chicks thought to be the first pair of purple herons to breed in the UK have flown the nest.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said the chicks were seen at the charity's nature reserve in Dungeness learning to fly.

Volunteer Philip Eglise said the birds were now thought to have left the site.

A round-the-clock species protection scheme was set up at the end of April after first signs that the herons were nesting at the site.

Mr Eglise, who was on watch at the nature reserve, said: "The day after we first saw the chick out of the nest I saw it flying with the adult male around his favourite feeding location.
'Migrate away'

"It seemed to be struggling to fly in the strong winds.

"Two days later a fledgling was seen in very clear view for over an hour feeding alone along the edge of a reed bed.
"It was successfully catching numerous small fish without any parental assistance."

Mr Eglise said it is not unusual for fledglings to migrate away from their nesting location when fully independent.

The purple heron is closely related to the larger and widespread grey heron and can reach 35in (90cm) in height with a wingspan of up to 60in (150cm).

According to the RSPB, purple herons have been struggling in Europe over the past few decades, and are expected to be seen more in the south of England as climate change pushes them north.

["'We've had to actually clip their wings because they've tried doing that.']

A family of ducks have been trying to break into Bullingdon Prison.

A visitor to the prison, Stephen Perry, was waiting in his car outside when he saw 11 ducks trying to bypass security to reach a small pond in the grounds.

He was with his wife who is a criminal lawyer and was there visiting a client when she was tailgated by the ducks.

"She obeyed the sign, didn't let them in but a moment later someone else arrived and in came all the ducks again!

"They were the most persistent and friendly ducks I've ever seen."

After observing their peculiar behaviour Mr Perry went up to the reception area and started chatting to the staff and enquiring about all the signs that asked visitors not to let in the ducks.

"Apparently they were brought up in this pond inside the prison grounds and they grew too numerous and so the prison said 'We can't have so many ducks inside the prison.' At least that's what they told me.

"These poor ducks want to go home and they have been decanted to a larger pond - or at least that's how it was explained to me - on the outside of the prison but they hang around waiting, returning, returning and returning as often as they possibly can."

When Mr Perry asked why they didn't just fly back over the walls he was told: "'We've had to actually clip their wings because they've tried doing that.'   

"It's quite poignant, it's rather like Beatrix Potter in my mind."

A spokesperson for the RSPB said that when ducks are kept domestically clipping is quite common practice. It involves cutting the bird's primary flight feathers on one side.

This might allow them some limited flight but would not allow them to go very high or a very long distance.

Eventually the feathers grow back as Mallards moult their feathers naturally every year.

Extremely vulnerable

The process must be carried out by someone who knows what they are doing because if the feathers are cut too low then they can bleed which can be very serious for birds.

Penny Little is the founder of Little Foxes Wildlife Rescue Centre and she is very concerned to hear that the ducks might have had their wings clipped. She pointed out that birds have extensive protection in this country.

"I'm not too happy about it to put it mildly. I know it's been treated as a humorous story but there is a welfare consideration here and a fairly serious one."

Bullingdon Prison would not confirm whether they had the duck's wings clipped but did release this statement in response to Mr Perry's observations:

"A number of ducks at HMP Bullingdon have been moved outside the gates of the prison for health and safety reasons."

"That's not very illuminating is it?" said Ms Little. "It's hard to see how ducks could represent a health and safety issue at all. I just can't see how that would be.

"Then in addition we have this claim that the wings have been clipped. This is not very nice... The birds are extremely vulnerable to predators now they can't fly.

"People who are in prison surely deserve the right to enjoy the ducks and see them in their natural environment and I can't imagine why this should not be the case."

The ducks lay low ready to make their move on the prison

Archive for the ‘Diary 2010’ Category
Osprey Diary September 5, 2010
Sunday, September 5th, 2010

Greying skies and a strengthening breeze are moving the loch about this day. I only had a brief view and noticed only a few waterfowl bobbing. Yesterday we enjoyed a new arrival of wigeon to accompany the many tufted duck, hundreds of Canada geese, great crested grebe and at least three coot. In the sound department (as many have commented), Canada geese, jays, crows and robins (both male and female), honk, screech, caw, and twitter.

When I arrived, a red squirrel tumbled uncontrolably down a high birch  catching itself only a few metres from the ground, ungainly. There was a yellow moth flitting about the observation window. Still plenty of time to pollinate flowers.

It is not a still morning as would appear at first sight.

On the blog; good news and numerous views of pine martin. At evening and early day. Pine martin are active throughout the night prowling about  large territory. Perhaps the visits here are the beginning and end of the nights’ rounds and the young one has found a secure place to rest nearby…We are a happy folk.

The trials of life surely press us. We are a happy folk here. Rinchen

Here we go again
Archer, yada yada
Beauty.....
Still at it
I swear  these are from this am, not copied from yesterday 
"Hey hun, I'll be over at Mercury." " When you catch some breakfast, I'll be waiting."
She looks non impressed with that remark.
Eh whatever
and left
She lingers
and lingers, while Archer flew to Mercury hoping Beauty will meet him there with some breakfast.
Nope, she's moving closer to the nest box.
"Look at him over there waiting for a free meal!" Then she leaves.