Sunday, March 27, 2011
March 20
Migration is one of the most riveting of bird behaviors, marking the seasons and varying our bird lists over the course of a year. Migration may also be the saving grace of some species as climate change alters the world. Some migrations are epic and long distance. We’ve talked about the migration of the Aleutian Canada Goose in an earlier post. They move from the Arctic to at least California’s Central Valley, with a dramatic stop-over in Crescent City. Other birds move short distances, from the mountains in summer to warmer valleys in winter. Regardless, migrating birds must store up fat before departing, and apparently beef up their muscle tone as well. That is doubtless what those Sandhill Cranes were doing in agricultural fields in the Delta. Birds have an annual clock that prompts readiness to migrate as well as the ability to be flexible when it rains or is windy in the wrong direction. Birds have genetic encoding that directs their flight, especially for younger fliers. In addition, they also use magnetic north sensors and the sun and stars to guide their flight. They also sense the land, or sea, and avoid barriers. We’ve had Dark-eyed Juncos at our bird feeders in the mountains last month and this. They are seed-eaters. They are variable migraters, travelling from none to 2500 miles, according to the literature, so it is difficult to know where our travelers have been. They come every year, however. The females apparently migrate further than the males (up to 300 miles further in some studies), so perhaps ours are a girls’ club travelling to the summer breeding spot. Finally, Juncos are a little snow-tolerant, so we are trying to believe that their arrival heralds spring, even though it is still snowing in our foothills. Total to 3-20: 60
Friday, March 18, 2011
March 14
We have a few more new birds to add to our list from Duck Days. We saw Yellow-Billed Magpies. These are abundant, noisy birds foraging in fields and roadside vegetation. They have a lively blue and black coloring, an unusually long tail, and a bright yellow beak. They are gregarious, and seem to like acorns, along with insects and other animal and plant food. Yellow-billed Magpies are found only in California; their Black-billed cousins are found all over the rest of North America, Europe and Asia. It is interesting to speculate what happiness of evolution brought that yellow bill to our magpies.
We also saw American Crows. Its rounded tail and relatively smaller size distinguish this all-black bird from the Raven. Crows are as sociable as Magpies and seem to flourish in fields and roadsides (and also suburban neighborhoods). They are damaging to crops when their flocks converge, leading, of course, to scarecrows. These are clever and adaptive birds.
We saw a Western Bluebird. These blue and russet birds are the perfect image of a child’s bird, plump and colorful. They nest in cavities, either natural holes or woodpecker holes. We saw a noisy little group of Cedar Waxwings, with their yellow bellies and bandit’s black mask on a brown head. It may be the pointy little cowlick at the back of their head, but mask and cowlick combine to make an antic looking fellow. They are berry eaters, when available.
We saw White-crowned Sparrows, hopping about in low brush next to the river. Their natty black-and-white-striped crowns are striking. Most of these birds migrate to the far north to breed. The literature on the birds suggest that White-crowned Sparrows develop distinctive dialects in their songs, learned in the next from listening to the males sing. We saw Red-winged Blackbirds. Like so many of the birds we describe here, they are social birds, foraging in little flocks. They are glossy black birds, with bright red soldier patches.
Finally, we saw, and heard, Western Meadowlarks. These birds forage, nest and sing on the ground. They have a black, V-shaped band on their yellow breasts, and tip up their beaks to throw their songs to the sky. They eat both insects and seeds.
That concludes our Duck Days sightings. We will continue to post as we move toward 100 different birds!
Total to 3-14: 59
We also saw American Crows. Its rounded tail and relatively smaller size distinguish this all-black bird from the Raven. Crows are as sociable as Magpies and seem to flourish in fields and roadsides (and also suburban neighborhoods). They are damaging to crops when their flocks converge, leading, of course, to scarecrows. These are clever and adaptive birds.
We saw a Western Bluebird. These blue and russet birds are the perfect image of a child’s bird, plump and colorful. They nest in cavities, either natural holes or woodpecker holes. We saw a noisy little group of Cedar Waxwings, with their yellow bellies and bandit’s black mask on a brown head. It may be the pointy little cowlick at the back of their head, but mask and cowlick combine to make an antic looking fellow. They are berry eaters, when available.
We saw White-crowned Sparrows, hopping about in low brush next to the river. Their natty black-and-white-striped crowns are striking. Most of these birds migrate to the far north to breed. The literature on the birds suggest that White-crowned Sparrows develop distinctive dialects in their songs, learned in the next from listening to the males sing. We saw Red-winged Blackbirds. Like so many of the birds we describe here, they are social birds, foraging in little flocks. They are glossy black birds, with bright red soldier patches.
Finally, we saw, and heard, Western Meadowlarks. These birds forage, nest and sing on the ground. They have a black, V-shaped band on their yellow breasts, and tip up their beaks to throw their songs to the sky. They eat both insects and seeds.
That concludes our Duck Days sightings. We will continue to post as we move toward 100 different birds!
Total to 3-14: 59
Monday, March 14, 2011
March 10
As we wound our way through the eastern side of the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, we stopped at various viewing points, some with calm waters and others with a swift current.
