Can anyone figure out what the bird connection is to the plate above?
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Bird License Plates
I have added the following license plates to the sidebar slideshow. Most of them I took at the bird festival in Great Falls earlier this month, but the Alula plate was sent to me in early April by Maggie Jones and I am now just getting around to posting it. Thanks Maggie! Here are the new plates.
Can anyone figure out what the bird connection is to the plate above?
Can anyone figure out what the bird connection is to the plate above?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
June In Montana
June is such a crazy month and I can't believe it is almost gone - it feels like it is pretty much done because I still have a bunch of stuff I am trying to cram into the next week or so.
June certainly started out nice despite a rather disappointing spring migration (again). This time it wasn't just me commenting on a lack of birds. This year even the observers in the core of the flyway east of Fort Peck commented on the dearth of migrants. Hopefully it was more a reflection of migration patterns and the weather and the birds just skipped this latitude on their way north.
The Gumbo Lilies or Evening Primrose were in force this spring.
However, my first field trip for the Montana Audubon Bird Festival took place in a light blizzard. This photo looks more like an October or April field trip rather than early June. The primroses were not looking so good this morning.
This photo looks a bit better but it really wasn't. We saw a few birds in the snow and wind, but it was obviously not a good day to make a long list of birds observed. We still had fun though.
The next day held a bit more promise, it was only raining, not snowing, the wind had died down a bit and the trend was improving. There were only four of us after the reorganization of the field trips. We had to cancel my intended destination because of road conditions from all the moisture but it didn't really matter. At our first stop, a mere 10 minutes or so from our origin, the car we were riding in decided it no longer wanted to run. You can see the flatbed towtruck in the background. It was a rather quick morning.
After heading back to headquarters and wrapping up there, I headed down along the river and took some photos of the swallows that were feeding in large flocks along the river. The Cliff Swallows in the nest were much easier to photograph however.
That afternoon I escorted my friend Nina Karnovsky and her student Charlotte Chang back to Glasgow after they flew in to Great Falls from Southern California. Charlotte is volunteering for me this summer and helping with a bird banding program we are trying to get running. This photo was taken later in the week during our first banding session. Yeah, it was a bit buggy but not the worst I have experienced.
We had one day of banding while Nina was here. Here I am banding a bird while Charlotte is recording in our banding station tent (thanks Nina for the photos). You can read more about the project from Charlotte's perspective at the blog Nina's students have set up to discuss their various summer work here.
On our way back from the banding site we found this little guy on the road - a Long-billed Curlew. He has a bit of growing to do (particularly in the beak department).
Mom and Dad were concerned about our intentions but we got the little one off the road and all was well.
Back home we found a nice Garter Snake in the grass outside the front door.
June certainly started out nice despite a rather disappointing spring migration (again). This time it wasn't just me commenting on a lack of birds. This year even the observers in the core of the flyway east of Fort Peck commented on the dearth of migrants. Hopefully it was more a reflection of migration patterns and the weather and the birds just skipped this latitude on their way north.
The Gumbo Lilies or Evening Primrose were in force this spring.
However, my first field trip for the Montana Audubon Bird Festival took place in a light blizzard. This photo looks more like an October or April field trip rather than early June. The primroses were not looking so good this morning.
This photo looks a bit better but it really wasn't. We saw a few birds in the snow and wind, but it was obviously not a good day to make a long list of birds observed. We still had fun though.
The next day held a bit more promise, it was only raining, not snowing, the wind had died down a bit and the trend was improving. There were only four of us after the reorganization of the field trips. We had to cancel my intended destination because of road conditions from all the moisture but it didn't really matter. At our first stop, a mere 10 minutes or so from our origin, the car we were riding in decided it no longer wanted to run. You can see the flatbed towtruck in the background. It was a rather quick morning.
After heading back to headquarters and wrapping up there, I headed down along the river and took some photos of the swallows that were feeding in large flocks along the river. The Cliff Swallows in the nest were much easier to photograph however.
