Re: [mou-net] Duluth Mississippi Kite Yesterday
I was very relieved to read Julian's account. About 3:25 pm yesterday, I was on my front porch at 49th Avenue East and Peabody Street in Lakeside (pretty much due south of Hawk Ridge) watering my plants when I saw a falcon-shaped bird, with more delicate and erratic flight, due south of me toward Lake Superior, darting about and appearing to be hawking insects, but it was a distance and I didn't have my binoculars. I immediately thought Mississippi Kite, but by the time I grabbed my binoculars, the bird had disappeared. It seemed like too much of a rarity to count without confirmation, but I didn't see one reported from Hawk Ridge yesterday (it may have been too far off to see from there) so was thinking it was the proverbial "one that got away." This is hardly a rarity, but on Friday I saw a Ruffed Grouse in my neighborhood--a first in the 39 years we've lived here (I've had them up on Hawk Ridge and in Lester Park, but never in the residential part of my neighborhood). Today, our mail carrier said he'd seen it hunkered down in the woods at the SE corner of Dodge and 47th Ave. E. Best, Laura Erickson Duluth, MN On Mon, Sep 14, 2020 at 10:10 AM MOU wrote: > (Posted by Julian Sellers via moumn.org) > > I observed a Mississippi Kite yesterday in Duluth. Here's my report to > eBird. > > I was at a private home with a deck with a partial view to the north and > northeast and a wide > view to the southeast (toward the Duluth harbor and St. Louis Bay). The > location is 7.8 miles > southwest of the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. The forecast was for good > raptor migration > with a northwest breeze, but at my location the cloud cover did not > disperse until about 14:45. > At about 15:15, I started seeing kettles of Broad-winged Hawks and some > other individual > raptors. At about 15:40, I saw what I first took for a falcon, due to its > long, pointed wings and > long tail, approaching at a moderate height from the north. I soon > noticed that its flight was > not falcon-like; it glided, executing an occasional quick twist, turn, or > dip hawking insects. I > also noticed a light-colored head and a light body contrasting with an > all-dark slightly flared > tail. The trailing edge of the secondaries, seen from directly below, > appeared white. I > observed the bird for a minute or two before I lost it as it glided out > over the bay. About five > minutes later, it returned, gliding in the opposite direction (northwest) > over the ridge. > > Julian Sellers, St. Paul > > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Chickadees on marijuana
I was one of the people in Carrol Henderson's study offering the hemp seeds at my feeder in Duluth--didn't have any takers, either. But it's possible the difference is that the hemp seed in the experiment was "industrial hemp," not "psychoactive hemp." Best, Laura Erickson Duluth, MN On Fri, Oct 2, 2020 at 2:08 PM sparky stensaas wrote: > Ha! This is exactly what Carrol Henderson was working on... > Hemp seeds were used as a bird seed many years ago. > Last year he had many of us test hemp seeds in our feeders to see if this > was still a viable commercial operation. > Results were mixed...No birds ate it up in Sax-Zim Bog feeders. > But obviously Rochester chickadees like it! > > Sparky Stensaas > 2515 Garthus Road > Wrenshall MN 55797 > 218.341.3350 > sparkystens...@hotmail.com > > www.ThePhotoNaturalist.com > www.KollathStensaas.com > www.SaxZim.org > > > From: Minnesota Birds on behalf of Joel H. > Dunnette > Sent: Friday, October 2, 2020 1:28 PM > To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU > Subject: [mou-net] Chickadees on marijuana > > In a park under development in Rochester, I watched several chickadees > feeding avidly on seeds of marijuana plants. > I was able to sit in the open less than 10 feet from them, and they kept > coming back for more. > > Has anyone else noticed this sort of thing? > > -- > Joel Dunnette > > “The purpose of argument should not be victory, but progress” > > > Join or Leave mou-net: > https://eur06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.umn.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fwa%3FSUBED1%3Dmou-net&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cfdf042e208cc4eaed7fd08d86700f9b3%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637372601170944644&sdata=1Tv6bQqK9HYBhdew0F2d%2FMd%2Fb9DbmKsl4WKI729TVAc%3D&reserved=0 > Archives: > https://eur06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.umn.edu%2Farchives%2Fmou-net.html&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cfdf042e208cc4eaed7fd08d86700f9b3%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637372601170944644&sdata=zWthzYIfJk8GIVI2iJ3aSNYkBeHoeLAlNX1bTQ7KJ0k%3D&reserved=0 > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Deformed Beaks: What We Know About An Alarming Bird Disease
The lead scientist on this project, Caroline Van Hemert, took a thrilling, dangerous, triumphant wilderness journey with her husband in 2012, traveling from Bellingham, Washington, all the way up to the Arctic Ocean and across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, just the two of them, walking, skiing, and in canoe and kayaks, with a few pre-planned drop-offs of food and supplies via the US Postal Service and Van Hemert’s parents, and she wrote an amazing book, The Sun Is a Compass, that came out last year, and she gave me a really nice interview for my radio program/podcast. She needed to make a big escape with her big journey after finishing her Ph.D. research project. She didn't want to talk about this research much because she couldn't scoop her own paper. But she did, on her journey, get to see a whole family of Gray-headed Chickadees. She was a LOT of fun to talk to, and it was so great for me to talk to her because I'd had a chickadee with a deformed bill in my own backyard one winter and got to track him after the extended tips of the bill broke off, and a year later he ended up attracting a mate and raising young. Best, Laura Erickson Duluth On Thu, Oct 15, 2020 at 6:41 PM Kathryn Rudd wrote: > This article was in today’s newsletter. It is alarming and heartbreaking. > 😢 > > > https://blog.nature.org/science/2020/10/06/deformed-beaks-what-we-know-about-an-alarming-bird-disease/ > > ~Kathryn Rudd, Eagan > > > Sent from my iPad > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] How do birds care for their feet especially during these cold winter months?
Also, because bird feet are not vulnerable to frostbite (except, in the case of feeder birds, for doves and pigeons, which pig out, filling up their crops and then spending the next several hours roosting, hunkered down with their bellies against their feet), they have virtually no nerve endings to register pain, so they don't feel hardly any warmth or cold via their feet. Best, Laura Erickson Duluth, MN On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 10:59 AM Michael Koutnik wrote: > How timely. Thanks for sharing! > > On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 10:48 AM Jeff Ranta wrote: > > > I remember a student asking the same question in a High School Gen Bio > > class I taught for years at Stillwater Area High School. I dug out one > of > > my old ornithology text from college and found a fascinating answer. > > > > I found a similar answer on The Cornell Lab All About Birds website > > copied below: > > > > Birds such as gulls and ducks endure long periods of standing on ice via > > regional heterothermy, or maintaining a core body temperature while > > allowing the temperature of extremities to deviate from the core > > temperature. > > > > Keeping an entire foot warm requires a tremendous energy cost. Instead, > > these birds allow the foot to approach freezing temperatures. Blood is > > still supplied to the foot, however, so the birds use a countercurrent > heat > > exchange system—cool blood coming back from the foot travels through > veins > > grouped around arteries that are sending warm blood from the body to the > > foot. Heat is transferred from the warm arteries to the cool veins. > > > > This countercurrent heat exchange system is very efficient at maintaining > > heat in the core. Periodic increases in blood flow allow a little heat to > > reach the foot and prevent it from freezing. > > > > Bird feet can also withstand low temperatures without damage because > there > > are mostly tendons and bones with little muscle or nerve tissue. Since > this > > is not the case for human feet, our own countercurrent exchange systems > do > > not prevent frostbite. > > > > Great topic! > > > > Jeff Ranta > > Stillwater, MN > > > > > > > On Feb 5, 2021, at 10:21 AM, Judith Clayton > > wrote: > > > > > > I have a heated birdbath that is about 25 degrees off level. > > Frequently, part of the heated pan is without water. I have found it > > curious that with a warm dry surface, birds are not heating their cold > feet > > there. And so, how do birds care for this necessary part of their > anatomy? > > > Thanks! > > > Judy Alexandria (Douglas County), Mn > > > > > > It is in the shelter of each other that people live. > > > > > > Irish Proverb > > > > > > > > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice > > social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > > > > > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > > > -- > Mike Koutnik > Mobile: 612-963-5551 > makout...@gmail.com > LinkedIn: mkoutnik > > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] How do birds care for their feet especially during these cold winter months?
Bird FEATHERS don't have nerve endings, but birds almost certainly have a nerve where each feather emerges from the body. It probably hurts when a predator grabs the tail and yanks it out, but at that point the bird is fleeing powered on adrenaline and probably doesn't notice much. Once the feather is out, though, it doesn't seem to hurt, but new feathers growing in do seem to itch. On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 3:39 PM Jason Frank wrote: > This is very interesting; just this morning I was having a > conversation with someone who's had a tail-featherless Blue Jay > regularly visiting his feeders this winter. He was surprised that it > could still fly relatively well, but it piqued his interest and he > started doing some research and told me that birds also lack > nerve-endings in their rear ends. Does anyone know if this is true for > all birds, or just certain genera? I've seen a few de-tailed pheasants > over the years, but had always sort of figured that the sensation of > losing plumage would be equivalent to the loss of a finger nail. > > On 2/5/21, Laura Erickson wrote: > > Also, because bird feet are not vulnerable to frostbite (except, in the > > case of feeder birds, for doves and pigeons, which pig out, filling up > > their crops and then spending the next several hours roosting, hunkered > > down with their bellies against their feet), they have virtually no nerve > > endings to register pain, so they don't feel hardly any warmth or cold > via > > their feet. > > > > Best, > > Laura Erickson > > Duluth, MN > > > > On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 10:59 AM Michael Koutnik > > wrote: > > > >> How timely. Thanks for sharing! > >> > >> On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 10:48 AM Jeff Ranta wrote: > >> > >> > I remember a student asking the same question in a High School Gen Bio > >> > class I taught for years at Stillwater Area High School. I dug out > one > >> of > >> > my old ornithology text from college and found a fascinating answer. > >> > > >> > I found a similar answer on The Cornell Lab All About Birds website > >> > copied below: > >> > > >> > Birds such as gulls and ducks endure long periods of standing on ice > >> > via > >> > regional heterothermy, or maintaining a core body temperature while > >> > allowing the temperature of extremities to deviate from the core > >> > temperature. > >> > > >> > Keeping an entire foot warm requires a tremendous energy cost. > >> > Instead, > >> > these birds allow the foot to approach freezing temperatures. Blood is > >> > still supplied to the foot, however, so the birds use a countercurrent > >> heat > >> > exchange system—cool blood coming back from the foot travels through > >> veins > >> > grouped around arteries that are sending warm blood from the body to > >> > the > >> > foot. Heat is transferred from the warm arteries to the cool veins. > >> > > >> > This countercurrent heat exchange system is very efficient at > >> > maintaining > >> > heat in the core. Periodic increases in blood flow allow a little heat > >> > to > >> > reach the foot and prevent it from freezing. > >> > > >> > Bird feet can also withstand low temperatures without damage because > >> there > >> > are mostly tendons and bones with little muscle or nerve tissue. Since > >> this > >> > is not the case for human feet, our own countercurrent exchange > systems > >> do > >> > not prevent frostbite. > >> > > >> > Great topic! > >> > > >> > Jeff Ranta > >> > Stillwater, MN > >> > > >> > > >> > > On Feb 5, 2021, at 10:21 AM, Judith Clayton > >> > wrote: > >> > > > >> > > I have a heated birdbath that is about 25 degrees off level. > >> > Frequently, part of the heated pan is without water. I have found it > >> > curious that with a warm dry surface, birds are not heating their cold > >> feet > >> > there. And so, how do birds care for this necessary part of their > >> anatomy? > >> > > Thanks! > >> > > Judy Alexandria (Douglas County), Mn > >> > > > >> > > It is in the shelter of each other that people live. > >> > > > >> > > Irish Proverb > >> > > > >&
Re: [mou-net] Submitting..procedure/navigate for making a spelling or other correction
How is that a spelling error? According to Merriam-Webster (the dictionary used by many publications), the plural of junco is "juncos or juncoes." The first given is usually the preferred one. Best, Laura Erickson Duluth On Sun, Apr 18, 2021 at 1:57 PM Michael Koutnik wrote: > From current Audubon app (iOS): “juncos” > Also “juncos” in: > — Sibley Guide to Birds, 2000 > — The Birder’s Handbook, 1988 > > Mike Koutnik > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Apr 18, 2021, at 1:44 PM, m...@moumn.org wrote: > > (Posted by Britt Dalbec via moumn.org) > > Juncoes vs Juncos > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Is coral colored staining a reliable way to distinguish tundra from trumpeter swans?
