tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11847926578064132162023-11-16T02:53:14.987-08:00Laura's Conservation Big Year: 2013Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-65094808893661594602013-02-07T18:22:00.001-08:002013-02-07T18:22:17.635-08:00Moving Day!My daughter has been setting up a new site for me that will have fewer problems with fonts and other issues. All previous posts will stay here, but will also appear, along with all new posts, at <a href="http://www.conservationbigyear.com/">www.conservationbigyear.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-11361448876259956842013-02-07T05:47:00.000-08:002013-02-07T05:47:02.961-08:00Species of Concern: Loggerhead Shrike<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/5459854228/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Loggerhead Shrike by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Loggerhead Shrike" height="341" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5060/5459854228_bb4d14be25.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loggerhead Shrike</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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When I bird in Florida, I’m ever scanning fence posts and
power lines in hopes of seeing Loggerhead Shrikes. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Shrikes are predacious
songbirds, but that’s not very exceptional—so are chickadees, robins, and
bluebirds, the insects and worms they eat being very much animals. Shrikes feed
on small lizards, birds, and mammals as well as insects, but so do some crows,
ravens, and even large flycatchers. The difference is that shrikes eat meat
almost exclusively, with physical and behavioral adaptations unique among
songbirds. The hooked beak tip and sharp notch near the tip help grab and sever
the spinal cord of small vertebrates. When a shrike bites off more than it can
chew in one meal, so to speak, it can impale whole prey or parts on thorns or
barbed wire, or wedge it into the fork of a branch, both for easier killing and
for longer-term storage. This habit led to the family nickname, “butcherbirds.” </div>
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<br /></div>
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The proportionally large head of all shrikes is particularly highlighted in the
Loggerhead Shrike’s name, a synonym for “blockhead.” Of the 30 or so species in
the family, only the Loggerhead is entirely restricted to North America. It’s a
little smaller and daintier than the Northern Shrikes we see up here in winter.
And Loggerhead Shrikes eat fewer rodents and birds, focusing heavily on
grasshoppers.<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8450881514/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Loggerhead Shrike by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Loggerhead Shrike" height="331" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8375/8450881514_76102d8baf.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loggerhead Shrike eating grasshopper</td></tr>
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Loggerhead Shrikes used to be fairly regularly seen in
southern Wisconsin and Minnesota, but they declined drastically through the
last half of the twentieth century. They’ve essentially vanished from the
northeastern part of their range and continue to decline everywhere else. The
subspecies on San Clemente Island in California is listed as endangered on the
federal list.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6n5ioc7qWnLJGzv77EJT8ztcobazSG-SGxQPhAUA2ck-0mNNPAEFGCdJ_WpnfQbb0t4ml4Z1SXynnX2N8zEhq2yoU5ppDQY10cNYY9c5PhDPSatd9z8J4LqFBqBFe8VyHAi6MCt6AOak/s1600/BBS-LOSH-WI.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6n5ioc7qWnLJGzv77EJT8ztcobazSG-SGxQPhAUA2ck-0mNNPAEFGCdJ_WpnfQbb0t4ml4Z1SXynnX2N8zEhq2yoU5ppDQY10cNYY9c5PhDPSatd9z8J4LqFBqBFe8VyHAi6MCt6AOak/s320/BBS-LOSH-WI.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Breeding Bird Survey numbers:<br />Loggerhead Shrike decline in Wisconsin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj342PLyPh3Tzmn9NYsDWy49CwjeYK0sv4H-7kIZXuccUae_verA-ct26n4zPyrSLpOFqjXbaDDiPsTZ_-oY7i0-z128mU9R2dog5h1x7zHJpDyZ-A_bRR2yTtGSL4XN38OS74jYRu_a4n_/s1600/BBS-LOSH-MN.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj342PLyPh3Tzmn9NYsDWy49CwjeYK0sv4H-7kIZXuccUae_verA-ct26n4zPyrSLpOFqjXbaDDiPsTZ_-oY7i0-z128mU9R2dog5h1x7zHJpDyZ-A_bRR2yTtGSL4XN38OS74jYRu_a4n_/s320/BBS-LOSH-MN.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Breeding Bird Survey numbers:<br />Loggerhead Shrike decline in Minnesota<br /></td></tr>
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I’ve visited Florida almost every year since our son Joe
moved there in 2003. I have a much harder time finding them now than I used to
down there, and the steep decline shown in Breeding Bird Survey numbers for
Loggerhead Shrikes in Florida between 1966 and 2010 bears graphic testament to
my experience. I find it endlessly frustrating that despite the dramatic
decline virtually everywhere, they aren’t on the federal list for endangered,
or at least threatened, species.</div>
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<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breeding Bird Survey numbers:<br />Loggerhead Shrike decline in Florida</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breeding Bird Survey numbers:<br />Loggerhead Shrike decline in United States</td></tr>
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Russ and I had a pretty close encounter with a
nesting pair back in 2006. I got plenty of photos, though this was before I had
a high quality camera. Because they were nesting in an area with heavy foot
traffic and we were quiet and unobtrusive, they pretty much ignored us. </span><!--EndFragment--><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/3243514393/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Loggerhead Shrike by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Loggerhead Shrike" height="426" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3359/3243514393_56df7610d5.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russ and I watched this breeding Loggerhead Shrike at a Nature Conservancy/Disney<br />property in Florida in 2005.</td></tr>
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Overall, Loggerhead Shrikes seem a little calmer in the
presence of gawking birders than Northern Shrikes usually are, but even they
are a bit skittish. In January I came upon one while on a pleasant drive from
Titusville to New Smyrna Beach in Florida. It had caught a large grasshopper
and was starting to eat it. I stopped momentarily when I spotted it and snapped
a few photos from my car window, but I did not want to risk frightening off the
little predator, especially since he might have lost the morsel, so I drove on.
