BrdPics

Bird Book of the Year?

2012-01-25T11:11:00.015-07:00

I know it is still only January, but I have a feeling my favorite bird book published in 2012 has already found a place on my bookshelf. I'm referring to Steve Howell's comprehensive Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide (Princeton University Press.) I find all of Steve's titles to be indispensable fonts of information, helpful for anything from quick photo comparisons to deep reading on identification tips, distribution, biology, and conservation issues. This tome is no exception- the sheer scale of the book's contents (a plethora of photos for every species represented, reams of authoritative text, and by far the best maps for these birds) boggles me- there is literally years of sea-time from Steve and his consultants distilled into this volume. Seasoned pelagic veterans and landlocked birders alike will have tons to learn about North American tubenoses from this book and I know it will offer enjoyment to anyone interested in wild birds!

The bottom line: This is a must-have title for any serious North American birder- get it!

From the publisher:

Petrels, albatrosses, and storm-petrels are among the most beautiful yet least known of all the world's birds, living their lives at sea far from the sight of most people. Largely colored in shades of gray, black, and white, these enigmatic and fast-flying seabirds can be hard to differentiate, particularly from a moving boat. Useful worldwide, not just in North America, this photographic guide is based on unrivaled field experience and combines insightful text and hundreds of full-color images to help you identify these remarkable birds.

The first book of its kind, this guide features an introduction that explains ocean habitats and the latest developments in taxonomy. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features such as flight manner, plumage variation related to age and molt, seasonal occurrence patterns, and migration routes. Species accounts are arranged into groups helpful for field identification, and an overview of unique identification challenges is provided for each group. The guide also includes distribution maps for regularly occurring species as well as a bibliography, glossary, and appendixes.

The first state-of-the-art photographic guide to these enigmatic seabirds
Includes hundreds of full-color photos throughout
Features detailed species accounts that describe flight, plumage, distribution, and more
Provides overviews of ocean habitats, taxonomy, and conservation
Offers tips on how to observe and identify birds at sea

Steve N. G. Howell is an acclaimed field ornithologist and writer. He is an international bird tour leader with WINGS and a research associate at PRBO Conservation Science in California. His books include the Peterson Reference Guide to Molt in North American Birds and Hummingbirds of North America (Princeton).

A Greater Roadrunner Where Now??

2012-01-14T17:39:00.004-07:00

Earlier this week, my buddy Joe Roller did some great bird detective work and weathered several fruitless trips to finally track down a rumored Greater Roadrunner on Dinosaur Ridge, west of Denver near the fabled Red Rocks Park (Joe's highly entertaining full story of his roadrunner quest can be found here.) After his original confirmation of the bird he led 1 successful return trip followed by a string of dips in worse weather. Today, though, the weather improved, the weekend rolled around, and several Denver-area birders including yours truly positioned themselves along the bird's favorite haunts to see if it would make another appearance. At about 12:30 we were rewarded with looks that began as distant & fleeting but got better and better. Below are some of my favorite images of this bird, and yeah, the white stuff in many of the images is snow!! Thanks, Joe!

Enjoy- Bill

Roller's Roadrunner Raiders getting their twitching orders.

Snake In The Grass

2011-10-07T14:49:00.001-06:00

At the Midwest Birding Symposium, my friend Clay Taylor tuned me on to a great digiscoping lens for Micro Four Thirds Cameras. I knew that I would have to get the Olympus 14-42mm MSC lens to pair with my Panasonic DMC-G1 after he let me try it- on my Nikon EDG Fieldscope I can get vignette-free images at nearly any zoom. The internal focus of the lens prevents any bumping and it seems very sharp on initial perusal. As a nice bonus, I found out that it also makes a really nice macro lens when I came across this Common Garter Snake at Boulder Reservoir last week. With the zoom range (28-84mm equivalent), digiscoping friendliness, and excellent macro capabilities, I think that it will be the ideal companion to tote along as a compliment to my telephoto rig. Here are a few macros taken with this new rig- digiscoping examples will follow eventually...

How Cool is This? Nikon Announces Stabilized Scopes

2011-10-06T09:40:00.006-06:00

I just got word that Nikon will produce an imaged-stabilized version of the vernerable EDG Fieldscope. There will be straight and angled 85mm models, each equipped with Nikon's VR (vibration reduction) technology that has been perfected in their stabilized camera lenses. I swear by the VR in my 200-400mm f/4 VR Nikon camera lens- it makes hand-holding the rig a reality, even with a 1.4X teleconverter. I think the potential for VR in a scope is pretty amazing, particularly for digiscoping. Using stabilized cameras for digiscoping really doesn't help since they can't counter movements in the scope, so this should be a major weapon for getting sharp digiscoped shots. I'm not sure when I'll get to put my hands on one of these but I'll let you know what I think when I do!!

Fall Warbler Workout

2011-09-30T11:07:00.015-06:00

I recently had the fabulous opportunity to attend the Midwest Birding Symposium representing Nikon Sport Optics. The event was headquartered in Lakeside, Ohio, and in addition to our booth Nikon sponsored the famous Magee Marsh Boardwalk birding site. This meant that my partner Tom Dunkerton & I had to scout the boardwalk and then head out to help the birders heading there as part of their symposium dance card- a tough job but someone has to do it!!

I especially appreciated the mental workout of identifying migrant fall eastern warblers- as a Colorado birder I don't see many of these. (Most of my experience with eastern warblers is from trips north and east to tally these beauties during the breeding season when their full colors and songs make the sorting much easier.) I think I've sussed the following birds out but please set me straight if you think I've gotten any wrong! Hope you enjoy the non-bird stuff, too. (Click on any image to enlarge.) Enjoy- Bill

Cape May Warbler (thanks, Nate!)

Blackpoll Warblers (note the yellow feet!)

Black-throated Blue Warbler (no mistaking that one!!)

Black-throated Green Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warblers

Baby Eastern Fox Snake (thanks to Tom Dunkerton for the pic of me with the snake)

Philadelphia Vireo (by far the best pic of this species I've gotten so far!)

Sunrise @ Magee Marsh

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Red-eyed Vireo (young bird- note dark eye.)

Sanderling (on zebra mussel shells.)

Tom Dunkerton photographing a Northern Watersnake

Yours Truly photographing above Sanderling (thanks again, Tom Dunkerton!)

To See the Grebe, Be the Grebe

2011-09-30T11:07:00.005-06:00

Sorry about the lack of activity 'round these parts lately- I should mention that for a while now I've been blogging every other week on the ABA Blog. I'll try to remember to post links to my ABA Blog entries here, like my latest about grebe photography from a kayak. I'll also try to have some fresh stuff here on BrdPics- especially photography, perhaps with less commentary (as my ABA posts often are more verbose.) Thanks, faithful readers! -Bill

Figuring Out Furry Friends Just Got Easier

2011-09-05T15:46:00.000-06:00

Figuring Out Furry Friends Just Got Easier

The Crossley ID Guide- Eastern Birds

2011-03-01T20:00:00.004-07:00

I was very excited to recently receive a thick envelope from Princeton University Press (THANKS!!), knowing it held The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds. I had discussed the book a few times with the energetic author, Richard Crossley, and knew it would be groundbreaking, unique, & valuable. It didn't disappoint!

The book begins differently from the very onset, with a quick reference guide on the endsheet (yeah, I had to look that up) organized by birds as you see them in the field instead of following the current (& ever changing) AOU taxonomy. There are sample images of birds from each of his 8 groups based on habitat and physical similarities (Swimming Waterbirds, Flying Waterbirds, Walking Waterbirds, Upland Gamebirds, Raptors, Miscellaneous Larger Landbirds, Aerial Landbirds, & Songbirds) with pages listed to get beginners going to the right sections and to let more advanced birders know how to find birds in this guide. The table of contents is also totally different than any other bird book I know of, with simply a small photo typifying each bird (all that share a page to the same scale- sweet!), the 4-letter banding code, and a page number.

I enjoyed Richard's preamble discussing the layout of the book, how to use it, and his thoughts on bird ID. In fact, one thing I enjoy about new bird books is the textual introductions (both to the book and to the various sections), with nuggets of knowledge to be gleaned from each author's expertise and perspective. Richard's species-level notes also have much food for thought and ID tips to apply in the field.

The biggest difference of this publication is its treatment of each species, which consists of a background image selected to represent a typical habitat for the bird and multiple (dozens in many cases) of bird images composited into the plate to represent various plumages and poses, nearly always including flight shots. I can't imagine the effort that went into getting flight shots for the little guys! The idea is that as birders we see birds near and far, in different plumages, at various angles and in flight and the book aims to replicate that. Richard is an intense, high-energy guy and his plates are a reflection of his personality- pedal to the metal birding that could border on information overload! He isn't afraid to show birds that aren't always pretty, such as a House Finch with conjunctivitis, little guys lurking among branches, or nocturnal birds with eye glow. Richard includes people and human structures in many of the backgrounds- again, reality supersedes always going for beauty which I feel is appropriate. It is essentially a massive photo library of reference shots for the 640 species represented.

The book is large, something I'd leave at home or in my vehicle for reference instead of toting around in the field (it is even bigger than the "big" Sibley Guide.) Some images may be too small in the background to be entirely helpful, though I suppose even those could supply helpful gestalt for the species. Some of the plates are also a bit dark to my eye. Admittedly, we see distant, small birds and we find ourselves in dim conditions so reality rules here, too, though in a book one might wish for brighter more detailed images throughout.

Richard's web site (http://www.crossleybooks.com) promises upcoming Western US & UK versions, both of which I'm very anxious to see as well (especially the Western version as I hail from the Mountain Time Zone.) I congratulate Richard on this monumental effort and for coming up with a bird guide concept so new and yet so potentially helpful to birders across the spectrum of ability and experience.

From the publisher:

This stunningly illustrated book from acclaimed birder and photographer Richard Crossley revolutionizes field guide design by providing the first real-life approach to identification. Whether you are a beginner, expert, or anywhere in between, The Crossley ID Guide will vastly improve your ability to identify birds.
Unlike other guides, which provide isolated individual photographs or illustrations, this is the first book to feature large, lifelike scenes for each species. These scenes--640 in all--are composed from more than 10,000 of the author's images showing birds in a wide range of views--near and far, from different angles, in various plumages and behaviors, including flight, and in the habitat in which they live. These beautiful compositions show how a bird's appearance changes with distance, and give equal emphasis to characteristics experts use to identify birds: size, structure and shape, behavior, probability, and color. This is the first book to convey all of these features visually--in a single image--and to reinforce them with accurate, concise text. Each scene provides a wealth of detailed visual information that invites and rewards careful study, but the most important identification features can be grasped instantly by anyone.
By making identification easier, more accurate, and more fun than ever before, The Crossley ID Guide will completely redefine how its users look at birds. Essential for all birders, it also promises to make new birders of many people who have despaired of using traditional guides.
Revolutionary. This book changes field guide design to make you a better birder
A picture says a thousand words. The most comprehensive guide: 640 stunning scenes created from 10,000 of the author's photographs
Reality birding. Lifelike in-focus scenes show birds in their habitats, from near and far, and in all plumages and behaviors
Teaching and reference. The first book to accurately portray all the key identification characteristics: size, shape, behavior, probability, and color
Practice makes perfect. An interactive learning experience to sharpen and test field identification skills
Bird like the experts. The first book to simplify birding and help you understand how to bird like the best
An interactive website--www.crossleybirds.com--includes expanded captions for the plates and species updates

Roughing It

2011-02-01T17:47:00.011-07:00

Here in the Boulder, Colorado area we've been enjoying an Arctic bird to go along with the Arctic weather we're having (got to about 0° F today for the high and supposed to get near -20° tonight with worse wind chill...) On Thursday my buddy Christian Nunes reported a juvenile Rough-legged Hawk that was along the road leading to his office in South Boulder. While an unusual species around here, what made the bird special was its unwariness- he found out about the bird when a co-worker showed him a picture of it on her iPhone! Another friend of mine got some killer shots of the bird on Friday so I thought I'd better see if it was still there on Saturday. It was, and I was treated to watching it hunt along the road for a couple of hours. Even when it dropped down to fence posts along the road it would stay put as joggers, bicyclists, and motorcycles went by. It only seemed to fly to get to another hunting perch or to pounce down on prey. This is in pretty serious contrast to my prior experiences with the species. Seems like most roughies blast off if you get within 100 meters. They often won't even tolerate a car stopping nearby. It was a pleasure to have such a cooperative subject, and I got an encore today as I went back for another hour or so this afternoon (courtesy of a snow day at work.) At one point today it flew right at me and dropped to the shoulder of the road about 10 meters away. Unfortunately it came up empty on that attempt, but I did see it successfully grab some rodents. Before the snow covered them them many vole tunnels were visible in the grass on the shoulder of the road and adjacent ditch- I'll bet the hawk is slashing its way through a strong colony of them. In a couple of shots below the bird is seen eating one such critter- I consulted my mammal pro buddy Chris Wemmer (AKA The Camera Trap Codger) and here's what he said about the afternoon snack:

Hi Bill,

It looks like it may be a prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) which has a gray belly ("or washed with whitish or pale cinnamon"). Esp if it was in open country. It occurs in the eastern half of the state. so seems to be within the range.