Although the pure white feathers are in all swans, with iron staining environmentally controlled, I wonder if it still isn't much more common in Trumpeters, which seem to spend more time in waters where they can pick up the stain? At any rate. I'd never observed stained Tundra Swans over the years when they were the only native swan I could see in Minnesota and Wisconsin. On Wed, Apr 21, 2021 at 11:42 AM Steve Weston wrote: > The staining should be completely environmentally determined and not > related to differences in species or species behavior. So, it should not be > a reliable way to differentiate the swan species. Better ways to > differentiate the species beside field marks include calls and flock size. > Both species are quite vocal and Sibley mobile eBird guide plays > vocalizations and will be right there when needed to compare calls. > Trumpeters move about in family groups typically of 2 to 8 birds. > Tudras migrate in flocks of 20 to 100. So if you see a smattering of small > groups of swans, they are probably Trumpeters and if you see a flock of 20 > or more, they are probably Tudras. You can still see several family groups > of Trumpeters together or when out of peak migration a small group of 10 to > 20 Tundras. > > Steve Weston > On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN > swest...@comcast.net > > > On Wed, Apr 21, 2021 at 12:44 AM Keith Carlson > wrote: > > > Can anybody tell me if coral or pinkish brown staining of the head is a > > reliable way to distinguish tundra swans from trumpeter swans. Saw > quite a > > few with those colored heads on the wildlife drive at the Sherburne > > National Wildlife Refuge last Saturday and I was guessing they were > tundra > > but was uncertain. They weren't very vocal so that didn't help. > > > > > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Cowbirds & bison
Brood parasitism is indeed found in cowbirds from South America, where the genus *Molothrus* probably originated, and so although it follows that brood parasitism almost certainly evolved in that genus in the first place for reasons other than because they needed to follow a wandering mammal, the Brown-headed Cowbird's well-documented dependence on nomadic bison certainly made brood parasitism uniquely valuable for it, at least until we decimated the bison while introducing cattle. It's virtually impossible to know the full story about any species--we're always finding out more. Learning new information doesn't mean we throw out a whole body of old but accurate observations--it means we work out how all the pieces of information, including both DNA/evolutionary biology and natural history fit together. Otherwise, we're just like the blindfolded people each describing one part of the elephant, with nobody getting the full picture. Best, Laura Erickson Duluth On Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 4:02 PM Steve Weston wrote: > I had written in a recent post: > "Cowbirds are quite common. Habitat is forest edges, also farm yards. > Originally they apparently co-evolved with bison and it has been > hypothesized they developed their parasitism as a mechanism to breed and > leave their young behind as they followed the bison." > > While I can well document that information, Tony Hertzel informed me: > "Current thinking among evolutionists says that brood parasitism in > cowbirds first evolved in South America millions of years before > Brown-headeds were around and well away from any bison. The concept of the > species co-evolving with bison makes no sense when you think about how that > might occur." > I can definitely see how that hypothesis could have been developed with > little factual information to support it. Thank you, Tony! > > Steve Weston > On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN > swest...@comcast.net > > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Cowbirds & bison
The point is, I didn't say the parasitism habit EVOLVED for the bison. I just said it was darned beneficial to have it for one particular species that did hang around the bison. NOW we know female cowbirds can be sedentary as long as possible, but this article, not a scientific paper, offers no evidence that they did this pre-settlement. None of us see and understand the whole elephant. Best, Laura On Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 11:06 PM Anthony Hertzel wrote: > For a different perspective, I recommend Dennis Paulson’s essay on the > topic. < > https://www.birdnote.org/explore/field-notes/2015/05/cowbird-story-revisited > > > > I can also recommend a few more scientific papers that say essentially the > same thing. > > > On Apr 22, 2021, at 10:49 P.M., Laura Erickson < > chickadee.erick...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Brood parasitism is indeed found in cowbirds from South America, where > the > > genus *Molothrus* probably originated, and so although it follows that > > brood parasitism almost certainly evolved in that genus in the first > place > > for reasons other than because they needed to follow a wandering mammal, > > the Brown-headed Cowbird's well-documented dependence on nomadic bison > > certainly made brood parasitism uniquely valuable for it, at least until > we > > decimated the bison while introducing cattle. > > > > It's virtually impossible to know the full story about any species--we're > > always finding out more. Learning new information doesn't mean we throw > out > > a whole body of old but accurate observations--it means we work out how > all > > the pieces of information, including both DNA/evolutionary biology and > > natural history fit together. Otherwise, we're just like the blindfolded > > people each describing one part of the elephant, with nobody getting the > > full picture. > > > > Best, Laura Erickson > > Duluth > > Anthony Hertzel > axhert...@gmail.com > > > > > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Cowbirds & bison
Myth. They DO recognize the eggs, but their only strategy is to build a new floor for the nest, burying their own eggs too. Warbler and most sparrow bills are too small to grasp the egg to toss it out. New research has also led to the discovery that when parent birds do throw out a cowbird egg, cowbirds return and wreck the nest a lot. Margaret Morse Nice found that with Song Sparrows, at least some young tend to survive with a cowbird "foster sibling." The main birds that actually suffer population losses tend to be Neotropic migrants that usually nest just once a season--cowbirds can represent serious issues for them. One of the really bad cases is the Black-capped Vireo, which has a longer incubation period than most vireos, so the baby cowbird is already a big bruiser when the vireo eggs hatch, IF they hatch--the cowbird can trample the eggs and babies into the nest material. They're not at all aggressive (unlike European cuckoos), but they're very big compared to the tiny vireos. Best, Laura Duluth On Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 11:11 AM Halle O'Falvey wrote: > This discussion has be so enlightening and fun! As we feel some relief > from Covid-19 I appreciate all who have contributed. I learned a lot and > am a little bit less hostile as I see the brown heads > > Myth or truth? > > Yellow warblers have figured out the difference of the BHC eggs and don’t > have to rear them??? > > Halle > > On Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 10:46 AM Laura Erickson < > chickadee.erick...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> The point is, I didn't say the parasitism habit EVOLVED for the bison. I >> just said it was darned beneficial to have it for one particular species >> that did hang around the bison. NOW we know female cowbirds can be >> sedentary as long as possible, but this article, not a scientific >> paper, offers no evidence that they did this pre-settlement. >> >> None of us see and understand the whole elephant. >> >> Best, Laura >> >> On Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 11:06 PM Anthony Hertzel >> wrote: >> >> > For a different perspective, I recommend Dennis Paulson’s essay on the >> > topic. < >> > >> https://www.birdnote.org/explore/field-notes/2015/05/cowbird-story-revisited >> > > >> > >> > I can also recommend a few more scientific papers that say essentially >> the >> > same thing. >> > >> > > On Apr 22, 2021, at 10:49 P.M., Laura Erickson < >> > chickadee.erick...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > > >> > > Brood parasitism is indeed found in cowbirds from South America, where >> > the >> > > genus *Molothrus* probably originated, and so although it follows that >> > > brood parasitism almost certainly evolved in that genus in the first >> > place >> > > for reasons other than because they needed to follow a wandering >> mammal, >> > > the Brown-headed Cowbird's well-documented dependence on nomadic bison >> > > certainly made brood parasitism uniquely valuable for it, at least >> until >> > we >> > > decimated the bison while introducing cattle. >> > > >> > > It's virtually impossible to know the full story about any >> species--we're >> > > always finding out more. Learning new information doesn't mean we >> throw >> > out >> > > a whole body of old but accurate observations--it means we work out >> how >> > all >> > > the pieces of information, including both DNA/evolutionary biology and >> > > natural history fit together. Otherwise, we're just like the >> blindfolded >> > > people each describing one part of the elephant, with nobody getting >> the >> > > full picture. >> > > >> > > Best, Laura Erickson >> > > Duluth >> > >> > Anthony Hertzel >> > axhert...@gmail.com >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net >> > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html >> > >> > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice >> social >> > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. >> > >> >> >> -- >> Laura Erickson >> Duluth, MN >> she/her/hers >> >> For the love, understanding, and protection of birds >> www.lauraerickson.com >> www.patreon.com/lauraerickson >> >> You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. >>
Re: [mou-net] Duluth Lighthouse could belong to MOU?
There are SO many complications to being legally responsible for property the public uses. And Duluth's birding community has a long history of internal rifts that could have resulted in us losing Hawk Ridge to the city. As fun an idea as this is, I don't see it as possible, economically or logistically. Best, Laura Erickson Duluth On Thu, May 20, 2021 at 1:54 PM Pat Norton <55norto...@gmail.com> wrote: > Good points, James and Stephen. I wonder if there is a good organization to > partner with? Would U of MN perhaps take it and MOU could have some > presence there? > > On Thu, May 20, 2021 at 1:52 PM James W wrote: > > > I agree with Stephen. Having worked for years in the shadow of this light > > I can see a huge liability. 23 foot waves being the least of the many > > problems. A report from the City on past costs plus a police or USCG > report > > on tourists falling off into the lake, accidentally or on purpose. But it > > is a wonderful place for those two weeks in August when the weather is > > perfect. > > > > Jim Wrobleski > > > > > > > On May 20, 2021, at 1:32 PM, Stephen Moore > > wrote: > > > > > > I'd like to see a solid business plan. MOU is not in the real estate > > business. I wouldn't want to see the organization bankrupted by this. > > > > > > Stephen Moore > > > Web Developer, MCSD, MCITP > > > Home: (612) 789-4275 > > > Cell: (612) 998-9352 > > > Web site: http://www.moore-database.com/ > > > Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mooredatabase > > > > > > > > > > > > From: Minnesota Birds on behalf of Pat Norton > < > > 55norto...@gmail.com> > > > Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2021 12:33:41 PM > > > To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU > > > Subject: Re: [mou-net] Duluth Lighthouse could belong to MOU? > > > > > > I think it could be great opportunity and a great educational outreach! > > > > > >> On Thu, May 20, 2021 at 12:20 PM Judith Clayton < > judit...@theriver.com> > > >> wrote: > > >> > > >> Yes, more information please! Judy Clayton, Alexandria, Douglas > County > > >> > > >>> On May 20, 2021, at 11:38 AM, Charlene Nelson > > >> wrote: > > >>> > > >>> I think this is a wonderful opportunity, and agree with Sue. Would > the > > >> Board be able to look into more information for members? > > >>> > > >>> Charlene Nelson > > >>> Elbow Lake farm, Grant County > > >>> > > >>>> On May 20, 2021, at 11:26 AM, Sue Keator > > >> wrote: > > >>>> > > >>>> I never saw any response to this but I also think it could be a > great > > >>>> opportunity for MOU, depending on costs to maintain vs money that > > could > > >> be > > >>>> brought in. > > >>>> Sue Keator > > >>>> Melody Lake, Edina > > >>>> > > >>>> On Sat, May 15, 2021 at 10:05 AM Mory Jahangir < > > mory.jahan...@gmail.com > > >>> > > >>>> wrote: > > >>>> > > >>>>> Here’s an idea for MOU. The organization as a non profit could own > > this > > >>>>> historic Lighthouse to use as the ultimate place to watch Gulls and > > >> other > > >>>>> birds, and perhaps for other activities. > > >>>>> > > >>>>> > > >>>>> > > >> > > > https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startribune.com%2Fduluth-lighthouse-free-to-right-caretaker%2F600057298%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Ccf84a382fde5450141ad08d91bb57294%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637571288401359411%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=iWyhRmjIYzU2GeP6hjur4NCpk%2FmKeFSKt2ae7MukOU4%3D&reserved=0 > > >>>>> > > >>>>> What do you think? > > >>>>> > > >>>>> Mory Jahangir > > >>>>> La Crosse, Wisconsin. > > >>>>> > > >>>>> -- > > >>>>> Mory Jahangir > > >>>>> mory.jahan...@gmail.com > > >>>>> > > >>>>> > > >>>>> Join or Leave mou-net: > > > https://na01.safelin
Re: [mou-net] Ross’s Gull and Vagrancy
It's certainly true that most vagrants end up dying, but some DO make it. There are now records of banded Rufous Hummingbirds spending entire winters in Ohio and Pennsylvania and returning in subsequent winters. Speaking of which, the Rufous Hummingbird visiting my yard in Duluth is still here today. The one I had in 2004 was here from November 16 into December 3, having survived a blizzard and a night down to 6º F. She fed well on the morning of the 3rd and flew off between 9 and 10 am. The one here this winter is foraging in an area at least a block long, visiting feeders in three yards, but also being observed catching insects on days even in the low 20s. Laura Erickson Duluth On Wed, Dec 1, 2021 at 10:01 AM Andy Forbes wrote: > For those thinking about the recently deceased Ross’s Gull, I offer the > following excerpt from “A Year on the Wing: Four Seasons in a Life with > Birds” by Tim Dee, describing a vagrant in Europe: > > The yellow-browed warbler I saw … had made a mistake, and it is probable > that no amount of nurture on Fair Isle could truly rescue it. Vagrancy is > a death sentence. Almost all of the rarities that arrive on the island (and > almost all vagrants anywhere) will have the same fate. They are wonderful > treasures from far away that we cannot keep and cannot save.There is very > little evidence that vagrant birds reorient themselves and correct their > journeys. It seems likely that the yellow-browed warbler, having gone > southwest where it should have gone southeast, would continue this aberrant > direction and fly on west out over an ocean that has no refuges, no green > skirts, for thousands of miles. That would be the end of it. It would > soon be homeless. I was watching a lost child at death’s door. > > Perhaps somewhat morbid but sadly true. On the flip side, vagrancy is a > naturally occurring pattern that sometimes has different results. Think of > Cattle Egrets… > > Good birding, > Andy Forbes, Dakota Co. > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Elizabeth Bell
I've known a lot of birders in my lifetime, but not one who has been warmer or more thoughtful, gently insightful, and quietly helpful than Elizabeth Bell. I've gone on a few of Kim Eckert's birding trips when Tom and Elizabeth were along, and on one wonderful trip to Ecuador, and I can't imagine anyone who could be more pleasant company with a steadier disposition day to day, even during weather that could make lesser beings quite cranky. Her role in MOU was quiet but fundamental. Her voice was ever soft, gentle, and low, and her smile radiated warmth and friendliness. This is a real loss for the birding community. I can't begin to imagine the loss for Tom. Laura Erickson Duluth On Fri, Mar 25, 2022 at 10:37 PM linda whyte < 004e7b0e779a-dmarc-requ...@lists.umn.edu> wrote: > Thank you for letting us know, Tom. Elizabeth "has her wings" now, but she > will be missed by many for a long time to come. > You know how to find us, and please don't hesitate to do so. > Linda Whyte > > On Fri, Mar 25, 2022, 4:20 PM Tom Bell wrote: > > > My wife Elizabeth took her last breath this morning. I post this because > > the birding community was a big part of our life. Elizabeth served MOU as > > editor of the newsletter and as membership chairman. We will have a > > memorial service at Carpenter Nature Center in April. I will keep you > > informed. Lung cancer was the villain, she elected not to tell many, yet > we > > have known about it for over two years. The first year was symptom free > and > > we took our last birding trip to Panama. We have valued the friendship of > > many of you. > > > > Tom Bell > > bell.to...@gmail.com > > 5868 Pioneer Road S. > > St. Paul Park, MN 55071 > > 651-459-4150 > > cell 651-214-5274 > > > > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
[mou-net] First Chipping Sparrow while still Redpolls!
I often see my first Chipping Sparrow while a few American Tree Sparrows and juncos are lingering, but this morning is the first time in all my 41 years in Duluth, I think, when my first chippie arrived while more than 50 redpolls were still hanging around in my yard. On Thursday, I made a pretty nice 5-minute recording of a singing tree sparrow with Fox, Song, and White-throated Sparrows, juncos, robins, and redpolls in the background. < https://www.lauraerickson.com/sound-recording/13342/> I'm stuck here quarantining with Covid (and we are fully vaxxed and boosted, wear masks everywhere indoors, and have been EXTREMELY careful!). I wasn't very sick, but I am glad my backyard birds have been good company to make up for my missing a Piping Plover on Park Point. Stay healthy. -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com www.patreon.com/lauraerickson You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Fwd: Top2040: Top 40 Songs About Birds
Wait just a doggone minute! No one mentioned the Beatles' Blue Jay Way!!! Of course, it's about a street, not the bird, but still!! Laura Erickson Duluth On Thu, Sep 1, 2022 at 4:12 PM Winter X < 14c7543ba227-dmarc-requ...@lists.umn.edu> wrote: > Oh My when I posted the request ,,had no idea Birders were music > Birds 🌻 >Here's the List from our MOU -- Bird Singing Team 😁 > - EELS--- I Like Birds > -Judy Collins.- Bird on a Wire > -Judy Collins.- Secret Gardens > -Beatles. - Blackbird > -Trashmen. - Surfin Bird > -Marimba Cover. - Yellow Bird > -Beautiful Day. -White Bird > -Pink Floyd. -Grandchester Meadows > -Big Thief. - Cattails > -Bob Marley. - Three Little Birds > -Hozier.- Strike > -James Taylor/Carly Simon. - Mocking Bird > Beach Boys. - California Gulls > Minnesotan. - Looney Tunes > --- - Listen to the Mockingbird > Eagles. -🦅 >Yikes --- great response blew me away 😱 > Thxs so much > Jack St. Ores > Baytown Township -- Lake McDonald > > > On Aug 31, 2022, at 10:37 AM, Winter < > 14c7543ba227-dmarc-requ...@lists.umn.edu> wrote: > > > > > > 🦅 Which one do you like 🌻 > > > > > > Begin forwarded message: > > > > From: Winter > > Date: August 31, 2022 at 10:33:37 AM CDT > > To: Winter > > Subject: Top2040: Top 40 Songs About Birds > > > > > > http://www.top2040.com/2014/07/top-40-songs-about-birds.html > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Anhinga/Cormorant-like behavior by turkey vultures
I spend a lot of time in Florida, where my son lives, and often see Turkey Vultures, and Black Vultures, sitting with wings extended, usually first thing in the morning, which is probably their way to dry rain or heavy dew off their wings before thermals get them up in the air. This can also be a mechanism to help them warm or cool their bodies. Best, Laura Erickson Duluth On Thu, Oct 13, 2022 at 12:28 AM Keith Carlson wrote: > Kayaking the Cannon River on Sunday I observed Turkey Vultures kettling in > the distance to the east when I started in Cannon Falls. Then I passed a > cottonwood tree just beyond the mobile home park with several Turkey > Vultures roosting in it, all or almost all with their wings extended like > an Anhinga or Cormorant. I don't know if they were the ones that were > kettling or not. I have never observed this behavior with Vultures before > but haven't seen a group roosting before either. > > Is this common Vulture behavior or not? > > > Keith Carlson > keitheca...@gmail.com > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Phainopepla Update
I don't know what the final determination about the Abert's Towhee was--that is a bird without any history at all of vagrancy. Phainopeplas are indeed found normally in the Southwest, like the towhee, but unlike the towhee, there are several records of Phainopeplas wandering widely--vagrants have been found on Nantucket Island and near Toronto and Winnipeg. So extraordinary as any first state record is, this one is much less questionable than an Abert's Towhee up here. Laura Erickson Duluth On Mon, Oct 31, 2022 at 12:52 PM bluesk...@comcast.net < bluesk...@comcast.net> wrote: > Isn’t this another example of the person who brings southwestern birds up > to NE Mn; wasn’t there another bird from the SW seen similar to this a few > months ago?? If that is the case, how does MOU and eBird handle artificial > introductions? > > Howard > > > On Oct 31, 2022, at 12:41 PM, Tanya Beyer > wrote: > > > > Yes thanks Mike for your update--I too saw the phainopepla over the noon > > hour in the motel grounds, flycatching from the crab apple tree and dead > > spruce, behaving just like the waxwings who I understand are its distant > > cousins. Likely this was a young bird that decided to wander northward. > > > > On Mon, Oct 31, 2022, 12:24 PM Michael Steffes < > > 32bf6b4aa7f5-dmarc-requ...@lists.umn.edu> wrote: > > > >> A big thank you, Michael, from one who benefited from your spotting the > >> bird! > >> > >> Mike Steffes, Lake County > >> > >> On Mon, Oct 31, 2022 at 10:24 AM Michael Hendrickson < > >> michaelleehendrick...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> > >>> I observed the Phainopepla today at 10:22 at 5127 old north shore drive > >> and > >>> also can be found next door at the old Beachway Motel. Other birders > >> here > >>> as well. -- > >>> Mike Hendrickson > >>> Duluth, Minnesota > >>> > >>> > >>> General information and guidelines for posting: > >>> https://moumn.org/listservice.html > >>> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > >>> > >>> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice > social > >>> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > >>> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> Michael Steffes > >> > >> > >> General information and guidelines for posting: > >> https://moumn.org/listservice.html > >> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > >> > >> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice > social > >> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > >> > > > > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice > social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Phainopepla Update
The Phainopepla was still there this morning as of 10:50. It was partly eating buckthorn berries, fairly hidden, at the base of the large dead spruce, partly roosting in the sun in one of the lowest spruce branches, and partly flycatching in that spruce and two deciduous trees in the parking area of the old, abandoned motel. Laura Erickson Duluth On Mon, Oct 31, 2022 at 1:41 PM Laura Erickson wrote: > I don't know what the final determination about the Abert's Towhee > was--that is a bird without any history at all of vagrancy. > > Phainopeplas are indeed found normally in the Southwest, like the towhee, > but unlike the towhee, there are several records of Phainopeplas wandering > widely--vagrants have been found on Nantucket Island and near Toronto and > Winnipeg. So extraordinary as any first state record is, this one is much > less questionable than an Abert's Towhee up here. > > Laura Erickson > Duluth > > On Mon, Oct 31, 2022 at 12:52 PM bluesk...@comcast.net < > bluesk...@comcast.net> wrote: > >> Isn’t this another example of the person who brings southwestern birds up >> to NE Mn; wasn’t there another bird from the SW seen similar to this a few >> months ago?? If that is the case, how does MOU and eBird handle artificial >> introductions? >> >> Howard >> >> > On Oct 31, 2022, at 12:41 PM, Tanya Beyer >> wrote: >> > >> > Yes thanks Mike for your update--I too saw the phainopepla over the noon >> > hour in the motel grounds, flycatching from the crab apple tree and dead >> > spruce, behaving just like the waxwings who I understand are its distant >> > cousins. Likely this was a young bird that decided to wander northward. >> > >> > On Mon, Oct 31, 2022, 12:24 PM Michael Steffes < >> > 32bf6b4aa7f5-dmarc-requ...@lists.umn.edu> wrote: >> > >> >> A big thank you, Michael, from one who benefited from your spotting the >> >> bird! >> >> >> >> Mike Steffes, Lake County >> >> >> >> On Mon, Oct 31, 2022 at 10:24 AM Michael Hendrickson < >> >> michaelleehendrick...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> >> >>> I observed the Phainopepla today at 10:22 at 5127 old north shore >> drive >> >> and >> >>> also can be found next door at the old Beachway Motel. Other birders >> >> here >> >>> as well. -- >> >>> Mike Hendrickson >> >>> Duluth, Minnesota >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> General information and guidelines for posting: >> >>> https://moumn.org/listservice.html >> >>> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html >> >>> >> >>> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice >> social >> >>> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. >> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Michael Steffes >> >> >> >> >> >> General information and guidelines for posting: >> >> https://moumn.org/listservice.html >> >> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html >> >> >> >> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice >> social >> >> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. >> >> >> > >> > >> > General information and guidelines for posting: >> https://moumn.org/listservice.html >> > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html >> > >> > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice >> social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. >> >> >> General information and guidelines for posting: >> https://moumn.org/listservice.html >> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html >> >> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social >> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. >> > > > -- > Laura Erickson > Duluth, MN > she/her/hers > > For the love, understanding, and protection of birds > www.lauraerickson.com > > You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. > —Annie Dillard > > Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
[mou-net] Was the Phainopepla there today?
