I decided to try my luck again tonight on the Indiana University cross country (XC) course, looking/listening for American Woodcocks. I wasn't disappointed.
I left home at sunset, about 6:45PM, and walked over to the XC course. By the time I got there (around 7:00PM), the display flights were already underway!!
I didn't hear many "peent" calls, but there were lots of display flights...the most I've ever experienced on the XC course! One bird coming down from its display flight landed almost at my feet!!
I had another close encounter even before I got to the XC course. I was walking down Range Road when I heard a very loud "peent", and then a display flight, not 20 yards away. This was in a relatively small patch of grass just to the east of IU's Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library Facility. It's basically a construction zone, so the woodcock's display there really took me by surprise.
The birds were still displaying when I left, but I had to leave the XC course earlier than I wanted to, because I could hear someone running their dog in the dark on the XC course. Last thing I need to do is come between a protective dog and its owner in the pitch dark! Bummer!!
One other note. While I was listening to woodcocks displaying, I could hear Killdeer migrating overhead. Interesting to hear two "shorebirds" vocalizing at the same time. :-)
Monday, March 8, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
BIGBY species #75 for 2010
Yesterday I encountered my 75th BIGBY species of the year - - a Savannah Sparrow singing in a 20 acre meadow immediately adjacent to the Indiana University cross country course.
My main goal for 2010 is to break my personal record early date for reaching 100 walking BIGBY species. The earliest I've tallied 100 walking BIGBY species is April 29, so I need to hit 100 species before that date this year. I now need 25 species over the next 7+ weeks. I think I can do it!
My main goal for 2010 is to break my personal record early date for reaching 100 walking BIGBY species. The earliest I've tallied 100 walking BIGBY species is April 29, so I need to hit 100 species before that date this year. I now need 25 species over the next 7+ weeks. I think I can do it!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
BIGBY (green birding) newsletter
Richard Gregson of Montreal has just published a great issue of the BIGBY (green birding) newsletter:
http://www.sparrowo rks.ca/greenbird ing/downloads/ Bigby_newsletter _1_pdf.pdf
OK, maybe I'm biased...I have an article on page 2. :-)
http://www.sparrowo rks.ca/greenbird ing/downloads/ Bigby_newsletter _1_pdf.pdf
OK, maybe I'm biased...I have an article on page 2. :-)
Friday, March 5, 2010
Touched by the sounds of Sandhills
I was awakened this morning (about 7:30) by the loud clamor of Sandhill Cranes flying relatively low over my house. God how I love that sound! It's one of my favorite sounds of nature!! Way better than any alarm clock. :-)
I was out quite a bit today. It seemed like every time I was outside I would eventually hear Sandhills somewhere in the distance. It must have been a good day to be on the move.
In some respects seeing/hearing Sandhill Cranes gives me the same feeling I used to get from migrating Canada Geese when I was younger. It was invigorating to see the high flying v-shaped skeins of geese, up so high that their raucous honking was barely audible on the ground. The geese would inspire a sense of wanderlust.. .coming from who knows where, heading to who knows where, making only a brief appearance in my world. But the presence of year-round resident Canada Goose flocks has undermined that earlier sense of wonder. I think my earlier fascination with migrating geese has been replaced by the joy I feel when I hear the bugling calls of migrating Sandhill Cranes. Like the geese of my youth, the cranes pass over unexpectedly, spending very little time in my world.
I'll be listening again tomorrow for the sound of Sandhills... a real tonic for the soul.
I was out quite a bit today. It seemed like every time I was outside I would eventually hear Sandhills somewhere in the distance. It must have been a good day to be on the move.
In some respects seeing/hearing Sandhill Cranes gives me the same feeling I used to get from migrating Canada Geese when I was younger. It was invigorating to see the high flying v-shaped skeins of geese, up so high that their raucous honking was barely audible on the ground. The geese would inspire a sense of wanderlust.. .coming from who knows where, heading to who knows where, making only a brief appearance in my world. But the presence of year-round resident Canada Goose flocks has undermined that earlier sense of wonder. I think my earlier fascination with migrating geese has been replaced by the joy I feel when I hear the bugling calls of migrating Sandhill Cranes. Like the geese of my youth, the cranes pass over unexpectedly, spending very little time in my world.