We humans haven’t left them much space and our pesticides kill many of their prey,
but these handsome songbirds deserve our respect and affection.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8450882044/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Loggerhead Shrike by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Loggerhead Shrike" height="341" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8077/8450882044_f0ac0f1ddb.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loggerhead Shrike with grasshopper</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-65307628217424738932013-02-04T05:55:00.001-08:002013-02-06T09:51:00.120-08:00February 3: Superb Owl Sunday<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443224020/" title="Boreal Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Boreal Owl" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8377/8443224020_906862b207.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Several years ago, I realized that by just adding a properly
placed space, I could transform Super Bowl Sunday into Superb Owl Sunday. Last
year Russ and I were in New York City visiting our daughter Katie and her S.O. Michael
on the big day. We decided to head out to Breezy Point Tip on the city’s ocean
front to at least get out into the wild for a while, when what to our wondering
eyes should appear but two Snowy Owls! One was a very mature adult male, his
plumage snow white. I’ll never forget that thrilling and unforgettable day,
even richer for sharing it with my family.</div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/6847222433/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Snowy Owl in the Big Apple by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Snowy Owl in the Big Apple" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6847222433_084c97b25f.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy Owl in NYC on Superb Owl Sunday, 2012, not enlarged or cropped</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/6842671449/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="NYC Snowy Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="NYC Snowy Owl" height="350" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6842671449_77cfd3e8f4.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That Snowy Owl after cropping</td></tr>
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This year I was certain things couldn’t possibly go that well ever again on
Superb Owl Sunday, but figured I might be able to see an owl somewhere. During the past two weeks, Boreal Owls have been appearing
all over between Duluth and Two Harbors, and a few weeks ago, Ryan Brady even
had one in his yard in Washburn, Wisconsin, and so birders from all over the
country are descending upon Duluth to see them. Boreal Owls periodically
“irrupt”—that is, large numbers of them suddenly appear well south of their
breeding range. This is a well-known, if rare, phenomenon. Birders rejoice,
because except in rare years like this, this secretive owl is one of the
hardest of all regularly occurring North American birds to add to a lifelist,
but it’s a mixed blessing because the adorable little predators are so
desperately hungry that they must hunt at midday, usually coming up empty. Tour
groups are seeing as many as seven in a single day, but I feel like I’m gawking at someone in their time of misfortune, so I seldom go out to
look for them.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But yesterday being Superb Owl Sunday, my doing a big year, and Russ
and I having a couple of free hours, we headed up to Two Harbors. I was hoping
we’d luck into spotting a Boreal Owl tucked into a conifer somewhere along the scenic
highway—owls hiding out in spruces and cedars probably had successful hunting
the night before. It’s tricky to spot one when zipping by in heavy traffic, but
when so many birders are afield searching, one may spot a pack of birders
already watching one. Russ and I had no such luck, so when we got to Two
Harbors, we headed straight to Fourth Avenue—there’s a 2- or 3-block alley
behind the houses there where I’ve seen Boreal Owls several times in the past.
We spotted seven deer, including a handsome buck, but didn’t hear or see a
single chickadee, much less a Boreal Owl.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443263296/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="White-tailed Buck by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="White-tailed Buck" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8089/8443263296_a782bb3e26.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This and six other deer walked past us in the woods behind the alley</td></tr>
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Right as we were growing discouraged, from the road above, one
of my birding friends spotted me and drove down to the alley to tell us about a
saw-whet owl he’d seen just a few blocks away. If I were to come up with a top
ten list of my favorite birders in the world, Jim Lind would
definitely be on it. He’s a great and generous birder who produces our
area’s weekly rare bird reports and compiles the Duluth Christmas Bird Count. In years like this, Jim spends his free time searching out good
birds in Two Harbors, and obviously goes out of his way to help other birders see them. And he has the
best Boreal Owl Karma of anyone in the known universe. He hadn’t spotted one yet
in Two Harbors on this Superb Owl Sunday, but the even tinier owl he’d spotted
a little while before was a great sighting. We chatted for a few minutes, until
he had to be going and we were ready to move on for the Saw-whet. We said our
goodbyes, and right as he was turning away, his eyes locked on a Boreal Owl
only about 15 feet away! Right there in the open, right beside us!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8442104377/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Jim Lind pointing out Boreal Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Jim Lind pointing out Boreal Owl" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8216/8442104377_714d636dc1.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See what Jim Lind found? Right next to us!! Was the little owl there all along?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<!--EndFragment-->
The bird was alert, so focused on searching for the sounds of small mammals that s/he ignored us. When Jim moved on, I kept photographing the little thing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8442138371/" title="Boreal Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Boreal Owl" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8504/8442138371_17c78c5a84.jpg" width="333" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8442146797/" title="Boreal Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Boreal Owl" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8352/8442146797_3c7360cd1c.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
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S/he flew to two other branches and a stump, coming even closer than where s/he started out. Alighting on the flat stump, s/he held one foot up and used a wing to balance on one branch, so I think the raised foot was injured. I felt sorry for the little thing, regretting seeing him/her even as I clicked my camera shutter over and over as s/he looked sharply this way and that, desperate for a meal.<br />
<br />
<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443242532/" title="Boreal Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Boreal Owl" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8075/8443242532_e816e7df2c.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The left foot appears to be injured, though s/he managed to catch and carry a shrew.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443248178/" title="Boreal Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Boreal Owl" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8371/8443248178_0670534859.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Right when I was feeling sadder than joyful to be witnessing such intense hunger, the little owl plunged into the snow and pulled out a fairly large shrew. </div>
<div>
<!--EndFragment--><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<tr><td a="" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8442162421/" style="text-align: center;" title="Boreal Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Boreal Owl" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8467/8442162421_09244b824c.jpg" width="500" /></td></tr>
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</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443258302/" title="Boreal Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Boreal Owl" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8233/8443258302_8707c542f8.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Chickadees noticed the tussle and started gathering, chickadee-dee-deeing every naughty expression they knew.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443788157/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Black-capped Chickadee by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Black-capped Chickadee" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8055/8443788157_7e806e45d0.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This chickadee was saying several naughty words!</td></tr>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
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The Boreal Owl took off, carrying a nice hot lunch with him/her, and dropped
down on the ground behind a fallen log under a tangle of branches to try to eat
in peace. Russ and I walked away in great relief that the little mite wouldn’t
spend the day hungry.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443251942/" title="Boreal Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Boreal Owl" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8336/8443251942_a87a7b2d4e.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going off to eat in peace!</td></tr>
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If this 20-minute encounter with a Boreal Owl wasn’t enough,
we went to the spot where Jim Lind’s Saw-whet Owl was spending the day. That
little guy was roosting on an exposed branch, carefully keeping both eyes closed
to avoid notice by chickadees. Some people spent last evening watching a flock
of ravens playing football, but not us. We’d already experienced the best
Superb Owl Sunday ever.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443325558/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Northern Saw-whet Owl by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Northern Saw-whet Owl" height="367" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8093/8443325558_4abc1c3cba.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Saw-whet Owl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Total miles for day: 65. New species bringing total for year to 188:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Boreal Owl</li>
<li>Northern Saw-whet Owl</li>
</ol>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-70340408222327209312013-02-03T19:25:00.002-08:002013-02-03T19:25:44.128-08:00February 2: Duluth Audubon field trip to the Sax-Zim BogBelow zero temperatures tried to put the kibosh on Duluth Audubon's annual Sax-Zim Bog field trip. The temperature in double digits below zero kept our bus from starting. While things were still in flux, we had a quick but delicious and hot breakfast at Perkins, and then decided to carpool. That was fun! I rode with a lovely couple named Charlie and Diana, with another fun birder, Elsa, along in our car as well. Elsa picked out our first bird of the day! Not quite a real one, but even an owl decoy can be fun to see.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443193636/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="First bird of day! by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="First bird of day!" height="371" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8047/8443193636_55a7884be6.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first bird of the day! Elsa spotted this owl. We didn't even mind that it was fake.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The real birds we had in the bog were splendid! We started out at the community center, wandered up toward Owl Avenue and the large feeding station Sparky Stensaas and the <a href="http://www.saxzim.org/">Friends of Sax-Zim Bog</a> set up. It's become a great stop!! From there we worked up to the Admiral Road feeders, then back to the Community Center, on to the Little Whiteface Road feeders and the Blue Spruce feeders, and home. What a great day! No owls, but the temperature warmed from -19 degrees to a right balmy +10, and we had plenty of other birds:<div>
