Monday, February 25, 2013

Owls: 1 Brandon: 0


Last Monday was President’s Day. No school meant I had the day off. I took Ruby to get her haircut and then to lunch with Grandma and Dzia Dzia. Because she didn’t go to the babysitters on Monday (her usual day), she ended up going on Wednesday. Elissa and I therefore used Wednesday to go birding! Target birds: Owls

We started our day at the boat dock right next to the Bay Shore Power Plant. In addition to a variety of waterfowl, we spotted my first Peregrine Falcon of the year. The fastest animal on the planet actually landed on the ice for about 15 seconds and allowed both of us to get a view at him through the scope.

We then tried a spot on Corduroy Road where there had been sightings of a Ross’s Goose. No luck with that bird, but I did add Tundra Swan to the year’s list. Next we stopped off at Maumee Bay State Park. No owls, but other birds of note included a pair of Red-tailed Hawks, Snow Buntings, and Carolina Wrens.

A stop at Metzger’s Marsh allowed us a good view of a Hooded Merganzer, but not much else in the way of new birds. Lis and I then went to Magee Marsh and walked on the Estuary Trail for the first time. As soon as we stepped out of the car a big bird got spooked and started flying west down the beach. I am almost certain it was an owl. I thought I saw the bird land in a tree right near the estuary, but we ended up walking the whole trail without seeing it again. I was none too pleased. The time at Magee couldn’t give us a positive ID on an owl, but it did treat us to several close looks at a Bald Eagle. Although I have become quite accustomed to seeing Bald Eagles, they are always an impressive sight, especially at close range.

Our last stop for the day was Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. By this point my pregnant wife was getting exhausted. We took a short work around a trail near the parking lot and called it a day. We did see a hawk that we could not identify. It is likely that this is a Red-tailed Hawk, but I can’t be sure. Take a look and see what you think. I’ve also included some recent pictures of other birds throughout the post for your viewing pleasure (Ha…that sounds weird. I typed it, erased it…laughed, then typed it again.).





In closing, I have a challenge for you all. Locate and take a picture of a Pileated Woodpecker. Oak Openings and Secor Metropark are probably the best locations for finding this elusive bird. I saw one several weeks ago but they never seem to let me get close enough to take a shot. See if you can do better. Owl watching is on again this Wednesday at Oak Openings. We’re getting some expert help from the Toledo Naturalist’s Association. Hope it helps. As always, happy birding!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Page Updates and Upcoming Events

Video blog!  Just wanted to alert you to some new things on the page and tell you about some upcoming evernts.  Enjoy!


Sunday, February 10, 2013

Birds in Profile: The Brown-Headed Cowbird

When I became a father my life undoubtedly changed forever. The awesome weight of responsibility I now have on my shoulders can be nerve racking at times. I mean…I am responsible for the protection, safety and development of another human being. Thankfully Elissa and I make a good team and Ruby, although she doesn’t realize it yet, is very lucky to have us. It could be worse. We could be Cowbirds.

The Brown-headed Cowbird is one of my least favorite species. Why you ask? Well let’s just say our parenting styles could not be farther apart. The Cowbird is a “brood parasite.” The female does not build a nest. Alternatively, she lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species. The new foster parents are then stuck with another mouth to feed. This “nest invasion” often threatens the survival of the host’s own brood.

Correct

In the human domain I have come in contact with more than a few dead beat parents. Although the practices of many of these parents have often angered me greatly, I have always understood the reason why they fall short of meeting the needs of their children. Drug use could be clouding their judgment. Perhaps they are emotionally unstable. Lack of education could be a factor. Whatever the reason, I have always connected the dots when it comes to people. But why would a bird decide to flat out abandon their offspring?

Incorrect

I found what I believe to be the answer at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Historically, Brown-headed Cowbirds were nomads. They followed herds of bison in the Great Plains in the pre-1800’s (Cornell Lab, n.d.). Because of the ways birds produce offspring it is fairly easy to see how difficult it would be for one to live a nomadic lifestyle and be an attentive parent at the same time. Now I get it! I still don’t like those stinking Cowbirds!

For more information on Brown-headed Cowbirds I encourage you to click on the link above. There is a plethora of interesting stuff. I barely touched on what makes this bird so unique. Happy birding!

BIRD COUNT: 119

RECENT NOTABLES: Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-Headed Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, and White-Winged Crossbill.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Brown-headed Cowbird (website). Retrieved from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown-headed_Cowbird/lifehistory.

Cowbird picture from:

VanColt, R. "Are You My Mother?". Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/brood-parasite.html.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Birds, Gators, and Crocs Oh My!

When Elissa and I go on vacation it is usually something we cautiously look forward to. We are bad vacationers. Period. Nothing ever seems to go right. Take our honeymoon for example. We go to Niagara Falls in January. It was -17 degrees out. I had a head cold the first leg of the trip and Elissa felt terrible in the second half. Our car got stuck in the snow, I had to talk a cop out of giving me a parking ticket (a story in itself), and had I not won some money at the casino we would have completely run out of cash. Being very much in love, however, seemed to melt away these cold conundrums. Additionally, we added a very cool life bird while ducking on the edge of Lake Ontario. Unfortunately, because of vacations like this, the idea of a trip to the alligator infested Everglades was greeted with much trepidation.