Did anyone see the Phainopepla today? People are asking me. Best, Laura -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. —Annie Dillard Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Petition to AOS to protest blanket purge of eponyms
The AOS looked very carefully at this issue, and is proceeding slowly and carefully. I've been delighted seeing how many young people and minorities are welcoming this long-needed change. As a member of the AOU/AOS since the 70s, I know this was an open process for which all of us members were invited throughout to participate or ask questions. Perhaps it's because I AM so old and have been birding for so long that I am taking this more in stride than some people reacting so emotionally to simple changes in some birds' English names. When I started birding, my brand new field guides were already obsolete as far as many names went, and I simply got into the practice of writing the new names in as species were lumped or split. I wish the people getting so emotional about this put as much energy into actually protecting birds. Best, Laura Erickson Duluth, MN On Thu, Jan 25, 2024 at 6:19 PM Van Remsen wrote: > Minnesota Birders: I’m sure most of you have heard about the decision by > the Am. Orn. Soc. leadership to remove all eponyms, starting first with 80 > or so North American birds, roughly 25 of which are on the Kansas list. > Lewis & Clark are among those scheduled to be purged (of Lewis’s Woodpecker > and Clark’s Nutcracker). All 240+ eponymous bird names in the W. Hemisphere > are on the eventual hit list. The North American Classification Committee > (widely referred to in past as “AOU Checklist Committee”) voted 12-0 to > reject a blanket purge and in favor of due process for the few names > considered offensive or exclusionary; we were among the only people (on the > condition of secrecy) among the 2,800 AOS members allowed to see and > comment on the recommendation of the AOS ad hoc English Bird Names > Committee before the decision was made by leadership. > > > > Why should you care? At this point all organizations that follow AOS > classification, including eBird and MOU, will have to use the newly coined > names even. If you oppose the blanket purge of all honorific bird names, or > even if you are just upset by the way this was handled by AOS leadership, > please hit the link below and “sign” the petition, which already has more > than 4600 signatures, including many prominent birders and ornithologists. > Your name will be hidden from public view unless you add comments (but I > would encourage you to add your comments]: > > > > https://chng.it/VHyjZp5snr > > > > The petition contains links to several essays and publications on why > purging all eponyms is a bad idea. The theme of the petition is that there > are more productive and less divisive ways to address racism than > dishonoring the many founders of American ornithology and that a > case-by-case approach on the few names considered offensive is better. > > > > The AOS website links to the report and its arguments for a total purge, > which has also been endorsed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology/eBird and the > ABA leadership: > > https://americanornithology.org/ > > > > In contrast, those opposed to the total purge have no resources with which > to protest other than with such a grass-roots petition. Attempts to post > links to the petition to several state listservs and Facebook groups have > been blocked. > > > > I hope that my post does not devolve into a divisive debate on this forum > over the pros and cons of eponyms. At this point, I think almost every > point of view, for or against a total purge of them, has been expressed in > other forums, so a sequence of back-and-forth statements are unlikely to do > anything but cause more friction. Those opposed to the purge can put their > comments with their signature at the petition rather than here. I also > emphasize this is NOT about whether you personally like or dislike eponyms > but rather about tolerance of and respect for opposing views. Those who do > like eponyms, or simply object to a major destabilization of names, many > used for more than a century, simply would like to keep their tiny market > share of less than 5% of our bird names rather than have their opinion > dismissed. > > > > Van Remsen > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds https://lauraerickson.substack.com/ www.lauraerickson.com <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the
Re: [mou-net] Pine siskin mortality
Also, if seed has collected under feeders over the winter, it may have gotten infested with salmonella and/or botulism. Every March and April I hear from people who have found dead redpolls and siskins when the ground beneath feeders hasn't been cleaned up. If ANY sick or dead feeder birds are found in a yard without any evidence of cats, window strikes, or car collisions, close down the feeders immediately to prevent the disease spreading. Best, Laura Erickson On Mon, Mar 18, 2024 at 4:59 PM linda whyte < 004e7b0e779a-dmarc-requ...@lists.umn.edu> wrote: > Volunteers who do transport and rescue for the Raptor Center have just been > sent a reminder that Avian Influenza is still currently active in wild bird > and domestic populations. Perhaps it is a consideration here, and extra > sanitizing of feeders may help. > Linda Whyte > > On Mon, Mar 18, 2024, 4:20 PM Susan Tertell wrote: > > > A friend of mine lives near Hinckley and has found several pine siskins > > dead in her yard. There is no visible sign of injury and she is > wondering > > if there might be some reason - like maybe weather-related - to cause > this. > > > > Thanks for any thoughts. > > > > Susan Tertell > > Minneapolis > > > > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds https://lauraerickson.substack.com/ www.lauraerickson.com <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory. --Howard Zinn Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
Re: [mou-net] Jo Blanich
I was just thinking about Jo yesterday. I've known her since I moved here in 1981, but got to know her best in Costa Rica in 2001, when Mike Mulligan organized a trip there. This was the first foreign trip for Jo and me both. She was always warm and encouraging to me, and never egotistical or boastful, even about the many things she could have reasonably been very egotistical about. She was wonderful fun in Costa Rica, as thrilled as I was about not just the new birds but all the old, familiar ones we knew from up here, too. She made the trip even more wonderful for all of us. The Minnesota birding night sky has lost a beautiful shining star. I will miss her. Laura Erickson Duluth On Sun, Aug 25, 2024 at 8:49 AM Kim Eckert wrote: > I just received a phone call from Butch Ukura that Josephine Blanich died > just after midnight this morning. Jo -- as she was known to birders > statewide -- was a long-time and very active member of the MOU since the > 1970s. Along with her husband Steve, Terry Savaloja, and Warren Nelson, all > of whom have now passed away, Jo was a birding institution in Aitkin and > Crow Wing counties, sharing in the discoveries of nesting Yellow Rails, > Great Gray Owls, and other sought-after species in that part of the state. > Funeral arrangements and memorial services are pending and will be > announced on this listserve and elsewhere later. -Kim Eckert, Duluth > > > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN she/her/hers For the love, understanding, and protection of birds <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> <http://www.lauraerickson.com/>https://lauraerickson.substack.com/ www.lauraerickson.com <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> Look for the helpers. --Fred Rogers There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
[mou] Silver Bay Catbird, Varied Thrush, and White-throats
I went to Bill and Susie Nelson's place in Silver Bay today, where I saw the Gray Catbird that has been visiting for two days, a male Varied Thrush, and two White-throated Sparrows. Last week they had both a male and a female Varied Thrush. I can give their email address and/or directions to their house if anyone wishes. Best, Laura Laura Erickson Duluth, MN www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Bird
I'm forwarding this from Brandon Best of Lubbock Texas, who has been birding in northeastern Minnesota for a couple of days: Greetings all, I have been in Northern Minnesota the last two days, with two more days to go. I have been fortunate to see a few birds worth reporting. 15 Jan, Monday Drove up the magical Lake CR 2 from Two Harbors to Ely. About 100 yards north of the Sand River, I had one male SPRUCE GROUSE. A very nice fellow was pulled over on the side of the road, and I asked him if he was looking for grouse, he said yeah, one was just here a few minutes ago, it couldn't have gone far. So we looked for it, and I spotted it sitting in a tree. Had he not clued me in, I'd of never seen it. That was my first lifer for this trip. A little later, in the department of better-lucky-than-good, I made a random stop at a spot that looked good for a scenic photograph. As I got out of my car, I heard birds calling, so I looked around. Amidst the Black-chapped Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches, I had 1 COMMON and 2 HOARY REDPOLLS and 2+ BOREAL CHICKADEES. I was able to get good looks at all three species, and got an especially good look at the redpolls from below. This site was 4.4 miles south of the Sand River or about 11.6 miles north of CR 15, there was a sign on the east side of the road for someone's house, which I think said no trespassing or private road. Late in the afternoon, I was able to stop by the Nelson's in Silver Bay, and easily saw the GRAY CATBIRD, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and male VARIED THRUSH. I only saw one sparrow, though I recall there were two at this location. 16 Jan, Tuesday Started out at the Duluth Harbor and Canal Park, with nothing of great interest present. So I went over to Wisconsin Point, with more of not much to speak of, and then the Superior Landfill. I must have misinterpreted The Birder's Guide to MN, or else things have changed since publication, but when I asked about viewing the gulls, a lady there told me I could not be inside the fence, I had to stay outside the fence and look in. That made life more difficult, it would have been really nice to see the inside of the dump, given how many gulls flew up when one of the two Bald Eagles flew over them. Later, I saw a pickup loaded with garbage bags make it inside. If I bring a bag of garbage and pay the fee, do I get access to look at the gulls? At any rate, the best here were several GLAUCOUS GULLS and at least one adult THAYER'S GULL. Returning to Canal Park, I checked out the raft of Mallards at the very north end of the park, behind the under-construction Canal Park Lodge. Here I found several American Black Ducks, the female HARLEQUIN DUCK and female HOODED MERGANSER. This was about noon. Headed north of Duluth from there, checked the spot for the Northern Hawk-owl twice and found nothing. Also drove up Rice Lake Rd a bit to see if it had moved, but no luck. I headed over to the Sax-Zim area and struck out on pretty much everything that's been reported recently. Really I had only a few ravens, BC Chicks, and a Rough-legged Hawk. I raced back to Duluth, and made it to the harbor at 4:30. In the failing light, I got awesome looks at the SNOWY OWL on the west side of Garfield Ave & I-535. As previously mentioned, it was in the field just north of Duluth Ready-mix. I parked on the dirt triangle just north of the custom motorcycle shop which is under the bridge, and hiked back towards the guardrail on the west side of the road. This bird's hunting method looks just like a kestrel- looking down while flapping/hovering in the breeze. Brandon Best Lubbock, TX Laura Erickson Duluth, MN www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Birding around the metro
I fairly regularly get Northern Waterthrushes in my yard during migration. Warblers are nocturnal migrants, and when they descend at first light are often tired and hungry. If a waterthrush doesn't see suitable water near, it still must come down. Imagine all the inappropriate habitat that birds migrating from the boreal forest to the tropics must cross. Each one must even cross, somewhere, Interstate 80 and Interstate 70. Fortunately, warblers are fairly adaptable and intelligent in the sense that they can often figure out survival strategies in unfamiliar habitats. Unfortunately, the best habitat for not just waterthrushes but many songbirds is often along waterways, exactly where we have built so many of our cities. This is why it's so important to support habitat acquisition for birds. Even if you never in your life go to a National Wildlife Refuge, many of the birds you see DO spend time in them--luscious green islands of habitat in an increasingly developed world. That's why Duck Stamps are so important--98 cents of every dollar spent on them goes directly to habitat acquisition. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson > Today I had a Nashville Warbler and a Swainson's Thrush in my yard. The > strangest thing I saw was a N. Waterthrush in my yard--and we live a block > away from one! Has anyone seen a Waterthrush away from the water?? > > Alyssa DeRubeis > Golden Valley > > -- Original message -- > From: "Steve Weston" > >> On Saturday I found the first flock of White-throated Sparrows of the >> fall. >> >> On Labor Day, I had a male Coopers Hawk pursuing a female as they flew >> into >> my yard. Interesting was the Leopard Frogs were calling in the back >> yard. >> While this spring we had great choruses of Copes Gray Treefrogs and >> American >> Toads, I heard no Leopard Frogs. But the Leopard Frogs are along the >> shore >> in large numbers. I don't know why I missed hearing them. >> >> I stopped by 140th Street marsh in Rosemount today at dusk. The water >> level >> is very low, and quite choked with algae. There were several Lesser >> Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers. >> >> The best bird of the day was the Osprey flying twenty of thirty feet >> high >> near Snelling and CR C in Roseville. >> >> Steve Weston on Quiggley Lake in Eagan, MN >> swest...@comcast.net >> >> >> ___ >> mou-net mailing list >> mou-...@cbs.umn.edu >> http://cbs.umn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mou-net
[mou] Summer Tanager in Silver Bay
I just got an email from a woman who has a Summer Tanager visiting her feeder. A few birders visiting her place would be fine, but for security, people should email me to get her address. She's not sure how long the bird will remain, of course. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Summer Tanager still in Silver Bay
That Summer Tanager is still present in Silver Bay today. I've sent the directions to everyone who's asked, and will be at my computer all morning today if anyone else needs them. (I may cut out of work at noon to go up there myself.) I don't feel comfortable posting an address of a non-birder on the Internet without express permission, but she's happy for birders to come see the bird. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Silver Bay Summer Tanager photos
I've posted a few photos I took this afternoon of the Summer Tanager in Silver Bay here: http://birderblog.com/bird/Species/Tanagers/SummerTanager/SUTAGallery.html Laura Erickson Duluth, MN www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Duluth Hotel Peregrines banded
Yesterday, people from the Raptor Resource Project arrived in downtown Duluth to band our Peregrines. I've posted 125 photos and will be posting video in a little while showing the whole banding process. It's all on my blog here: http://birderblog.com/bird/Species/Hawks/PeregrineFalcon/Photos/Duluth2006/PEFA0616.html Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Mourning Dove love
If you want to read a hilarious and shockingly scientific account of Great
Horned Owl romance, with a clear and closely-viewed description of what
the female owl's "cloacal kiss" looks like, make sure you check out Karla
Kinstler's wonderful blog about her education owl Alice--especially the
entry, "Cloacal Kiss," at:
http://owlstuff.com/2006/03/cloacal-kiss.html
Laura Erickson
Duluth, MN
Staff Ornithologist
Binoculars.com
www.birderblog.com
There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds.
