A rare Anna's Hummingbird is featured in a front page story in the Peoria (IL) Journal-Star. Normally this species is basically a West Coast bird.
Here's an image of the front page: http://bit.ly/g3iDrX (unfortunately the full article is for subscribers only).
I'm reminded of the old saying "But, will it play in Peoria?" I guess rare birds do play in Peoria. :-)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Mystery Bird Imprint in the Snow (ID challenge)
I was walking along Milwaukee's lakefront yesterday when I came across the imprint of a bird in the snow. It looked like the bird had hit the snow directly from above, leaving impressions of its body, wings, tail and part of the head. This bird then apparently took off vertically. There were no signs of the bird walking or struggling away, and no signs of another animal dragging it away. The snow all around the imprint was undisturbed. That made me think it was the work of some bird of prey.
Here's my original photo of the imprint (there had been some drifting of the snow since the imprint was originally made):
http://bit.ly/hBRNLw
I measured the imprint by taking photos of my shoeprints alongside the imprint. It looks like the wingspan was maybe 29 inches. The length of the body from tip of tail to approximate top of head was 17-18 inches. The width of the tail (spread) was about 6 inches at the tip. The length of the tail was maybe 4 inches.
Here's a photo of the imprint with my shoeprints alongside. My shoes are just shy of 12 inches long:
http://bit.ly/eErenk
Any ideas about what bird made this imprint?
Here's my original photo of the imprint (there had been some drifting of the snow since the imprint was originally made):
http://bit.ly/hBRNLw
I measured the imprint by taking photos of my shoeprints alongside the imprint. It looks like the wingspan was maybe 29 inches. The length of the body from tip of tail to approximate top of head was 17-18 inches. The width of the tail (spread) was about 6 inches at the tip. The length of the tail was maybe 4 inches.
Here's a photo of the imprint with my shoeprints alongside. My shoes are just shy of 12 inches long:
http://bit.ly/eErenk
Any ideas about what bird made this imprint?
Milwaukee Lakefront, 12/6 - Lots of ducks, one new BIGBY
Yesterday I spent three hours prowling the Milwaukee lakefront in single digit wind chills. I was surprisingly comfortable. Must have dressed right. Here's a chill-inducing photo from Bradford Beach...the waves are turning into ice/slush on the shoreline: http://bit.ly/fEcvvd
The surf was surprisingly rough, given that the wind was out of the west, blowing offshore. The flag at the south end of McKinley Beach was pointing straight to the east, yet these waves were coming in *against* the wind: http://bit.ly/h7yjUI
The big highlight of the day was a HUGE raft of ducks off of Bradford Beach. It ran almost the full length of the beach, which is about 2,000 feet long. The northern end of this flock was maybe 100 feet wide, and the southern end was about 300 feet wide, Even if you conservatively estimate 2 ducks per foot over 1500 feet you get 3,000 birds. And I'm pretty sure that's an underestimate.
The ducks were mostly a mix of Scaups, Buffleheads, and Goldeneyes...predominantly Scaups. But there was a new BIGBY bird in the mix: a Long-tailed Duck. MilWALKee BIGBY species #188, and 2010 "combo" BIGBY species #227.
The surf was surprisingly rough, given that the wind was out of the west, blowing offshore. The flag at the south end of McKinley Beach was pointing straight to the east, yet these waves were coming in *against* the wind: http://bit.ly/h7yjUI
The big highlight of the day was a HUGE raft of ducks off of Bradford Beach. It ran almost the full length of the beach, which is about 2,000 feet long. The northern end of this flock was maybe 100 feet wide, and the southern end was about 300 feet wide, Even if you conservatively estimate 2 ducks per foot over 1500 feet you get 3,000 birds. And I'm pretty sure that's an underestimate.
The ducks were mostly a mix of Scaups, Buffleheads, and Goldeneyes...predominantly Scaups. But there was a new BIGBY bird in the mix: a Long-tailed Duck. MilWALKee BIGBY species #188, and 2010 "combo" BIGBY species #227.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Milwaukee Lakefront, 12/4 - Lake effect snow squall and one new BIGBY
I picked a perfect time to go birding along the lake today...right in the middle of a heavy lake effect snow squall, pushed along by a stiff NE breeze off of the lake that made heading back north rather uncomfortable. It actually felt worse than in looks in this cell phone photo: http://bit.ly/fGuNTD.
Exceedingly unbirdy...only nine species for the whole hike. But I did add one new BIGBY species, bringing my MilWALKee BIGBY count to 186, and 2010 "combo" BIGBY count to 225 species.
