Black Vulture

It is an infrequent thing when a local “better birder” calls my cell phone. But when they do and I am at work, I immediately get that sinking feeling in my stomach. Oh no- somebody has found something really good and I can’t chase it. I received one of those calls last week. Actually two, telling me about the Black Vulture found near Santa Barbara. This would be a first county record and only the fourth for California. In this age of instantaneous information it is not only possible to receive a report as it is happening, but current whereabouts and documentary photographs. It used to be that a photo wasn’t seen until it was published months later in Audubon Field Notes or ABA’s North American Birds.

It wasn’t until two days later when I could finally make the one hour drive south to see this bird. I left before dawn planning on arriving at the reported roost site around 7:00 AM. Much too early and cool for it to be off flying around the foothills of Goleta with Turkey Vultures. Most vultures wait for morning temperatures to climb in order to catch thermals and circle upward. Also in my favor was the coastal fog hugging the entire south coast. It wasn’t until 11:00 AM the day before when it finally spread its wings and flew out from a newly discovered roost site.

I arrived at Stow Grove Park to find a small group of birders already in place, many of them from out-of-town. As I walked up to the group I received word that it had flown out of the park just two minutes before, “heading that-away…”. It was apparently spooked by the gathering group and finally flushed when a nearby car alarm chirped. Damn. Why didn’t I get gas the night before instead of this morning? I would have seen it and been on my way to other good birds in the area. As more birders arrived they were also given the bad news. A quick plan of action is to comb the foothills nearby looking for possible vulture roosts and keep in contact. Two hours later and I grow tired of driving around looking at every tree that might hold a vulture or two.

It seemed likely to me that a vulture not really interested in flying before the fog burned off probably wouldn’t have gone far preferring to drop back into an area of trees. I returned to the park and set up across the road where I could peer into an avocado orchard and have a good wide field of view of the surrounding foothills. I then noticed several Turkey Vultures roosting on tree snags from within the grove. A short time later I am joined by a fellow birder from the area, and then two birders from northern California who spotted us standing by the side of the road. Right around 10:30 AM the fog starts to burn off and we see small groups of vultures begin to circle out of the orchard. At 11:00 the Black Vulture is finally spotted being one of the last vultures to emerge. The distant photo above was the best I could do as it flew away from our position. Others were much more fortunate to have captured the bird. A few links are below.

Black Vulture 1

Black Vulture 2

Black Vulture 3

 

Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

Originally uploaded by almiyi

Other Birder’s Field Guides

I love old field guides. I have a modest collection on my book shelf of these treasures that I have found in used book stores over the years. Within the pages are antiquated bird names no longer used. One interesting fact about old field guides is that people used to write their names inside and mark the pages with their sightings since several of them didn’t include checklists or boxes for indicating species seen. Roger Tory Peterson remarked, “It is gratifying to see a copy marked on nearly every page, for I know it has been well used.” Do people still do this today? I can honestly say that I have never done this myself, but one special book does have my name in it. More on this later.

Although these now reside on my bookshelf I can’t help but feel that they aren’t quite mine. There is a history that goes along with these old books. A history that I am not a part of.  There are simple check marks next to some birds, and scribbled notes along the pages with the various dates and locations where other birds were found. A Plain Titmouse was recorded in 1949, Hooded Merganser in1950, and a Bullock’s Oriole on the 4th of July in 1956. Like most field guides these probably were taken to a national park, or made a long distance cross country trek to some vacation spot. They belonged to Margaret, Harold, Richard, Elizabeth, and one was a gift from Aunt Molly. Another previous owner by the name of Fern wrote a thoughtful note inside to the next person that would possess her book. She had no idea who it might be (yours truly), but her words bear witness to the fact that she enjoyed birds and wanted to pass on her enjoyment by saying so.

Within the pages of these books are some of the best bird art ever produced. Painters such as Don Eckelberry and Roger Tory Peterson, line drawings by Major Allan Brooks, Earl Poole and Terry Shortt all contributed to these  original bird books. Terry Shortt’s Spoon-billed Sandpiper below is one such drawing and evokes the quickness of a peep in flight. A bird I can only dream of seeing myself.