I am happy to report that our trip this past weekend was probably our most successful vacation ever. The adventure started last Thursday. When our flight was delayed an hour we immediately began to think it was a sign of future misfortune. We got down to Orlando-Sanford International Airport around 9pm. We got our car and drove about three and a half hours down to Hollywood, Florida where we crashed for the night. Friday morning we dragged ourselves downstairs for a basic breakfast and hit the road for the Everglades. We had about an hour and a half drive left to get to the Ernest Coe Visitor Center.

Once in the park we started our journey down towards Flamingo. While making stops along the way Elissa and I soon realized that my Big Year was going to get much bigger as a result of visiting the Everglades. On our first day of birding in Florida we added 34 different species. The day included a fortunate viewing of the endangered Wood Stork. I also added three life birds (Laughing Gull, Black Skimmer, and Marbled Godwit). Another highlight of the day was our stop at the Anhinga Trail in Royal Palm. Here people can view nesting Anhinga’s, along with Double-crested Cormorants, multiple types of wading birds including Tri-Colored Herons, and an insane number of alligators in an uncomfortably close proximity to the trail. The day ended in Flamingo where we discovered those Black Skimmers and Marbled Godwits hiding in a group of shorebirds known as Willet. Sufficiently tired, Elissa and I headed to the Travelodge in Florida City to get some much needed rest. We were due to wake up at 5:30 the next morning for our tour of Florida Bay with Captain Dave Hunt.

When birding in a foreign land (and let’s face it, South Florida is vastly different from Northwest Ohio) it is necessary to seek out expert advice. Master Captain and Florida Master Naturalist Dave Hunt was our expert. Dave grew up in the Everglades. That’s really not an exaggeration. As a young boy he hunted barefoot through the swampy terrain and spent many nights in a self-constructed walk-in cabin deep in the park. Yep…we took a boat ride with the Tarzan of South Florida.

Before we had even made our way out of the marina Dave pointed out an immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron. On the trip we saw Reddish Egrets, Bald Eagles, Little Blue Herons, a Magnificent Frigatebird, numerous shorebirds, and three different kinds of Terns. Dave spotted a flock of feeding Royal Terns a short distance from one of the islands in the bay. He drove the boat out to the group of birds without spooking them, and put us right in the middle of the feeding frenzy. Elissa got a few great shots of the birds as they dive bombed into the water for their food. My favorite part of the trip, oddly enough, was not the discovery of some elusive species of bird but the impressive sight of a 15 foot saltwater crocodile. I’ve seen big animals before in a zoo or sanctuary, but when there isn’t a barrier between you and the beast it is scary, exciting, and sobering.

After 5 plus hours on the water, (I think Dave would have stayed out there all day with us…he wanted me to see as many Florida birds as possible) we rode back to the Coe Visitor Center and parted ways with Captain Dave. A six hour drive back to the Orlando area awaited us. As we made our way back through Miami and all the other Atlantic coast towns, Elissa and I discussed how great the trip had been, but we weren’t completely satisfied. Two great days in the Everglades only left us wanting more. Several years ago we, along with Elissa’s sister and her husband, took a trip to Merritt Island. The island is on the Atlantic coast east of Orlando and is a neighbor to the NASA launch site at Cape Canaveral. After looking at Google Maps I decided that it was completely feasible for us to take a trip to Merritt Island early Sunday morning and have plenty of time to get back for our flight.

Two days in a row of waking up at 5:30am on a vacation is most definitely something I had never done before. My morning sick and pregnant wife wasn’t a huge fan of it either. Although both of us were exhausted we were determined to make every minute of this vacation count. With a second baby on the way who knows when we’ll be able to do this again.

We arrived at Merritt Island at 7am. It was beautiful. The morning sun draped over the refuge’s wildlife like a warm blanket. I know that kind of description may be too flowery for a blog, but the sun really was acting like a warm blanket. We added 13 species to the list at Merritt Island, including the Florida Scrub Jay, which is only indigenous to Central Florida. On our drive back to the airport we added Sandhill Crane to the list. About a dozen of these gigantic birds were feeding in a field next to a group of cattle.

When we reached the airport, we found that we still had about 50 minutes to kill. I jumped on Maps to see if there were any parks nearby, found Lake Jessup Park, and raced over to see if we could squeeze in a few more Florida birds. When we got there a Limpkin was hanging out in the grass right next to the boat ramp. We also spotted several Cattle Egrets in the same location. With these final two sightings our birding in Florida was officially over. I had come down to the Sunshine State with 48 species on my list. I added 63 different kinds of birds to bring my total to 111. The trip allowed me to see 10 birds I had never seen before.

After going on such an adventure it may be natural for some to feel a little down in the dumps. I mean…it’s over. What now? I’m not sure if I will have the opportunity to take another trip like that this year, but I sure hope it’s possible. The next post will be the first of what I will be calling my Birds in Profile series. I hope you enjoy it. I also will be posting my current bird count and pictures from the Everglades trip. As always, I welcome any questions or suggestions. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!