Roaming on Sunday (1/29/06)

I spent most of Sunday in Worcester County. The best bird sightings of the day were a small group of Field Sparrows in the bushes around Wachusett Reservoir and an immature Cooper's Hawk behind Clinton High School. I also walked "the Stretch" at Broad Meadow Brook. The water is still completely open so the brook is supporting a flock of Mallards. The Muskrats were also out in force. I must have counted four or five.

Falmouth (1/28/06)

I spent the day on Saturday exploring the lower Cape. The temperature was fantastic for January but the wind was strong. While there were birds to be found almost everywhere, the highlights were the flock of Brant (see above) and Common Eider on the campus of the Mass Maritime Academy and the huge flock of Scaup behind the Falmouth city hall. Other birds of note were Ring Neck Ducks, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganzers, Red Breasted Merganzers, and Cedar Waxwings. As always, I'll try to put up my best pictures on my PBase site.

Pictures from last week

As promised, here are my best pictures from last week's trip to Halibut Point. The first one is the group of Harlequin Ducks and the second is the King Eider. The pictures aren't fantastic but I'm satisfied with the quality that I got at 300 mm without a tripod. Bigger versions of the photos can be found at my PBase "Birds" site.

Smallest Vertebrate found in Sumatra

NPR has a story on the discovery of a miniscule fish in the peat bogs of Sumatra. It was found by Swiss ichthyologist Maurice Kottelat while he was documenting the animal life in the bog. Maurice claims to have found 450 new species of fish.

One interesting thing that was mentioned on the radio but not in the online story is that the fish's skull is only jawbones.... its brain is only protected by skin.

Documenting a small corner of the world

I happened to read this story in the Hartford Courant on Monday and thought it was really interesting. Its about a man who has taken digital photos year round to document a mile of the Air Line State Park Trail in Hebron, CT. His work can be seen on his web site and some are also entered in the photo contest/display being held at the Connecticut Audubon Society Center in Glastonbury.

This is as close to matching my photo philosophy as possible. I try to use photos to document everything that I see. Hopefully that reveals the beauty of the natural world instead of forcing it to be art.

I think that I'll try his idea. I just need to figure out where.

Westboro WMA - Westboro, MA (1/22/06)

The great weather continued on Sunday, so I spent the day at the Westboro WMA. My bird list included:

Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, White Breasted Nuthatch, Chickadee, White-throated Sparrow, Common Goldfinch, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Flicker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Dark-eyed Junco, Mourning Dove, Mallard, American Robin, European Starling, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe (I was pretty sure about the Phoebe even though its very late/early in the year. It behaved like a Phoebe and was bobbing its tail.)

The fields were full of Downy Woodpeckers, many of which appeared to be searching for insects in the cornstalks (my pictures).

Rockport, MA (1/21/06)

With the springlike weather, I took a trip to Halibut Point State Park in Rockport. The birding was just fantastic. The final list included: Common Eider, King Eider, Mallard, Gadwall, American Black Duck, Red Breasted Merganzer, Razorbill, Bufflehead, Red Necked Grebe, Harlequin Duck, Common Goldeneye, Common Loon, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Herring Gull, Greater Black-backed Gull, Mute Swan, Horned Grebe, Purple Sandpiper, Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, and Rock Pigeon.

With all of the snow gone, I was able to get down on the rocks and close to the birds. King Eider and Harlequin Duck were both "life-birds" for me so it was great to get down close to them. I was amazed that I was even able to get close enough to them to get a few nice pictures. I'll post them when I have a chance to edit them up. Until then, check these out (King Eider, Common Eider, Harlequin Duck... mine are a bit less impressive than these but I don't have a 700 mm "canon").

Ivory-billed Woodpecker: Part 1 - Description

Well, here goes my first attempt at a recurring topic. I'll try to keep the posts short and interesting. Everything that I talk about is covered in Tim Gallagher's book. So, if you find the story interesting, pick "Grail Bird...." up.

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) is North America's largest woodpecker. Historically, it was found in the southeastern United States and Cuba (range map). Its habitat is old-growth forest with dead and decaying trees which support its main food source, beetle larvae.

