birds, Photos from others

Stokes: Birding blog and new books

If you’re in the market for a photographic birding guide, check out the new guides from Lillian and Don Stokes.

I have The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America put out a few years ago. I like it a lot, although I was slightly disappointed that those photos aren’t nearly as dramatic as photos you’ll see on the Stokes blog. That may be different in the new guides. Be aware that there is an older version of the Western guide you don’t want — get the 2013 versions. peace, mjh 

To see the quality of Lillian Stokes’ photos, start by looking at the photos at the following link:

STOKES BIRDING BLOG: Swallow-tailed Kites have returned!

Then, check out:

Birding Is Fun!: The 10 Most Beautiful Birds

Finally, see the very detailed review of the books at the following link.

10,000 Birds | The New Stokes Field Guides to Birds, Eastern Region & Western Region: A Review of Two Books

I think these field guides will be a valuable asset to many birders’ field kits and libraries, especially if they have not yet invested in a photographic guide. Beginning and intermediate birders will find the abundance of clear, well-printed photographs of male and female birds, juvenile and adult, perched and flying, extremely helpful in the field, and the emphasis on shape a good teaching tool….

10,000 Birds | The New Stokes Field Guides to Birds, Eastern Region & Western Region: A Review of Two Books

Spike the roadrunner

Sam, Roady, and Hot Lips say we are not alone.

We knew others feed roadrunners. A neighbor feeds Spam or Vienna wieners to his pair, who could be Spike’s parents. They nest as close to his door as they can get and don’t roam far. Another neighbor fed “her” roadrunners raw chicken. But, we assumed we were the only ones foolish enough to pay for mice to feed to roadrunners — until we met Sam at Hawks Aloft. She has been feeding roadrunners for over 15 years. She believes Hot Lips, the crossbilled roadrunner, was over 20 years old. Roady lost a big part of his upper bill over 5 years ago, but with Sam’s help, Roady has raised several broods. Sam says she has hundreds of roadrunner grandbabies. Thankfully, she doesn’t have to feed them all store-bought mice. Even so, our rough guestimate of Sam’s running tab has us thinking twice. If Spike outlives us, do we have to provide for her? Maybe she’ll like Spam now and then. She gobbled up the mealworms we bought today.

Spike the Roadrunner

sky

February’s Full Moon is popularly known as the Snow Moon or Hunger Moon – 2/25

The Sky This Week, 2013 February 19 – 26 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The Moon brightens the overnight hours this week as she waxes to Full Moon on the 25th at 3:26 pm Eastern Standard Time. February’s Full Moon is popularly known as the Snow Moon or Hunger Moon since it occurs at a time when winter exercises its strongest grip. Luna begins the week high above the head of Orion, the Hunter. On the evening of the 20th she perches between the "feet" of the Gemini twins. On the night of the 24th she rises with the bright star Regulus in Leo, the Lion, and remains within a few degrees of the star all night long.

The Sky This Week, 2013 February 19 – 26 — Naval Oceanography Portal

sky

Mercury “seems to hover about 10 degrees above the western horizon about half an hour after sunset”

The Sky This Week, 2013 February 19 – 26 — Naval Oceanography Portal

If you missed sighting the planet Mercury at dusk over the past several evenings, you still have a chance early this week. Mercury passed greatest elongation on the 16th and now seems to "hover" about 10 degrees above the western horizon about half an hour after sunset. Unfortunately he begins to fade quite rapidly as he begins his plunge back toward the Sun, so you’ll need binoculars and very clear skies to sight him after the 22nd. By the end of the week he will still be fairly high in evening twilight, but he will have faded to second magnitude and will be lost in the sunset glow. You’ll get another chance to see him near the end of May, however, when he returns to the evening sky with Venus and Jupiter in tow.

The Sky This Week, 2013 February 19 – 26 — Naval Oceanography Portal

sky

"cross-quarter" days that we still unwittingly celebrate, although most of us have no idea why…

I love the notion highlighted below. Same could be said of so much in any culture. peace, mjh

The Sky This Week, 2013 January 29 – February 5 — Naval Oceanography Portal

Groundhog Day. This is one of the traditional mid-season markers known as “cross-quarter” days that we still unwittingly celebrate, although most of us have no idea why. Loosely tied to a pagan festival called Imbolc, the day was brought to the U.S. by German immigrants who adopted the winter habits of the groundhog to those of their traditional old-world badger. As the mid-point of the season of winter, it does indeed mark the six-week interval leading to spring. Traditionally, if the groundhog sees his shadow, those six weeks will be cold and blustery.

The Sky This Week, 2013 January 29 – February 5 — Naval Oceanography Portal

birds, daytrips, newmexico, photos

You want to see hawks? Get thee to Estancia Basin pronto.

Merri notes, “After reading Judy Liddell’s bird report for the Estancia Basin, we headed to Clements Road just south of I-40 and just outside of Estancia. Wide-open ranches dominate the landscape out there. Driving and walking down dirt roads, we saw more than TWENTY ferruginous hawks, 4 rough-legged hawks, 2 red-tails, 2 golden eagles, some kestrels, a merlin, 2 shrikes, tons of horned lark, and 30+ antelope. We walked across ranch land and down a country road.”

I’ll add that we had never knowingly seen ferruginous nor rough-legged hawks, making these lifers for us both. In fact, we saw so many of each in so many poses that it was a field-lesson. It made for a beautiful day trip.

After seeing all those hawks on our main walks of the day, we looked for Cienega Draw on Willow Lake Rd, which seem to me imaginative, not descriptive, in this oh-so dry landscape. That detour did take us past the Thunder Chicken Ranch, a great name for an ostrich farm.

