tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74120509434085566132024-02-20T12:57:53.087-05:00Boom ChachalacaBirding News, Highlights, Tips, and Photos for the American BirderBoom Chachalacahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05803038030318916525noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-19025743702003996522014-02-06T17:30:00.002-05:002014-02-07T08:41:42.980-05:00Brazil Sneak PeakWell, I'm back from another successful trip to Brazil. I'm still going through photos and entering eBird checklists but I wanted to give you all a sneak peak at some of the birds I was lucky enough to see down there. All in all I got over 60 lifers on this trip, and some shorebird highlights included Curlew Sandpiper (second year in a row), 19 Bar-tailed Godwits (new high count for Brazil), 5000 Scarlet Ibis (eBird world high count all at once!), 3 Marbled Godwits (very rare in Brazil), and close to 20,000 Semipalmated Sandpipers, among lots of other cool birds. Some great northeast Brazil specialties that we got included the Araripe Manakin (discovered in the last 30 years), Red-necked Tanager, Gray-breasted Parakeet (critically endangered), and Gould's Toucanet among countless others.<br />
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Here is a taste of what will be coming in the next week or so.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiswK0QwVNb9Tpcsblcw-eQL6uruOB_QROkzrVWAlvGSbAVfHiJN-v-2QRxBo76SIhSdSuXLCJxh2Ra1j0V0ySiZBWBq4iJb8c7tZFPd4lHjZMTY-RnIzeL4Lq0B_S6sdCjiW-xtqaX4Q/s1600/CAPA2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiswK0QwVNb9Tpcsblcw-eQL6uruOB_QROkzrVWAlvGSbAVfHiJN-v-2QRxBo76SIhSdSuXLCJxh2Ra1j0V0ySiZBWBq4iJb8c7tZFPd4lHjZMTY-RnIzeL4Lq0B_S6sdCjiW-xtqaX4Q/s1600/CAPA2.jpg" height="324" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cactus (Caatinga) Parakeet in Quixadá, Ceará, Brasil</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Red-necked Tanager in Guaramiranga, Ceará, Brasil</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Silvery-cheeked Antshrike in Crato, Ceará, Brasil</i></td></tr>
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<br />Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-84135409435641424072014-01-06T14:10:00.004-05:002014-01-06T14:10:52.273-05:00Back To BrazilLeaving tonight to head back to Brazil to study Semipalmated Sanpipers in Northeastern Brazil. Last year we had lots of cool birds to brag about including Curlew Sandpiper and Bar-tailed Godwits, and dozens of other interesting and beautiful tropical and coastal species! This year we'll be taking three days at the end to do some birding in Caatinga, a unique and beautiful ecosystem with loads of endemic species! <br />
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Wish us luck and see you in three weeks!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDikEDcatvrkJ9jvsvvqr_xMNmiOmgHbTQYogJk686llPD94xkKqEelFgF0diOIQUU_fZykIWE7L9FappoBmerSlfFpuvwz7aiakMk5NIsZnP_FxHA3L-lylI1307hR7LdZqgrpzmrJE/s1600/IMG_7430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDikEDcatvrkJ9jvsvvqr_xMNmiOmgHbTQYogJk686llPD94xkKqEelFgF0diOIQUU_fZykIWE7L9FappoBmerSlfFpuvwz7aiakMk5NIsZnP_FxHA3L-lylI1307hR7LdZqgrpzmrJE/s1600/IMG_7430.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lettered Aracari from last year</i></td></tr>
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<br />Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-72336622500548144862013-11-06T18:02:00.000-05:002013-11-06T18:02:18.589-05:00I Heart Mirounga<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeWKdlXppGE191nOOTD90VVWPVsnu80ktwgC1jLb6TKAKzfZ_OHSdmzc6RuR2C76RpeJ8BBSbz-whmnXPfs4mlce5_FxujR80JUTjKjR6cINPkw-cr_Dp4l-Wa4vyLtwLXWd6UN4Jk4s/s1600/IMG_0784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeWKdlXppGE191nOOTD90VVWPVsnu80ktwgC1jLb6TKAKzfZ_OHSdmzc6RuR2C76RpeJ8BBSbz-whmnXPfs4mlce5_FxujR80JUTjKjR6cINPkw-cr_Dp4l-Wa4vyLtwLXWd6UN4Jk4s/s640/IMG_0784.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Elephant Seals, E-seals, <i>Mirounga: </i>What's not to love about these guys. They loaf all day in gulches and are the most appetizing prey to great white sharks. They might be the best of the Pinnipeds on the Farallones.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKG2R47sTkH4W1TCPJpijmNfg0re2FgWh668ASO_m2QkOSTzfrvWHqaMpN-awS4O_VFVQNEAGCP4xtFl_sfqfO5YznKXfZsfLlMrJjYquYSghLZpPIo7GEkFjzb-2OUjHhm6U0LSCrio/s1600/IMG_3001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKG2R47sTkH4W1TCPJpijmNfg0re2FgWh668ASO_m2QkOSTzfrvWHqaMpN-awS4O_VFVQNEAGCP4xtFl_sfqfO5YznKXfZsfLlMrJjYquYSghLZpPIo7GEkFjzb-2OUjHhm6U0LSCrio/s640/IMG_3001.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sure they appear slow and indolent, but they have a certain charm about them, perhaps due to their eccentricity.</i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJxB83sDcG6nTg2LUpP63zuIvWMkRzLiksQHDHfmAKz_9OOnur1AKU_fUrQCNxU7WSNyla1TDe24Q9n_Bx5PRibd2pp1CYMYrpkAN4pFzharqXUH-KDjGwpkgbnvTQcYUBKoOudVw0cI/s1600/IMG_3111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJxB83sDcG6nTg2LUpP63zuIvWMkRzLiksQHDHfmAKz_9OOnur1AKU_fUrQCNxU7WSNyla1TDe24Q9n_Bx5PRibd2pp1CYMYrpkAN4pFzharqXUH-KDjGwpkgbnvTQcYUBKoOudVw0cI/s640/IMG_3111.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNk3_s659P6iUp6_LvEXWjNppoks74CCnilu0nseXfA8DoQcKpdT0lj5d1DYUTszVZa1RdMIRLlFdGMP-3Af28_B2Nff8HZn3LHUwXjBcthJjCOXj3xGtDqb7iOOO2z_Ir_8rkgoBszY/s1600/IMG_3224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNk3_s659P6iUp6_LvEXWjNppoks74CCnilu0nseXfA8DoQcKpdT0lj5d1DYUTszVZa1RdMIRLlFdGMP-3Af28_B2Nff8HZn3LHUwXjBcthJjCOXj3xGtDqb7iOOO2z_Ir_8rkgoBszY/s640/IMG_3224.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>They groan and grunt all day nipping at each other over a few extra inches of beach space. Their fart-like vocalizations never fail to cause uncontrollable laughter.</i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ32SEUNVeY9QS3WbJw5cGOhzAw5c3vrSG5ZXu-gcHc4t35CX6FpI05MHC2sdciNEuCmPX_yk_s12hiVxNqd8oJDayg6bCgOCqqiKUIOrOvnRcVl_UB_0Izs2CS37V5DUj2X39NCdEvmg/s1600/IMG_4445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ32SEUNVeY9QS3WbJw5cGOhzAw5c3vrSG5ZXu-gcHc4t35CX6FpI05MHC2sdciNEuCmPX_yk_s12hiVxNqd8oJDayg6bCgOCqqiKUIOrOvnRcVl_UB_0Izs2CS37V5DUj2X39NCdEvmg/s640/IMG_4445.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BTvoNg4mSZupg8Z_7ZK4EiFjnYzWXkA91N55d_3oGsXrZCLmayotM9wsrE6Zh7o0_9X0xuEUcV9wI8N1fl2MuJY2wlb4e_cZW0GIUUsuxV_9AeCZIGYuqAT78ICtKTE3LaaOyxCu6oY/s1600/IMG_4151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BTvoNg4mSZupg8Z_7ZK4EiFjnYzWXkA91N55d_3oGsXrZCLmayotM9wsrE6Zh7o0_9X0xuEUcV9wI8N1fl2MuJY2wlb4e_cZW0GIUUsuxV_9AeCZIGYuqAT78ICtKTE3LaaOyxCu6oY/s640/IMG_4151.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>They're always watching, helpless and confused from their place in the gulch.</i></td></tr>
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Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-43107892711763786352013-11-06T00:12:00.001-05:002013-11-06T00:52:25.282-05:00All about "Crane Crane" the Sandhill Crane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The date was September 26, 2013. It was a windy day. Bad weather had pretty much dominated the forecast for several days. I was outside when I heard Jim's thunderous voice come through the radio, "Sandhill Crane, there's a Sandhill Crane over East Landing." I ran out the door and there was a crane flying in closer and closer. This was the second record of Sandhill Crane so everyone was ecstatic. </div>
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Eventually the bird landed, and we crept up to get some photos. Little did we know, this bird would stay with us for a while.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqZbZc8nH-BjlD8GQ-XpW3M9mUzkPMBH1iLpb1-PUtsJDt-YTvz4t5VwRXAi2TUQ8PHo6h7Q5SE0tOUFDhqMdTkHDPrOtc9-eLC1mBh7peKRzJiYyKoPZhsUu5Qpp4hlZhDiyyL1nEnE/s1600/IMG_2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqZbZc8nH-BjlD8GQ-XpW3M9mUzkPMBH1iLpb1-PUtsJDt-YTvz4t5VwRXAi2TUQ8PHo6h7Q5SE0tOUFDhqMdTkHDPrOtc9-eLC1mBh7peKRzJiYyKoPZhsUu5Qpp4hlZhDiyyL1nEnE/s640/IMG_2003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Craney Crane</i></td></tr>
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We all felt sorry for this poor juvenile crane who must have gotten separated from her flock, and blown off course to end up on this place – surely a wasteland for any crane. But on the first day, Don Mastwell took a dead mouse from the mouse trap, chirped a sweet trill the bird's direction, and dangled the tiny rodent by its tail out for the bird to see. The crane, soon to be named Craney Crane, followed by Crane Crane, approached skeptically and plucked the mouse from Donald's hand. It was love at first sight. Crane Crane loved Dan, and Dan loved Crane Crane.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvULoK_5qDxqO4LZ2C3_puJ7CmN3A0e8Gv0fLbLRHSkpFUZizMGMzjpgoVVjehItRO1kBd7cycgFb32vJO1G78R9wqGGV6AAU67OSJZtVxCxoarW6MvHejWJPaFVXfozbLOSzgtELz8OY/s1600/IMG_1762.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvULoK_5qDxqO4LZ2C3_puJ7CmN3A0e8Gv0fLbLRHSkpFUZizMGMzjpgoVVjehItRO1kBd7cycgFb32vJO1G78R9wqGGV6AAU67OSJZtVxCxoarW6MvHejWJPaFVXfozbLOSzgtELz8OY/s640/IMG_1762.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Before long all of us were feeding this lucky bird straight from our hands. But we knew that wasn't right. This was a wild animal after all and it had to learn how to forage by herself. I began giving her foraging lessons. I would sit down and start digging under rocks, turning up beetles and brown funnel-web spiders plump and ripe to a Crane's tastes. But still, she was getting too close. She took too much of a liking too us. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsnPUVvgYHMhyphenhyphenfVm4oXldh8ddIMDCDMB0A5HAQrN2wPPQtF4S791Uu9neY8_6PKXO-ooRBQppwz_0BmsXGaVBPI88WgdY1-vWoXHU0PIRKJTZr6u4qsEAFV1stlNcEu3ZiTqN9USsmfw/s1600/IMG_1735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsnPUVvgYHMhyphenhyphenfVm4oXldh8ddIMDCDMB0A5HAQrN2wPPQtF4S791Uu9neY8_6PKXO-ooRBQppwz_0BmsXGaVBPI88WgdY1-vWoXHU0PIRKJTZr6u4qsEAFV1stlNcEu3ZiTqN9USsmfw/s640/IMG_1735.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dan and his bag of crane food and water</i></td></tr>
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One day we had a huge wave of migrants and all of us were up on the hill looking through flocks of sparrows and Hermit Thrush (and one Williamson's Sapsucker) only to look out at Crane Crane circling up higher and higher then circling around us. She tried to land at the lighthouse a few times, chirping at us all along. She was jealous of the other birds.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kKNxc1ufMfbJvQvtDY8XosDeDuJdxrpRSChkAUfPS0U9reuiSsP8PMsosp4MSRC22Hx5e4-CDDXp6HdEA9MVVVRNSlUZSrO9GhKh1UW-fqGOKiQMMBZ76coG_PJJ3Wv8rgLT7HyiLSU/s1600/IMG_1990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kKNxc1ufMfbJvQvtDY8XosDeDuJdxrpRSChkAUfPS0U9reuiSsP8PMsosp4MSRC22Hx5e4-CDDXp6HdEA9MVVVRNSlUZSrO9GhKh1UW-fqGOKiQMMBZ76coG_PJJ3Wv8rgLT7HyiLSU/s640/IMG_1990.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
We all decided that the crane, Crane Crane, had overstayed her welcome. We stopped feeding her and foraging with her hoping that she would begin fending for herself. We loved the Crane, sure, and that's why we needed her to forage alone. She needed to build up enough energy to get away, but not have a reason to stay.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pi-mMXLGNHTHBWGUYSuisx4zxKZ2B3CdwoQ_eLSVDz4pJqzimn2tG81mdbto0ciBSF_lDLnWs0GUuaVkXtmD2UyLRwFK3dmvK3AbEtjxELeRNH6ufSLmWQCiTwlZRKYnJRMFaMgx-2Y/s1600/IMG_1923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pi-mMXLGNHTHBWGUYSuisx4zxKZ2B3CdwoQ_eLSVDz4pJqzimn2tG81mdbto0ciBSF_lDLnWs0GUuaVkXtmD2UyLRwFK3dmvK3AbEtjxELeRNH6ufSLmWQCiTwlZRKYnJRMFaMgx-2Y/s640/IMG_1923.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
We saw her foraging often, then, even catching her own mice and her own spiders. We chased her away from our nets so that she wouldn't try to eat our captured birds, and she grew afraid of us. She started paying close attention to the Brown Pelicans as they flew over, often tilting her head up towards them and calling to them. Eventually she began flying out over the ocean with them. Each time she got further and further away before heading back. She was ready to go. One day Don woke up and looked outside at Crane Crane foraging as usual. Later that morning she was nowhere to be found. Two days later a juvenile Sandhill Crane was seen in Napa. I like to think that that was our Crane Crane. Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-86108030726470631522013-11-04T00:36:00.003-05:002013-11-04T00:44:48.515-05:00Red-throated Pipit at Abbott's LagoonToday I got to do some birding back in Marin county after a long time gone. We dipped harder than a hillbilly on christmas looking for an American Tree Sparrow in Point Reyes Station, but that's okay because we (Ryan DiGaudio, Megan Elrod, Cameron Rutt, Mark "Mad Dawg" Dettling, and I) found a Red-throated Pipit at Abbott's Lagoon. This is my third of this species in just over two weeks so I guess I should be good at identifying them by now. The best way to find these guys is by listening for their diagnostic call, a short, high, thin, descending <i>pssseeee </i>when near a flock of pipits.<br />
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This also happened...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8etgfIDLLl8hJpLGWaGJnx3vFCbgnY40Hu6oOJNT9A9t4loOk44QyUCf6mfgiNeMBFp7wTrMrxjiG1Z3Mra1oald6GCkZU0oxkQ_DjA7YBqlArg3WykMErv27AG3Qve8dO4zmXtmikvs/s1600/IMG_6800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8etgfIDLLl8hJpLGWaGJnx3vFCbgnY40Hu6oOJNT9A9t4loOk44QyUCf6mfgiNeMBFp7wTrMrxjiG1Z3Mra1oald6GCkZU0oxkQ_DjA7YBqlArg3WykMErv27AG3Qve8dO4zmXtmikvs/s640/IMG_6800.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This river otter was extremely appealing candidate for the day's highlight until this happened. </i></td></tr>
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<br />Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-63201486350816362582013-10-02T23:30:00.000-04:002013-10-02T23:30:07.573-04:00All I have for you is three photos so just deal with it<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
All I can do for you right now is tell you that there are three good photos here. We had a Yellow-green Vireo the other day. Otherwise, the shit storm continues. Forgot to remove the spots from my lens. Sorry.</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhha4pk07wFBKAhtKutMI91Lz58JOY6YjY7EcqRl_r_VU1L211bPSgPSwgjdhT4sr9JTGVdfqXcyWz1qpJQHSP-fTZboye-x2u9LZs7r1q7tORYyoOUqIeEyevksO96cohjGv_WWhq4scM/s1600/IMG_0871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhha4pk07wFBKAhtKutMI91Lz58JOY6YjY7EcqRl_r_VU1L211bPSgPSwgjdhT4sr9JTGVdfqXcyWz1qpJQHSP-fTZboye-x2u9LZs7r1q7tORYyoOUqIeEyevksO96cohjGv_WWhq4scM/s640/IMG_0871.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This Merlin thinks it's better than us.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VdfSx93YaX7VfBPfZAiJhnmG4b6f0Y6B0oVizg-xWq5dFeOYsTSvlor51UYWDdYEfcambAokQxiMrv97q1MBfRo1YYKFt350zBZozILte2URIjBABsCOVJZ4nyd3V_AFcDMPAJKq-RQ/s1600/IMG_0906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VdfSx93YaX7VfBPfZAiJhnmG4b6f0Y6B0oVizg-xWq5dFeOYsTSvlor51UYWDdYEfcambAokQxiMrv97q1MBfRo1YYKFt350zBZozILte2URIjBABsCOVJZ4nyd3V_AFcDMPAJKq-RQ/s640/IMG_0906.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This Hermit Warbler probably is better than us.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Just a humble Pectoral Sandpiper</td></tr>