<ol>
<li>Ruffed Grouse</li>
<li>Bald Eagle</li>
<li>Rough-legged Hawk (people in some cars saw)</li>
<li>Red-tailed Hawk (one along Highway 53 on the way home--I don't know if people in other cars saw this one)</li>
<li>Downy Woodpecker</li>
<li>Hairy Woodpecker</li>
<li>Northern Shrike (not everyone got a good look at this one)</li>
<li>Gray Jay (Great looks for everyone! There were five at the Admiral Road feeders!)</li>
<li>Blue Jay (two were all fluffed up and looking rather unhappy first thing this morning)</li>
<li>Black-billed Magpie (this would have been my first sighting of the year if only I'd seen them! But some people got a quick but very nice look.)</li>
<li>American Crow</li>
<li>Common Raven</li>
<li>Black-capped Chickadee</li>
<li>Boreal Chickadee (two at the Admiral Road feeders)</li>
<li>Red-breasted Nuthatch</li>
<li>White-breasted Nuthatch (only at the Blue Spruce feeders)</li>
<li>Brown Creeper (one in the trees and on the ground near the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog feeders)</li>
<li>European Starling </li>
<li>Pine Grosbeak</li>
<li>Common Redpoll</li>
<li>Hoary Redpoll (ALL of my photos of these didn't turn out! But we had great looks at three different feeding stations)</li>
<li>American Goldfinch (at least one with the House Sparrows and redpolls in the trees across the street from the Community Center)</li>
<li>Evening Grosbeak (the only place we saw these was first thing in the morning, in trees across the street from the Community Center)</li>
<li>House Sparrow (Our hopes of a "clean count" were destroyed first thing in the morning at the Community Center)</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443189490/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Ruffed Grouse by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Ruffed Grouse" height="363" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8098/8443189490_9aa6148f00.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruffed Grouse feed on aspen buds in winter. If you look carefully, you'll see the little grippers on its toes--they help when branches are icy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443502476/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Hairy Woodpecker by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Hairy Woodpecker" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8362/8443502476_f59af154b5.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hairy Woodpecker feeding on a deer's ribcage at what I call "Sparky's feeding station" on Owl Avenue.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443492542/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Downy Woodpecker by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Downy Woodpecker" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8325/8443492542_8b7ba5a379.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downy Woodpecker at suet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443177262/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Gray Jay by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Gray Jay" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8468/8443177262_4380ff27fd.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gray Jay! There were at least 5 visiting the Admiral Road feeders.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8442075065/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Gray Jay by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Gray Jay" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8496/8442075065_26558cff76.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gray Jays look like chickadees on steroids.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443150464/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Boreal Chickadee by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Boreal Chickadee" height="347" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8493/8443150464_635d6a5d11.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boreal Chickadee at the Admiral Road feeders</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443151102/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Boreal Chickadee by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Boreal Chickadee" height="392" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8045/8443151102_5671b99a65.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boreal Chickadee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443154594/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Red-breasted Nuthatch by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Red-breasted Nuthatch" height="360" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8443154594_e053f33281.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-breasted Nuthatch--a pretty male</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8442403753/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Brown Creeper by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Brown Creeper" height="349" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8506/8442403753_aee0c98739.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Brown Creeper was feeding in this tree and on the ground at the Owl Avenue feeding station.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8442414259/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Red Squirrel by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Red Squirrel" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8442414259_45f31aa358.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love red squirrels!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-2788696914732187092013-02-03T18:15:00.001-08:002013-02-03T18:15:25.214-08:00February 1: Frozen morning with Erik Bruhnke<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443535844/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Sunrise by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunrise" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8363/8443535844_4f9fb651d5.jpg" width="375" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steamy Lake Superior in Two Harbors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Erik Bruhnke and I headed out to Two Harbors in hopes of seeing a Boreal Owl this morning. Erik's car thermometer showed -20 degrees, and it sure felt that cold! The lake was steaming up beautifully. No luck on the owl and no new species for the year, but we had a jolly time seeing corvids, a couple of Bald Eagles, a flock of Herring Gulls in the frozen mist coming up from Lake Superior. I'll have to try again for a Boreal Owl.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8443535596/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="ErikBruhnke by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="ErikBruhnke" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8373/8443535596_4f8571461c.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erik Bruhnke</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Erik is one of my favorite birders. He's so fun to be with, and just as knowledgeable as he is enthusiastic. He's been showing lots of birders around the bog and other hot spots—I bet a LOT of birders are seeing lifers with him this year!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-43543730544610962572013-02-02T18:51:00.000-08:002013-02-02T18:51:16.266-08:00January 31: First month wrap upHome to cold little chickadee toes on my fingers! And a Red-bellied Woodpecker showed up to ease the transition from Florida to the frozen northland. Total miles on the trip: 4309 (plus the miles with Mike McDowell). Total species for the month: 186. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-53416452776210279362013-02-02T18:29:00.002-08:002013-02-03T20:49:56.666-08:00January 30: Wild goose chaseGreg Neise posted on facebook last night that a Barnacle Goose had been seen yesterday on Lake Bloomington in McLean County in Illinois. Today seemed like a good day for geese, especially after I saw a handful of Snow Geese (new for the year) not far from the Kentucky/Illinois border. And turns out my GPS was sending me right past an exit just a few miles from where it was seen. There was a lot of bad weather before and behind me, but when I got to Bloomington, it was just cold and blustery, not raining or snowing, so off I went on my wild goose chase.<br />
<br />
No luck on the Barnacle Goose, but added two more geese to my year list, and met a couple of really nice birders who'd been searching for the Barnacle Goose all day. So I'm very glad I made the stop even though I got skunked on the bird I was searching for. I had a long way to go still, but made it home in one piece before 10:30. New for year, bringing my total to 186:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Snow Goose </li>
<li>Greater White-fronted Goose</li>
<li>Cackling Goose</li>
<li>Gadwall</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-43316630186059187412013-02-02T18:10:00.002-08:002013-02-02T18:10:54.326-08:00January 29: On the road againI woke up to Northern Gannets visible from my motel balcony while I packed up, and then headed on towards home. Drove and drove and drove till I got to Kentucky.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-91509114039760070982013-01-29T20:51:00.002-08:002013-01-29T21:27:56.478-08:00January 28: Pelagic Trip!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8425914008/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Northern Gannet by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Northern Gannet" height="345" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8096/8425914008_f59c093da1.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Gannet adult</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
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I spent 12 hours in a
boat on the Atlantic Ocean, far from the Florida shore, doing what is called
“pelagic birding.” (It's just a fancy word meaning we're out far, far from shore.) The cruise was the
final field trip for the Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival, and was the
perfect way for me to close my Florida adventure before starting the long drive
home. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It was possible I could add a bird or two to my lifelist on
this trip, and I’m always excited about that possibility, but the Atlantic
Ocean is vast and even with 110 pairs of eyes looking every which way, it’s
easy to miss birds. So I went out open to anything, with only one actual
goal—to take at least one or two good photos of the Northern Gannet, a bird I
figured we couldn’t possibly miss. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8425941712/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Northern Gannet by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Northern Gannet" height="363" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8499/8425941712_5b4de8a87e.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Northern Gannet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Gannets belong to the family Sulidae, along with boobies. Boobies
nest in southern seas, but gannets breed on rocky cliffs in the North Atlantic, where they are the largest breeding seabird. Two thirds of the world’s gannets
nest in the U.K., mostly in Scotland. The rest breed mostly off Canada,
Ireland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland.