Here's my *entire* species list for the day:
* Canvasback. Female. My new BIGBY bird. One bird, in one of the several rafts of Scaups. Seems a little late, but I'm not complaining. :-)
* Scaup. (I'm thinking Greater?) Several hundred birds behind the Milwaukee Art Museum. Here's a cell phone photo of one of the rafts...I counted about 190 little black dots in this one: http://bit.ly/hwi5Ax :-) There were a couple of other groups as well.
* Common Goldeneye. A few mixed in with the Scaups.
* American Coot. 10-15
* Mallard. Couple dozen.
* Herring Gulls.
* Ring-billed Gulls.
* Canada Goose. 150+ in Veterans Park. They were nosing around in the snow trying to reach the grass. Made *my* nose cold just to watch!
* Mute Swan. Didn't see any swans behind the art museum on my way south. As I headed back north the snow tapered off briefly and the swans gradually emerged from the snowy backdrop, sort of like a veil being lifted. I'm sure they were there the first time I went by, but it's hard to see white birds (no matter how large they are) in wind-driven heavy snow. Here's a distant cell phone photo, good enough to tell they are swans: http://bit.ly/ewy1Gg :-)
Exceedingly unbirdy...only nine species for the whole hike. But I did add one new BIGBY species, bringing my MilWALKee BIGBY count to 186, and 2010 "combo" BIGBY count to 225 species.
Here's my *entire* species list for the day:
* Canvasback. Female. My new BIGBY bird. One bird, in one of the several rafts of Scaups. Seems a little late, but I'm not complaining. :-)
* Scaup. (I'm thinking Greater?) Several hundred birds behind the Milwaukee Art Museum. Here's a cell phone photo of one of the rafts...I counted about 190 little black dots in this one: http://bit.ly/hwi5Ax :-) There were a couple of other groups as well.
* Common Goldeneye. A few mixed in with the Scaups.
* American Coot. 10-15
* Mallard. Couple dozen.
* Herring Gulls.
* Ring-billed Gulls.
* Canada Goose. 150+ in Veterans Park. They were nosing around in the snow trying to reach the grass. Made *my* nose cold just to watch!
* Mute Swan. Didn't see any swans behind the art museum on my way south. As I headed back north the snow tapered off briefly and the swans gradually emerged from the snowy backdrop, sort of like a veil being lifted. I'm sure they were there the first time I went by, but it's hard to see white birds (no matter how large they are) in wind-driven heavy snow. Here's a distant cell phone photo, good enough to tell they are swans: http://bit.ly/ewy1Gg :-)
Friday, December 3, 2010
Milwaukee Lakefront, 11/28-12/1 - Cave Swallow and four other new BIGBY species
This week has been interesting so far along the Milwaukee lakefront. The ducks have started to show up in greater numbers all along my BIGBY route. Scaup, Scoters, Buffleheads, Goldeneyes, Gadwall, etc. I've been pretty busy this week and haven't had time to post anything until now.
From Monday through today I added six new BIGBY species, bringing my MilWALKee BIGBY count to 185 species, and hitting the 224 species mark for my 2010 "combo" BIGBY species list. The "combo" list is a list of birds found while walking from my old home in southern Indiana (1/1/10 through 7/31/10), and walking from my new home in Milwaukee (8/1/10 to present date).
The high winds and rough surf this week brought the surfers out in full force on Lake Michigan. Here's a good example of the rough water from Monday morning: http://bit.ly/g3YkHe. And here's a surfer heading home from McKinley beach on Sunday night after catching one last wave: http://bit.ly/hmuRwx. And here's a Milwaukee surfer catching some air off a wave off of Bradford Beach on Monday morning: http://bit.ly/fM5Vx0. He's using a para-sail (very large kite) to help him get airborne.
There was also a fitting end to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. A pumpkin washed up on Bradford Beach Sunday night. Neat contrasts between the orange pumpkin and the beach sand. Here's a wet sand photo from Monday morning: http://bit.ly/dMAShx. And here's a drier sand version from yesterday morning: http://bit.ly/gBAzD9.
Now for the birding highlights:
* Harlequin Duck (11/29). Milwaukee BIGBY species # 181. Combo BIGBY species #220. Just off shore at the North Point algae mats. Wasn't there the next time I walked by there on Wednesday.
* Northern Shoveler (11/30). Milwaukee BIGBY species # 182. Combo BIGBY species #221. Lakeshore State Park.