It could also be the long-tailed vole (M. longicaudus), but this species occurs in woody coniferous or brushy habitats and doesn't do the vole tunnel thing. It doesn't seem to be this however from what you say about the tunnels.

You also have the meadow vole there (M. pennsylvanicus), which is dull brown above with a gray belly. Can't rule this out.

Boulder is out of the range of the sagebrush vole (Lemmiscus curtatus).

The prairie vole seems most likely to me -- the tail is strongly bicolored in the 2nd picture, which also fits.

Thanks for the input, Chris, and for the head's up, Christian! Here are some of my favs of the bird- amazing that many times it was too close to fit in the frame as it flew by me while I stood on the shoulder of the road. The snowy shots are from today, others from last Saturday. Enjoy- Bill

Right Place at the Right Time

2011-01-17T19:59:00.004-07:00

It's been a long time since I got a life bird 10 minutes from home, but that's what happened today! I was dutifully entering the Boulder CBC data online this morning, aiming to wrap up the long task of compiling the count, when my phone rang. Seeing it was my birding buddy Larry Semo I of course picked up. He was letting me know that he and another friend, Steve Mlodinow, had what was probably a young male Tufted Duck at Golden Ponds in Longmont just a hop, skip & jump away from my casa. I checked with the boss and she graciously cut me free of family duties to make the short-distance twitch. Arriving a bit later, I was treated to a sleeping Aythya duck showing one heck of a crest- almost cardinal-like when its head was tucked back. Soon the bird woke up, giving looks at its tuft and other field marks like the bill pattern and wing markings when it stretched. All looked good for a first-winter male Tufted Duck- cha-ching! The great thing about a lifer so close to home is that it ticks almost all of the lists I care most about (ABA, State, County, Photo)- just missing my yard list.

Here are some shots of the bird- hope it sticks around for others to enjoy!

More Snow Light

2011-01-01T17:54:00.006-07:00

> Raptors appeal to a wide spectrum of birders and nature loves like few other groups of birds. But their habit of perching high in trees or power poles and flying overhead can make photographing them challenging- they often have bright skies behind them that contribute to very dark images of the birds. Your eye & brain combination is much more forgiving than a digital camera sensor, which is why the bird that looked fine in your bins may look like a dark silhouette in your photos. You can play with exposure compensation or waiting for the right light (sunrise and sunset light from behind is quite nice) but if you live in northern latitudes, get out on a sunny day when there is snow on the ground. The snow acts like a big reflector, bouncing light up from underneath the birds. This helps illuminate raptors from below, showing features otherwise lost to underexposure on birds against bright skies. Portrait photographers sometimes use basically the same technique using portable reflectors to bounce sunlight at their models as an alternative to electronic flashes. This is especially helpful on dark raptors like eagles or dark-morph buteos, but works with about any raptor you find on a sunny day with snow on the ground. As a word of caution, light-morph raptors can look really pale in snow light- I've seen light Red-tailed Hawks mistakenly ID'd as Ferruginous Hawks in these conditions, for example, because they look so bright underneath in the bounced light.

We've had a notably dry, warm winter up to this week in Colorado's Northern Front Range where I reside. But we finally got significant snow a couple of days ago, followed by a sunny cold day today. Having the day off, I headed out to drive a nearby route I know can be productive for wintering raptors. One bird I was happy to find was this light-morph adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk. It is back for its 4th winter in the same wintering territory, showing the site fidelity of these birds. More amazingly, Jerry Liguori (author of Hawks From Every Angle: How To Identify Raptors in Flight and the upcoming Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors) photographed the same bird in migration to its Alaskan breeding grounds in the spring of 2009. Feather-by-feather analysis of flight photos from Colorado & Alaska clearly established it was the same bird and we co-authored an article documenting the long distance photo-recovery in Colorado Birds Vol. 44 No. 1, Jan. 2010 (PDF here). It was great seeing this old friend again today and snapping it in the great snow light!

Nearby was another adult Harlan's Hawk- this one more typically dark (perhaps a dark-intermediate morph per Brian Wheeler's Raptors of Western North America.) It was perched nearly over the road and I photographed it leaning out my vehicle window. The snow light really brings out the feather detail in the dark body!

I finished my tour with a raptor that took my breath away- an adult male rufous-morph Ferruginous Hawk. (Rufous individuals with gray heads are likely males vs. females with brown heads per Brian Wheeler's Raptors of Western North America.) This bird wasn't as cooperative as the above Harlan's- it perched in a twiggy cottonwood tree and then flew between me and the sun. On a normal day the flight images would probably have been unsalvageable, but with the snow light and a bit of shadow highlighting in post-processing I could bring up the amazingly rich dark rufous tones of this bird. Look at the gape- that guy is made to gulp large prey like prairie dogs & jack rabbits with a minimum of shredding! I hope you enjoy the images and get the chance to try birding & photographing raptors with snow light sometime this winter.

New Nightjars Book

2010-09-30T19:21:00.003-06:00

I was pretty tickled to have a new bird book from Princeton University Press waiting for me at home when I returned from the Arctic Ocean- Nightjars, Potoos, Frogmouths, Oilbird, and Owlet-nightjars of the World! What a cool tome about an awesome group of birds. The book has something for about any birder, as representatives of the Family Caprimulgiformes occur on every continent except for Antarctica. Each species (135 in all) is represented with lavish multi-page spreads of detailed maps and insanely good photos- makes me feel pretty deficient in my nightjar stock! Plus, proceeds from the book's sale support BirdLife International's Preventing Extinctions Programme. 7 nightjars and one owlet-nightjar are on the conservation effort's list including the critically endangered Jamaican Poorwill (possibly extinct, known with certainty from museum specimens collected prior to 1860), Puerto Rican Whip-poor-will, and New Caledonian Owlet-nightjar (last reported sighting in 1998.)

In addition to the species accounts, the beginning of the book has sections about the distribution, plumage & structure, general biology, and taxonomy of this unique bird family. The book is ahead of the curve with the AOU's recently-split Mexican Whip-poor-will receiving a full species account. Another nice touch I'd like to see in more specialty guides is the appendix listing alternative English names for the species- quite entertaining to see some of the other handles for these birds! As I look through the book I realize the paucity of my personal checklist in this department and how I hope to see many of these amazing birds eventually. Thanks to Princeton University Press for the opportunity to at least experience these birds vicariously!

Air Time

2010-09-25T09:49:00.004-06:00

Hey folks- thanks for following along on my PolarTREC expedition. I never thought I'd do a daily blog post for 5 weeks but it was a fantastic experience! I've got to get some bird pics summarized to post here, but in the meantime I'd like to mention an upcoming radio interview I did from my 6th-period class last week. It will air tonight in LA, tomorrow in the Boulder area, and will be online Monday. Check it out! Boomer Alley Radio's "Explorers Show" will air on Sat 10/9 at 7p PT in LA on kfwb.com, Sun 10/10 at 4 pm MT on our local radio station AM 1060 in Longmont/Denver/Boulder and across the state on Radio Colorado Network's other stations. The show will be podcast on http://boomeralleyradio.com and iTunes by Monday, Columbus Day (and possibly as early as Sunday.) Meanwhile, here are a few pics to tide you over (birds to come later..)

Digi-oding

2010-07-29T20:15:00.007-06:00

Well, I'm packed and ready to head to the airport early tomorrow morning, Alaska-bound for my PolarTREC expedition. Follow along via the tease links above this post as I update my journals or go right to my PolarTREC page: http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/international-continental-shelf-survey

Feeling mostly ready I decided to head out and do a little photography this morning. For a new twist I decided to try digiscoping some dragonflies at Walden Ponds in Boulder, CO. I've shot dragonflies with a telephoto and with a macro but this was my first serious attempt at digiscoping them. I'm using my Nikon EDG (65mm angled model) and a camera that is new to digiscoping for me- the Panasonic DMC-ZS7. I got the Panasonic for my trip to AK based on its all-around utility; 300mm equivalent zoom, HD video, and GPS-tagging capabilities. But I wasn't expecting it to be very good at digiscoping, as most cameras with more than 4X optical zoom don't work well. But it is pretty serviceable!

I felt mostly confident on these IDs except for the brown job which had me stymied. Luckily some of the state's best ode experts bailed me out. Enjoy- Bill

Female Blue Dasher

Calico Pennant

Young male Autumn (or maybe Striped) Meadowhawk. Much thanks to Bill Prather & Dave Leatherman for the ID help on this one.

Halloween Pennant

Varigated Meadowhawk

A' one, and a' two, and a' three... toes!

2010-07-18T20:23:00.004-06:00

I led a Denver Audubon Master Birder class field trip yesterday up in the hills above Golden, Colorado to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. We saw & heard a bunch of nice montane species, and I think the highlight for everyone was tracking down a previously reported American Three-toed Woodpecker nest. Looks like this fledgling should pop out any minute, so glad we made it prior to the fledging date. It was super loud- we could hear while we were still in the woods prior to entering the clearing where its nest aspen tree was. Both parents attended the nest while we were there- this clip catches part of one of dad's visits. We also saw and heard Red-naped Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, and Northern Flicker while we were observing the nest and had Hairy Woodpecker earlier in the trip, so great auditory and visual woodpecker studies were had by all! The ATTW was a lifer for about half the group, which is a very gratifying thing to be a part of as a field trip leader. This cadre is about done with their year-long program and will be presenting their research projects July 26 and August 2. Break a leg, and congrats on winding up this intensive program!!

New Titles for the Bookshelf

2010-07-10T16:30:00.004-06:00

I thought I'd share these 5 new bird books that came out this year. What's the connection? I've got photos in them all! Check 'em out:

1) National Geographic's Bird Coloration by Geoff Hill. Whitey the Steller's Jay rides again in this book!! From the publisher:

Why is a cardinal red or a bluebird blue? Why do some birds have plumage that is intensely colored—is it pigment, light, gender, robust health, or some combination of all four? What roles do disease, climate, and wear and tear play in this process? What does feather display signal about sexual attraction and social status? How has color camouflage evolved? These are just a few of the fascinating questions explored here in the first non-academic work on coloration and plumage, and their key role in avian life. More than 200 gorgeous photographs highlight the explanations of the essentials: what color is, ornithologically speaking; how it is produced and measured; how birds use color to attract mates and deter competitors; how birds perceive color; and how coloration varies across species by sex, season, and age. Geoff Hill guides his readers along an engaging but authoritative narrative illustrated with vivid photographs and fact-packed captions. A book conceived in the same spirit as National Geographic’s more traditional bird guides, it’s sure to appeal to serious ornithologists, recreational bird watchers, and natural history buffs alike.

2) Peterson Reference Guide to Molt in North American Birds by Steve N.G. Howell. I was very pleased to be a part of this groundbreaking book. To be a good/great birder you've got to address molt, and this book finally puts it all together in one place for N.A. birds. From the publisher:

To most observers,molt seems an overwhelming subject. But birders use many aspects of molt more than they realize--to distinguish juvenile birds from adults, to pick out an individual hummingbird from among dozens visiting a feeder, and much more. And for those whose interest goes beyond simply identifying birds, questions such as What triggers molt to start? How fast do feathers grow? and How long do they last? offer a fascinating window into the lives of birds. Put plainly, molt relates in some way to everything a bird does, including where it lives, what it eats, and how far it migrates. Here, for the first time, molt is presented for the nonscientist. Molt is very orderly and built on only four underlying strategies: simple basic, complex basic, simple alternate, and complex alternate. This book clearly lays out these strategies, relates them to aspects of life history, such as habitat and migration, and makes this important subject accessible.

3) Birdscaping for Garden Spaces: A Guide to Garden Birds and the Native Plants that Attract Them by George Adams. Birds and habitat are intricately connected and this book helps gardeners appreciate and enjoy our backyard feathered friends, and is full of ideas to make their gardens more bird-friendly. From the publisher:

Wake up to the sound of birdsong- turn your garden into a refuge for feathered friends by growing the native plants that attract them. Take a bird's eye view of your backyard with native plant and bird expert George Adams as he shows you how to create a sanctuary with year-round avian appeal. Featuring full-color photographs throughout and the author's superbly detailed illustrations. Birdscaping for Garden Spaces will help you identify resident and visiting birds and show you how and where to grow the native trees, shrubs, grasses, groundcovers, and the wildflowers that they love. Plus unique birdscaping calendars will show you how to select plants for a continuous supply of fruits, flowers and seeds to keep your bird guests happy. It's easy!