That afternoon I escorted my friend Nina Karnovsky and her student Charlotte Chang back to Glasgow after they flew in to Great Falls from Southern California. Charlotte is volunteering for me this summer and helping with a bird banding program we are trying to get running. This photo was taken later in the week during our first banding session. Yeah, it was a bit buggy but not the worst I have experienced.
We had one day of banding while Nina was here. Here I am banding a bird while Charlotte is recording in our banding station tent (thanks Nina for the photos). You can read more about the project from Charlotte's perspective at the blog Nina's students have set up to discuss their various summer work here.
On our way back from the banding site we found this little guy on the road - a Long-billed Curlew. He has a bit of growing to do (particularly in the beak department).
Mom and Dad were concerned about our intentions but we got the little one off the road and all was well.
Back home we found a nice Garter Snake in the grass outside the front door.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
A few new links
If you are a frequent visitor here and take the time to check out the blogs I have linked to on my sidebar, you may have noticed a few new entries into the list.
Two of them are blogs about bird songs. The first, Earbirding.com, which I found thanks to Bill Schmoker at BirdPics, is a blog by Nathan Pieplow. From Nathans site I found BIRD CALLS and SONGS by Paul Driver. I really enjoy both of these blogs because they provide sound files and sonograms as part of their posts.
The next blog I just found out about is another Montana blog with an emphasis on birding done by Bob Martinka. Bob is a retired Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks employee who got back into birding with a vengence when he retired. He has some wonderful photos and I look forward to being able to see more of his photos and stories. Bob's blog is BirdManBob. We are both in Great Falls, MT for the Montana Audubon state bird festival so I am sure we will both have some perspectives on this event in the next couple of days.
Two of them are blogs about bird songs. The first, Earbirding.com, which I found thanks to Bill Schmoker at BirdPics, is a blog by Nathan Pieplow. From Nathans site I found BIRD CALLS and SONGS by Paul Driver. I really enjoy both of these blogs because they provide sound files and sonograms as part of their posts.
The next blog I just found out about is another Montana blog with an emphasis on birding done by Bob Martinka. Bob is a retired Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks employee who got back into birding with a vengence when he retired. He has some wonderful photos and I look forward to being able to see more of his photos and stories. Bob's blog is BirdManBob. We are both in Great Falls, MT for the Montana Audubon state bird festival so I am sure we will both have some perspectives on this event in the next couple of days.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Dinner Time
The Hairy Woodpeckers are busy raising another brood in my backyard again. They appear to be a bit ahead of their pace from last year, probably because they didn't have to excavate a cavity this time. They just moved into the cavity they used last year with just a little cleanup early on. Right now they are at the stage when the parents protest quite loudly whenever we go into the backyard and occasionally when we look out the dining room window. I have to admit it was a bit annoying when it happened last year, but this year I am much more tolerant because I know how much I will miss having them around when the chicks fledge and the backyard becomes relatively silent all of a sudden.
Again this year I am amazed at the variety of food the adults bring back to the nest. Here is a sample from one afternoon.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Published Photo!
One of my favorite magazines when I was growing up was National Wildlife along with it's companion, Ranger Rick (when I was younger although I have to admit I still enjoy looking through Benton and Crean's when it arrives in the mail). It probably had a part in my continued interests in wildlife and wildlife conservation. Recently the photo editor contacted me about one of the photos on Prairie Ice. Although I really hadn't thought about it as the transaction for the publishing rights to one of my photos worked itself out, it was a strange and wonderful feeling seeing my photo in the magazine.
Here is the photo or check it out in your National Wildlife magazine in the article by Les Line - The Case of the Missing Hare.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Glasgow FeatherFest 09
Saturday morning was calm and sunny. A perfect day for FeatherFest this year. Instead of leading a field trip like I have done all the previous years, I elected to join Woody Baxter on his Missouri River canoe field trip.
