Rural Chatter

Update on Leucistic Eagle

2008-07-26T10:18:00.007-07:00

From: Rocky Mountain News

A stunning and unusual eagle is being nursed back to health in Pueblo with hopes that it may someday return to the wild.

The golden eagle is cream-colored with a hint of light brown and red in its feathers, a result of its leucistic condition. It’s not an albino, but the signals to tell its feathers to produce pigment aren’t working, hence the very light color, said Diana Miller, raptor center director at the Nature and Raptor Center of Pueblo. [Noted in a related article, finding such a bird is a once in a lifetime event.]

“He was very thin, in very poor feather condition.” Miller said. “We have noticed that he also has an old shoulder injury, which probably will heal nicely, but he also had a very heavy load of bird lice — parasites chewing on his feathers."

The eagle is about 2 years old, still a youngster in the eagle world, Miller said. But there’s hope. He is molting now, and the new feathers are coming in a few shades darker. If that continues, he might someday be strong enough to survive in the wild.

For now, the bird is being fed dead rabbits and rats in an enclosure 20 feet square. There is a big pool of water inside where he can bathe. If he continues to get stronger, raptor center workers will let loose live rodents in his enclosure and teach him how to hunt.

“He is all golden eagle. He is very wary of us,” Miller said. “He’s intelligent and curious, and he wants very much to be an eagle,” she said.

See the Whole Story

• Amusing dialogue on the story

• Another sucessful SoCo Eagle Story

Leucistic Eagle in SoCo July 2008

2008-07-25T15:32:00.016-07:00

From: Newsradio 850 KOA: Rare albino eagle found in Colorado

A part-albino Golden Eagle has been found in the Pinon Canyon area of Southeastern Colorado by rancher Tony Hass. His wife, Connie, took the photos as they waited for Division of Wildlife District Manager Jeremy Gallegos to capture the eagle and take it to the Raptor Center in Pueblo.

For the story and accompanying photos click here. Be sure to check out the link to the ‘photo gallery’.

Of course, there really isn’t such a thing as ‘partial albino’…it seems to me. Albinism is the absence of color…all color, to the degree that the iris is colorless and eyes appear to be red, as they are actually transparent and it is the blood vessels one sees. When ‘some’ color is absent or excessively light; the condition is called Leucism. Leucistic birds have some color and dark eyes; they are not Albino.

For more infomration regarding Leucisim see:

Photos and discussion by:
D. Baxter
Photos and discussion by: L. Stokes
Photos and discussion by: R. Allard
Photos and discussion by: Cornell Edu
And of course: Wikipedia
Other avain color-oddities by: BirdInfo
Other Leucistic animals

Adendum: Too funny, this story took place in my neighborhood here in Southern Colorado, but BirdChick seems to have scopped me big time! The Minnesota girl quotes a local paper here in Colorado some five hours after I posted what I'd heard. Dang, news travels FAST! I appreciate her update from our local paper: The Pueblo Chieftan.

Flighty Flycatchers & Immature Hummingbirds

2008-07-25T13:07:00.007-07:00

Hummers and flycatchers; I may be obsessed.

I am being tormented by a bird, or rather its call, and I think it’s a flycatcher. Generally early mornings and sometimes evenings I hear this call; it sounds much like ‘mewwwww’ or ‘chewwwww’ or ‘pewwwww’. This is a single syllable, sort of downward-cascading sound (accent on first part); almost a pleading sound and yes, I know birds do not plead! LOL It’s sort of buzzy or wheezy; insect-sounding, too. And it’s called over and over without variation.

On the other hand, when out once trying to locate this call I hear, I also brought a bird into my binoc’s view-finder that was definitely not a flycatcher…but I didn’t get any sort of good look at it, other than to note a thrasher-like bill. I did not see it sing. [Sigh] It’s a mystery!

This morning is yet another call. Not the same bird, I hear that one too and it’s off in a different location…these two are not ‘talking’. This one has a two syllable call; clear as a bell…one high, one low. Sort of like ‘Helll-looooo’, repetitively called as the bird moves about the neighborhood. This one sounds somewhat like the Black-capped Chickadee; it wouldn’t surprise me if it is, but I’ve got many of them around and I don’t really think he’s the one.

I have been through several bird-call sources…and just cannot find the calls!

And then there are the hummingbirds! My yard is full of ‘em and I’ve discovered the reason for the explosion; fledglings! I am seeing many little birds that do not look much like the four, adult species that have been visiting; but rather like pencil-necked, bed-headed birds of questionable parentage. LOL I’m sure they are recently fledged as I’ve seen several with sort of fluffy-butts or baby-feathers sticking out at odd angles on their shoulders or heads. Many also seem to be males, but with no iridescence; streaky throats and almost a 5 o’clock shadow of where color might be. One or two have three or four darker feathers at the throat or even are just generally darker than a female should be…but have no color at the throat. I’m fairly sure these are youngsters and it tickles me no end!

By the by...did you know a group of hummingbirds is called a 'charm'? A charm of Hummingbirds…too cool!

Personally, I think I'm charmed by the Calliope; doesn't this look like a youngster? I sure think so.

Seems to me those whiskers would be longer in an older male, no; more like this guy.

Hope

2008-07-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

Bottle Your Own!

2008-07-19T08:44:00.015-07:00

Albuquerque’s mayor is working to remove bottled water; I love it… The story, in its entirety, will be available (give it a few hours)…on NPR with Scot Simon. The piece encouraged some research:

Producing the bottles for American consumption required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, not including the energy for transportation
Bottling water produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide
It took 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water

Bottle your own!

