With two California condor eggs already found in the Sespe Wilderness and another six pairs of birds acting like they’re ready to nest, experts say that it could be a “very busy year� for the endangered species’ Southern California population.

“It’s about the time we expect them to start having eggs and get their nests going,� explained Fish & Wildlife spokesperson Michael Woodbridge on Friday. “And it looks like we could have the potential for as many as seven or eight nests total.� There are usually only about four to six nests per season.

The expected bump is because a number of pairs that had successfully fledged two years ago are again looking for nests and at least one pair that fledged a chick last year is looking to do it again in 2010. In 2009, there were six total nests in the southern Los Padres National Forest, said Woodbridge, but only two chicks successfully fledged. Of the four lost eggs, one was eaten by a bear, one chick died en route to the veterinarian after ingesting microtrash, and a third egg simply disappeared overnight.

The two current eggs are located near the Hopper Mountain Wildlife Refuge, and both are in caves that sit on the side of sheer cliffs. One was laid on February 10, and while biologists are still attempting to reach the second egg to confirm its fertility, it’s estimated to have been laid on February 14.

Researcher Estelle Sandhaus with the Santa Barbara Zoo, which recently welcomed the arrival of an adult bird to be part of its condor exhibit, is especially excited about the pair of birds numbered 111 and 125. That pair had trouble nesting in the wild before, so they were captured, learned how to fledge successfully in captivity, and then released. “That season they bred successfully in the wild,� said Sandhaus, and they’re back at it. “Once pairs succeed once in fledging a chick, they’re more likely to succeed again.�

The increasing success of the Southern California population is attributed to the nest-guarding techniques being pioneered by Sandhaus and Fish & Wildlife biologist Joseph Brandt. “It’s really dramatically increased the success of chicks fledging,� said Woodbridge, explaining that now an average of 70 percent of chicks fledge per season compared to old rates as low as 15 percent. “That’s a pretty big improvement there.�

The condor program is still seeking more volunteers to take part in the nest-guarding program, and those who are interested should email conservation@sbzoo.org.

Kingfishers are usually seen, if at all, as a fleeting blue flash.

To actually capture them mating? Well, that took a patient five weeks of watching from a hide alongside the River Severn in Worcestershire.

Photographer Mark Hancox, 48, said he felt “very lucky� to have captured the amorous action from just eight metres away.

“I set up perches to lure them in — but I was only looking for pictures of kingfishers, I wasn’t expecting to see two of them mating,� he said.
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“The average man in the street will probably never see one kingfisher — let alone two, even if you’re looking for them.�

The RSPB said the pictures were very encouraging.

Grahame Madge, its spokesman said: “After the devastatingly hard winter, the sight of mating kingfishers is a huge relief that at least some of our birds have made it through the worst winter for birds in nearly three decades.

“Following severe winters, such as the one in 1962-3, almost 9 out of 10 of our kingfishers died because of the freezing conditions and a shortage of food.

“This picture provides hope that it might not be too long before kingfisher populations bounce back to the point where Britain’s most beautiful bird once more occupies its rightful status as king of the fishers.�

Last year, it was estimated there were between 3,300 and 5,000 pairs of kingfisher in Britain.

I hate to sound dumb, but, this looks like a grackle to me.  They have the tiny wedge-shaped white marks on their feathers and do not "shine" like starlings do.

My exact same thought when I first saw this bird. The spots threw me off as being a starling. Ok then

The little eaglet is out of his dish! Tomorrow he or she gets a name.

[That was a really terrific article! It was a great overview of previous Mariah and Kaver history, and an even better overview of the changes taking place with Kaver's disappearance and Beauty's victory over Mariah and how falcon fans are coping with these changes. What will happen next? Stay tuned. We are so lucky to have all our great watchers keeping track of all these falcons. It was nice to see Carol and Joyce featured, but the rest of the watchers deserve credit too. Many thanks to all of you! Dot in PA]

That was a really terrific article!  It was a great overview of previous Mariah and Kaver history, and an even better overview of the changes taking place with Kaver's disappearance and Beauty's victory over Mariah and how falcon fans are coping with these changes. What will happen next?  Stay tuned.  We are so lucky to have all our great watchers keeping track of all these falcons. It was nice to see Carol and Joyce featured, but the rest of the watchers deserve credit too. Many thanks to all of you! 

Dot in PA

I wholeheartedly  agree. It's nice the watchers get recognition from the paper    from time to time. Nice job Carol, Joyce and June. 

Now we need Mariah!! 

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100228/SPORTS0103/2280338/1007/SPORTS/Falcons-are-nature-s-comeback-kids--  Great article

Someone's home at the Sheraton 9:45AM

I just looked before and no one home....you always seem to catch them Ei. Falcon magnetism! 