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Hope you enjoyed. I wish I could do more for you. Remind me to tell you all about our new resident juvenile Sandhill Crane whom we have adopted as our own. His/her name is Craney Crane. I'll fill you in soon enough.<br />
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Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-76102260456776384342013-09-19T12:38:00.000-04:002013-09-19T12:38:03.174-04:002013 Hawk Weekend at Hawk Ridge Bird ObservatoryBy Cory Ritter<br />
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HRBO's annual Hawk Weekend Festival runs during the third full weekend in September, so it starts tomorrow (Friday, September 20th) and runs through Sunday. Since September started on a Sunday this year, the September 20th start date is the latest since 2002. I've been worried that the festival may be a little too late to catch the Broad-wing migration, so I looked into the hawkcount.org data for the past ten years to see what we can expect for this weekend.<br />
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Over the last ten years (1993-2012), seven of the biggest days came on September 14th (4) and September 15th (3). Another came on September 16th, making the middle of the month the most likely to see the big day. The final two big days were outliers, one on September 20, 2006 and one on September 9, 2012.<br />
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During this time, there have been 53 days with over one thousand Broad-winged Hawks counted from the Ridge—averaging 5.3 days with over one thousand Broad-wings per season. Of those 53 days, 16 (30.2%) were on or after September 20th.<br />
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With that being said, September 20th is a bit late in the season for the Broad-winged Hawk peak, but they have peaked this late in the past. Also, we have only had two 1,000+ Broad-wing days this season—against an average of 5.3. Furthermore, we have had a week of unfavorable winds from the south or east and a couple days of fog and rain. This weather is supposed to clear out for the weekend, and leave us with favorable west or northwest winds—just in time for Hawk Weekend.<br />
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With the good weather headed our way and a history of some big Broad-wing days around this time of the season, this weekend looks like it is shaping up to be a good one! Here are some birds that are coming through right now, and you can expect to see them at the Ridge this weekend.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SCNLi5Yh1Doz2XJyRvFeSN_Sa4LR7OTAzTimvoY7houQqCx_4Dmk_ge9ZiqOpCMWMyOn__1laJPBDGZ6jU2wkljgc1d-6mrdXN2exjeCj4rvzke7lTqyAD0nIEOUqKswCaQvZsE0Q3Hy/s1600/2013-09-16_5485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Broad-winged Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SCNLi5Yh1Doz2XJyRvFeSN_Sa4LR7OTAzTimvoY7houQqCx_4Dmk_ge9ZiqOpCMWMyOn__1laJPBDGZ6jU2wkljgc1d-6mrdXN2exjeCj4rvzke7lTqyAD0nIEOUqKswCaQvZsE0Q3Hy/s640/2013-09-16_5485.jpg" title="Adult Broad-winged Hawk Soaring" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Broad-winged Hawk, 16 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWc-1LDrHbFZpal5IVq6QaJsNh3eK_Q4SncjhTiF-rI-OSx1YsatWNd-snKXkdaPVAKOLcg5rLGROdWVKtTv_gI0krnz3tiJlifoDjA6m1dxuezdUw8xfeN9Y4oJhPgN8LLdrFXVLx5O4j/s1600/2013-09-11_5147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sharp-shinned Hawk Duluth Minnesota" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWc-1LDrHbFZpal5IVq6QaJsNh3eK_Q4SncjhTiF-rI-OSx1YsatWNd-snKXkdaPVAKOLcg5rLGROdWVKtTv_gI0krnz3tiJlifoDjA6m1dxuezdUw8xfeN9Y4oJhPgN8LLdrFXVLx5O4j/s640/2013-09-11_5147.jpg" title="Sharp-shinned Hawk Upperside" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sharp-shinned Hawk, 11 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TQtkwKM0z-1DDGdG0jO5Gnlcra8tgWTkudnODp0asxfxzZ9vbLvPRzY1MkKNytTSHOpR4AnzRBvLBrgyAFLZb5bovqfNrb-8xn2LK5REBhB-V5NVIT0nMDjuJ7yxRzos5ItQ7ZgoWuWR/s1600/2013-09-12_5259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Palm Warbler Hawk Ridge" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TQtkwKM0z-1DDGdG0jO5Gnlcra8tgWTkudnODp0asxfxzZ9vbLvPRzY1MkKNytTSHOpR4AnzRBvLBrgyAFLZb5bovqfNrb-8xn2LK5REBhB-V5NVIT0nMDjuJ7yxRzos5ItQ7ZgoWuWR/s640/2013-09-12_5259.jpg" title="Palm Warbler Perched Next to Lichen" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Palm Warbler, 12 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpXY4GwW4I4H4Vb3d5qUhhLFAyJ42zdUgbWC9EuzzoD4hDXrWo-J6lm4yYl994eMhrn_6R6uyN3Eb01ocsJH8Flg6u0iqe15h04iwyrsiuFpk9UNUrIiucjvldpB3zTgWH5rDoT8ytaYc/s1600/2013-09-16_5528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Merlin Duluth Minnesota" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpXY4GwW4I4H4Vb3d5qUhhLFAyJ42zdUgbWC9EuzzoD4hDXrWo-J6lm4yYl994eMhrn_6R6uyN3Eb01ocsJH8Flg6u0iqe15h04iwyrsiuFpk9UNUrIiucjvldpB3zTgWH5rDoT8ytaYc/s640/2013-09-16_5528.jpg" title="Merlin Underside, Gliding" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Merlin, 16 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivtG1rNM7KujW8Q2RMpmdNbhih03lL02HJ4a1d-B1adIC8EKBqeTRUiaLwsntHcFLxY7sjbHM9HXTVkwosZsocNHBy3Qgd11vOH0rR7H92yOvUCY36_3RKypmWfYEWZA_bMfRDim4bQLLf/s1600/2013-09-13_5348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="American Kestrel Hawk Ridge" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivtG1rNM7KujW8Q2RMpmdNbhih03lL02HJ4a1d-B1adIC8EKBqeTRUiaLwsntHcFLxY7sjbHM9HXTVkwosZsocNHBy3Qgd11vOH0rR7H92yOvUCY36_3RKypmWfYEWZA_bMfRDim4bQLLf/s640/2013-09-13_5348.jpg" title="American Kestrel Male Upperside" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American Kestrel, 13 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73CESkke2rQ70bNJny8Tm0m-A18S4QdkhDpEiKSZVf5I1d0Z66Rw8aT6i_Yf6v8R6S86fTJFFiBAO81KJaJXQHyVzc0ceLJWeYeWyqVdSdzS8Ika4qKQW6B5J4wFiUct-HkTwvpgicdri/s1600/2013-09-11_5217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Canada Goose Duluth Minnesota" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73CESkke2rQ70bNJny8Tm0m-A18S4QdkhDpEiKSZVf5I1d0Z66Rw8aT6i_Yf6v8R6S86fTJFFiBAO81KJaJXQHyVzc0ceLJWeYeWyqVdSdzS8Ika4qKQW6B5J4wFiUct-HkTwvpgicdri/s640/2013-09-11_5217.jpg" title="Canada Goose Squaking" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Canada Goose, 11 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESkxUGCSbOhJOR9CVqUicQbHyq2Qz-_puyJwpRwEQXZd9oZdhnApsHYTYypSJh0j4xndORuSO8yy5uEa7wQ_nkvTXxLlQcAwlSCuxTge1H0IyNsi_VeB0fQTYH1Ir2yJQz8a6UFull5GS/s1600/2013-09-13_5354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="American Kestrel Duluth Minnesota" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESkxUGCSbOhJOR9CVqUicQbHyq2Qz-_puyJwpRwEQXZd9oZdhnApsHYTYypSJh0j4xndORuSO8yy5uEa7wQ_nkvTXxLlQcAwlSCuxTge1H0IyNsi_VeB0fQTYH1Ir2yJQz8a6UFull5GS/s640/2013-09-13_5354.jpg" title="American Kestrel Male Screaming" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American Kestrel, 13 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds8JB05_hpg5Nyt55VZu3KDUdq1RoY7TI_1GVn9rjoTtxVGB7Qq6X3cClJNAr4pTLbZFhJ_YPq5JRIEoTnVYYiJ54dlJ7yYy2kK71pJEyD4gJmmoOphNGkwg_VDdKJdUgxDNR2TPK3pNF/s1600/2013-09-13_5293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Broad-winged Hawk Ridge" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds8JB05_hpg5Nyt55VZu3KDUdq1RoY7TI_1GVn9rjoTtxVGB7Qq6X3cClJNAr4pTLbZFhJ_YPq5JRIEoTnVYYiJ54dlJ7yYy2kK71pJEyD4gJmmoOphNGkwg_VDdKJdUgxDNR2TPK3pNF/s640/2013-09-13_5293.jpg" title="Broad-winged Hawk Adult Tail Showing" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Broad-winged Hawk, 13 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-8agT1SHTts2RbYrPjKdZEF6KiA6j-Rrig7WwNwkOyz_IscbeKcGvedfKxLoizaIeXKYfmULQpl0_-bS3gGof3jL4rJ0z3mael6Z5V6V40y283OqT2kCbBV5fKVi1A1ynKb4gxG0L_kg/s1600/2013-09-11_5189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Merlin Duluth Minnesota" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-8agT1SHTts2RbYrPjKdZEF6KiA6j-Rrig7WwNwkOyz_IscbeKcGvedfKxLoizaIeXKYfmULQpl0_-bS3gGof3jL4rJ0z3mael6Z5V6V40y283OqT2kCbBV5fKVi1A1ynKb4gxG0L_kg/s640/2013-09-11_5189.jpg" title="Merlin Gliding Showing Plumage" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Merlin, 11 September 2013</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxuXJyvpdtVHnR7kvQg63OylJlQHv7dksZUpOKEG2gFu_XQEayxzUBJ36mJk-xbfcLFAwrRstY6ryspCqGTHd04nbTZ8inTy15IFsZyr2BTxZw7-SzxfFCRTxhONK31DgxEr-lx6wiUsS/s1600/2013-09-17_5593.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="American Kestrel Hawk Ridge Minnesota" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxuXJyvpdtVHnR7kvQg63OylJlQHv7dksZUpOKEG2gFu_XQEayxzUBJ36mJk-xbfcLFAwrRstY6ryspCqGTHd04nbTZ8inTy15IFsZyr2BTxZw7-SzxfFCRTxhONK31DgxEr-lx6wiUsS/s640/2013-09-17_5593.jpg" title="American Kestrel Male In Flight" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American Kestrel, 17 September 2013</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60OmghcKXWXlI5l_LGvnFJRJjaLFSfewWG74F-RaCslPqmyZ6_2tV8ofZASDLOlY9bBeYZ8H6AocjXtDgcO9vZBFFNyle19Js5hVhR1LEVQNwjvV-in8FecYucTFoSUxUaLptzP7aboJ7/s1600/2013-09-16_5576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="American White Pelicans Duluth Hawk Ridge" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60OmghcKXWXlI5l_LGvnFJRJjaLFSfewWG74F-RaCslPqmyZ6_2tV8ofZASDLOlY9bBeYZ8H6AocjXtDgcO9vZBFFNyle19Js5hVhR1LEVQNwjvV-in8FecYucTFoSUxUaLptzP7aboJ7/s640/2013-09-16_5576.jpg" title="American White Pelicans In Formation" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American White Pelicans, 16 September 2013</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFZhDawYHrZzdQgVcuGYEwSwOB98bzKYVaDqusBjud-bNEhL8MTBBDLE1z2OaCDaI0mvuMqgrs0akTpGo6XImHNyM5svYKaJCiuod49J8H_COYTG4iEnlCgxvn85f4Mx9TsYHRitUG8aa/s1600/2013-09-17_5609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="American Kestrel Minnesota Hawk Ridge" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFZhDawYHrZzdQgVcuGYEwSwOB98bzKYVaDqusBjud-bNEhL8MTBBDLE1z2OaCDaI0mvuMqgrs0akTpGo6XImHNyM5svYKaJCiuod49J8H_COYTG4iEnlCgxvn85f4Mx9TsYHRitUG8aa/s640/2013-09-17_5609.jpg" title="American Kestrel On The Attack" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American Kestrel, 17 September 2013</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All photos were taken at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, St. Louis County, Minnesota.<br />
<br />Cory Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16491682950449873625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-62408079708366008642013-09-13T10:00:00.000-04:002013-09-13T10:00:06.103-04:00Rain Day - Wisconsin Point Jaegers Strike BackBy Cory Ritter<br />
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We had a rain day on Monday the 9th, so Karl and I checked out Wisconsin Point. We had two Parasitic Jaegers, one sub-adult and one juvenile. While the sub-adult kept its distance, the juvie made a few good passes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fr6EbPLcDAJbOzrFvPhYHnviir9TwSKT0F85Bv1O6CgZ_5HEnoszSE-atyWvGfO_uosXATH9bg3h4Ro0_sYUF0amqMRxvs1GZESBzIZ4nMla3OlgBtgHA7cq5e8foApSsY-yHh2l11JT/s1600/2013-09-09_4958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger Wisconsin Point" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fr6EbPLcDAJbOzrFvPhYHnviir9TwSKT0F85Bv1O6CgZ_5HEnoszSE-atyWvGfO_uosXATH9bg3h4Ro0_sYUF0amqMRxvs1GZESBzIZ4nMla3OlgBtgHA7cq5e8foApSsY-yHh2l11JT/s640/2013-09-09_4958.jpg" title="Juvenile Parasitic Jaeger in Flight" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsIIDGMnk-EX4x8rYSWX0XAHerT9CSUAJE_duWcSqCVas6kOvMPagreDBUrPtOoXmCWGHBgFKrMyA7XBVh4KJH2VMLVyhet_IhoqiJfAZPhlj4bo2zUm0jI30eUthTHQODMTkysA47eo0/s1600/2013-09-09_4959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger Wisconsin Point" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsIIDGMnk-EX4x8rYSWX0XAHerT9CSUAJE_duWcSqCVas6kOvMPagreDBUrPtOoXmCWGHBgFKrMyA7XBVh4KJH2VMLVyhet_IhoqiJfAZPhlj4bo2zUm0jI30eUthTHQODMTkysA47eo0/s640/2013-09-09_4959.jpg" title="Parasitic Jaeger Upperwing Plumage" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKAMwzR12vR1B-Bk8YDgQU7SAN9tF5k-IoWRtpworjat_dwAhDyOAXgik9e3bpPq0P7eXE9gHVus1s73I2mXcxv4HuBabrR27N_e-A_BCWEDL2aDcxqRIk-TPZ4YQpu94EShkCwm6qa8e/s1600/2013-09-09_4964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger Wisconsin Point" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKAMwzR12vR1B-Bk8YDgQU7SAN9tF5k-IoWRtpworjat_dwAhDyOAXgik9e3bpPq0P7eXE9gHVus1s73I2mXcxv4HuBabrR27N_e-A_BCWEDL2aDcxqRIk-TPZ4YQpu94EShkCwm6qa8e/s640/2013-09-09_4964.jpg" title="Parasitic Jaeger Chases Gull" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbB0nnfZHT4QLvIxCOuIJlycydh5E8M0T0g0o-Y0v4wXjU_u4CCiNk3uug_pvKuUkW4mpDplRXV49wMVv0BJQ0cEW8AgCoitoUPdE7tKSdnCjJCO3sD1Sv2a8wiTJhRgM5BcaqkNqY8eK/s1600/2013-09-09_4978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger Wisconsin Point" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbB0nnfZHT4QLvIxCOuIJlycydh5E8M0T0g0o-Y0v4wXjU_u4CCiNk3uug_pvKuUkW4mpDplRXV49wMVv0BJQ0cEW8AgCoitoUPdE7tKSdnCjJCO3sD1Sv2a8wiTJhRgM5BcaqkNqY8eK/s640/2013-09-09_4978.jpg" title="Young Parasitic Jaeger Underside" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEiYg5j-Hp6cFHy1qAjQ2kYG-zvWmOHUfhmE9lAWIJIgbCdOrInX5Hj0FoVP594MZ4AMNCbL9zNG3KumbghmME5nZ2q691AxvDD4RQugzjSNFKKM1fFTRGPHVgBNbHbdqqxJUgw4Zut-RV/s1600/2013-09-09_4992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger Wisconsin Point" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEiYg5j-Hp6cFHy1qAjQ2kYG-zvWmOHUfhmE9lAWIJIgbCdOrInX5Hj0FoVP594MZ4AMNCbL9zNG3KumbghmME5nZ2q691AxvDD4RQugzjSNFKKM1fFTRGPHVgBNbHbdqqxJUgw4Zut-RV/s640/2013-09-09_4992.jpg" title="Juvenile Parasitic Jaeger Side View" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdWVu5WtH788W8yzPPvdPJyiVxXdIxmq1AzCnfzcq0_yz8CA7ahjOrnjxlzcztMfOFhmM4VUUwVQQOATrwQFn5YRN96P6T1AN2NiOgoTFT0n8ISsMq6Z2GKgUEeme5dNVl1TB45bvxOOI/s1600/2013-09-09_5020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger Wisconsin Point" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdWVu5WtH788W8yzPPvdPJyiVxXdIxmq1AzCnfzcq0_yz8CA7ahjOrnjxlzcztMfOFhmM4VUUwVQQOATrwQFn5YRN96P6T1AN2NiOgoTFT0n8ISsMq6Z2GKgUEeme5dNVl1TB45bvxOOI/s640/2013-09-09_5020.jpg" title="Parasitic Jaeger Puts Down Gull" width="640" /></a></div>
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All photos taken at Wisconsin Point on September 9, 2013.Cory Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16491682950449873625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-89791822849405771222013-09-09T18:00:00.000-04:002013-09-09T18:00:05.923-04:00Sharpies and Kestrels - Hawk Ridge UpdateBy Cory Ritter<br />
