View Full Version : All About Birds
http://www.allaboutbirds.org
http://www.allaboutbirds.org
RUBY CROWNED KINGLET!
Damn, I'm good ;-)
To make a worth wile post, I am really looking forward to all the birds that I'll see on the AT next year. I have re-familiarize myself again with the east coast birds.
Do I remember correctly you plan to hike SOBO? If so, I suggest you read Idealist's journal.
I can post some Maine bird blog URLs for you too. If I don't get to it soon, remind me by PM or post again.
That was the plan at first, but I am pretty set on NOBO. From my understandings, that's not the way to go if you're a birdnerd :(
Depending upon when you start, you will be ahead of more birds than are behind you, but in time many of them will fly right by as if you're standing still.:D
Listen for the preacher (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=608426&postcount=79) as you journey toward Katahdin. He speaks the truth.:)
Maybe some of our friends in the South will call to our attention their favorite birds you can expect to see.
I know of a good online guide which might be linked.:welcome
I did a decent amount of birding during migration this year out here in Utah. So many birds out here during the late summer, it's tough keeping up with it all. Especially after living on the east coast for all my life. Should be a fun part of the hike!
Pedaling Fool
12-02-2009, 09:02
I don’t throw away food in my trash all of it goes in the compost except meat/poultry, which I throw in the back of my yard near a pine tree and watch a turkey vulture clean it up.
I’ve read that they find much of their food by smell and I believe it, because there’s no way he could spot it by flying overhead.
The black vulture’s sense of smell isn’t as good, which is why they tag along the turkey vulture, they use them as their noses.
warraghiyagey
12-02-2009, 10:10
That was the plan at first, but I am pretty set on NOBO. From my understandings, that's not the way to go if you're a birdnerd :(
I saw an ivory-billed woodpecker this summer in the northeast goin SOBO. . . :sun
It drives me freaking nuts when I can't remember something, but several years ago on NPR (I think it was on the "Fresh Air" segment with Terry Gross), a guy was interviewed who broke down the song of the thrush. He wrote a book about it and there was a CD that came with it. Anyway, what sounds to us like a single "voice" from a single thrush is actually a single bird simultaneously voicing several songs at once. By technical means, he was able to pull apart and isolate the different songs within a single song, and you could hear it on the CD. I can't think of the technical name, either -- the ability to simultaneously voice several distinct songs. That's a long way of saying that ever since I heard that interview, the thrush has been one of my favorite birds to focus upon. If anyone happens to know the title of the book, the author, etc., please let me know -- I hate it that I didn't have sense enough to buy it and read the entire thing.
You'll see lots of great birds. Turkeys and quail -- you hike right up on them without knowing -- and they take off with a lot of noise and invariably scare the hell out of me. Quite a number of Downy woodpeckers. At Rocky Top, TN, which is really high up on an unobstructed area, I looked down on a hawk circling below. You'll frequently hear the hawks scream, too. Totally cool. Lots of gekos, finch, just lots of great birds to see. Maybe get an eastern bird book to familiarize yourself with them beforehand.
warraghiyagey
12-02-2009, 10:47
http://volunteersforwildlife.org/shop/books/PetersonBirds.jpg
Well I found it. It's a 26 min. audio interview, replete with lots of excerpts from the CD recording. It's outstanding: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4565590
If you just want to hear the stuff about the thrush, it starts at about 21:30.
The book is "The Singing Life of Birds."
Northbound through hikers are sure to both see and hear Pennsylvania's State Bird (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=28210) long before they get here. A favorite (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=36682&catid=675) image from my gallery depicts an old poster of a ruffed grouse also known as a partridge.
That was the plan at first, but I am pretty set on NOBO. From my understandings, that's not the way to go if you're a birdnerd :(
Not sure if that's true, most songbirds travel NOBO as well, though I suspect they blueblaze at times. If you start before the trees get their leaves you will see tons of birds. A lot of warblers hide high in the trees and are similar looking if you do get a look at them. Learn to identify by sound since you will hear way more birds than you will see.
Since Grouse were mentioned, I saw two this fall in Ohio. May not seem that specacular, but the Grouse population is down in Ohio. Ran into a hunter who said he stopped hunting them because he hadn't seen one in over six years.
I saw an ivory-billed woodpecker this summer in the northeast goin SOBO. . . :sun
Yeah, but those things are everywhere. I heard they are going to start a hunting season for them around here since they've become such a nuiscence.
warraghiyagey
12-02-2009, 15:57
Yeah, but those things are everywhere. I heard they are going to start a hunting season for them around here since they've become such a nuiscence.
I think that would be premature. . . they are still regaining their numbers. . . .
A favorite (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=36682&catid=675) image from my gallery depicts an old poster of a ruffed grouse also known as a partridge.
