Common Loon Reproductive Success in Canada

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Richard

Bird Studies Canada recently published an article in the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology summarizing patterns in Common Loon reproductive success between 1992-2010 across southern Canada, using data collected by participants in BSC’s Canadian Lakes Loon Survey. The reproductive success of the Common Loon is a good indicator of the health of waterways, especially in relation to mercury and acid precipitation. The overall goal of the study was to indirectly describe the health of lakes in southern Canada in relation to these pollutants.

Photo: Frank & Sandra Horvath

Photo: Frank & Sandra Horvath

The authors found that the number of young produced was higher in the western provinces than in Atlantic Canada; was lower in 2010 than it was 19 years earlier; was higher in larger lakes than in smaller ones; and was lower where lake acidity was higher. These relationships are likely linked to mercury exposure and acid-related reductions in food. The results show that citizen science is powerful for monitoring ecosystem health, and indirectly support action to reduce emissions of mercury and the harmful components of acid precipitation.
Visit the ACE website to read the full article by Dr. Doug Tozer, Myles Falconer, and Debbie Badzinski. For a summary of the research from BirdWatch Canada, select this link.

Posted in Bird conservation | Tagged , | Comments Off on Common Loon Reproductive Success in Canada

Drilling for “oil” in the nursery

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Richard

A disturbing article on the effect of tar sands on birds from Canadian blogger Sharon McInnes:

Some of Enbridge’s oil tanks are decorated with illustrations of lovely Canada Geese in flight. Let’s just hope they don’t land in the tar sands tailing ponds.

Enbridge tanks

Almost all the largest oil companies are currently mining and drilling in the Boreal forest and wetlands where more than half of the birds of North America nest. According to The Boreal Forest Region: North America’s Bird Nursery the Boreal Forest is the preferred breeding ground (i.e. they do over 50% of their breeding there) of 96 Western Hemisphere bird species. And a total of 276 species breed within the area when you count species that do at least 5% of their breeding there.

Boreal Forest. Photo by Olga Oslina. Flick’r CC image.

Here’s the bad news: according to the National Resources Defence Council’s December 2008 report, Danger in the Nursery: Impact on Birds of Tar Sands Oil Development in Canada’s Boreal Forest, over the next 30 to 50 years between 6 million and 166 million more birds could be lost as a result of tar sands development, this in addition to the ever-increasing number of species already declining at alarming rates.

Athabasca_2011_jpeg_492x0_q85_crop-smart

Tar sand deposits lie under 141,000 square kilometres of boreal forest and muskeg. NASA photo 2011

Let’s be clear: tar sands are not oil. They are a mixture of approximately 10% bitumen mixed with sand, clay, silt, and water. Bitumen is “what a desperate civilization mines after it’s depleted its cheap oil.” (Tar Sands, Andrew Nikiforuk, 2010) Getting it from its raw state to a state in which it will flow through a pipeline takes a mind-boggling amount of fresh water, a complex network of roads, pipelines, well pads, compressor stations, energy generation facilities, and tailing ponds. It means the devastation of the forest covering the tar sands along with every living thing that called that forest home. Whether the tar is extracted by open-pit mining using 400-ton 3-story high trucks and electric shovels worth $15 million each, or by ‘in situ’ drilling, the result is the same: massive habitat loss and fragmentation, contaminated air and water, loss of huge volumes of water from wetlands, lakes, and rivers, and greenhouse gas emissions triple those of conventional oil drilling. Global warming is just one of the nasty results.

Read the rest of the post

Posted in Bird conservation, Conservation | Comments Off on Drilling for “oil” in the nursery

Songs of Spring

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Richard

As the days get into the 40’s and the snow slowly melts, it’s great for Vermont’s maple syrup producers but also a spring tonic for birds and birders.  Suddenly, there’s a lot more avian vocal activity in our woods and it is heartening.  Yesterday morning on an early walk, I noticed all the different calls and songs coming from the ubiquitous Black-capped Chickadees who have toughed it out all winter and ready to celebrate.