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While Bald Eagles and Ospreys have been coming though in reliably good numbers as of late, Sharp-shinned Hawks and American Kestrels just kicked into gear on Friday, September 7th. As it turns out, it was our best day of the season for total raptors (554), and our biggest day for Bald Eagles (98), Sharp-shinned Hawks (375), American Kestrels (31), Merlins (6), and Peregrine Falcons (3).<br />
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The raptors are picking up, and diversity is high (12 raptor species on the 7th). It won't be long before the broadwings make their big push!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbx8U3U-c7ReqkkJ9lZVHnL0AQGMATMV-AC-bH9kfA8lpJbFhPPuLzMb8Uv-IbDrYX_O9K7hA4E6b9BVgj-oiQL7DzEpAxgh1e2QFKoggWAl5fHT6FDCWhHZzkK1Gp_bA1MDE5815xaNVJ/s1600/2013-09-06_4892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Immature Sharp-shinned Hawk" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbx8U3U-c7ReqkkJ9lZVHnL0AQGMATMV-AC-bH9kfA8lpJbFhPPuLzMb8Uv-IbDrYX_O9K7hA4E6b9BVgj-oiQL7DzEpAxgh1e2QFKoggWAl5fHT6FDCWhHZzkK1Gp_bA1MDE5815xaNVJ/s640/2013-09-06_4892.jpg" title="Sharp-shinned Hawk Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sharp-shinned Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 6 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rthhPrvW0NLnAyc1WQEBiYw0wHHicrW1mAgiTq8_QHq-cH8Q9pTtABSLTlnz7asw-SIx-6r8vb9-BhlceegK2eAIE2AOyOq_uQ8CTSAhYDw1JRPP0L-6gqxak2vBGHDDFllRgxniq2uT/s1600/2013-09-03_4615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Osprey " border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rthhPrvW0NLnAyc1WQEBiYw0wHHicrW1mAgiTq8_QHq-cH8Q9pTtABSLTlnz7asw-SIx-6r8vb9-BhlceegK2eAIE2AOyOq_uQ8CTSAhYDw1JRPP0L-6gqxak2vBGHDDFllRgxniq2uT/s640/2013-09-03_4615.jpg" title="Osprey Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Osprey; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 3 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBFlsFossmfVt88Z6X3WebFFVO_iUAoQQdWKxnLpbihFH8iI4u883ILYN_E3-qNW9HoPE8mA-mFOXvqOrUFWX77lENgoZFS_vvAQucLRzpUBV8lBNUqeN6BeCjtlTBt4v67t9o5ApBYnr/s1600/2013-09-04_4623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Immature Broad-winged Hawk" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBFlsFossmfVt88Z6X3WebFFVO_iUAoQQdWKxnLpbihFH8iI4u883ILYN_E3-qNW9HoPE8mA-mFOXvqOrUFWX77lENgoZFS_vvAQucLRzpUBV8lBNUqeN6BeCjtlTBt4v67t9o5ApBYnr/s640/2013-09-04_4623.jpg" title="Broad-winged Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Broad-winged Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 4 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo_6mYlGX3o1wKg7ZTmfsDWC1wB-8UumbtW5f3tXwOJj0mHwjueVuHaZ3QgQ9d2IHPQJaENftAkqKIhZ-COQ5d14DwX36SAb62Re5iseH2LYPMxOe3BpLu55QSbRszJFlWAWlKEe89wrK/s1600/2013-09-04_4632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Broad-winged Hawk Upperside" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo_6mYlGX3o1wKg7ZTmfsDWC1wB-8UumbtW5f3tXwOJj0mHwjueVuHaZ3QgQ9d2IHPQJaENftAkqKIhZ-COQ5d14DwX36SAb62Re5iseH2LYPMxOe3BpLu55QSbRszJFlWAWlKEe89wrK/s640/2013-09-04_4632.jpg" title="Broad-winged Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Broad-winged Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 4 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfO2QqKsorHXBVs6t_TRb78VcFuMGkbi6mNv595mMxoshMw8Uw1APd9SKUIfb7SxgKgWePllGG5V9E9OThElJkjluNrL0pL0g-nGZOLgNjA-dcp8iAN3CMu7RAi2xd3nxfhyfhJZAk9Iy/s1600/2013-09-04_4648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Broad-winged Hawk Underside" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfO2QqKsorHXBVs6t_TRb78VcFuMGkbi6mNv595mMxoshMw8Uw1APd9SKUIfb7SxgKgWePllGG5V9E9OThElJkjluNrL0pL0g-nGZOLgNjA-dcp8iAN3CMu7RAi2xd3nxfhyfhJZAk9Iy/s640/2013-09-04_4648.jpg" title="Broad-winged Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Broad-winged Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 4 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhriKjJUFEd4Rk_No_h6ZvaHauFlcfjAPJIBwRYctddkdlu1whGTVL3Uv0_3ieFmCkdZ5FymG_M91AjqTC_cSbLTyXJ0CC6JHVGIG0Jifs-1lXqUt8ZoLnHsPFpRumVrDQbZlsi5nC6RLXz/s1600/2013-09-05_4711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Northern Harrier with Cedar Waxwings" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhriKjJUFEd4Rk_No_h6ZvaHauFlcfjAPJIBwRYctddkdlu1whGTVL3Uv0_3ieFmCkdZ5FymG_M91AjqTC_cSbLTyXJ0CC6JHVGIG0Jifs-1lXqUt8ZoLnHsPFpRumVrDQbZlsi5nC6RLXz/s640/2013-09-05_4711.jpg" title="Northern Harrier Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Northern Harrier and Cedar Waxwings; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 5 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUy81mB5jojJwIXCPdKhmz_AJuUMQgyI1WJSQrkl0Ngje-zAVyR1GcL_KTh81GrlPnjbcedpEYyre2RJy34WeAijN5jIWv1kSTBjIiAwiECzqiyfWt7yPnfrZsTFI5V_FxggWbCAYdCJu/s1600/2013-09-06_4904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Turkey Vulture in Flight" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUy81mB5jojJwIXCPdKhmz_AJuUMQgyI1WJSQrkl0Ngje-zAVyR1GcL_KTh81GrlPnjbcedpEYyre2RJy34WeAijN5jIWv1kSTBjIiAwiECzqiyfWt7yPnfrZsTFI5V_FxggWbCAYdCJu/s640/2013-09-06_4904.jpg" title="Turkey Vulture Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Turkey Vulture; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 6 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOc9G6mqvhsg3W3Hqdws5ZsyDQXSmBr2ahDB8K1xwq7gZmH7RcRb9mvTXu4VUvpDyn7p9uTlALU4X7vNPrpOLmYC21yVHquiETuU2qXCkgNLqm4Ir6vDDIq2aW9b35hs-TVCqQK-c7vdHe/s1600/2013-09-03_4590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="American White Pelican Flock" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOc9G6mqvhsg3W3Hqdws5ZsyDQXSmBr2ahDB8K1xwq7gZmH7RcRb9mvTXu4VUvpDyn7p9uTlALU4X7vNPrpOLmYC21yVHquiETuU2qXCkgNLqm4Ir6vDDIq2aW9b35hs-TVCqQK-c7vdHe/s640/2013-09-03_4590.jpg" title="American White Pelican Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American White Pelicans; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 3 September 2013</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguv7hcpNODBQ8MwUc5vgBe7-fZ4PI4oc44MDEg9znh-o4FJDCXnbKNnS2HS5kuTjeS6QB2pKcKmHYkAnguHUls-dx3G6L7cit4mKOhy-Eb0k-NfjrQZiKL7rdTOpV_qwfPOihAhC5ys_Dx/s1600/2013-09-05_4780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="American Crow with White Wing Patches" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguv7hcpNODBQ8MwUc5vgBe7-fZ4PI4oc44MDEg9znh-o4FJDCXnbKNnS2HS5kuTjeS6QB2pKcKmHYkAnguHUls-dx3G6L7cit4mKOhy-Eb0k-NfjrQZiKL7rdTOpV_qwfPOihAhC5ys_Dx/s640/2013-09-05_4780.jpg" title="American Crow Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American Crow with white wing patches; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 5 September 2013</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKEjZwbiluncMRBnylKgyyqFmNcrz0vQkfSBKYtpokzfdZC7gbczj68UGuk60Yrj78sooMPjAv6ExJN2KXphrX-mdEchB7p8kAYhhHiu-uKUYtZiugbGx9FAUqRu9-8SpzZy8k1pbx5sF2/s1600/2013-09-05_4824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cedar Waxwing Perched on Branch" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKEjZwbiluncMRBnylKgyyqFmNcrz0vQkfSBKYtpokzfdZC7gbczj68UGuk60Yrj78sooMPjAv6ExJN2KXphrX-mdEchB7p8kAYhhHiu-uKUYtZiugbGx9FAUqRu9-8SpzZy8k1pbx5sF2/s640/2013-09-05_4824.jpg" title="Cedar Waxwing Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cedar Waxwing; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 5 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTcozF7woRgbY_xa_BNibHly7xbJ0wfKCQMPI81uXld5TzyWPQml8o7veUp4cHf_nOBByO0cY_45WlBNT3PPVlhGc7ptnccxUOxrfn0bkCKbuPPlNgstE1D5Jy1ocPBowegfThkaMqNwB/s1600/2013-09-07_4924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Non-breeding Bobolink " border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTcozF7woRgbY_xa_BNibHly7xbJ0wfKCQMPI81uXld5TzyWPQml8o7veUp4cHf_nOBByO0cY_45WlBNT3PPVlhGc7ptnccxUOxrfn0bkCKbuPPlNgstE1D5Jy1ocPBowegfThkaMqNwB/s640/2013-09-07_4924.jpg" title="Bobolink Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bobolink; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 7 September 2013</i></td></tr>
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<br />Cory Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16491682950449873625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-16147613955648459732013-09-07T14:00:00.000-04:002013-09-07T14:00:00.744-04:00Raptors of Hawk Ridge: Early BirdsBy Cory Ritter<br />
<br />
The fall count season at Hawk Ridge officially began on August 15th, but, as the assistant hawk counter, I didn't start until the 31st. While the days are still quite hot and slow, we are most grateful for two things: rare raptors, and Bald Eagles.<br />
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Early in the count-season is the best time to see both Mississippi Kites and Swainson's Hawks here at Hawk Ridge, and both are a welcomed reward for standing out in the heat all day—not to mention a lister's nightmare to time correctly. We've already racked up a few rewards this season, as we have two Mississippi Kites (August 27th and September 4th) and one Swainson's Hawk (September 2nd) on the official count—all of which were out of range for photographs, as luck would have it.<br />
<br />
Bald Eagles, on the other hand, are far from rare. Instead, they are one of the most consistent migrants from the first to the last day of the count at Hawk Ridge, and we average more than 4,400 per season over the past five years. We are very thankful for Bald Eagles because they help keep the sanity on the count platform when there would otherwise be no raptors flying. Yesterday, for example, we counted 67 raptors among four species, of which 42 were Bald Eagles.<br />
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Now, a collection of photos from my first day on the job last Saturday. Sorry, there are no photos of Mississippi Kites, Swainson's Hawks, or even Bald Eagles—yes, even after all of that blathering.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga20g2ZKXhMF92-Pn9sCGHXYIRn9TZxvowYPzSywbFn8DlJGzpAS-ZBsEEBmQFeoVLaKU5l9H6-nMMzTSp-RKtF-p5DxTbcB8wPQzBr4P69bgtFbqSnbud1xJpuYH1uWir71VG2ds6DN6m/s1600/2013-08-31_4403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sharp-shinned Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga20g2ZKXhMF92-Pn9sCGHXYIRn9TZxvowYPzSywbFn8DlJGzpAS-ZBsEEBmQFeoVLaKU5l9H6-nMMzTSp-RKtF-p5DxTbcB8wPQzBr4P69bgtFbqSnbud1xJpuYH1uWir71VG2ds6DN6m/s640/2013-08-31_4403.jpg" title="Sharpie in Flight" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sharp-shinned Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3GltS7Lb_cHdqYwE3o4-F5qA8bEjIuBDSJffGHFBSZGiYow940kRH_vK0oU4R-Hkor7l3VbxBIWd-P510v-SCOqp242lxq8wkN4cudT8eX_kFAh4tCBfdVzZGy061lDB4rKlPKeeKIIJ/s1600/2013-08-31_4409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sharpie in Duluth Minnesota" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3GltS7Lb_cHdqYwE3o4-F5qA8bEjIuBDSJffGHFBSZGiYow940kRH_vK0oU4R-Hkor7l3VbxBIWd-P510v-SCOqp242lxq8wkN4cudT8eX_kFAh4tCBfdVzZGy061lDB4rKlPKeeKIIJ/s640/2013-08-31_4409.jpg" title="Sharp-shinned Underside" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sharp-shinned Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEtk_gTFPP-w0lkHDDa8O9AbuYd2VH1J8sNyHudCZcLx3weUXYdLq5rV_4X8QwFSIl7zrm-pe5utxnAy39iBdBPLg7a3YI9BGf-WWpzJIBwPjOR9x8kdBx-zO5xUWczO2xpsDWsCS14uT/s1600/2013-08-31_4406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sharpie Gliding Away" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEtk_gTFPP-w0lkHDDa8O9AbuYd2VH1J8sNyHudCZcLx3weUXYdLq5rV_4X8QwFSIl7zrm-pe5utxnAy39iBdBPLg7a3YI9BGf-WWpzJIBwPjOR9x8kdBx-zO5xUWczO2xpsDWsCS14uT/s640/2013-08-31_4406.jpg" title="Sharp-shinned Hawk Upperside" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sharp-shinned Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmrzdVAEMmKFE0qHd67E1rdQuLpM0qL-gF8LzwCxfvVazsgW75pTh8Tw2bQu8twx5Z6o0VtWClMQTNThUMFcaVOj7nvmMadC7z5moWmK4tACAN1DKYzx-G3yD8JXzlr-dKDbxxi2Dt8Ut/s1600/2013-08-31_4383.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="'Marsh Hawk' at Hawk Ridge" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmrzdVAEMmKFE0qHd67E1rdQuLpM0qL-gF8LzwCxfvVazsgW75pTh8Tw2bQu8twx5Z6o0VtWClMQTNThUMFcaVOj7nvmMadC7z5moWmK4tACAN1DKYzx-G3yD8JXzlr-dKDbxxi2Dt8Ut/s640/2013-08-31_4383.jpg" title="Young Northern Harrier" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Northern Harrier; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqyFmVQEGnZvlclhgqfVPpRR_DpZMPWiam1lX0nLe5ZpCVkT1NtfXUOlb-VhsACmjUgF0S0nTvBXAx_m5sax6SNLV3yXJR9FBk8r0vUgERUrn34haBIvwgQWKkRWRFBr8CfAwpyErzmat/s1600/2013-08-31_4384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Juvenile Northern Harrier " border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqyFmVQEGnZvlclhgqfVPpRR_DpZMPWiam1lX0nLe5ZpCVkT1NtfXUOlb-VhsACmjUgF0S0nTvBXAx_m5sax6SNLV3yXJR9FBk8r0vUgERUrn34haBIvwgQWKkRWRFBr8CfAwpyErzmat/s640/2013-08-31_4384.jpg" title="Immature Northern Harrier in Flight" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Northern Harrier; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69xMFQtmSLuPDYCl4HNRf2YipZ58mKw5Ac4nWsXZWYYZ0vLHr-ncCxJyntmrOPpdVnqNbdUWAMYE30tS7iV_c1wdz6ehTbsd8uuu9LWk1R1Y_KD-tsC5m7D4ybyNCSd9mueMHKomJHAP5/s1600/2013-08-31_4395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Adult Male Northern Harrier at Hawk Ridge" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69xMFQtmSLuPDYCl4HNRf2YipZ58mKw5Ac4nWsXZWYYZ0vLHr-ncCxJyntmrOPpdVnqNbdUWAMYE30tS7iV_c1wdz6ehTbsd8uuu9LWk1R1Y_KD-tsC5m7D4ybyNCSd9mueMHKomJHAP5/s640/2013-08-31_4395.jpg" title="Gray Ghost " width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Northern Harrier; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqI5tspLHBsK_NgqYEy6Ytorlx2kZcZzrW-RkU7mU8nwJD4Wgf-xZF5dvaXCpvzcvSI0RPYwIJgMoU_MfBhq-fszAlY3NXRTADpEy1vwO56lUCbNSJSZ7txizJaqjXlbfmJNd0lBCK4KDo/s1600/2013-08-31_4442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Merlin in Duluth Minnesota" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqI5tspLHBsK_NgqYEy6Ytorlx2kZcZzrW-RkU7mU8nwJD4Wgf-xZF5dvaXCpvzcvSI0RPYwIJgMoU_MfBhq-fszAlY3NXRTADpEy1vwO56lUCbNSJSZ7txizJaqjXlbfmJNd0lBCK4KDo/s640/2013-08-31_4442.jpg" title="Gliding Merlin" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Merlin; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2n5P2P0jJPNEmbW62xXi4j_FoyjDgv9WsOX-sZ5hASKhfH7zPoNIJXekmK3as1BquYli-HYc1EH7b_uZ1c3zXV9c3Cju6Ba5Kn2Iw-ebG0vTLbqzKvKKF0jfgEg00esEmE7gMMXKb1ch/s1600/2013-08-31_4446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Upperwing and Tail of Merlin" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2n5P2P0jJPNEmbW62xXi4j_FoyjDgv9WsOX-sZ5hASKhfH7zPoNIJXekmK3as1BquYli-HYc1EH7b_uZ1c3zXV9c3Cju6Ba5Kn2Iw-ebG0vTLbqzKvKKF0jfgEg00esEmE7gMMXKb1ch/s640/2013-08-31_4446.jpg" title="Merlin Upperside" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Merlin; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHMXzA9dYuREosG_TLMZ_JzywF7KDbQo2DVrE7LVuaFpTJTKjaPzeZPottLpwnX-YKfo8oAKDslanLA9yYFVmz4LvguNDHty4zR5FRq7vNN5NRTh-YOSdl2eA7km4FhyphenhyphenmORsU2I1st96m/s1600/2013-08-31_4480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="American