In addition to the water sold in plastic bottles, The Pacific Institute estimates that twice as much water is used in the production process. Thus, every liter sold represents three liters of water.
Add to that the energy is needed to fill the bottles with water at the factory, move it by truck, train, ship, or air freight to the user, cool it in grocery stores or home refrigerators, and recover, recycle, or throw away the empty bottles.

Australia’s love affair with bottled water is costing the planet 314,000 barrels of oil a year. That's how much of one of the world's most precious resources it takes to package, ship and refrigerate a product that is already piped to every single suburban premises for next to nothing, according to
Sunday Age calculations.

"It's one of the greatest cons ever pulled," says
Clean Up Australia chairman Ian Kiernan. "It's just lunacy, there is no other word for it. We are squandering our oil resources."
Oil is not the only precious resource being squandered by consumers, with bottled water 2500 times more expensive than the tap variety.
"Drinking water in Melbourne or Sydney costs around $1.20 a tonne," says Mr Kiernan. "Australian bottled water costs around $3000 a tonne. And Italian bottled water? About $9000 a tonne.
"It's more expensive than petrol — if you could turn petrol into water you could make money."

Please, bottle your own!!

From The Smithsonian:

The 17 million barrels it takes each year to make water bottles for the U.S. market. (Plastic-making also generates emissions of nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide, and benzene, but because we're in the thick of the global-warming movement, not the environmental-carcinogen movement, this doesn't get much play.) That's enough oil to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year.

And:

There is also a push for water bottlers in the United States to quit undermining local control of water sources with their pumping and bottling. This last bit—opposing the privatization of a public resource—may be too outré for most mainstream news outlets to pick up on, perhaps because it raises sticky questions of ownership and control, and it offends many Americans' ideas about the primacy of capitalism.
But while Corporate Accountability's mission to halt corporate control of a common resource might be abstract to most bottled-water drinkers, it isn't the least bit abstract to Californians resisting Nestlé's efforts to build a bottling plant in McCloud, near Mount Shasta, or to Floridians who swam in Crystal Springs until Nestlé began bottling it, or to those residents of Fryeburg, Maine, raging against Nestlé's boreholes and the big silver Poland Spring trucks that haul local water to markets throughout the northeast.

We're not even talking about off-gassing here...that would be a whole 'nuther story! Ugg...

Some insist bottled water is cleaner and safer than tap water…especially in some places. Not true, says 20/20’s John Stossle:

"20/20" took five bottles of national brands of bottled water and a sample of tap water from a drinking fountain in the middle of New York City and sent them to microbiologist Aaron Margolin of the University of New Hampshire to test for bacteria that can make you sick, like e. coli. "There was actually no difference between the New York City tap water and the bottled waters that we evaluated," he said.

Many scientists have run tests like that and have consistently found that tap water is as good for you as bottled waters that cost 500 times more.

While researching information for this piece…I discovered Chris Jordan’s site: "Running the Numbers". Stunning work!!! Please do visit…

This photo depicts two million plastic beverage bottles,
the number used in the US every five minutes.

"Running the Numbers looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 32,000 breast augmentation surgeries in the U.S. every month."

Bottle your own, please!!!

As an aside, I especially liked Mr. Jordan’s first images on the site. “Constitution, 2008” depicts 83,000 Abu Ghraib prisoner photographs, equal to the number of people who have been arrested and held at US-run detention facilities with no trial or other due process of law, during the Bush Administration's war on terror. WOW

60 is a Good Number

2008-07-16T11:35:00.015-07:00

“A woman who calls herself crone is willing to acknowledge her age, wisdom, and power. Through conscious self-definition, she helps to reverse hundreds of years of oppression, degradation, and abuse aimed at old women. Although she may prefer to be called elder, grandmother, or wise woman, she does not dismiss, disavow, or use pejoratively terms such as crone, witch, or hag. The wise woman/crone/grandmother realizes that the true meaning of these terms, and the woman-centered traditions from which they originate...”

From: Bayla Bower

Today is my birthday, I’d say I’m officially a crone; a fact that both amazes me (how did this happen?) and fills me with much emotion: mirth, pride, wonder…

I feel like a kid; I’m healthy, I’m interested in so many things, I enjoy my life.

Sixty. ...Wow

I’m going to embrace what I’ll call my ‘inner Crone’; no point in flaunting a good thing. Sixty is a good number, but I think I’ll keep it to myself. Soon enough I can wear purple and a red hat that doesn’t go… I'm not old yet, dammit.

Books on Birds: What’s Your Fav?

2008-07-15T10:17:00.005-07:00

I am a reader; I like to research, I enjoy reference books…especially on topics close to my heart. I don’t believe one can have too many books on a subject…but then I am book rich and money poor. LOL

Okay, so I’m on a limited budget…I have a couple books on birds and know I want to enlarge my library. I think another ‘general’ field guide to birds I’m apt to see might be a good idea. While I’m interested in all birds…I doubt I’m going to be heading to exotic countries where I might have trouble identifying those I see. Right now, I am specifically interested in the birds in my world. I ‘get it’ that Sibley is today’s bird bible…and agree; I find mine invaluable, but I appreciate different points of view and think another good field guide is a good idea.

Field Guides: which of those on birds do you find give you the most and most valuable information? I own:

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America by David Allen Sibley

I like this book…and its size. I understand his guide to birds includes both East and West…but is bulkier to carry around. Still, some birds found here are only found in the ‘Eastern’ book… Having said this, I enjoy the bits of superfluous information he offers, as well as pointers on field markers and coloration of immature birds and behavior in habitat, etc.
A National Geographic Field Manual (Probably for Western America)…but it is in a box in the ton of books in my garage...I'm trying to get my house remodeled.

