You can help Nighthawks

My father, a non-birder who grew up in Minneapolis in the 1950s and 60s, remembers that the sky used to be filled with Common Nighthawks. A species needs to be pretty numerous for non-birders to take notice.

That's changed though and numbers of Common Nighthawks are in steep decline. They simply aren't as common as they used to be. Hopefully you can help with that.

Sami Nichols at the University of Minnesota is undertaking a project to monitor nighthawks populations and hopefully identify acting nesting sites. The data she gathers can hopefully aid policy and conservation decisions to help this species regain numbers.

You can help by reporting nighthawks you see. Please download the instructions and reporting forms and start looking for nighthawks!




https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B4Xi-44OmFL4OWRiZGViMDUtMDAwNS00NGE4LThhYWEtMTZlZjE0ZmMxMTll&hl=en&authkey=CNyT3ZAD

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MN Breeding Bird Atlas Could Lose Funding!

For the past few years I've been volunteering with the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas Project. I'm greatly disappointed to hear that the project risks grinding to a halt because the funding may be pulled.

More than $600,000 has already been allocated from the Environmental Trust Fund for this project. That is a substantial investment but $330,000 more is needed to complete the project over the next three years. More than 600 citizens from across the state have already taken part in gathering valuable data that helps researchers and the state make important conservation and planning decisions that effect breeding bird populations.

We are currently lagging behind other states that have already completed their Breeding Bird Atlas projects.

In these tough financial times we must carefully consider the value of each project. This is not a new initiative seeking funding, it is an important citizen science based project that is already underway. Cutting funding now, just two years into a five year project, will waste the money the state has already invested in the program.

Please write to legislators or call urging them to fund the Breeding Bird Atlas with the Environmental Trust Fund (Lottery money).

If you have been involved in the project, please let them know that as well. We need a groundswell of support on this.

Please write:
Representative McNamara (rep.denny.mcnamara@house.mn, 651-296-3135),

Senator Ingebrigtsen (sen.bill.ingebrigtsen@senate.mn, 651-297-8063,

Your State Representative, and your Senator (http://www.gis.leg.mn/OpenLayers/districts/ - this is the link from which you find your own Representative and Senator).

Every message counts. Don't worry about writing a long letter. Those are great but a simple phone call will make a big difference too.

If you've never called before it is very simple. When they answer, simply tell them that you are calling because you want them to pass on a message to let _______ know that you hope they will support funding for the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas through the Environmental Trust Fund.

That's it! It only takes a minute of your time and the more calls they get the better the chances are of getting funding.

~Kirk

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Great Backyard Bird Count Needs You!

(Via Cornell)

Count Birds February 18-21

The 14th annual Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up February 18–21, 2011. People of all ages and skill levels are needed to count birds in their yards, neighborhoods, or other locations across the United States and Canada. Simply tally birds for at least 15 minutes on any day of the count, then go to www.birdcount.org and enter the highest number of each species seen at any one time.

Coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Bird Studies Canada, the count provides an instantaneous snapshot of birdlife across the continent for all to see. Anyone can watch as the tallies come in at www.birdcount.org. Organizers hope to receive more than 100,000 checklists during the event, with tallies of more than 600 bird species in all.

Last year’s participants reported more than 1.8 million American Robins, as well as rarities such as the first Red-billed Tropicbird in the count’s history.

“Whether people observe birds in backyards, parks, or wilderness areas, the Great Backyard Bird Count is an opportunity to share their results at www.birdcount.org ,” said Judy Braus, Audubon’s vice president of Education and Centers. “It’s fun and rewarding for people of all ages and skill levels--and it gets people outside!”

“When thousands of people all tell us what they’re seeing, we can detect changes in birds’ numbers and locations from year to year,” said Dr. Janis Dickinson, director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

“While this is the depths of winter in most of Canada and only the hardiest birds brave the cold, understanding of trends in the distribution and abundance at this time of year is important as well,” said Dr. George Finney, president of Bird Studies Canada.

Data from the Great Backyard Bird Count can provide an early signal of changes in bird populations. Past counts showed a drop in reports of American Crows after outbreaks of West Nile virus in 2003, a finding consistent with studies showing crow populations declined by 50–75% in some states. Maps from the count have also captured the paths of migrating Sandhill Cranes and recorded the dramatic spread Eurasian Collared-Doves. Introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s, the species was reported in just 8 states during the 1999 GBBC. A decade later, it was reported in 39 states and Canadian provinces.