I also own a book that has personal family history. Apgar’s Birds of the United States published in 1898. An old book with scientific descriptions and black and white illustrations. It even has a section on how to properly prepare skins for display or study. You won’t find this “illegal” activity in modern guides. This copy was owned by my Great Grandmother who wrote her name on the inside in 1902. Obviously by a pen dipped in an ink well. As a boy I would pull this book off the shelf at my Grandmother’s house and leaf through it looking at the old illustrations and reading the bird names no longer used such as Scaled Partridge, Bartramian Sandpiper and Man-o’-War bird. Each time my Grandmother telling me, “Be careful. That book is very old. It belonged to your Great Grandmother.” One day quite unexpectedly, she gave it to me.

The one book that does contain my name in it was a gift. My old boss, a casual birder himself, visited the Festival of the Cranes event in Bosque del Apache, New Mexico one fall. He returned with a personally autographed copy of Roger Tory Peterson’s Western Birds and presented it to me. It is one of my favorite possessions. Not only because of the personalized signature by an iconic figure of the birding world, but because my boss was much more than my employer at the time. He was a true friend and we shared an interest in things beyond the work place. He has passed on and continues to be missed, but I remember fondly the group outings chasing local birds, his love of nature and the day he handed me this thoughtful gift. It is irrepleacable.

Rare Birds Happen

Quite by accident while surfing the web I came upon this hastily scribbled field sketch of a Red-necked Stint I had found in June 1995. Looking at it now it is a terrible drawing, but it served a purpose. This was submitted as documentation to the California Bird Records Committee to support a sighting in June 1995. There was one found in exactly the same place just the previous year, in fact. When I came across this sketch on the net I was immediately taken back to that moment in time when I found this very rare bird. I was quite unprepared for it when it happened, but I learned a valuable lesson at the time: be prepared because rare birds happen.

It was late June and shorebirds were only beginning to move south. Typically in June there are only a few peeps in our coastal estuaries to look at, but numbers swell by July as fall migration picks up. There is that narrow window of opportunity to find something really good, but let’s face it – it almost never happens. I’ve often said, “Birds aren’t rare. Birders are”. Birds have wings. They go places. It makes more sense to me that a birder with the skill and knowledge it takes to identify a rarity being in the right place at the right time is the rare event. Subject matter for debate, I suppose.

I decided to leave the camera in the car that day as I have done many times before. All I had with me were binoculars, spotting scope and pad and paper. I am scanning the sand for whatever is out there when I find a nice group of Sanderlings roosting on the sand among the tiny rocks, shell fragments and sand verbena. Many of them still in full breeding plumage of purple and red. At some point they are spooked and collectively fly to the muddy estuary nearby. I move to the estuary and scan through the birds where I see a few Western Sandpipers as well. And then I see it.

There is that moment where every serious birder has that immediate rush of excitement, where your heart stops for a moment and you realize you are looking at something that isn’t supposed to be there. I blurt out loud, “Hey, I think that’s a… stint!” Picking at the mud among the common peeps is this beautiful little Red-necked Stint. Since my field guide is comfortable in the car next to the camera, I go through all the field marks in my head comparing it’s size to the Western Sandpipers and Sanderlings, noting the bill shape, the upperparts pattern and reddish coloration. I keep looking over my shoulder to see who might be coming so I can point this out, but there is nobody there and nobody coming. It’s just me alone on the beach.

At this point I am kicking myself for having left my camera in the car. Murphy’s Law strikes again. Then I remember the small notebook and pen in my backpack. In haste I scribble this down and note the most prominent marks. I strain to see that “hind toe” that confirms it is NOT a Sanderling as so many others have failed to do when claiming a stint (Sanderlings don’t have hind toes). Oh my God, it has hind toes. At long last I decide to dash back to the car to grab the camera. When I return it is nowhere to be found. I mistakenly photograph a few Sanderlings instead because at this point every reddish Sanderling looks like a stint to me. I searched in vain for over an hour. By the time I get home to report this it is late. Others won’t even try for it until the next day. The obvious questions come up, “Are you sure it wasn’t a Sanderling?” This is to be expected. It’s a little like claiming a UFO.

The bird is re-found the next day by others and I am able to get a few distant photos. It is less cooperative this time and I can’t get nearly as close. Curiously the CBRC in their annual report decides this is a returning bird. The same individual found in 1994. Maybe, maybe not, but it turned out to be the 8th accepted record of this species in California at the time.