Kestrel in Flight" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHMXzA9dYuREosG_TLMZ_JzywF7KDbQo2DVrE7LVuaFpTJTKjaPzeZPottLpwnX-YKfo8oAKDslanLA9yYFVmz4LvguNDHty4zR5FRq7vNN5NRTh-YOSdl2eA7km4FhyphenhyphenmORsU2I1st96m/s640/2013-08-31_4480.jpg" title="American Kestrel Underside" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American Kestrel; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimw7F9bZy5eCThQVkcRh0bfJbuQA7J6srLSWylIG2WYNpNcSrY51vQGT5IezP6oZV61Z4eoj_ONJsldIj70eZN9OkGNHSh9Ym9GPpExHBHhOBMwQUV3eIzjxIuarEWxqq5YThSYdObMhkw/s1600/2013-08-31_4508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Immature Red-tailed Hawk Underwing" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimw7F9bZy5eCThQVkcRh0bfJbuQA7J6srLSWylIG2WYNpNcSrY51vQGT5IezP6oZV61Z4eoj_ONJsldIj70eZN9OkGNHSh9Ym9GPpExHBHhOBMwQUV3eIzjxIuarEWxqq5YThSYdObMhkw/s640/2013-08-31_4508.jpg" title="Red-tailed Hawk at Hawk Ridge" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Red-tailed Hawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizht0yua1fwUZWNkz49vKdPtmGgWzRKhk5d4sHTxP18gKfTEEbPu1m3YY2IXXZacbov-VMYtK9Au6nl6VZ6eKrsJi7MT8JL_XqIW7fvGyETsCnXt8DlmhfuvtajYGMqNStVxNwfIeagqfU/s1600/2013-08-31_4495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="'Buzzard' at Hawk Ridge" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizht0yua1fwUZWNkz49vKdPtmGgWzRKhk5d4sHTxP18gKfTEEbPu1m3YY2IXXZacbov-VMYtK9Au6nl6VZ6eKrsJi7MT8JL_XqIW7fvGyETsCnXt8DlmhfuvtajYGMqNStVxNwfIeagqfU/s640/2013-08-31_4495.jpg" title="Turkey Vulture" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Turkey Vulture; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4-AZFjHxeEwnxJ1MD-nOh_STHlgHcuQghv-23R1rZY_HXbavXSx_-3RaU05KirAXIltO_W6PUOjZ_f88WWqj9efg3MF78lJ2cP77O8Z9z49mCdQqhFiZbFgDDu4Z7vC5VeTKGNyjLC6D/s1600/2013-08-31_4415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="American Crow Screaming" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4-AZFjHxeEwnxJ1MD-nOh_STHlgHcuQghv-23R1rZY_HXbavXSx_-3RaU05KirAXIltO_W6PUOjZ_f88WWqj9efg3MF78lJ2cP77O8Z9z49mCdQqhFiZbFgDDu4Z7vC5VeTKGNyjLC6D/s640/2013-08-31_4415.jpg" title="American Crow Mobbing Owl" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American Crow; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7ivk7Z4EuxIQYDzitcvjWzaP0BgV7Vd9qFP0HSgQ8i6AwKX6Uck_hdu4LTS2A6kZg7D_FA7YTj6k0WhbivJ6vUJDLDIr35HTX6zG3vXzZRLJ3Q7D_qijnUpfytqRodjoZqB6xSeUTTA4/s1600/2013-08-31_4423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="American Crow Wing Out" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7ivk7Z4EuxIQYDzitcvjWzaP0BgV7Vd9qFP0HSgQ8i6AwKX6Uck_hdu4LTS2A6kZg7D_FA7YTj6k0WhbivJ6vUJDLDIr35HTX6zG3vXzZRLJ3Q7D_qijnUpfytqRodjoZqB6xSeUTTA4/s640/2013-08-31_4423.jpg" title="As the Crow Flies" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American Crow; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 31 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<br />Cory Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16491682950449873625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-3811890645741333242013-08-30T14:00:00.000-04:002013-08-30T14:00:01.249-04:00Duluth's Common Nighthawk MigrationBy Cory Ritter<br />
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Let's get real, Common Nighthawks are pretty awesome. They have striking plumage, make sweet peent calls, eat insects that may otherwise annoy us, fly erratically, and their apparently small bills open up to reveal a mouth resembling that of a muppet. Plus, they're the ABA 2013 Bird of the Year. What's not to like?<br />
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Duluth is a great place to watch Common Nighthawks during migration, and this year didn't disappoint. Last Wednesday, the 21st, Karl Bardon counted over thirty thousand Common Nighthawks—with the help of Dave Carman and others. However, that was just the peak, and the nighthawk migration continues.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Kev3nCxpXcS91rrU-dY2rhqtK6XckouaFrYzS-wRJ3yDjmR-aJa9qhbmLJfkcMyBXI2VsbiZ-LORELrST2q_ojuzJ-gECdmzrVhfUqxDRDqEuQnS1-13Kb65TOanQ-IHWt9vSloRZQqm/s1600/2013-08-22_4189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Common Nighthawk in Flight" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Kev3nCxpXcS91rrU-dY2rhqtK6XckouaFrYzS-wRJ3yDjmR-aJa9qhbmLJfkcMyBXI2VsbiZ-LORELrST2q_ojuzJ-gECdmzrVhfUqxDRDqEuQnS1-13Kb65TOanQ-IHWt9vSloRZQqm/s640/2013-08-22_4189.jpg" title="Common Nighthawk Migration in Duluth" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Common Nighthawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 22 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2Z9m2KWdiqhgZJVijaVJWWKXxfJfuBaVLfgzX31_0_mw2hOUPtaPGsv-J1OqnaVshbhcA7xGVYs1sb3tv_N9_zs968dq41wJKB3eSCqO87ktc5eFcu0T-WoU6NCCAmlVmRE8D63rI4Vf/s1600/2013-08-22_4196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Common Nighthawk Underside" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2Z9m2KWdiqhgZJVijaVJWWKXxfJfuBaVLfgzX31_0_mw2hOUPtaPGsv-J1OqnaVshbhcA7xGVYs1sb3tv_N9_zs968dq41wJKB3eSCqO87ktc5eFcu0T-WoU6NCCAmlVmRE8D63rI4Vf/s640/2013-08-22_4196.jpg" title="Common Nighthawk Migration Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Common Nighthawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 22 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEr5Op1vwJgQu1zHCajj8UMmtDH05XGXmLP39wRqCBb-ugANWlvqwxrnVPg5f2-FMBE2_JubjhEo4kZFi2T0AqIPYymVbtlKfPd_YQF0Swt5JUtfoT43OLaTtZ8kI9oSElhzNFqSJij-PP/s1600/2013-08-27_4343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Common Nighthawk" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEr5Op1vwJgQu1zHCajj8UMmtDH05XGXmLP39wRqCBb-ugANWlvqwxrnVPg5f2-FMBE2_JubjhEo4kZFi2T0AqIPYymVbtlKfPd_YQF0Swt5JUtfoT43OLaTtZ8kI9oSElhzNFqSJij-PP/s640/2013-08-27_4343.jpg" title="Duluth Common Nighthawk Migration" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Common Nighthawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 27 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicK2Qor0f8rv4KHujFsaQUyGXb8nk0XjOlfVIgL6nBEEEAH5d1Fz8f3GGRDqxSQfIiBX2DeKFHSqIKGtsjIL-_p6aqxOw_moxQlxRyFQI0d0i9wkBhvswzOaFhA3af2k4y4EQDFLI6Q0PR/s1600/2013-08-27_4351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Common Nighthawk" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicK2Qor0f8rv4KHujFsaQUyGXb8nk0XjOlfVIgL6nBEEEAH5d1Fz8f3GGRDqxSQfIiBX2DeKFHSqIKGtsjIL-_p6aqxOw_moxQlxRyFQI0d0i9wkBhvswzOaFhA3af2k4y4EQDFLI6Q0PR/s640/2013-08-27_4351.jpg" title="Common Nighthawk Migration" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Common Nighthawk; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; St. Louis County, MN; 27 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<br />Cory Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16491682950449873625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-64485186696441485932013-08-28T14:55:00.000-04:002013-08-28T15:57:41.572-04:00Jaegers at Wisconsin PointBy Cory Ritter<br />
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I'm back in Duluth for the fall hawk count season at Hawk Ridge, and I arrived a bit early so I could get some general birding in before my season starts. Some Parasitic Jaegers had been sighted a number of times from Wisconsin Point this month, and, since Jaegers are pretty sweet, I figured that would be a good place to check out. Karl Bardon and I headed over there last Friday, and the trip was a success. We had two light Parasitic Jaegers. This was of course in addition to the other regulars. We had some Ring-billed, Herring, and Bonaparte's Gulls, one Franklin's Gull, Bald Eagle, Green-winged Teal......anyway, the jaegers:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WWYIhga7xE8e3WZJe1QDCwAqnzHbx1uOOatP3ihxaPlHo9e7Q9qR31FIR4iDEabhYl9DYnjmbDOPiGAn2DxPO7jgELchnk4Obg-AQXC2isMfRPGZalUr7oIcBhN31IKaF3Lc-FGJZWsp/s1600/2013-08-23_4295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Wisconsin Point Jaeger From Below" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WWYIhga7xE8e3WZJe1QDCwAqnzHbx1uOOatP3ihxaPlHo9e7Q9qR31FIR4iDEabhYl9DYnjmbDOPiGAn2DxPO7jgELchnk4Obg-AQXC2isMfRPGZalUr7oIcBhN31IKaF3Lc-FGJZWsp/s640/2013-08-23_4295.jpg" title="Parasitic Jaeger Photo" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Parasitic Jaeger; Wisconsin Point; Douglas County, WI; 23 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlxA5gopOqwLDTK7l5CgorkefPCqKnu9cJC-wqHZcKrFq4RI5TA-6bN0zrlFwLlgJVvqx8anf9W9YTOJEo4NHif-MjbhiDHYQYnPY7qBogxYiA_nYg0wUTwrRS2u6Nn2dmLh7EANy8Bg3/s1600/2013-08-23_4296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger Underside" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlxA5gopOqwLDTK7l5CgorkefPCqKnu9cJC-wqHZcKrFq4RI5TA-6bN0zrlFwLlgJVvqx8anf9W9YTOJEo4NHif-MjbhiDHYQYnPY7qBogxYiA_nYg0wUTwrRS2u6Nn2dmLh7EANy8Bg3/s640/2013-08-23_4296.jpg" title="Duluth-area Parasitic Jaeger" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Parasitic Jaeger; Wisconsin Point; Douglas County, WI; 23 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yqptzYWxQd5QI5BcKoHBYzyCHpznsSbtvpJ8CJRnGtavEIfCAOt3ueeN3rhrglRaTiYSAPN9qsk2ct120TP8dF4_6xXNe2gjDccYq5STAkmIoz8nxDcCXEOAQ2CojmywbDjp5oID-yvy/s1600/2013-08-23_4297.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger in Superior Wisconsin" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yqptzYWxQd5QI5BcKoHBYzyCHpznsSbtvpJ8CJRnGtavEIfCAOt3ueeN3rhrglRaTiYSAPN9qsk2ct120TP8dF4_6xXNe2gjDccYq5STAkmIoz8nxDcCXEOAQ2CojmywbDjp5oID-yvy/s640/2013-08-23_4297.jpg" title="Light Adult Parasitic Jaeger" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Parasitic Jaeger; Wisconsin Point; Douglas County, WI; 23 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2CJ_9sNv2ssPo4Zor6wr65dA-KcwoCCvlX8cJxW-PIerdwB3CavRiCV-bPJOwf-3yMCVIszPxYBDsfDUWmpbwF-Q495-EpbZi8xT2ErZiZ_kPNuR7O8TA5eKWgvgoQWXDskg2lUGkq3v/s1600/2013-08-23_4287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Light Adult Parasitic Jaeger Upperwing" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2CJ_9sNv2ssPo4Zor6wr65dA-KcwoCCvlX8cJxW-PIerdwB3CavRiCV-bPJOwf-3yMCVIszPxYBDsfDUWmpbwF-Q495-EpbZi8xT2ErZiZ_kPNuR7O8TA5eKWgvgoQWXDskg2lUGkq3v/s640/2013-08-23_4287.jpg" title="Gull Bluff Jaegers in Wisconsin" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Parasitic Jaeger; Wisconsin Point; Douglas County, WI; 23 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvYYaAN90L787ydEKeAVdU7kaa5EAKQILkbzCKLKVxQJrPcedJbPUE6VCa-Ar8P1RSY8lJjypX0h8QRU4F9gbYQGT1E9T-Gu6zG-zTcoaI8Q_wV_0GOkAQkUJa5sQnURD47CZb9JEvOT-/s1600/2013-08-23_4233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvYYaAN90L787ydEKeAVdU7kaa5EAKQILkbzCKLKVxQJrPcedJbPUE6VCa-Ar8P1RSY8lJjypX0h8QRU4F9gbYQGT1E9T-Gu6zG-zTcoaI8Q_wV_0GOkAQkUJa5sQnURD47CZb9JEvOT-/s640/2013-08-23_4233.jpg" title="Lake Superior Jaeger" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Parasitic Jaeger; Wisconsin Point; Douglas County, WI; 23 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8wdTg8J1obo5vv1tbN0FLPrpn6mFgPhYGkl2rPC4eT_WIFmcxNI4Nbrxv2S1KnKrIhxIKeP3j-1eDNZ2ryTkIM5BNT2AStiSRhgztzIyZLTcBO-2a_qNKYRY4dd57KFIm8QsifiqvfA3/s1600/2013-08-23_4232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger in Flight" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8wdTg8J1obo5vv1tbN0FLPrpn6mFgPhYGkl2rPC4eT_WIFmcxNI4Nbrxv2S1KnKrIhxIKeP3j-1eDNZ2ryTkIM5BNT2AStiSRhgztzIyZLTcBO-2a_qNKYRY4dd57KFIm8QsifiqvfA3/s640/2013-08-23_4232.jpg" title="Light Adult Parasitic Jaeger" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Parasitic Jaeger; Wisconsin Point; Douglas County, WI; 23 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4kLok9FXDEZL1lhxRjhre3D2E3cb0mE9rgwpBqCxQWszCJ6uom6sQzF9SAz50JUHaWad5o_oIo2dh6CkDo-wnYp1WIbkbwIio6oveUBgQQy3hD5bvKqJokBRXONjUm99LdnM_6AFNnIL/s1600/2013-08-23_4234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Parasitic Jaeger Flight Feathers" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4kLok9FXDEZL1lhxRjhre3D2E3cb0mE9rgwpBqCxQWszCJ6uom6sQzF9SAz50JUHaWad5o_oIo2dh6CkDo-wnYp1WIbkbwIio6oveUBgQQy3hD5bvKqJokBRXONjUm99LdnM_6AFNnIL/s640/2013-08-23_4234.jpg" title="Duluth-area Parasitic Jaeger" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Parasitic Jaeger; Wisconsin Point; Douglas County, WI; 23 August 2013</i></td></tr>
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<br />Cory Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16491682950449873625noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-72407089604359214092013-08-25T23:45:00.002-04:002013-08-25T23:45:53.239-04:00Subalpine HikingBy Cory DeStein<br />
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Currently there are nearly 11,000 acres of forest burning in the hills above Lolo, where I live in Montana. Before the blazes started up I was able to get some subalpine hiking in throughout the Bitterroots in Idaho.<br />
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I climbed nearly 1,000 feet on foot before reaching roughly 7,000 feet. The hike along the forestery roads was littered with Red Crossbills. Recordings obtained of the birds verified a majority as type 2 with a lone recording as type 5. White-crowned Sparrows were numerous along the hike along with Cassin's Finch, Brewer's Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Williamson's Sapsucker and Gray Jays, with many of the sparrows scolding a pair of Townsend's Solitaire that swooped down the mountain.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOODEmYXoq_4OrSBkcPpfUszrtS6uZgYj83q-hBsh0kVpMeq6fm9ekfM4v92EGkhUasTyK21IPdb0qRswFnybW3zx_b6WQ0gDsonDZLa55GXGZZ3i9vaFLTtsSh7e9jWzoPgw7zKojTw/s1600/IMG_0329.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOODEmYXoq_4OrSBkcPpfUszrtS6uZgYj83q-hBsh0kVpMeq6fm9ekfM4v92EGkhUasTyK21IPdb0qRswFnybW3zx_b6WQ0gDsonDZLa55GXGZZ3i9vaFLTtsSh7e9jWzoPgw7zKojTw/s640/IMG_0329.tiff" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Townsend's Solitaire</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOz0APEXqb-zJ8hkgdrmGFhyphenhyphenQtCkExbJQCE16xMdYiwN-c5srFB8iW-_XYC92P-RNc_oIAbgRCyIDsiq2RA9G1vatMUoV_bJsw1DPv_lt3-G4SKPkuJ5JbmIehcm9mRO71oz1OL_dPc7c/s1600/IMG_0319.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOz0APEXqb-zJ8hkgdrmGFhyphenhyphenQtCkExbJQCE16xMdYiwN-c5srFB8iW-_XYC92P-RNc_oIAbgRCyIDsiq2RA9G1vatMUoV_bJsw1DPv_lt3-G4SKPkuJ5JbmIehcm9mRO71oz1OL_dPc7c/s640/IMG_0319.tiff" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cassin's Finch</td></tr>
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At the top of the hike I birded a subalpine meadow where a family of Steller Jay's began scolding me as I ate lunch. My first and only warbler of the trip, a male Townsend's Warbler was drinking from a nearby creek before the loud scolding of the jays scared him off. I could hear multiple Clark's Nutcrackers calling from further up the mountain, but everything but the Steller's Jay went silent with a flyover Northern Goshawk.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincw1ATELQ6Ujd95kQnTmAvDYEiZhP3wzFdVkm5X4pV7g0AyJa2XdoNdeyJscgcDyitYUGb-1AneH0ijlVD8U2uT_5pIdFcE3Li8UYpftIOVfqcwenvKJEl6gIUmQBzZwH9Ynj433jhV8/s1600/IMG_0357.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincw1ATELQ6Ujd95kQnTmAvDYEiZhP3wzFdVkm5X4pV7g0AyJa2XdoNdeyJscgcDyitYUGb-1AneH0ijlVD8U2uT_5pIdFcE3Li8UYpftIOVfqcwenvKJEl6gIUmQBzZwH9Ynj433jhV8/s640/IMG_0357.tiff" width="640" /></a></div>