While I don’t have the book in my hands, I can say it is a more difficult book to hold in my hands than is the Sibley book I own. Also…it is arranged by color, of all things; not unlike their book on Wildflowers. This is both a good and a bad thing, in my mind. I find I learn more reading of several birds in a species…

I am considering:

The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley
Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America by Ted Floyd
A Field Guide to Western Birds: A Completely New Guide to Field Marks of All Species Found in North America West of the 100th Meridian and North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guides (R)) by Roger Tory Peterson and Virginia Marie Peterson

I am also interested in specific families of birds; hummingbirds; birds of prey, including the Shrikes; and the corvids. I’m betting this is pretty typical of new birders and it’s likely my list of favorites will grow; but in the meantime…what books on specific groups of birds have you found to be absolutely stunning in their depth of information and presentation? Somewhere I have:

An older, small, paperback book on Hummingbirds which I wish I had in my hands right now! I’d like to get books on specific groups I find especially interesting. I tend to haunt Amazon’s ‘Used’ books…so the book needn’t be new to suggest; I might still find it.

How about books or CDs on birdsound? I am interested in learning to identify birds I hear; any especially good choices? The idea of an I-Pod loaded with hundreds of bird-sounds absolutely appeals to me…especially in that a photo can be included for each. Course, I just discovered I can have Wikipedia on my cell-phone (for a subscription fee); an addictive morsel for one who likes information. Right now learning bird calls is high on my list of things to do… but there is a plethora of choices. Have you favorites? So far I have:

Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song by Les Beletsky and Jon L. Dunn

A fun ‘coffee-table’ sort of book…page number references recording number’; the bird-calls seem spot-on, but oddly the book is arranged by habitat. Perhaps that is a good thing for some folks, but I find it difficult to use as ‘reference’. I was concerned the batteries might wear out and not be available to swap, but I was wrong; and it’s still going strong. My backyard birds think I’m a weird duck…but perhaps my neighbors do too!

Do you have favorite books on specific hobies that involve birds? Sketching, painting, photographing, carving birds? I’d like to hear your favorites here, too. I am considering:

Art of Bird Photography: The Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques (Practial Photography Books) by Arthur Morris

I hear it is pricey but well worth the cost (over $75, used!!!)

What about books on how to care for or attract birds; any favorites here? Again…not so interested in which you have, but which you found to be the best! I’m a gardener with a new yard…it’s a work in progress, so I’ll find all manner of book interesting. So far, I have:

The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher: Birdfeeders and Bird Gardens by Robert Burton and Stephen Kress

Unfortunately all three of these books are in boxes while I work on my home; lordy I miss my books!!!
Attracting Birds to Your Backyard: 536 Ways to Create a Haven for Your Favorite Birds (A Rodale Organic Gardening Book) by Sally Roth
Personally, I think nearly anything by Rodale is a good deal
Stokes Bird Gardening Book: The Complete Guide to Creating a Bird-Friendly Habitat in Your Backyard (Stokes Backyard Nature Books.) by Donald Stokes and Lillian

Again, perhaps it is because I garden that I found the habitat-part of the book to be a little on the thin side, but I did enjoy reading which birds were especially attracted to which kinds of plants and flowers.

Just because I find Julie Zickerfoose (blog, articles, etc) so fascinating, I’m also considering:

Natural Gardening for Birds: Simple Ways to Create a Bird Haven (Rodale Organic Gardening Book) by Julie Zickefoose and Bird Watcher's Digest Staff

I may have already grown beyond this book however; I’ve got shelves of gardening books and have read so much already.
Private Lives of Garden Birds by Calvin Simonds, Julie Zickefoose, and Scott Shalaway

This one looks to contain the same sorts of gems that her husband Bill’s book (below) does!

Books for newbies or for specific challenges. I’ve found two that I totally enjoy and heartily recommend to anybody just starting out. Heck, Thompson’s book is probably great for any casual birder; there’s a lot of good information and advice in there:

Identify Yourself: The 50 Most Common Birding Identification Challenges by Bill Thompson III, Julie Zickefoose

Invaluable; tidbits of information on how to tell certain flycatchers apart, specific fieldmarks for determining similar birds when size is impossible to figure (like Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers) and so on. Really great book; I just wish he’d tackle another 50 birds! LOL
Finding Your Wings: A Workbook for Beginning Bird Watchers (Peterson Field Guides (R)) by Burton S. Guttman

I have recommended this book to several beginning and casual birders; to the one they have enjoyed it every bit as much as I did. This book really does show you how to see birds.

I sincerely hope you leave your suggestions (click the word COMMENTS, below)…so that we can all find several books we might enjoy...and why. Thanks!!!

Flycatchers and Hummingbirds

2008-07-13T11:12:00.032-07:00

Well, I finally got a couple shots of that Flycatcher who visits. There may be more than one, this one is much darker than the one I’ve seen previously…and might be bigger, as well. I wish I could get better pictures; this bird and another, were playing ‘chase’…and not in a fun way. It seemed clear to me one was running off the other. At least it stayed around a bit…while watching it in my new, light-gathering binocs; I noted it had a lighter, yellow-ish bill (though the photo doesn’t show it, I noted that while observing it) and very dark feet; and this one, while darker, has well-marked wing bars. I also clearly see a ‘cap’ and did not see an eye-ring. That post is not quite 4” in diameter. I’m not at all confident in ID-ing it, but , I’m going to guess it’s not an Olive-sided Flycatcher, in spite of having heard it’s call several times …but a Western Wood-Pewee; I didn’t observe tail-flicking, nor streaking on the flanks, and that certainly doesn’t look like a ‘short tail’. Besides, my online pal suggested Wood-Pewee. What say you?