Then, further up in our woods, I heard the distinctive call of a Red-shouldered Hawk off in the trees.  I listened for five or ten minutes but when I tried to get a little closer, either the dog or I may have spooked it.  Mary thinks she saw it later in the day.  We’ve had a family or two of RSHA’s in the area for the last few years and it’s nice to have them back.

I heard some tentative singing from what sounded like a Golden-crowned Kinglet mixed in with chickadee calls.  I had my iPhone and played a recording briefly, and that kinglet just let it fly.  It sang for five or ten minutes but other than a brief glimpse, I never did get a good look.  I moved on as it merrily kept cranking out it’s territorial song.

This Common Merganser was one of the quiet birds I saw yesterday.

This Common Merganser was one of the quiet birds I saw yesterday.

It was only a week or so ago when I was searching for Red-winged Blackbirds and excited to see my first of the year.  Now, they are everywhere.  At Berlin Pond yesterday, dozens sang from trees and cattail stalks in a wonderful chorus of Konk-kor-ree’s.  I even saw a dozen or more fly over this morning on their way further north.  They are truly a sound of spring.

 

One of the many RWBBs that I saw, and heard, yesterday.

One of the many RWBBs that I saw, and heard, yesterday.

This morning, out again early with the dog, I heard, over the tin horn tooting of a Red-breasted Nuthatch, some Canada Geese.  Sure enough, a small skein of honkers noisily flew over on their way north.  It’s a little unusual — we are not on a normal flight path for them so it was fun to watch them, and hear them, drown out the other birds as they motored north.  Now, to hear some Eastern Bluebirds, White-throated Sparrows, and the first warblers.

A small skein of Canada Geese overflying the woods this morning, honking all the way.

A small skein of Canada Geese overflying the woods this morning, honking all the way. They are right in the middle of the photo.

 

Posted in Local Birding, Vermont Birding, Washington County | 1 Comment

The Art of Birdering

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Richard

Here’s a humorous post from a blogger on the West Coast:

Last winter, I joined Dennis Vollmar for an epic birding trip to Washington.  We saw EMPEROR GOOSE, KING EIDER, YELLOW-BILLED LOON, NORTHERN HAWK-OWL, GYRFALCON, and COMMON REDPOLL.  The birding was amazing throughout, however Damon Point provided excellent opportunity for some birdering.

Birdering is of course the sport of watching birders; the nerdier, the better.  As I walked along the mile peninsula to the huge concentration of birders gathered at the end, I knew that conditions were perfect for a once in a lifetime morning of birdering.  Winter storms had drawn the birders here from around the country and they were so focused on the birds that they allowed extremely close approach.  However,  every time I lined up the perfect shot of a birder, the same SNOWY OWL would fly right through the shot, photobombing it all the way.  This occurred time and time again until I finally gave up all efforts of documentation and left the birders to their strange and poorly understood rituals.

Notice the fine winter plumage of this pair. Facial hair is usually a reliable field mark which can be used to sex birders in the field during the winter season. The birder on the right foreground is a male and the other is presumably his mate.

Notice the fine winter plumage of this pair. Facial hair is usually a reliable field mark which can be used to sex birders in the field during the winter season. The birder on the right foreground is a male and the other is presumably his mate.

Read the whole blog post.

Posted in humor | 1 Comment

Birding on the First Day of Spring

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Richard

We got about a foot of new snow Monday and all day, the birds hit the feeders pretty hard.  It was interesting to see some of them pause under the feeder’s eaves to take a break out of the snowfall.  One Red-breasted Nuthatch sat there, nearly motionless, for about 15 minutes before finally flying off with his sunflower seed.

So Tuesday, the first day of spring, was beautiful but not too birdy.  Chickadees, like this one, were active as usual and doing all their spring calls as we took our first walk.

Nothing stops chickadees from getting their breakfast.

Nothing stops chickadees from getting their breakfast.

As the dog and I started out to the drumming of a Hairy Woodpecker, we headed up into the red pine grove.  I was on snowshoes and Penny ranged ahead — until some gusts of wind started dumping snow off the trees.  Here she is heading back to me all a dither.  It only lasted for five minutes.