4) The Birds of Wyomong by Doug Faulkner. Finally a modern reference on the status and distribution of birds in our 10th-largest (though least populous) state. From the publisher:

Birds of Wyoming is the first comprehensive guide since 1939 to the status and distribution of Wyoming's avifauna. The book provides detailed information for over 400 bird species known to have occurred in Wyoming through 2008. Each full-page resident species account features a species photo and distribution map, while the non-resident section provides the reader insight on regular migrants and rarities. Introductory chapters authored by state experts give an indepth look at the state's ornithological history, vegetative landscapes, and avian conservation efforts. Habitat-focused sections by regional experts provide a broader view of management and conservation issues within Wyoming s dominant sagebrush, montane forest, and shortgrass prairie ecotones. Birds of Wyoming fills the niche for a state-based reference that will be useful to a wide range of professional disciplines and amateur birders. Governmental land managers as well as local and out-of-state birders alike will benefit from the easily accessible information (and literature references in most cases) in each species account.

5) The Raptors of New Mexico by Jean-Luc Cartron. A must for raptor and owl enthusiasts, particularly in the west. Even if you don't bird New Mexico the species accounts are full of good information that crosses state lines. From the publisher:

No book has ever before specifically focused on the birds of prey of New Mexico. Both Florence Bailey (1928) and J. Stokley Ligon (1961) published volumes on the birds of New Mexico, but their coverage of raptors was somewhat limited. In the ensuing years a great deal of new information has been collected on these mighty hunters' distribution, ecology, and conservation, including in New Mexico. The book begins with a history of the word 'raptor'. The order of Raptatores, or Raptores, was first used to classify birds of prey in the early nineteenth century, derived from the Latin word raptor, one who seizes by force. The text then includes the writings of thirty-seven contributing authors who relate their observations on these regal species. For example, Joe Truett recounts the following in the chapter on the Swainson's Hawk: 'From spring to fall each year at the Jornada Caves in the Jornada del Muerto, Swainson's hawks assemble daily to catch bats. The bats exit the caves - actually lava tubes - near sundown. The hawks swoop in, snatch bats from the air, and eat them on the wing'. Originally from France, Jean-Luc Cartron, has lived and worked on several continents, finding his passion in the wide-open spaces of New Mexico. He became fascinated by the birds of prey, and has studied their ecology and conservation for nearly twenty years. Raptors of New Mexico will provide readers with a comprehensive treatment of all hawks, eagles, kites, vultures, falcons, and owls breeding or wintering in New Mexico, or simply migrating through the state. This landmark study is also beautifully illustrated with more than six hundred photographs, including the work of more than one hundred photographers, and and nearly fifty species distribution maps.

Junk Birds

2010-07-02T19:24:00.003-06:00

Well, actually really cool birds, hiding under a bunch of junk!

Last November, John Barr & I put up a Barn Owl box in a pole barn on property he has access to in Weld County, and about immediately the resident Barn Owl traded in its exposed post for the security of the box. This spring there was every sign that birds were nesting but we kept our distance to minimize disturbance. On 29 June John decided to poke his head (& camera) around the barn's side wall and was rewarded with three fledglings teed up shoulder to shoulder! I went back with him yesterday (1 July), and it seemed like we were skunked. I figured the magic window of opportunity was gone and the birds had moved out. But when I was looking at some bones in the massive pellet midden under the box, I saw a feather under a pile of junk in the corner of the barn. At first I thought it might have been molted, but when I let my eyes adjust to the darkness under an old steel barrel I started seeing more feather detail. My heart sank as I thought I was seeing part of the carcass of one of the owls. But then, by changing my angle a little I saw a facial disk with a black eye looking back at me! By peering in under the barrel, behind a culvert pipe, and under a manky cardboard box I could count all three hiding down under the junk, but only a little piece of owl at a time. I'll bet they were tired of the heat up in the barn rafters and were seeking a little cooler day roost.

Sorry for the shaky vid but you'll get the idea of what I'm talking about. For a better viewing experience open it up in YouTube and select HD.

Carolina Wren in Boulder

2010-06-01T11:07:00.007-06:00

I chalked up a new Boulder County bird today thanks to my buddies Ted Floyd and David Waltman- a Carolina Wren. That completes all of the Colorado Wrens for me in Boulder County (unless/until a Cactus Wren report from this spring gets accepted to the state list...) Pretty easy twitch- I heard the bird as soon about as soon as I started listening for it, and soon had it in sight quite nearby the trail along S. Boulder Creek. I used the chase as an opportunity to try a new point-and-shoot super zoom camera I just got- a Panasonic DMC-ZS7. I mainly got the camera for my upcoming PolarTREC expedition to the Arctic Ocean, liking its built-in GPS geotagging, 400mm top end zoom equivalent, and HD video capabilities in a package the size of a deck of cards. Much to my delight, I've found it also digiscopes fairly well (some vignetting but with 12 MP plenty of room to crop) and can record sounds reasonably well, too. I'm thinking that this will be a pretty slick tool for documenting birds- exact location & time is captured by the GPS, sound and action can be obtained in the video mode, and with the zoom maxed out it has enough reach for at least record-quality pics of many birds. Above is a pic I snapped of the wren at max zoom, and below is a YouTube clip of the bird- unfortunately the visual quality is only so-so (a problem I've always had with YouTube) but the song comes through pretty well. Select the better quality vid (480p) to get the best look.

Red Crossbill Diversity

2010-05-30T11:08:00.003-06:00

Last weekend I led a photo trip to Hutton Lakes NWR near Laramie, WY for the Colorado Field Ornithologists annual convention. Unfortunately, conditions there were less than ideal for bird photography:

On the plus side, however, our group ran into a family group of Red Crossbills at the rest area on Highway 287 just south of the Wyoming border. The timing was perfect, as we had learned about Red Crossbill types and the evolutionary battles between crossbills and conifers from Dr. Craig Benkman the night before in his keynote address. These are Type 2 Red Crossbills, the subspecies that prefers ponderosa pines. This is the first time I've photographed a juvenile crossbill. Besides the streaky markings note the short-looking bill and tail- both still growing, I'd surmise.

Hello from Fairbanks!

2010-05-03T15:14:00.008-06:00

I'm up in Fairbanks, Alaska for a week of professional development and training for PolarTREC (http://www.polartrec.com). I applied for this amazing program last October, found out I was a finalist a few weeks ago, had a final interview by conference call last Tuesday, and found out that I had been selected on Tuesday night! 4 days later I was on a plane to Fairbanks and here I am. This week there are 12 teachers along with me learning the ins and out of the program. In the coming year each of us will team up with a research group in the Arctic or Antarctic for a research expedition. I will be aboard the US Coast Guard cutter Healy, a polar icebreaker, from 2 August through 6 September. The ship will depart Dutch Harbor and proceed north through the Bering Sea and Bering Straight into the Arctic Ocean. The mission will primarily involve detailed mapping of the extended continental shelf in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska and Canada, accompanied by the Canadian Coast Guard cutter Louis S. St-Laurent. In addition to bathymetry studies all sorts of other oceanographic data will be retrieved. Lots more to follow, but set a bookmark now at my PolarTREC page: http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/international-continental-shelf-survey.

Anyway, I'm mostly in meetings all day but I did have some birding time the first morning. I walked a few blocks through downtown Fairbanks and found a nice park on the Chena River. Common Redpolls were singing all over the place, seeming to especially like birch trees and alder thickets. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the gulls whipping around were mainly Mew Gulls with an occasional Herring Gull coming up or down the river. Intermittent warbler songs that were kind of familiar resolved into Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warblers, looking different than the Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warblers of home with their white throats. I don't have my big camera rig with me but I am making use of the 45-200mm lens (90-400mm effective) on my Panasonic DMC-G1 which is probably what I'll be taking with me on the icebreaker. I'm missing the reach and hyper performance of my Nikon DSLR rig but that Panasonic ain't too shabby. Anyway, another busy day is promised tomorrow so I'll sign off for now with some pics I enjoyed taking.

Ready to Fledge

2010-04-26T20:09:00.005-06:00

A buddy of mine recently tipped me off to a really photogenic Great Horned Owl nest along an Open Space trail NE of Boulder, CO. I scouted it on a cloudy day between deluges last week but had better light on my visit today. All of the regular joggers and walkers (with or without dogs) seemed to know about the owls & I lent several my bins for a better look while I was there. I also knew where to find a sleeping adult by other pedestrians pausing farther down the trail and peering into the woods- after I arrived it only briefly opened its eyes as a few crows cawed nearby before shutting them again. Well used to the daily stream of humanity, the urban owls (youngsters and nearby adults) were relaxed and didn't mind another loitering hominid, even one toting a long lens. The nest site, a hollow-topped cottonwood snag, afforded a neat setting without obscuring branches or too much of an upward angle. I'd say the owlets, especially the larger one that decided to do some stretching and scratching for me (my, what big talons you have), is about ready to plunge out into the world any day now. After leaving the nest, juveniles typically hang around nearby for a while as so-called "branchers", still depending on the adults to feed them. But branchers can be harder to find and photograph, so I'm glad I caught these two still in the nest!

Shake Hands with Sage

2010-04-09T11:09:00.005-06:00

A Sage Sparrow dropped out of a recent April snowstorm 4 days ago at Lagerman Reservoir, only about 5 minutes from my SW Longmont, Colorado home. Apparently it likes it there because even though the weather has turned back to sunny and mild, it is still hanging out as of this morning. I watched it for about an hour a couple of evenings ago, sitting on a low rock along a pathway where it was foraging. I was rewarded with some stunningly close looks and at one point I wondered if it might even jump in my lap! I could hear its bill clicks and the cracking sounds of the seeds it was demolishing along with the occasional small beetle or worm for relish. It payed virtually no attention to me and the only things that alarmed it were the loud calls of nearby Killdeer and the low flyover of a pair of American Avocets, which sent it scurrying for cover under a dock at the boat ramp. Needless to say, I ended up having photo phrenzy over this engaging, obliging little chap.

Dipping on Ptarmigan

2010-03-26T19:52:00.008-06:00

Last weekend I led a Denver Field Ornithologists trip in search of White-tailed Ptarmigan in the Indian Peaks Wilderness west of Boulder. This was a snowshoe birding trip, and with a foot of fresh snow they were absolutely required to get around. We 'shoed up to treeline, ticking only 3 birds (Mountain Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and Red-breasted Nuthatch) along the 2-mile climb through the subalpine forest, but we were dazzled with the snow-draped spruces, firs, and pines. As we got glimpses of the Indian Peaks through the trees I knew we were going to face harsh conditions above treeline, though, as wraiths of snow were being whipped high above the ridge lines by strong winds. Sure enough, as we overtopped the dam at Left Hand Reservoir, we were blasted by gusts of 25-30 mph. I brought along a Kestrel weather meter that registered 6.8° F. At that combo the wind chill is around -15° F. More importantly, White-tailed Ptarmigan deal with harsh conditions in an efficient way, staying cozy by scrunching down into the snow and letting it drift over them. Without tracks to indicate areas of recent activity or birds above the surface to scan for our odds were pretty slim but we tried for a while anyway, snowshoeing around the stunted willow groves were they winter, dining on wind-exposed buds. After a valiant effort we decided that keeping all of our fingers and toes was more important and headed back down sans ptarmigan. It was hard work for 3 species of birds but a dazzling day in the Colorado high country! Thanks to the 8 hardy birders who joined me on the quest- maybe we'll have better luck next time.

Peering up at a Golden-crowned Kinglet

Trooping Up (Last pic courtesy of Dave Alcock- that's me in front.)

Wind-whipped snow flying off Mt. Audubon

Krummholz zone

Looking back at my tracks across Left Hand Reservoir. Two specks in the distance are Ed and Dave who searched the longest and hardest- thanks for trying, guys!

Wind-whipped snowshoe-birders (photo by Dave Alcock- thanks again, Dave!)

Birds of Europe, 2nd Edition

2010-03-17T08:48:00.004-06:00

I've just received a review copy of The Birds of Europe, 2nd Edition with Text and Maps by Lars Svensson and Illustrations and Captions by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterström.

The first edition was widely considered to be the epitome of field guides, and the revisions found in this edition will cement its reputation as an archetype to which others will be compared.