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Inbetween the scolding calls of the jays I began to pick up a new call, I was certain it wasn't a bird note, but it was brand new to me. Based off the habitat I was in, with some nearby boulders I climbed over to investigate. The calls continued to ring out from the rocks, and within 5 minutes I was rewarded with a lifer mammal, Pika! The small rodents whom do not hibernate gather grass through out the summer to feed on the hay during the winter. It was hard to get an idea of how many there were, but I had at least 3 with many calling from further along the ridge. Easily the cutest animal I have ever seen. Very cooperative subjects, except for the occasional Clark's Nutcracker spooking them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsEWYraUxI_HSqhHlSX8ZsGg8w1bim01Oa6PUjw-3PgD8o64Ym9T8YdCrSdT7SeeR6rn6kKE-l4luOaxMQVTSLuo3_WXo6WOXbC-JNsJN_p2ANrRDnDuaOFckWGhUFCJWgHMlEcHs3Lo/s1600/IMG_0430.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsEWYraUxI_HSqhHlSX8ZsGg8w1bim01Oa6PUjw-3PgD8o64Ym9T8YdCrSdT7SeeR6rn6kKE-l4luOaxMQVTSLuo3_WXo6WOXbC-JNsJN_p2ANrRDnDuaOFckWGhUFCJWgHMlEcHs3Lo/s640/IMG_0430.tiff" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pika</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLhnz_yGVXGM_9ZgFygEjaD_9cZeOm_xsPpuGIEtHN9M-15E_IaNl8cRjqcggRibb8K-QI9HvO0of1u2i_AfnO-nQgXmmSkmWQwq0Wk1CZmb_3ERNxz6ZX8j9GXiTFeOI97cOwKQ3fLM/s1600/IMG_0533.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLhnz_yGVXGM_9ZgFygEjaD_9cZeOm_xsPpuGIEtHN9M-15E_IaNl8cRjqcggRibb8K-QI9HvO0of1u2i_AfnO-nQgXmmSkmWQwq0Wk1CZmb_3ERNxz6ZX8j9GXiTFeOI97cOwKQ3fLM/s640/IMG_0533.tiff" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clark's Nutcracker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_U2JzIstRj1xPygLjbgR4sDSs2ltbBJiQtQMpFsMvtdcN6gWM8gLW2QBqn19Gi2WJOQVmC0DgxoVNAizHlkSMIbXHEsHAHOkajisEnoE7iqXxC4ApUjBC6muLUJPmStQ9JvrmquDPIT0/s1600/IMG_0297.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_U2JzIstRj1xPygLjbgR4sDSs2ltbBJiQtQMpFsMvtdcN6gWM8gLW2QBqn19Gi2WJOQVmC0DgxoVNAizHlkSMIbXHEsHAHOkajisEnoE7iqXxC4ApUjBC6muLUJPmStQ9JvrmquDPIT0/s640/IMG_0297.tiff" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruby-crowned Kinglet</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elk cow with twins on the drive up the mountain.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Cory DeSteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13057720126212409119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-21534130157946599702013-08-11T19:37:00.001-04:002013-08-11T23:15:02.210-04:00Photo Study: Red Crossbills of Clearwater National ForestBy Cory DeStein<br />
<br />
With my first month in northwest Montana coming to a close, I am getting a pretty good feel for the local breeding birds in the area. I have been focusing quite a bit of time exploring a subalpine lake, Lily Lake at over 6,000 feet in the Clearwater National Forest, just over the border in Idaho. The forests surrounding the lake are dominated by subalpine fir along with, lodgepole pine, Englemann spruce, and Douglas fir. Clark's Nutcracker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Pine Grosbeak, Mountain Chickadee, Lincoln and Fox Sparrow. Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper and Spotted Sandpiper have been observed feeding along the shore. And as with any lake in this region, moose are a frequent evening sight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycpCEwI6hyphenhyphenHuIsQ6wKCjNKS3YveHPAxjGbnLJ1Zn2OVK0cRSsz5xzigNC0-ET7tjynqxgzj9TRTi48ltES18G_MEoAXQR_mvDINPoIOe6hT7xi00M_k5bYVXx7LmB2zbs4rHA_u6a4Cw/s1600/IMG_9675.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycpCEwI6hyphenhyphenHuIsQ6wKCjNKS3YveHPAxjGbnLJ1Zn2OVK0cRSsz5xzigNC0-ET7tjynqxgzj9TRTi48ltES18G_MEoAXQR_mvDINPoIOe6hT7xi00M_k5bYVXx7LmB2zbs4rHA_u6a4Cw/s640/IMG_9675.tiff" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cow moose and her calf at Lily Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4D53Ybc3dhHlhz6vN6MsZxYCAeTzRnSWlSptmXn0oJsrXqcnC-lseDhOPQuf0L-N62RgkBgD1KU1ErnQCk_a4aSV1e9GkUxI6D4mJavbas-ECk1JV9C_9Lc3faZe6A-jGheE1oNzYvuE/s1600/IMG_9299.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4D53Ybc3dhHlhz6vN6MsZxYCAeTzRnSWlSptmXn0oJsrXqcnC-lseDhOPQuf0L-N62RgkBgD1KU1ErnQCk_a4aSV1e9GkUxI6D4mJavbas-ECk1JV9C_9Lc3faZe6A-jGheE1oNzYvuE/s640/IMG_9299.tiff" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pine Grosbeak</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiu7FegxqEoMeg6h3r3eb65dl18q4sd96wuMYHgNw5ESoYpX4sD94oyhqm6gHpniTPGEBPhm5cIXIFbpLQ8kPmTk3lANXVq94Y2-UoWVzVa65-XOxc5-taHpSYOnt6sNM0sRvYUNaTr9c/s1600/IMG_9306.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiu7FegxqEoMeg6h3r3eb65dl18q4sd96wuMYHgNw5ESoYpX4sD94oyhqm6gHpniTPGEBPhm5cIXIFbpLQ8kPmTk3lANXVq94Y2-UoWVzVa65-XOxc5-taHpSYOnt6sNM0sRvYUNaTr9c/s640/IMG_9306.tiff" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lincoln's Sparrow</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoqrh037eRHjyaIA9BNLUoPAe0QvphV86KmS6h0oi2gdkDzcldGLDzE9XSib4AicimTgE14WoN_Iy7kmoV78o3p_8hRNZ97hntgZ5mwlL_YpzxPkL2sTCQPKyzr4i1FT3IiSqd9roHdw/s1600/IMG_9897.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoqrh037eRHjyaIA9BNLUoPAe0QvphV86KmS6h0oi2gdkDzcldGLDzE9XSib4AicimTgE14WoN_Iy7kmoV78o3p_8hRNZ97hntgZ5mwlL_YpzxPkL2sTCQPKyzr4i1FT3IiSqd9roHdw/s640/IMG_9897.tiff" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cassin's Finch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUImXGFDMq57T-5siKP7VEDj8zq48R68ivdOpGN7HQy6h-UfizSJyYDIpd9yp9sZHxPF-4VYPbZRelLawxBcxW-c_1wGNVV61EWmGzL-egUkIuXb-4U55FocLuFbjlkk_Ez-mE20hCpZY/s1600/IMG_9951.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUImXGFDMq57T-5siKP7VEDj8zq48R68ivdOpGN7HQy6h-UfizSJyYDIpd9yp9sZHxPF-4VYPbZRelLawxBcxW-c_1wGNVV61EWmGzL-egUkIuXb-4U55FocLuFbjlkk_Ez-mE20hCpZY/s640/IMG_9951.tiff" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lesser Yellowlegs</td></tr>
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Perhaps the most numerous and cooperative bird at the lake is the Red Crossbill. My daily trips there are filled with birds feeding in the larches and gathering grit from the old campfire sites along the trail. I am working on gathering recording on what I suspect may be at least two types of RECR in the area. According to "Introduction to Differences in Crossbill Types" by Matt Young on eBird, there are as many as 9 "vocal types" of Red Crossbills in North America. I downloaded "Recorder the app" for iPhone, allowing me to export AIFF or MP3. An external microphone for the iPhone may be my next investment. I am working with a few people now to better understand using these recordings in call identification, but will keep you all updated on the progress! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FYeMIw1M8TRs6kS60uQbJl3qinG5XaMbAAYSbTzHxmRMP1B8QSd1yRldBDDCXCb48kjU4rpzQ0VvB72zA0uK8zGbGMzRByY8UjGM2Tinvq0MqMR7IvULOr-yCcJ8ob4Yd_Z_ms6k10k/s1600/IMG_0043.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FYeMIw1M8TRs6kS60uQbJl3qinG5XaMbAAYSbTzHxmRMP1B8QSd1yRldBDDCXCb48kjU4rpzQ0VvB72zA0uK8zGbGMzRByY8UjGM2Tinvq0MqMR7IvULOr-yCcJ8ob4Yd_Z_ms6k10k/s640/IMG_0043.tiff" width="458" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-d_vcPv9_V1hokGOmBMR1th4_sClihOBwD0zuXvHeKd8R61iejT7s_gKn5yij4jnGDTVDDf4eiqDx9xvszg58Iq-4OBGwO4vDBILrqo6byBrRsz76Xt6Yat7dnpoPoCufiLYQ9E3cSas/s1600/IMG_9915.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-d_vcPv9_V1hokGOmBMR1th4_sClihOBwD0zuXvHeKd8R61iejT7s_gKn5yij4jnGDTVDDf4eiqDx9xvszg58Iq-4OBGwO4vDBILrqo6byBrRsz76Xt6Yat7dnpoPoCufiLYQ9E3cSas/s640/IMG_9915.tiff" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://ebird.org/plone/ebird/news/introduction-to%20crossbill-vocalizations">"Introduction to Difference in Crossbill Vocalization" by Matt Young</a><br />
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Cory DeSteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13057720126212409119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-49674958298840876312013-08-02T21:53:00.000-04:002013-08-02T21:53:32.582-04:00Yeah, yeah, it’s molting. So what…right?<div class="MsoNormal">
Right guys?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Right?...Guys?...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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As the title implies a molting bird, in and of itself is not
of much interest to a birder let alone anyone with any sense of natural history
or levelheadedness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The regular
occurrence of the growing of new feathers is a simple fact of nature; a
necessity for the physical laws of flight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As feathers age, they become worn and brittle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They no longer provide the bird with
streamlining or the perfect airfoil wing-shape needed for dynamic flight, and
instead produce extra turbulence and leave an otherwise healthy bird
aeronautically indisposed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So yes,
the fact that feather molt evolved is interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The physics of flight is interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But a molting bird is just, well, a
consequence of breaking though an amniotic eggshell with a horny, toothless beak.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtxYqusQD611QAXc6RZGW_HguN-_Z69_eSyHc_mrjKZ6DwbMLn3XzHE6Y79Lwq-m_9qDT5-XuAhz98NLrqAfda3chbQs2bCjJ-wIU0zSjL4hcx6x3vBNUjcdyCmqnltLhJ9-B1DvAvEs/s1600/IMG_7999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtxYqusQD611QAXc6RZGW_HguN-_Z69_eSyHc_mrjKZ6DwbMLn3XzHE6Y79Lwq-m_9qDT5-XuAhz98NLrqAfda3chbQs2bCjJ-wIU0zSjL4hcx6x3vBNUjcdyCmqnltLhJ9-B1DvAvEs/s640/IMG_7999.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Mangrove Swallow visibly molting primaries. The difference between the outer juvenile primaries (9 and 10) and the fresh basic plumage flight feathers is blatant. Given that this bird is <u>replacing</u> very <u>worn</u> juvenile flight feathers, what age is this bird? Try to use some of the information in this post to tell this bird's story.</i></td></tr>
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So why is calling out or talking about a bird’s molt <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">de rigueur</i> amongst "good" birders?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What’s the freaking point? Yeah it’s inner primaries are shorter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re growing. It's outer primaries are browner. They're old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what feathers inevitably
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But can we learn something
from a molting bird relative to, say, identifying or aging it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I am by no means an expert on molt, but I can tell you
this: you can learn a lot about a bird from the timing and extent of its molt, from identifying its age, to distinguishing similar species in the field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In these contexts, molt is both
relevant to the average birder seeking to identify birds in the field, and to
biologists (e.g. studying survivorship or reproductive success) looking at birds in the hand. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some cases, being certain of a bird's age, sex, or species may be contingent on the timing and extent of its current molt.</div>
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We have touched on molt and especially with regards to molt limits (an outcome of molt) in the past, and bringing it up again merely stresses its importance. I will not give you a detailed description of all molt cycles, stages, types, etc, nor the patterns or timing associated with specific families or groups of birds. However, to start your own investigation of molt, it is helpful to get a little of the basics. Molt, by definition, is the periodic <u>growing</u> of new feathers not the <i>replacement</i> of feathers. Therefore anytime I refer to <i>molting feathers</i>, I do not mean feathers that are falling off, I refer to feathers that are growing. </div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpH96Ncm4w2ledpFIY_jKYAChOFZB_Y95i2NsJCuVCfOwDxdWAg0DrDrEfkgkjnhaKAL2a2ANEeXZ9ZnuCyXWH3IXka1pi_odKEim4fPq8Q3Y_h61-OrFx0jtYoYy8HflgPhTChCqYWM/s1600/IMG_1131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpH96Ncm4w2ledpFIY_jKYAChOFZB_Y95i2NsJCuVCfOwDxdWAg0DrDrEfkgkjnhaKAL2a2ANEeXZ9ZnuCyXWH3IXka1pi_odKEim4fPq8Q3Y_h61-OrFx0jtYoYy8HflgPhTChCqYWM/s640/IMG_1131.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><i>Here is an extreme example of a bird that critically needs to molt. This Pigeon Guillemot's remiges are worn to a point in which the feather shafts are all that remain. This bird cannot fly, and chances are it cannot maneuver well underwater either since alcids use their wings to help them "fly" subsurface and catch food. In fact we watched this bird for most of fall 2012 as it swam in the waters just off of Southeast Farallon Island. The bird began molting quite late, but unfortunately never was able to finish. The bird was eventually found dead on the island mid-molt. Thus I imagine birds may often face the dilemma, molt or die. Reason's why a bird might forgo molt include malnutrition, parasites, or disease among others. I imagine this bird was struggling with at least one of these issues.</i></td></tr>
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General Sequence for birds showing Complex Basic Strategy for molt (I suggest you read Howell's 2003 essays from <i>Birding</i> and his book, <i>Molt in North American Birds</i>, to really begin to understand the complexities in detail):<br />
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Pre-juvenal Molt (now referred to as first pre-basic, and includes all body and flight feathers, and is generally grown in the nest) --> Juvenal plumage (more often than not, much browner, streakier, and of poorer quality) --> Pre-formative Molt (generally within a few months of leaving the nest replacing most or all body feathers and no or some flight feathers) --> formative plumage (birds in this plumage are generally referred to as immature or "first year" rather than juvenal) --> pre-basic molt (the term definitive PB molt refers to the molt that results in the adult plumage: generally the following calendar year replacing all feathers) --> basic plumage --> pre-basic molt (generally the following calender year all feathers)...<br />