The Vizsla does not like surprise snow dumps like this one.

The Vizsla does not like surprise snow dumps like this one.

We weren’t seeing a lot of birds but it was a good workout in the new snow.  We made a long loop and came out on a west-facing slope where I found several birds’ nests that overlook the Shady Rill brook and road.  Here’s my favorite with an old barn below.

Bird Rm with vu. Avail May.

Bird Rm with vu. Avail May.

When we returned to the house, about an hour and a half later, we found the thistle feeder and feeders covered with Common Redpolls.

RedpollsFeeder2W

RedpollsFeederW

Posted in Backyard birds, Birding With Penny, Local Birding, Vermont Birding, Yard birds | Comments Off on Birding on the First Day of Spring

Happy Spring – Not!

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Richard

Normally, we’d still be in Texas this time of year, enjoying some of the early migrating birds, and planning our trip back to Vermont.  This year we stayed home – and yesterday’s late snowstorm of a foot or more (and still coming) did not give us a “Hey, it’s the first day of Spring!” feeling when we awoke this morning.  The Airstream may not be dreaming of being in warmer climes – but we are.

Posted in Vermont Birding | Comments Off on Happy Spring – Not!

April Birding Events in Central Vermont

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Richard

After a morning of 4 degrees and a forecast of a foot or more of snow, it is encouraging to see calendars of birding events popping up on local web sites.  I took three local groups and put their outings on a Google Calendar which you can visit here.

Screen Shot 2013-03-18 at 8.12.49 PM

 

The North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier has a wonderful series of bird walks that are free to members ($25 single/$50 family) or for $10 for non-members.  Led by expert birders, they are low key and popular with skilled birders and beginners.  They are on Fridays and Saturdays in April/May.

The MadBirders club in the Mad River Valley is a collection of avid birders who have a great schedule of events, ranging from the Valley floor to the top of Mount Ellen.  The dues are only $15 a year for individuals/$20 for families, and they welcome newcomers.

Over in Huntington is the Birds of Vermont Museum, a must-see venue for any birder.  They have a bird monitoring walk on their property the last Saturday of each month.  The event is free but they ask that you pre-register by emailing museum@birdsofvermont.org or calling (802) 434-2167.

Are there other bird walks in April in Central Vermont that I’ve missed?  Mention them in the comment section and I’ll add them to the calendar.  Good birding.

Posted in Bird walks, Local Birding, Vermont Birding | 1 Comment

A Low Expectation Saturday Outing

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Richard

Things are really slow birding-wise right now with some of the winter birds gone (haven’t seen Common Redpolls for a few days) and just a few early arrivals.  We’re seeing some Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and a few Killdeer but it will be a few weeks until water opens up more and we get more activity.  So, not expecting much this morning, I headed out with the dog in the truck to check out a few of the back roads.  We had an inch or two of snow last night and the temperature was in the 20’s — nice morning for January but not as welcome, to some of us, in mid-March.

It was early Saturday morning — things just waking up — when I drove into downtown Montpelier.  I noted a swirl of a dozen rock pigeons and then saw a raptor cruising along, having probably made a pass at them.  Big, long tail, easy wing-strokes, and a brief look as it headed west.  I also had to dodge a sidewalk snowplow and city sand truck but the look and the Jizz* told me — Cooper’s Hawk.  I snaked my way up State Street, hoping to see it perched, but no luck.  I pulled over, entered it into Birdlog on my iPhone, and had a new County bird for the year.

Encouraged by such a great start, I headed out on some back roads that we often cruise on local bird outings.  At one reliable spot, I saw a flash of red and sure enough, a pair of Northern Cardinals brightened the dull morning scene.  I saw all the normal suspects (blue jays, titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, and crows) and then moved off to a pull-off along the Winooski River where Canada Geese and four Hooded Mergansers plied the icy waters.  Here’s one of the few pictures I took:

Five geese ignore a male Hoodie paddling through the ice flows on the Winooski River. photo dickmfield

Five geese ignore a male Hoodie paddling through the ice flows on the Winooski River. photo by dickmfield

Returning on the rut-frozen River Road, I picked up a couple of Common Grackles – a species that I had yet to see this year — and drove home hoping to spot a Red-tailed Hawk.  Stopping to pick up coffee and a killer scone at Birchgrove Baking (to bring home to share with Mary) made a nice end to a nice outing.