I'd say that any serious North American birder needs this guide. I often turn to this book in reference to holarctic species that we share with Europe. For example, I think this book's treatment of Jaegers (er, Skuas seeing that it is a European guide...) surpasses anything in the N.A. guides and rivals the specialty Skuas and Jaegers guide (out of print but available as pricey used versions) by Olsen and Larsson. Then there's always the chance of vagrants from across the pond in need of ID- stint, anyone?

Anyway, I'd encourage anyone who doesn't have this guide to check it out. Here's more info from Princeton University Press, the publisher.

Since it was first published a decade ago, Birds of Europe has become the definitive field guide to the diverse birdlife found in Europe. Now this superb guide has been brought fully up to date with revised text and maps along with added illustrations. Uniquely designed for easy use in the field, this expanded edition covers all 772 species found in the region as well as 32 introduced species or variants and 118 very rare visitors. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, voice, habitat, range, and size. More than 3,500 full-color illustrations depict every species and all major plumage variations, and color distribution maps provide breeding, wintering, and migration ranges for every species.

Complete with an introduction to each group of birds that addresses major problems of observation and identification, this new edition is the ultimate field guide to Europe's fascinating birdlife.

Expanded and fully updated
Covers all 772 species found in Europe, 32 introduced species or variants, and 118 very rare visitors
Features more than 3,500 color illustrations that depict every species
Includes detailed species accounts
Provides color distribution maps for every species
Color plates face text and maps for at-a-glance identification

Lars Svensson is one of Europe's foremost field ornithologists. Dan Zetterström and Killian Mullarney are two of Europe's leading bird artists.

Reviews:

"The richest and the most comprehensive of the current guides."--Times (London)

"If you are birding in Europe, you must have this guide. It should be on the shelf of many North American bird watchers, especially those who live along the Atlantic coast, where many European birds are found. It should also be in the library of anyone who collects field guides, if for no reason other than you can occasionally take it down and be reminded of what is possible when art and design and purpose are treated as equal parts of a final product."--Bird Watcher's Digest

Looking Sharp!

2010-03-05T09:12:00.004-07:00

Throughout the winter months I’ll sometimes notice that my backyard gets very quiet, devoid of the busy activity usually found around my platform and hanging feeders. Then I’ll often notice the distinctive profile of an Accipter perched in a nearby tree or on the fence. I mainly get Sharp-shinned Hawks but also sometimes see a Cooper’s Hawk lurking or actively diving into my spruce trees to bust out birds seeking sanctuary in the dense boughs. Sometimes I’ll find a scatter of feathers beneath a perch where a hunt reached a successful conclusion. I’ve found a few such piles of Eurasian Collared-Dove feathers recently- certainly not from a Sharpie but perhaps a gnarly Cooper’s? The reason I wonder is that there have been a few reliable reports of a Goshawk in my end of town this winter, raising hopes that I might someday add that big bad ‘un to the yard list.

Anyway, as I went out to fill the feeders last weekend I was accompanied by my frequent helper, Garrett. I noticed an immature Sharp-shinned Hawk hanging out in an ash tree next to our biggest blue spruce, no doubt deciding on a strategy to get at the House Sparrows and Finches deep within (earlier in the week I heard and then saw the same Sharpie deep within the spruce, playing tag with the House Sparrows.) Garrett didn’t see the hawk and proceeded to walk almost right beneath it. Amazingly the Sharpie didn’t fly away despite the proximity of a pre-schooler cavorting below. I took this as a sign to go get my camera and ended up with some nice close-ups as the bird was remarkably tolerant of close approach.

Raptors are smart cookies and I think that the Sharpie was hoping we’d flush out a sparrow or finch. I went around the fence to the patch of open space behind our yard to get some pics of its belly side and heard birds nervously calling and shifting around in the brush pile I’ve made there, which really drew the Sharpie’s attention. The next thing I knew, the hawk flew seemingly right at my head but passed just overhead. It must have been a false start because it broke off any chase, swooped up and landed in the cottonwood. A few minutes later, though, a House Sparrow made a dash from the brush pile and the Sharpie pursued it out of sight around a corner, gaining fast. No wonder Bill Thompson III calls these birds Death Rockets!

Snow Light

2010-02-25T12:27:00.007-07:00

We've had a relatively cold, snowy winter around here (Colorado's Northern Front Range) so far, which has made for some nice raptor photo opps. The combination of fresh snow on the ground and sunshine really lights up the underside of soaring birds, which can otherwise be tricky to photograph well in bright skies. So with the opportunity nearly unlimited free bounce-light I recently went out for a few hours on a favorite local loop in northern Boulder County to photograph raptors.

One pic I was very pleased with is this female American Kestrel. They aren't especially rare 'round here but are so small and fast I find it hard to get anything but perched or distant flight shots. This time, though, I got a keeper flight snap along with a good portrait!

I also like our western Red-tailed Hawks, however common. Amazing how much the tail color changes when lit from below vs. on top:

The highlight was revisiting an adult light-morph Harlan's Hawk that is back in the area for at least its 3rd consecutive winter. I've blogged on the bird each of the two previous winters- see here (the 1st time I found the bird) and here (last winter's best shots.)

In the January issue of Colorado Birds, Jerry Liguori (if you don't have his Hawks From Every Angle you need it!) and I published an article detailing his amazing photographic re-detection of this bird in Alaska a couple of months after I photographed it near Hygiene, Colorado last winter. Check out the composite cover shot below- the top image is Jerry's from Gunsight Mt., AK, 13 April 2009 and the bottom is mine from Hygiene, CO, 21 Feb. 2009.
This seems to be the first such detection of a normally-migrating bird over such a long distance. Other birds have been photographically re-documented as they return to territories and vagrants or aberrant birds have been photographically tracked across considerable distances in a few cases. To track a migrating bird over thousands of kilometers, however, typically involves electronic telemetry or visually tagged birds.

Tracking this bird took an amazing combination of elements. First, Red-tails are ideal for potential photographic comparisons because each individual has a unique set of plumage characteristics (part of the reason the group is frustrating to beginners- few look just like the ones depicted in field guides and some look totally different!) Secondly, light Harlan's Hawks are pretty rare and get the attention of birders and bird photographers more than the more commonly-occurring "flavors." Third, I had the good fortune of sharing my earlier pics with Jerry who gave me feedback at the time. The most amazing part is that Jerry not only photographed the same bird but that he made the connection to the photos I had sent him months earlier. He told me that he saw hundreds of migrating Red-tails (both Western and Harlan's) over several days on his trip to Alaska so he really picked the needle out of the haystack. Below is a bit higher res version of the composite for your perusal with the AK photo on the left and the CO pic on the right.

Surfbirds Article

2010-02-24T08:30:00.004-07:00

Mike Freiberg and I blended our recent posts on Ross's / Snow Goose ID for a new feature on Surfbirds.com- Check it out!

Boxing

2010-02-14T21:24:00.007-07:00

One way I get a little extra birding mileage during the slow winter months is to build and put up bird boxes when I get the chance. Luckily, a birding buddy of mine has access to a great property that seemed in need of some boxes so at the onset of winter I began cobbling a selection together. The first one I made (with the help of my assistant Garrett) was a Barn Owl box.

An open-sided pole barn on the property had a Barn Owl sticking around from summer but its perch in the barn was fairly unprotected, simply on top of a pole up in the rafters. Still, it was obvious that it was a long-standing roost based on the whitewash and pellet pile below the pole.

We popped the box up next to its preferred perch in late November and the owl took up residence immediately. It has stayed all winter- pretty cool & kind of unusual for Colorado's northern Front Range! (Or not so cool if you are a nearby mouse or the Northern Flicker it somehow managed to pluck and eat, judging by the orange feathers beneath the box we saw last Friday...) The box has a thin open slot at the bottom that allows pellets to get pushed out (the pattern was designed for commercial pellet collectors who supply the educational market), but it also has the benefit of letting us sneak a peak to see if Barney is home without flushing the owl. My friend John Barr took this pic looking up at the box and you can see a thin slice of Barn Owl through the slot (that's the bill in the middle and the bottom corners of the facial disc angling up from each side of the bill.)

Another round of mid-winter box-building produced some Tree Swallow abodes and a Kestrel Box that we put on a nice cottonwood overlooking a big hay meadow.

Finally, I built a couple of Wood Duck boxes a few weeks ago and on Friday I took advantage of the remaining decent ice to put them up in some likely looking ponds (former gravel pits) near a wooded creek. The ice makes a great platform for pounding in the post and mounting the box- a lot easier than trying the job from a boat. I hope the Wood Ducks like them as much as the Barn Owl likes his box!! Thanks to John Barr for snapping the pics (and for letting me bird with him on this great spread!)

Ice, Ice, Baby!

2010-01-12T10:57:00.007-07:00

I had the privilege of visiting friends Chris Wood and Jessie Barry in their Upstate NY haunts over my winter break. Our exploits crossed the border into Canada as well, partly for the birding there (5-figure gulls in Niagra and a Barnacle Goose in Grimsby, for example.) The other reason is that the closest American Airlines could get me to my intended destination (Rochester, NY) within 3 days of my departure from Denver was Toronto...

Anyway, we had the good fortune to base ourselves at Jessie's parents' house on the south shore of Lake Ontario for a couple of days (Thanks, Jim & Liz!!) They have the ultimate lake-watching setup- picture windows facing the lake and an awesome rail-mounted, top-down scope mount right at the window. A strong arctic cold front blasted in on our first night, and we did some serious pajama birding for a while with the comforts of hot coffee and a hot fireplace nearby. A decent lake-watch list developed including scads of Long-tailed Ducks, White-winged Scoters, and Red-breasted Mergansers flying by in adjustment to the new weather conditions.

Pajama birding at its finest...

Eventually, however, we sallied out into the gnarly weather (temps in the low teens and winds in the high 20s and 30s.) More good birds were found, but to me some of the most impressive sights were the ice formations that were plastered on the breakwaters and navigation lights at the mouths of rivers.

Winter birding on Lake Ontario: Only serious, well-dressed birders need apply.

Fantasmagorical ice at Charlotte Lighthouse (Mouth of Genesee River.) A miracle sunbeam hit the lighthouse for a minute or two- the picture doesn't begin to do it justice...

More wicked ice at the Irondequoit light

Oh, and there were birds around, too. I'm usually lucky to see a single Long-tailed Duck each year in Colorado, so I was pretty geeked to see thousands of them on the lake. The light was rough and many of the birds were distant and wary, but I still vastly improved my photo stock of this species.

CBC Radio Feature

2010-01-10T10:19:00.003-07:00

There's a nice feature from Boulder's independent radio KGNU about the Boulder CBC- a radio journalist came with my group in the early morning and then recorded some of the fun at the compilation dinner. Thanks to the Boulder County Nature Association for hosting the MP3 file!

NPR Interview

2010-01-01T16:11:00.002-07:00

I was on NPR's Science Friday today during their section on the Christmas Bird Count. I chimed in about birding tech, particularly iPhone apps. Give it a listen- if you can't wait to hear what I had to say, fast-forward to about 13:00.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

Goosed!

2009-12-18T10:23:00.002-07:00

Revisiting my trip to New Mexico over Thanksgiving break...
While the Sandhill Cranes get a lot of the spotlight at Bosque del Apache, the geese also provide spectacular sights and photo opps at the refuge. In a welcome turn from the hordes of sky carp we get around the Front Range of Colorado, white-cheeked geese (Canada & Cackling) are kind of scarce there. But so-called "white" geese (Snow and Ross's in the genus Chen) are present in force and typically show well. For some reason, the Farm Loop on the refuge didn't have corn planted this year so the goose situation had changed. It was tough to get the massive "blast off" shots that happened over there when a coyote or eagle spooked 4 or 5-digit goose flocks, but there were still plenty of chances to study and photograph almost all of the Chen flavors (still haven't seen the elusive dark-morph Ross's Goose...)
Snow Geese are in the majority, but not all are snowy white. So-called "Blue" Geese, the dark morph, are smattered throughout the flocks of white birds for variety. Some Blue Geese are "bluer" than others, and juveniles can look nearly all black. While larger than Ross's Geese, there are lesser Snow Geese that approach the diminutive Ross's in size. A distinctive mark to ID Snow Geese is the wide "grin patch" of combed black where the upper and lower halves of the bill meet (above and below the tomia, or inner cutting edges of the bill.) The bill also is longer than a Ross's and the junction of the bill and facial feathers curves outwards towards the bill tip. In flight you'll notice that Snow Geese have longer-looking necks than Ross's Geese.