There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of
nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the
winter.
--Rachel Carson
> Just had a delightful and intimate opportunity of watching two Mourning
> Doves pitching woo (can I say that?). I was at my home office desk
> which looks out under the grapevine/bitter sweet arbor when I noticed
> two doves on the ground about 3 feet from my window. My new Pentax
> 10x50s let me focus within about 6 feet so I zoomed in as they turned to
> face each other - standing still but looking right into the face of the
> other - about 1 inch apart. One dove was larger than the other and when
> the smaller began vibrating its feathers ("her" feathers I can say now)
> I thought it was a youngster in search of a food tidbit. The smaller
> bird then began to use its bill to grab at the neck feathers of the
> larger bird (I can say "he" now).
>
> The male stood there and as the female levied a barrage of pecks to his
> neck, upper breast and around the base of his bill. He took this for a
> while and then began doing about the same but in a much more aggressive
> manner, pulling at feathers immediately around the females eyes, the top
> of her head and again at the base of the her bill. The female had to
> close her eyes to protect them from his onslaught - and then they
> paused. She again began to vibrate her wings as the male looked away -
> seemingly. Then she went back at his neck and head feathers - almost
> like kissing pecks. He responded again with his more aggressive pecking.
>
> This tit-and-tat went on for several rounds until the female began
> getting a bit more aggressive after the lulls - then the male simple
> grabbed her bill with his. Each time he would let it go she would go
> right back at it until he would grab her bill again. The frequency of
> behavior increased, now with more frequent wing vibrating from the
> female, until the male turned a bit sideways, walking a bit to her
> left. With one more shudder of wing vibration from the female, I guess
> the male had all of the right signs and leapt up and mounted her - her
> tail swung to one side with a flash of white underfeathers and in about
> 2 seconds he jumped down and the two turned their backs to each other.
>
> They stood about 8 inches apart at a slight diagonal with just enough
> angle so they could keep track of the other with their 'side of the
> head' eyes They stood this way for at least 5 minutes during which time
> the female did not move except to blink - but the male began to
> sporadically twitch his right wing which was on the side that the female
> could see, if she wanted to. It seemed she simply stood their in
> feigned ignorance of his presence although I could tell she could keep
> track of him out of the corner of her eye. More wing twitching. More
> ignorance. At least 5 full minutes - standing there back to back - the
> occasional twitch from the male.
>
> Finally the female began preening - on the side away from the male.
> Stopping and standing again but with her eyes closed. The male begins
> mock preening - I think more to make motion than to actually preen
> something - and does the occasional wing twitch. I guess he had to
> rustle a bit to circumvent the closed eyes of the female. After about
> 10 seconds, the male begins walking, pivoting in an arc away from the
> female. The female finally opens her eyes (whew! - what trust for a
> bird! I was getting nervous.) and turns her head away again from the
> male and preens. The male stops about 4 inches from her and watches.
> The female stops preening and turns, erases the distance between them
> and begins pecking and pulling on his facial feathers once again. The
> male quickly gets aggressive and goes for the feathers immediately
> around her eyes and the base of her bill. It seemed like more of a
> dance this time. This goes on for about 30 seconds and then the males
> waddles off toward the seeds at the base of the feeder. The female
> stands there for a few moments watching him - more than a satisfied
> look, perhaps a "is that all there is", or a glint of admiration
[mou] Anyone want to carpool to see the Snowy Plover?
I can get away on Tuesday and think I'd like to drive over and see the Snowy Plovers. If anyone in the Duluth area wants to carpool, let me know. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Year-old Peregrine from Duluth is in Twin Cities
One of the Peregrine Falcons that hatched on the Hotel Duluth box last year, P77 or "Diane," turned up in a Twin Cities parking lot last week, and was photographed by a man from England. He posted photos here: http://homepage.mac.com/johnsound (scroll down to "Parking Lot Raptor.") The photographs are splendid if a bit squicky for some--she's eating a pigeon. It's absolutely wonderful to see such detail of a one-year-old bird's plumage as some of her feathers have been molted into adult-type ones while she's still got a lot of worn feathers from her immature plumage. I have some photos of this individual bird from last summer here: http://www.birderblog.com/bird/Species/Hawks/PeregrineFalcon/Photos/Downtown/Daily/PEFADuluth071205.html Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Snowy Plover photos
When Don Kienholz and I went to Big Stone NWR yesterday, we didn't want to get too close to the Snowy Plovers, and the light was glaring (it was hot, too--make sure you bring water!). So the photos I got weren't the best, but they'll have to do. I also posted what I think is our total day's list and directions to the plovers at http://birderblog.com/post.php?id=1342 Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Possible Slaty-backed Gull photos
I took a bunch of photos of the gull that is probably a first Minnesota record of a Slaty-backed Gull in Grand Marais today. I've posted a few of them--I'll get more up on this link later. Meanwhile, Denny Martin and Dave Cahlender got what I bet were much better photos--I'm sure they'll pop up on the MOU photo page soon. http://www.birderblog.com/bird/Species/Gulls/Slaty-backedGull/SBGUGallery.html Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Bloopers
When we took a family vacation in the Badlands of South Dakota, I brought everyone to a prairie dog town. My husband and kids were, of course, charmed with the prairie dogs, but I had an ulterior motive. Scanning carefully, voila! There it was, a Burrowing Owl perched on the edge of one of the burrows. I pointed it out to Russ and the kids, and though they all saw it, it didn't look like much from that distance. Since it was perched right next to a hole, I figured it would drop down if it got stressed, so we hiked closer. And closer. It was shockingly tame! It stood there, sleepy-eyed, not moving a muscle. And we drew even closer, and closer, and closer. And suddenly I realized it was no Burrowing Owl after all. It was a buffalo pie. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson > Sometimes ID'ing a bit early leads to interesting bloopers: > > This morning Mark Junghans and I were birding the Prairie Wildlife Drive > portion of Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge near Princeton, MN. As we > sighted the final pool, I remarked about the commotion in the water: > "There's the loon family we missed earlier." > > Would have been a great call, except as we drew much nearer, the loons > morphed into otters. > > Sigh. > > Must admit I've never completed missed on the type of mammal before. > > How about the rest of you - ever humorously call too early or miss one? > > Humbly submitted, > > Al Schirmacher > Princeton, MN > Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties > > ___ > mou-net mailing list > mou-...@cbs.umn.edu > http://cbs.umn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mou-net >
[mou] Re: [mnbird] Let's say 'THANKS!'
A lot of soldiers in Iraq notice birds there and send me photos. You can see them here: http://birderblog.com/bird/Places/Iraq/IraqBirdsGallery.html Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson > Hello, EveryBIRDie, Hello! > > How to share this thoughtful suggestion received > from a friend with you without opening a can of > worms I'm not sure; but if I do, perhaps the > birds will eat the worms, and the appreciation > of our Armed Forces Personnel will be worth it! > <;-) <;-) > > Some of you will want to do this! And, Thanks > to each of you who do! > > Let's Say Thanks! > > http://www.letssaythanks.com/ > If you go to this web site, you can pick out > a thank you card and Xerox will print it, and > it will be sent to a soldier that is currently > serving in Iraq. You cannot pick out who gets it, > but it will go to some member of the armed services. > It is FREE and it only takes a second. > Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a > bunch of these? I sent mine, now you can send one, too! > > May you enjoy a great day of Freedom, > thanks to our Armed Forces Personnel! > > Stan Merrill > Apple Valley/St. Paul, MN > > __ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > ___ > mnbird mailing list > mnb...@lists.mnbird.net > http://www.mnbird.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mnbird >
[mou] Gull still in Grand Marais
The gull believed to be a Slaty-backed is still in Grand Marais. Sharon Stiteler and I found it simultaneously at the rocky breakwater near the Angry Trout restaurant at about noon today, hunkered down on a rock--at first it was next to a Herring Gull. Molly Hoffman said that it's been hanging out more and more with Herring Gulls, without any of the fighting people witnessed last weekend, so is finally able to eat proper natural food. It started raining soon after Sharon and I arrived, and with the first peal of thunder the bird stood up and we got better views, but none of the photos we took today were diagnostic--they were worse than the ones that I took last week for limited angles and no open wings. But as always I'll post all my photos on my blog later today. I doubt if they're as good as the ones taken by real photographers, but sure hope they're of use. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Update on Rosy Finches
I finally had an opportunity to get to Cloquet this afternoon, from about 2 pm until about 2:45--during that time the birds were not there. I don't know if they came later. I'll try again tomorrow, I hope. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson > Some footage of the birds can be seen at the link below. It was shot by > my friend Brad Beisel and editted by my friend Mike Hazard today. At the > end you may hear me say that all 3 birds are there, but only 2 show up in > the film. The quality is not the best but at least you can see them in > action. > Bob Williams, Bloomington > URL=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJR3zxHzbOE > > > > > From: Mike Hendrickson > Sent: Thu 11/30/2006 2:50 PM > To: MOU-Net > Subject: [mou] Update on Rosy Finches > > > I arrived at the area mentioned at 8:45am and stayed until 12:15pm. I just > noticed this update on MnBird and some how did not make to the MOU > listserv. > > Subject: rosey finches seen today ... > From: Paul Schumacher > Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 12:01:47 -0800 (PST) > > The Rosey Finches were seen at the same location today > at 12:30 pm. > > Paul > Michael Hendrickson > Duluth, Minnesota > http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/ >
[mou] Rosy-finches there at 11 am
I arrived in Cloquet about 10:30 and the Rosy-finches were not there. But at about 10:50, voila! The three flew in. I'll post photos on my blog later. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] More Rosy-Finch photos
I posted a bunch of photos of the Rosy-Finches, and one small video, here: http://birderblog.com/bird/Species/Finches/Gray-crownedRosyFinch/GCRFGallery.html Laura Erickson Duluth, MN www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Another Goldfinch Story...
I bet it thought the bird house was a feeder. There are so many designs of hanging feeders with perches that the goldfinches who investigate all of them are the ones most likely to find a lot of food. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson > A few days ago, there was an American Goldfinch was sitting on the little > perch on a hanging bird house on my birch tree. It seemed interested in > the house, but goldfinches don't nest in cavities (that I know of.) Was > this bird just coincidentally perching there or was he/she actually > considering the cavity as a nesting spot? I believe it would be small > enough to fit inside the hole. Thanks! > > Alyssa DeRubeis >
[mou] Re: [mnbird] Where are the robins?
Although this weekend's and today's rain belies it, the recent drought and heat wave have sent earthworms deeper underground, beyond a robin's ability to grab them. So unless the rains change things, most robins will finish up with the current batch of young and join fall fruit-eating flocks a bit earlier than usual. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson > I just spent two weeks in eastern North Carolina and a bit in South > Carolina since it was only 1 mile from the retreat center where I was > teaching. The first week I got to teach nature to 10 boys aged 8 to 14 > and then a week of girls aged 7 to 17. It was magnificent with Eastern > Towhees calling from the tree tops in one stand and Summer Tanagers > calling from another, flocks of Wild Turkeys slowly grazing, Eastern > Bluebirds and Eastern Kingbirds sharing a fence line for insects flying > by, Yellow-billed Cuckoos feasting on tent caterpillars, a mating of > Blue Grosbeaks cautiously hanging near a blueberry patch, Tufted Titmice > as common as House Sparrow in Minneapolis, Carolina Chickadees with the > sun letting me see deep midnight blue instead of black on their heads, a > Pileated Woodpecker teasing my viewing around a huge oak tree, a > solitary Indigo Bunting calling from a dead snag, the evenings filled > with Chuck-Will's-Widow calls from all around, Turkey Vultures flying > some 20 feet over our heads after snacking on a recent fox road kill and > a dispatched copperhead snake, Belted Kingfishers calling their > territory while we seined the Pacolet River, a Red-Tailed Hawk roosting > on a bare pine limb to read the menu at a frog pond with at least 15 > different species of frogs from thumb size to a-good-foot-long greens, > tentative Cardinals, Eastern Wood Peewees, small flocks of Blue-Gray > Gnatcatchers playing tag in the briars, and many more. > > When I got back though, after refilling the feeders, cleaning the baths, > and watering, watering, watering, it came to me that there were no > robins in my yard - none. When I left they were lined up at the baths > and eating suet and fruit and challenging me for my fishing worms I > flood from the soil, and now none. I think I saw one, only one fly by > near a neighbor's house but none in my yard. Heck, they are even here > in winter as of late. Anyone have any idea where they went or if you > have noticed their absence also? Maybe they just can't stand to have me > not watch them and decided to follow me east. Let's see, at around > 1,100 miles at robin flying speed, say 12 miles per hour, add in > hundreds of breaks to eat and rest and drink, account for heat and > weather, then the return flight. H. Maybe I will see them in > September. > > Did I mention the South Carolina peaches were in season? Yum and > dripping with juice. Suck in while eating or wear the juice - my > favorite fruit in July. > > Thomas Maiello > Spring Lake Park > > > ___ > mnbird mailing list > mnb...@lists.mnbird.net > http://www.mnbird.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mnbird >
[mou] Chickadee Disease
Chickadees are very susceptible to West Nile Virus, and August is the month with the most cases. The disease is transmitted via mosquitoes, in particular the kinds that breed in stagnant water in backyards, such as bird baths, gutters, and children's toys. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson > Yesterday, I saw a B-C Chickadee at our birdbath, feathers fluffed out, > perched. This morning we found him dead in the bird bath. (Don't worry, I > cleaned out the birdbath right away.) Right now, there is another one that > appears the same at our birdbath. I also noted that the flight was not as > strong and bouncy, like that of a regular chickadee, but more weak, flimsy > and less direct. I am wondering what disease this is, and how is it passed > on from one bird to another. Has anyone else seen this? I am concerned > about my chickadees! > > Alyssa DeRubeis > Golden Valley, Hennepin Co.
