really bad

Of No Use

Posted on Tuesday, 26 March 2013 by The Birding Bunch

Genesis 1:
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember the box a little one built last year, hoping to attract a Barn Swallow couple?

From observation, we discovered that Barn Swallows prefer more shelter, such as under a porch roof. The garage eave did not give them as much as they wanted. Also, they like a horizontal roof, rather than one which comes to a point.

No other birds would remotely have any interest in this for nesting. None that I am aware of, any ways. We figured we might have to remove some wasp nests, but nope, they didn’t even like this. It really should be taken down and remade into something else, but since we don’t need the wood and it’s not in the way, it just stays there.

We were in an upstairs bedroom Sunday evening and I was facing the window when I happened to notice something fly to the box. The day was already somewhat dark and growing darker as the sun was setting. It took us a little while to figure out it was a female Kestrel. We were frantically looking for the camera and by the time I found it, I thought she’d be gone. When I took that first picture, she was still there and I noticed the second Kestrel hunkered down. A male!

We were pretty sure our first male Kestrel met an untimely end. The female left shortly after he was gone. There had been no Kestrels seen on the property for a few days. We have no idea if this is the same female or not.

This seemed really strange. All we could figure is they were looking for a sheltered spot from the wind and snow. And what a great spot it was, so we can seem them at a closer range.

Well, they decided to stay the night even with multiple times of letting the dog out. He had problems, but he was quiet about it. We thought he’d go into a barking fit. Since they were still here this morning, I was growing concerned they’d try to nest in this spot. Nope, after they left, they’ve not come back to it, though we did see Mister hunting the pasture.

Now here are the really, really, bad, icky pictures. They were taken through a window with that winter plastic covering it and the sky just kept getting darker. We did see them curled up as little balls, faces hid, but they woke up at the slightest noise.

I have a scrapbook page to do for someone; I don’t like those things. I cringe every time someone hands me a page asking me to do one. This requires creativity and artistic talent. I have neither. Well, after seeing a Mr. and Mrs. Kestrel trying to stay warm together, I had an idea…

I looked at one of the images on the camera and drew this. It looks kind of wonky, but it’ll work.

Kestrels may be raptors, but they are incredibly cute. Oh, do you know which is the male and which is the female?

Categories: di fekkel, raptors, really bad

Unpredictable

Posted on Friday, 22 March 2013 by The Birding Bunch

1 John 3:
13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not only is the weather unpredictable, but birding is as well.

We finally were able to take part in the monthly field trip with the Audubon group earlier this month. Our first since November. On our way there, we saw a lone White Pelican.

We met at the Saylorville visitor center, seeing Purple Finches, woodpeckers and other birds. Not a bad start. We mentioned the Pelican we saw and the leader said that’s the last one of the three that spent the winter there. It was only a couple days ago number two was killed by some predator.

We didn’t have a lot of time because someone said the rain was to start at 10:30. We all drive to the next spot anticipating all sorts of migrating water birds. The leader was there the day before and saw thousands of birds, including five species of geese.

Yup, the birds were gone. There was nothing in the lake as far as we could see. We’re all scanning try to find something… anything…

Oh, there’s a white blob! Later it was so kind to lift its head. A Trumpeter swan.

We did see a handful of Canada geese fly over. A few Greater Scaup and Common Mergansers floated in sight of the scope.

We asked the leader if the Great Horned Owl was nesting in the same spot this year. He said yes, and we can go look at it. So away we go. We did spy a flock of Cedar Waxwings as we made our way there.

We park at that spot and scan the trees. Where’s the nest? The leader is just befuddled. “It was here yesterday!” How can an owl’s nest just disappear?!?! About all we could figure is possibly the tree limb was weak and fell. We had no strong winds or storms Friday night. The poor man already felt bad about the lack of birds when the day before they abounded.

It was about 10:15 when we broke out the snacks. We all chatted. Someone saw a Northern Flicker. And right on time, the rain started. Yup, at 10:30. Well… that was unpredictable. The weather forecast was correct.

Notes:
As of 21 March, we’re still seeing Redpolls. They’re a happy bunch.
This day was the last for our two brown ducks. We’re not sure if our Pekin will recover. We will see how she does overnight and if no improvement, we will need to do the humane thing better left unspoken.
And lastly, Mr. Kestrel is no more. One of the children found a couple of his tail feathers. We had suspected, but this confirmed the sad affair. Birds do their molting after the breeding season, so this was ruled out.
Sin has made nature cruel. but praise God! He is never-changing when the things around us do. He will hear our sorrows and be our Comforter.