We drove farther south toward the two large-ish lakes that appear on the map south of the correctional facility. One lake was full of snow — surprising with the temp above 50 — but no liquid. Before we got to the second lake, a Cadillac Esplanade pulled up next to us. The woman driving asked if we were lost. No, I said, we’re bird-watching and thought the lakes might have something. She seemed surprised, then said sometimes they see cranes. I said I thought this was a public road and she said, yes, a little farther until the gate to the Wrye Ranch, which we saw the northern edge of at Clements Rd — quite a large spread. She drove on and immediately after her Mr Wrye stopped in his truck, "You need help?" he asked and I said, no, we’re just out for a drive. They were polite and offering help is neighborly but they were likely suspicious of strangers on "their" road. After they passed, we went on to the gate and turned around. If there is a second lake, it is behind a very high berm on the south side of the road.

Returning to pavement, we stopped where cottonwoods bordered what may have once been a house, now just some rubble. Mer saw a bird land. She got out and took photos of a merlin, yet another bird of prey to end our day. peace, mjh

PS- I recommend Judy Liddell’s blog, It’s a Bird Thing…, as well as her book, Birding Hot Spots of Central New Mexico. If you can’t join her on a weekly birding trip, you can walk in her footsteps, as we have several times.

PPS- Real birders or twitchers (in Great Britain) keep lots of lists, including at least one Life List. I’m a bird watcher, not a birder. My Life List only includes birds I’ve photographed.

birds

Roaming cats kill up to 3.7B birds annually

Spike says, “Keep your cat indoors.”

Roaming cats kill up to 3.7B birds annually

Cats that live in the wild or indoor pets allowed to roam outdoors kill from 1.4 billion to as many as 3.7 billion birds in the continental U.S. each year, says a new study that escalates a decades-old debate over the feline threat to native animals.

The estimates are much higher than the hundreds of millions of annual bird deaths previously attributed to cats. The study also says that from 6.9 billion to as many as 20.7 billion mammals — mainly mice, shrews, rabbits and voles — are killed by cats annually in the Lower 48. The report is scheduled to be published Tuesday in Nature Communications.

“I was stunned,” said ornithologist Peter Marra of the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute. He and Smithsonian colleague Scott Loss, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Tom Will conducted the study.

Roaming cats kill up to 3.7B birds annually

arizona, wolves

Grand Canyon elk go from attraction to menace — wolves can make a difference

We wiped out the elk and wolves in this area. Then we brought back elk. Time to let the wolves restore balance, just as they have done in Yellowstone.

Grand Canyon elk go from attraction to menace

Elk, once a rare sight at the national park, now regularly jam up the park’s roads, graze on hotel lawns and aren’t too shy about displaying their power, provoked or not. They’ve broken bones and caused eye injuries in the most serious circumstances, and give chase to the unsuspecting. …

Elk brought in by train from Yellowstone National Park helped re-establish the Arizona populations after the state’s native elk became extinct around 1900.

They’re now too close to the Grand Canyon’s most popular areas for comfort.

Grand Canyon elk go from attraction to menace

Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project – Home

A Wolf Awareness Relay Hike in the path of natural dispersal from the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area to the Grand Canyon

paseo-del-lobo-trail-map-2-thumbThe Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project is excited to host our second wolf advocacy campaign relay hike from July to October 2013 that will follow a natural dispersal corridor, connecting the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area (where Mexican gray wolves currently live) to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (where we are advocating for their return). Mexican wolves are capable of traversing hundreds of miles, and need room to roam in order to establish a metapopulation structure to preserve remaining genetic diversity.

Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project – Home

Spike the roadrunner

Spike the roadrunner is calling

Spike shows off his tailWe’ve been interacting with Spike the roadrunner for about 6 months. We see him almost daily. He’s not a pet – he’s leery of us, as he should be – but we know each other.

Spike has recently started calling, a sound we’ve never heard before. We’re familiar with the roadrunner call that sounds much like a mourning dove only more mournful. This call is a loud whoop. You can hear it in the first short video. I took the second video immediately after the call.

 

 

Spike in the rainIt’s warm and rainy in Albuquerque today – to call that unusual is tragic understatement. Spike has hunkered down on his rock in the front yard in a pose that reminds me of green herons or black-crowned night herons – no neck.

sky

The Wolf Moon is full 1/26/13

A-OOoooooo! Follow the link to read about Orion in myth.

The Sky This Week, 2013 January 22 – 29 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The year’s first Full Moon falls on the 26th at 11:38 pm Eastern Standard Time. January’s Full Moon is popularly known as the Wolf Moon or Ice Moon. One popular Algonquian name that I particularly like is the “Frost in the Tepee” Moon.

The Sky This Week, 2013 January 22 – 29 — Naval Oceanography Portal

sky

Look southeast at sunset Monday, 1/21/13

Sky Show: Jupiter and Moon in Super Close Pairing – News Watch

Two of the brightest objects in the night sky head towards a close encounter on Monday night. The sky show begins after local nightfall on the 21st when the waxing gibbous moon snuggles up to brilliant white Jupiter in the southeast. This closeness is of course just an illusion – they are in reality separate by hundreds of millions of kilometers. …

If you miss this alignment, the next time Jupiter and the Moon will pass close to each other will be on March 17 but won’t appear to North Americans quite as close as this one. On August 2016 when the pair will appear even closer in North American skies.

Sky Show: Jupiter and Moon in Super Close Pairing – News Watch