Indholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2017 i BirdWatching

This issue includes an excerpt from Pete Dunne’s latest book, Birds of Prey: Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, and Vultures of North America (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017). We’re presenting a portion of Dunne’s chapter on the endangered California Condor (page 34). I recently chatted with Dunne about a wide range of topics — birds, writing, authors who influenced him, and much more. Dunne, of course, has written about a dozen books, and in addition to writing our “Birder at Large” column (page 14), he also writes for Living Bird and other magazines. He told me he was in the second grade when he began writing about birds. “I started a book entitled Turk: The Story of a Hawk,” he says. “I only stopped writing it when I realized that I was plagiarizing…

Yellow Rails and Rice Festival Participants in this event in southern Louisiana will have access to rice fields, where they can spot Yellow Rail and possibly Sora, Virginia Rail, and King Rail during harvest operations. Field trips will also visit pineywoods and coastal habitats. November 1-5. Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival Attendees will have opportunities to see more than 200 species including Green Jay, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, and Altamira Oriole via field trips from Harlingen, Texas, to a wide variety of nearby habitats — desert to the west, coastal to the east, and riparian to the south. A range of workshops and seminars will be available, and over 60 vendors of bird-related products will participate. November 8-12. Festival of the Cranes Celebrating the winter migration of thousands of Sandhill Cranes to…

One of the things I have noticed in my travels is how little time many birders spend looking up. Birds live in a threedimensional world, much of it consisting of sky. Me? I probably dedicate half of my field time to searching the heavens. I encourage you to explore the blue frontier as well — for fun, challenge, and more sightings of more birds. The great thing about open sky is that birds cannot hide. You spot it, you got it. Of course the first step involves looking up. In forests, I’ve disciplined myself to study the sky every time I encounter a break in the canopy. In open country, I typically sweep the sky with my eyes after my study of any earthbound bird. It’s a discipline but often…

It’s the smallest of North America’s four species of swift. It also has a name that is puzzling to pronounce. Largely unheralded, long unnoticed and unremarked upon, the unassuming Vaux’s Swift has finally, however, found a champion in Larry Schwitters. He’s a 76-year-old retired middle-school science teacher, and he has dedicated the last 11 years to studying, promoting, and saving this little bird. “It starts with the pronunciation,” Schwitters explains with the emphatic clarity of an experienced teacher. “It rhymes with foxes: ‘voxes,’ after an American scientist.” In Latin, the bird is Chaetura vauxi. He calls them, simply and endearingly, “wee birds.” Through a project called Vaux’s Happening, he’s turning the birds into avian celebrities during their West Coast migrations.Only 4.5 inches long and regularly described as “cigars with wings,”…

Until about a decade ago, one of the great mysteries in North American birding was the lack of any Florida records for Neotropic Cormorant. It seemed the species would have had ample opportunity to stray there. Not only was it a common breeder as close as Louisiana, it also had thriving populations in Cuba and the southern Bahamas. The drought was broken in April 2007 when a Neotropic Cormorant was photographed near Key West. In the decade since, several other records have accumulated, mostly in southern and southeastern Florida. Since 2012, one or more adult Neotropics have joined a breeding colony of Double-crested Cormorants at Delray Beach — apparently interbreeding with them and adding hybrids to the mix for ID confusion. An older mystery involves the breeding cormorants of San…

The Santa Maria River Estuary has long been considered one of the best birding hotspots in Santa Barbara County. More than 200 species have been reported, and it is a breeding location for the endangered Western Snowy Plover and California Least Tern. One of the best shorebird spots in the county, it is also an Audubon-designated Important Bird Area. In the fall, you might see thousands of shearwaters on the horizon. Gray whale sightings are relatively common from shore. The wintering flocks of ducks, geese, and sandpipers are quite impressive, and Northern Shovelers may number in the thousands. The adjacent beach is famous for its heavy surf, and the surrounding dune complex is one of the largest in the United States. Birding the estuary and beaches can be easy or…