Gannets breed far from the Florida coast, but a great many migrate here
in winter, and young birds remain on the Atlantic off Florida and in the Gulf
of Mexico for two or more years before returning north to begin breeding.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The gannet is quite abundant still, so is not listed as a
bird of conservation concern, but I consider it one, because the way we’re
trashing the ocean is making all ocean life so vulnerable. On our cruise,
although my eyes were mostly focused all about searching for birds, I did spot
three bits of plastic trash floating about.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8428066963/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Trash just floating about in the ocean by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Trash just floating about in the ocean" height="332" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8493/8428066963_3cc0b026e0.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yuck</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We also saw two container ships. Most boats are far, far more polluting than automobiles, but we don’t seem to
worry about boating and ship pollution at all. We cleaned up auto emissions
after it became clear that lead in the air we breathe was hurting humans, but
we don’t seem to care what we put into salt water. Container ships are
especially polluting because they burn bunker fuel—the filthy sludge left over
from crude oil after gasoline, propane, and kerosene have been refined out.
Every article we purchase from China is cheaper than what we can manufacture in
America not only because labor is so cheap and there are few environmental
controls to require companies to minimize pollution, but also because we can
transport those items to America so cheaply via these horrifically polluting
vessels. And because all countries share the ocean, there’s little any country
could do to clean up the mess, even if any country wanted to, which none seem
to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8427958487/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Northern Gannet by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Northern Gannet" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8359/8427958487_53eb88f70c.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">It's so weird to see this bird of rocky wild islands of the North Atlantic flying so close to massive developments. But where else can they go in winter?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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The gannet was the
bird most often collected dead or badly oiled after the BP oil spill. I was
very disturbed when I attended a “media event” at one of the rehab centers
following the spill to hear the spokesman from the US Fish and Wildlife Service
explain that the reason every gannet thus far collected was an immature was a
mystery, but that apparently the adults had figured out how to avoid oil
plumes. No—the reason was that all the adults were far from the Gulf when the
spill occurred—already wending their way north to their breeding grounds. I
couldn’t believe he didn’t at least look the bird up in a field guide to figure
this out. But like everything else about the spill, the media seemed to swallow
everything BP said without questioning it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/4907101363/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Northern Gannet getting an examination by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Northern Gannet getting an examination" height="333" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4076/4907101363_51d0c18ed4.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This poor first-year Northern Gannet had been oiled in the BP oil spill, and was being cared for at a rehab center in Alabama.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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On my pelagic trip, I tried not to think too much about
trash and oil spills and bunker fuel and the many other ways we pollute the
ocean while I was watching gannets. They’re gorgeous in flight or swimming, and
I managed to get dozens of reasonably good photos of them. They were gathering
near the boat because the crew was “chumming”—that is, tossing out fish oil and
fish guts and popcorn out the back to lure in gulls, which often attract
curious seabirds from a distance.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8429276104/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Tossing out "chum"--a goopy mix of fish guts, oil, popcorn, and other delicacies. by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Tossing out "chum"--a goopy mix of fish guts, oil, popcorn, and other delicacies." height="428" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8366/8429276104_6fa5f6de5f.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Tossing out "chum"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8428183361/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Gulls following boat by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Gulls following boat" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8471/8428183361_73c4a1f4fb.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Gulls following the boat to gobble up "chum"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The gannets watching this were diving from
only ten or twenty feet above the water, though when actively fishing, may dive
from as much as a hundred feet above the surface. They manage this because
their nostrils are located in their mouth rather than externally, they have air
sacs under the skin of their face and chest that act as bubble wrap to soften
the blow when they hit water, and their eyes are located forward, providing
binocular vision to accurately judge when they’ll hit. They dive so frequently
that the word “gannet” has come to refer to a glutton.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8428040711/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Northern Gannet by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Northern Gannet" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8233/8428040711_d85bafff9a.jpg" width="423" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next time I'll try to take an action shot that's in focus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We saw dozens of gannets at close range until we got out far
from shore—right when we started seeing sailfish and flying fish, we stopped
seeing them. I got just a couple of slightly out-of-focus photos of gannets
plunging, arrow-like, into the ocean, one of the most spectacular things they
do.
I didn’t see any of their dives from way up, though I’ve seen this at a
distance from shore—next time I set out off the coast in Florida, I’ll take a
fishing boat that sticks closer to where gannets are fishing so I can get
better photos of their dives. That’s the coolest thing about birding: even as
we try to see more birds, we enjoy seeing every little thing about the birds
we’ve already seen, too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8428075695/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Bridled Tern by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Bridled Tern" height="332" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8375/8428075695_5935b2c6b9.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridled Tern</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I didn’t see any lifers on this trip—the distant Brown Booby
and Cory’s Shearwater and the closer Red Phalaropes, Bridled Terns, and jaegers
were already on my lifelist.