I think it suppose to be spelled Patridge, FYI
Here's a picture of a Spruce Patridge I took this fall up high on a unnamed mountain in the wilds. How's that for a pose ?
Here's a picture of a Spruce Patridge I took this fall up high on a unnamed mountain in the wilds. How's that for a pose?
Are you sure your bird striking a pose wasn't shot somewhere near a tourist destination? Maybe it got into some fermented spruce "beer." Our grouse eat teaberries in the winter. They don't have arthritis and don't pose for tourists.
Just who are you to tell me how to spell like a Pennsylvanian anyway? Most people down here think a partridge is something found in a pear tree seasonally, but they have never seen one.
They don't have a clue what a Patridge is. I once saw one in Maine. It got eaten by a goshawk. Ours are faster.:D
warraghiyagey
12-02-2009, 21:12
Here's a picture of a Spruce Patridge I took this fall up high on a unnamed mountain in the wilds.
Where'd you take it. . . or don't we want to know. . .
I once saw one in Maine. It got eaten by a goshawk. Ours are faster.:D
And stupider. . . . meet the Pennsyltucky goshawk. . . .
emerald;927811 Are you sure your bird striking a pose wasn't shot somewhere near a tourist destination? Maybe it got into some fermented spruce "beer." Our grouse eat teaberries in the winter. They don't have arthritis and don't pose for tourists. Yup, I'm sure, no tourons anywhere out there, hallelujah to that.
Unlike it's cousin the Ruffed Grouse, the Spruce Grouse is relatively tame in comparison.
They are not hunted and live in the Alpine Spruce zone, generally above 2,000' and usually closer to 3,000' and above, seldom seeing people . Spotted this Grouse from about 40' away and slowly crept up on her to within about 10'. There were 3 other clan members handy, two in the trees and one male which i will put up a picture of sometime in the future.
These birds of a feather flock together and have in the past seen as many as seven in one tree .
To make the first picture credible to any disbelievers :p, heres another picture with a scenic backdrop and blue blaze in left foreground. :sun
warraghiyagey
12-03-2009, 09:19
Mountain Chikken. . . .
Thank you for your spruce grouse images.:)
I saw an ivory-billed woodpecker this summer in the northeast goin SOBO. . . :sun
Sorry, brotha... I don't believe you. :( If you did, you should enter the lottery. I followed a lot of the articles 4 years ago when they claimed they found some in Arkansas. If you're not pullin' my leg, what you probably saw was a Pileated.
From Wikipedia:
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) is one of several species whose numbers have dwindled to the point where it is uncertain whether any remain. The species is listed as critically endangered (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critically_endangered) and possibly extinct (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinct) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Union_for_Conservation_of_Nature) (IUCN).[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory-billed_Woodpecker#cite_note-IUCN-0) The American Birding Association lists the Ivory-billed Woodpecker as a Class 6 species, a category they define as "definitely or probably extinct." [2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory-billed_Woodpecker#cite_note-1)
Reports of at least one male Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Arkansas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas) in 2004 were investigated and subsequently published in April 2005 by a team led by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Laboratory_of_Ornithology) (Fitzpatrick et al., 2005). No definitive confirmation of those reports emerged, despite intensive searching over five years following the initial sightings.
In June 2006, a $10,000 reward was offered for information leading to the discovery of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker nest, roost or feeding site.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory-billed_Woodpecker#cite_note-2) In December 2008, the Cornell lab of ornithology announced a reward of $50,000 to the person who can successfully lead a project biologist to a living Ivory-billed Woodpecker.
In late September 2006, a team of ornithologists (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithologist) from Auburn University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_University) and the University of Windsor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Windsor) published reports of their own sightings of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers along the Choctawhatchee River (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choctawhatchee_River) in northwest Florida (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida), beginning in 2005 (Hill et al., 2006). These reports were accompanied by evidence that the authors themselves considered suggestive for the existence of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. Searches in this area of Florida through 2009 failed to produce definitive confirmation.
Despite these high-profile reports from Arkansas, Florida, and elsewhere in the historic range of the species since the 1940s, conclusive evidence for the continued existence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker remains lacking (e.g. there are no unambiguous photographs, videos, DNA from feathers or feces, or a specimen). To protect any possible surviving individuals, land acquisition and habitat restoration efforts were initiated.
Northbound through hikers are sure to both see and hear Pennsylvania's State Bird (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=28210) long before they get here. A favorite (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=36682&catid=675) image from my gallery depicts an old poster of a ruffed grouse also known as a partridge.
I have Grouses... mostly because they scare the crap out of me when I am trail running and I come across one. Can't they not go crazy when they fly away? I saw a bunch in GSMNP.
We got Blue Grouse out here in UT. Look very similar to Ruffed, but cool to mark off another species on my list!