We saw Northern Pintail ducks, adding to our growing list of dabbling ducks. The handsome males have a chocolate-colored head with a long and elegant neck, the white continuing in a thin stripe up the side onto the head. They have striking black tail feathers that extend well beyond the usual tail line. The literature on Pintails say that they often nest with gulls and terns, as these more aggressive birds will mob crows, magpies and other nest predators. It wasn’t clear to us that the Pintails were nesting, but they were indeed hanging about with terns.
And so we saw Forster’s Terns, those sleekest of water birds. They are snowy white and gray, with a black cap and nape of the neck and a deeply forked tail. They were on patrol, moving over the shallow water looking for prey. We did not see the fast dives with which they scoop small aquatic critters from the water; perhaps the deli was closed when we were there. And we saw California Gulls. We claim this with some trepidation, as gulls are notoriously difficult to identify. But we saw an adult gull with yellow bill that had a red spot, and were assured by our tour leader that the California gulls are what is here.
We saw a couple of Northern Harriers. Binoculars are not needed to identify these raptors when they are hunting. They do indeed harry their prey, flying low over fields with a flash of their white rump and their black wing tips. In early days this bird was called a Marsh hawk, but we saw them hunting over agricultural fields. When harrying, their wings are in a V-shape. Had we been able to see one very close, we would have seen a disc-like face, similar to that of an owl. These birds apparently hear their prey as much as see it, with the disc providing acute hearing.
We have already recorded seeing Red-Tailed Hawks. On this journey we saw what was described as a Dark Morph of this bird, sitting on a fence post on patrol. The lack of visible belly band and overall darker look is a reminder that many birds have their own individual look, and don’t always appear precisely like their bird book drawings.
We saw an American Kestrel. These small falcons are distinctive, with their double black vertical stripes on a white face, and their blue and rusty feathers. These birds used to be called Sparrow Hawks, apparently after a European hawk instead of their relatively modest size.
We saw Killdeer, that common shorebird. More accurately, we heard and saw them, since their distinctive ‘kill-dee’ is a clear identifier. Killdeer are plovers, but in addition to marsh and shoreline areas, they are comfortable in fields and hedges. In fact, they appear to like the same grain and grass areas that the Sandhill Cranes prefer. The distinctive black bands around the Killdeer neck and its bright orangish rump make these birds easy to identify. And we saw American Avocet, a good sized shorebird, black and white with a long beak curved upward at the end. When breeding, Avocet necks turn a brick-like color; they were not in breeding plumage this early in the year. These birds have long legs, and when feeding they sweep their long bills back and forth through the water like a scythe.
We have a few more Duck Days finds to report in our next post.
Total to 3/10: 52
We saw Northern Pintail ducks, adding to our growing list of dabbling ducks. The handsome males have a chocolate-colored head with a long and elegant neck, the white continuing in a thin stripe up the side onto the head. They have striking black tail feathers that extend well beyond the usual tail line. The literature on Pintails say that they often nest with gulls and terns, as these more aggressive birds will mob crows, magpies and other nest predators. It wasn’t clear to us that the Pintails were nesting, but they were indeed hanging about with terns.
And so we saw Forster’s Terns, those sleekest of water birds. They are snowy white and gray, with a black cap and nape of the neck and a deeply forked tail. They were on patrol, moving over the shallow water looking for prey. We did not see the fast dives with which they scoop small aquatic critters from the water; perhaps the deli was closed when we were there. And we saw California Gulls. We claim this with some trepidation, as gulls are notoriously difficult to identify. But we saw an adult gull with yellow bill that had a red spot, and were assured by our tour leader that the California gulls are what is here.
We saw a couple of Northern Harriers. Binoculars are not needed to identify these raptors when they are hunting. They do indeed harry their prey, flying low over fields with a flash of their white rump and their black wing tips. In early days this bird was called a Marsh hawk, but we saw them hunting over agricultural fields. When harrying, their wings are in a V-shape. Had we been able to see one very close, we would have seen a disc-like face, similar to that of an owl. These birds apparently hear their prey as much as see it, with the disc providing acute hearing.
We have already recorded seeing Red-Tailed Hawks. On this journey we saw what was described as a Dark Morph of this bird, sitting on a fence post on patrol. The lack of visible belly band and overall darker look is a reminder that many birds have their own individual look, and don’t always appear precisely like their bird book drawings.
We saw an American Kestrel. These small falcons are distinctive, with their double black vertical stripes on a white face, and their blue and rusty feathers. These birds used to be called Sparrow Hawks, apparently after a European hawk instead of their relatively modest size.
We saw Killdeer, that common shorebird. More accurately, we heard and saw them, since their distinctive ‘kill-dee’ is a clear identifier. Killdeer are plovers, but in addition to marsh and shoreline areas, they are comfortable in fields and hedges. In fact, they appear to like the same grain and grass areas that the Sandhill Cranes prefer. The distinctive black bands around the Killdeer neck and its bright orangish rump make these birds easy to identify. And we saw American Avocet, a good sized shorebird, black and white with a long beak curved upward at the end. When breeding, Avocet necks turn a brick-like color; they were not in breeding plumage this early in the year. These birds have long legs, and when feeding they sweep their long bills back and forth through the water like a scythe.