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This molt pattern, in my opinion is the most important to get down. Keep in mind that generally if you insert pre-alternate molts into the life cycle (complex alternate strategy) or remove the pre-formative (simple basic strategy) you have then pretty much addressed every species North American landbird. Also keep in mind that, generally birds only have one complete molt (i.e. all feathers including flight feathers) per year. So if we are looking at molting flight feathers, which is generally the case, we know it's probably a pre-basic molt or probably not a pre-formative molt (some exceptions to this rule). This will almost never be pre-alternate molt (if ever?)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNIfD0LSHhRGE26T8eGYC7-TrhzCskbqcjOyWQkS7Wx_fnf4a4T_iL1jM9-7UsRIPwFq4MHtulj2XlYbVIaJIlbufbxlHEeX_pouNi3qfW6Mw1CHZe_u3XYEA0zqIl9Ujw2alkNsdk1M/s1600/IMG_2194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNIfD0LSHhRGE26T8eGYC7-TrhzCskbqcjOyWQkS7Wx_fnf4a4T_iL1jM9-7UsRIPwFq4MHtulj2XlYbVIaJIlbufbxlHEeX_pouNi3qfW6Mw1CHZe_u3XYEA0zqIl9Ujw2alkNsdk1M/s640/IMG_2194.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Knowledge of molt and their subsequent plumages can be helpful even in birds you've had no experience with. This bird is bizarre in that during it's preformative molt, it replaced tertials, outer primaries, and the first secondary. I had no experience with Garyish Saltators prior to this bird in my hand, but the contrast in colors resulting from two generations of feathers is glaringly obvious. With no prior knowledge of how this species molts or looks as a juvenal, I can tell that the greener, worn feathers are juvenal (first basic). Thus, the bird must be in formative plumage since during it's next basic molt (should happen soon) it should replace all flight feathers. The eccentric molt seen here is further complicated by that middle replaced feather, but that may be a feather that was lost and replaced later (adventitious molt). Keep in mind tropical birds may behave differently than their temperate counterparts. </i></td></tr>
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Here are some things to think about when looking at a bird showing flight-feather molt:<br />
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1) What time of year is it and where are you? Birds typically molt their costly flight feathers after major life-cycle events like breeding or migration. This is because many of these events require a lot of resources. During the breeding season, birds put all their energy into creating and raising offspring. During migration birds put all their energy into...migrating. So depending on when and where you are, molt can tell you something about a bird's age or even species. For example, some species molt their feathers on the wintering grounds, some on the breeding grounds, and less commonly some during migration. Knowing where species molt can sometimes help you rule out similar species. <br />
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I can think of two classic examples: 1) Jaegers molt on their wintering waters (I believe this to be universally true off the top of my head, but if anyone has a correction I would really like to know). During the fall in California, it may be possible to see all three jaegers in migration, but only Pomarine Jaeger winters along the CA coast. Therefore a molting jaeger in CA waters is almost certainly a Pomarine on its wintering grounds. 2) Similarly, most <i>Empidonax</i> flycatchers molt on the wintering grounds. However, Hammond's Flycatcher molts on the breeding grounds. Therefore any <i>Empidonax</i> with freshly molted plumage in fall in Western North America is likely Hammond's. There are many other examples that I won't get into here (frankly I don't know a lot of it). They include separating shorebirds in migration and winter, separating nighthawks in southern California (Common molts on the wintering grounds), and swallows in TX.<br />
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2) What feathers are molting? Tertials? Secondaries? Primaries? Coverts? For example, it is very common for birds to molt tertials and secondary coverts, but no other wing and flight feathers during pre-formative molt. Thus you can <u>generally</u> age a bird in pre-formative molt as a hatching year.<br />
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3) What do other feathers in the wing look like compared to the feathers that are growing. Are other feathers similar in color or much browner? Browner, and often more tapered, feathers can often be attributed to juvenal plumage. Feathers grown in the nest are grown rapidly and are of much poorer quality than adult feathers. The difference is often quite clear, although not always. The photo below shows very clearly three generations of feathers.)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuTHkUxZftBQnGqB-ZvRMkY_SppZZqaocupl1iC6ZmU1AhMtJYDaMq9L7pDX1PgcfKoLNyDf2kk7xglEONxMqYdnJdtCDsQeE0wDj-OIvNUlqzwH6fxL9QePTCrQDLeN3VnIyUB9JYcs/s1600/image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuTHkUxZftBQnGqB-ZvRMkY_SppZZqaocupl1iC6ZmU1AhMtJYDaMq9L7pDX1PgcfKoLNyDf2kk7xglEONxMqYdnJdtCDsQeE0wDj-OIvNUlqzwH6fxL9QePTCrQDLeN3VnIyUB9JYcs/s640/image.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Clay-colored Thrush with three generations of feathers in the wing. The brown and very worn outer primaries and middle secondaries are retained juvenal feathers. The olive green and moderately worn tertials (inner secondaries) were replaced during the pre-formative molt. This bird was symmetrically molting the first few primaries and secondaries. Notice how the juvenile feathers contrast in both color and wear with other feathers, but the formative feathers only contrast in wear (i.e. not color) to the brand new adult feathers. Understanding the complex basic molt pattern (above) helped us to age this bird as a second year and understand the contrasts we were seeing in the wing.</i></td></tr>
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4) What is the bird doing regarding it's life cycle? Is the bird on it's breeding grounds? Is the bird on it's wintering grounds? Is the bird migrating? As I pointed out earlier, molting is energetically costly. As it turns out so is migration. Interestingly, some species of birds have been identified as molt migrants, birds that molt at migration stopover sites. Understanding where a bird molts has important implications for conservation. Traditionally we like to think that looking at breeding and wintering grounds pretty much represents the whole picture. If you protect those two areas, you are protecting the birds. Critically, however, molt stopover sites (e.g. Mono Lake for Wilson's Phalaropes and Eared Grebes) represent another consideration for successful conservation. <br />
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Practice looking at molt at your feeder in mid-late summer, and by taking or looking at photos. Or by banding birds, but not everyone has that luxury. While you're practicing, go back to that first photo of the Mangrove Swallow here. Tell its story. How old is it? Try to map out its life cycle thus far. </div>
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Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com0INBio Park, Santo Domingo, Costa Rica9.9742 -84.0932000000000249.9702904999999991 -84.098242500000026 9.9781095 -84.088157500000023tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-20900459034475561382013-07-30T22:53:00.001-04:002014-08-30T16:56:54.747-04:00No Toquen NadaLet me give you some advise about the tropics. Don't f***ing touch anything. It's the rainforest. The snakes will be happy to kill you. There are countless eyelash vipers hiding in the vegetation waiting for an excuse to take down a Gringo. Don't heedlessly put your hand on any branch you want. Jabba the Hutt®©™over here (below) will create a burning sensation on your skin that will cause even the manliest amongst us to retire from all things natural and nocturnal, all the while whimpering like a small child. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfxYY1_kF9MEt9IkYLuJKPCCFOOh9LOE_A0o0eWvxPivjpK-1Jk3xY1n6nnzn3fsjRjkbKm-nMlpc-hT9vx7tWO__qF4ZE6hhChvKFH-g2beu2nrQZOtWSTI70n19dVG4vlVHhjCutMg/s1600/IMG_8436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfxYY1_kF9MEt9IkYLuJKPCCFOOh9LOE_A0o0eWvxPivjpK-1Jk3xY1n6nnzn3fsjRjkbKm-nMlpc-hT9vx7tWO__qF4ZE6hhChvKFH-g2beu2nrQZOtWSTI70n19dVG4vlVHhjCutMg/s640/IMG_8436.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Let's be honest. I have no idea what this is. It's a poisonous moth. That's all I can tell you. No lo toquen.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IgP8ZhlNQGnLoDFw3mHSt7huATuAueqjtKTBnVSgU-Mkpcn6JHdB7rv77CGWaRG6Aqfp4gSMF2zmnwjplPIhkTEDLZTrTO63gjFtiZ4JDGxA2Y-toZKNv_AETW8_xumINBRjeyIbve0/s1600/IMG_8371.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IgP8ZhlNQGnLoDFw3mHSt7huATuAueqjtKTBnVSgU-Mkpcn6JHdB7rv77CGWaRG6Aqfp4gSMF2zmnwjplPIhkTEDLZTrTO63gjFtiZ4JDGxA2Y-toZKNv_AETW8_xumINBRjeyIbve0/s640/IMG_8371.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Boas are non-venemous but their mouths are filthy places filled with flesh-eating bacteria. Don't touch that unless you are trained in the arts of snake grabbing or are a reckless gringo like me.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4BuTR4xeLhkhGmrl50wdNo4KS2vBQ2vhFjN8vaynGwKQbz-uzcMjx5ZMRQcUZm38doc8rIdjrNTZGDkRHhcMeHT338SdXLfbUf9zxiY7xvXDKJs1qCIjBlEmmgDZNy8YpIIkQ6IuGAY/s1600/IMG_8383.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4BuTR4xeLhkhGmrl50wdNo4KS2vBQ2vhFjN8vaynGwKQbz-uzcMjx5ZMRQcUZm38doc8rIdjrNTZGDkRHhcMeHT338SdXLfbUf9zxiY7xvXDKJs1qCIjBlEmmgDZNy8YpIIkQ6IuGAY/s640/IMG_8383.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Don't go touching frogs all willy-nilly. Are you a tourist gringo or a naturalist? It is okay to touch a frog if you do not have bug repellent on your hands. If you have repellent or residuals from a venemous frog on your hand it's best not to even look at a frog, but if you must touch (I can rarely resist the urge myself), then "wash" your hands with some moist rainforest soil. Oh, but there are parasites in that too, one species of which finds its home under your fingernails! Gross.</i></td></tr>
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What I'm trying to say is, no toquen nada. Don't touch anything. Stinging plants, venomous animals, and friendly parasites are lurking behind every corner. Having said that. You're in the rainforest. Have a blast. I will end with this mediocre to slightly better than average photo of a Mangrove Swallow in pre-basic molt, ridding itself of disgusting formative plumage. I feel like a real jerk for not doing bird things for a while, so here is a common bird for good measure. Okay it is a pretty good photo...<br />
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Hasta luego folks,<br />
Luke</div>
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Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-2886471640782138932013-07-27T22:29:00.002-04:002013-07-27T22:29:24.409-04:00Frogs and Opossums<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
By Luke Musher</div>
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Quick break from birds. I have been going out at night looking for frogs, snakes, and mammals (heard a Black-and-white Owl, but haven't seen any), and have been getting some cool photos, and seeing some fun, bizarre and really awesome wildlife. Thanks to my friend David Segura (http://spadebill.blogspot.com), and he's been showing me a lot. Enjoy the photos.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNTo85vHqVbxyfyt35Wp8uKQ6KC9r4hzQQYOz2ANOkWV1l3if1pEuUU8DUcYNGqtx1lDqIWepeba4DQupUxT_rdyUwPqqBuD4s8VnBc9YrSFbm5chIG0dnmbt_pieG-C6nbMh-K6KawA/s1600/IMG_7496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNTo85vHqVbxyfyt35Wp8uKQ6KC9r4hzQQYOz2ANOkWV1l3if1pEuUU8DUcYNGqtx1lDqIWepeba4DQupUxT_rdyUwPqqBuD4s8VnBc9YrSFbm5chIG0dnmbt_pieG-C6nbMh-K6KawA/s640/IMG_7496.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Red-eyed tree frog trying to blend in with my hand (above) and a leaf (below). Love the blue and orange in these guys.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hammer or Ding Frog. These tiny little amphibians are usually higher in the canopy, but we were lucky enough to see a few.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cat-eyed Snake. These guys specialize in eating frogs and small lizards.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UJEuaEF8HHvhWm-8-l4mOpXE_howLF2_-cRwZN_eIaHLxuP7huVwtwRvi6l5PYgcwF8_81tXDhi-nD9Cl37FKShhL0oPnGi0opOjEUxVSnM0MJLNidWtFBTr97vnFr-75XNwUdmDlzU/s1600/IMG_7388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UJEuaEF8HHvhWm-8-l4mOpXE_howLF2_-cRwZN_eIaHLxuP7huVwtwRvi6l5PYgcwF8_81tXDhi-nD9Cl37FKShhL0oPnGi0opOjEUxVSnM0MJLNidWtFBTr97vnFr-75XNwUdmDlzU/s640/IMG_7388.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>David spotted this amazing 2-meter boa constrictor actively hunting. </i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLlC2pJ-LlqsKg-lpvsYPEJtyMisIn5UUBg4R73Ep4dIPr9bnmM2LJlxXcpw-DRVaoj_THVl8JEOuU8tSCaVOaQhyphenhyphen8gDUNOoSuPEOfcwQwOnyHXR0hYQsTEzfBVNDYL8a4hJkhyOBpeQ/s1600/IMG_7391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLlC2pJ-LlqsKg-lpvsYPEJtyMisIn5UUBg4R73Ep4dIPr9bnmM2LJlxXcpw-DRVaoj_THVl8JEOuU8tSCaVOaQhyphenhyphen8gDUNOoSuPEOfcwQwOnyHXR0hYQsTEzfBVNDYL8a4hJkhyOBpeQ/s640/IMG_7391.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZKQiedwRB8bZ7E43OPim_CpyR-cD5dmpWqrIFxNakqECYc7YEhU48TXRcTGsA0A0NUTCUJWVoHpP1DblaDGIQ4IbVUw4VbZRjpx2i9TQCh3XjVl4UrAUdrHsxcyuWj4gwVylZJ4OGbg/s1600/IMG_7510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZKQiedwRB8bZ7E43OPim_CpyR-cD5dmpWqrIFxNakqECYc7YEhU48TXRcTGsA0A0NUTCUJWVoHpP1DblaDGIQ4IbVUw4VbZRjpx2i9TQCh3XjVl4UrAUdrHsxcyuWj4gwVylZJ4OGbg/s640/IMG_7510.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I hate spiders. No idea what this is. These are some sort of wolf spider I presume. (As I publish this, somebody tells me the spider below is called Brazilian wandering spider)</i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2vNpw8asifz5sUEzhCqziXdmGDY4rtXAvVVTzDYNsZwx7yVQKfWB4PVaRmUeV2l7fPkBYmCtnDcdau4Vmgs31I-9RdKSLDAfVkMCcYsfsCh410rSaMrMwBZA_NsNezl4FbME_RK0U7GU/s1600/IMG_7558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2vNpw8asifz5sUEzhCqziXdmGDY4rtXAvVVTzDYNsZwx7yVQKfWB4PVaRmUeV2l7fPkBYmCtnDcdau4Vmgs31I-9RdKSLDAfVkMCcYsfsCh410rSaMrMwBZA_NsNezl4FbME_RK0U7GU/s640/IMG_7558.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This katydid was in serious peril. Hanging by a single spider thread. Very strange. I took pity on him/her and set him/her free.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizWA3LYVdqGqgySYVrNEObo6xhSF_qfv0ELQrYL543KpCXxW_4cCQafNSLFOr0ixpxPjvngC0erI1e6Rs5GQWp6A_hVDEm57TUMW65nAkp-K0AIaWtK3lNpKHeMdd8wQLMDOqE2-IjSMY/s1600/IMG_7519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizWA3LYVdqGqgySYVrNEObo6xhSF_qfv0ELQrYL543KpCXxW_4cCQafNSLFOr0ixpxPjvngC0erI1e6Rs5GQWp6A_hVDEm57TUMW65nAkp-K0AIaWtK3lNpKHeMdd8wQLMDOqE2-IjSMY/s640/IMG_7519.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>We were attacked by this </i>Morpho<i> butterfly, and spent about 5 minutes trying to capture it has it endlessly flew into our headlamps. </i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aZ4zQzROJ3npPiHZVwYj9YXvUZsEnsNjbi0ORiXx7VkYZ8hvO3GNoOl6LIxx1afazpTmjBna0thtL-_upCMf_vPJraYRmJvP1r3M5AVcau1i7qB_0zl-YJbX3YVLHgdNl4ariXwNryk/s1600/IMG_7526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aZ4zQzROJ3npPiHZVwYj9YXvUZsEnsNjbi0ORiXx7VkYZ8hvO3GNoOl6LIxx1afazpTmjBna0thtL-_upCMf_vPJraYRmJvP1r3M5AVcau1i7qB_0zl-YJbX3YVLHgdNl4ariXwNryk/s640/IMG_7526.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Judging by its teeth, some sort of rodent</i> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNboJgxJNtGBLPVLO3ZsnmAY9Y_aaeTA8mr_MoVbHCN_cr9xpIMrQQnKxE5k3c3cY_1ybDksMBCiE3Wz7ZBkZ6a1rV7wvB0OPyxVO39t2NKE5Qa-5CkoEFPpZVq1jLGVlh2ipRiCuZ5yo/s1600/IMG_7542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNboJgxJNtGBLPVLO3ZsnmAY9Y_aaeTA8mr_MoVbHCN_cr9xpIMrQQnKxE5k3c3cY_1ybDksMBCiE3Wz7ZBkZ6a1rV7wvB0OPyxVO39t2NKE5Qa-5CkoEFPpZVq1jLGVlh2ipRiCuZ5yo/s640/IMG_7542.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My favorite animal ever. The most adorable in the world. Mouse opossum.</i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiJermt1g0ENPk2sGuc-UJrILcEhm-ZSIbNi6O42wfh30XifiSu-XULu9YLVBFgXsxY1T32DypG_ZOWGOVj30foBwWND4B9xB2Re_E60280h_5PKXiAw7FsvOSIMzHywl7QaLxizaNPew/s1600/IMG_7562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiJermt1g0ENPk2sGuc-UJrILcEhm-ZSIbNi6O42wfh30XifiSu-XULu9YLVBFgXsxY1T32DypG_ZOWGOVj30foBwWND4B9xB2Re_E60280h_5PKXiAw7FsvOSIMzHywl7QaLxizaNPew/s640/IMG_7562.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Another weird grasshopper thing.</i></td></tr>