In contrast, Ross's Geese are the smallest in the bunch (but judging size on a lone bird can be a dangerous task, and about any white goose looks small amongst large races of Canada Geese.) More importantly, they show little if any grin patch and have stubbier bills and necks. The junction of the bill and facial feathers is nearly straight up-and-down. Their heads look more rounded, and between that and the shorter bill I'll anthropomorphise and call them "cuter." Not as cute are the bluish warty bumps (caruncles) that mature male birds develop at the base of their bill.

Sometimes problematic birds show up that don't quite fit either end very nicely. These hybrid Ross's x Snow Geese blend traits of each and typically have small grin patches. I suspect the bird below is a hybrid because its bill looks a bit longish and it has a little more grin patch then I'd like for a slam-dunker Ross's. Here's a link to what I think is another hybrid Ross's x Snow Goose example.
Test time! Spot the Ross's and/or Snow geese flying by in the lovely sunrise light:

Ross's trailing, Snow leading

Ross's between two Snows.

And here's a lovely mix of Ross's and Snows on the water:

Which Wren?

2009-12-13T15:34:00.006-07:00

This past Thanksgiving day my buddy Ted Floyd found a Winter Wren along the mighty St. Vrain River ("mighty" and "river" to be taken with a grain of salt) where 63rd St. crosses it near Hygiene, Colorado. Always a rarity 'round here, extra interest in these birds in the state has recently developed as a split between Western (now Pacific) and Eastern birds is said to be a done deal. Ted thought the bird sounded great for Pacific, and I've learned to trust Ted where bird vocalizations are concerned. Confusing the matter, though, were later observations of an Eastern-looking &/or sounding bird there along with more Pacific Wren reports. One observer reported seeing two wrens on 29 December, probably explaining any discrepancies.
I was clear of the fray in New Mexico when the initial sightings were reported and missed the bird(s) last weekend when I finally tried for them. Today, however, I was cruising by and thought I'd try again. This time I heard a calling wren shortly after arrival, and a bit after that I saw it working its way along towards me. There is a little side stream coming in though a grating on the west side upstream of the bridge, which braids through a mini-delta 10 or 15 meters long before joining the St. Vrain. This appears to be warm water, perhaps spring fed, keeping green vegetation and a good micro-habitat free of ice despite the bitterly cold weather and snows of last week (I saw a Wilson's Snipe probing around in there when I unsuccessfully looked for the wren a week ago.) The wren worked itself along these tiny channels, disappearing for minutes at a time in clumps of grass or small shrubby vegetation. Eventually it was almost right below me as I peered down from the bridge. I was lucky to photograph it nabbing some insect (a torpid fly by the looks of it) from a nearby cottonwood sapling branch. Finally, I whistled an Eastern Screech-Owl song for a bit which got it to temporarily jump up on a sunlit branch and call more intently, lending moral support to an angry Black-capped Chickadee in the canopy before it gave up on the ruse and went back to mucking around in the marshy shade.

I don't have much experience at all with Winter Wrens, having seen maybe 2 western birds in Washington State and a singing Eastern in Wisconsin, plus a couple birds of unknown subspecies previously here in Colorado. I thought the call notes of this bird sounded good for Pacific, using references such as the call tracks of Eastern and Western (Pacific) Winter Wrens on BirdsEye and on Nathan Pieplow's excellent Earbirding blog post regarding Pacific vs. Eastern Wren calls. I'm worried, though, that it doesn't quite look right to me for a slam-dunk Pacific based on the illustrations and photos I could find. In my opinion it looks a little darker & richly colored overall than the typical Eastern (hiemalis group) Winter Wren but has more white spotting on the back than I'd like to see for Pacific, along with a bit more throat contrast than would make me happy. Still, In Pyle's Identification Guide to North American Birds (basically the bird banders' bible), he comments about geographic variation: "Weak to moderate differences are obscured by broad intergradation and individual variation."
So this brings me to my point- I'd love comments from folks familiar with Winter Wren subspecies as to what they think of this bird. Thanks! -Bill

Stars of the Bosque

2009-12-09T10:02:00.004-07:00

The star attraction at Bosque del Apache NWR is, of course, the Sandhill Cranes that winter there. They even have a namesake birding festival there the week before Thanksgiving each year. I've shot gazillions of crane pics all over the place but I still can't help but shoot a gazillion more (well, this time 1500 or so) every time I find another photo opp. I've seen and enjoyed the crane show along the Platte River in Nebraska, which is breathtaking in its scale and something I'd suggest to any nature lover. But for getting close, detailed crane shots I think the Bosque is tops. The cranes in Nebraska are hesitant to flyover low, wary as they are hunted along their flyways on the Eastern Plains. A limited number of blinds at the Rowe Audubon Sanctuary are available to get close but you've got to commit to spending the whole night in one. The Bosque cranes, however, are pretty tame and often fly so close they won't fit the frame. Their feeding behaviors are easily observed and their night roosts are close to the road and have great morning and evening light.

Pre-sunrise Departures

Most of the cranes this far west are greater Sandhill Cranes, but there are lesser Sandhills mixed in. Not only smaller overall, lesser Sandhill Cranes have stubbier proportions with shorter-looking bills and necks. For some reason their cheeks look puffy to me- I think the shorter neck and bill contribute to this effect.

Lesser Sandhill Crane

Greater Sandhill Crane

Greater (trailing) & Lesser (leading) Sandhill Cranes departing at sunrise.

The cranes roost in shallow ponds created for this purpose. Two of the most popular among photographers lie along the entrance road, with levees along the east side allowing good access and tripod placement. If you ever want to see a lot of long lenses in one place this is it. Many are here on their own but it is also a popular workshop destination and you will frequently see groups shooting together under the tutelage of an instructor. Once the cranes have departed in the morning it is a good opportunity to compare notes on equipment and technique, and to swap scouting reports from other nearby areas.

Looking "down" the dike

Looking "up" the dike

I rarely shoot off a tripod but in cases like this where I shoot from the same place over a long time it really helps to reduce fatigue and to pan on flying birds. In the foreground below you can see my rig (Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm f/4 G-AFS ED-IF VR ) on Gitzo GT3541L sticks and a Wimberly gimbal head. The gimbal head allows for perfectly balancing the camera so it stays wherever you point it and tracks flying birds effortlessly. I've got Lens Coat lens and tripod wraps and the wire you see on top of the camera body goes to a Nikon GP-1 GPS unit mounted on the hot shoe, which geo-tags my pics. Most importantly, note the stainless-steel insulated coffee mug on the ground, full of weak hotel coffee punched up with a spoonful of Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso.

The shallow water of the roost pools gives cranes security against coyote sneak attacks. On cold mornings, however, thin ice forms and sometimes the cranes have to break themselves out. I've seen them occasionally fly off with rings of ice on their legs. This year after a chilly night in the upper teens I observed several cranes tucking their legs up in under their bodies as they departed, perhaps to help thaw off the ice. I only saw this behavior in the morning flight, and it gave them a quite odd legless look with a silhouette more goose or swan-like.

Amazing legless cranes!

For a few golden minutes after the sun rises there is amazing light for snapping flying cranes as they depart.

Then at sunset, the process reverses itself as cranes return to their secure roost. Again there is magic light with interesting contrasts and warm tones for a few minutes as the sun dips, accompanied by nearly the constant resonant trumpeting of the cranes.

Post-sunset photography often switches to silhouettes against desert sky pastels and reflections. Another day at the Bosque done, back to the hotel to offload pics and review the day's shoots.

Real world Coyote vs. Roadrunner

2009-12-04T14:38:00.008-07:00

I took a road trip to New Mexico over the Thanksgiving break and reeled off about 3500 pics in 4 days. They are whittled down now to keepers and I'll post some series over the next few days or weeks.

A primary location of my photo phrenzy was Bosque del Apache NWR. While most famous for its wintering Sandhill Cranes and geese, I've always enjoyed the other birds and wildlife that can be seen along the tour loops and trails in the refuge.

One morning, as my dad & I began slowly perusing the Marsh Loop I spotted a Greater Roadrunner basking in the early morning sun. Overnight temps had dropped to below 20 degrees F, so the bright sun must have felt good on those dark exposed body feathers. I've seen roadrunners do this before so I know it isn't a behavioral fluke. The roadrunner alternated bouts of basking with a slow patrol that brought it ever closer until it passed right alongside the car- too close to fit the bird any more, I then opted for head shots.
A bit later, I saw a coyote loping up the road from behind us. It kept coming, with pauses to sniff and look along the road's edge, until like the roadrunner it passed right alongside our stopped vehicle. Needless to say, my shutter was snapping. Head shot opportunities again when it was too close for anything else. Vehicles can be really good photo blinds, especially in areas like the Bosque where wildlife is used to seeing them and doesn't much care so long as you stay inside.
As the coyote continued down the road away from us I realized that there was another roadrunner farther along crossing the road. When it saw the coyote coming it stopped to watch alertly. I immediately thought of my childhood favorite Roadrunner cartoons. Sure enough, the roadrunner emerged victorious in this encounter, just like in the cartoons. Unlike the cartoons, though, the yodel-dog didn't get smashed by a steamroller, rock, or oncoming train, nor blown up by his own booby trap. He didn't plunge into a dusty crater in a gorge or smack into a picture of a tunnel he had painted on a canyon wall just after the roadrunner ran right through it. Instead, it just kept loping along in a fluid gait, looking and sniffing for prey just as intently as any birder along the tour loop would inspect the willows, ponds, and marshes.
Meep meep!

Let's Go Birding!

2009-12-02T09:03:00.004-07:00

I'm very pleased to announce that Ted Floyd's new book, Let's Go Birding!, has been published. I contributed all of the photos in this book and appreciate Ted's willingness to again collaborate with me!
The book is oriented towards beginning birders, with suggestions and insights to elevate their birding skills. Still, I think there are nuggets of wisdom within for birders and wildlife watchers of any experience level. It would make a great stocking-stuffer for anyone interested in birds, particularly young birders and folks interested in getting more serious about enjoying and appreciating wild birds. Eagle Optics (the American Birding Association's optics sales partner) is offering the book alone, or with beginning birder kits that also include a binocular, field guide, and ABA membership.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T17:11:00.003-07:00

The turkey may be good, but I recommend the all-you-can eat seafood!

A Tale of Two Grebes

2009-11-11T13:59:00.006-07:00

A staple of my fall birding activities is scoping area reservoirs for interesting waterfowl, waterbirds, and gulls. As I was waiting out a Parasitic Jaeger between bouts of chasing gulls the other day it occurred to me how different fall Podiceps grebes showing non-breeding plumage are in comparison to their showy breeding plumages. When they are colorful, there's no mistaking Colorado's two abundant fall Podiceps, Eared and Horned Grebes. But when they are wearing their winter grays, they are amazingly similar in appearance and all to often just glanced over. Some of the best advice I've ever received about finding rare birds is to identify every bird, even the common ones. When you are competent and confident with the common ones, unusual birds (in this case, say, a basic Red-necked Grebe) will jump out at you instead of staying lost in the crowd.
Breeding Eared Grebes (above, Colorado, April) have all black necks and wispy yellow plumes that radiate out from the eye area. Note how dark feathers can be seen through the plumes, and the sharp crest atop the head. Breeding Horned Grebes (below, North Dakota, June) have a solid yellow swipe of feathers going back from the eye, a flatter head, a rufous neck, and a little white tip to the bill. No problemo, you say?

The problemo is that these birds now show a very similar pallate of white, gray, and black in about all the same places when in non-breeding (basic) plumage. Structure can still be helpful, as Eared Grebes (below, Colorado, November) typically show a more domed head than Horned. Note also the blurry-looking border between the dark cap and the light neck. Also note that darkness extends behind and below the eye (feathers known as auriculars.) Eared Grebes are often willing to forage near the edge of lakes, particularly along rocky shores. They can also be seen far from shore, though.
In contrast, winter Horned Grebes (below, Colorado, November) have a more sharply defined dark cap and the eye is right at the edge of the darkness, with white below and behind in the auriculars. Their heads almost always look flatter than Eared Grebes', and most of the time there is a white spot on the lores (feathers in front of the eyes.) If you get a good enough look, you will see that the white bill tip is retained in the winter. To me they look somewhat like dwarf Western Grebes in their basic plumage. It occurs to me like seeing Horned Grebes near shore is much rarer than with Eared Grebes.

Ready for your quiz? Which is which below?
Scroll down for the answer...

No cheating, now...

The left bird is a Horned Grebe while the right bird is an Eared Grebe- how'd you do??