Having said all this; the bird was dark enough to recall a childhood poem:

Little mouse in gray velvet,
have you had a cheese-breakfast?
There are no crumbs on your coat,
did you use a napkin?
I wonder what you had to eat,
and who dresses you in gray velvet?

Left: Broad-tailed Hummingbird(m)
Right: Black-chinned Hummingbird(m)

I was not home much last weekend and this weekend it seems the hummingbird population has exploded. Last month, I saw twice as many Broad-tailed Hummingbirds as Black-chinned; but now I see maybe twice as many Rufus Hummers as Broad-tailed! It seems the Calliope is shyer and more difficult to observe, but I believe I have at least two males here. Having a chance to watch both sexes makes me believe now, that the hummer I had back in May was, in fact, a Calliope female. It’s tiny size, streaky throat and soft, bee-like sound while flying makes me think so. Unfortunately I didn’t know about the shorter tail and longer wings. Oddly, males are supposed to arrive before females.

Both: Rufus Hummingbird(m)

What a trip! There must be two dozen Hummingbirds in my yard at any given time. I suppose I really should move the feeders farther apart…but I have a hard enough time photographing them as it is. It is astounding how different they look, depending on how the light is working on their feathers. I’ve included a couple extra shots of that little bully; the Rufus Hummingbird…he sure is beautiful but absolutely terrorizes all other hummers. I’ve watched them drive another into the tall grass and hover over them, back and forth inches from the ground for several seconds before leaving. I’ve also seen four or five at a time displaying; tails flared and chirping madly while vying for dominance. The Black-chins are sweet and sit on the feeders, even as I change them. Now that I know the Black-chinned hummers pump their tails like no tomorrow (you'd recognize it as soon as you saw it), it's easy to tell them apart, regardless of the light. But I do wish I could get a photo showing their stunning purple 'collars' like this.

Both: Rufus Hummingbird(m)

Left: Calliope Hummingbird(m)
Right: Rufus Hummingbird(m) with Calliope(f)

I also wish I could capture the different colors that Rufus bird shows. Sometimes he's chocolate brown, sometimes an orange as bright as highly polished broze and sometimes either male or female is so golden they look like a little yellow ball of sunshine. I included some pretty bad pictures here, just to try to show all the color variations that the light makes. Stunning birds, they are!

A Calliope in My Yard

2008-07-12T14:52:00.024-07:00

Video clip from YouTube by: rleltzroth

Well, it seems I have sprained my ankle for the first time in my life. Not badly; I can walk but it is sore, a bit swollen and a little bruised. I had planned to work in my yard but think I should be off the foot; using a shovel is out of the question. Perhaps I should watch all the cooking shows I’ve missed this summer. Better yet, listen to the wonderful weekend stories on NPR…I love that; especially while working at my computer. Listening while writing somehow seems less wasteful…multitasking makes it better.

And, I’m watching birds in my yard. Guess what I found; the Calliopes are here! Yup, I even got pictures, bad as they are. After the first one, I realized hosing the thick cotton from surrounding cottonwoods off the windows is not enough; I needed to actually clean the windows, too. Still, clean or no, my pictures out the lovely, new kitchen window will never be great. The window is draped with black, nylon netting. The netting has been an incredible solution to the issue of ‘bird strikes’; where a bird follows the reflection in glass to its demise. It’s a heartbreaking sound when it happens and it was happening with gruesome regularity last year. I got a sample of the film offered by a company interested in its use for both advertising and protecting birds in high-rise buildings…but it made my bright, sunny kitchen quite dark, in my opinion. I couldn’t handle it. While the netting is ugly when I actually notice it, most of the time I do not; I look right past it. Unfortunately, the camera likes to focus on it… I should be outside taking pictures anyway, is how I look at things. Today I have an excuse, but let’s talk about Hummingbirds!

Last May an anonymous someone commented on a photo I posted here. I guess this person never wanted to be known, but was insistent I had a rare bird visiting. I contacted some others who indeed agreed with this mysterious person, so I submitted the photo to the Rare Bird Alert. I have no idea if the bird was or was not the Calliope Hummingbird Anonymous believed it to be, but ever since I learned I might at least see one later in the summer I’ve been on the lookout. Today I finally saw a male! I am ecstatic… this is another, confirmable first for me!

The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest bird in Canada and America; about one third the size of our smallest warbler. According to the Audubon website this little bird is also the smallest long-distance avian migrant in the world! The average male weighs only two and a half grams and has a metallic green back and crown, white gorget with purple rays which spread wider from chin to upper chest. These may be erected to show a "whiskered" effect; the tail is dark. Adult females also have the green back and crown, but with a white throat with dark streaks, buff or pale cinnamon wash on the sides or flanks and dark tail with white-tipped outside edges. She is quite similar to the Rufus female, though much more pale and quite a bit smaller. Field markers include that the relatively short tail does not extend past wings at rest (the only hummingbird which exhibits this) …and that the bill is relatively short, as well.

Watch a really cool video of a Calliope Hummer from the Smithsonian National Zoological Park website.

This little 3” bird, which likes the mountains and is sometimes found as high as 11,000 feet, has been observed in the US coast to coast but is generally found in the northwestern US and into Canada, where it breeds. It winters in west-central Mexico. Like other migrating birds, these little pollinators have shown decreases across the continent. Little information is available on the overall issues that are causing these declines but potential threats include habitat loss, increased use of pesticides, and replacement of native plants by invasive plants. The restricted wintering range of Calliope Hummingbird makes the species more susceptible to natural disasters, diseases, or land use changes that could wipe out significant portions of the population. I look forward to the continued work of those interested in helping migratory birds and keeping corridors of wilderness open for the continued sustainability of our flora and fauna. What you can do. An Important Bird Area for this hummingbird is The Upper McCloud River of Northern California…a special childhood place where my family vacationed and I learned to camp and fish. Keeping this area safe would surely benefit even more than hummingbirds, but it is especially important to these.