“Unbelievably, on the approximate dates the adults were making southern turns in Africa, the youngsters made southerly turns in their laboratory test chambers.” When young songbirds are ready for their first migration, they would seem to have a huge problem — they’re on their own. Their parents have already migrated, as have their aunts and uncles. Typically, songbirds are active by day and inactive at night. But most songbirds migrate at night. So at some point they must switch from a night of restful sleep to one of intense activity. This change occurs just prior to migration when their typical nighttime roosting and sleeping regime is replaced by sporadic bouts of activity, a condition called “nocturnal restlessness.” And they eat voraciously, filling their reserve tanks for a long haul. European…

Many birds lay eggs that are splotched or mottled with color, commonly thought to help hide the eggs from predators. Yet speckled eggs are laid by some bird species that have no need for such patterned eggs because they nest in cavities, whereas some open-nesting species that could benefit from camouflage lay unicolor eggs. A remarkable long-term study, started in 1947, of a population of Great Tits at a site in Oxford, England, has shed light on this discrepancy. Most of the tits, relatives of our chickadees, nest in 1,000 boxes that are visited regularly by researchers. The scientists were behind the discovery that pigments on eggs help strengthen the shell and are most concentrated on eggs where shells are thinnest. Yet another notable finding of the project was published…

During the four years that we lived in central Iowa, my wife and I often commuted along the two-lane highways between Des Moines, where I worked, and Jasper County, where we lived. Among the most familiar sights that we witnessed during those drives was the distinctive flight of American Kestrels hovering and hunting over the farmland. Because of the frequent sightings, I’ll always remember the vibrant coloration, bold patterning, and small stature that contribute to the kestrel’s charisma. My interest in kestrels was further piqued when I had the chance to observe several juveniles up close at a wildlife rehabilitator in Iowa. In spite of their small size, those youngsters had the fierce look that seems to characterize all birds of prey. However, when we left Iowa for the suburbs…

A real-life phoenix and our grandest soaring bird, the California Condor is living testimony to our species’ evolving responsibility for the environment. But for most of the twentieth century, and for largely human-related reasons, this bird’s population was in rapid decline. Writing in 1923, William Leon Dawson, believing that the days of the California Condor were numbered, and knowing that his words might well serve to eulogize this magnificent bird, was eloquent bordering upon poetic in his account of California Condor: “ . . . for me the heart of California lies in the Condor country. And for me the heart of mystery, of wonder, and of desire lies with the California Condor, that majestic and almost legendary figure, which still haunts the fastnesses of our lessening wilderness . .…

sites nearby Mystic Lakes Five miles north of cemetery in Medford, off Boston Ave. and Mystic Valley Pky. Good views of Bald Eagle, Osprey, Eastern Screech-Owl, waterbirds. Deer Island About 16 miles east of cemetery. Part of Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Good in winter for Long-tailed Duck, Common Eider, scoters, scaup, Iceland Gull, and Snowy Owl. I live in Las Vegas and whenever I visit Massachusetts, I bird the famed Mount Auburn Cemetery. On my first visit in February 2009, photographer and guide John “Garp” Harrison took my friend and me to see Great Horned Owls. Another year, we saw their owlets, and I shared my scope with other visitors so they could see them close up. We almost always spot the cemetery’s nesting Red-tailed Hawks. (Harrison is…

“Putting out large quantities of jelly presents a clear and present danger to birds.” Several decades ago, one of my friends suggested that I set out jelly and oranges for orioles. She said orioles in her yard lost interest in oranges by Memorial Day, but they fed on grape jelly throughout the summer. She was a bird bander who tracked her backyard birds, and so she had proof that some nested successfully and returned year after year. I tried it, and voila! Orioles and catbirds have always been the main takers in my yard, but an occasional Brown Thrasher or Cape May Warbler stops by, too. Jelly is far stickier and sweeter than any natural food; feeding it safely involves important caveats. Over the years, I’ve reduced my own jelly…