Fourteen other folks joined Woody and me as we headed down the Missouri River just below Fort Peck Dam. We enjoyed a full suite of local riparian birds including the resident pair of Bald Eagles ( you can just see both members of the pair in the leaning cottonwood over the canoes in the photo above.)
We stopped a few times along the way but I was not on top of taking photos when we were walking around looking for birds. We managed to spot some Piping Plovers along with a few Franklin's Gulls, a Baird's Sandpiper, California Gulls, American White Pelicans, and American Avocets on a small island though and I did get one bird photo then.
In my book, the best find of the morning was a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers flycatching from the tops of the cottonwoods, then copulating above the apparent nest hole. They are uncommon but regular birds around here and it is always a treat to see them.
The other field trips - a tour of South Valley County, the Fort Peck Area, and a bird banding demonstration in Glagsow - apparently went quite well, including 10 Mountain Plovers and a plover nest on the South Valley tour. Stay tuned for information about next year - we hope to be bigger and better again.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Orange Monday
I have been Mr. Mom for the last few days while Laura is on vacation with one of her good friends. Yesterday evening I had planned on camping out on the prairie and taking grassland bird photos in the evening and again this morning. I had played my "sleep over" card with Grandma and Grandpa in anticipation and the boys were excited to have a sleep over.
Then the rain came. About as soon as I dropped the boys off yesterday evening until noon today - exactly the time I had wanted to be out. It was too late to change sleep over plans without a little boy revolt so I wound up hanging out at Mom and Dad's for the morning, watching birds in their backyard and visiting instead.
The orioles had been coming into their feeders for a while, including a vivid, glowing male Bullocks Oriole that I decided I was going to try to get a photo of one of these days. It had recently been joined by a dapper little male Orchard Oriole, another species I had wanted to get a photo of for the last couple of years after watching them regularly come to the oranges and grape jelly feeders in Mom and Dad's backyard. There were also Baltimore Orioles, young Bullocks Orioles, and a hybrid oriole also coming to the feeders.
Since my trip to the prairie was no longer an option, I decided to get out my portable blind and set it up near the feeder and try for oriole photos for a couple hours as the clouds were lifting.
It worked.
This tiny brick-colored Orchard Oriole was the most persistent of the orioles present. These are the rarest (and smallest) of the Montana orioles, confined to the northeastern part of the state. Although not as luminous as the others, the rich, handsome plumage is certainly attractive.
The glowing Bullock's Oriole did not come to the feeder as often, but he finally made an appearance where I was able to get a few good photos of him.
The young male Bullock's Oriole was the most vocal of the bunch. I knew he was coming to the feeders a few minutes before he showed up because he was loud and liked his own voice.
The Baltimore males were also spectacular. This male sat in the plum tree in my backyard earlier in the week.
This male was not quite as orange as the male above, or the Bullock's Oriole.
Then there are the hybrid orioles. Apparently many of the hybrids resemble either of the parent species and only a few actually appear as a mix of features from both parent species. On this individual the mix of the black and orange face pattern from both species is most evident, but the wing pattern is also a mix. The large white outer webs of the greater wing coverts on the Bullocks Oriole are replaced with a rather large orange patches (as compared to the Baltimore) on this bird.
The wing bar is also larger than on a Baltimore and the white outer webs of the primaries and secondaries are also similar to the Bullock's. These two species hybridize on where they meet in the Great Plains and the hybrid zone is apparently stable. The number and timing of the molt sequence is very different in each species and may be a strong source of selection against hybrid individuals (Rohwer and Manning 1990)
Below is the hybrid on the grape jelly cup. If you could see a bird trying to lick it's lips, this is what it would look like.
I managed to get a few photos of the other birds hanging around the backyard (I love being in the blind and watching and listening to things going on around me - see here for a previous post about using it in my backyard last year). Thanks again to BOTB for the recommendation on the pop-up blind. If you are interested it is an Ameristep Doghouse ground blind. It works great, the only hang-up is learning how to get it folded back up into the bag, but that just takes practice.
