Category Archives: Year 8

Cavity Nesters Part 2: Eastern Screech Owl!

Year 8

Big thanks to Peter, Deb and Tammy for their assistance in helping me find my lifer down in the Twin Cities today … a sleeping Eastern Screech Owl. These owls do not live in the Boreal Forest. Thus, seeing one in Duluth would never be possible. Like yesterday’s wood duck, these owls use cavities for nesting. Over the past two weeks I have also learned about one of their preferred habitats; they very much like nesting next to sunny, dry river banks with big old mature trees. While I never saw a Screech Owl last weekend in Milwaukee, my evening hike let me listen to a number of these birds calling after sunset.

Just a fyi … this is the way to photograph a sleeping owl during the day. While eyes would be nice, do not yell or take other actions to wake up the bird. One should just enjoy the experience, and come back around sunset if you want to see an active owl.

 

Cavity Nesters

Year 8

I took a hike this morning in area that has mature old trees with lots of cavities. I wondered whether I would find a newly nested Barred Owl family … Nope! However I saw this male wood duck way up high courting his lady love. She was behind him and blocked by many, many branches. Love is in the air (and the trees … and the cavities)

The Environment

Quack!

Does she hear me?!

I’ll try again … Quack!

Wood Duck Courting … The Movie (web link for email subscribers).

Please note I was quite a distance from this duck. It demonstrates just how well I am able to zoom in utilizing my Canon Sx70 (and a monopod for stabilization). I only use optical zoom (not digital) and the 35mm equivalent is 1365 mm. The Woodie is definitely quacking but I am too distant to pick the sound up with my camera’s microphone.

Tracking the Bird Migration in your Home Town

Background, Year 8

Over the past few years, folks in the know have been able to gather data about the Spring or Fall bird migrations as they were in progress (birding forecasts & real time updates). However it took a Phd in web knowledge to find this data and review same. Now Cornell, Colorado State and UMass Amherst have collaborated to create a great new web site with easily viewable data. Better yet, with just a few clicks you may discover what the expected migration conditions will be like in your home town (or region). The service is called BirdCast.

I have taken nine screenshots via my own mobile phone and annotated the screenshots with red arrows, lines and rectangles to provide a basic introduction to BirdCast’s capabilities. Finally, although the BirdCast service does not provide an automated feed for their migration news updates, I figured out the RSS code required. Thus, if you use a RSS news reader to automatically obtain content updates … use this code stream / url. (copy url … paste into your RSS subscribe content area). Alternatively, you could download and use my free Minnesota Birding News (BirdCast is one of the over 40 web sites to which one may receive automatic updates).

BirdCast Capabilities

(Screenshots taken on my mobile phone. If you connect with a personal computer, the menus will be identical but appear via the menubar found at the top of every web page)

Birdcast Homepage and Main Menu

Birdcast Main Menu … Dropdown activated

BirdCast News (use my tools to get auto updates)

BirdCast Migration Tools

Scroll down to view / select desired tools

Using the BirdCast “Local” Tool (Duluth selected)

And finally an image from yesterday afternoon. The weather outside did not encourage birding (39F, freezing rain and a strong wind). However, when we arrived at my daughter’s house I heard chickadees scolding something. This Raccoon was the culprit. It was unusual to see “Rory” out in the middle of the afternoon.