Innehållsförteckning för May/June 2022 från BirdWatching

SCIENCE A new study of North American migratory birds is the first to identify a direct link between cognition and animal response to human-made climate change. The implications spell trouble for many songbirds. PHOTOGRAPHY In February, professional photographer Marie Read presented a webinar about taking eye-catching photos of birds’ behaviors. A recording of the webinar is available to watch on our member benefits page. Follow, like, and share! FACEBOOK: BirdWatchingMagazine INSTAGRAM: @birdwatchingmagazine TWITTER: @BirdWatchDaily FLICKR: BirdWatching group photo pool…

An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a virus that is deadly to wild birds, poultry, and, in some cases, humans, was detected in two North American locations — South Carolina and Newfoundland and Labrador — in December 2021. By mid-March, the virus had spread to about 20 states and several provinces. It is the first HPAI outbreak on the continent since 2016. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is keeping tabs on reports of the outbreak in the U.S., reports that most of the affected wild birds are ducks and geese — Snow Goose, Ross’s Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Lesser Scaup, and American Black Duck, among others. Non-waterfowl on the list include Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Black Vulture, and Sanderling.…

SUMMER BIRD FEEDING requires so much conscientious attention that many people close their feeders for the duration. That’s not necessary if we ensure that we’re helping, not hurting, birds. March and April are dangerous for winter finches, who often eat on the ground. Seeds and seed shells pile up under feeders, fostering bacteria and mold growth. Periodic thawing as spring progresses hastens the process, and so every year, disease outbreaks kill ground-feeding backyard birds. Rake up spoiled seed whenever weather and ground conditions allow, and screen compost bins to exclude birds. Seed catchers help if emptied before seed in them gets too wet, too. Seeds sprouting on the ground, in seed catchers, and in feeders indicate that a cleanup is in order. Sunflower hearts eliminate the mess of seed shells…

BIRDERS TALK A lot about wingbars — contrasting bands of pale markings across a bird’s folded wing. The presence or absence of wingbars is one of the first things we learn to look for when we are learning to identify birds, and it is extremely helpful to sort through a bunch of potential species quickly. Even the most experienced birders will still make comments like, “Well, it has wingbars, so it can only be species A or B.” But wingbars come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and thinking of them simply in terms of presence or absence leaves out a lot of interesting and useful information. Wingbars are formed by pale tips on the greater and median secondary coverts. The main wingbar — the longer one that goes across…

If you’re a fan of hummingbirds, then you probably know that at night, they lower their body temperature and metabolism drastically by dropping into an energy-saving state of inactivity called torpor. A new study finds that the birds have more than one level of torpor — shallow and deep — plus a transition stage between levels of torpor and the normal sleep state. The findings were published in the Journal of Experimental Biology in January. “There have been a few hints that this ability to fine-tune thermoregulation was possible,” said lead author Anusha Shankar, currently a Rose Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “But the studies were done under laboratory conditions, not the conditions a bird would encounter in the wild. It was really exciting to see that…

AS A SIGHT-CENTRIC birder, I am surprised at how many of my most cherished birding memories involve sound. This audio ambivalence of mine harkens back to childhood. While I was gifted with exceptional eyesight, my hearing was only so-so. Naturally, I played to my strength. I would eagerly anticipate the annual vision test in grammar school. As I sat in the folding chair, one hand over one eye, the school nurse would roll her eyes and say, “Oh, here we go again.” Ignoring the top lines, I would immediately go for the fine print at the bottom of the page and read it with ease. But when the earphones were placed over my ears for the hearing test, there would be gaps in the tonal sequence accompanied by quizzical looks…

Violet-green Swallow, adult male June in Mono County, California WHAT’S THE MOST beautiful swallow in North America? That’s a matter of opinion, of course. But more than one author — from John James Audubon to Florence Merriam Bailey — has been moved to superlatives in describing the Violet-green Swallow. Of course, no shade of green can be described accurately as “violet-green.” Technically this species should be called the “Violet-and-green Swallow,” to denote the colors of the upperparts; but the current name has been firmly entrenched since the 1830s, and it’s unlikely to change. Among North American swallows, the Violet-green is most closely related to the Tree Swallow. Both have iridescent colors on the back and bright white underparts, and both nest in tree cavities or similar kinds of holes. But…

IT’S SUNRISE — a new day’s first rays of light are just peeking over the nearby mountains and illuminating the surrounding vegetation in a warm bath of golden light. As the day starts, I’m sitting quietly in my photo blind waiting for a great bird photography opportunity to happen. The predawn is quiet, but as the sun climbs higher in the sky, the chip notes of Yellow-rumped Warblers catch my attention. A Black Phoebe snaps nearly invisible insects from mid-air and then returns to the same perch again and again. Lesser Goldfinches chatter and squabble among the flowering plants next to me, and an Anna’s Hummingbird buzzes back and forth, searching out small morsels of food. So where am I? Tucked into the remote wilderness of California’s Santa Monica Mountains?…

The lead paper in the March 2022 issue of The Journal of Raptor Research presents a fresh understanding of the conservation priorities for the world’s largest bird of prey, the Andean Condor. In 2015, a team of 38 condor experts from throughout the bird’s South American range as well as the Wildlife Conservation Society, The Peregrine Fund, and other U.S.-based groups began gathering information about the bird’s distribution, including where it roosts, nests, and feeds. The new paper, the culmination of their work, presents findings about: - The condor’s historical range. A 1990 study estimated its historical range to include 2.36 million square km, but the new study expands the area by almost 37 percent, to 3.23 million square km. Argentina accounts for 43 percent of the new range and…

On a bright morning last June in a South Carolina forest, a Great Horned Owl perched conspicuously just above a dirt road. In the sky, six Swallow-tailed Kites circled, their long, forked tails acting as rudders as they scolded this perceived intruder. Finally, one kite broke into a dive, headed straight for the owl…and into a waiting mist-net. Four concealed conservationists burst from their hide to carefully extract the captured kite and safely remove their trained owl, which had been positioned just behind the waiting net. They gently fitted the football-sized black-and-white bird with a solar-powered GPS transmitter to provide crucial insight into the elegant raptor’s future movements. This might seem like a mean trick to play on an unsuspecting bird, but it’s for a good cause. Along with two…

Dozens of bird species follow ant swarms in the jungle, and many of their names are frustratingly similar. Many of the ant-followers are named after familiar groups of birds that we know and love, like thrushes, wrens, vireos, and shrikes, but the tropical residents aren’t closely related to those with whom they share their names. The names are based on physical and behavioral similarities rather than genetic affiliation. Let’s look at some of Central America’s ant-followers from the ground up: Antpittas almost always stay on the forest floor, hopping around in search of insect prey. They appear almost comical, with their round bodies, extremely short tails, large eyes, and long legs. There are about 50 species of antpittas, all of which live in the neotropics. Antthrushes also spend much of…

Last fall, we sent out a call for entries to our 2021 Bird Portrait Contest. And, wow, did bird photographers deliver! We received the most entries ever — 979 — since we started hosting contests a few years ago. Thanks to all who entered! The selection of images was outstanding, giving the judges a difficult task. We announced the finalists, honorable mention images, and the winners on our website in late February, and we’re presenting the top three winners on the following pages. Enjoy! FIRST PLACE Karen Griggs Winchester SANDHILL CRANES Karen Griggs Winchester of North Port, Florida, won first place with this stunning photo of Sandhill Crane colts resting on their mother’s back while being sheltered by her wings. She photographed the moment in mid-March 2020 in Sarasota, Florida.…