[mou] RFI-Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
I was just asked by a South Dakota birder about Minnesota records for Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. According to our online checklist, last updated January, 2005, there are no state records for this species. Is this correct? (http://moumn.org/lists.html) Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Carpooling to Gary Duke's funeral
If anyone from the Duluth area is interested in carpooling with me to Gary Duke's funeral tomorrow in St. Paul, let me know. Gary was co-founder of The Raptor Center, with his student Pat Redig, was one of the world's leading authorities on bird digestion, and was a great man. I have information about him and links to his obituary in the Strib and to the article about him in the St. Paul Pioneer Press here: http://birderblog.com/post.php?id=1453 Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Staff Ornithologist Binoculars.com www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Re: [mnbird] FW: Ornithologists
--=_Part_82987_7217603.1172806782294 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline I think the true story was that a Pomerine Jaeger was seen flying between the two states--it was sometime in the 80s. Kim Eckert and I, and maybe Mike Hendrickson, wrote it up--Mike drew a picture of the tail. But the tail feathers didn't stick out very far, and although they were quite rounded at the tip, the Wis committee thought it was at least possible that the feathers had broken off and could have worn in a rounded pattern. (At the time, there weren't the books available with such detailed descriptions as are available now.) The MOU committee accepted it as a Pomerine, perhaps influenced at least a bit by Kim's great knowledge and experience with both species. (Pomerine was a lifer for me.) At first the Wisconsin committee counted it as Parasitic, but I believe they changed that to Jaeger spp. Laura Erickson On 3/1/07, Mark Mulhollam wrote: > > Is the below true or just a good story? > > Mark Mulhollam > Minneapolis, Minnesota > http://www.tc.umn.edu/~mulho005 > > -Original Message- > From: National Birding Hotline Cooperative (Chat Line) > [mailto:birdc...@listserv.arizona.edu]on Behalf Of JIM TURNER > Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 5:41 PM > To: birdc...@listserv.arizona.edu > Subject: Rd: Ornithologists > > > I was told this anecdote while birding in Duluth, and cannot vouch for its > truthfulness. In any case, my memory would mangle the details worse, and > my apologies to anyone whose toes get stepped on. But here goes. >It seems that a dark Ibis was seen byt birders in both Duluth and > Superior, which made at least one pass between Wisconsin and Minnesota, in > view by all the whole time. Competent birders disputed whether it was a > Glossy or a White-faced, and finally agreed on the former, anbd submitted > their documentation to both states. Minnesota's Ornithological Society > disputed it, and on the basis of a single prior sighthing of a White-faced > at the opposite corner of the state, concluded that it was the second > state record of a White-faced, . Wisconsin, being further east, agreed > that Glossy was more probable, and admitted it as a first state record. > So the same individual bird, seen at the same time in two states, has now > become a precedent for future acceptance of records of two different > species in two different states. > > >Jim Turner || Traverse City, Michigan || havivoca @ yahoo.com > > BirdChat Guidelines: http://www.ksu.edu/audubon/chatguidelines.html > Archives: http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdchat.html > > ___ > mnbird mailing list > mnb...@lists.mnbird.net > http://lists.mnbird.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mnbird > -- Laura Erickson www.birderblog.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson --=_Part_82987_7217603.1172806782294 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline I think the true story was that a Pomerine Jaeger was seen flying between the two states--it was sometime in the 80s. Kim Eckert and I, and maybe Mike Hendrickson, wrote it up--Mike drew a picture of the tail. But the tail feathers didn't stick out very far, and although they were quite rounded at the tip, the Wis committee thought it was at least possible that the feathers had broken off and could have worn in a rounded pattern. (At the time, there weren't the books available with such detailed descriptions as are available now.) The MOU committee accepted it as a Pomerine, perhaps influenced at least a bit by Kim's great knowledge and experience with both species. (Pomerine was a lifer for me.) At first the Wisconsin committee counted it as Parasitic, but I believe they changed that to Jaeger spp. Laura EricksonOn 3/1/07, Mark Mulhollam <mailto:mulho...@tc.umn.edu";>mulho...@tc.umn.edu> wrote: Is the below true or just a good story?Mark MulhollamMinneapolis, Minnesotahttp://www.tc.umn.edu/~mulho005";>http://www.tc.umn.edu/~mulho005-Original Message-From: National Birding Hotline Cooperative (Chat Line) [mailto:mailto:birdc...@listserv.arizona.edu";>birdc...@listserv.arizona.edu]On Behalf Of JIM TURNERSent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 5:41 PMTo: mailto:birdc...@listserv.arizona.edu";>birdc...@listserv.arizona.edu Subject: Rd: OrnithologistsI was told this anecdote while birding in Duluth, and cannot vouch for itstruthfulness. In any case, my memory would mangle the d
[mou] Owl Avenue: R.I.P.
--=_Part_3939_3206708.1173455308880 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline As Sparky noted, "the foresters' attitude from the start was one of "You can tell us the value of this area but we are going to log where we want." Their solution was always to send birders to other areas where these birds could be found. The arrogance was obvious and unproductive to the goals of the meeting." The Minnesota birding community needs to start working together on critical issues like this, because loggers and people who want to mine Minnesota and build wind farms and endless mazes of powerlines and make the Park Point airport bigger and develop ever more habitat are organized and powerful. We birders, on the other hand, have become a fragmented, factionalized lot, and when something important happens, divided we fall. I'm horribly sad about this, and feel guilty that I wasn't there, protesting and laying down in front of the "super axe-hackers" to stop them, protesting and getting the media involved. We can't go back and fix this--Owl Avenue is lost and it will be decades before it's restored. But how about we at least "Remember the Alamo" and use this horrible event to start all working together to save the best birding places? As friends and fellow-birders who all want to protect the birds we love, not as competitors or people so concerned about appearing savvy and cool and wise that we grow ever more scared to speak out with knowledge and passion? Does every non-profit nature-related organization have to compete with every other one, or can we all move our sights from this circular firing range we've created and start focusing together on protecting birds and their habitat and working together? It's the only way we'll ever start winning an occasional battle. - Laura Erickson Duluth There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson --=_Part_3939_3206708.1173455308880 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline As Sparky noted, "the foresters' attitude from the start was one o= f "You can tell us the value of this area but we are going to log where we want." Their solution was always to send birders to other areas where these birds could be found. The arrogance was obvious and unproductive to the goals of the meeting." The Minnesota birding community needs t= o start working together on critical issues like this, because loggers and = people who want to mine Minnesota and build wind farms and endless mazes of= powerlines and make the Park Point airport bigger and develop ever more ha= bitat are organized and powerful. We birders, on the other hand, have= become a fragmented, factionalized lot, and when something important happe= ns, divided we fall. I'm horribly sad about this, and feel guilty= that I wasn't there, protesting and laying down in front of the "= super axe-hackers" to stop them, protesting and getting the media invo= lved. We can't go back and fix this--Owl Avenue is lost and it wi= ll be decades before it's restored. But how about we at least &qu= ot;Remember the Alamo" and use this horrible event to start all workin= g together to save the best birding places? As friends and fellow-bir= ders who all want to protect the birds we love, not as competitors or peopl= e so concerned about appearing savvy and cool and wise that we grow ever mo= re scared to speak out with knowledge and passion? Does every non-pro= fit nature-related organization have to compete with every other one, or ca= n we all move our sights from this circular firing range we've created = and start focusing together on protecting birds and their habitat and worki= ng together? It's the only way we'll ever start winning an oc= casional battle. - Laura EricksonDuluthThere is symbolic as well as = actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infi= nitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn = comes after night, and spring after the winter. =09=09=09--Rachel Carson --=_Part_3939_3206708.1173455308880--
[mou] Owl Avenue: R.I.P.
--=_Part_3277_28497496.1173472181751 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline The trick is that MOU, Audubon Minnesota, and a host of local organizations each think they're the one who should take the lead on issues like this, they each work apart, and individuals get snooty and stop working together because each wants to be the leader or they'll take their toys home. Minnesota birders can't even work together with a single listserv! In this particular case, there were plenty of information postings and warnings before the logging took place, and there was a well-publicized series of meetings in Meadowlands about protecting the bog and promoting it for birding as Sparky mentioned. If the Conservation Committee wasn't aware of this, it wasn't for lack of well-publicized information. I suspect that some people shied away from the issue because they were willing to accept the DNR's claim that trees must be cut down to protect them from the very insects that feed Black-backed Woodpeckers. Laura Erickson, Duluth On 3/9/07, bobholtz1...@aol.com wrote: > > It would seem obvious that if we are to work together our Conservation > Committee should take the lead. However, they cannot lead if local birders > (those in areas about to be affected) do not keep them informed. > > Bob Holtz > > > If you are too busy to go birding, you are too busy. > > > > -- > AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free > from AOL at *AOL.com* <http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF0002000339>. > -- Laura Erickson There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson --=_Part_3277_28497496.1173472181751 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline The trick is that MOU, Audubon Minnesota, and a host of local organizations each think they're the one who should take the lead on issues like this, they each work apart, and individuals get snooty and stop working together because each wants to be the leader or they'll take their toys home. Minnesota birders can't even work together with a single listserv! In this particular case, there were plenty of information postings and warnings before the logging took place, and there was a well-publicized series of meetings in Meadowlands about protecting the bog and promoting it for birding as Sparky mentioned. If the Conservation Committee wasn't aware of this, it wasn't for lack of well-publicized information. I suspect that some people shied away from the issue because they were willing to accept the DNR's claim that trees must be cut down to protect them from the very insects that feed Black-backed Woodpeckers. Laura Erickson, DuluthOn 3/9/07, mailto:bobholtz1...@aol.com";>bobholtz1...@aol.com <mailto:bobholtz1...@aol.com";>bobholtz1...@aol.com > wrote: It would seem obvious that if we are to work together our Conservation Committee should take the lead. However, they cannot lead if local birders (those in areas about to be affected) do not keep them informed. Bob Holtz If you are too busy to go birding, you are too busy. AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF0002000339"; href="http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF0002000339"; target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> AOL.com. -- Laura EricksonThere is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson --=_Part_3277_28497496.1173472181751--
[mou] Bird guides for northern Minnesota
--=_Part_26539_4495077.1176383837684 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline I've been overhauling my webpage, and trying to get current information for questions I'm often asked, one of which is who guides birders from out of the area. So I'm compiling a new list of birding guides for northern Minnesota--if you are one please let me know ASAP with your contact information. I'll be happy to link to your webpages, too. I don't want to leave anyone out who wishes to be included. Best, Laura -- Laura Erickson Duluth www.lauraerickson.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson --=_Part_26539_4495077.1176383837684 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline I've been overhauling my webpage, and trying to get current information for questions I'm often asked, one of which is who guides birders from out of the area. So I'm compiling a new list of birding guides for northern Minnesota--if you are one please let me know ASAP with your contact information. I'll be happy to link to your webpages, too. I don't want to leave anyone out who wishes to be included. Best, Laura-- Laura EricksonDuluthhttp://www.lauraerickson.com";>www.lauraerickson.comThere is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson --=_Part_26539_4495077.1176383837684--
[mou] RFI: bird photos for presentation
--=_Part_27195_12728287.1176385654703 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline It's taking me forever, but little by little I'm getting the photo galleries I'd had on Birderblog (before it was sold) onto my own website. I'm less than 1/4 done, so most of the links are still dead, but by next week should have them all back "up" again, indexed at: http://www.lauraerickson.com/bird/Species/Directory.html I grant permission to use these for educational, conservation, and personal use. I always love to hear from people who find my pictures useful, but don't require anyone to ask permission before downloading these photos for such uses. Naturally I love getting credit, but again, sometimes it's awkward or people forget, and for me that's not a big deal at all. (This is MY policy, and reflects my commitment to bird conservation and education. Other photographers have completely legitimate and understandable reasons for other policies.) Best, Laura Laura Erickson Duluth www.lauraerickson.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson --=_Part_27195_12728287.1176385654703 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline It's taking me forever, but little by little I'm getting the photo galleries I'd had on Birderblog (before it was sold) onto my own website. I'm less than 1/4 done, so most of the links are still dead, but by next week should have them all back "up" again, indexed at: http://www.lauraerickson.com/bird/Species/Directory.html";>http://www.lauraerickson.com/bird/Species/Directory.htmlI grant permission to use these for educational, conservation, and personal use. I always love to hear from people who find my pictures useful, but don't require anyone to ask permission before downloading these photos for such uses. Naturally I love getting credit, but again, sometimes it's awkward or people forget, and for me that's not a big deal at all. (This is MY policy, and reflects my commitment to bird conservation and education. Other photographers have completely legitimate and understandable reasons for other policies.) Best, LauraLaura EricksonDuluthhttp://www.lauraerickson.com";>www.lauraerickson.comThere is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson --=_Part_27195_12728287.1176385654703--
[mou] Common Moorhen in Duluth
Yesterday, one of the people on my weekly warbler walk to the Western Waterfront Trail (beneath the Indian Point campground) spotted a Common Moorhen at the far side of the marsh. It was at a distance and the light was poor, but I did take and post a lousy but identifiable photo of it on my blog at http://lauraerickson.blogspot.com/2007/05/last-western-waterfront-trail-spring.html -- Laura Erickson www.lauraerickson.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20070530/ed8ea40a/attachment.html
[mou] Snowy Plover still present in Duluth
Harold Nordin in my warbler walk group found the Snowy Plover this morning--it was past the bathhouse going toward the end of Park Point, mostly by itself. I'll post photos on my webpage and blog ASAP. -- Laura Erickson www.lauraerickson.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20070531/55ea9c88/attachment.html
[mou] Chukar
I've seen a Chukar three or four times along I-35 somewhere around Hinckley several years ago. I never bothered to report these because the birds were most definitely escapes from game farms. I don't know if anyone bothered to report the rash of Bobwhite reports in and around Duluth (from a mass breakout from a retriever training club) a couple of years ago, either, though I wish I had. It's important to keep track of introductions or birds escaped from captivity because once in a great while these introductions "take"--knowing the origin of a newly established population is important. And even when an accidental introduction doesn't take, it's instructive to keep track of these birds to ultimately understand why some introductions are more "successful" than others. But that's a lot of data to maintain for something that isn't part of our natural avifauna, so I can understand why it isn't normally done. -- Laura Erickson For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20070827/e81fcc6b/attachment.html
[mou] Inca dove still in Two Harbors
Out-of-range birds are out of range because of either a screw-up in their internal migratory patterns or because someone released a captive bird or other odd accident. If Jim and Sharon close down their feeding station, it is not going to send the bird on its way. It will send it in search of another source of food, but since its migratory instinct is out of alignment, it's as likely to move in a northerly direction as a southerly one. Scott Weidensaul has written a great deal about hummingbirds wintering in northern areas. He thinks we're witnessing the start of the evolution of new migratory patterns and a new wintering range for them. This may be true of some other species as well. Feeders are now as much a part of the American landscape as highrises and other man-made changes that are harmful for birds. At worst in this case, the bird will die after having stayed alive a few extra days/weeks/months because of bird feeding. At best, it will put on enough fat to trigger a migratory movement in the right direction, or will actually survive the winter. The first cardinals to appear at feeders in Duluth may well have been doomed individuals, and were probably a breeding dead-end for those birds who arrived before there were potential mates here at the same time. But little by little the numbers showing up increased, and now they're regular breeders in most Duluth neighborhoods. That may or may not happen in the case of Inca Doves. But these outliers from normal birds might as well have the same benefits we give our other backyard birds. They certainly face the same, or greater, hazards, and most of those hazards come from other changes we humans have presented them with. Might as well give them one little gift, too. Laura Erickson Duluth On Nov 9, 2007 10:37 AM, Tom Klein wrote: > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:58:18 + > From: "jslind at frontiernet.net" > Subject: [mou] Inca Dove still in Two Harbors > To: mou-net at moumn.org > Message-ID: <20071108185818.3qwnm6wijqtk4ook at webmail.frontiernet.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; DelSp="Yes"; > format="flowed" > > I just spotted the Inca Dove in our neighborhood againToday at lunch I > filled our feeders and tossed out some > seed in the yard and on the sidewalk so hopefully it will stick around. > > Sharon Lind > > An Inca dove in NE. Minnesota in November is in for some serious challenges. > Are you not dooming this bird by feeding it? > > Tom Klein > > > > > -- Laura Erickson For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Inca dove still in Two Harbors
Although Richard is correct that Inca Doves are not migratory, neither are Northern Cardinals, yet as anyone who has birded in Minnesota over the past decades knows, cardinals have expanded into many parts of the state where they weren't found in earlier decades. When young birds disperse, they disperse--and some keep going for longer distances than others. There's a great deal of individual variation in this, especially in a species known to be expanding its range, which the Inca Dove most definitely is. According to Mueller, Allan J.. 2004 . Inca Dove (Columbina inca), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Inca Doves are "resident throughout range, with frequent extra-limital records owing to on-going range expansion." Although no one can say with 100% certainty where the heck the Two Harbors bird came from, it's FAR more likely without clear evidence of broken or frayed tail feathers, a leg band, or other evidence of captivity that this bird arrived in Two Harbors on its own power. Best, Laura Erickson On Nov 10, 2007 4:01 PM, Richard Wood wrote: > > Inca Doves are Usually located in the Texas area year-round, according to > Sibley, so they shouldn't be migrating anywhere (but we all know about birds > not being where they are supposed to be, witness Western Kingbirds on the > East Coast, etc.). That being said, I would be more concerned about why an > Inca Dove is in Minnesota, as opposed to what it is eating. > > Is this a lost bird, in that it was perhaps in with some other dove species > and somehow made its way north, or is it an escaped "kidnapee"? My wife and > I are speculating that it's probably the latter, that someone went south and > snatched a bird and when it got back here, the bird managed to escape, and > now it's lost. > > Good birding, > Richard > > Richard L. Wood, Ph. D. > Hastings, MN > rwoodphd at yahoo.com > > > > - Original Message > From: Laura Erickson > To: mou-net at moumn.org > > Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:15:45 PM > Subject: Re: [mou] Inca dove still in Two Harbors > > Out-of-range birds are out of range because of either a screw-up in > their internal migratory patterns or because someone released a > captive bird or other odd accident. If Jim and Sharon close down > their feeding station, it is not going to send the bird on its way. > It will send it in search of another source of food, but since its > migratory instinct is out of alignment, it's as likely to move in a > northerly direction as a southerly one. > > Scott Weidensaul has written a great deal about hummingbirds wintering > in northern areas. He thinks we're witnessing the start of the > evolution of new migratory patterns and a new wintering range for > them. This may be true of some other species as well. Feeders are > now as much a part of the American landscape as highrises and other > man-made changes that are harmful for birds. At worst in this case, > the bird will die after having stayed alive a few extra > days/weeks/months because of bird feeding. At best, it will put on > enough fat to trigger a migratory movement in the right direction, or > will actually survive the winter. > > The first cardinals to appear at feeders in Duluth may well have been > doomed individuals, and were probably a breeding dead-end for those > birds who arrived before there were potential mates here at the same > time. But little by little the numbers showing up increased, and now > they're regular breeders in most Duluth neighborhoods. That may or > may not happen in the case of Inca Doves. But these outliers from > normal birds might as well have the same benefits we give our other > backyard birds. They certainly face the same, or greater, hazards, > and most of those hazards come from other changes we humans have > presented them with. Might as well give them one little gift, too. > > Laura Erickson > Duluth > > > On Nov 9, 2007 10:37 AM, Tom Klein wrote: > > Message: 1 > > Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:58:18 + > > From: "jslind at frontiernet.net" > > Subject: [mou] Inca Dove still in Two Harbors > > To: mou-net at moumn.org > > Message-ID: <20071108185818.3qwnm6wijqtk4ook at webmail.frontiernet.net> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1;DelSp="Yes"; > >format="flowed" > > > > I just spotted the Inca Dove in our neighborhood againToday at lunch I > filled our feeders and tossed out some > > seed in the yard and on the sidewalk so hopefully it will stick around. > > > > Sharon Lind > > > > An Inca dove in NE. Minnesota
[mou] Varied Thrush near Chisholm
I got an email from a man in Angora, 15 miles north of Chisholm, who has a Varied Thrush at his feeder. He sent me a photo to verify. He and his wife aren't birders, but they have given permission for birders to come see it. I don't feel comfortable posting their address and directions on the Web, but I'll be home all morning to send them to anyone who might wish to see this bird. If there is someone else who will be around this afternoon or as a backup whenever I'm away in coming days, let me know and I'll send you directions, too. -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Big Green Big Year
Here's a cool idea that will be fun and totally guilt-free. I won't be able to do this from Minnesota, but I sure hope we're represented on the map! http://www.sparroworks.ca/bigby.html -- Laura Erickson Duluth For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] which is more likely...