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T15:15:00.001-06:00

Owl Banding

2009-10-23T12:40:00.007-06:00

I’ve been to several bird banding stations over the years, but over the last few weeks I’ve finally seen owl banding in action. Master bander Scott Rashid traps migrating Northern Saw-whet Owls every fall near Estes Park, Colorado, and invited me to visit. The trick used by Saw-whet banders is to play a recording of their toots in the middle of a mist net array. Even though it isn’t breeding season and you wouldn’t expect migrants to be territorial, the little ‘Swets fly in to check out the noise and bop into the nets. Interestingly, the owls usually are caught very near the ground, so apparently they are flying in just above the tops of the grasses as they investigate the sound. Once, Scott caught a Long-eared Owl- perhaps it was hoping to poach a wee Saw-whet? He also once caught a Northern Pygmy-Owl, and indeed we heard an annoyed Pygmy vocalizing nearby at dusk although it didn’t come in to the nets.

Saw-whets are really small- it is hard to imagine by seeing pictures of the owls alone, but in hand you really get a perspective of their diminutive nature. They are cavity nesters and so have to fit in woodpecker holes, after all. Little is known about their migration and wintering habits since they are generally silent and very secretive when they aren’t on breeding territories. The only wintering Saw-whets I’ve seen have been in dense junipers during the day, seemingly oblivious to the world around them.

Another bander I know once climbed a ladder and hand-captured a migrating Saw-whet Owl by just picking it up off of its branch. After measuring and banding it he returned it to the same branch where it spent the rest of the day before resuming its migration that night.

Scott does frequent net checks to avoid having the owls stay netted for too long and to discourage foxes or other predators who would grab an entangled owl. If foxes are seen around, Scott shuts down banding for the night. Once extracted they are banded and quickly measured prior to release. Scott aims to have them inside for only about 5 minutes so they won’t get too hot or stressed (banding is done at a generous homeowner’s property and Scott sets up his tools on a ping-pong table in the basement.) Note the orange juice can on the scale- birds are weighed in tubes to keep them secure and still and it turns out that OJ cans are perfectly sized for ‘Swets (another funny example is the use of Pringles cans for small accipiters- scroll down in this blog post to see the technique in action.)

Even a really plump female just approaches 100 grams- about 3.5 ounces for you fans of the imperial system of measurement. Most are only about as heavy as an American Robin. My favorite thing about the banding is that Saw-whets will often perch on a branch for quite a while after they are released- of the 4 birds we caught two flew away immediately but the other two loitered for quite a while (one for over an hour), allowing for some neat photography. All of my other Saw-whet pics are of uncaptured birds that I had to work pretty hard for but you’ve got to take the easy photo opps like these when they present themselves!

Digiscoping Workshop this Weekend!

2009-10-06T09:42:00.004-06:00

I'm excited to be instructing a digiscoping class this coming Saturday (10 October) and hope to see many of you faithful readers there! The class is being offered through the South Suburban Parks and Recreation district in Littleton at the Carson Nature Center and South Platte Park- class info and registration links can be found here. Thanks much to Tom Bush at Front Range Birding for arranging the class and for lining up the sponsors (S &S Optika, Front Range Birding Company, and Mike's Camera) and talent. I'm really looking forward to working with my co-instructors and buddies Jeff Bouton of Leica Sport Optics and Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik. The forecast is currently calling for a high in the low 40's with a chance of snow- if you are coming, bundle up (we'll be in the field about half the time.)

I've updated my Digiscoping Tips and Tricks File in preparation for the class, but you can also click the link to get a PDF copy of it.

While we're at it, I also have the 2009 Nikon digiscoping system brochure available as a PDF.

I just got a loan of some great gear from Nikon- their FSB-U1 universal digiscoping adapter and a Coolpix P6000 camera along with the 20/25X Long Eye Relief eyepiece to put on my 65mm EDG Fieldscope. I'll blog about the rig soon and welcome any questions folks have about it. I'll also have the rig set up at the workshop for folks to check out in person.

Another really exciting piece of gear that I can't wait to try out in the field is Nikon's FSA-L2 Digital SLR Adapter. It lets you connect a Nikon DSLR to an EDG scope, turning it into a super-telephoto zoom (750 - 2,625mm or 600 - 2,100mm on the 85mm and 65mm models, respectively, for most DSLRs. Full-frame DSLRs (like the D3X) yeild 500mm - 1,750mm or 400mm - 1,400mm on the 85mm and 65mm models, respectively.) I don't think it is quite on the US market yet but when it drops it is going to make some big ripples!! I have it ready to go and will be happy to show anyone how it works at the workshop and in a future blog post.

Kingbird Confirmation

2009-10-04T10:16:00.005-06:00

I had the pleasure of birding at of my favorite places on Colorado's Eastern Plains yesterday, The Nature Conservancy's Fox Ranch. While this working ranch is closed to the public, Ted Floyd arranged for a small group of us to conduct a bird survey on the property yesterday. Click here for Ted's summary of our trip (including 6+ Le Conte's Sparrows, a staggering number for Colorado).

One of the many interesting birds we found was this kingbird. We are presuming it to be a Western Kingbird but given the late date (the bulk of Westerns clear out of CO by mid-September or so according to Colorado Birds by Robert Andrews and Robert Righter) and the similarity of a few other more southerly kingbird species, I thought I'd post a couple of pics of the bird so folks can have a gander and chime in on the ID if they feel so inclined.

Unfortunately, this is the only angle of the bird that I have- no shots of the back or from the side which would be very informative.

Nikon Digiscoping!

2009-09-18T15:29:00.003-06:00

The theme of the month at Nikon's Birding Optics page is digiscoping- check out the digiscoped bird pics slide show that plays when you open the page! There's also a link to a nice little digiscoping video on the bottom of the page. And some guy you may have heard of is the featured ProStaffer of the month, too!

Washed-out Wilson's Warbler

2009-09-13T16:29:00.006-06:00

I took a nice little birding trip to the Chico Basin Ranch after work on Friday, spending the night and then birding a cool Saturday at this well-known Colorado hot spot. Besides birding, I enjoyed catching up with friend and fellow Nikon Birding ProStaff member Brian Gibbons, who is running the banding station there for the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory this fall.

It was a busy day at the nets, with nearly 100 birds banded. Wilson's Warblers led the tall, and among them was a very unusual one that was mostly lacking melanin pigmentation. In birding circles, individuals like this are usually known as leucistic, although the condition may also be called dilute plumage. On a normal Wilson's Warbler melanin pigments darken the cap, wingtips, tail, bill, and legs. Yellow coloration is from caroteniod pigmentation, derived from plants instead of synthesized by the bird. The olive-greenish back of a normal Wilson's Warbler is from a mix of melanin and caroteniod pigments.
So when most of the melanin isn't present, you get a bright yellow bird like this one, with very pale wingtips and tail, a yellow back and cap, a pink bill, and pink legs. When compared to normal Wilson's Warblers (hatch-year female, left, & male, right), you can see the effects of having normal melanin vs. greatly reduced melanin. Below are a few more comparisons vs. a normal hatch-year female.

BBQ With The Birds

2009-08-24T21:30:00.002-06:00

Hey folks- there's still time to join the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory at their annual picnic on 29 August (this coming Saturday.) It is held at the historic Old Stone House at Barr Lake State Park just NE of Denver. There are lots of cool birding events, workshops, and exhibits, great food, bluegrass music, and then I give the luncheon talk to boot! You can get more info here, including a link to register for the event. Hope to see you there!

Nikon Birding ProStaff

2009-08-18T20:48:00.006-06:00

Some of you faithful readers may have noticed a new icon on the top of the left banner- the vaunted yellow Nikon logo. I'm very pleased to announce that I've joined the Nikon Birding ProStaff.

I would like to thank Leica and especially their birding market specialist, Jeff Bouton, for years of a rewarding affiliation. I deeply appreciate the connections and friendships that Jeff & Leica helped me forge, and for the great times and great birds we had at events (both officially and unofficially.) I will always be proud of the time I spent using the awesome gear with the red dot!

As you may also know, I've been a Nikon DSLR guy since the very first rig I got for digital bird photography (a D100 with 80-400mm f/5.6 VR.) I'm now shooting mainly a D300 with a 200-400mm f/4 VR lens, a rig that feels like a natural extension of my eye (both in physical and creative aspects.) The same legendary extra-low dispersion (ED) glass found in Nikon lenses is now at the center of their EDG line of sport optics. I've been using the EDG 8x42 binocular and the 65mm EDG Fieldscope for a few weeks now, and I'm blown away by the vivid, crisp images these optics produce. I've got to say it is exciting to be birding at a time when glass this sharp, bright, and comfortable is available!

I've also been playing around with some digiscoping using my new EDG Fieldscope. I'm still using my Panasaonic DMC-G1 (a mirror-less DSLR that I've discussed before.) I await testing the EDG 20/25 X Long Eye Relief eyepiece (LERs are well-known for vignette-free digiscoping) along with a more formal adapter, but for now I'm slamming stuff by hand-holding the G1 to the Fieldscope's zoom, using an improvised but effective centering guide made from a surplus adapter ring that I scavenged from an another digiscoping adapter. I back the scope zoom off to pretty wide and zoom in to approx. 30mm on the G1 kit lens, at the camera's medium-sized file setting (6 megapixels.) I use aperture priority, wide open (typically f/5 or so depending on the zoom setting), commonly at ISO 200 or 400 to maintain good shutter speed. At these settings I get vignette-free images that are sharp edge-to-edge (or should I say EDG to EDG??) The combo is amazingly fast, acquiring and shooting about as fast as my DSLR once scope focus is reasonably close (the camera can then make up the difference even if a bird moves in and out a bit.) All of the shots in this post were digiscoped using the new rig.

Anyway, I want to thank Nikon Sport Optics for the opportunity to promote their optics as a member of their Birding ProStaff. I'm humbled by the quality and reputations of birders I've joined there and am thrilled to have Nikon ED glass in front of me whether I'm photographing, using bins, scoping, or digiscoping.

Island Life

2009-08-11T16:47:00.012-06:00

Another must-do trip in Southern California that I was finally able to do was the boat ride out to Santa Cruz Island departing from Ventura. Island Packers runs daily trips on fast catamarans, and I was aboard the 8 am departure on the Island Adventure to make the 1.5 hour (or so) crossing. Conditions were foggy & misty most of the way, but I did see some Sooty and Pink-footed Shearwaters. Closing in on the island, I also saw Common Murres and Pigeon Guillemots. A highlight for everyone during the crossing was a large pod of common dolphins, many of which took turns surfing on the bow wave of the boat. The overhanging configuration of the bow allows you to look straight down on these magnificent cetaceans as they catch a ride. Can't help but smile as they do this no matter how many times you've seen it before!!

Most of the day trippers get off at the first stop, Scorpion Anchorage, for sea kayaking, snorkeling, hiking, or whatever. But most birdy types stay on board to head farther around the island to Prisoner's Harbor, where Island Scrub-Jays are more reliable. Off the boat then goes, and you've got about 6 hours of island birding before the 4 pm pickup.

Approaching Santa Cruz Island

Cavern Point seen from Scorpion Anchorage- you geology types will appreciate the diagonal thrust fault running through the cliff.

Prisoner's Harbor

See 'ya, Island Adventurer!

As many of my faithful readers will know, the Island Scrub-Jay is only found on Santa Cruz Island and is told from the nearby coastal races of Western Scrub-Jay by its darker coloration, larger bill, and overall larger size (in both dimension and weight.) I'm told their bones have been found on other Channel Islands but they were extirpated sometime in the past from all but Santa Cruz Island. Despite the island being in sight of the mainland (at least on clear days), there are no records of Western Scrub-Jays on the island or Island Scrub-Jays on the mainland. Reliable the jays were, calling from the tall Eucalyptus trees as the boat arrived. One eventually came down around the old sheep pens. Still, it took a while to get clear looks, but eventually I found a pair in the brush around a dry stream bed that wanted badly to get photographed. All of the Scrub-Jays I saw there had color bands. Another farther along the creek was curious about my presence, too. In a first for me, I first detected that bird by hearing the silvery jingling of its bands before I turned around and saw it looking out at me from the brush. This small endemic population is closely monitored by color-banding the individuals around the easily-accessed boat landing site.