The female, typical of all hummingbirds, builds her own nest, incubates eggs and rears young lone. The Calliopes prefer to build nests on overhanging branches, often over a creek or body of water and sometimes in a conifer where a pinecone joins a branch. The nest, about the size of one egg compartment in an egg-carton, is woven with plant fiber, hair and spider webs and decorated with moss and bits of leaves. They are somewhat elastic, and stretch as the nestlings grow. Generally two eggs, the size of coffee beans, are laid; hatching, after about 15-16 days, into chicks the size of fat raisons…naked but for long, hair-like, downy feathers along the back; eyes shut, bill pink and short. The young are fed tiny spiders and other insects for 18-21 days before they are independent. It has been discovered that rescued babies fed only sugar-water for more than about 72 hours, will develop deformities. Do see these tiny hatchlings at a stunning, photographer/storyteller’s site, whose work I adore: Nature Remains.

A pretty good Q&A regarding Hummingbirds can be found here…including the idea to fill larger feeders only as full, early in the season, as birds are apt to finish in 3-4 days. Later in the summer, when more birds are feeding, feeders can be filled fuller due to the larger numbers, but may need to be changed more often if the weather is hot. In ninety degrees or higher, it may be necessary to change nectar every day or so to prevent fermentation, mold or cloudiness; all of which is seriously detrimental to these tiny birds. It is also known that clear sugar solution in a red container is far more healthy than artificial foods with red dye and that yellow on the feeder attracts bees and hornets.

There are some who feel feeding birds will upset their migratory patterns; but this is not true. In fact with weather changing, feeding grounds disappearing and wetlands shrinking, birds face starvation when they arrive too early or too late to find their normal diet of insects, seeds, plankton or fish. According to at least one source, some birds have stopped migrating altogether; leaving them at risk when the next cold winter does strike. But backyard feeding will not, according to the US Wildlife Service (and others; just Google the question), make birds ‘lazy’. Personally, with the wild places disappearing and native plants giving way to acres of lawn, I cannot help but think feeding birds and planting easy-care, low-water, native landscaping would be anything but an appreciated oasis to any bird, anytime. And to me, it brings nothing but delight and awe.

References include:

Hummingbirds in SoCo

2008-07-11T10:00:00.018-07:00

A well-known blogger, Birdchick, mentioned something about a shortage of Hummingbirds this year. Wow, that doesn’t seem to be the case here in Southern Colorado. Way back early in May they started coming…someone even thought I had a Calliope Hummingbird visiting then; though I’ve never been able to confirm that, nor seen a male. I have, however, identified several-many pair of both Broad-tailed (those buzzy, little guys), and Black-chinned (the tail-pumpers), as well as the gorgeous, bronzed-brown Rufus Hummingbirds which seem to glint gold when the light is just right.

Left: Broad-tailed Humingbird (m)
Right: Probably Broad-tailed (f)

Mornings and evenings, the air nearly vibrates with the hum of these little creatures; diving and displaying, doing loop-de-loops in the sky, running off challengers or trying to attract partners…they’re quite busy. It’s a hoot to watch one hover in the tall grass or under the arching bow of a wild rose; hiding. For all their pugnacious-ness, I regularly see three or four of the little things at a single feeder; and I keep five such feeders (cleaned and refreshed daily as the weather heats up; fermented or cloudy nectar will kill).

Left: Black-chinned Hummingbird (m)
Right: Rufus Hummingbird (m)

To my recollection, I have more hummers than ever; but then…my rather new garden is growing and it’s been planted with birds and bees and butterflies in mind. I don’t use chemicals, am planting lots of native perennials and shrubs, as well as small trees and evergreens meant to attract wildlife; and I live by the river where very tall willows and cottonwoods grow. Someone mentioned their enjoyment of a slightly ‘shabby’ garden; mine is like that. There are some weeds, some places where wild grass grows tall, berries and flowers abound this time of year. It’s all I can do to get my fair share of raspberries and I just leave the sour cherries for the birds. How they spread the word when they’re ripe, I dunno; but one day the two little trees will be covered in fruit and the next, picked bare. Perhaps when the Virbunum and Elder get bigger and begin fruiting, I’ll get some raspberries.

Edited to add: For the best pictures I've seen of those beautiful Calliope and Rufus Hummers (and more), check out Bosque Bill's page on Hummingbirds. Stunning!

Life is Good

2008-07-11T08:33:00.003-07:00

There are times when I feel absolutely blessed. While an unscrupulous contractor took me for a ride, sued me for work he never did and won his lying butt off and then garnished my wages (ah, the justice system in rural America!) and now is getting 25% of my income right off the top (as prices rise exponentially); and while my son seems to have wondered-off in his quest for independence and apparently shuns contact with all those who have been working with him and I’ve not seen nor heard from him in nearly five years now; and as I turn sixty years old and watch as my body tires more easily and arthritis slowly works on the knuckles of my fingers; and even as the stock market crashes and I continue to loose my retirement income that already was reduced by 2/3s in the last ‘adjustment’…I still regularly find how lucky I am to have the life I live.