We have a few more Duck Days finds to report in our next post.
Total to 3/10: 52
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
March 3
In Birds We Trust participated in a full-on frolic with the California Duck Days in Davis February 25-26. The festival began with an art show for young Yolo County artists’ entries for the Junior Duck Stamp competition. And they were stunning, interesting, showing detailed observation. It was a real community event, with donated food and wine and a cheerful crowd. The day long events on Saturday included educational workshops and non-profit vendor tables. Jaci learned to recognize various kinds of poop; Catherine practiced drawing ducks; Rhoda learned about hawks and native plants. In the afternoon, we took a travelling bird-watching tour of the east side of the Delta, including spots with still water, moving water, and riparian areas (thank you, Sami!).
The high point was the opportunity to view Sandhill Cranes, in large numbers in various locations. To quote Jaci, the most spectacular sighting came at the end of the day, watching the cranes come in for the night to fields along the Cosumnes River, viewed against the sun setting over Mr. Diablo…extraordinary, simply awesome. 3,000 – 6,000 collect each winter in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. They include two linked species: large and small. The species are marked similarly, and we couldn’t tell any difference. However, we did learn that it is the large cranes that fly north to Tule Lake, and so are likely who we saw in January. The smaller cranes fly all the way to the Arctic. As remarkable as their evening fly-in is the guttural chatter they engage in as they fly and graze. We saw at least one crane dance, bowing and spreading wings. These large creatures are born to dance.
We saw 35 different birds on our field trip, with a possible sighting of a 36th (was that a Western Grebe?) and a 37th if we could count the Swainson’s Hawk, an endangered species, who was shown captive in the educational exhibits at Duck Days (we won’t, sticking to birds we really do identify in the wild). Some of these birds were new additions to our growing list.
We saw Snowy Egrets. These birds are smaller than the Great Egret (duh!), and have a black bill, black legs, and yellow feet (sometimes called the egret with the ‘golden slippers). These birds have bounced back from extensive hunting in the early part of the 20th century for their plumes, which were more valuable than gold. We also saw Black-Crowned Night Herons. These birds hunker in the trees, their necks disappearing, and often in sociable groups. They are night hunters, which is why they loom in the trees during the daylight viewing hours.
We saw Tundra Swans, flying in small groups, their black beaks and straight necks when flying. These inspiring birds also mate for life, like Sandhill Cranes. We saw Greater White-fronted Geese. They are grayish-brown, and have a white band at the base of the bill and a white rump. These geese winter in enormous numbers in the central valley, and it is encouraging to hear their chattering calls of encouragement to each other to stay in line as they fly. We also saw Snow Geese. These have more white on their heads, necks and bellies, and, when seen closer, have a dark ‘grin’ that runs along their beak. These also gather in large numbers in the Valley.
Total, to 3/3: 45
The high point was the opportunity to view Sandhill Cranes, in large numbers in various locations. To quote Jaci, the most spectacular sighting came at the end of the day, watching the cranes come in for the night to fields along the Cosumnes River, viewed against the sun setting over Mr. Diablo…extraordinary, simply awesome. 3,000 – 6,000 collect each winter in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. They include two linked species: large and small. The species are marked similarly, and we couldn’t tell any difference. However, we did learn that it is the large cranes that fly north to Tule Lake, and so are likely who we saw in January. The smaller cranes fly all the way to the Arctic. As remarkable as their evening fly-in is the guttural chatter they engage in as they fly and graze. We saw at least one crane dance, bowing and spreading wings. These large creatures are born to dance.
We saw 35 different birds on our field trip, with a possible sighting of a 36th (was that a Western Grebe?) and a 37th if we could count the Swainson’s Hawk, an endangered species, who was shown captive in the educational exhibits at Duck Days (we won’t, sticking to birds we really do identify in the wild). Some of these birds were new additions to our growing list.
We saw Snowy Egrets. These birds are smaller than the Great Egret (duh!), and have a black bill, black legs, and yellow feet (sometimes called the egret with the ‘golden slippers). These birds have bounced back from extensive hunting in the early part of the 20th century for their plumes, which were more valuable than gold. We also saw Black-Crowned Night Herons. These birds hunker in the trees, their necks disappearing, and often in sociable groups. They are night hunters, which is why they loom in the trees during the daylight viewing hours.
We saw Tundra Swans, flying in small groups, their black beaks and straight necks when flying. These inspiring birds also mate for life, like Sandhill Cranes. We saw Greater White-fronted Geese. They are grayish-brown, and have a white band at the base of the bill and a white rump. These geese winter in enormous numbers in the central valley, and it is encouraging to hear their chattering calls of encouragement to each other to stay in line as they fly. We also saw Snow Geese. These have more white on their heads, necks and bellies, and, when seen closer, have a dark ‘grin’ that runs along their beak. These also gather in large numbers in the Valley.
Total, to 3/3: 45
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