Townsend's Solitaires often eat fruit in winter, so if the tree was a mountain ash or crab apple tree, the solitaire would be the more likely. Solitaires are thrushes, shaped like robins though they often sit more vertically than robins usually do. As far as I know, this is not an invasion year for Gray Jays, making it highly unlikely that one would appear as far south as Hastings. Gray Jays are plump, their fluffiness and proportions giving the sense of a chickadee on steroids. I'm not on the MOU Records Committee, but if I were, I would NEVER accept a report of any rarity based on one species being "more likely" than another based on expected range. An acceptable documentation of a rare bird requires noticing head and wing markings, overall shape, posture, behavior, and what kind of habitat it's in. Even for my personal list, I've never felt comfortable counting anything based on probabilities rather than carefully seeing the important field marks. I'd want to actually see those cool wing markings on a solitaire before counting it--otherwise it's just a name and number rather than a lovely and memorable close encounter. Of course, that may be part of why my personal list isn't nearly as long as experts who take in field marks much more quickly than I do. ;-) Laura Erickson Duluth On Dec 19, 2007 8:15 AM, Richard Wood wrote: > > Hi all, > > On Sunday, December 9th, I saw a grayish bird with a short black bill in a > tree in our back yard. This bird was robin sized, and when I went to get my > binocs on him, he flew. > > I have been leaning toward calling it either a Gray Jay or a Townsend's > Solitaire, though I'm not sure which would be more likely to be seen here in > Hastings. I see from this year's sightings maps, that Townsend's Solitaire > has been seen farther north, so I am leaning town the Jay. I know it wasn't > the Shrike I saw yesterday, as it lacked a mask (unless it was the Lone > Ranger off duty...). > > I'd like to know what everyone thinks. > > Good birding, > Richard > Richard L. Wood, Ph. D. > Hastings, MN > rwoodphd at yahoo.com > > > > Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. -- Laura Erickson For the love, understanding, and protection of birds www.lauraerickson.com There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] birder warnings
We are long past the days when we defeated our enemies by being
unafraid ("The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.") It's
unfair and unreasonable to be treated as suspicious by fearful people.
But it's a given in this fear-driven era. Do remember though that
policemen didn't write the rules, and if they're conscientiously doing
their job, they may be required to enforce unfair rules. Being polite
is the right thing to do, as well as the practical thing to do if you
don't want the situation to escalate into something dangerous.
If you happen to have a digital camera on you, you can do what Sparky
recently said he'd done--show the photos to the person questioning
your motives to prove that you're really focused on birds. Having
field guides and/or Kim Eckert's book in your car (especially if
you're birding at a place mentioned in Kim's book) can also
corroborate your case. Above everything, be calm and polite--even
when the rules suck and seem counter-productive, we're stuck with them
and we're past the days when American citizens were considered
innocent until proven guilty if even a tenuous case of terrorism can
be suggested.
Meanwhile, maybe the best thing we can all do to be proactive is to
wear our binoculars into restaurants and gas stations when we're
birding. People should be far more used to seeing birders wearing
binoculars.
Laura Erickson
Duluth
On Dec 23, 2007 10:48 PM, Sid Stivland wrote:
>
>
> The recent posts about law enforcement response to birders, snowy owl
> sightings, and activity near the Duluth Airport prompts me to comment.
>
> Earlier this fall, I was confronted by St. Cloud Hospital security personnel
> as I scouted the Mississippi River and adjoining habitats with my binocs.
> Apparently, he was alerted by an employee at the hospital to "suspicious
> activity behind the hospital". In his defense, he calmed down as soon as I
> explained what I was doing and when he learned I had a family member in
> surgery at the hospital. Nevertheless, I was questioned, had my ID checked,
> and generally shaken down, sort of a humiliating experience. By the way, an
> employee at the hospital had initially suggested the river walking path to
> me as a way to stretch, get some air, and maybe some exercise. I guess the
> binocs were the suspicious activity.
>
> My initial reaction was to be upset but, the more I thought about it, the
> more I was saddened by the experience. I arrived at the realization that
> this is a sign of the times we are living in. We are encouraged to "turn in
> suspicious activity", be the eyes and ears of law enforcement, "be alert",
> etc. While I guess this modus operendi has advantages, i.e. community
> control of behavior, I fear we are now reacting to almost everything and
> reports are filed by folks with no particular training or way of knowing
> what "suspicious activity" is. Does a person walking around in broad
> daylight with a pair of binoculars constitute suspicious activity? I guess
> so!. As Mike and Mark (and perhaps others) have reported, even law
> enforcement is prone to overreaction, knee jerk reactions, and
> misinterpretation. So even trained folks are running scared and taking no
> chances, assuming the worst.
>
> I think it is a sad state of affairs. I grew up in a small community and
> thought it was bad enough adjusting to the impersonal "Big City" with all of
> its various problems. But it seems worse now - as Mike pointed out - even
> small towns are paranoid. In any event, I am now very concious where I aim
> my binocs. If I am in an urban area, I try to not aim at someone's house,
> for example. I try my best to respect private property. I try to ask
> permission or inform people what I am doing ahead of time. But it is not
> possible to be perfect and we are all surprised from time to time. This is
> not meant to excuse bad birder behavior, we all know this happens from time
> to time. I just hope we can continue our hobby without upsetting everyone
> or getting accused of suspicious activity or worse. Maybe birders will
> always be misunderstood. Maybe the general public will never believe that
> folks actually stand around in the cold and rain and sun and wind and look
> at birds, they must be doing something wrong!
>
> Merry Christmas to all and lets hope for a more peaceful (and less tense)
> New Year,
>
> Sid Stivland
>
> Plymouth, MN
--
Laura Erickson
For the love, understanding, and protection of birds
www.lauraerickson.com
There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds.
There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of
nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after
the winter.
--Rachel Carson
[mou] Backyard Great Gray Owl
Yesterday and today I've had one or two Great Gray Owls hanging around my backyard. This or these birds are quite different from the unhealthy-appearing individual that was here on Christmas Eve, which was browner. This one (or maybe two different ones) has had an amazing effect--my feeders are suddenly devoid of squirrels--and people who came here to see the hummingbird just about all noticed how very many squirrels feed in my yard. Yesterday when the Great Gray sat in an aspen tree, a squirrel on the trunk apparently felt trapped--it seemed reluctant to go on the ground, where the owl might drop in on him, but couldn't go up because that would put him in reach of the talons. So he stayed on the trunk, chattering, for at least 15 minutes. He got away when some crows started divebombing the owl and it flew off. I did see it drop down at least once trying to get a squirrel who got away, but don't know if it's had success at that. Great Gray Owl feet are small compared to Great Horned Owls, but their claws are huge and they could dispatch an unwary squirrel. This is not typical habitat for a Great Gray, and my neighborhood birds, having no experience with dealing with such a thing, have all been acting unusual--staying away from the feeders altogether when it's about, mobbing it, and being more skittish in general. I saw my first cardinal, Blue Jay, and Pine Grosbeaks yesterday when they were mobbing it. And the funniest thing is seeing a dozen chickadees swarming about its head, looking all the tinier in comparison. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Bog Owls Today
I left my house for the Sax-Zim bog at 1 pm, so didn't get there until after 2, and couldn't cover some of the roads I usually do and had to go a little quicker than I like and stay in the car to finish up before dark. But in the time I was there I counted 47 Great Gray Owls and 8 Northern Hawk Owls--these were all close enough to the road that I could see them easily as I drove without anyone else with me. One Great Gray flew at another and the two had something of a fight, but both ended up staying in that area. I was in my Prius, and just have to say it's the perfect birding car. Not only did I average 44 mpg (the mileage is significantly lower than normal when temperatures are low like this, but 44 isn't too bad!), but every time I stop for a bird, the gas engine automatically cuts out as the car switches to just the electric motor, so the car is wonderfully silent--and then there's no ignition to start up when I go again. (Disclaimer--I'm not related to and don't personally know any Toyota dealers, employees, etc., and have no connections whatsoever to the company. I just think they've made the perfect car for birding.) Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Re: [mnbird] About stress on the Great Grey and other owls
I'm not sure it's a good idea to question how many times each birder goes to a given place. Some of the people going most frequently to see owls are actually leading groups to see them each time, and as far as I have seen this year are being pretty darned conscientious about limiting stress to the birds and to the locals. There are certain ethical considerations when viewing or photographing any bird, and I think it's wise and ethical to err on the side of caution to protect the bird, rather than to make it easier for birders, but overall people seem to be doing their best in this difficult time. I saw one car stop a few times on 133 today, which is a no-no even when it's not so dangerously slippery, but overall people seem to have calmed down from the initial excitement of all these owls and seem to be following ethical considerations really well. When I posted about how many owls I saw today, should I have added that this was the first time I've been to the bog in 2005, that I didn't stop or even slow down for hardly any of the owls I saw, and that I didn't flush a single one? This could make posts pretty unwieldy and defensive, and make us feel like we need to justify every element of our birding behavior from the moment we step out the door. Let's have a little faith in our fellow birders, and focus on minimizing our own impacts rather than questioning one another's right to be out there at all. That said, I think keeping Boreal Owl locations quiet isn't a bad idea in a year like this, and squeaking and pishing to distract any owl to get it to look at us is unwarranted. Peder's suggestions and the ABA code of ethics are excellent guidelines, and perhaps we do need to at least think about where we go to ensure that the same birds aren't over-stressed, but let's try to remember that we're all in this together, and that we're all doing the best we can. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Starving owls
If anyone comes across a downed owl that needs care, it's critical to get it to the Raptor Center ASAP. There are also two licensed rehabbers in northern Minnesota that I know of--Emily Buchanan in Duluth (218-348-8745) and Regina Kijak in Two Harbors (218-834-4129). In the late stages of starvation, time is of the essence. If you cannot reach the rehabbers or simply cannot deliver the bird within minutes rather than hours, especially if you found the bird downed, you must offer fluids before even thinking of feeding it. Feeding a mouse to an owl in the late stages of starvation can cause the bird to go into shock--owls empty their stomach contents before regurgitating a pellet each day. When they're dehydrated and suddenly have a full stomach, they must replenish their stomach fluids with fluids from their lymphatic and blood systems, and that sudden siphoning off of fluids in a dehydrated bird can kill it. What should you do? Robert Nero once gave me the following advice to first make sure an owl is comfortable with a human: bow your own head (a submissive behavior for owls) and then stroke its forehead feathers. Unlike hawks, owls "allopreen," and this helps assure the bird that you are not going to kill it. Then offer fluids. Water will work in a pinch. Cooled boiled Sprite, Seven-up, or even Coke may be a little better. Far better is Gatorade, and best of all is unflavored Pedialyte (in the baby food section of most grocery stores) or Ringer's solution (the basic saline solution used in IVs). DON'T force any fluid down any bird's throat, and don't use an eyedropper. Rather, hold a bowl of the fluid in front of the owl's face, and with your finger drip just a couple of drops on the bird's beak--as the bird's rictal bristles detect it, the bird will swallow. Most of them quickly start drinking on their own. Be careful not to get too much fluid on the bird's face because these substances are sticky. Again, only offer small amounts, and do your best to get the bird to a rehabber ASAP. But if you're still pressed for time, after the bird has had a few small drinks, the best first food to offer is Gerber strained chicken, which has enzymes added to break down the proteins, making it easily absorbed. Tease the bird's beak open and give it a very tiny amount. Usually after tasting it, owls will readily take if off a finger--it's goopy, so be careful to not get the bird's feathers messy. And again, this should only be offered for a short time before offering a fresh dead mouse, with fur and bones--otherwise the stomach can become infected from moist matter building up with no substantial fibers to help it form and eliminate a pellet. Again I must emphasize that these techniques are only to use in absolute emergencies, and only if you can't get it to a licensed rehabber immediately. It's illegal to possess any owl, and your emergency aid can be a curse rather than a kindness to the bird if you don't know what you're doing. Also, data are being kept on these birds' initial condition which are altered by intervention, and the Raptor Center has state-of-the art facilities that deal far better than we can in those first critical hours, so it's far better to rush the bird to the Raptor Center than to try these techniques except in dire emergencies. If anyone has numbers for other rehabbers or facilities up here, please post them. It's not a bad idea to keep some of these numbers by your phone. Also, if anyone has sounder suggestions for these emergencies, please let us all know. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Starving owls
If anyone comes across a downed owl that needs care, it's critical to get it to the Raptor Center ASAP. There are also two licensed rehabbers in northern Minnesota that I know of--Emily Buchanan in Duluth (218-348-8745) and Regina Kijak in Two Harbors (218-834-4129). In the late stages of starvation, time is of the essence. If you cannot reach the rehabbers or simply cannot deliver the bird within minutes rather than hours, especially if you found the bird downed, you must offer fluids before even thinking of feeding it. Feeding a mouse to an owl in the late stages of starvation can cause the bird to go into shock--owls empty their stomach contents before regurgitating a pellet each day. When they're dehydrated and suddenly have a full stomach, they must replenish their stomach fluids with fluids from their lymphatic and blood systems, and that sudden siphoning off of fluids in a dehydrated bird can kill it. What should you do? Robert Nero once gave me the following advice to first make sure an owl is comfortable with a human: bow your own head (a submissive behavior for owls) and then stroke its forehead feathers. Unlike hawks, owls "allopreen," and this helps assure the bird that you are not going to kill it. Then offer fluids. Water will work in a pinch. Cooled boiled Sprite, Seven-up, or even Coke may be a little better. Far better is Gatorade, and best of all is unflavored Pedialyte (in the baby food section of most grocery stores) or Ringer's solution (the basic saline solution used in IVs). DON'T force any fluid down any bird's throat, and don't use an eyedropper. Rather, hold a bowl of the fluid in front of the owl's face, and with your finger drip just a couple of drops on the bird's beak--as the bird's rictal bristles detect it, the bird will swallow. Most of them quickly start drinking on their own. Be careful not to get too much fluid on the bird's face because these substances are sticky. Again, only offer small amounts, and do your best to get the bird to a rehabber ASAP. But if you're still pressed for time, after the bird has had a few small drinks, the best first food to offer is Gerber strained chicken, which has enzymes added to break down the proteins, making it easily absorbed. Tease the bird's beak open and give it a very tiny amount. Usually after tasting it, owls will readily take if off a finger--it's goopy, so be careful to not get the bird's feathers messy. And again, this should only be offered for a short time before offering a fresh dead mouse, with fur and bones--otherwise the stomach can become infected from moist matter building up with no substantial fibers to help it form and eliminate a pellet. Again I must emphasize that these techniques are only to use in absolute emergencies, and only if you can't get it to a licensed rehabber immediately. It's illegal to possess any owl, and your emergency aid can be a curse rather than a kindness to the bird if you don't know what you're doing. Also, data are being kept on these birds' initial condition which are altered by intervention, and the Raptor Center has state-of-the art facilities that deal far better than we can in those first critical hours, so it's far better to rush the bird to the Raptor Center than to try these techniques except in dire emergencies. If anyone has numbers for other rehabbers or facilities up here, please post them. It's not a bad idea to keep some of these numbers by your phone. Also, if anyone has sounder suggestions for these emergencies, please let us all know. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Rehabber phone number correction