Binomial nomenclature: Vermilion Flycatcher

One of the aspects of my interest in birds is not only their behavior and appearance, but just how they acquired their names. Common or vernacular names can vary depending on what part of the world a bird comes from, and the same species with a worldwide distribution may have different names. For example, Black-bellied Plover in North America is a fairly straightforward descriptive name for Pluvialis squatarola, at least during the breeding season, but it is known as Grey Plover in Europe. One thing that is common is the scientific name of that bird.

Scientific naming, or binomial nomenclature, is the Latinized name in two parts of a particular species. Be it a plant, animal or insect. The first being the genus and the second the name or title of that individual species. In the world of birds these are occasionally given to describe a plumage characteristic, pattern or color, in honor of a historical scientific explorer or ornithologist, or something completely odd and without clear understanding. These names or descriptions are sometimes redundant, comical or rather mundane. So, I thought I would offer up some binomials from time to time with a digiscoped image I’ve taken of the bird, and where I have references, the various slang names for these birds. Here is the first…

Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus); (pih-roh-SEF-ah-lus rube-EYE-nus) 

Pyrocephalus from the Gr. pyr, pyros, “fire”, and cephale, “head” (fire-head). Rubinus L. “ruby” for the brilliant red plumage of the male.

Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus)

Originally uploaded by almiyi

Birding TV

Not Turkey Vulture, TV= television. A message posted to CALBIRDS mentioned the possibility of a birding TV program in the works. A concept the Animal Planet isn’t quite sold on. There have been other shows about birds and birding before, but maybe not this fast-paced type of program. It might have some appeal, but enough to make it? Hmm, I’m not sure.

Here is a link to the concept- a short video clip on You Tube featuring Richard Crossley, co-author of The Shorebird Guide, one of my favorite bird books. He might be just the right person for this type of program. Check out the video and answer a short survey if this looks appealing to you:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/136290/wild

Here is my reply at the end of the survey,

“I enjoyed the fast paced action, like the Great Race concept. I think there should be more close-up footage of the birds being mentioned in the program, however. I’m not sure a non-birder will have had their curiosity sufficiently stimulated, although the hummingbird sequence comes close”

More on Stephen Colbert, Jr.

I received a VERY long reply to my previous post regarding the famous Bald Eagle, Stephen Colbert Jr. Actually, it was more of a press release by the Center for Biological Diversity. Rather than have it hidden in my post as a reply that may never be read, I thought it might be best to post it anew so it gets a little more attention. Two things are involved here: awareness of Bald Eagles, in particular “Stephen Jr.” #A46, and the comedy of Stephen Colbert, one of my absolute favorites. Is it too late to put down Stephen Colbert as a write-in candidate for president on my ballot?

Press Release:

Stephen Colbert, Jr., World’s Most Famous Bald Eagle

 

Photo originally uploaded by NFZJennywithaY

Happy Birthday Hummingbirds

I recently commented on a Anna’s Hummingbird nest I found in a short pine tree at my place of work and it’s subsequent failure when the nestlings disappeared. I pondered whether or not she would try, try again if conditions permitted. Well, assuming it is the same bird, it has happened. This time her nest is a convenient 3-4 feet off the ground. I discovered it on a pine bough right next to where I park my truck about one week ago. The best part is I can watch her through the window while sitting in my truck.

Female Anna’s Hummingbird on Nest

One day after work I aimed my point-and-shoot camera out the open window and snapped a picture of her sitting on her nest. I’ve watched her bounce up and down and sway with the coastal winds but she remains calm. Recently while she was off catching bugs or feeding from blossoms I looked inside the nest and found two tiny white eggs just as before. Yesterday I peered inside when she was out and found one nestling hatched (probably within the past 24 hours), and one remaining egg. Sometime today the second bird hatched! And thus begins the feeding…

Wood-Pewee Nest Building

While birding today in one of my favorite new spots in the county, Tepusquet Canyon (Chumash word pronounced “Tep-us-kay”), I had the pleasure of watching a pair of Western Wood-Pewees go about their flycatching, perching, calling, chasing each other around as pewees tend to do habits. It didn’t take too long to discover these two were busily preparing a new nest nearby.