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Q We heard a Great Horned Owl hooting last fall around Halloween. We thought they nested in winter. Why would it hoot in the fall? — Cole and Flora Albert, Akron, Ohio A Great Horned Owls initiate nesting in winter — in January or February in your neck of the woods. Pairs usually occupy a permanent territory, but males will begin hooting out their property claims in the fall, typically after they are no longer caring for the young they raised that year. A pair of owls will start hooting to each other, strengthening their bond, a month or two before the first egg is laid. Q Recently I was stunned to see a Red-bellied Woodpecker stick its head in an active House Wren box and pull out a nestling.…

In many bird species, males and females share incubation duties. For birds like shorebirds that nest in open areas, this continuous care ensures stable temperatures for eggs and protects the clutch against predators, improving survivorship. Exposed nesting situations are not only hazardous for developing eggs but can be tough on the parents, too. When subjected to harsh conditions, the incubating parent may not be able to tolerate temperature extremes for extended periods of time, endangering the life of the parent and the eggs if they are abandoned even briefly. In a recent paper in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography, a team of researchers examined over 30 years of data for 36 populations of 12 plover species in the genus Charadrius on six continents spanning a range of habitats. In…

I proudly wear a T-shirt purchased in May 2016 at the Biggest Week in American Birding festival. The event, organized by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, is held annually at Magee Marsh and surrounding areas on the southern shore of Lake Erie, near Oregon, Ohio. The shirtfront shows five warbler species, and the back says, “I Birded the Warbler Capital of the World.” Yes, a bold claim, warbler capital of the world, but perhaps accurate for a few magical weeks in May. Standing along the edge of the wooded area by the parking lot of Magee Marsh, where a boardwalk winds its way through woods and marsh (and was densely packed with hundreds of birders shoulder-to-shoulder seeking out the likes of Mourning and Connecticut Warblers), I watched as nearly 10…

sites nearby Kanaha Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary 27 miles from Hosmer Grove in Kahului. ‘Ae’o (Hawai’i’s subspecies of Black-necked Stilt) and ‘Alae Ke’oke’o (Hawaiian Coot) year-round. Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge 32.5 miles from Hosmer Grove along the south-central coast between the towns of Kihei and Maalaea. Home to the largest population of ‘Ae’o and ‘Alae Ke’oke’o. For more than a century, this grove of experimental silviculture of eucalyptus, pines, and other conifers has sat at the edge of a native wet montane forest and open native shrubland on the slopes of the Haleakala Volcano, at nearly 7,000 feet above sea level. The grove is my go-to place on Maui to view endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers. At any time of year, you might see Maui ‘Alauahio, ‘Apapane, ‘I’iwi, and Hawai’i ‘Amakihi…

sites nearby Sea Rim State Park About 41 miles south of Cattail Marsh, on the Gulf of Mexico. Gambusia Nature Trail boardwalk provides easy access into the marsh. Spoonbills, egrets, night-herons, Horned Lark, meadowlarks. Big Thicket National Preserve About 35 miles north of Beaumont off Hwy. 69/287. More than 108,000 acres of eastern hardwood forests, Gulf coastal plains, and Midwest prairies. At least 300 bird species. A recent improvement to Cattail Marsh Scenic Wetlands is a 520-foot boardwalk with two covered viewing areas, making birdwatching and photography more comfortable. The wetlands provide habitat for a wide variety of birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, and plants. The marsh is home to more than 250 bird species; the constant source of water and the positioning between two major coastal flyways attracts them. The…

Before writing this book, New York Times science reporter Jim Robbins knew a lot about birds, but the two years he spent researching it left him in awe of them. In it, he interviews scientists, quotes Aldo Leopold, Emily Dickinson, and John Lennon, and explains why we have birds to thank for spicy burritos. He describes how birds transformed Denver Holt’s life from a young thief and partier to founder of the Owl Research Institute. And he tells the remarkable, heartbreaking story of young people from the worst neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., helping to bring Bald Eagles back to the nation’s capital in the 1990s, and more recently, how one man uses falconry to help inner-city kids. If you call yourself a birder, I suspect you’ll love the book, as…