Physically, the Ivory-bill is a large (L = 19", WS = 33", Wt = 18 oz) mostly black bird. Both sexes have a crest and the male's is bright red. But, the feature that best describes the bird is its ivory white bill. The bird's call is often described as a "toy horn" and it can also be identified by the "double knock" that it makes.

The ivory-bill looks very much like the relatively common Pileated Woodpecker and many sightings over the years have been attributed to this mistaken identity. The ivory-bill is larger, has a white trailing edge to its wings, and has a different flight pattern. Here's a great guide to help with identification.

MAS Birder's Meeting

This year's Massachusetts Audubon Birder's Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 4th. The keynote speaker will be Tim Gallagher author of "The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker".

I would definitely recommend Tim's book if you're interested in wildlife, conservation, or just love a good mystery story. The book tells the story of how Tim and Bobby Harrison devoted a good deal of their adult lives searching for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (America's largerst woodpecker which was widely believed to be extinct). After getting a tip from an internet forum that outdoorsman Gene Sparling had reported a bird that matched the ivory bill's description, Tim and Bobby traveled to Arkansas to meet with Gene. Gene brought them to the bayou where he made his sighting and, to their disbelief, they actually saw the bird. When Tim returned to the Cornell Lab of Ornatology, he broke the news to the lab's director. The lab then started a year long secret effort to document the finding and purchase land in the area to protect the species. Finally, the news was broken to the world last April.

I must admit, the Ivory-bill's story is one of my favorites in the animal world. And, since we're in the dead of winter, I thought that I'd devote the next few posts to the subject. I hope that you enjoy them.

Prey Populations

After posting my sightings at Plum Island the other day I started to think about the the abundance of birds of prey in that area. I went back and reviewed the recent sightings on the island for 1/8 - 1/9 and there were reports for the following:

Snowy Owl (2)
Short Eared Owl (1)
Northern Harrier (5)
Red Tailed Hawk (1)
Rough Legged Hawk (1)

I singled these birds out because a large portion of their diet consists of rodents (moles, voles, mice, etc). Then I started to think about how many rodents there must be on the refuge to support these predators (plus the coyotes and foxes that must be there as well). That's 10 birds weighing 1 to 5 pounds a piece. They must consume a lot of rodents every week. The refuge is obviously large enough to support them (4600 acres) but just how large is the rodent population? And, I've wondered if its possible to estimate the minimum population of prey by the number of predators.

To do this, you've got to assume that even with all of the predation, the rodent population is steady. I know from some talks that I've attended on insect population, only a small fraction of the eggs need to survive to maintain a population. I did a little research and found an Introduction to Population Ecology site which has a table that details mortality factors for spruce budworms. Only 1.25% of the eggs need to survive to keep the species alive. I have no idea if this magnitude of losses would apply to rodents but I would think that it could be over 80%.

If anyone comes across information on this subject, I'd be interested in reading it.

I wish that it didn't have to come to this....

A trio of conservation groups in Nevada/Arizona are suing the federal government in an effort to protect the Sand Mountain Blue butterfly. You can read the story at cnn.com. It seems like this is the only way that a species can get protection now. I can understand why people get upset when the government tries to enforce the Endangered Species Act on private land but the act shouldn't be this difficult to apply to public lands.

Plum Island 1/7

I went back to Plum Island again this weekend. I'm in a bit of a rut but at this time of the year there isn't much activity unless you go to the coast. As I drove in the main gate, I was welcomed by three female Northern Harriers (plus one bird of prey that I couldn't identify) all working the area near parking lot 1. What a sight! I brought me back to the first time that I can remember ever seeing a harrier. It was at Wellfleet Bay Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary a number of years back. The bird came up on us so quickly as I walked with my parents along the water. It glided so smoothly just barely clearing the grass. Then stopped abruptly and dove for a vole. If you've never seen one, it is quite an amazing sight. That one encounter totally rekindled my love of animals.

So, it was fantastic to see some many harriers in one place. Over the course of the day, I must have seen at least four. But, since they spend so much time huntings, its hard to know for sure.