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<br />Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-35805469302828894492013-07-25T18:10:00.001-04:002013-07-25T18:10:57.583-04:00Tiny Hawk in a Big World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well helloooooo.</div>
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I have been rained out for the past several days (it's the wet season), and haven't banded. I haven't been taking photos, and haven't really been doing all that much of anything. I just wanted to post these cool photos of a Tiny Hawk we caught several days ago. This <i>Accipiter </i>is even smaller than Sharp-shinned Hawk, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in rowdiness. It's a hard bird to see, and a rare bird in our nets. What a treat. Hope you enjoy these great photos by my banding partner Sara Estrada.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiny Hawk (<i>Accipiter superciliosus</i>) by Sara Estrada. Captured and banded at Cano Palma, Tortuguero, Costa Rica.</td></tr>
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LukeLuke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-77030568612391508012013-07-22T23:20:00.000-04:002013-07-22T23:21:44.342-04:00Glacier National Park; Alpine Birding<div>
Living here in NW Montana puts me within 3 hours of Glacier National Park, this past weekend I did a 3 day camping trip focusing on the birds the park has to offer, and to unsuccessfully search out a wolverine! The 1,013,527 acre park boasts over 2,000 plant species, 60 species of mammal and 260 species of birds. I focused mostly on the east side of the park, in the Many Glacier Valley as well as Logan's Pass at over 6.500 feet elevation. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hidden Lake, Glacier National Park</td></tr>
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My first morning I headed up Logan's Pass, the highest point on the park's famous Going to the Sun Road located along the Continental Divide. Here I easily picked up Gray-crowned Rosy-finches(lifer) and plenty of American Pipits. On my way back down from the Hidden Lake observation deck I was able to watch a female White-tailed Ptarmigan with her chicks feeding not far from the trail. Recent trends have shown the ptarmigan numbers at Logan's Pass dropping in recent years with the rise in temperatures and the rapid snow melt. This birds rely on the snow-line at this elevations to help remain cool during these hot days, this particular morning was ranging in the low 80's well before noon. The bird was situated just below the snow-line in a small wet spot, created a sort of airconditioning effect to tolerate the abnormal temperatures. </div>
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Heading over the divide I ended up in east end of the park in the Many Glacier Valley. Boreal Chickadees were abundant through out most of the trails I hiked, especially the crowded Iceberg Lake Trail. White-crowned Sparrows, American Pipits, Pine Siskins, and Gray-crowned Rosy-finches were present through out as well. </div>
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The Many Glacier Valley is also excellent for the mammal species of the park. Glacier NP is one of the few places left in the lower 48 states where all the native carnivores remain intact. Wolves independently returned to the park from Canada to den in the late 80s. In the late evenings the local lakes are excellent for moose viewing. I had 7 moose in one day of hiking in the area, including a cow moose with twins at Fishercap Lake. </div>
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Hopefully I can make it back to Glacier at least once more this summer, and my goal is to spend a weekend in Yellowstone this fall.</div>
Cory DeSteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13057720126212409119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-55090279543348256602013-07-18T23:00:00.001-04:002013-07-18T23:00:28.723-04:00Flocks of Furnariid Friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just returned to Heredia after 10 rather windy days in Talamancan cloud forest 2500m above sea level. I think my favorite bird that we captured since I've spoken with you last is this incredible (/incredibly bad-ass) Streak-breasted Treehunter, a member of the family, Furnariidae, which includes ovenbirds (subfamily: furnariinae), miners and leaf-tossers (Sclerurinae), and woodcreepers (Dendrocolaptinae).</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A closer (above) and even closer (below) look at this remarkable species. Too much? Sorry but it's awesome.</i></td></tr>
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I know that I keep saying what families I like and don't like, but I have to say that this morphologically and behaviorally diverse family, Furnariidae, is another one of my favorites. With 293 currently recognized species, it is an amazing group to study from the perspectives of evolution, biodiversity, and ecology. It is not uncommon to be watching 5 or more (in some cases many more) species of these often audacious birds in one mixed feeding flock moving through tropical rainforest. Granted in the Costa Rican highlands 5 species at once <i>is</i> somewhat uncommon, but I did commonly see a few including Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, Ruddy Treerunner, Red-faced Spinetail, and Buffy Tuftedcheek. Such diversity of species can be noted simply by pointing out that the family is well-represented in just about every habitat type in the Neotropics from the hot, dry Atacama desert to <i>Polylepis</i> forest in the high Andes, to cloud forest and Amazon rainforest.<br />
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Interestingly enough, 97% of the species-level and 100% of the genus-level diversity (currently recognized of course) is found in South America. That means that the vast majority of this giant 33 million-year-old radiation of Sub-oscine Passeriformes birds took place in South America, only spreading north into Central America after the closing of the isthmus of panama 2.5-4 mya (or one newer study indicates as early as 15mya!) <br />
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Maybe it's my lack of very much old-world exposure, but the new world is, well, <i>mejor</i>, as they say down here in the CR. Point not arguable. Don't try. Or do, I won't care.<br />
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<i>¡Tuanis mae!</i><br />
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References:<br />
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Brumfield, Robb T. <u>Inferring the Origins of Lowland Neotropical Birds</u> (2012) <i>The Auk</i>, 129(3): 367-376<br />
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Derryberry, Elizabeth P. <i>et al. </i><u>Lineage Diversification and Morphological Evolution in a Large-scale Continental Radiation: The Neotropical Ovenbirds and Woodcreepers (Aves: Furnariidae)</u> (2011) <i>Evolution</i> 65:2973-2986<br />
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<br />Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-52653985051307587112013-07-06T23:06:00.000-04:002013-07-07T14:35:39.783-04:00Night Stuff, Antbirds, and Toucans <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Why yes, I am in Costa Rica. Can't you tell by this red-eyed amphibian above? [Photo by Katia Alpizar]</i></td></tr>
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I just left Tortuguero the other day, and tomorrow am headed back up into the Talamanca highlands to Madre Selva for a nice break from the mosquitos (moscos) and sweating. Just want to leave you all with some of the highlights from my last few days there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJWrtkHIVHY9tiDi8lrF7KAayjb7GyEdWECA4jkCF7lgzVYnCNQG_3ETqHdLX-2Xd4wA9MPbBJf4_x97yTARMpPjw7iD3nPa6_vJb3wWoEi4sMHDTAIHrJ2eOWBqvFQchvQVyDVatuoU/s1600/DSCN8974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJWrtkHIVHY9tiDi8lrF7KAayjb7GyEdWECA4jkCF7lgzVYnCNQG_3ETqHdLX-2Xd4wA9MPbBJf4_x97yTARMpPjw7iD3nPa6_vJb3wWoEi4sMHDTAIHrJ2eOWBqvFQchvQVyDVatuoU/s640/DSCN8974.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This Jesus Christ lizard was not so happy with me after I snatched him off a branch while he was trying to sleep. They're called that because they turn water into wine. Or run on water. I can't remember which. [Photo by Katia Alpizar]</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSU_ki0C0Evnt6vW9D3S3sLPfYWKJB90LI7R9iXyfeC0fM8Nzg1ubpdGCHBbX9rjmCOLcZ8SyNqQMNKUePSXoXxRwebEjciMGSykjktBxuk4rWvQdwhRERqzfM4aT_EtS1OeW-82i6wvA/s1600/DSCN8975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSU_ki0C0Evnt6vW9D3S3sLPfYWKJB90LI7R9iXyfeC0fM8Nzg1ubpdGCHBbX9rjmCOLcZ8SyNqQMNKUePSXoXxRwebEjciMGSykjktBxuk4rWvQdwhRERqzfM4aT_EtS1OeW-82i6wvA/s640/DSCN8975.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Super pissed. Sorry pal. [Photo by Katia Alpizar]</i></td></tr>
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Back to the birds...<br />
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So we banded at some pretty cool places and caught some great stuff including a couple species of antbirds, 9 species of Hummingbirds, a White-whiskered Puffbird (yeah you saw that one already), and a KEEL-BILLED TOUCAN. Yes these colorful birds are common-az-ell down here, but come on, holding that bad boy was a treat to say the least. And speaking of treats, just put some fruit loops in your net next time and you're sure to catch one. Get's 'em every time. Hummingbirds included 4 species of Hermits (Long-billed, Bronzy, Stripe-throated, and Band-tailed Barbthroat), White-necked Jacobin, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Purple-crowned Woodnymph, Blue-throated Goldentail, and something that I'm missing. All of these were both seen out of the net and banded.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6_a0TAN4tg59T_zpPPjKlLEZgLe4khpYp4_az7Xb90Bpb2iwi7y8W_5QSuhuyU9-W1pB0G8dp4oPDsl86j-oD6UApNvx5QPwPai8voXwNQpN4Q6zeCGFD5SkX5PpvbOq3Uzx5-Mi9aQ/s1600/IMG_7268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6_a0TAN4tg59T_zpPPjKlLEZgLe4khpYp4_az7Xb90Bpb2iwi7y8W_5QSuhuyU9-W1pB0G8dp4oPDsl86j-oD6UApNvx5QPwPai8voXwNQpN4Q6zeCGFD5SkX5PpvbOq3Uzx5-Mi9aQ/s640/IMG_7268.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Streak-headed Woodcreeper looking like a BAMF</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7dTNIMtFpSsJ6Gn5aA3teia7yH1yWXkPpU4Y_xtj6Rx97QN78W1GMxAhobv4eZCFqimoiG5WxNGeeWvI-01BscWNQ6KWGGdLVz2qOI5tG9hjvaNL1VfrKRrhfcSEzBQpDPt1JUWMBjOE/s1600/IMG_7280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7dTNIMtFpSsJ6Gn5aA3teia7yH1yWXkPpU4Y_xtj6Rx97QN78W1GMxAhobv4eZCFqimoiG5WxNGeeWvI-01BscWNQ6KWGGdLVz2qOI5tG9hjvaNL1VfrKRrhfcSEzBQpDPt1JUWMBjOE/s640/IMG_7280.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Caught several of these – Western Slaty-Antshrike. This one is a male with a pretty obvious, and slightly unusual molt limit. Can you find it?</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEcHHuJft2v5OQiOxjUL098VQzMwd3Nfzwds5RAKsI4XkhyphenhyphenbrHyqkIN6M50MC4pxTj_gQA5-ArTkjWVwXAhBEyo5QwwQeXELe-ckr39EybcU-dKH1G3jdcS61srYzemWluq3pRsfGcVc/s1600/IMG_7283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEcHHuJft2v5OQiOxjUL098VQzMwd3Nfzwds5RAKsI4XkhyphenhyphenbrHyqkIN6M50MC4pxTj_gQA5-ArTkjWVwXAhBEyo5QwwQeXELe-ckr39EybcU-dKH1G3jdcS61srYzemWluq3pRsfGcVc/s640/IMG_7283.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>And this is the female.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdRHKM3HV7FBmpEIEzXfqcvDzhUEznqjDRCOAg9w2mXwjrLxSJuFsrVFw9Iy2N_jgY1SUUI8iw3munaNpLHzxyOuO7Ja0Eo02C62tLiRWih61uULHU9JKr9lXQ20ijECEmUnN02OFnsg/s1600/IMG_7289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdRHKM3HV7FBmpEIEzXfqcvDzhUEznqjDRCOAg9w2mXwjrLxSJuFsrVFw9Iy2N_jgY1SUUI8iw3munaNpLHzxyOuO7Ja0Eo02C62tLiRWih61uULHU9JKr9lXQ20ijECEmUnN02OFnsg/s640/IMG_7289.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>And we caught this Squirrel Cuckoo. Somebody needs a manicure....</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBicp0yVqCVgvVKB03v3a-CwQOgPBKGHPu4VokOa9_vBLH46glpMb9D94dZPE8-vW9Btdpum1bhaPstoDEbJq1iNsHn4NGSzMyHyigRoCpioJuFP8UacX4F-NzT7G2uB5ASPIeRiH2P0/s1600/IMG_7293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBicp0yVqCVgvVKB03v3a-CwQOgPBKGHPu4VokOa9_vBLH46glpMb9D94dZPE8-vW9Btdpum1bhaPstoDEbJq1iNsHn4NGSzMyHyigRoCpioJuFP8UacX4F-NzT7G2uB5ASPIeRiH2P0/s640/IMG_7293.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>NM really, just banding this Chestnut-backed Antbird </i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jISMQIxzfaIKmE-Y1vhwUPN1fiUK7w7CZCithML6_hF1rFrtro1uToOU2ORpgO87wZgS6NLQ0QhYPk56_fBXhawvykwFNCA86_BFpeHIhqJO30N9u1TauGTcbMFQ3UxTTH3HCwpaJHk/s1600/DSCN9010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jISMQIxzfaIKmE-Y1vhwUPN1fiUK7w7CZCithML6_hF1rFrtro1uToOU2ORpgO87wZgS6NLQ0QhYPk56_fBXhawvykwFNCA86_BFpeHIhqJO30N9u1TauGTcbMFQ3UxTTH3HCwpaJHk/s640/DSCN9010.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Here is Sam "smiling" for the camera. We take one picture of him in his lifetime, the least he could do is emote for us.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGI5CI5MYsxW7BNzRcToMHOhkhPZsqqnBVbv-ylmpHkLhQ5NuBhu8TKblNL5J63B6gTWwWqs7MP11B9srbOEv6AkLIe1kLKpy5D6TEuJeilW81TwhZn5Aq02vy5LCz7sPT4b0w5V7JosM/s1600/DSCN9015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGI5CI5MYsxW7BNzRcToMHOhkhPZsqqnBVbv-ylmpHkLhQ5NuBhu8TKblNL5J63B6gTWwWqs7MP11B9srbOEv6AkLIe1kLKpy5D6TEuJeilW81TwhZn5Aq02vy5LCz7sPT4b0w5V7JosM/s640/DSCN9015.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yes, Sam is bigger than Katia's head. Wow. He also bites like you wouldn't believe. Angry as sh*t.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZ-aw6lcaX6X3GQ6JeaSxO5pLS1sD0nqeBQEVKGLd0CsHuaDMJPsQy-k-KuWDtm9q4qptA4OfkNJytAQ_ATb6PK6vzM8cq05v-uBlDr6J10MQg1VtyZDjzKhqYPXQHhQ2J9na0rzJTao/s1600/DSCN8865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZ-aw6lcaX6X3GQ6JeaSxO5pLS1sD0nqeBQEVKGLd0CsHuaDMJPsQy-k-KuWDtm9q4qptA4OfkNJytAQ_ATb6PK6vzM8cq05v-uBlDr6J10MQg1VtyZDjzKhqYPXQHhQ2J9na0rzJTao/s640/DSCN8865.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Speaking of angry, if you've ever pulled a bat from a mist net, you know that they are probably the angriest animals on the planet. They will literally do anything to get a chance to bite you. Luckily I employed the oldest trick in the book. Come from behind. I don't know what it is (help anyone?) but my friend Chris Heckel (no relation to the founder of ecology, and great 19th century evolutionary biologist Ernst Haeckel) that it is in the leaf-nosed bat family to </i><i>which vampire bats belong. [Photo by Katia Alpizar]</i></td></tr>