This is the owner of the grape jelly cup. The other birds are only there with her permission, particularly other American Robins.
The Black-headed Grosbeaks stop by for an occasion taste but they seem more content with the offering of seeds at the other feeders.
The Spotted Towhee was foraging on the ground nearby. No grape jelly or oranges for him - just seeds.
References:
Rising, James D. and Pamela L. Williams. 1999. Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Rohwer, S. and J. Manning. 1990. Differences in timing and number of molts for Baltimore and Bullock's orioles: Implications to hybrid fitness and theories of delayed plumage maturation. Condor 92: 125–140.
Then the rain came. About as soon as I dropped the boys off yesterday evening until noon today - exactly the time I had wanted to be out. It was too late to change sleep over plans without a little boy revolt so I wound up hanging out at Mom and Dad's for the morning, watching birds in their backyard and visiting instead.
The orioles had been coming into their feeders for a while, including a vivid, glowing male Bullocks Oriole that I decided I was going to try to get a photo of one of these days. It had recently been joined by a dapper little male Orchard Oriole, another species I had wanted to get a photo of for the last couple of years after watching them regularly come to the oranges and grape jelly feeders in Mom and Dad's backyard. There were also Baltimore Orioles, young Bullocks Orioles, and a hybrid oriole also coming to the feeders.
Since my trip to the prairie was no longer an option, I decided to get out my portable blind and set it up near the feeder and try for oriole photos for a couple hours as the clouds were lifting.
It worked.
This tiny brick-colored Orchard Oriole was the most persistent of the orioles present. These are the rarest (and smallest) of the Montana orioles, confined to the northeastern part of the state. Although not as luminous as the others, the rich, handsome plumage is certainly attractive.
The glowing Bullock's Oriole did not come to the feeder as often, but he finally made an appearance where I was able to get a few good photos of him.
The young male Bullock's Oriole was the most vocal of the bunch. I knew he was coming to the feeders a few minutes before he showed up because he was loud and liked his own voice.
The Baltimore males were also spectacular. This male sat in the plum tree in my backyard earlier in the week.
This male was not quite as orange as the male above, or the Bullock's Oriole.
Then there are the hybrid orioles. Apparently many of the hybrids resemble either of the parent species and only a few actually appear as a mix of features from both parent species. On this individual the mix of the black and orange face pattern from both species is most evident, but the wing pattern is also a mix. The large white outer webs of the greater wing coverts on the Bullocks Oriole are replaced with a rather large orange patches (as compared to the Baltimore) on this bird.
The wing bar is also larger than on a Baltimore and the white outer webs of the primaries and secondaries are also similar to the Bullock's. These two species hybridize on where they meet in the Great Plains and the hybrid zone is apparently stable. The number and timing of the molt sequence is very different in each species and may be a strong source of selection against hybrid individuals (Rohwer and Manning 1990)
Below is the hybrid on the grape jelly cup. If you could see a bird trying to lick it's lips, this is what it would look like.
I managed to get a few photos of the other birds hanging around the backyard (I love being in the blind and watching and listening to things going on around me - see here for a previous post about using it in my backyard last year). Thanks again to BOTB for the recommendation on the pop-up blind. If you are interested it is an Ameristep Doghouse ground blind. It works great, the only hang-up is learning how to get it folded back up into the bag, but that just takes practice.
This is the owner of the grape jelly cup. The other birds are only there with her permission, particularly other American Robins.
The Black-headed Grosbeaks stop by for an occasion taste but they seem more content with the offering of seeds at the other feeders.
The Spotted Towhee was foraging on the ground nearby. No grape jelly or oranges for him - just seeds.
References:
Rising, James D. and Pamela L. Williams. 1999. Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Rohwer, S. and J. Manning. 1990. Differences in timing and number of molts for Baltimore and Bullock's orioles: Implications to hybrid fitness and theories of delayed plumage maturation. Condor 92: 125–140.
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