I'll be listening again tomorrow for the sound of Sandhills... a real tonic for the soul.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Caterwauling Barred Owls and other noteworthy birds from this week
I was out on the Indiana University (IU) cross country (XC) course Monday evening listening for American Woodcocks. I was standing at the edge of the woods, facing the IU XC grasslands. While listening for the woodcocks I had the good fortune to experience a rare treat: a pair of Barred Owls caterwauling, not too far away in the woods! This is quite different from the usual semi-spooky and sedate "who-cooks-for-you" call. It is an unearthly, raise-the-hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck, ghostly caterwauling. I'm glad I knew what it was ahead of time, or else I might have chickened out and headed home post haste and missed the woodcocks. The owls' caterwauling really does sound that spooky!! :-)
Some other highlights from the IU XC course this week, in no particular order:
* Several Rusty Blackbirds on the IU XC course today, perched in a tree. They didn't stick around long...they were gone when I passed the area on the way back...must have been just passing through. BIGBY species #74 for 2010. Second first-of-year BIGBY species this week (Monday's woodcocks were #73 for the year).
* Had a Peregrine Falcon flyover on Tuesday, heading in a southerly direction. Might have been the same bird that occasionaly harrasses the K-Mart pigeons on Bloomington's east side. Only my second Peregrine sighting of the year.
* Yesterday I saw a Northern Mockingbird actively trying to find insects. It would perch on an IU XC course sign and abruptly drop down into the grass. It would sometimes run through the grass, occasionally flapping its wings, as if in pursuit of some snack. This is the first time this year that I've seen this behavior from mockingbirds. Up til now they've been forlornly eating unappetizing-looking dessicated fruits. Gotta be a sign of spring!! :-)
* Yesterday morning there was a large flock of Blue Jays on the IU XC course mobbing, well, nothing. Maybe 20 Blue Jays, racously loud, in one tree. It was typical mobbing behavior, except there was nothing there but Blue Jays. They even flew away in a group as if chasing something, but there were no birds/animals trying to elude them. Maybe it was the Blue Jay equivalent of a fire drill?
* Today while returning from the XC course I heard one or two Red-winged Blackbirds singing their "konk-a-ree" songs as if claiming territory. This was in the large overgrown field at the southwest corner of the intersection of Pete Ellis Drive and East 10th Street on Bloomington's east side. That's the first time I've heard that song this year...a sure sign of spring!!!
* Flyover Killdeers have been pretty much of a constant the past couple of days (and evenings). Not a lot of them, but I will hear them every couple of minutes. Haven't seen any on the ground yet, but they are definitely on the move...another good sign of spring.
* Finally, Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds (and possibly other "blackbirds") were moving overhead this morning to the north. Not huge flocks, but I was hearing their calls on a regular basis. One more good sign of spring!
Some other highlights from the IU XC course this week, in no particular order:
* Several Rusty Blackbirds on the IU XC course today, perched in a tree. They didn't stick around long...they were gone when I passed the area on the way back...must have been just passing through. BIGBY species #74 for 2010. Second first-of-year BIGBY species this week (Monday's woodcocks were #73 for the year).
* Had a Peregrine Falcon flyover on Tuesday, heading in a southerly direction. Might have been the same bird that occasionaly harrasses the K-Mart pigeons on Bloomington's east side. Only my second Peregrine sighting of the year.
* Yesterday I saw a Northern Mockingbird actively trying to find insects. It would perch on an IU XC course sign and abruptly drop down into the grass. It would sometimes run through the grass, occasionally flapping its wings, as if in pursuit of some snack. This is the first time this year that I've seen this behavior from mockingbirds. Up til now they've been forlornly eating unappetizing-looking dessicated fruits. Gotta be a sign of spring!! :-)
* Yesterday morning there was a large flock of Blue Jays on the IU XC course mobbing, well, nothing. Maybe 20 Blue Jays, racously loud, in one tree. It was typical mobbing behavior, except there was nothing there but Blue Jays. They even flew away in a group as if chasing something, but there were no birds/animals trying to elude them. Maybe it was the Blue Jay equivalent of a fire drill?