Unfortunately, other than the harriers, I didn't see too much more. The wind was up and it was frigidly cold and that might have kept everything in the shelter. I missed the Short Eared and snowy Owls but I got all three species of Scoter (Surf, White Winged, and Black). In the water there was also Common Goldeneye, Red Necked Grebe, Common Eider, and Purple Sandpiper. Land birds included Mockingbird, Tree Sparrow, Robin, Chickadee, and a large flock of Starlings. I'm sure that there were others but I've forgotten (I need to start writing down my records).

Plum Island is really a wonderful place. If you plan on visiting and are interested in what kind of birds that you might see, you can check out Tom Wetmore's Recent Sightings on Plum Island and Vicinity. Its a great resource.

Eagle Festival

The annual Connecticut Audubon Society Eagle Festival will be happening on February 18-19 in Essex, CT. I've gone to the festival a couple of times and its always a lot of fun. The main draw is the great opportunity to view American Bald Eagles on the Connecticut River but there are many other things to do. You can tour the river by boat. There is a daylong forum where speakers present different wildlife topics. Wildlife carvers from around the area present their art and the local businesses really get involved with the event. When the event date gets closer I'll post another reminder since you won't want to miss this.

Worcester County Bird Sightings

Rick Quimby hosts a website that posts birding reports for Worcester County. It can be found here.

All Faiths and Notre Dame Cemeteries: 1/2

Before the storms started today I took a drive thru the cemeteries in Worcester. All Faiths had a large flock of Canada Geese and a good sized flock of Hooded Mergasers. There were also two Common Mergansers and four Black Ducks.

Notre Dame cemetery had a pair of Hooded Mergansers, some Mallards, a Black Duck, two Northern Pintails, and a pair of Green Wing Teal. The Pintails had been at the cemetery for a week or two but I hadn't seen the Teal there before.

Riverbend Farm, Uxbridge MA: 12/31

I spent the last day of the year exploring the Riverbend Farm area in Uxbridge. On the shore of the river right outside the barn I found a muskrat feasting on some sort of vegetation. He quickly dove back into the water when I got too close.

Other than the muskrat, there wasn't too much activity near along the river. I saw a couple of Common Mergansers, a Red Tail Hawk surveying the open field, and a few Chickadees.

I continued over the bridge to the park area up the street and found a good sized mixed flock hanging out around some feeders. They consisted of Bluebirds, Dark Eyed Juncos, Downy Woodpeckers, and American Goldfinches. The Bluebirds were a welcome sight even in their drab winter plumage.

Oxbow NWR, 12/30

I spent the late morning/early evening at Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge. The weather was warm an sunny but there wasn't much wildlife activity. On the road into the refuge, two Red Tail Hawks were just beginning to take to the air. Inside at the beaver pond, I spooked a Great Blue Heron. It looked pretty healthy but I have no idea where it was getting food since all of the water I saw was frozen. Along the trails, I got a good look at a Golden Crowned Kinglet searching for food. I could hear two or three individual birds but only found one. Other than these birds and a few Chickadees and Goldfinches, the woods were pretty quiet.

Broad Meadow Brook MAS, 12/29

Before the real rain started on Thursday I spent a few hours at Broad Meadow Brook Massacusetts Audubon Sanctuary in Worcester. I hiked down Troiano Brookside Trail and looped around via Cardinal Trail. The conditions were cold and damp but the normal winter birds were out in force. I would estimate 50 - 75 American Robins were searching for food on the banks of the brook. There were also Dark Eyed Juncos, Chickadees, Tree Sparrows, Cardinals, Goldfinches, and two Rock Pigeons circling the fields. At the very beginning of Troiano I had a raptor which I believe was a Red Tail Hawk. Finally, since the brook is still mostly open water, a Belted Kingfisher is still around. Its amazing that this bird can still find food. But, its a good indication that a good number of fish survived the breaching of the beaver dam this past summer.

On a bad note, I also came across a deceased heron (I think that it was a Great Blue) in the brook. I couldn't tell for sure if it died of natural causes or from predation but the body was still intact.