* Cave Swallow (11/30). Milwaukee BIGBY species # 183. Combo BIGBY species #222. Lakeshore State Park. This bird was a BIG surprise! It made a couple of passes over the south lawn, and over the park lagoon, and then headed in a southeasterly(?) direction towards the mouth of the Milwaukee River. It was flying low over the park, maybe 5-6 feet above the ground. At the closest it was maybe ten feet in front of me, flying relatively slowly into the stiff wind, so I got good looks. A Cave Swallow has been seen for several days at Milwaukee's South Metro Pier, accompanied by two Tree Swallows. Could my bird be the same bird as the South Metro Pier bird? Maybe not, since the pier is several miles from my sighting. Anyway, I hope it managed to get south before the real cold settled in!
* Ruddy Duck (11/30). Milwaukee BIGBY species # 184. Combo BIGBY species #223. Three birds behind art museum.
* Common Merganser (12/1). Milwaukee BIGBY species # 185. Combo BIGBY species #224. Three birds, off North Point rugby field. This marks a new personal record BIGBY species count for a single location in a calendar year. I recorded 184 BIGBY species in 2009 in southern Indiana. So the 185th Milwaukee species in 2010 is a new record.
From Monday through today I added six new BIGBY species, bringing my MilWALKee BIGBY count to 185 species, and hitting the 224 species mark for my 2010 "combo" BIGBY species list. The "combo" list is a list of birds found while walking from my old home in southern Indiana (1/1/10 through 7/31/10), and walking from my new home in Milwaukee (8/1/10 to present date).
The high winds and rough surf this week brought the surfers out in full force on Lake Michigan. Here's a good example of the rough water from Monday morning: http://bit.ly/g3YkHe. And here's a surfer heading home from McKinley beach on Sunday night after catching one last wave: http://bit.ly/hmuRwx. And here's a Milwaukee surfer catching some air off a wave off of Bradford Beach on Monday morning: http://bit.ly/fM5Vx0. He's using a para-sail (very large kite) to help him get airborne.
There was also a fitting end to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. A pumpkin washed up on Bradford Beach Sunday night. Neat contrasts between the orange pumpkin and the beach sand. Here's a wet sand photo from Monday morning: http://bit.ly/dMAShx. And here's a drier sand version from yesterday morning: http://bit.ly/gBAzD9.
Now for the birding highlights:
* Harlequin Duck (11/29). Milwaukee BIGBY species # 181. Combo BIGBY species #220. Just off shore at the North Point algae mats. Wasn't there the next time I walked by there on Wednesday.
* Northern Shoveler (11/30). Milwaukee BIGBY species # 182. Combo BIGBY species #221. Lakeshore State Park.
* Cave Swallow (11/30). Milwaukee BIGBY species # 183. Combo BIGBY species #222. Lakeshore State Park. This bird was a BIG surprise! It made a couple of passes over the south lawn, and over the park lagoon, and then headed in a southeasterly(?) direction towards the mouth of the Milwaukee River. It was flying low over the park, maybe 5-6 feet above the ground. At the closest it was maybe ten feet in front of me, flying relatively slowly into the stiff wind, so I got good looks. A Cave Swallow has been seen for several days at Milwaukee's South Metro Pier, accompanied by two Tree Swallows. Could my bird be the same bird as the South Metro Pier bird? Maybe not, since the pier is several miles from my sighting. Anyway, I hope it managed to get south before the real cold settled in!
* Ruddy Duck (11/30). Milwaukee BIGBY species # 184. Combo BIGBY species #223. Three birds behind art museum.
* Common Merganser (12/1). Milwaukee BIGBY species # 185. Combo BIGBY species #224. Three birds, off North Point rugby field. This marks a new personal record BIGBY species count for a single location in a calendar year. I recorded 184 BIGBY species in 2009 in southern Indiana. So the 185th Milwaukee species in 2010 is a new record.
Milwaukee Lakefront, 12/2
I walked the southern portion of my Milwaukee BIGBY route today. No new birds, but a few interesting highlights:
* The Veterans Park lagoon is iced over. See: http://bit.ly/gEqtb2. Also see: http://bit.ly/eZFN5p for an evening view.
* Probably the most Mallards I've seen since I moved to Milwaukee. Couple hundred, at least. Speaking of Mallards, I've been noticing some interesting behavior the past few days. Whenever it's windy and the water is rough, a lot of zebra mussels wash up on Bradford Beach and North Point. Not just shells, but clumps of zebra mussels attached to each other, either still alive or just recently expired. Anyway, the Mallards appear to be bolting down the clumps of zebra mussels, shells and all. Looks like it would be kinda painful swallowing those sharp edged shells. Guess the ducks must have tough gizzards.