As you all probably know, I’m a ‘new birder’; someone always interested in anything in the natural world, but newly interested in finding, identifying, feeding and encouraging birds in my world. I enjoy photography and would love to have the equipment to better spot and shoot (digitally) birds I see even just in my own yard. The equipment I own is just not up to the job. However, recently a friend moved and sold almost everything he owned before beginning his new adventure…and essentially gave me ($15) an awesome pair of binoculars! I’m fairly sure this is a pretty good pair and what a difference they make; I finally understand the concept of ‘gathering light’. Not only are these very much stronger (10x50), but they are just generally more robust and even have attached lens-covers, a plus in my world where I’ve lost covers for the other little pair I own, and they’re made of some plastic/rubber material which seems to be much more able to endure to hard use outdoors. And…I CAN SEE BIRDS!!! See what I mean about feeling blessed?

AND (the best part)…I received a call early this morning from an old friend who used to work with my son, who tells me someone has seen him lately! Oh my, if only kids understood ‘phoning home’ occasionally is not a sissy thing to do; moms just wanna know their children are still kicking! Yes, I know that would gall him no end to hear me say it; but it doesn’t matter how old he gets, he’s always going to be my boy. [sigh] Anyway, I consider that telephone call an early birthday present!

Top all that with spying a little flycatcher in my yard this morning, a rarity, I think…and watching a couple of Robbins with a fledgling fluttering and begging for food and the world seems pretty good to me. Yup, blessed! Life is good.

Edited to add: About that Flycatcher, it was quite small…about the same size as a Pine Siskin if I remember correctly (quite a bit smaller than the Say’s Phoebe I saw the other day), and was all-over pale-gray with little to no baring on the wings and nowhere near as yellow as a Cordilleran seems to be. For that reason, I’m guessing it was either a Dusky Flycatcher, a Gray Flycatcher or…as my friend Bosque Bill has said; it could be a Western Wood-Pewee…of the pale variation.

July in Southern Colorado

2008-07-08T06:05:00.027-07:00

It’s warm early in July, to be sure…sometimes reaching the high eighties here in the mountains of Southern Colorado, but the afternoon rains cool and delight the senses and bring relief from the sun that hangs so closely to our part of the country.

This is a sweet little clip of a fledgling Blackbird and parent...by Banquet01, of Youtube.

For the past several weeks, I’ve enjoyed watching the birds who visit my feeders bring their fledglings for the picnic. The little, fat, fluffy young sometimes have downy feathers sticking at odd angles, giving them a look of a sleepy child with bed-head. Once at the feeders however, they don’t act all that sleepy but they do act like demanding children; fluffing and fluttering and begging to be fed. Eventually they get the idea, as the parents don’t feed them every time they squawk anymore; it’s time to learn independence. I consider how many people would do well to be that sort of parent…

I’ve seen White-breasted Nuthatch feeding babies, the House Finches have brought more than one brood, and the Pine Siskins have suddenly exploded in numbers as have both the American and Lesser Goldfinch. Even the Bullock’s Orioles have young here…pale males still developing their beautiful black markings are easy to spot as youngsters, though they look sleek and stunning already. The pair of Black-headed Grosbeaks that have been around from time to time have returned more often of late…with young birds in tow; again, the deep color and black head-dressing still developing on the young males. The other day I saw several Downy Woodpeckers visit together and suspect they, too, are a new family come to visit. Even the tiny Chickadees are coming with their parents and learning to pick-a-seed-and-fly. All this pleases me no end. I am thrilled to have perhaps had a hand in ensuring the success of so many avain families.

On a recent visit to Perennial Favorites, an absolutely wonderful plant-outlet for high mountain gardeners, I discovered a Hummingbird nest; first time I’d seen one in person. It is with great interest that I read the stories on another Blog; Nature Remains by a master storyteller, Nina. While I wait for her to come out with a book (surely to become a favorite of nature-lovers like me), I follow the sweet stories she weaves; including the new one on the Hummingbird nest she has discovered: Born on the Fourth of July. In another story of a different Hummingbird family, Nina commented on the cramped quarters the two baby birds live in and said it must be a lot like “…sword fighting in a telephone booth”; I mean really! Who comes up with stuff like that…except a master story teller? Wow!

Still, I was tickled to have found a nest on my own…as well as a Say’s Phoebe, a lovely flycatcher that I identified myself; and added another ‘first’ to my list!
It’s all good.

Grass B Gon

2008-06-28T07:27:00.004-07:00

So, in a moment of weakness, I bought some (okay two), spray-bottles of Ortho’s GrassBGon…but I just cannot bring myself to use it. I don’t yet have the money to cover my garden with material to keep down weeds and they’re overrunning the new shrubs and perennials that I’m planting. I have a large yard and little money; I’m trying to turn it into a wild-life oasis of sorts; for me and the birds & bees. Sometimes I feel it’s a loosing battle. I had thought I’d ONLY spray deep in the center of existing plants that are thick with grass where I cannot reach…but upon reading the label I just can’t bring myself to spray the stuff.

I’m sensitive to the idea of using chemicals…and the more I garden for the birds, the more I realize I cannot go spraying chemicals onto plants that a label plainly says to use with “Plants that will not bear edible fruit for one year”. So…I might remember not to eat strawberries and raspberries or cherries that develop before a year is up…but what about slugs that eat berries or birds that eat both? What happens if flowers show up and to the insects that show up on the flowers?

When is a ‘little risk’ acceptable? Just this morning I watched a robin wrestle with a long strand of bindweed; obviously a desirable material for nest-building. What would have happened had I just sprayed the weeds…even if the stuff had dried before I left the area in some blind attempt to protect wildlife? Eggs breath…so what happens to eggs laid upon a soft nest of poisoned grass?