I was walking along the trail in TN and had a grouse nearly fly into my arms. It had chicks somewhere nearby, though I didn't see them. Talk about scaring the crap out of you. It started squaking and pulling the injured wing trick. I could have clubbed it with my hiking pole (actually had to talk another guy out of doing this and having grouse for dinner). It was pretty cool though, usually I only get to see them for about 5 seconds before they're gone, this one hung around until we moved on.
ShelterLeopard
12-04-2009, 14:34
http://www.allaboutbirds.org
I'm thinking of writing up a bird ID guide for myself (to put in the back of my guidebook), because I put some of Wingfoot's info into my book already, but there's no way that was a comprehensive listing of wildlife on the AT.
Talk about scaring the crap out of you.
Now there's a post that requires a comment! I just haven't settled on one yet.:D
I have Grouses... mostly because they scare the crap out of me when I am trail running and I come across one.
You see, that's the problem there. The faster you go, the more they startle you. When you speed up so does everything else around you. Slow down. What's your hurry?;)
Maybe Wargy did see an IBW. I saw a pair not long ago right here in Berks County and I'm sure they weren't pileated woodpeckers. I'd be willing to prove it, but they weren't there anymore last time I visited the site of my sighting.
Heck, I see passenger pigeons regularly. You just need to know where to look for them.:)
I'm thinking of writing up a bird ID guide for myself...
Do yourself a favor and carry no more than you must until you reach Damascus. Your early start will increase your pack weight enough. Just thinking about unnecessary pack weight as you hike those miles would likely be enough to cause you to wish you could change your mind retroactively.
I think it suppose to be spelled Patridge, FYI
Here's a picture of a Spruce Patridge I took this fall up high on a unnamed mountain in the wilds. How's that for a pose ?
Looks like it's holding it's breathe.
ShelterLeopard
12-04-2009, 20:33
Do yourself a favor and carry no more than you must until you reach Damascus. Your early start will increase your pack weight enough. Just thinking about extra weight for that length of time would be enough to change your mind retroactively, but, by then, it would be too late.
I'm packing as light as I can for the first three- four weeks, then I'm getting my skillet, and a couple extra things that I'd really like to be carrying in the mail (light things). The only extra thing I'm carrying is my set guidebook additions- and they are pretty small, three pages, and when it was cut, more like two pages.
(I know, every ounce adds up- :P )
I'm sure you're right though!
See if you can borrow a copy of Peterson's Field Guide to the Bird Songs of Eastern and Central North America or just spend some time at All About Birds every day until your launch. If you have time to read a book, read Mountains of the Heart.
You'll hear more birds than you'll see. Keep your eyes on the treadway.
If you have an iPhone, there is an excellent app called Bird Explorer. It's $30 or so, but it's a fantastic guide and well worth the money.
If it's so good, why not link it?
http://www.ibirdexplorer.com/
Best birding app for the iPhone... you can get a free version that only includes 15 birds to show you how it works.
Pedaling Fool
12-12-2009, 09:55
Colored leg bands have been shown to affect behavior in some species of birds http://www.amberkeyser.com/uploads/JFO_UV_Bands.pdf
The official bird of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country is die Dischdelfink. Visitors who do not speak Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch (http://www.pgs.org/dialect.asp) wishing to observe our official bird are advised to be on the lookout a goldfinch (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch/id), also New Jersey's state bird.
For a thread discussing a new A.T. challenge for wildlife enthusiasts, click on the link.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=933075
Bidwell, here's a gem I almost missed from an infrequent poster mentioned earlier:
I agree with the above advice (staying flexible, establishing a base of support, being positive, etc.).
Additionally, to prepare, our pre-trail prep regime included:
(1) an intense study of trail wildlife. I was never bored on the trail because I could indentify that the woods & the critters within it changed constantly.
(2) reading tons of trail stories, histories & journals. This served to connect me to trail & aided in giving me a heads up as to difficulties & excitements on any given stretches of trail.
(3) Among my physical preparations for the trail, I ran a marathon. Unlike previous races, I never rescheduled a training run for rain/snow/etc. Instead, I trained as usual and then, sitting soaking wet inside my apartment and feeling exhausted, I’d think to myself “On the AT I’ll be this tired, this wet and then I’ll eat some meager dinner like couscous and sleep on the ground.” This exercise in particular really served me well.
Pedaling Fool
03-27-2010, 09:54
One thing that has always intrigued me about nature is evolution and the various aspects of how creatures evolve. One very interesting aspect is how males evolve to compete for mating rights and male birds are among the most fascinating in their evolutionary traits.
There are countless examples of this, but on simple example is the male club-winged manakin. Its feathers have evolved into a pick-type device to make a humming noise as the bird beats its wings at ~100 times per second – twice as fast as a hummingbird. Scientists have also discovered that certain bones have become dense to support this action. (As everyone knows birds have hollow lightweight bones to facilitate flight).