Santa Cruz island also has other interesting endemic birds (not to mention plants, mammals, and insects), but for now at least they don't have full species status like the Scrub-Jay. Perhaps best-known is the endangered Channel Island Loggerhead Shrike, but to see that you have to get up into the interior portions of the island, which I didn't do. Unlike the single-island-dwelling Island Scrub-Jay, this shrike subspecies is found on 7 of the 8 Channel Islands. I also missed the island versions of Hutton's Vireo and Rufous-crowned Sparrow. I did, however, enjoy seeing the resident subspecies of Allen's Hummingbird (sedentarius) along with the "dusky" (sordida) Orange-crowned Warbler, the island-endemic Pacific Slope Flycatcher (insulicola) and the island version of Song Sparrow (clementae).

sedentarius Allen's Hummingbird

sordida ("dusky") Orange-crowned Sparrow

insulicola Pacific-slope Flycatcher

clementae Song Sparrow

I also enjoyed this curious pair of Harbor Seals that came in from their kelp forest to see what I was up to as I strolled a cobble beach. Interesting to see the differences in coloration on these two individuals. Brown Pelicans skimmed back and forth over the kelp with an occasional plunge-dive. After a couple of intense days of mainland birding, I also enjoyed some island time in a grassy pocket, catching some z's before the 4pm boat pickup. Luckily I didn't oversleep- if you miss the boat you're out of luck until the next day.

Anyway, the return of the boat (this time the Islander) signaled an end to my visit. What a great place to go birding- hope to get the chance to do so again!!

Cookin' on the Condor Express

2009-08-06T15:50:00.011-06:00

I wrapped up a very productive trip to Southern California with a 14-hour long pelagic trip into deep waters out of Santa Barbara on 25 July. In order to squeeze in 250+ so miles of ocean birding without going overnight, a very fast boat is needed. Enter the Condor Express, a whale-watching catamaran capable of 30+ mph crusing. While this might not sound impressive in a car-based frame of reference, it is really flying for a big boat to do speeds like this in sizable Pacific swells.

Boat track from http://socalbirding.com

We got as far as 107 miles or so from Santa Barbara, in waters up to 2000 fathoms deep (12,000 feet.) The hope on a distant, deepwater pelagic like this is to find some choice birds that rarely approach shallow waters closer to shore. The prevailing sentiment among my friends before the trip was that there may not be many birds out there but any one might be really good. To mangle one of Forrest Gump's lines, pelagics are like a box of chocolates- you never know what you'll get. Well, we got more than our share of treats! A full trip report can be found here, but let me say that we saw lots of birds out beyond the Channel Islands, with a count of 136 Cook's Petrels(!!!) and an adult Red-billed Tropicbird for the cherry on top. These two, along with Xantu's Murrelet (unfortunately not photographed) and Leach's Storm-Petrel were lifers for me.

Here are some photographic highlights of the trip:

Once the boat passes the harbor marker (and its loafing California Sea Lion crew), the four computer controlled 740Hp Detroit Diesel engines propel the Condor Express into warp speed, heading for a gap through the Channel Islands and towards deep water! In open water, sea lions bask by holding their rear flippers and one front flipper in the sunlight.

Sea mammals are always of interest, and we enjoyed several pods of Common Dolphins and this Humpback Whale. I also got my lifer Blue Whale and saw spouting Fin Whales. The Santa Barbara Channel is probably the best place in North America to see these largest of animals to ever live on Earth- next time I'm back in the summer I'll save a day strictly for whale watching.

Closer to shore, the most common seabirds were Pink-footed (here) and Sooty Shearwaters.

One of my 4 lifers on the trip, Leach's Storm-Petrels offered quick, erratic looks throughout the day. These birds range from light-rumped (top) to dark-rumped. The bottom bird is on the dark end of an intermediate bird, I'd say. All I managed were soft shots like these but still, I was thrilled to see 'em!

A bit farther out we encountered a cooperative pair of Black-footed Albatrosses. Even at a distance their wingy jizz is unmistakable, but Wes Fritz coaxed them in close to the boat with his delectable chumming mix of fish oil, ground anchovies, and lovingly hand-cut strips of beef fat.

We also had a pair of really haggard-looking Northern Fulmars in desperate need of molt, which they had just begun. The manky, bleached feathers are the old ones, while the crisp-looking dark ones are newly grown.

We had high hopes of seeing a good gadfly petrel like the Cook's Petrel above. When the first one was called it was a struggle for many of us to get on it- a small, distant, fast-flying pale bird among the swells and whitecaps of the Pacific in overcast conditions. It was like looking for a gray needle in a gray haystack. The picture above is actually of a fairly close bird but it gives you a feeling for how easy they are to get lost in the waves. I finally got so-so looks of the first and was pleased with picking up a lifer, but it was far from a satisfying look. Soon another appeared, offering better looks and lots more cheers and high-fives around the boat as more folks picked up the bird. More chumming and more birds eventually brought really good looks. At times small groups of up to a dozen Cook's were seen together, and several close (but fast) flybys of the boat challenged photographers to keep up.

Pterodroma petrels like Cook's have an unmatched speedy arcing flight style that is a wonder to watch. They can veer up above the horizon and disappear between waves in nearly an instant, all without a wingbeat. They have the perkiest dynamic soaring style that I have seen, and it really must be seen to be fully appreciated. Above is a series of 6 consecutive shots taken at 5 frames per second, so this represents 1.2 seconds in the soaring life of a Cook's Petrel. You can see that their upperwing pattern somewhat resembles the dark "M" on a lighter gray background seen in Buller's Shearwater, but the flight cadence and style is totally different. Their belly and underwings are mostly white- sometimes the way to pick up a distant bird was to see the white flashing as their underside came into view.

One more gratuitous shot of this fabulous bird.

And then, as if the Cook's show wasn't enough, an adult Red-billed Tropicbird flew in to investigate, circling the boat lazily three times before heading back into the open Pacific. Not only a lifer species, but a lifer family (Phaethontidae)- and a really cool bird family at that! Kind of rough photographing a white bird against a bright overcast sky, but as Borat would say, Is Very Nice!!

Lightning Strikes Again

2009-07-29T17:59:00.007-06:00

In my last post I reported on a visit to the nest of a remarkably powerful forest predator, the Northern Goshawk. I also commented on the difficulty I'd had photographing the species until this year, when I finally got a distant flyby shots in the spring and then visiting the super cooperative birds in N. Colorado a few weeks ago.

Well, to abuse a cliche, when it rains goshawks it pours goshawks! I just got back from a Southern California birding trip on Sunday, including a couple of days out on the Pacific Ocean (more on that in another post.) A few days prior to my boating adventures I was at the Santa Ynez River estuary where I crossed paths with Wes Fritz , who knows where every bird can be found and photographed in that part of the state (I'm not kidding- it is what he does! If you have holes in your list that you are trying to fill, engage his professional services and he'll go dawn to dusk or beyond to find birds with you.) In a major stroke of luck, it turned out that he wanted to go on a wild Gos chase to follow up on reports he'd heard of potential sightings at a campground in one of the coastal ranges, and many of my target birds could be found up there, too. So we decided to give it a try the next day.
On the way up, Wes helped me get all of my wish list birds plus other SoCal goodies. My targets acquired, now it was time to look into this goshawk business. When we found the campground there was only 1 occupied campsite, and when we spoke to the gentleman there he said that indeed he had seen a hawk recently, sitting on his RV as it turned out! Oh, and would we like to see the pictures? Yeah- while blurry, definitely GOSHAWK!! And then he volunteered that a few days prior, he and his wife heard and saw a noisy hawk just down the trail from the campground. It was making piercing calls- not the Hollywood raspy scream of a Red-tail. After getting a better description of the site, we set out down the trail to see what we could find.
After about 1/2 mile, Wes spotted what looked like a potential Gos nest right over the trail in the top of a leaning snag. We worked for a while trying to get pics through the dense pine vegetation and estimate the nest height and diameter along with GPS coordinates to help out a mutual friend studying the species in S. California. Then a piercing set of calls began a bit farther along the trail. Jogging over, we were dumbstruck by a juvenile Goshawk perched in the top of a tree downslope from the trail! Wes started videotaping and I started hammering with the DSLR. Not long out of the nest, it and a sibling were hanging out in the vicinity, sometimes calling, sometimes quiet, alternating short circling flights with perching, no doubt waiting for mom or dad to bring back some food. At one point an adult blasted by high overhead, probably just keeping tabs on juniors 1 & 2.
This is a pretty remarkable location for nesting Goshawks, on the extreme southwestern edge of their breeding grounds in California. In fact, the nest was under 40 miles from the beach, putting it beyond most breeding range maps for the species. At one point, one of the juvs landed on a branch directly over me, probably curious in the way of some young birds. It called some more, a most spine-tingling experience at point-blank range, while its sibling called from downslope. Needless to say, we returned from the outing quite excited.

The World of the Gos

2009-07-20T15:15:00.005-06:00

I recently had the supremely rare opportunity of accompanying a bird bander and researcher to a Northern Goshawk nest site in Northern Colorado (sorry I can't be any more specific than that.) Usually, Goshawks let you know when you get too close to their nests by screaming and strafing you, with about the only good option being to retreat. Surprisingly, though, this pair was very mellow, with the researcher reporting only one close flyover and generally no more than curious onlooking on visits to check on the progress of the chicks. For this reason, the researcher thought that bringing in a photographer wouldn't stress the birds, and for that I'm extremely grateful. On my visit, the female (told by the heavier reddish barring on the underparts) flew in from nearby as we neared the nest but just perched down in the shady understory for a bit before flying up to the sunny top of a tall lodgepole pine. It stayed up there where it could see us and the nest at the same time, never vocalizing or looking agitated, and eventually started napping! Now that's mellow behavior for any raptor, especially one with the fierce reputation of a Goshawk. I suspect the male was around too, but we never saw him during our visit. The chicks were ripping at some prey item between bouts of resting, so I think the pressure was off the adults to deliver more food for a while and they were just taking it easy. The nest held two new Goshawks, one just beginning to explore a nearby branch. Within a week of this visit I'm told they had left the nest tree and had disappeared into the forest- I'm glad I made it in time to see this amazing sight.

Small Mountain Owls

2009-07-15T14:16:00.004-06:00

Like owls? (Who doesn't??) I just got a great new book that details some of my favorites- the wee owls of the mountains. Scott Rashid (bird artist/bander/researcher/rehabilitator) has written and illustrated a wonderful reference on small owls, with detailed chapters on 4 species that inhabit the Rockies (Northern Pygmy, Flammulated, Northern Saw-whet, and Boreal Owls.) Appropriately titled Small Mountain Owls, Scott blends personal stories of his many encounters (often supplemented with detailed illustrations), research findings, and photographs of these secretive owls. There's a lot for anybody to learn here- much of Scott's research represents previously undocumented behaviors and facts about these fascinating birds. Get a copy for yourself and/or an owl fan in your life!