But we did see a baby Green Sea Turtle release, and got glimpses at wild adult sea turtles.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8429158998/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Baby Green Sea Turtle by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Baby Green Sea Turtle" height="367" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8362/8429158998_386a644db7.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Green Seat Turtle about to be released gently into the big big ocean</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8428076811/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Sea Turtle by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Sea Turtle" height="367" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8474/8428076811_8fc6a33bd2.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult sea turtle seen from the boat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I reached my goal on this perfect day, and
will head home with happy memories of my favorite seabird and a lovely voyage. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8428065325/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Northern Gannet by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Northern Gannet" height="388" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8195/8428065325_92e8335ea6.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mission accomplished!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
I'm not sure how many miles the boat traveled. My own auto mileage is now up to 2632. I added nine species for the year:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Cory's Shearwater</li>
<li>Brown Booby</li>
<li>Red Phalarope</li>
<li>Lesser Black-backed Gull</li>
<li>Bridled Tern</li>
<li>Black Tern</li>
<li>Pomarine Jaeger</li>
<li>Parasitic Jaeger</li>
<li>Razorbill (These poor birds are also being found dead or dying along the Florida coast this year--they are probably here due to the hurricane, and somehow I didn't feel very happy seeing this one.)</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-41754560608810732222013-01-29T20:50:00.001-08:002013-01-29T20:50:17.298-08:00January 27: Blue Heron Sewage Treatment Plant, Merritt Island, and moving on to DaytonaI started out my morning in a literal fog. I checked out of my motel and drove a few blocks to the Blue Heron Sewage Treatment facility, where birders are welcome! I added four new species there:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>King Rail</li>
<li>Sora</li>
<li>Purple Gallinule</li>
<li>Swamp Sparrow</li>
</ol>
<div>
Then I stopped at Merritt Island's visitor center one last time before heading on to the Brevard County Community College to give my program about the herons viewed in Cornell's nest cam. It was the last regular program of the festival, at lunchtime when people were packing up, so I can blame that on the poor attendance--about a dozen people showed up in the rather large auditorium. Oh, well--I prefer intimate little gatherings anyway.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then it was time to wend my way up toward Daytona so I wouldn't waste too many extra miles driving back and forth to New Smyrna Beach, where the pelagic trip would be leaving from. En route I FINALLY saw one Black Skimmer, and when I reached my hotel room, got my first gannet!</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Northern Gannet</li>
<li>Black Skimmer</li>
</ol>
<div>
My year's total is now 173.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-79237937203136788382013-01-29T20:41:00.001-08:002013-01-29T20:41:20.176-08:00January 26: Enchanted Forest Sanctuary field tripsFor the past few years, Joe Swingle and I have led a field trip for "beginners" at Brevard County's lovely Enchanted Forest Sanctuary, where Joe is a naturalist. This year we led two. Bill Thompson from Bird Watcher's Digest came along on one to help. Between field trips, I went back to Merritt Island briefly, where I saw the male hummer who's been visiting the feeders at the visitor center.<br />
<br />
New birds, bringing my total to 167:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Eastern Screech-Owl (I heard it make the whinny call twice. Archimedes has been calling lately, and my missing him is probably why my ears picked it out.)</li>
<li>Ruby-throated Hummingbird</li>
<li>Yellow-bellied Sapsucker</li>
<li>Orange-crowned Warbler</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-66556208618557439652013-01-25T17:46:00.002-08:002013-01-25T17:46:50.149-08:00January 25: Moore Cultural Center and Merritt IslandLed a field trip to the Moore Cultural Center. People there are interested in making the grounds into a welcoming bit of habitat. After the field trip and a bit of lunch, I went to Merritt Island, to the Visitor Center, along the Wildlife Drive, and to the Scrub-Jay area. Brought my total to 163 with these new species:<br />
<ol>
<li>Eurasian Wigeon</li>
<li>American Wigeon</li>
<li>Northern Pintail</li>
<li>American Avocet</li>
<li>Greater Yellowlegs</li>
<li>Lesser Yellowlegs</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-78668394301295107572013-01-25T17:15:00.000-08:002013-01-25T17:44:47.168-08:00January 24: Viera Wetlands!I spent the entire morning, from about 8:15 until 2 pm, at the Viera Wetlands and the "Click Ponds" that start near the entrance going the other direction. Had wonderful looks at a river otter and a family of raccoons, as well as plenty of birds. My total is now 157 thanks to these new species:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Mottled Duck</li>
<li>Blue-winged Teal</li>
<li>Green-winged Teal</li>
<li>Ring-necked Duck</li>
<li>Wild Turkey</li>
<li>American Bittern</li>
<li>Least Bittern</li>
<li>Glossy Ibis</li>
<li>Common Gallinule</li>
<li>American Coot</li>
<li>Limpkin</li>
<li>Barred Owl</li>
<li>Tree Swallow</li>
<li>Barn Swallow</li>
<li>Marsh Wren</li>
<li>Common Yellowthroat</li>
<li>Savannah Sparrow</li>
<li>Painted Bunting</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-739619038857466962013-01-25T17:08:00.002-08:002013-01-25T17:44:12.140-08:00January 23: A Scrub-Jay DayThis was a wonderful day! I started out at the Florida Scrub-Jay Trail, then moseyed to Lake Kissimmee State Park, then had to get to my son's place in Davenport where we had dinner, and then I headed on to Titusville. I'm just posting the basic statistics right now, but will add photos and a lot more information about the day and places ASAP. I had 11 new species, bringing my total to 139. New species:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Northern Harrier</li>
<li>Loggerhead Shrike</li>
<li>White-eyed Vireo</li>
<li>Blue-headed Vireo</li>
<li>Florida Scrub-Jay</li>
<li>Blue-gray Gnatcatcher</li>
<li>Ruby-crowned Kinglet</li>
<li>Pine Warbler</li>
<li>Eastern Towhee</li>
<li>Bachman's Sparrow</li>
<li>Red-winged Blackbird</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-80216902848897277082013-01-25T17:03:00.001-08:002013-01-25T17:43:40.815-08:00January 21-22: Day at Disney and drivingI wish the management of Disney World had a naturalist at each theme park pointing out the cool wild birds around. I didn't get any year birds at Disney or in the Orlando area (not after yesterday's Hooded Merganser, anyway), and didn't see any new ones along the drive back to Sarasota where I said farewell to Mr. B and headed on to the Florida Scrub-Jay Consortium, where my dear friends Bruce and Cathy Brown are doing admirable work trying to get private landowners to work together to manage property for Florida Scrub-Jays. I got there quite late in the day, and though I spotted one in the distance, decided to wait till I see it better tomorrow before I count it. I'm scrambling to catch up on posts for people who want to know what I've been seeing, but will write a lot more about Bruce and Cathy's work, and why they deserve our support, as soon as I can. New bird (oh, well--had to see them eventually) brought my total to 128:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Brown-headed Cowbird</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-7778797869147086702013-01-25T16:51:00.001-08:002013-01-31T13:27:16.668-08:00January 20: Longboat Key and on to OrlandoI took a short stroll on a beach on Longboat Key near Sarasota this morning. It was quiet bird-wise and some little kid was chasing shorebirds. I told him and his parents that these birds travelled thousands of miles to rest here, but they said there are thousands of miles of beaches they could move to. Oh, well. THAT was depressing! The beach is beautiful.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8401143649/" title="Sanderling by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Sanderling" height="324" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8050/8401143649_f26ce3bd9a.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanderling</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8401135487/" title="Ruddy Turnstone by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Ruddy Turnstone" height="327" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8491/8401135487_ea4651d5ff.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruddy Turnstone (They use that cool wedged beak to turn over stones!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8402200508/" title="Royal Terns with one Sandwich Tern by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Royal Terns with one Sandwich Tern" height="315" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8091/8402200508_2c9ea82b37.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Royal Terns with one Sandwich Tern in back.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8402187224/" title="Willet by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Willet" height="328" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8360/8402187224_5d75e9cf1c.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willets resting up before the little boy chased them away</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8401079067/" title="Sanderling by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Sanderling" height="343" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8356/8401079067_74df8ddc50.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doin' the Sanderling Stretch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8402149564/" title="Sandwich Tern by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Sandwich Tern" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8049/8402149564_71579a868c.