* Today while returning from the XC course I heard one or two Red-winged Blackbirds singing their "konk-a-ree" songs as if claiming territory. This was in the large overgrown field at the southwest corner of the intersection of Pete Ellis Drive and East 10th Street on Bloomington's east side. That's the first time I've heard that song this year...a sure sign of spring!!!
* Flyover Killdeers have been pretty much of a constant the past couple of days (and evenings). Not a lot of them, but I will hear them every couple of minutes. Haven't seen any on the ground yet, but they are definitely on the move...another good sign of spring.
* Finally, Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds (and possibly other "blackbirds") were moving overhead this morning to the north. Not huge flocks, but I was hearing their calls on a regular basis. One more good sign of spring!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
American Woodcocks
On Monday evening I walked over to the IU cross country course to (once again) listen for American Woodcocks. I was on the XC course in the damp chill for 40-50 minutes, pretty much standing in one spot the whole time. A glutton for punishment, I guess.
At one point I heard a "peent" call in the distance off to the north, from a 20 acre field that isn't part of the XC course. Then I heard one closer to me, out towards the middle of the lower section of the XC course. I forgot about the cold as I waited for the dazzling aerial display flights to begin. One display flight in the distance, and then the birds were done. Kinda anti-climactic, but at least I'd finally found them!
On the way home, I was walking past the field at the southeast corner of 10th Street and Pete Ellis Drive (the field is part of the old John Hinkle farmstead). I was surprised to hear a woodcock "peent" twice from the general direction of the trees along the railroad tracks. I was surprised because this area is in town, and I'd never heard woodcocks there before.
For some reason I love hearing woodcocks in the spring, probably because it takes some effort on my part (stumbling around, alone, in the cold, in the dark). And I think it’s pretty cool to know enough about a bird that I can go out looking for it and find it doing something special...a bird doing something that most people don't get to experience. I guess it makes me feel more in touch with the natural world.
I think I'll go out looking for woodcocks again in a couple of days. Especially since the weather is supposed to warm up a bit!
At one point I heard a "peent" call in the distance off to the north, from a 20 acre field that isn't part of the XC course. Then I heard one closer to me, out towards the middle of the lower section of the XC course. I forgot about the cold as I waited for the dazzling aerial display flights to begin. One display flight in the distance, and then the birds were done. Kinda anti-climactic, but at least I'd finally found them!
On the way home, I was walking past the field at the southeast corner of 10th Street and Pete Ellis Drive (the field is part of the old John Hinkle farmstead). I was surprised to hear a woodcock "peent" twice from the general direction of the trees along the railroad tracks. I was surprised because this area is in town, and I'd never heard woodcocks there before.
For some reason I love hearing woodcocks in the spring, probably because it takes some effort on my part (stumbling around, alone, in the cold, in the dark). And I think it’s pretty cool to know enough about a bird that I can go out looking for it and find it doing something special...a bird doing something that most people don't get to experience. I guess it makes me feel more in touch with the natural world.
I think I'll go out looking for woodcocks again in a couple of days. Especially since the weather is supposed to warm up a bit!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Green birding category at Southern Illinois Birding Blitz
The 9th Annual Southern Illinois Birding Blitz Competition will be on Saturday, April 24th, this year. There are five competition categories this year, one of which is a green birding category:
"Muscle-powered - Teams cannot use any motorized form of transportation in their pursuit of a Big Day."
For more info on the Birding Blitz:
http://www.cacherivernaturefest.org/blitz.html
"Muscle-powered - Teams cannot use any motorized form of transportation in their pursuit of a Big Day."
For more info on the Birding Blitz:
http://www.cacherivernaturefest.org/blitz.html
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