*Jizz is a term used by birders to describe the overall impression or appearance of a bird garnered from such features as shape, posture, flying style or other habitual movements, size and colouration combined with voice, habitat and location.

Sign up by RSS feed or via email to have future articles sent to you. 

Posted in County Big Year, Local Birding, Vermont Birding, Washington County | Tagged , | Comments Off on A Low Expectation Saturday Outing

iPhone Digiscoping: Video Grabs

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Richard

Drew Weber,  a young ornithologist originally from PA but now living in central New York, is pursuing a master’s degree at Penn State University studying grassland birds and their relationships with different agricultural practices.  Not long ago, he posted a wonderful article on the Nemesis Bird blog, the first part of which, I have included below.  Unfortunately, I have an iPhone 4 but this may push me to upgrade.

iPhones have dramatically expanded the number of people that are digiscoping, and successfully getting great photos while they are out birding, without having to lug a big SLR + lens around. With digiscoping adapter cases that fit most scopes, the barrier to digiscoping has been greatly lowered. Lots of birders are getting great images with less effort than they would have imagined just a couple years ago.

Sometimes you are not looking for a publishable photo however, and just need to be sure that you can get an identifiable image of a bird, especially if it is rare and you are trying to document it. In these cases, it can be extremely tedious to try to time your finger on the shutter so that you get a nice profile image. Or it is skulking low in the bushes and you are having a hard time keeping it in your view.

The answer is video. The iPhone, especially the newer iPhone 4S and 5 models, have stellar video capabilities. Instead of trying to time your photos, you can just leave the video mode running and then go back later and grab a still image from the video. There are two easy ways that you can do this.

For my examples I will be grabbing a clip from a following video I shot at Webster Park in Rochester last fall.

Native method

The method uses the iPhone native method for getting a screengrab. At any point, you can push the Home and Sleep buttons simultaneously and the screen will flash. Whatever was on your screen will now be saved as a photo in your camera roll as a 960 x 640 pixel image.

  1. Take your video.

  2. Open the Photos app and find the video.

  3. Play your video until you find an image that you want to save and tap pause. You may have to tap the screen first to show the pause button.

  4. If you took the video in landscape mode, hold the screen in portrait mode and double-tap. This will zoom in and if you are lucky your bird will be in the middle. If not, double tap again to zoom out.

  5. If the controls are showing, tap once in the middle of the screen to make them disappear.

  6. Press both the Home and Sleep buttons simultaneously.

  7. Your screen grab is now ready to upload to Facebook, Flickr (to embed in eBird) and to SMS out to your friends to tell them of your good fortune, or ask for ID help.

Read the rest of the article

Posted in Digiscoping, iPhone | Comments Off on iPhone Digiscoping: Video Grabs

Declining Grassland Birds & Pesticides

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Richard
Grasshopper Sparrow Photo: Nick Saunders

Grasshopper Sparrow Photo: Nick Saunders

A new paper by Canadian scientists Pierre Mineau and Mélanie Whiteside identifies pesticide toxicity to birds as an important factor in grassland bird declines. “Pesticide Acute Toxicity is a Better Correlate of U.S. Grassland Bird Declines than Agricultural Intensification” was recently published in the peer-reviewed, open-access online journal PLOS One. The study found that acutely toxic pesticides (rather than habitat loss) were the most likely leading cause of the widespread population declines of grassland birds in the United States. “The data suggest that loss of birds in agricultural fields is more than an unfortunate consequence of pest control; it may drive bird populations to local extinction,” said Dr. Mineau in a related American Bird Conservancy media release. To read the full article ,select this link.

Posted in Bird conservation, Conservation | Tagged , | Comments Off on Declining Grassland Birds & Pesticides