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandwich Tern</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8401223338/" title="Ruddy Turnstone eating a very dead fish, with a Sanderling sneaking in for little bits. by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Ruddy Turnstone eating a very dead fish, with a Sanderling sneaking in for little bits." height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8191/8401223338_a41335f1ce.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sanderling kept creeping in and taking tiny bites before the Ruddy Turnstone chased him away. Fish for breakfast!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8401115838/" title="Black-bellied Plover by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Black-bellied Plover" height="305" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8231/8401115838_2a1fa8acd1.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-bellied Plover</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mr. Borkowski and I headed off to Orlando for my personal "Take Your Fifth Grade Teacher to Disney World Day." He spotted my year Cattle Egrets along our drive, and in back of our hotel in Kissimmee, there were Hooded Mergansers, so oddly enough, I got a year bird in one of the most developed parts of the state. Joey came to the hotel where we ate dinner together. He took this photo of me and Mr. B.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkDhxN5bMeVG67ZCBHoLaD_DNGj2v6FF7qFcKYlPPnVY0NzU9KYsc0Faagzx8e0gcrq7aoKg2FRgO_Ck-Nq5BNAQa2LywCT3_grKPnJ9OMxHUPk3Bq-fZcYlpjUz0vaZ13KQe_OYYYKEUi/s1600/Mr.+B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkDhxN5bMeVG67ZCBHoLaD_DNGj2v6FF7qFcKYlPPnVY0NzU9KYsc0Faagzx8e0gcrq7aoKg2FRgO_Ck-Nq5BNAQa2LywCT3_grKPnJ9OMxHUPk3Bq-fZcYlpjUz0vaZ13KQe_OYYYKEUi/s320/Mr.+B.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
My new birds brought my total to 127:<br />
<ol>
<li>Hooded Merganser</li>
<li>Cattle Egret</li>
<li>Sandhill Crane</li>
<li>Spotted Sandpiper</li>
<li>Sandwich Tern</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-68640651643452774422013-01-25T16:42:00.001-08:002013-01-25T16:45:38.793-08:00January 19: Sanibel IslandEvery time I come to Florida I see yet more housing developments and retail malls sprouting up, even as I see foreclosures and shopping strips that have been abandoned. But development continues apace, and birds crowd into what's left.<br />
<br />
The people on Sanibel Island seem to realize how essential for wildlife their shoreline is. Once you cross the bridge onto the island, you can pull over in many places to get onto the shoreline. The only development for a long stretch is occasional restrooms and picnic tables, along with a fairly narrow stretch of drivable sand far enough from the actual beach for shorebirds to cope. Dogs are only allowed on-leash, too, which is wonderful because these white sand beaches are exactly where Piping and Snowy Plovers gather in winter. I was there at high tide, the trickiest time to find many of the shorebirds, and I only got brief, distant looks at two before they flew off, but even a glimpse at these adorable little birds has the power to make me smile all day.<br />
<br />
I was headed for Ding Darling--the nickname birders give to J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. How did it get its name?<br />
<br />
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One of America’s most famous political cartoonists during
the Great Depression and the years of the Roosevelt administration was Jay
Norwood Darling. While he attended Beloit College, he started signing his
artwork simply a contraction of his last name, turning “Darling” into "D’ing." Soon everyone
was calling him “Ding.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Darling’s two passions in life were politics and
conservation. He was given the Pulitzer Prize twice, in 1924 and 1943, for
editorial cartoons. On the conservation side, he founded the National Wildlife
Federation, conceived the Federal Duck Stamp program and drew the first Duck
Stamp, and for a time headed the U.S. Biological Survey, which evolved into the
US Fish and Wildlife Service.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island named for him protects one of
America’s largest remaining undeveloped mangrove ecosystems. </div>
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When I got to the refuge, I’d barely cracked my car door
open before the meows of Gray Catbirds were greeting my ears. I walked a bit
around the parking area by the Visitor Center, looking for songbirds, and then drove
the Wildlife Loop, a one-way road going along wonderful habitat. I got splendid
looks and photos of two of the refuge’s iconic birds, the Yellow-crowned
Night-Heron and Anhinga. Despite the high tide, there were a few large groups
of shorebirds, including Black-bellied, Semipalmated, and Wilson’s Plovers, Dunlins,
Short-billed Dowitchers, Red Knots, and about 500 Willets—more than I’d ever
seen in a single place before. Willets are a rather drab gray when resting or
running, but the moment they open their wings—wow. The striking black and white
pattern is absolutely beautiful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One loon rested in a shallow area not far from the first
group of shorebirds. It looked rather sick—botulism killed a great many loons
in late summer and fall on the Great Lakes this year, and I’m afraid this bird
may have been a late casualty of the disease. Four Roseate Spoonbills flew
over, two landing pretty far out for photos but near enough to enjoy the bright
pink contrasting with all the white egrets they joined. Every species of heron
and egret native to Florida gave me decent looks along the wildlife drive. I
ended the morning with over 60 species, 40 of them new, boosting the number of species seen on
my Conservation Big Year to 122. This does not count the feral domesticated Muscovy Ducks I saw along the drive, though at some point someone will show that they're established. The new species:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li>Northern Shoveler</li>
<li>Common Loon</li>
<li>Pied-billed Grebe</li>
<li>American White Pelican</li>
<li>Brown Pelican</li>
<li>Great Blue Heron</li>
<li>Snowy Egret</li>
<li>Tricolored Heron</li>
<li>Reddish Egret</li>
<li>Green Heron</li>
<li>Black-crowned Night-Heron</li>
<li>Yellow-crowned Night-Heron</li>
<li>White Ibis</li>
<li>Roseate Spoonbill</li>
<li>Osprey</li>
<li>Black-bellied Plover</li>
<li>Wilson's Plover</li>
<li>Semipalmated Plover</li>
<li>Piping Plover</li>
<li>Killdeer</li>
<li>Willet</li>
<li>Ruddy Turnstone</li>
<li>Red Knot</li>
<li>Sanderling</li>
<li>Western Sandpiper</li>
<li>Least Sandpiper</li>
<li>Dunlin</li>
<li>Short-billed Dowitcher</li>
<li>Bonaparte's Gull</li>
<li>Laughing Gull</li>
<li>Caspian Tern</li>
<li>Forster's Tern</li>
<li>Royal Tern</li>
<li>Eurasian Collared-Dove</li>
<li>Common Ground-Dove</li>
<li>Belted Kingfisher</li>
<li>Fish Crow</li>
<li>House Wren</li>
<li>Gray Catbird</li>
<li>Boat-tailed Grackle</li>
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After a lovely day, I drove back up to Sarasota, to have dinner with Mr. Borkowski and two of his friends, Chuck and Judy. I stayed overnight at their place on Longboat Key.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-6794281852250946472013-01-25T14:53:00.000-08:002013-01-25T16:34:31.283-08:00January 18: Florida!<br />
I drove from Cordele, GA, to Fort Myers, FL, with a dinner stop in Sarasota with my fifth grade teacher, Arthur Borkowski! The only birding I did all day was what I could see from the car and at various rest stops, and it was dark by the time I left Sarasota, but I had pretty good luck at the run-of-the-mill Florida rest stops, just wandering around the periphery of the parking lots, and going on a nice little walking path at one. So I added 13 species, bringing my year total to 82:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Wood Stork</li>
<li>Double-crested Cormorant</li>
<li>Anhinga</li>
<li>Great Egret</li>
<li>Little Blue Heron</li>
<li>Red-shouldered Hawk</li>
<li>Eastern Phoebe</li>
<li>Carolina Wren</li>
<li>Northern Mockingbird</li>
<li>Palm Warbler</li>
<li>Yellow-rumped Warbler</li>
<li>Yellow-throated Warbler (This one was so close that I instantly regretted my policy of not lugging my big camera to every bathroom stop)</li>
<li>Chipping Sparrow</li>
</ol>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-77217448987282126682013-01-25T14:43:00.002-08:002013-01-25T14:54:14.362-08:00January 17: Drive dayDrove 554 miles today, from Louisburg, KY, to Cordele, GA, during on-and-off sleet and snow and then rain. So not many new birds, but did add a few, bringing my total to 69:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Turkey Vulture</li>
<li>Black Vulture</li>
<li>Common Grackle</li>
</ol>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-25428949310252054192013-01-25T03:42:00.001-08:002013-01-25T16:29:23.777-08:00January 16: Morton Arboretum and a driving day<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8388549054/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Song Sparrow by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Song Sparrow" height="372" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8216/8388549054_6cc06bfda7.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Song Sparrow at the Morton Arboretum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In 1975, when I was a brand new birder, soon after I saw my
first chickadee, my husband and I visited the Morton Arboretum in Lisle,
Illinois. That’s where I saw my very first crow and Canada Goose, which brought
my life list up to seven. Later that same year I added my lifer Brown Creeper at
the arboretum, and the next spring I saw my lifer Orchard Oriole there, so I
have very happy memories of the place. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This week I was in Aurora, Illinois, visiting relatives as I
wend my way toward Florida, and on my way out of town I couldn’t help but stop
at the Morton Arboretum for a little walk. I could only spend a couple of hours
there, but since I’m doing a Conservation Big Year, it seemed important to
highlight this place that works so hard to preserve the trees that birds need.