And kudos to Dad.  I'm sure many of you remember 2008-his first season-he had no idea what to do-Mom wound up doing most of the fishing when they were tiny.  Well, this year he is keeping the pantry full!

Just goes to prove that a good female can "housebreak" the male!    - I'm so bad!   

Oh boy!!

http://www.tisiri.org/home/

Here's the sinking of Big Al, the tug for the artificial reef.

http://www.beleefdelente.nl/

Oh the owls are great. New cams....storks are there too. 

OK...had to collage it with a view in the same direction...I think he's different.  The malar stripe appears narrower in yesterday's bird-larger white area & higher up toward his eye...



But I may be wrong...opinions?

I just don't know! 

Could this be the same bird as 2 weeks ago?  Definitely no bands...but not our QT either...he's white over his cere.  Beauty sure did seem to be enjoying his company!

Thanks to you and all our faithful watchers for braving the elements for us!

It looks like the same male that was at the nest on the 20th...same facial features. Here is both one at nest and Dana's. What think?

Earlier this week I was driving on Interstate 691 near the Cheshire-Southington line when an all-dark hawk caught my attention. It was perched in a tree close to the shoulder of the highway, but I came up on it too quickly to get a decent look. The bird wasn’t big enough to be an eagle, which normally would lead me to one conclusion – a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk. However, the bird looked too bulky and the habitat too overgrown for that elegantly proportioned Buteo of the wide-open spaces. So I drove on to the Route 10 exit and doubled back. The hawk was still sitting in the same place on the return trip, and I was able to get a good look from both sides of the highway.

Closer inspection revealed the deep red tail of an adult Red-tailed Hawk, but a Red-tailed Hawk far different from the ones that nest throughout our area, pass through in migration and spend the winter. The subspecies of Red-tailed Hawk that nests in the East is not known to have a dark color morph. That meant that this was a western Red-tail of the subspecies calurus, a real rarity in our part of the country. How rare are dark Red-tails in the East? I’ve been birding for more than 50 years (I started really young!). This is only second one I’ve ever seen outside its normal range. The first was about 20 years ago in eastern Pennsylvania.

Last winter a dark Red-tail was reported hanging around Interstate 91 in the Wallingford area. Given the proximity to the I-691 site and the rarity involved, I think there’s a good chance this is the same individual. The bird’s presence along a busy highway, coupled with this week’s bad weather, has prevented anyone getting photos, but Jim Zipp of Hamden, probably Connecticut’s most experienced observer of raptors, provided the accompanying photo of a dark Red-tail that he took out West. Jim, who owns The Fat Robin, a birders’ store in Hamden, has also been birding for a long time, and he’s had only one possible observation of a dark bird in Connecticut. Dark Red-tails are quite variable. Jim’s photo shows one with a lot of rufous on the breast. Some are more solid blackish-brown. The one I saw was probably somewhere in between, with a rufous wash across its brown breast.

February 28, 2010

It's a fact of life that living creatures need to eat. Winter in the northeast can be brutal, from freezing temperatures to frequent snowstorms, making it difficult for many animals, including birds, to find a good meal. Some species of birds high-tail it for warmer weather when winter approaches, others remain and often rely on bird feeders as a food source.

While you may enjoy helping chickadees, titmice, purple finches and pine siskins find a good meal at your feeder, East Stroudsburg resident Amy Albert believes it is important to remember predatory birds as well because they are part of nature.

"Some years ago there was a saying, 'Predators are part of the picture,'" she says.

For Albert, a board member of Brodhead Watershed Association, wanting to help predatory birds began 15 years ago, after the area was hit with a heavy storm.

"I saw a small, dead owl along the highway and then read an article about how difficult hunting was for the screech owls, which depend on mice," says Albert. "I understood — the mice were under the snow. The poor owl had been hunting in the only place it could see mice, on the highway."

Darryl Speicher, an environmental educator at Monroe County Environmental Education Center and president of Pocono Avian Research Center, says that predatory birds, especially owls, are adept at catching prey through the snow.

"But there are quite a few cases of owls being injured on roadsides during wintertime," says Speicher. "Their prey is more visible along roadsides. Especially for young owls, winter can be pretty harsh."

To assist owls and hawks, Albert likes to clear the snow from around her bird feeder so that predators can find something to eat. She suggests removing the snow far enough to see mouse tunnels and to allow space for an owl to catch a mouse. She cleans around the feeder following every snowfall and after wind drifts the snow.

"Our feathered mouse hunters are having a hard time of it trying to survive when the mice are completely covered by snow," says Albert. "Let's help!"

Albatross cam in New Zealand

Is the albatross a raptor?  ???

No Annette, I just put it in the wrong category.