From a perch in the shadows of a Coast Live Oak, one of the birds flew into a large sycamore tree hanging over the road where I discovered they were in the process of building their nest. It was perfectly positioned in the open for a few digiscoped photos. It was entertaining to watch the female (?) fly to the nest and sit inside, look around the edges, then place more nest material where needed. Moving around in a circular motion with her wings opened she would pat it all down with her entire body to form the new material into the shape she wanted. Then she would hunker down and sit completely nestled within as if incubating eggs. Probably test driving the latest changes. Off she would fly to chase her mate, catch a bug or gather more nest material. Check out the photos:

Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus)

Originally uploaded by almiyi

Birding by Moonlight

I’ve always wanted to try scoping the full moon looking for any signs of bird migration like I have read about, but I’ve never had the patience to look at the moon for long periods of time. Staring at that big bright light through my Zeiss scope is a bit painful. I realize you may only catch a fleeting glimpse of a bird and it seems only happenstance that you actually spot a small passerine in flight. Although I’ve seen a bird or two by doing this, there is obviously something much larger taking place.

After dark it takes RADAR (base reflectivity) to really see what is happening during peak periods of migration. Visualizing a surge of migration is possible by looking at these reflectivity images. Some nights are better than others, but it appears to me the greatest activity of bird movement happens in the east, or at least this is where it is most detectable. Given the wide central flyway corridor east of the Rockies this makes sense.

I checked Saturday night about one hour after sun down as the full moon ascended and actually spotted a few birds moving across the light of the moon. A couple of smallish passerines and a shorebird that looked like maybe a Whimbrel were all I could catch in about one hour of looking. I could even hear a few more over my head. I guess I’ll never know what these were. The following day there were reports of a good push of Red-necked Phalaropes, and I found a few tanagers, orioles and grosbeaks that had dropped into my local park. Probably remnants of the flight taking place that previous evening.

Take a look at these screen captures from Saturday. To compare with actual weather activity, I have included a satellite image of North America which shows weather in Wyoming and Nebraska, south-central Texas and the southern end of the Appalachian range. When you compare actual weather events to the base refelectivity maps you can see how much more activity there is due to migration. Even in California where I live.

Digiscoped shot of the moon

Base reflectivity image of North America 5/10/09

Satellite view from 5/10/09

Base reflecvtivity image of southern California 5/10/09

To try and undesrtand how to read base reflectivity images I found the following sites very helpful. Here is an explanation of  the Timing of Bird Migration. You might try this yourself while birds are still moving north.

Migrating Birds

Radar Sites

Magpies and Rockets

Yellow-billed Magpie in Santa Ynez

What does a Yellow-billed Magpie and a rocket have in common? Not much, except I wouldn’t have been counting Yellow-billed Magpies at all today had I not had the day off due to a scheduled rocket launch where I work. Okay, odd way to start a post, but I’ll tie the two together.

Audubon California and eBird have teamed up to collect current population data on the Yellow-billed Magpie. Threats to magpies range from habitat loss, ground squirrel poisoning and West Nile Virus- all contributing to lower numbers in recent years. eBird is a great tool for recording individual sightings and contributing to the data collecting effort so I decided I would do what I could.

In my previous post I mentioned the phalarope I recovered from the base of the rocket tower. I used my day off to deliver the bagged and frozen shorebird to the home of the Santa Barbara Museum’s Curator of Vertebrate Zoology in Santa Ynez Valley. He will add it to the specimen collection. While on the way down and return trip home, I drove through Santa Barbara County wine country which is great habitat for magpies. I also hoped to collect a few decent digiscoped images of these birds for my collection but they were less than cooperative today. Where I did find some the afternoon wind made for poor digiscoping. I only include one photo from today for it’s comedic value.

I could only locate nine birds during my round trip. These were scattered throughout their range in the north county. I surely missed a few because it is difficult to look for magpies at 65 mph. Of those I did see, a few were feeding on the ground so more may have been hidden in tall grass. I think they are just more conspicuous and gregarious in winter months.

Okay, now for the rocket part of this story. While driving along remote country roads looking for magpies I happened to glance out the window and spotted the rocket blasting off from Vandenberg AFB miles away to the west right on schedule. I pulled the truck over and aimed my camera and scope out the window and grabbed this shot. Edited with Photoshop to filter the glare, you can see six of the nine (total) solid motors separated from the first stage as they tumble back to earth.

Delta II Rocket Launch 5/5/09