I walked through the beautiful elm exhibit, which seemed especially poignant
since one of my favorite birds, the Baltimore Oriole, was once so associated
with elms. This being winter, there were no orioles to be found, but hundreds
of robins and at least a dozen Cedar Waxwings provided ample evidence of the
value of fruit trees for birds. The temperature didn’t get much above 15
degrees and it was very windy, but cold isn’t a deterrent for these birds as
long as they have enough food.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The other most abundant bird at the Morton Arboretum on my
short walk was the Canada Goose. On Russ’s and my first visit there in March
1975, people in the visitor center told me how thrilled they were because a
pair of geese had nested there the previous year. They said a local rehabber
had released a permanently flightless goose in an arboretum pond where the
water stayed open all winter, and he or she managed to attract a mate. Come
spring, the flighted goose probably wanted to take off for parts unknown, but
geese are exceptionally loyal and committed to their mates, so the pair made
the best of things, raising their young at the arboretum. Because they couldn’t
migrate together, they didn’t teach their young to migrate. Year after year, they
raised more young, some moved on with their new partners while others remained
at the arboretum, having found partners willing to be non-migratory, and the
population grew. Geese happen to be one of the few bird species that graze on
and can digest grasses, and manicured lawns provide not just food but
wonderfully safe places to bring goslings, where any lurking predators are
easily seen. And geese are such sociable birds that wild migratory geese
started joining urban groups, learning to relish the same amenities. It’s hard
for people younger than me to realize that urban geese are a relatively new
phenomenon, but this is how geese populated urban parks throughout the country.
Even though Canada Geese are proof that there can be too much of a good thing,
I was very happy to see them at the Morton Arboretum, where I’d first
discovered them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Few birds were out in the open in the cold, but one brave
Song Sparrow popped up briefly, it’s feathers completely puffed up to provide
insulation. The biting wind quickly sent him back into thick vegetation, and my
own shivering made it easier to return to my own sheltering car and the long
drive ahead. I’d added a few new birds
for the year, and more importantly, had reconnected with one of the wonderful
places that gave me so many treasured experiences.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I'm up to 66 for the year. I added:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<ol>
<li>Eastern Bluebird</li>
<li>Cedar Waxwing</li>
<li>Song Sparrow</li>
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<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-26227318850249441292013-01-25T03:37:00.000-08:002013-01-25T03:38:17.649-08:00January 15: Day of rest in Aurora, IllinoisWell, it was a day of rest from birding, but not from birds. I spent the day at the school my cousin Dan Satinover's daughter Maddie attends. The fourth grade classes are starting an owl unit, and so I presented to all five classes in three presentations. It was exhausting but fun. Then I spent the night in the Justin Bieber room. (Why am I glad my spellcheck has never heard of him?)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhJllI3VkTvzrQrQQeiHFNtbZK9HW5TSO6CwNdCTY2gyrtiN9ht65yilq0lfnvV-3ja5nZ-bOtssbKtNnoPBaPXyfeY2d3q61nufyVrtP99xToPK4KQP_ul06nTM0eWJpK3k7D-BfBGiF/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhJllI3VkTvzrQrQQeiHFNtbZK9HW5TSO6CwNdCTY2gyrtiN9ht65yilq0lfnvV-3ja5nZ-bOtssbKtNnoPBaPXyfeY2d3q61nufyVrtP99xToPK4KQP_ul06nTM0eWJpK3k7D-BfBGiF/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I had just a few species between Maddie's house and the school, so my total remains 63 species for the year. It was wonderful spending a couple of evenings with a lovely family.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-55212095728234621122013-01-16T21:50:00.001-08:002013-01-16T21:50:01.703-08:00January 14: Birding around Madison, Wisconsin<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><img alt="Great Horned Owl" height="375" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3116/3119153912_43caa03bd5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="500" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Great Horned Owl (not an individual I saw this year)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<br />
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I do most of my birding alone, but every now and then it’s
nice to spend a morning with a birding buddy. I got to spend this Monday
morning with one of my best birding friends, though oddly enough, we’d never
actually birded together before. Mike McDowell is one of the world’s premier
digiscopers, and the kind of birder I consider the cream of the crop. He’s
intimately knowledgeable about one place, the Pheasant Branch Conservancy in
Middleton, Wisconsin, which he visits over and over throughout each year. Not
only does he know all the regular birds found there, but
also he discovers rarities like nesting Yellow-breasted Chats, and he’s taken
gorgeous photos of many of these birds. This year I’m highlighting places and
people important for bird conservation, so I made a special point to spend some
time with Mike at Pheasant Branch.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Sunday I drove from Duluth to Middleton, and Mike and I got
together Monday morning before sunrise. First thing he took me straight to a
pair of Great Horned Owls, one sitting directly above the other in a
medium-sized spruce tree. Mike has been keeping track of several pairs of owls
at Pheasant Branch, and he knew exactly where to look. That was new for my
Conservation Big Year count. He also showed me a huge tree cavity nearby that
they’ve nested in some years.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next, Mike brought me to a trail that has bird feeders
alongside it. Here’s where I started feeling my age—I’ve been losing some of my
high-frequency hearing, and never heard several Brown Creepers that Mike heard
easily. He also pointed out a flicker, American Tree Sparrows, and several
other little dickey birds that I had to strain to pick up. Scolding chickadees
and a rush of wings put us both on a Cooper’s Hawk carrying prey. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Cooper's Hawk" height="357" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8224/8387954155_a9ed0a443b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" width="500" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooper's Hawk holding prey and staring at us</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
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We checked out a prairie area where a Horned Lark flew
across the road—another new species. Then Mike had to get to work, but we’d
amassed a list of 24 species, fully half new for my year list. The only species
I got entirely skunked on that Mike heard was the Brown Creeper, but
fortunately I’d seen two of them last week.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://dl.dropbox.com/u/36312322/birderslemm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://dl.dropbox.com/u/36312322/birderslemm.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brrrrrrrr!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p> </o:p>A major cold front had kept temperatures down around 10 that
morning, but I still visited Picnic Point, on the University of Wisconsin
Campus. This is a place I used to know as well as Mike knows Pheasant Branch.