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Thanks for listening,<br />
<div>
<3 Luke</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-58332896283118856992013-07-04T22:49:00.000-04:002013-07-04T22:52:44.945-04:00Guys, It's a Puffbird<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vgIPHfepmBNC2stk1huEXcyoA8noeUD5afY3-gVeG8AydnHwJBXlNKpyskQ_SfpAgStResf-Bhx2Kk1q5Nx0wPflpg4pxZ1oI-1rILnqDUTWJ2pXRWjGaKmR72HCqmMqYc13TzCcprQ/s1600/photo+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vgIPHfepmBNC2stk1huEXcyoA8noeUD5afY3-gVeG8AydnHwJBXlNKpyskQ_SfpAgStResf-Bhx2Kk1q5Nx0wPflpg4pxZ1oI-1rILnqDUTWJ2pXRWjGaKmR72HCqmMqYc13TzCcprQ/s640/photo+%25283%2529.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
OK! Wow. How embarrassing. Two people responded to that photo quiz, and one of them is a writer on this blog. Is it more embarrassing for me for not sparking the interest of enough neotropical bird nerds, or is it more embarrassing for you for not knowing how to use a field guide (Boom)? I'll never admit defeat, but just know this, <i>America</i>, Seagull Steve got it right. It's a Whiskey Whiskey Papa Uniform, or in non-military 4-letter code a WWPU, or in standard English<b> </b>a <b>White-whiskered Puffbird</b>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQnE_E-SbnZxAgm9_5SxtPu99MWymqM-kdTxWbIF4WBvnfj_htnoYkUJvWYwGMfqbwCP14v53XesFiV0UR64G_HZBHsgx6ksurKSpoQsnnpMrosMZVA5tADm48vNd5TGnXP_js044Q-Q/s1600/DSCN8908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQnE_E-SbnZxAgm9_5SxtPu99MWymqM-kdTxWbIF4WBvnfj_htnoYkUJvWYwGMfqbwCP14v53XesFiV0UR64G_HZBHsgx6ksurKSpoQsnnpMrosMZVA5tADm48vNd5TGnXP_js044Q-Q/s640/DSCN8908.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A more birder-friendly, though certainly less mind-boggling, angle of White-whiskered Puffbird. [Photo by Katia Alpizar]</i></td></tr>
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I FUGGING love this family of birds (<i>Bucconidae</i>). By far the one of the coolest avian families on the planet, and that's not an opinion, nor is it up for debate. I take my bird families very seriously and the the two best competitors in no particular order are Tyrannidae (New World/Tyrant Flycatchers) and Trochillidae (Hummingbirds). Maybe it's my affinidae I mean affinity for the neotropics that makes me choose these three, but their epicness will not be disputed; not on my watch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SxHU0wEEjLEFg4DzsPyuo3CgTEZ14rnMwEsqNKb44nkwoIqes3gm92ql-_GXu_u2b1C5fUIZzv0BvFURvsLSulBCe6CdaNCIfdPFq6wQJ94sM-7nih8nkwSJ-_z5Tv-AyceqKMqUirg/s1600/IMG_6987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SxHU0wEEjLEFg4DzsPyuo3CgTEZ14rnMwEsqNKb44nkwoIqes3gm92ql-_GXu_u2b1C5fUIZzv0BvFURvsLSulBCe6CdaNCIfdPFq6wQJ94sM-7nih8nkwSJ-_z5Tv-AyceqKMqUirg/s640/IMG_6987.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Another member of the family, a Swallow-winged</i><i> Puffbird in Caxias, Brazil.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGGpiJYSoF-SafLzLu-29fPbvN2ErdDzbVqIK3bl-19PLdO4n2bbjNm8ucRGfMh-zc3h0uQlvllOPI5Y_5eP9x24DD1lYBjQC_mzs84cVLFZ3DY_7K2UHO1GvGbVlRwHpLUrqY8lk244/s1600/IMG_0604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGGpiJYSoF-SafLzLu-29fPbvN2ErdDzbVqIK3bl-19PLdO4n2bbjNm8ucRGfMh-zc3h0uQlvllOPI5Y_5eP9x24DD1lYBjQC_mzs84cVLFZ3DY_7K2UHO1GvGbVlRwHpLUrqY8lk244/s640/IMG_0604.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Two specimens of the other top bird families Tyrannidae: Black-capped Flycatcher (above) and Trochillidae: Green-fronted Lancebill (below). </i></td></tr>
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As a side note, Cory Ritter of BoomCha "fame" had an interesting name for the quiz bird, <b>Ivory-bristled Fluffball</b>. Either he knew the bird's true identity and decided to use synonyms as some sort of sick, twisted, midwestern-style joke (people from Wisconsin shouldn't be trusted and there jokes not tolerated), or he happened to name the bird very similarly to how taxonomists did in the past. Either way, I prefer his name. Say it with me, <i>Ivory-bristled Fluffball. </i>Very good...<br />
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Happy Independence Day. I'm feeling pretty free today. There's free healthcare down here in Costa Rica for example.<br />
<br />
LukeLuke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-80048020237037054582013-07-01T19:08:00.000-04:002013-07-01T19:37:42.992-04:00A Neotropical Quiz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXveZSrpiW1ih4iCfuZpzH579QrQXe0Zz2DzrUgUuYYXARMvnvo07JmDB73HFh5aRwk4dwHF0V-blgox-1WkSERzChoO_nvZuCqFQaoPqm2AHV-70v0RQ8R408zp7WWNaGMxVa_X4mds/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXveZSrpiW1ih4iCfuZpzH579QrQXe0Zz2DzrUgUuYYXARMvnvo07JmDB73HFh5aRwk4dwHF0V-blgox-1WkSERzChoO_nvZuCqFQaoPqm2AHV-70v0RQ8R408zp7WWNaGMxVa_X4mds/s640/photo+(3).JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
Here is a bird we all know and love. Well, maybe that's a stretch. If you don't know it, you probably can't love it. If you don't love it, chances are you don't know it. If you know it and don't love it, you can go away. You are pretty much the worst, and also you are an <u>actual</u> crazy person.<br />
<br />
Tell me what it is. Hint: it's name is what it looks like, and if you have a field guide to just about any Central (or south?) American country you should have no problem. If you made up a name for it, chances are you'd probably be at least close to correct. If you have no idea, then make up a name and if it's funny I will laugh, and maybe even let you know that I laughed. Post your answers as comments right here.<br />
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Gracias,<br />
Luke<br />
<br />Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-77496340043976460712013-06-27T20:20:00.000-04:002013-06-27T20:21:36.156-04:00News-ish from California on our SEFI RecordsNot really sure how late I am to the scene here but my friend Jim Tietz just informed me that our Little Bunting sight record from last fall on Southeast Farallon Island, a bird we got no photos of, but was definitely a Little Bunting passed the California Bird Records Committee in the first round! This was very unexpected because many if not most bird records committees are wary to accept a record of a review species without some sort of photo of audio documentation. Here are some excerpts from Jim's <a href="http://www.californiabirds.org/cbrc_book/update.pdf" target="_blank">"Update to <i>Rare Birds of California</i>"</a> of the birds we had that were reviewed (by the way I saw all of them!)<br />
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<br />Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7412050943408556613.post-70711179915211467622013-06-25T21:36:00.000-04:002013-06-25T21:36:40.053-04:00Almost Paradise: TortugueroBy Lukas Musher<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YOa-um8s22bFwK-lilbnHbLo_C8oaPSlX5wriifKE5FdU8Em1G0Aw8u45GFBO8t_pWwaq3CSJ5Yef2fZzQVGs8bhVyPrejKvT5uQgZ2Gf7htGPJD5m7hsuA6r-LPaI6TvpGhw9-5haY/s1600/IMG_7186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YOa-um8s22bFwK-lilbnHbLo_C8oaPSlX5wriifKE5FdU8Em1G0Aw8u45GFBO8t_pWwaq3CSJ5Yef2fZzQVGs8bhVyPrejKvT5uQgZ2Gf7htGPJD5m7hsuA6r-LPaI6TvpGhw9-5haY/s640/IMG_7186.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>American Pygmy Kingfisher, Tortuga Lodge, Tortuguero, Costa Rica</i></td></tr>
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This morning while checking nets at one of our sights in primary forest in Tortuguero, it hit me, this is pretty much as close to paradise as you can get. It began to rain lightly, and the duetting roars of both thunder and howler monkeys echoed around me. The nets were mostly empty except for an American Pygmy Kingfisher and a White-breasted Wood-Wren. While extracting the kingfisher, I tried not to flinch as the tiny pricks of mosquitoes drawing blood plagued my hands and face. As they gorged and I fiddled with the bird trying to figure out the secret to its removal, my mind went blank as I finally couldn't take the agitation any longer, letting go of the bird with one hand to slap the mosquitoes from my cheeks and neck. My hand returned to the bird, now with bright red stains and minuscule black lines that once were legs. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTiF4SE4xC1aTPF82PZb8WwcNgXJSMN1vH4tJ8iL7WFxO9KNVWOvBnFjCoGsvR6NuDcRb_2mHYyy_8QBrgqYi35C2s77E8KZd9RRU0dMhx9_nwNG1Sh8dgkqiqVId-pjkxrM8LZMvZqY/s1600/IMG_7195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTiF4SE4xC1aTPF82PZb8WwcNgXJSMN1vH4tJ8iL7WFxO9KNVWOvBnFjCoGsvR6NuDcRb_2mHYyy_8QBrgqYi35C2s77E8KZd9RRU0dMhx9_nwNG1Sh8dgkqiqVId-pjkxrM8LZMvZqY/s640/IMG_7195.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Tortuga Lodge, Tortuguero, Costa Rica</i></td></tr>
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No, it wasn't perfect, or comfortable, or luxurious by any means, but there is something about this crazy place that has held a particularly special place in my heart (and in my brain; I find the tropics fascinating) since I first visited the tropical rainforest as a young teenager. Droplets of sweat, like condensation on a cold bottle of water, littered my forehead and upper lip. I breathed slowly, trying to block out the dizziness and slight headache from dehydration. I know it sounds horrible, but it truly is an amazing place. <br />
<br />
Purple-throated Fruitcrows began calling above me. The female flew over and paused to stare with nesting material in her mouth – a life bird. Somewhere not too far away a Laughing Falcon began calling, <i>guaco guaco guaco</i>, over and over. Tiny poison dart frogs, bright red with blue hind legs (called bluejeans frogs) jolted spasmodically over the leaf-covered forest floor. Finally the bird was out. I put it in one of our cloth bags and tied the draw string, then returned to the banding station.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sDIkGq92TZDLulrpyMdNCSqfj0NKUMNso0hk79hZzcNR9Z76Y3r6NF4MZp_Co1T1WZ0G_sP8niIMrcm9NbEhDTKVAi2xbLimim2MpY25FdRwmOq9uBAvOwwJ-QFphFgCJZS1lrUygTQ/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sDIkGq92TZDLulrpyMdNCSqfj0NKUMNso0hk79hZzcNR9Z76Y3r6NF4MZp_Co1T1WZ0G_sP8niIMrcm9NbEhDTKVAi2xbLimim2MpY25FdRwmOq9uBAvOwwJ-QFphFgCJZS1lrUygTQ/s640/photo.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Female Purple-crowned Woodnymph, Tortuguero National Park, Tortuguero, Costa Rica (iPhone photo)</i></td></tr>
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Since I got to Tortuguero 5 days ago I've seen and done a lot. Although it rains a lot, and I haven't been able to get too many photos, we've caught all kinds of interesting species, and seen some cool birds. Gartered and Slaty-tailed Trogons, Keel-billed and Black-mandabled Toucans, Mealy and Red-lored Parrots, Black-cowled Oriole, and lots of other species have been seen regularly. On the boat ride here we saw an adult and juvenal King Vulture.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdWo8kgK1B2nCu0O3UDEW9ZFQXQdoBqGS5nkyFKfIXI41cqK5biz2PfQQkxv47lVg2zdXCLLVVCuDuE0_VCXegJaN_m_dhpaukbf8b7yFpP2dBfD-lad3zPej14GhbGYhdaq0bTbJXJU/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdWo8kgK1B2nCu0O3UDEW9ZFQXQdoBqGS5nkyFKfIXI41cqK5biz2PfQQkxv47lVg2zdXCLLVVCuDuE0_VCXegJaN_m_dhpaukbf8b7yFpP2dBfD-lad3zPej14GhbGYhdaq0bTbJXJU/s640/photo+(1).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grayish Saltator with an interesting molt limit in the remiges (flight feathers of the wing). Notice primaries 1-3 and secondaries 1-3 are retained. This bird is a member of the family, </i>Cardinalidae<i>, related to grosbeaks and cardinals. Not sure why it would show eccentric molt like this. The other wing showed molt in primaries 1-3 and secondaries 2-4. The tropics are crazy.</i></td></tr>
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Banding has been slow, and we've had some trouble opening nets due to rain, but the birds we catch are quite special and interesting. Hummingbird captures have included Blue-throated Goldentail, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Bronzy, Stripe-throated, and Long-billed Hermits. White-capped Manakins are our most common species and well-studied by CRBO biologists. Other cool captures here have included Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Great Kiskadee, Common Tody-Flycatcher, Grayish Saltator, among others. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnXO2T-eOE-MHW2lN2ghsTPJNxeHe86Nf2zEy5JAaYDzT2T6RAcJIEVNDDMmdSsxpsOvak2rs2yrP9gHTFfJJRTsYCPUU6-CkgNOJUWxxYJmnktuTHftmOIo7WsQPyyfaN7ZXDoHASVg8/s1600/IMG_0757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnXO2T-eOE-MHW2lN2ghsTPJNxeHe86Nf2zEy5JAaYDzT2T6RAcJIEVNDDMmdSsxpsOvak2rs2yrP9gHTFfJJRTsYCPUU6-CkgNOJUWxxYJmnktuTHftmOIo7WsQPyyfaN7ZXDoHASVg8/s640/IMG_0757.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Juvenal Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Caribbean Conservation Corporation, Tortuguero, Costa Rica</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mjArNoV7PZMcrEEV9a-_vhFgrzp_tK-Q_GETg92eaq1ZXl2T-Yu4jhgSxFFpRRjMyGFp0p8ric5sNsK9FAp5HAArrl7pk51BoTXqNwtcuqbpc3NTeTaWbL_-C7tTm1uysnLtjDcPI6w/s1600/IMG_0872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mjArNoV7PZMcrEEV9a-_vhFgrzp_tK-Q_GETg92eaq1ZXl2T-Yu4jhgSxFFpRRjMyGFp0p8ric5sNsK9FAp5HAArrl7pk51BoTXqNwtcuqbpc3NTeTaWbL_-C7tTm1uysnLtjDcPI6w/s640/IMG_0872.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pale-vented Pigeon, Caribbean Conservation Corporation, Tortuguero, Costa Rica</i></td></tr>
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Luke Musherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898720564387636460noreply@blogger.com0