The product states on the container:

For liquid products, it is generally safe for wildlife to return once the products have dried. Avoid applying pesticides to non-target areas, and refrain from using insecticides on plants where honeybees are active, or where birds are visibly feeding.

Okay, I don’t eat the buds and flowers or necter or pollen produced by most of the plants in my yard…but bees and butterflies and birds do. So, what to do; what to do?

Summertime in the Southern Rockies

2008-06-23T17:28:00.032-07:00

We’re just a few days into summer, but it’s already warm enough for me! Temperatures are hovering in the 80s already…and most of the birds have come and gone. My perennials are coming up gangbusters...it will be good to see all the new bird-friendly shubbery take off.

‘Course the Hummingbirds are here. The Rufus Hummers just arrived, which I find way-cool as I’d never seen a rich, reddish, milk-chocolate-brown hummingbird before. Sweet! And yet another 'New' bird for me. I hear they are quite territorial, perhaps they'll give the Broad-tails a run for their money.

And the Black-chinned Hummingbirds are here, as well; I thought I could tell by their very dark heads and the lack of ‘trill’ when they fly, but it was the tail-bobbing or -pumping that confirmed it. Very pretty birds though I am less sure at discerning females.

The Broad-tail Hummingbirds were likely the first here…though there was that possible Calliope in May! LOL That link is to a little video clip where you can hear the 'trill' of these birds in flight. The Bt’s are pugnacious little things and try very hard to drive all others away. Still, I occasionally look up to see as many as four or five birds at a single nectar feeder…and I have five out there, so the yard sometimes seems filled with the dive-bombing little wonders of color.

Over the last few days, I’ve seen the pairs of Bullock's Orioles less and less, and the Evening Grosbeaks have been gone for a couple weeks now. I do see the occasional Black-headed Gb from time to time and for some odd reason the American Goldfinches are back again…perhaps with newly fledged young? They all look so yellow! When they left, I began seeing more of the Lesser Goldfinches; and they’re still around, too. I find the black-backed Lesser Gf especially stunning.

I observed an adult White-breasted Nuthatch feeding begging chicks, which I found wonderfully exciting. I knew I had at least one pair of them in my yard with a nest nearby! Yippieeeeeee

An occasional Northern Flicker stops by, too, to poke around at the dry patch in my yard where ants live. And both the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers continue to drop in daily, though perhaps less often. I wonder if diet changes as babies grow…or perhaps they take them out to wilder territory to learn how to fend for themselves. Even while the orioles continue to visit; they don’t seem interested in oranges anymore and have slowed way down on the grape jelly and even the sugar water. I should do some research to determine if the same nectar for hummers is okay for orioles; maybe there is a reason the hummingbird feeders are too small for the bigger guys!

I also saw a whole string of fat, little, begging Pine Siskins on a phone-wire the other day…that was the cutest thing. Parents were very close…and still feeding, of course. And I also notice House Finches are around again. They look a lot healthier these days. The House Sparrow seems to have moved on now that I no longer put out the mixed Wild Birdseed they seemed to enjoy. I’m winding the feeders down till the weather changes and there is less natural food that is easy to find.

American Robins abound; it’s fun to watch them wrestle, long, fat worms from the ground. And Grackles still come, as well as the occasional Red-winged Blackbird; though far fewer numbers than ganged the yard a couple of months ago. I’m pleased to say I’ve not seen a Brown-headed Cowbird in some time. Ugg The Eurasian Doves are still here though, but again…far fewer numbers; thankfully; same with the Starlings.

I do have a pair of Black-billed Magpies coming to eat suet regularly…which I think is a little odd. They must have a nest nearby, as the huge birds hang cowardly from the feeders, flapping for balance and pecking wildly at the suet cake. They then drop down and pick up pieces they’d knocked away and generally eat as they go, but almost always find one, large morsel to take back home. Nice birdies.

Every morning I still watch the Turkey Vultures slowly warming themselves in the sun and then catching the drafts up, as they head off to do what Vultures do during the day.

I rather like this winding-down business. It’s the same with gardening, by the time the cold weather hits; I’m ready for a break anyway. I used to mourn the more temperate weather I grew up with in California, until I remembered how I’d work till I could hardly stand up. These changing seasons are a blessing!

Edited to add: I published this piece and looked out the window to see what appears to be a Mountain Chickadee, of which I had pairs in my yard regularly. It comes and goes quickly, always taking a single seed; I don't know if it is a young bird or a female or just a not-very-black at all Chickadee. It is slender and has the white 'eyebrow' of the Mountain variety; but where the black should be is not very dark...and somewhat broken. Perhaps they are like the White-crowned Sparrow and become darker and more defined with age. Immediately followed a large, female Grosbeak (really a very pretty bird) and then a male Black-headed Grosbeak, too. Pairs of birds abound in this beautiful habitat of many tall trees right by the river. I love it.

Plastic and bags...

2008-06-19T09:42:00.004-07:00

I agree with Cindy...this is too important not to pass on.

I would like to see the US join the ban against plastic bags...and plastic bottles, for that matter; the things are poison, even to humans! Ever wonder why there is a 'date stamp' on water? It's because the plastic bottles off-gas poison into the beverage! Nasty stuff!!!

It cannot be stressed too many times;

PLEASE consider this.

Shocking information there and some of it is good.
Save oil; use paper bags!

AVAS-La Veta Bird Walk

2008-06-15T15:16:00.035-07:00

Yesterday I went on a Bird Walk with the good folks from AVAS and many folks from in and around La Veta. I’d say 16 or so of us, from Pueblo, CO to Angle Fire, NM turned out for the walk. We got a rather late start, but in spite of the heat and time of day we saw a respectable list of birds: (*Updated on cross-checking lists!)