Just a couple of days before, a great assortment of waterfowl had been
reported, but now Lake Mendota’s shoreline was frozen, and almost all the ducks I saw were too far out
for me to identify while I was shivering so hard, though I did manage to see
enough to identify the closest ducks—a group of Red-breasted Mergansers,
another new species. And visiting Picnic Point is never a waste of time. A gorgeous
Red-tailed Hawk circled in the brilliant blue sky, an adult Bald Eagle perched in
a large tree on the shoreline, and a Red-bellied Woodpecker gave me nice looks.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8389042726/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Red-bellied Woodpecker by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Red-bellied Woodpecker" height="366" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8333/8389042726_f49134c056.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-bellied Woodpecker at Picnic Point</td></tr>
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<br />
I would have been much sadder to leave if the weather had been a bit balmier.
In Illinois, I saw a kestrel on a wire, bringing the number of new birds for
the year to 14, and my total year list to 63. Not bad for the first two weeks
of the year. The list will climb dramatically when I reach Florida this
weekend. </div>
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<br /></div>
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New birds for the year:</div>
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</div>
<ol>
<li>Red-breasted Merganser</li>
<li>Cooper's Hawk</li>
<li>Red-tailed Hawk</li>
<li>American Kestrel</li>
<li>Great Horned Owl</li>
<li>Red-bellied Woodpecker</li>
<li>Northern Flicker</li>
<li>Horned Lark</li>
<li>Tufted Titmouse</li>
<li>American Robin</li>
<li>American Tree Sparrow</li>
<li>White-throated Sparrow</li>
<li>Dark-eyed Junco</li>
<li>Pine Siskin</li>
</ol>
<div>
Miles driven today (from Middleton to Aurora, Illinois) 154 + 13 miles in Mike's car = 167 miles</div>
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-10889398202049385382013-01-15T08:36:00.003-08:002013-01-25T16:26:37.727-08:00January 13: Barrow's Goldeneye<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8380717467/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Barrow's Goldeneye with Common Goldeneyes by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Barrow's Goldeneye with Common Goldeneyes" height="423" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8357/8380717467_9092a2f5a1.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barrow's Goldeneye with Common Goldeneyes</td></tr>
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<br />
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Every year in January I start a new year list. That makes even
the most common species exciting for at least a moment, and makes me eager to
get out at least once or twice to the Sax-Zim Bog, Port Wing, Wisconsin, and
other favorite birding places so my year list doesn’t look too pitiful before
the big migration hits each spring. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This year I’m trying to see as many species as I can, so
I’ve been out a lot more than usual. So far I haven’t seen the Varied Thrushes
that have been in Duluth—Janet Riegle and I saw one the day of the Christmas Bird
Count in December, but the three times I looked there starting on New Year’s
Day, I couldn’t find it. And I went to Wisconsin Point three times in search of
a Barrow’s Goldeneye that has been hanging out with Common Goldeneyes in the
Superior Entry, but kept getting skunked on that, too. When I left home on
January 13 for my long drive to Florida, I had 47 species. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But since I was driving past Moccasin Mike Road anyway, I
decided to make one last try for the goldeneye. The sky was dark and snow
flurries made visibility poor, but I lucked out—Mike Hendrickson showed up with
his spotting scope, and there it was! It started out on the Minnesota side,
then a bunch of them took off and flew across to a little inlet on the
Wisconsin side, and then it made its way back to the Minnesota side, so I got
to count it for both states. I’d seen one once before in Minnesota, in 2001,
but needed it for my Wisconsin list, so this was very exciting.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I saw my lifer Barrow’s Goldeneye in Yellowstone National
Park in August 1979, and I saw several in Alaska in August 2001. These
sightings make a lot of sense: Barrow’s Goldeneye was once referred to as the
Rocky Mountain Goldeneye because it’s generally restricted to areas west of the
Continental Divide. But satellite telemetry revealed an important breeding
location in the forested regions of the Laurentian Highlands in southeastern
Québec—this population may explain why small numbers are found every year in
winter in the eastern Canadian Maritime Provinces and eastern United States.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Barrow’s Goldeneye is not listed as a species of
conservation concern, but may well deserve to be. The entire world population
numbers less than 200,000, so the conservation status is currently being
reevaluated. This cavity nester is dependent on holes excavated by Pileated
Woodpeckers or flicker holes that have been enlarged by mammals, cavities
formed by broken branches, or the hollow tops of standing trees—they’ve also
been known to nest in old crow nests and a marmot burrow. They’re surprisingly
long-lived. One male was shot by a hunter when at least 15 years old, and another
was reported to have lived over 18 years in the wild. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spotting the lone male among the 600 or so Common Goldeneyes
is like looking for a needle in a haystack or, as Mike Hendrickson said when we
were looking for him, like “Where’s Waldo?” And like finding Waldo at last,
getting a glimpse of this visitor from the North gave me a feeling of genuine
satisfaction.<br />
<br />
A female Lesser Scaup was also in the Superior Entry.<br />
<br />
I searched but didn't see a single Red-tailed Hawk before dark on my drive to Chicago--the cold and constant flurries may have kept them in more sheltered spots for the day. So I ended the day with a total of 49 species. Today I drove 342 miles.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Lesser Scaup</li>
<li>Barrow's Goldeneye</li>
</ol>
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-13488884759744495442013-01-15T08:31:00.001-08:002013-01-15T08:34:01.009-08:00January 10–12: quiet days at home<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8383161995/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Northern Cardinal by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Northern Cardinal" height="363" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8464/8383161995_1c9e761ccf.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Cardinal at my feeder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I spent these three days getting ready for my trip, but did get a nice cardinal at my feeder. I had cardinals already, on January 1 at Pat Thomas's feeder, but this was in my yard, in my feeder, and my mother-in-law also got to see it, so I was very pleased. I'm still at 47 species.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1184792657806413216.post-84672226747521966382013-01-10T10:09:00.001-08:002013-01-10T10:09:49.792-08:00January 9: Still skunked by the Barrow's Goldeneye<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauraerickson/8366400392/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Bald Eagle by Laura Erickson, on Flickr"><img alt="Bald Eagle" height="334" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8492/8366400392_239c99cdd7.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooperative Bald Eagle at Wisconsin Point</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I spent all morning at home, but at 2 pm my son Tom and I headed to Wisconsin Point with Photon to see if I could finally see that Barrow's Goldeneye who's been hanging out with the Common Goldeneyes there. The bulk of the ducks were beyond the distance of conjecture somewhere out by the ice's edge, and only a handful were in the Superior Entry--all Common Goldeneyes. We did make a Tom Prestby sighting, though. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The flock of redpolls (both species) and two chickadees were still hanging out there right where Erik Bruhnke and I saw them on January 2. Larry Kraemer told me today (the 10th) that my best chances would be mid-late morning (he suggested about 11) because that's when they seem to be pigging out on zebra mussels near the breakwalls. So that's my plan for the 11th. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No new birds for the day, but a lovely time and a most cooperative Bald Eagle nonetheless! We drove 44 miles for a total of 458.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1