After posting my suggestions for helping starving owls, I learned that the rehabber in Two Harbors does NOT take owls. However, there is one in Silver Bay who does: Gail Buhl 218-353-0396 (can be reached at work at Wolf Ridge ELC at 218-353-7414) Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] My two cents worth: the winter of owls
Bill Lane gives us some wonderful insights into the Boreal Owl life cycle. The more I learn about birds, and human beings, the more awestruck I am at the sheer complexity of this tiny planet. How should we be reacting to this owl invasion? Or is this phenomenon simply too beautiful and awe-inspiring and thrilling and interesting and fascinating and tragic and heart-breaking and devastating to even imagine there could be a right way or a wrong way to interpret it, or to feel about it, or to learn from it? I'm fielding so many phone calls--now averaging over 10 a day--about this irruption that I've come to the conclusion that there are as many ways to see and interpret and understand it as there are people. Those who have never before seen an owl are understandably thrilled to see their first Great Gray. Some people are devastated to find them dead. A woman called yesterday sobbing because she found a dead Boreal Owl on her porch. Should this woman, who never even knew such a tiny owl existed until one came to her home to die, be ridiculed for her tears, or for not knowing more about nature? Would it change your reaction to know that she is a doctor, who knows a lot about something else? Are compassion and science compatible? When I was researching nighthawks for my Ph.D. project (which I didn't finish because my professor had to retire early for health reasons), I came upon a paper by Joe T. Marshall of the Smithsonian. After learning of Edward Jaeger's discovery of hibernating Poor-wills, Marshall wanted to see if he could induce hibernation in other Caprimulgids, so he took some captive, hand-reared nighthawks and withheld food in fall as temperatures and day length decreased. After several days, he stopped the experiment, so touched was he by their plaintive cries for food. He never learned the answer to his scientific inquiry, but I learned quite a bit about how to measure a man. Yet at the same time Dr. Marshall was working on this, scientists were learning via "exsanguination" experiments that birds could lose much more blood than mammals before their blood pressure dropped, they went into shock, and they died. Scientists were learning that redpolls can survive colder temperatures than any other songbirds, including ravens, by putting them in deep freezers and recording at which temperature each bird died--redpolls made it to -80. Is it ironic that someone might find these facts fascinating when she has, in the judgment of some people, way too much compassion vs. scientific detachment, and way too much of an impulse to intervene when coming face to face with the suffering of a fellow creature who meets her eyes? Is it ironic that when brought owl carcasses, she sends them on for study and analysis? That's the trick with us humans. We have a mind, and I'm seeing a lot of people filling their minds with a lot of interesting things during this owl invasion. We also have a heart. And we can use our minds to temper our hearts, and we can use our hearts to temper our minds. Should we expend time and energy on wildlife rehabilitation that helps a few or habitat preservation that helps many? Or might there be room to do both? Is giving a mouse, or setting out a bird house, or banding a bird, or watching an owl from a running car, too much intervention? Where do we draw lines? Does a scientific approach automatically trump a compassionate one? Do we see a difference in the naturalness of a major mouse population crash that is somehow different from the naturalness of a major tree blow-down? How is giving a mouse to a hungry owl, or delivering a starving owl to the Raptor Center, different from setting out bird boxes? Aren't both interventions? The one thing this winter is teaching me is that there are a lot more questions than answers. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Great Gray Owl eating squirrel
I got a call from a woman on Oakley street in my neighborhood (Lakeside) in Duluth this morning. She's had a Great Gray Owl hanging around her yard for over a week. This morning it killed a squirrel, and was ripping it apart and eating. She was both surprised and delighted to find this potential solution to her squirrel situation. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Airport Snowy Owl-January 18
The immature Snowy Owl was present at the airport this morning at about 11:15. It wasn't on any buildings, but was sitting on a snowbank near the building it had been seen on top of. Without a scope or good binoculars, it would be difficult to identify from the building through the glass as more than a dirty snowbank unless it moves its head. But a thorough scan from the observation lounge should still provide at least a peek. If you aren't planning to spend more than a few minutes studying it, you can park in the short-term parking, which is one dollar for 30 minutes. If you want to spend time photographing it, go to the longer term parking lot, which isn't much farther and is cheaper per hour. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Territorial behavior exhibited by Great Gray Owl Pine County
A couple of weeks ago I watched one Great Gray Owl attack another in the bog, along Highway 7. The attacking bird flew directly at the other, which flew up and the two seemed to be grabbing air rather than each other, and then the attacking bird took over the perch where the first had been, at the top of a large shrub, and the attacked bird dropped to a lower branch, and crouched and pulled its head back to look up and eye the other. It had its beak open part of the time, but I was much too far away to hear any bill snapping or other vocalizations. They were far enough from the road that I felt comfortable watching them, but after 10 minutes they still hadn't moved from that position and it was getting a bit darker so I moved on before I saw what happened next. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Bohemian Waxwings and Great Gray Owls
On the Scenic Highway between Duluth and Two Harbors, I had a small flock of about 30 Bohemian Waxwings at McQuade Road, and a larger flock of about 150 at Knife River. Both were easy to see from the road, and courteously at places where I could safely pull over to scan them, but I couldn't detect any Cedar Waxwings. I had one Great Gray Owl at Brighton Beach (where there was also a lone Canada Goose and a Red-breasted Merganser), one near the lighthouse in Two Harbors (where I found the Harlequin Duck along with several Buffleheads and Goldeneyes), and one in my backyard when I returned home. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] professional guides for this year's owling
I'm working on a page about finding owls this year, and want it to be as complete as possible. If you are or know of a guide who would like to be included in the guide directory, please let me know--I asked Kim Eckert, and took the liberty of linking to Mike Hendrickson's page, but want to include everyone who is taking people out. Also, if there is any other information I should be including, or if you notice any errors, please let me know. <http://www.lauraerickson.com/Birds/GotOwls.html> Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Possible dipper on St. Louis River
Yesterday afternoon and today I was birding with a couple from the state of Washington. Tonight she mentioned that on their way into Duluth yesterday, going north on I-35, crossing a bridge (over the St. Louis River?) she looked out at the ice and saw a North American Dipper. Being from the mountains in Washington, this didn't strike her as unusual until tonight when she was reading Kim Eckert's book. But I've spent enough time with her to know she's got a keen eye and is quite good at recognition. Unfortunately, because she didn't realize the unlikelihood of a dipper around here, she didn't pay close attention to exactly where they were when she saw it. But we should certainly be keeping a close watch. She said this bird was on the ice, and noted that she sees many dippers feeding from the ice in Washington. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Possible St. Louis River Dipper
Yesterday afternoon and today I was birding with a couple from the state of Washington. Tonight she mentioned that on their way into Duluth yesterday, going north on I-35, crossing a bridge (over the St. Louis River?) she looked out at the ice and saw a North American Dipper. Being from the mountains in Washington, this didn't strike her as unusual until tonight when she was reading Kim Eckert's book. But I've spent enough time with her to know she's got a keen eye and is quite good at recognition. Unfortunately, because she didn't realize the unlikelihood of a dipper around here, she didn't pay close attention to exactly where they were when she saw it. But we should certainly be keeping a close watch. She said this bird was on the ice, and noted that she sees many dippers feeding from the ice in Washington. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Bohemian Waxwings--Lakeside, Duluth
I saw a flock of about 30 Bohemian Waxwings coming down somewhere around 45th Avenue East and Oneida Street today at about 12:30 pm. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Duluth Hummingbird!
I just looked out my back window when what to my wondering eyes should appear...but a miniature bird!! I saw it only for a few seconds, and when it flew, I ran to refill my feeder with fresh sugar water. When I came back, it was there, but again I saw it for only a few seconds. I'm going to sit by the window in hopes, but from the limited look I had, it may well have been a Selasphorus. I'm at 4831 Peabody, on the corner of 49th Avenue East and Peabody (up 5 blocks from Superior Street) and people are welcome to look from our backyard. It was in the second-story window in back of the house. I'll set out a few more feeders just in case it stays. Laura Erickson Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird Photos
The Selasphorus hummer at my feeder today was an animated little guy! It was a gray day, and he was quickly in and out at the feeder, but I did get some photos of him. He stopped coming a little before 3 pm, and so I don't know if he moved on or if he'll be back, but I'll post tomorrow the moment he appears. <http://www.lauraerickson.com/Birds/NovemberHummingbird.html> Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird ID
I sent the photos of the hummingbird to Mike Patterson from Oregon (<http://home.pacifier.com/~neawanna/humm/count.html>) who bands western hummingbirds. This is what he wrote: It is a Rufous Hummingbird Rufous in tail and rufous on belly make this an unequivocal _Selasphorus_. The rectrices are too broad for Allen's. R3, R4 and R5 all look to be about the same width. R5 typically looks narrower in Allen's The tail also seem too narrow and too pointy tipped for Broad-tailed. And the gizz is just wrong for Broad-tailed anyway. The blurry, spread tail shot seems to show red in the R1's (center two feathers) which would make this a HY male. If you get a clearer picture and the R1's a green, then it's an adult female, but I think it's a young male. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird is back!
At 7:59, the hummingbird returned. I'll try to get better photos, but it's a pretty uncooperative--or at least extremely active--little bird so I don't know if I can get a photo of the spread tail. If you need directions, email me. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Another opinion on the hummingbird
Donald E. Mitchell, who has banded Selasphorus hummingbirds in California while doing graduate research, writes, "I reviewed the photos and agree with Mike Patterson that it is rufous/allen's. While I agree that the "five o'clock shadow" effect of the throat point towards immature male, typically that sex/age class has fewer scattered iridescent feathers, rather that the large central grouping that this bird has, which is more typical of adult females. Notice I used typically/typical in the last sentence--I have seen many Selasphorus in-hand that turned out not to be what I had initially thought. There are many birds that don't look like the typical birds photographed for Williamson's and Howell's guides, a point I believed is stressed in both guides. The degree of "shadow" in the throat seems to be more variable than some of the other characters. That said, I have never examined immature males this late in the year and it may be this bird is an immature male that has accumulated enough iridescent throat feathers for them to coalesce into a patch--Nancy Newfield would be a good source for more information on this, since she handles many Selasphorus at this time of year. It may also be that a bird this late this far north would more likely be an immature bird. At any rate, I think we can rule out immature female! I don't, however, think that Allen's can be ruled out. Contrary to what Mike wrote, I wouldn't rule out Allen's based on the width of the rectrices, especially if it is an adult female. Width of rectrices varies by sex and age class, with females having broader tail feathers than males. If it shows up again, try to get some tail shots! It's been coming all morning, but stays still only a second before flitting off again--I've never seen such a skittish bird. I'm still trying to get a photo of the spread tail. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Another opinion on the hummingbird
Donald E. Mitchell, who has banded Selasphorus hummingbirds in California while doing graduate research, writes, "I reviewed the photos and agree with Mike Patterson that it is rufous/allen's. While I agree that the "five o'clock shadow" effect of the throat point towards immature male, typically that sex/age class has fewer scattered iridescent feathers, rather that the large central grouping that this bird has, which is more typical of adult females. Notice I used typically/typical in the last sentence--I have seen many Selasphorus in-hand that turned out not to be what I had initially thought. There are many birds that don't look like the typical birds photographed for Williamson's and Howell's guides, a point I believed is stressed in both guides. The degree of "shadow" in the throat seems to be more variable than some of the other characters. That said, I have never examined immature males this late in the year and it may be this bird is an immature male that has accumulated enough iridescent throat feathers for them to coalesce into a patch--Nancy Newfield would be a good source for more information on this, since she handles many Selasphorus at this time of year. It may also be that a bird this late this far north would more likely be an immature bird. At any rate, I think we can rule out immature female! I don't, however, think that Allen's can be ruled out. Contrary to what Mike wrote, I wouldn't rule out Allen's based on the width of the rectrices, especially if it is an adult female. Width of rectrices varies by sex and age class, with females having broader tail feathers than males. If it shows up again, try to get some tail shots! The bird has been here pretty consistently all day, but flits into the feeders for just a second--it's been very hard for anyone to photograph. People are welcome to come into the yard, but please don't park by the side yard--it will block the view for others, and make it hard for us and our neighbors to get out of the driveway. If you need directions, you can call me--email for my phone number or address. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Nancy Newfield's hummingbird comments
Nancy Newfield, one of the foremost authorities on hummingbird identification, writes: The bird is probably an immature male, based on the amount of rusty coloring around the face. A young male should also have a rusty colored rump and the central rectrices will predominately be rusty as well. The rump of a female should be green 99.9% of the time. Her central rectrices will be predominately green with a bit of rufous near the base. Most adult females have a central spot of iridescent red in the center of the throat. This can be more than half the throat or just a few red feathers. Immature females never have as much stippling and iridescence as this bird has. Details of color of the back, rump, and central rectrices are not viewable in the images, so your notes might be helpful here. It is impossible to determine whether the bird is a Rufous Hummingbird or an Allen's Hummingbird from the available evidence. The rusty undertail coverts clearly eliminate Broad-tailed Hummingbird from consideration. Rustiness around the face is often noted as a clue that an immature male Selasphorus may be an Allen's, and the rustiness of the flanks and shading of green on the back seem deeper on Allen's, but true identification should rely on more concrete criteria. My experience with Allen's is considerably less than my experience with Rufous, so I would not hazard a guess with the images available. If the bird has rusty colored feathers on its upper back, it is clearly a Rufous. If the back is entirely green, Allen's is indeed a possibility. Images of the rectrices are too blurry to permit detailed analysis, but the individual feathers appear to be a bit wider and longer than usual for Allen's. To me, the tail of an Allen's looks as if it were sharpened in a pencil sharpener. As for this bird's timing of feeding, I note that wintering hummers here in Louisiana often close up shop by mid afternoon. Hope this helps. Though it is not particularly satisfying, unless all identifying details can be documented, it is advisable to call it by the genus Selasphorus rufus/sasin. It's still dark outside. If the bird turns up today, I will post as soon as I notice it. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummer back on Thursday!