American Coot, American Crow, American Goldfinch, American Robin, Barn Swallow, Black-billed Magpie, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Black-headed Grosbeak (who knew these guys eat Monarch Butterflies despite the toxic residue they hold from feeding on milkweed), Brewer's Black-bird, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Bullock's Oriole (now called the Northern Oriole? ...I'll have to check that out) , Chipping Sparrow, Cinnamon Teal, Cliff Swallow, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Grackle, Common Nighthawk, Common Raven, Common Yellow-throat, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Dark-eyed Junco (the Gray-headed or 'red-backed' variety), Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird , Eurasian Collared-dove, European Starling, Evening Grosbeak, Gray Catbird, Great Blue Heron, Green-tailed Towhee, Hairy Wood-pecker, Hermit Thrush, House Sparrow, House Wren, Lesser Goldfinch (both Green- and Black-backed), Lewis's Wood-pecker (namesake account), Mountain Bluebird, Mountain Chickadee, Mourning Dove, Northern Flicker (both red-shafted and yellow-shafted), Pied-billed Grebe, Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill (pair), Red-tailed Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird, Rock Dove, Say's Phoebe, Spotted Towhee, Turkey Vulture, Violet-green Swallow, Warbling Vireo, Western Kingbird, Western Meadowlark, Western Scrub-Jay, Western Tanager, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wilson's Snipe, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler.

It was a wonderful day, if warm, that started with a meet at the town park and short caravan up to Old La Veta Pass where Stirling’s family has about 400 acres at 9000’. In addition to the beautiful property (and heavenly smells; I love Ponderosa Pine), we were treated to some local history of the area and the narrow-gauge railroad that went through it. It was ‘Up Top’ where several of us got ‘life birds’ including Polly, who managed to later identify a difficult sighting from photographs and confirmed us we’d seen a pair of Crossbills. It was also Polly who assisted me in seeing mine; the Green-tailed Towhee…a beautiful bird! And, why my little camera could not shoot the distance, I also saw my first Mountain Bluebirds; which obviously had babies nearby they wanted to feed but refused to show us where they had their nest.

We also saw a lot of scat on the trail…but it wasn’t till we were giggling like school kids for our interest in scatology that I began taking pictures of it. The idea being; it’s educational. You can tell by the size of the Elk-scat that it had been eating quite a bit of grass; the leavings were more like cow-plops. Several had no idea coyote-scat would be so full of hair. I’ve noticed watching The Discovery Channel that many animals, especially big cats, often pluck the hair from kill before they eat it. Apparently not so with coyotes; they’re sort of like Owls in that regard; it just goes through ‘em.

Up Top we enjoyed the big trees, quiet meadows and wild flowers. I miss-identified the yellow pea-like plant, at first calling it Lupin. Turns out several similar plants are called False Lupin...so go figure. I've read some pea plants are called milk-pea, regardless of the color. Apparently the yellow might be Thermopsis rhombifolia or Thermopsis divaricarpa and the white; Lathyrus leucanthus. You can see the pea-pods in my photo.

We also saw some Creeping Mahonia, a holly-like plant, with tiny yellow flowers, also called Oregon Grape. Officially called Mahonia aquifolium, this is an evergreen plant I've purchased in Colorado and throughly enjoy its fall colors and ease of care. Just know: some Mahonia is creeping, some is dwarf and some is quite large. It's xeric and I've heard birds eat the berries, but never witnessed that. I think I'm going to have to learn more about wildflowers. And butterflies, too. I've included a little picture of one of the many little, blue butterflies we saw...I always called them Blue Skippers; they could be any common little blue butterfly. I don't like not knowing; check out these photos...how does one know?

By the way, while looking for some information on that yellow pea, I found another Coloradoian's blog. It's quite good! Check it out.

From there we returned to town for a picnic lunch at the park, where some folks had to leave us, and then to a couple local feeders (including moi) were we added more birds to our growing list. Jerry, who couldn’t make the walk, invited us to his yard anyway, where we enjoyed a shady spot by the river. He showed us a new woodpecker’s hole he’d discovered; great fun even if we didn’t see the occupant.

We left Jerry’s and headed to the Town Lakes where we saw the water birds and Polly managed to see a Hermit Thrush. Several heard the Yellow-rumped Warblers that frequent the shrubbery there. Then we followed along part of the Colorado Birding Trail to Wahatoya Valley piece, where we saw quite a few Black-billed Magpies, a Lewis’s Woodpecker and a couple Great Blue Heron.

A short visit to our local Raptor Center was lots of fun. Bob had had unexpected oral surgery and was pretty under-the-weather; but insisted on showing us the birds he keeps and is rehabilitating. He showed us a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), which he explained is a member of the buzzard family; who knew? He is certainly a wealth of information and his birds are beautiful. What a cool guy! Thanks again Bob!

Patrick, a new friend on the walk, was kind enough to send a couple photos of Bob's long-time partner in falconry, his Harris Hawk. Bob has been a falconer, which requires special licensing, since the age of eight. While the Harris Hawk is not the first bird Bob has trained to hunt, these two have been together a long time; she’s his baby! Thanks Pat, great shots!

The small band of birders left at the end of the day concluded the day on the deck and in the wooded yard of Polly and Paul’s home. That’s where one couple, experienced birders from Rocky Ford, saw the Black-chinned Hummer. Perfect way to end the day; on the way out I noticed a deer enjoying a special shady area. Funny.

Bears for Breakfast?

2008-06-09T06:35:00.016-07:00

Another early morning visitor.

This little thing is quite small; most likely a yearling.

She seemed a bit apprehensive and climbed higher.

Such a pretty girl!