http://blogs.archives.gov/prologue/?p=2814

Full disclosure:

1  My wife, Mary, is the editor of Prologue and wrote this piece.
2  She called me up on Monday morning and asked for a clever title.

Regards,

Paul

Blown away.  Twice.
Great tracking on the first; great detail on the second. 
I've got to visit Sandhill Cranes.

Thanks for two great experiences, Patti!

Paul

My vultures called to say they had a great time with Patti's, Carol's, Gayle's and Dale's vultures.  They want to thank Dale for inviting all of them.

Paul

Gayle had a Willet (Tringa semipalmata) from the West Coast.  Here is one I met up with on Ocracoke Island, NC , last Labor Day weekend.  Notice that it is darker and with more barring than Gayle's bird -- that's characteristic of the Eastern population.  The first picture shows what a noble beast it is. It is a beautiful silver/pewter color and runs rapidly before the surf, staying just ahead of the waves.  Check out the beautiful matte grey color of the beak.  Who could have imagined such a great bird?  When it flies, it goes fast on spectacular, pointed, two-tone wings.

In the second picture, my Willett friend has just scored.  It looks like a mole crab (Emeritia talpoda).  In addition to being Willet chow, Mole crabs are highly sought after for fishing bait on the Outer Banks.

Paul

An eastern Red Tailed Hawk, AKA White Football.

Paul

[V]

V is for American Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) Corygyps means "raven-vulture", so you know that this is a bird to take seriously.  Wingspan is a bit under five feet (1.5 m) and weight about four pounds (2 kg) so it is not small. They hang out in big flocks and can take over a carcass from the larger Turkey Vultures by using teamwork.  Unlike the Turkey Vulture, these birds are predators to some extent and will take eggs, nestlings, or young or injured mammals.  This sometimes gets them in trouble with ranchers and others.   Last year, I found a very dead Black Vulture about a half mile from my local peregrine nest, and I suspect it may have been a casualty of nest defence.

I took this picture at my airport while waiting to take off. It shows Black Vultures waiting to take off.  It's early on a frosty autumn morning.  The spread wing pose may have a number of purposes, including drying the wings, warming the body, and allowing the sun to kill off bacteria.  It's quite impressive to see a flock of fifty or more individuals do this in perfect unison. 

Paul

The cranes are flying through Georgia right now -- 9:09 EST.
http://www.operationmigration.org/crane-cam.html

Paul

[R]

R is for American Robin (Turdus migratorius) (yes, you read that right)
Everyone thinks they know this bird, but it's got a lot of secrets.  To begin with, nests are carefully
hidden with much use of misdirection to lead potential predators away.  

Robins are really territorial, much more aggressive than, say Perigrine Falcons.  We see rival robins fighting all over the place early in the Spring in our neighborhood.  It's like a production of West Side Story.

The Sibleys remark that little is known about American Robin courtship behavior.  Wikipedia comments that "The American Robin is active mostly during the day and assembles in large flocks at night", but nobody, least of all the robins, says exactly what those groups are up to.

Here's to the American Robin, bird of mystery!  This one is from our yard.  It catagorically denies there is a nest there.

Paul

The cranes and aircraft are aloft right now, flying through central Alabama, on their way to Florida!
It's 9 AM EST, and the inflight camera is live.

http://www.operationmigration.org/crane-cam.html

Go, Whoopers!

Paul

P is for Parakeet (Melopsittacus undulatus)
Habitat includes the computer keyboard, windowsill, and an artificial tree consisting of a bamboo trellis with a ficus plant.  Food consists of pellets, seeds, vegetables, and whatever he can snatch from your plate when you aren't looking.  Also enjoys bathing in one's glass of ice water (see below).  Expresses affection by grooming your hair and offering you regurgitated food.  Large number of calls, including "good bird", "chirp!", "Fidget bird", "I love you", and the ever-popular, "I think that's enough now."

Paul

That is very cool news!  Evidently, all peregrines are from either Rochester or King Street.

Paul

What a great Holiday Hawk!

Thanks,

Paul

I'd like to help.

Paul

[N]

N is for Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus).  This bird is the size of a large goose, which makes it is one of the largest North Atlantic seabirds.  It catches fish with a spectacular plunge dive from the sky into the sea.  Normally, these birds stay far out over the ocean.  My daughter and I found this juvenile on a remote beach on Ocracoke Island five years ago and contacted the local wildlife rehabilitator.   She reported that our bird was hungry, dehydrated, weak, and loaded with parasites, but otherwise OK.  It was later released.  

I took the second picture from a ship in the Carribean just before Christmas of 2007.  It shows what adult plumage is like.  They make a huge splash when they dive into the water, as do their relatives, the Brown Pelicans. I hope that our gannet is out there living like this.

Paul

That's 1,606 miles or 2584 km in about 2.9 hours.  I think, perhaps, a bad data point?

Paul