The hummingbird is back at my feeders--first appeared at 7:15 am, feeding heavily in the feeders near the fence--mainly the large feeder hanging in the box elder tree. He's also been perched quite a bit in the lilac bush. If you come, PLEASE look as carefully as you can at the back feathers, looking for rusty feathers or a definite lack of them, and at the shape of the tail feathers, and which tail feathers don't have rust. A couple of people have asked that I get the bird captured and moved to a warmer climate. I honestly believe this is inappropriate. First, in the few cases I know of hummingbirds being captured and transported, half have died, presumably from stress--it isn't a kindness to capture a wild bird merely for doing what it does naturally--and Rufous (and even Allen's) Hummingbirds are known to wander east regularly, and are overwintering farther and farther north. As tropical deforestation continues apace, perhaps those birds wintering in the US will contribute to the eventual survival of the species--right now, although Rufous Hummingbirds have healthy numbers, their numbers are declining . Also, the Rufous Hummingbird is the most northern-nesting of all hummingbirds, breeding even in the mountains in Alaska and northern Canada. It can handle at least some harsh conditions. I think it is wisest and most humane to allow the bird to continue to come as it chooses, and to move on when it's ready. Are my feeders enticing it to remain too long? It was already wandering this far north in November before it detected my feeders. It's been seen feeding at the tips of some branches--perhaps getting late insects or spiders--and so there has obviously been some natural food available for it. There are a great many feeders in Louisiana throughout the winter, but most hummingbirds move on despite the abundant food. The pattern with Rufous Hummingbirds seems to be that they remain in a place for days, or weeks, depending on a lot of factors, some we don't even know about, and so although my feeders are certainly providing it with extra calories, they are not what brought him here in the first place, and as far as I can tell, after talking with experts, the feeders will not entice him to remain longer than he would. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird update
The rufous/allen's hummingbird was back today, from 7:10 am on and off through 2:05 pm. He's most persistent and active in the morning. He spent the most time in the cherry tree feeder and the box elder feeder, but has also discovered the feeder I hung this morning on a dead aspen by the fence, and came at least once to my window feeder again. He apparently roosts between feeding in several different places. He's noisiest in the morning. I'm hoping to hear from a couple of people who got photos today--if any turned out and they're willing to share, I'll post on the hummingbird webpage. Any comments experts share about identifying him are also being added as they arrive. I'll bring in all my feeders in a little while, and get them out before light in the morning so they're a bit warmer when he wakes up. Today I purchased a protein mix to use in one feeder, and a large dog dish, a bird bath heater, and a hummingbird feeder top that fits nicely on it--tonight I'll find a place to set that up where there's easy viewing, and we'll see how he likes consistently warmer water. Laura Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummer back
The hummingbird is back in my yard this morning. First whizzed past my face at 7:20, but didn't appear at feeders until 7:33. Updates, photos (including two that Mike Hendrickson took yesterday), discussion, expert opinions, how and when to see it, and other related information is available at <http://www.lauraerickson.com/Birds/NovemberHummingbird.html> Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] More hummingbird details and photos
Today we got a few more photos that show details of the hummingbird, with some shots that pretty clearly show the tail feathers all being wide, supporting its identification as a Rufous. But the rump is not uniformly rusty--it's mostly green, as is the entire back, except for a couple of very rusty feathers on one side. Photos and other details, including Bob Janssen's listing of all Rufous Hummingbird sightings in Minnesota, is available at <http://www.lauraerickson.com/Birds/NovemberHummingbird.html> Today the bird first appeared momentarily at 7:22, fed at the feeders first at 7:33, and came to the feeders for the last time at 2:55. Thanks to everyone who came to see the bird--it's been great having so many people sharing their photos and working hard to see details that have been really tricky, what with the bird's general flittiness. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird Update: It's a girl!
Thanks to additional photos yesterday of the hummingbird's rump and tail feathers, Don Mitchell (master hummingbird bander who did a lot of work with Selasphorus in California) is convinced the bird is an adult female. Photos and Don's valuable comments are at the hummingbird page <http://www.lauraerickson.com/Birds/NovemberHummingbird.html> I also added 18 seconds of video footage (actually 9 seconds, only it's at half speed). My family is going to Florida on Tuesday, and will be gone until the following Wednesday. While we're gone, my mother-in-law will be here keeping the feeders going. It's a lot of work to bring them in at night and set them out in the morning, especially in dim light--she's 85--so if anyone is around to help some days, especially when it's slippery out there, I'd sure appreciate it. She will call me with updates, so tell her if there are any new developments in the identifying process, and though I won't be able to update the website while I'm gone, I will be able to call if there is a volunteer on both lists who can bring people up to date on new information. Denny Martin shot two rolls of film on her, and when those are developed, I will scan and add to the body of photos. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird back on Saturday
She appeared momentarily at 7:22. Then not again until 7:54. Dress warm--it's cold and windy today. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird update
She stayed today through 1 or 1:30, and then retreated for the day, so a few people didn't get to see her. I've posted some videos on the website: 1 Slow motion with Windows Media Player, 5 mb file <http://www.lauraerickson.com/graphics/Birds/LauraDigitalCamera/Hummingbird/RufousSlow18sec.wmv> 1 fairly long one of her feeding--has 3 feeding bouts--Real Media, 2 mb file <http://www.lauraerickson.com/graphics/Birds/LauraDigitalCamera/Hummingbird/Rufous3Clips.rm> 1 of her belly as she feeds--this has no useful data, but is pretty cute--Real Media, 0.9 mb. <http://www.lauraerickson.com/graphics/Birds/LauraDigitalCamera/Hummingbird/RufousFeedingClose.rm> Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Owl etiquette
I took a break from my hummingbird watch to go out to the bog this afternoon. I made just a cursory run through, but still found 9 Northern Hawk Owls and one grouse (which I didn't see long enough to be sure, but it was probably a Ruffed). I ran into more birders than owls, though. It's thrilling to have so many owls so close, and wonderful to be able to share the pleasures of northern owls, but the excitement is apparently causing some people to forget a few rules about owling. When you first drive up to an owl, stay in your car for a bit. Try to photograph from within the car first so if it does fly off when you get out, you at least have something. If you're with a group, it's smarter for the people on the far side of the car to get out first, or for everyone to slide over and get out on that side, and stay as a bunch--these northern owls are fairly easy going and calm around people, but if they have to move their head back and forth to keep track of more than one grouping, they sometimes feel a bit besieged and fly off. Close your car door quietly. Also, especially if you're dealing with a Great Gray Owl that is actively hunting, make sure you turn your car engine off so it can hear mice more easily. When you see a car pulled over, remember you're not at Yellowstone. If you want to stop, stop BEHIND the other car, or beyond it if you're coming from the other direction, and wait your turn in your car if someone or a group is photographing or scoping, at least for a reasonable time before getting out. If you want to pass, go slowly and don't call out, especially if your car is between them and the owl. Never EVER walk between a bird and someone scoping or photographing it. If in your exuberance you do cause an owl or two owls to fly away when someone is right in the middle of trying to photograph them, there is only one proper thing to say: "I'm sorry." You're going to cause a lot of hard feelings if you say, "There's plenty more around." I personally didn't have any trouble at all today, but talked to two different groups who did and were understandably very upset. This may well turn out to be the best owl year of our lifetimes, at least from a birding perspective. Let's keep it fun and productive for everyone, and minimize the stress on the birds at the same time. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird early morning
It's 28 degrees this morning, but the sky is almost clear--just enough pink clouds to be lovely--and there's no wind. The hummingbird appeared at the earliest time I've recorded so far--7:08. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] More hummer photos
I took two photos through my window this morning about 11:15 that aren't the best but do add to the tail feather details that we have. She's not spending any time stretching or preening when perched, which indicates to me that she's at least moderately stressed. I haven't noticed her taking any insects today, but it's been pretty cold. So far she's shown little interest in the one feeder that has a protein supplement (Kaytee Exact handfeeding mix). If anyone has suggestions for other ways I could be enhancing or supplementing her diet, please let me know. If the hummingbird is not bulked up, she probably won't leave--she seemed quite unusually hungry the day she arrived, and may have been searching for many, many miles for a meal before she found my feeder. But if she succumbs, at least we could have the carcass at the Bell's if someone will search. So if it does get cold in the coming week, when I'm out of town, and if she suddenly disappears, I guess it would be a good idea for someone to check under my trees--I think she's spent at least a couple of nights roosting in one of the spruce trees in the front yard. My mother-in-law will be here, but is 85 so I don't want her traipsing around the yard in the cold looking. Val Cunningham is going to call my mother-in-law periodically while we're gone and will send to the listserves any updates.For those who are very concerned about the little bird's well-being and think we should somehow interfere, in the vast majority of cases I've learned about when people have retrieved a hummingbird to save it and transport it to a better location, the bird died, probably mostly from the stress of capture, so the US Fish and Wildlife Service no longer issues permits for this purpose. We'll do everything in our power to keep her going as a wild (albeit somewhat subsidized) bird. The rest is up to her. <http://www.lauraerickson.com/Birds/NovemberHummingbird.html> Oh--I decided to call her Viola, after the character in The Twelfth Night who tricks people into thinking she's a boy for a while. Like Viola, she's intelligent, feisty, and independent. I hope that, as in The Twelfth Night, this story has a happy ending. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] More hummingbird photos
James Mattsson took some splendid photos today which are on the hummingbird page <http://www.lauraerickson.com/Birds/NovemberHummingbird.html>. It was very cold today, and I don't believe anyone caught her preening or stretching at all. This concerns me, because birds stop preening and stretching when stressed. Tomorrow I will take Kelly Larson's advice and add some pureed mealworms to one feeder and see how she likes that. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird back, November 22
She first appeared this morning at 7:10. The temperature didn't drop nearly as much as forecast--it was 30 degrees when I woke up. I mashed up mealworms to put in her favorite feeder, where she always comes first, but she seemed somewhat disturbed that it wasn't the same as she expected, and only sampled it a bit before moving to a "real" feeder. She came back a little while later and sipped again, but didn't take the long drinks there that she usually does. I'll see if she adjusts to it as the morning goes on. Meanwhile, I removed a few of the feeders that she seldom visits, partly in hopes that she'll think her food resources are drying up and it's time to move on, and partly so my mother-in-law won't have so much to attend to. There should be some insect activity today, because the temperature is supposed to reach the 40s and it's nice and sunny. I'm hoping today will be the day that I can write, "Last seen at 10:00 am," which will mean she's moved on. The photos we have so far seem to all support Rufous, but because of the variation among individuals, I don't think we've entirely ruled out the unlikely possibility of Allen's--there looks like there just may be a notch in the R2 feather in the photos I took yesterday, but the photos aren't crisp enough for certainty. With the sunny and (relatively) balmy conditions forecast today (the last day expected to be like this for a while), maybe she'll preen once or twice, if anyone happens to be around with a camera. I'll be pretty busy, but will at least try to get another few photos. Today will be the last day I post about her or update the webpage until I return next Wednesday morning. Val Cunningham will keep the lists updated as much as possible. Please post any new information you happen to notice, which I will at least get to see when I return. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Re: [mnbird] Sax Zim thought
Shaun's comments about wearing binoculars into restaurants and gas stations, and also trying to boost the local economy in the Sax-Zim area are very important. And there's more than one reason to let locals know you're a birder. Not only can we give people a good impression of us, and let them know that it's in their own self-interest to maintain bird habitat, but also we can get good tips about where birds are. Once when I was in the grocery store in Meadowlands, and mentioned to the cashier that I was there birding, she told me about a Great Gray Owl that had been frequenting her property, and gave me precise directions. And several times when I've been in the gas/station-coffee shop, people sitting around have started asking questions and telling their own owl stories. It's a great way to build bridges that will help us all in the long run. And it's good for the birds as well. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] More tail shots!
Dave Cahlander just left a few minutes ago, after photographing much of the morning. He managed to get the clearest tail shot yet, which you can see at <http://www.lauraerickson.com/graphics/Birds/LauraDigitalCamera/Hummingbird/DCahlanderIMG_4996.jpg> He burned a CD of his photos before he left, so they're already up on the web page. As always, updates and all photos are at <http://www.lauraerickson.com/Birds/NovemberHummingbird.html> If the page isn't showing information that I've said is on there, press your browser's "Refresh" button, because a lot of time browsers keep pages like this in their temporary internet files, and display the older version for a day. I'm afraid the last I see her is going to be within the next two hours, because we're leaving in the morning before sunup and she goes into hiding in mid-afternoon. Here's wishing her a safe and quick departure, or unprecedented hardiness! Laura Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Sheri Williamson weighs in on the hummingbird
Sheri Williamson (author of the Peterson hummingbird field guide) was out of town when I wrote to her about the hummingbird coming to my feeder. She answered me yesterday: "I'm solidly with Don (Mitchell) on this being an adult female, based on the relatively large gorget patch with small, oval iridescent areas on feathers around its edge (they'd be big and round in an immature male) and the amount and distribution of white in the tail (more than typical for juvenile males). I also agree with Don that the slight emargination at the tip of R2 (more a subtle "nipple" than a distinct notch) indicates Rufous. In this age/sex category, I'd expect much narrower tail feathers than this bird shows, though, as Don suggests, eyeballing rectrix width is tricky business except for individuals near the far ends of their respective bell curves. Still, I'd have no qualms about recommending that this bird be accepted into the state records as a Rufous." Sheri added some points about feeding, and about when she might move on: "Warming the solution is a great idea (she won't have to use as many calories to bring each sip up to her body temperature), but I'd strongly advise switching to 1:3 or even slightly stronger as soon as possible (though with a weaker solution in a second feeder nearby so that she has a choice). Though she's in primary molt and could use some protein, what she needs most right now is to store some fat so that she can move on if/when her instincts tell her to. The fact that this is an adult bird suggests that she's successfully passed at least one winter somewhere south or east of you. My suspicion is that she was headed there when she "ran out of gas" and got stuck around the only reliable energy source she could find. If you bump up the caloric content of the feeder solution, she may be able to tip her energy balance back toward having enough excess to rebuild some fat deposits." The hummingbird was at the feeder on and off all day, with the high temperature 39. She last appeared in the upstairs window feeder at 2:44 pm. I'd like to thank Val Cunningham for keeping birders abreast of the news about her, and my mother-in-law for keeping the feeders filled and fresh. I'll be updating the webpage tonight, so if anyone has photos they'd like me to add to the collection, please send them. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] December hummingbird
Viola the hummingbird first appeared at 7:17 this morning. It's windy and 25 degrees. Today I'm going to figure out another system for the heated water since not one person has seen her go to the other heated feeder. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird update
Today was very cold, and the hummingbird spent her longest day feeding ever--from 7:17 am through 4:06 pm. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] Hummingbird in the snow
It's 18 degrees and snowing, and the hummingbird arrived at 7:32 am. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
[mou] RFI: Disposition of dead owls
Is anyone collecting dead owls this winter for study? I just received an inquiry about what to do about a dead "Barred Owl" hit by a car near Brimson. Is anyone studying them to see what condition their bodies are in? If not, is there a good institution where they should be brought? Laura Erickson Duluth, MN NOTE address change: blue...@lauraerickson.com Producer, "For the Birds" radio program <http://www.lauraerickson.com/> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson
