[cayugabirds-l] FEMALE Redwing Blackbirds
While cruising our 170 acre site this morning I came across my first 2 FEMALE REDWING BLACKBIRDS. Several males around them were making quite a fuss...understandably. Stephanie -- Stephanie Greenwood Ecovillage at Ithaca 221 Rachel Carson Way Ithaca, NY 14850 607 273 1179 607 280 1050 cell -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Montezuma Audubon Center (3577C) , 4/6/11
Location: Montezuma Audubon Center (3577C) Observation date: 4/6/11, 12:13-1:18 pm Notes: altostratus translucidus overcast cumulus; 44 F., wind WSW 12-19 mph, 59% RH, 29.90 steady (TWC 1:25 pm); this report covers 12:13-1:18 pm Number of species: 26 Canada Goose 56 actual total Trumpeter Swan 2 south pond Eurasian Wigeon 1 male with Am. Wig. in SE corner of north pond; scoped from bldg. American Wigeon 70 north pond; actual count American Black Duck 2 a pair on south pond Blue-winged Teal 2 powder-blue wing patches prominent as they landed on south pond Northern Pintail 2 only the male clearly visible after landing Green-winged Teal 2 on Crusoe Creek Ring-necked Duck 9 north pond Hooded Merganser 2 females diving on north pond Great Blue Heron 1 Turkey Vulture 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 on nest American Kestrel 1 kiting over south field Sandhill Crane 2 landed on dike between south pond and Crusoe Creek, danced and took off again gull sp. 4 high Downy Woodpecker 1 feeder Northern Flicker 1 American Crow 2 1 under feeder earlier Tree Swallow 1 Tufted Titmouse 1 feeder Eastern Bluebird 1 (2 pairs at 11 am) American Robin 1 European Starling 22 Red-winged Blackbird 19 under feeders Common Grackle 2 at feeders House Sparrow 1 feeder This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) [3rd MAC eBird report for today] Dave Spier http://montezumabirding.webs.com http://ny.audubon.org/CentersEdu_Montezuma.html -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Dryden Lake sightings
This morning at Dryden Lake we saw 1 Horned Grebe, 6-7 red-breasted mergansers, common and hooded mergansers, 1 common loon, many ring-necks, a pair (male and female) of scaups, two male buffleheads, a pair belted kingfisher and two wood ducks. On the path by the lake we saw a brown creeper. We viewed the pond on George Road from the road and saw about 6 green-winged teals, two American black ducks, many ring-necks, two buffleheads. We then walked along the old railroad track and saw about 8-10 wood ducks fly up from the stream beside the track. A very satisfying excursion! Fred and Marsha Kardon -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Animatronic Gull Video
Take a look at this: http://www.kurzweilai.net/robotic-seagull-duplicates-biological-functions Bob McGuire -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] OT: Hidden messages in nest decorations?
Have you wondered why some birds adorn their nests with eye-catching objects such as colorful ribbons and yarn, butterfly and beetle wings, shells, silver spoons, flower petals, food wrappers, garden tools, keys, screws, jewelry, and other trinkets? Whereas some items are *thought *to provide structural support, camouflage, insulation, predator protection, or insect repellant, many other articles seem purely ornamental. Is there a deeper significance to these decorative efforts than simple nest beautification? A study reported in the Jan. 21 issue of *Science* describing the use of white plastic1 nest decorations by Black Kites (*Milvus migrans*) explores this behavior as possible intraspecies communication. [*“Raptor Nest Decorations Are a Reliable Threat Against Conspecifics.”* F. Sergio, et al. *Science, *Vol. 331 No. 6015, January 21, 2011.* *A pdf of this article is available at: http://bama.ua.edu/~rlearley/Sergio_2011.pdf.] Sergio’s team looked at nest decorations as signals of individual fitness and territorial dominance in Black Kites, a raptor common across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Fitter birds with the best territories put larger amounts of shredded white plastic in their nests than weaker birds and are rarely intimidated, while kites using less white plastic are repeatedly challenged for territory. Offspring in highly ornamented nests are also less threatened and are rarely attacked by other Black Kites. Whereas bowerbirds and Black Wheateaters are famous for ornamenting their nests to attract mates, hundreds of other birds, from penguins to passerines, also embellish their nests with extraneous, and sometimes bizarre, objects. The question is why? Like the kites, are these objects used to say something meaningful about the nest builder? The authors question if birds are weaving hidden messages in their nests and suggest that intraspecies communication via nest decorations (and other extended phenotypic signals2) may be far more common than previously thought—in birds, fish, and mammals [especially humans]. Keep one eye on the sky and one on the nest. Candace Cornell 1 The authors believe that Black Kites used white feathers in their nest before the availability of white plastic. 2 A simplified definition of an extended phenotypic signal is information conveyed by the manipulative actions or construction behaviors of an individual animal. For a formal definition and discussion, see *Extended Phenotypes as Signals*. Franziska C. Schaedelin and Michael Taborsky, *Biol. Rev*. (2009), 84, pp. 293–313. A pdf version is available at http://behav.zoology.unibe.ch/sysuif/uploads/files/esh/pdf_online/ taborskym/Schaedelin_BiolRev2009.pdf. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