“I have joined the Great Backyard Bird Count for the past three years and am really looking forward to doing it again,” said participant Kathy Bucher of Exira, Iowa. “I really enjoy nature and bird watching. My mother and I share updates on the birds we see. It’s a fun hobby to share with a loved one!”

For more information, including bird-ID tips, instructions, and past results, visit www.birdcount.org. The count also includes a photo contest and a prize drawing for participants who enter their bird checklists online.

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Chimney Swift Sit 2010

The second annual Chimney Swift Sit in Minnesota is just around the corner. We spoke briefly about the event with Ron Windingstad from Audubon Minnesota on the April Podcast.

The two designated counting periods are August 6-9 and August 27-30 so the first one is coming up this weekend! The Chimney Swift Sit involves finding chimneys/smokestacks/towers being used by swifts and then counting/estimating the number that go in to roost any night/s during that time period. Sunset the first weekend is right at 8:30pm. Try to be at your site from about 8:20 pm until dark. This will maximize the opportunities to watch and count/estimate the number of swifts.

You can download an easy to fill out participation form at the Audubon Minnesota Website or simply click here. to download the participation form.

For questions, contact Ron Windingstad Audubon Minnesota 651-739-9332 ext 14.

~Kirk

(photo credit: NPS)

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First Robin Egg of the Year

You may have read earlier in the week how some robins at work built a nest in an interesting location. They put the finishing touches on this nest on Monday and I've kept an eye open for any signs of activity at the nest. Today we saw the female sitting on the nest some so at the end of the day I went to have a look at the nest. Sure enough, she had laid the first egg.


Because the nest is a little above eye level the easiest way to look inside is with a mirror. This is a little pocket mirror I can hold but for even higher up nests we have a bike mirror mounted on a pole. It works like a charm.

If you have a nest in your yard this spring and would like to take part in some Citizen Science you can help researchers learn more about birds though Cornell's Nest Watch Program. Warner Nature Center locally is a training site for Nest Watch as part of our partnership with Cornell.

You can get certified to be a nest watcher online and then submit your data so it can be part of the effort to better understand birds. Not only is nest monitoring interesting and personally rewarding but you can help everyone understand more about our feathered friends.

Happy nest watching.

~Kirk

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Two Eastern Phoebe Eggs in the nest.

I had my suspicions when the mother was roosting on the nest all weekend. Sure enough when I got into work this morning there were two eggs in the nest.


Eastern Phoebes lay one egg per day, usually in the morning. This means that one of these eggs was laid this morning (Monday) and one was laid yesterday (Sunday.) Eastern Phoebes typically lay four to five eggs. It should be interesting to watch the nest for the eggs of Brown Headed Cowbirds. This particular nest site was parasitized by cowbirds last year and while walking in to work this morning I could hear cowbirds calling very near this nest.

Brown-headed Cowbirds do not make their own nest, rather, they lay their eggs in other birds nests so the other bird will raise their young for them. Last year the Eastern Phoebe must have realized there were too many eggs in the nest because she kicked two eggs out of the nest. Unfortunately, she picked the wrong two eggs and threw out two of her own.

We'll see what happens this year.

You can also follow our Eastern Phoebe nest on Cornell's NestCam site.

~Kirk

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Tracking Chimney Swift Migration

One sure sign that spring is really here in full force is the return of the Chimney Swifts. I love hearing their little chattering sound as they swoop around the sky. Thanks to the marvels of the information age you can monitor their northward movement and contribute sightings of your own at the Driftwood Wildlife Association's 2010 Chimney Swift Migration website.

As of the end of last week, they were half way up Missouri and heading north. They seem to be a week ahead of last year which would mean they should show up in the Twin Cities in about two weeks. If you are seeing them in your area and you live north of where you see a red dot on the above map be sure to send in your observation!

~Kirk

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Tit Watchers Needed.

Time to get off your wintered butt and start looking for tits in your backyard. Tits, those birds that are part of the Paridae family, mostly consist of Black-capped Chickadees and maybe Tufted Titmice if you're birding in the Twin Cities. This weekend (February 12-15) is the Great Backyard Bird Count and to be fair, they are looking for more than just tits. This is the wonderfully lucky 13th annual GBBC so you are practically mandated to participate. Only on the Christmas Bird Count will you find yourself so excited by chickadees, crows, pigeons and yes, even house sparrows.

Participants, also known by the sexy title, "Citizen Scientists", from around the country will fill out checklists of what they see allowing for a fantastic one weekend snapshot of the birds in North America. The project is organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology , the National Audubon Society, and Bird Studies Canada.

All you have to do is bird on this weekend and submit you observations on www.birdcount.org. It is called the Great Backyard Bird Count but you can bird elsewhere as well.

Last year scientists were able to discover interesting trends in the pine siskin population because of this event. They are counting on you!

Another cool thing is that on the www.birdcount.org website, you can check out real-time maps showing what others are reporting during the count. how cool is that? There is also a photo contest and you can upload photos of birds you see during the count. The chickadee at the top of this post was from one of last year's winners, Bill Schiess from Indiana. Just for participating you are entered in a drawing for prizes including bird feeders, binoculars, books, CDs, and many other great birding products.

Do you really need an excuse to go look at birds? Well now you have one! Even if you only enter data on a couple of birds you see in your yard that is still valuable data. Please take part!

(photo credit: Bill Schiess, taken during the 2009 Great Backyard Bird Count)

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Win a pair of Leupold Binoculars!

There's a cool opportunity right now to win a pair of Leupold Acadia Series 8x42 Binoculars through Cornell's CamClickr program. CamClickr is a distributed computing project that taps into citizen scientists across the world to help look at photos captured by bird nest web cams. When you log in you are given a series of photo to look at. You then tag the photos based on a few categories. Computers have a very hard time figuring out what is going on in the photos but the human brain can do it quite quickly. Participants first tag photos to say how many birds are present and then in a second round of tagging can assign behaviors. It is a lot of fun and many people have taken part. The project is closing in on having one million tags on photos. If you are the lucky person to add the one millionth tag then you win the binoculars!


What are you waiting for? Head on over to the CamClickr website and start clicking.

~Kirk

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Frist Annual Minnesota Chimney Swift Sit

A special event is coming up here at the end of the summer so mark your calendars. Minnesota Audubon is hosting the first ever state-wide Chimney Swift Sit in Minnesota. They plan to make this an annual event so this is your chance to get in on the first event in what will hopefully be a fun new tradition.

This state-wide event will be held at dusk on August 7-9 and September 11-13. The idea is to count chimney swifts as they enter their roosting site for the evening.

According to sit coordinator Ron Windingstad, "The Sit requires spending about one hour at dusk during the periods August 7-9 and September 11-13, 2009 counting swifts as they enter a nighttime roosting place. Volunteers can count on one night or on several nights during the designated period."

The purpose of the Chimney Swift Sit is to gain a better understanding of Chimney Swift distribution and population numbers in the state and also to help preserve structures where they nest. As a special bonus, everyone who enters a report is entered into a drawing for a prize!

This event is part of the National Swift Night Out organized by the Driftwood Wildlife Association. These are the same people who bring us those awesome Chimney Swift migration maps each spring.

Audubon is asking for help in two ways. First off, volunteer to be a counter! Second, even if you can't partake in the actual counting for this citizen science project you can help out by letting Audubon know about roosting sites so they can send another volunteer to count. If you know of roosting sites you can contact Ron Windingstad at rwindingstad@audubon.org.

To find out more about the Sit and to download the necessary forms, check out the Chimney Swift Sit page at Minnesota Audubon.

~Kirk

(photo credit: NPS)

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Phoebe Fledging

While eating lunch today I sat next to the screen that shows our live feed of the phoebe nest on the building. I noticed there were only two phoebes. There were three this morning. We were expecting them to fledge any time now. While I watched, one of the birds left so I ran over to the computer and started recording video. I managed to capture the last phoebe fledging from the nest.

You can see a fecal sac left in the nest. Interestingly a parent came back a few minuted later and took it out. While I watched, parents came back to the nest several times with food. Maybe it was each of the parents coming back to make sure everyone was out.

~Kirk

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Phoebe Web Cam Back Up

After some strange server problems, the live Eastern Phoebe Web Cam is back up and running. The Eastern Phoebe has been on the nest every night this week cooking up a new batch of eggs for round 2 of nesting. So far so good. Four days, four eggs. We're really hoping the Brown headed Cowbirds don't come back to the nest. We checked the phoebe nest about 400 feet from this one and it currently has cowbird eggs in it. I expect the phoebe will lay one more egg tomorrow morning and then start incubation.

~Kirk

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The Second Clutch

Looks like I was a day late on this. Paul pointed out today that there are two new eggs in the phoebe nest. Since they lay one a day that means the first egg of the second clutch of the year was laid on Sunday morning. I'm holding out hope that Cowbirds won't lay eggs in the nest again but only time will tell on that.




~Kirk

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Why is your name not on this list?

I'm sure you're asking the same question I am.

Why is your name not on this list yet?

You know who you are.

There are still a lot of unclaimed blocks that need owners for the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas survey.

Why not claim your block?

~Kirk

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One Month of Atlasing

As mentioned previously, I've taken on the task of coordinating the atlasing of section T31R20a for the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas. So far, it has been really interesting. As a participant, you try to identify which birds are breeding in a specified area of land (approximately 9 square miles.) Birds are classified into confirmed breeders, probable breeders or possible breeders. The goal is to get as many birds as possible into as high a category as possible.

There are still many available blocks around the state that need people to take them on so if you're interested in birds be sure to sign up. Many metro locations are still up for grabs as well. Out in ye ol' block T31R20a we've confirmed 16 species. Most of these involve either seeing eggs in a nest or parents sitting on a nest. The confirmed category is the hardest since you usually have to find the actual nests. My co-worker Paul just spotted a warbling vireo nest last week which was a great find. The other way to confirm breeding is to catch a female with a brood patch. That's how we added Black0capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Confirmed:
Canada Goose
Wild Turkey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Blue Jay
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow
Bald Eagle (Eaglet's visible in nest!)
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
Warbling Vireo
Black-capped Chickadee
Song sparrow

The probable list are those birds that we have not found nests for but they are numerous, singing, defending territory, etc. There are 14 species on this list right now.

Probable:
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk
American Woodcock
Barred Owl
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow Warbler
Ovenbird
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
House Wren

The possible list is the most frustrating for me because it includes many species I know breed here but in order to say for sure that they are breeding I need better data. There are 15 birds on this list. Basically, if they are on the possible list it means I've seen them here and they are within the dates they are known to breed but I haven't found actual breeding evidence. I can probably move a bunch of these onto the probable list with a little work.

Possible:
Great Egret
Wood Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
American Kestrel
Turkey Vulture
Sandhill Crane
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Crow
Common Raven
White-breasted Nuthatch
Gray Catbird

~Kirk

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Phoebe Video Updates

Here's some video updates for all of you following the saga of the parasitized Eastern Phoebe nest. The Brown Headed cowbird continues to grow at an amazing rate. This probably has to do with the fact that it gets a lot of the food brought to the nest. There was some speculation on the Cornell site that perhaps the phoebe chick were dead as they are hard to see. They are not dead. They are just overshadowed by the huge cowbird. In this first video, you can clearly see two of the chicks. The third is partially visible at the bottom of the screen under the cowbird.

In this next video you can watch the Phoebe come back and bring food to the nest. She brings back what appears to be a beetle. It barely fits down the cowbirds mouth. I don't think the phoebe chicks could have eaten it with their smaller mouth.

This next video shows that the phoebe chicks are indeed getting food. An adult comes back with food and the video starts with the food already in the cowbird's mouth. The phoebe then takes it out and decides to give it one of the other chicks instead. When the cowbird gets up on the edge of the nest you can really see how big it is. It is the same size, if not larger, than the adult phoebe.

Here's another video of the adult feeding a phoebe chick instead of the cowbird. They are still getting food! I think the cowbird was just full. It doesn't even try to get the food in this one.

That's it for videos today. I missed capturing video of the cowbird flapping its wings and stretching. According to The Birder's Handbook, Brown headed cowbirds fledge at 11 days. We're at 11 days today so hopefully the cowbird will leave the nest any time now. In the past I have noticed the phoebe young fledge in the morning so maybe that is the same with cowbirds. If so, hopefully the cowbird will be gone tomorrow and the parents can start focusing on raising the phoebe chicks.

~Kirk

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Find those Bumblebees!

Doctoral student Athena Anderson at the University of Georgia needs your help. She is studying bumble bees and trying to determine nest site preferences. She has designed a simple survey that anyone can fill out should they find a bumble bee nest. She hopes the information gathered will be valuable for conservation efforts.

If you know of a bumble bee nest or are willing to look for one to help out in some research consider checking out her online survey and filling it out.

~Kirk

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Phoebe Video

I finally had some time to capture some real-time video off the Eastern Phoebe Cam. There are three phoebe nestlings and at least one cowbird visible. The other cowbird may be hidden underneath the pile.

In the first video, one of the parents brings a large dragonfly back to the nest. It thinks about feeding it to the nestlings but it is too large even for the cowbird. the second phoebe arrives and it looks like the second bird just decides to take the dragonfly away. (Perhaps for a personal meal?)

The second video is a little higher quality. I messed around with the settings a bit to get a higher quality capture. This video illustrates the central problem with having cowbirds in the nest. The cowbird is already about twice the size of the phoebes and this is only five days after hatching. Look at the size of that mouth! When the parents come back with food they see that huge open mouth and they automatically feed the biggest target. The cowbird is getting most of the food. you can see the three small mouths at the top begging for food. The parent considers giving them some but then feeds it to the cowbird.

There's a little bonus at the end of the second video for those scat0logically inclined blog readers. The cowbird expels a fecal sac. The parent bird picks it up and flies away. This is one way they keep the nest clean. Did you ever notice there are no bird droppings in nests? By carrying away fecal sacs, the parents keep the nest clean. Now you know.

It makes me glad to be a human. I may have to change my son's diapers but I don't do it with my mouth.

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Phoebe Nest Update

The Memorial Day holiday took me away from web access which of course means the eggs in the Phoebe Nest have hatched. According to co-workers who were in on last Friday, that is when the action first started. I was so busy today I didn't have much time to check on things but now several (if not all) of the eggs have hatched. I was able to grab a two random shots during the day, the morning one above and the afternoon one below. Sorry, they aren't the best. In the top photo I can clearly make out two birds for sure. It will be really interesting to watch over the next two weeks to see how the phoebe nestlings do with two huge fast growing cowbirds in the nest. Here's one of the parents bringing back some food. Much better pictures will be coming in the next few days. I may also monkey with the feed a little to see if we can get a little crisper image.

~Kirk

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Something Strange Afoot in Phoebe Nest

As noted a few days ago, we were up to 7 eggs in the Eastern Phoebe nest at work after a Brown-headed Cowbird added two eggs to the nest. Weirdly, on Friday there were suddenly only 6 eggs in the nest. Eastern Phoebes are not known to remove cowbird eggs so this seemed strange. I took a look on the big monitor we have in our lab downstairs. The lab feed is a direct live video feed of the nest and the image is larger than the stills we can pull from the feed we send to Cornell. I could clearly see that the two cowbird eggs were still in the nest. It was a phoebe egg that was missing. I next looked out the window near the nest and sure enough I could see a broken smashed egg on the ground under the nest. On Saturday, I taught a group of girl scouts and at the end of class we stopped by the monitor so I could tell them about the nest monitoring project and how they can take part. How's this for weird, there's another egg missing from the nest. I could see on Saturday that there were only 5 eggs in the nest. The cowbird eggs are still there but there are only 3 phoebe eggs now.


Did she knock them out on purpose? Was it an accident? Did the cowbird return and destroy some of her eggs for some reason? To try to find out I turned to the time lapse videos of the nest on YouTube. On Saturday evening, all six eggs are there at 5:57:19.


She returns at 6:03. She moves around a bit and has her head down by the eggs. There is no sign of a cowbird visiting the nest. When she leaves again at 6:11, just 8 minutes later, the sixth egg is gone and there are only 5 in the nest. The one in the upper left, which was closest to her head, is gone.


Did she eject the egg on purpose then because she thought the nest was too crowded? One clue may be this image from the same evening at 5:44. Is that an egg she's pushing up toward the edge? Maybe she tried to push it out earlier and was unsuccessful but got it right half and hour later.


If I get time I may try to figure out when the first egg went missing and see if anything shows up on the images.

~Kirk

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