* Lots of Canada Geese in Veterans Park. Maybe 500 in total? The orange-collared Canada Goose that was banded 8+ years ago on Hudson Bay is STILL hanging out there. I first spotted her on October 11.
* Two Cackling Geese mixed in with the Canadas.
* A raft of maybe 200 Scaup behind the art museum. A few Goldeneyes and Buffleheads mixed in.
* The Ruddy Ducks were still there, in pretty much EXACTLY the same spot they were in on Tuesday. You wonder what makes some birds favor a location so much?
* Double-crested Cormorant in the Discovery World harbor. This seems kinda late to me. It's been at least a couple of weeks since I've seen one.
* The Veterans Park lagoon is iced over. See: http://bit.ly/gEqtb2. Also see: http://bit.ly/eZFN5p for an evening view.
* Probably the most Mallards I've seen since I moved to Milwaukee. Couple hundred, at least. Speaking of Mallards, I've been noticing some interesting behavior the past few days. Whenever it's windy and the water is rough, a lot of zebra mussels wash up on Bradford Beach and North Point. Not just shells, but clumps of zebra mussels attached to each other, either still alive or just recently expired. Anyway, the Mallards appear to be bolting down the clumps of zebra mussels, shells and all. Looks like it would be kinda painful swallowing those sharp edged shells. Guess the ducks must have tough gizzards.
* Lots of Canada Geese in Veterans Park. Maybe 500 in total? The orange-collared Canada Goose that was banded 8+ years ago on Hudson Bay is STILL hanging out there. I first spotted her on October 11.
* Two Cackling Geese mixed in with the Canadas.
* A raft of maybe 200 Scaup behind the art museum. A few Goldeneyes and Buffleheads mixed in.
* The Ruddy Ducks were still there, in pretty much EXACTLY the same spot they were in on Tuesday. You wonder what makes some birds favor a location so much?
* Double-crested Cormorant in the Discovery World harbor. This seems kinda late to me. It's been at least a couple of weeks since I've seen one.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
What is a BIGBY?
Several Montreal-area birders started doing a Big Green Big Year (BIGBY) in 2008. While the definition of a BIGBY can be rather fluid, it focuses on birders reducing their carbon footprint while familiarizing themselves with the birds on their own local patch of land.
In my case, I am doing what is called a "walking BIGBY", keeping track of the birds I see while walking from home. This year (2010) is the third year I've done this. For the first seven months of this year, home was in southern Indiana (Bloomington). I've continued the walking BIGBY after moving to Milwaukee in August. I recorded 152 species in Indiana, and as of today I have 186 walking BIGBY species in Milwaukee. Combining my Indiana and Wisconsin species, I know have 225 walking BIGBY species in 2010.
I also have an Illinois walking BIGBY life list from when I lived in Urbana. That list stands at 190 species. Not bad for walking in central Illinois.
Here are a couple of informational items about BIGBYing:
BIGBY informational web page: http://bit.ly/bGUVxi
BIGBY newsletter: http://bit.ly/aXrd7e
BIGBY e-mail list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bigbybirding/
BIGBY newsletter: http://bit.ly/aXrd7e
BIGBY e-mail list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bigbybirding/
And here are four brief articles I've written about my BIGBY experiences for the newsletter of the local Audubon Society chapter in southern Indiana. Note: the URL takes you to the newsletter issue as a whole. You will need to scroll down to the applicable page number.
In My Backyard: Big Green Big Year Satisfies. The Leaflet (newsletter). January/February 2009. ARTICLE ON PAGE 5.
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2009/Leaflet2009-01.pdf
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2009/Leaflet2009-01.pdf
Big Green Big Year — 2008 Summary of Four Experiences. The Leaflet (newsletter). March/April 2009. ARTICLE ON PAGE 6.
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2009/Leaflet2009-03.pdf
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2009/Leaflet2009-03.pdf
Big Green Big Year 2009: It’s All About Location, Location, Location. The Leaflet (newsletter). July/August 2009. ARTICLE ON PAGE 8.
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2009/Leaflet2009-07.pdf
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2009/Leaflet2009-07.pdf
Green Birding 2009. The Leaflet (newsletter). January/February 2010. ARTICLE ON PAGE 8.
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2010/Leaflet2010-01.pdf
http://www.sassafrasaudubon.org/leaflet_archive/2010/Leaflet2010-01.pdf
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