Categories: raptors, really bad, sadness

Starling Trap

Posted on Tuesday, 19 March 2013 by The Birding Bunch

Proverbs 15:
6 In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.
~~~~~~~~~~

I am sure this title shocked a few. This trap is not entirely our doing, but only partially. And thus far, no Starlings have gone near it this season. A hawk was seen flying near this “trap” and was scolded rather soundly before being chased off. I am sure the hawk had no idea what the fuss was all about.

I was talking to the raptor rehab lady last week and mentioned how Starlings were the only ones who tried moving into one of our nesting boxes even though the hole was considered to be too big for them. She said not to worry, they’ll just kill them if Starlings try to move in after they’ve claimed it for themselves. That took a load off my mind as Starlings will often kill nesting birds for that prime piece of real estate.

You may wonder who “they” are. Here is the male half of they. (Oh, the top photo is the best picture of this post. The rest are pretty icky. ) We were treated to a sighting of this bird on our power pole when we came home after a little shopping.

Male American Kestrel

During supper later that day, I first noticed a bird on the nesting box. Who is it? We’ve had several species of birds use this box for perching, but never a Kestrel.

This time is was the intended user. Not just one, but two. Male and female. They look so sweet together.

Mr. and Mrs. Kestrel

They both go in for a time. Here is one peeking out.

Checking out the neighborhood

After a bit, one perches on top again. A truck driving by scares it off. Oh, we hope that won’t be a problem. “Traffic” is haphazard here, so not consistent like Kestrel boxes along the interstates.

These photos were from Sunday morning.

One of the children asks me if they have mated yet. Well, I sure do not know that. I walk away from the window while the older two are still looking out. In that moment with my back turned, you guessed it..

And here they are after the event.

They really like one another.

We’ve been watching out the window and seeing one of the Kestrels there now and again. The last one was inside the box with it’s head poked out. We are not sure when egg laying will begin, but they hatch around 30 days after they are laid. Wouldn’t a nest cam be great right about now? We are not going to open the box up as some nesting box landlords do. We’re too inexperienced and do not know their temperament.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because the idea of trapping starlings and HOSP is distasteful to some of my regular readers, I’ve tacked this additional info on here for those looking for a real starling trap.
Build your own repeating Starling trap.
We’ve had good success with this one, though we have not had a need for the repeating part. We get them out pretty quickly. As they do not get food or water, it is best to not leave them in for long.
For a HOSP trap, we use
this repeating trap
Great success! We’ve had as many as 22 in at once. We did a boo-boo and forgot to bring it in before leaving for the day. Be careful with bait and timing, as Harris’s sparrows, Juncos, House Finches, Brown Thrashers (how? They’re so big) and Downy Woodpeckers have gotten in. As much as our HOSP like peanuts, we just no longer can use this as bait. White feathers work pretty good during nesting season.
You had better release all natives. If any HOSP are also in the trap, you need to get your hand in there to try to catch the native bird. Then let it go. Wear gloves when pulling birds out of the trap; we use those rubberized garden type. We have had biters. No, none of the natives, but I remember a couple feisty female HOSP.
Why do we do this? The native species. That is the only reason we went this route, these two cavity nesters will kill those birds to take over the nest and have been known to build their own nests on top of yet living baby birds.
One last note: If possible do not let your dead Starlings or HOSP go to waste. Norleave then out to feed the neighbor’s cats. (I sure wish poison would only kill the intended pest, otherwise we’d feed poison to those cats) Call your local raptor rehab place. See if they could use them and then store them in your freezer until you have time to deliver. Hey, if you are taking the effort to help native birds, you can do this. Just use no chemical means of disposing the invasive birds. That means no lead either, if you try to shoot them.
If you want to know how we dispose, leave me a comment so I can get back to you. There needs to be a limit of what I will share on this blog.

Categories: birds with mustaches, dangers to birds, raptors, really bad | 1 Comment

Orbs

Posted on Sunday, 17 March 2013 by The Birding Bunch

Isaiah 40:
21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

HOSP orb

CORE orb

WEME orbs

Someone was playing with his camera and used the fish-eye setting. The top two were fish eyes, but the bottom was not. The poor birds were trying to keep warm, so poofed out their feathers. The air acts as an insulator.

I think we had a little bit of courtship between the two birds. The male is on the right and he was singing so prettily. I find it odd he is a little duller than the female, but I wonder if he was hatched last year. The females do not sing at all, but she does have a few different calls.

So are you remembering the alpha codes? These should be pretty easy.

Categories: alpha codes, di fekkel, really bad

An Art, Not a Science

Posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 by The Birding Bunch

Ecclesiastes 12:
11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
~~~~~~~

This is a Red-tailed Hawk. There is no question about it; you can clearly see the red tail, which no other hawk can claim. We can also agree these are icky photos, but we won’t focus on that.

But we count subspecies for our life list if we see a clear difference between the species. This bird is much darker than a normal Red-tailed. At the take-off, you see there is no ‘belly band’ and the patagium is obscured. (Don’t worry, I won’t often bore you with technical terms; I just learned that marking had a name.)

Hunting through the guide in the van, we figured it could be a Western dark-morph or a Harlan’s. But which one? I emailed these two photos to a birding friend and she felt it was a Western, but not entirely sure. She offered to forward these if I wanted other opinions. That could be interesting, so I gave the go ahead.

The gist of the replies were they are pretty sure Western Red-tailed Hawk but there were some buts… referring to markings of a Harlan’s. One reply even said of two raptor experts they are familiar with, one would say Western, the other Harlan. I had no idea who those experts were. As I was looking in the bibliography of Hawks in Flight, a book I recently purchased, I learned these two raptor experts co-authored a book together. Funny.

After sharing these replies with my husband, he said “Bird identification is an art, not a science.” I would have to agree with that. Except… our life list has no place for art.

Categories: field markings, raptors, really bad

Oops!

Posted on Saturday, 23 February 2013 by The Birding Bunch

Proverbs 13:
20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.