Awash in Ammodramus

2009-07-04T09:57:00.013-06:00

I think a major highlight of my birding summer so far has been the chance to study all 5 of the Ammodramus Sparrows that occur in the interior US (you have to go coastal to see Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow and Seaside Sparrow, a geographic feature my travels in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota lacked.) For an overview of this genus, I'll also plug a great new resource- David Sibley has put is seminal field guide online! Link to his section on Emberizine Sparrows and Allies and scroll down to see an overview of the 7 North American Ammodramus (I'll also link to each one.) If I were to summarize this genus, I'd say "small, secretive, shrill (voiced), and subtle" (field marks.) Two were new to me, and I was excited not only to see them but to photograph them all (however poorly in a couple of cases.) The first lifer I got was Henslow's Sparrow. I wasn't expecting this one, being north of their regular range, but one was a bit north of normal at Crex Meadows, a fantastic state wildlife area in Burnett County, Wisconsin. Andy Paulios, the Wisconsin eBird reviewer, very handsomely provided me with directions to the territory. As is usually the case with Ammodramus, I heard the bird for quite a while before I finally tracked the little guy down singing from a weedy tassel (I'm no botanist so I don't know what this plant is.) I only got digiscoped pics through atrociously bad air, but you'll see the extensive rufous in the wings and the greenish wash on the lighter areas of the head. (In his sparrow ID workshop at the ABA Conference in Minot, Jon Dunn said it's like Henslow's had its head dipped in pea soup.) Another Ammodramus I heard and saw at the same spot was Le Conte's Sparrow. These guys have a really lemony-yellow wash to their head and an boldly striped back and crown. I didn't work on photos too hard since I already had some decent pics of the species. Very dapper birds, Le Conte's like it pretty moist underfoot. On my way to the Minot ABA conference I stopped at Chase Lake NWR near Jamestown. I was hoping to find a pre-conference Baird's Sparrow but struck out. I did have this mightily-buzzing Grasshopper Sparrow along a back road, though. They are more buffy overall but have yellow above and in front of the eye, plus a little on the leading edge of the folded wing. Their bodies are unstreaked and they have a prominent spot at the back of the auriculars (feathers behind and below the eye.) The second lifer Ammodramus I gleaned on this northern plains jaunt was Baird's Sparrow. Our field trip to Lostwood NWR turned up several, and I was happy to get scope looks along with all of the participants. I also really learned the song- nothing like hearing a bird sing (however softly) as you are watching it to gel up the audio-visual neural connections. After the conference was over I went back to the refuge on my own and found a stretch of the auto tour with 3 or 4 competing males in bushy clumps next to the road. The pics below were taken out my car window- don't forget the power of using your vehicle for a blind when possible (and safe.) This refuge is one of the best places in North Dakota to find this species due to their grassland management plan that included prescribed burns and grazing rotations that mimic bison foraging patterns- heavy for a while and then a few years of rest. Without fire, the grassland gets too brushy and wooded, and with over-grazing the grass gets too short. Unfortunately, over much of the Baird's Sparrow's historic range one or the other negative impacts has made the landscape unsuitable for this tidy little bird. Note the dark border on the back of the auriculars is thickest at the top and bottom rear corners, so from many angles it looks like the bird has two spots towards the back of the head. It also has a pale orange wash over the light parts of the head- Jon Dunn relates this to a wash in pumpkin juice. The 5th Ammodramus of my trip (and the last one possible without a detour of perhaps 1500 miles east, was Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (probably soon to be shortened by the AOU to just Nelson's Sparrow.) I heard these at several places in North Dakota, but for me this has always been a very difficult sparrow to see. First of all, it sings most at night, or in the dim dusk and dawn periods. Secondly, even when it is singing in daylight it is often well hidden in its preferred marshy sedges, reeds, or cattails. Its song is very short, thin and high pitched with a wheezy, hissed quality that makes directional locating and distance estimation a challenge. Also, since it likes such a marshy habitat it can be hard to approach without hip boots or a willingness to get pretty wet (and often a bad idea anyway from a habitat protection perspective.) Fortunately, though, the tour road at Lostwood NWR went through a low spot with marsh right up to the road's edge on either side. This was home to at least two Nelson's Sparrows (and a Le Conte's, and I was able to photograph a really orange-faced one out my car window. In my superficial little mind, this is my favorite Ammodramus for looks (on those rare occasions where you can see one well), but the poorest vocalist among an already weak-sounding bunch. Oh, and in the second pic I think you'll see how Sharp-tailed Sparrows got their name... Ammodramus Country: I'll guarantee there are 4 species of Ammodramus sparrows in this picture! (composite taken from the fire watch tower at Lostwood NWR.) Nelson's in the emergent marshy veg around the potholes, Le Conte's in the thickest, wettest grass right above the marshes, Grasshopper and Baird's up in the healthy, dryer native grasses.

North Dakota is for Bird Lovers!

2009-06-19T08:26:00.005-06:00

Hi everyone- I've been madly birding for the last 4 days at the American Birding Association conference in Minot, ND. Up at 4am each day, out to see tons of cool birds doing cool things, and then back to network and socialize with a great group of birders, hear informative talks, and learn about sparrows in Jon Dunn's workshop. Finally slept in this AM and am packed and ready to go birding some more later today and tomorrow. Not much time for details now, but here are some favorite pics so far... More later!

Looking up at a skylarking Sprague's Pipit

Looking down at a Virginia Rail

Looking out at the bird pictured on the auto tour loop stop (Piping Plover)

Red-necked Grebe

Ruffed Grouse on its drumming log

Clay-colored Sparrow

Horned Grebe

Grasshopper Sparrow

North Woods Fun

2009-06-08T19:02:00.007-06:00

I've been having a ball up here in NW Wisconsin despite some rainy weather. Looks like it should be clearing for the rest of the week- I'm excited to visit Crex Meadows tomorrow. I'm staying at my folk's place on a private lake with great birds, so I set up my little portable photo blind near their feeder tray and put up some picturesque branches on each side for perches. Then it was a matter of chilling out in the camp chair built into the blind and crushing birds from a few meters away as they came in. Light was low on the cloudy, rainy days yesterday and today so I was shooting at 640 or 800 ISO. I just ran these through Noiseware to counteract the sensitive ISO. Otherwise the light was nice and even- rich colors that I don't always get on the high plains or mountains of Colorado. For a topper, a Black Bear walked through the cabins after dinner tonight- I snapped a quick pic on my iPhone out the screen door but it sat down about 50 meters away at the edge of the woods to contemplate its next move- time enough for me to grab my telephoto rig and get a few nice shots.

G1 on the Televid

2009-06-04T17:48:00.006-06:00

Back in April, I wrote about a new camera I'm using for digiscoping, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 (hereafter the G1 for short...)

I've had the chance to test it out more on my Leica APO-Televid Scopes (angled 62 & 77mm), and I'm liking it a lot. While I can hand-hold the camera to my 32X WW eyepiece and get good results, I'm back to mainly using the threaded Swarovski DCA adapter. I find this to be super quick, secure, and it automatically centers the camera. The diameters of the adapter and eyepiece don't quite match, but since the adapter is a wee bit bigger I can use a shim to make up the difference for a secure fit. Ben Lizdas of Eagle Optics figured out how to do this- see this post on Mike McDowell's digiscoping blog to see how it works.
While the kit lens (14-45mm) works pretty well for digiscoping there are still vignetting issues. To minimize vignetting, I set the camera to the medium-sized files, which only uses the middle 6 MP of the 12 MP array. Yeah, I could also just crop out the dark when shooting full-sized files, but I like limiting the vignetting to better see what I'm getting in the viewfinder. In conjunction with the EZ zoom setting (not "easy", but Extended optical Zoom), using medium file size fills the viewfinder with the image and minimal vignetting at around 18 or 20 mm zoom on the kit lens. Here you'll see how the viewfinder position is adjustable to either fill the back of the camera, or come out to the side and pivot to whatever angle you need. It also reverses on the back of the camera so it is facing inward and protected when you don't need it. Using the electronic viewfinder emulates looking through the scope, something I like to do in bright conditions or when tracking moving birds.
The small, distant yellow highlighted area in this photo is the part of the tray feeder the rig is photographing- there's nothing like digiscoping to pull in birds!

Here are some sample pics I took at the Colorado Field Ornithologists annual convention in Alamosa, Colorado over the Memorial Day weekend. The White-rumped Sandpiper and Snowy Plover were at Blanca Wetlands, a wildlife area managed by the BLM. It hosts the state's largest concentration of breeding Snowy Plovers (a species of special concern in Colorado), and gets goodies like the White-rumped Sandpiper, rare in the San Luis Valley (it doesn't yet appear on the official Alamosa County bird list but we'll see about updating that.) The Sandhill Crane was one of a pair just south of Poncha Pass in the far northern end of the San Luis Valley. They aren't known to breed in the SLV but having a pair in habitat like this at such a late date is very suspicious. A forest service biologist is following up to see if breeding can be confirmed.
These three images illustrate the power of digiscoping, with its ability to nicely document birds without approaching closely enough to disturb them.

There is a lens promised for release later this year in the new Micro Four Thirds format (introduced in this camera) that might be ideal for digiscoping- a 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens. If and when I can test it out the I'll let you know how it works. Several folks have been experimenting with other pankake lenses using adapters with good results, but if I understand correctly they also lose autofocus when they move out of the dedicated Micro Four Thirds format. As news on what works well is rapidly changing, I suggest following the digiscoping birds list to keep abreast of developments regarding the G1 and its digiscoping applications.

Finer points of a Trumpeter Swan

2009-06-03T10:32:00.004-06:00

Here's a collection of Trumpeter Swan pics I took a couple of weeks ago. There's a pair of resident Trumpeters on the golf course lake in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, that were brought in years ago and never left despite being free-swimming and free-flying. While not "countable", I always appreciate the chance to refresh my ID skills and to have a detailed set of reference photos. There's no doubt about Trumpeter vs. Tundra Swan ID when birds are close, but they can be maddeningly tough to figure out when conditions aren't ideal or with immature birds. Unlike my previous drive-bys of the lake, this time one of the swans was right against the near shore near Highway 160 with good light coming in from behind me. I eased onto the wide shoulder and snapped the bird from inside my truck (a most effective photo blind despite being huge and white.) I say take the easy shots when you can- there is no lack of difficult bird photography!!

Earbirding.com

2009-06-02T16:27:00.003-06:00

My buddy Nathan Pieplow, master bird sound recordist and all-around great guy, has started a great blog started dedicated to bird song and related analysis- give it a look!

Yellow Jacket Canyon

2009-05-21T14:07:00.008-06:00

Last weekend, I finally got the chance to hike into Yellow Jacket Canyon in the far SW corner of Colorado. This site is famous among Colorado birders as the only reliable spot in the state for breeding Lucy's Warblers. I almost got the chance to visit in 2004, but the flu kept me in my Montrose hotel room then as my buddies went in to get the bird for their Colorado lists. Fortunately, Lucy's has bred there every year since (and probably has bred there for a long time prior to the 2004 discovery), and one of the first birds we put our bins on once we reached the riparian cottonwoods was a Lucy's! I was there as part of my Ute Mountain/Mesa Verde Birding Festival itinerary. Coen Dexter and Brenda Wright led the trip, involving a hike in of about 1.5 miles through pinon/juniper scrubland and rimrock to get to the riparian strip of Yellow Jacket creek. Gray birds, noteably Gray Vireos and Gray Flycatchers, serenaded us on the way in and out along with Black-throated Sparrows and Black-throated Gray Warblers. Lovely birds all, but no good bird photo opps to speak of this time (group trips aren't ideal for bird photography...) So I looked for herps and cactus blooms to fill some memory card space instead.
While trying for better looks at the Lucy's Warbler pair that was foraging up and down the creek bottom we saw an immature male Summer Tanager- another very nice bird for the state. Bushtits were around, and one revealed its nest as it brought food into the tube sock-like structure.
There are almost certainly more Lucy's Warbler spots in that part of the state, but access to the riparian strips is mostly private around there. Homesteaders snatched up these wet strips long ago for their ranch headquarters and hay meadows (who can blame them?), leaving the dry scrublands as open range (now mostly BLM lands.) I'd say the place has more of a Utah/Arizona feel to it, which isn't surprising since Yellow Jacket Canyon is just a Long-nosed Leopard Lizard's leap away from both states! Speaking of which, this Long-nosed Leopard Lizard was certainly the non-bird wildlife highlight for me- a lifer herp.
We wrapped up by stopping at a bridge along a county road on the way back to Cortez, with a mud-speckled nest-building Black Phoebe as our reward. Another west-slope specialty for Colorado, Black Phoebes seem to only build nests overhanging moving water, so either steep rock outcrops rising from rivers or bridges are often the best place to look for them. I was looking almost straight down at this bird through a gap in the bridge- an unusual angle but kind of cool results when it looked up to see what was making those strange clicking sounds above it.
Many thanks to the Ute Mountain/Mesa Verde Birding Festival for having me- I really enjoyed speaking there and had a great time on my field trips. I feel like I just got the teaser tour and would love to go back for more in-depth exploration of that undervisited corner of Colorado!!

Catch Me if You Can (Again)

2009-05-07T09:10:00.002-06:00

I'm privileged to be speaking at the Boulder Birding Club's Annual Meeting tomorrow evening (Friday, May 8) from 7 to 9 pm. I'll be discussing Bird Coloration and The Fascinating Case of Whitey, The Steller's Jay (a talk on the mechanisms of bird plumage coloration and aberrations.)

The talk is at the Golden West Manor, 1055 Adams Circle, in Boulder.

DIRECTIONS: Golden West Manor is off 30th Street between Baseline and Colorado Avenue. Turn west on Euclid, which becomes Adams Circle. Park on the street or in one of the 20 spaces Golden West has rented at the First Christian Church, just west of the building. Enter the building on the east side and take the elevator up to the penthouse at Golden West Manor, 1005 Adams Circle, Boulder.

Hope you can join us!

North Park Highlights

2009-05-05T09:21:00.013-06:00

I trekked up to North Park a couple of weekends ago with my dad. Despite lots of wind, rain, and even a bit of snow, we had gobs of cool birds. If you've never been you should go! Here are a few of my pictorial favs.

Sage Thrasher:
Tree Swallow (one of the few out of 100+ that was sharp enough to keep...)
Western Grebe:
Greater Sage-Grouse: Got better display pics last year in sunny weather, but kind of neat to see 18 males and 4 females despite the lateness of the season and wetness of the day...
Cassin's Finch:

Pine Grosbeak:

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch: At least 100 at the Moose Visitor Center.
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch: One lurking among the Brown-capped Rosies.
Black Rosy-Finch: Two in the flock made for a most pleasant surprise! One had a little albinistic patch on its crown. These always get me excited- one of my to 10 favorite birds!