I can imagine some aspects of evolution, but others just blow my mind and there are plenty of examples of crazy evolution in birds.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/secret-of-darwins-violinplaying-bird-revealed-500579.html
.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_Sparrow/id (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_Sparrow/id)
Too bad Cornell doesn't offer an email subscription. A subscription to this thread could accomplish the same provided someone would post weekly. I wonder, does my suggestion prompt ideas in Massachusetts?
How about someone posts the bird of the week to this thread each week on Sunday?
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/id (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/id)
berkshirebirder
04-13-2010, 09:05
Just found this thread, emerald. I like this Bird of the Week idea--good way to get some information out there about the wonderful common birds that hikers can hear (if not see) in different habitats along the AT.
So far we have Song Sparrow and Downy Woodpecker. These have distinctive calls that hikers can learn. More on this later.
Pedaling Fool
04-13-2010, 10:10
DEFLATING THE MYTH OF MONOGAMY
Romance is just some strange human fabrication and now they (they being our teachers) can no longer apply it to the rest of the natural world.
This is probably not news to many of you serious birdwatchers, but it is for me...It's time to question every thing I've learned.
http://www.trinity.edu/rnadeau/fys/barash%20on%20monogamy.htm
.
berkshirebirder
04-13-2010, 12:40
Well, yes. We SHOULD question everything that's been assembled for us to believe.
On the other hand, life is difficult enough if you're a woman with children to support and if you're those children needing to be supported until at least teen years. For humans, commitment to one partner often (but not always) works best where children are concerned.
Among birds, when many young are produced by multiple partners, most of these offspring die.
Just found this thread, emerald. I like this Bird of the Week idea--good way to get some information out there about the wonderful common birds that hikers can hear (if not see) in different habitats along the AT.
I'm not sure when Cornell's week begins and I may have missed a week. Ours need not begin the same day. We could start a new thread called Bird of the Week or just post links here. It's likely to take several of us to get the link posted on the same day each week.
Tennessee Watchable Wildlife now has a bird of the week too.
We might instead start an A.T. bird of the week thread to run for a year or until we've listed them all.
Among birds, when many young are produced by multiple partners, most of these offspring die.
More information please!:welcome
Pedaling Fool
12-25-2012, 19:28
For the past couple years I've been feeding Turkey Vultures left over carcasses and the giblets and stuff from Chicken/Turkey.
You should see what the neighborhood cats do when they fly in -- it scares the **** out of them :D
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m484/76gunner/001-4_zps275e39da.jpg
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m484/76gunner/005-2_zps7d7f93ab.jpg[/QUOTE]
marshbirder
08-11-2013, 20:49
We might instead start an A.T. bird of the week thread to run for a year or until we've listed them all.
Bump for this :)
Bird Brain
08-12-2013, 21:56
I suspect you're talking about the Don Kroodsma and his book - The Singing Life of Birds. Depending on which thrush you are talking about - I suspect the Veery - it sings two notes at once during it's dawn and dusk singing. It's a beautiful song and you can hear the bird singing in harmony with itself. Sound analysis software allows you to visualize the song in a spectrogram (sonogram). You can clearly see the paired notes of the Veery in a sonogram.
Bird Brain (aka Dick Rowe).
Pedaling Fool
01-04-2014, 10:43
I've always been captivated by birds and their level of intelligence, especially crows and now just when I thought I've seen it all it seems like I have not. This was first noticed in Japan in the 1990's, but has been sighted in other places, including California.
http://www.cracked.com/article_19042_6-terrifying-ways-crows-are-way-smarter-than-you-think_p2.html
Excerpt:
"Crows pay attention to how the human world works, and often use it to their advantage: Some have been observed cracking walnuts by dropping them from the exact height needed to bust them open on the pavement. But in other cases, they take gravity out of the equation and just drop the nuts in front of cars, letting us do the work for them. (http://www.edutube.org/en/video/intelligent-crows-crack-open-nuts-using-traffic) These same crows also memorize the pattern of traffic lights to optimize the exact moment they drop the nuts, but also to make sure they only retrieve them when the light is red and the crosswalk sign is on, so they don't get run over. If you've ever been out driving, you know the latter is a skill that only about 10 percent of the human population has mastered."
Here's another article on it http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/brain/
Here's a youtube of the behavior. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0
Among birds, when many young are produced by multiple partners, most of these offspring die.Um, this 100% false. Lots of female birds mate with males that aren't their partners, and in some cases those young do even better than the ones fathered by the mates.
I had the opportunity to watch how hawks are caught, banded and released.
I was able to handle one just prior to release. Yes, that's me:D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct3rvZouuNQ