Spring Sprung

By Cory Ritter

Whitefish has nearly gone full circle since I last posted. Dominated by wind and snow, Whitefish resembled the Hoth system more than a raptor migration hotspot. In fact, I was counting an average of fewer than ten raptors per day, and the songbirds were nearly non-existent.

Pine Grosbeak, Whitefish Point, 3/18/2013, one of the relatively few seen before a group of 57 were spotted on the 27th

Warming up a bit...

Ahh... Maximum insulation

Common Redpoll, Whitefish Point, 3/25/2013, increasing in numbers over the past 10 days

Common Redpoll, Whitefish Point, 3/25/2013

However, that all changed on Thursday and Friday. The sun was out, snow was melting, and birds were flying. It was glorious. While the season total for raptors after Wednesday sat at a modest 111, the 45 on Thursday and 50 for Friday quickly brought that up to a respectable 206. So, nearly doubling the count in two days provided some welcomed excitement. And as if that wasn't enough, Pine Siskins, Red Crossbills, Snow Buntings, American Robins, and Sandhill Cranes jumped into the mix over the past couple days.

During this push of raptors, Bald Eagle was clearly the dominant species, accounting for 68 of the 95 raptors counted Thursday and Friday. Nevertheless, there were many other highlights including a kettle of goshawks and the arrival of two new species--Red-shouldered Hawk and Turkey Vulture.

One of the many adult Bald Eagles passing by Whitefish this season, 3/26/2013

Bald Eagle staring contest...and...GO

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, 3/28/2013

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, 3/28/2013

Adult Red-tailed Hawk, Whitefish Point, 3/29/2013

Though first-spring may have been short-lived here at Whitefish, as a front is moving through this weekend. It will be bringing rain and snow, and leaving behind colder, sub-freezing temperatures. Hopefully the birds will not retreat in the face of this 'indian-winter', and hopefully spring will soon return once again.

More Winter in Whitefish

By Cory Ritter

This is the forecast for Whitefish Point from Monday night, and it hasn't let us down yet. We had about about 6 inches over Monday night and Tuesday, and there is more on the way!

One can't complain about this weather too much when at a hawk count site, because it is often associated with charismatic birds. And, this time is no exception. While we were limited to three species for the first three days of the count (Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, and Red-tailed Hawk), Monday brought the fourth.

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, MI, 3/18/2013

Northern Goshawk, Whitefish Point, MI, 3/18/2013

Out of focus, but one of the only head-on shots, 3/18/2013

Tuesday wasn't quite as nice as Monday. I awoke to a heavy snow that would deter most from trudging up to the count platform. However, I've learned from some of the best that it has to be some really bad weather to stop all of the birds. So, I headed up to the platform during the peak hours, in the heavy snow, to see what was flying.

Keeping warm and stopping the snow from jabbing me in the eye

As one would expect, there were no signs of life. It was 45 minutes before I saw my first bird--a single Common Raven. So, I stood and searched through my snow covered bins in vain.

Whup..whats that..

My fruitless efforts were no more, as a pair of Golden Eagles became visible off in the distance through the thick snow. I thought my day might just be turning around considering I just came across a new season high golden count; however, the birds we gone as quickly as they had appeared, and just then, the snow picked up. I waited in solitude for another bird to appear, but even the lone raven was nowhere to be seen. As it became near white-out conditions, I decided to head down and try my luck tomorrow.

Return to Whitefish

By Cory Ritter



This is my first post in...a really long time, and there is good reason for it. I'm back in Whitefish Point for my second season as the spring hawk counter!

The weather this year couldn't be more different from the last. I arrived to a virtually snow-less point last March with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. It was really quite the welcome to the Upper Peninsula. However, just as I had suspected, it was all part of some twisted conspiracy to influence me to come back another season. And it worked! I have come back for my second season, and this time I have been welcomed by snow, frigid temperatures, and unrelenting winds. The roughly three feet of snow on the ground (and the hawk platform walkway) must not have been enough because it has snowed an additional 8+ inches since I arrived.

The view towards the Northeast from the count platform, 3/15/2013

One of the few birds at the feeders behind the gift shop, 3/15/2013

 On the bright side, the snow cover should help light up those birds and make for some great (decent) photography. Oh, and I'll be able to put my new cross-country skis to good use!

Moving right along, the season started on Friday the 15th. I haven't been too surprised by the fact that the first two days have been quite slow. Ten raptors flew by on Friday and just six on Saturday. Bald Eagles have made up  the bulk of the count with seven on Friday and four on Saturday, but I've also seen two Red-tailed Hawks and one Golden Eagle to keep things interesting.

Probably the closest raptor of the season, this young Bald Eagle flew by on March 16, 2013

Last year, the winter finches were around by the hundreds right at the beginning of the season; however, it appears  many still have yet to make their way back through Whitefish this season, as I have only seen a flock of about twenty to twenty-five Common Redpolls and a group of roughly ten Pine Grosbeaks thus far.

Just as I was, this Common Redpoll is staying warm in the snow, 3/15/2013

It is clearly early in the season, and things will surely pick up as time goes on. I'm sure you're just as interested to see how things unfold up here at Whitefish Point after a more normal winter, so don't forget to keep checking back throughout the season!

Birding the Mangrove and Coast of Northern Brazil

Coastal Maranhao has extensive mangrove swamp, some of the most expansive in the world.  It isn't as  species rich as the rainforest, but a surprising number of species can be found there. From the ubiquitous Orange-winged Parrots (Amazona amazona), Yellow-headed Caracaras, and Scarlet Ibis to Crested Orupendulas, Rufous Crab Hawk, and many others, the mangroves were fun to bird in.  

Scarlet Ibis were gorgeous and perhaps one of the commonest species seen.  Late in the evening it was not uncommon to see hundreds flying to roost for the night.

They roost in trees in very large numbers.

Captivating to the point of distraction.  How can you find or even glance at other species when hundreds of these are flying over your head?

That color is hard to photograph though.  Most of my photos look fake!

Yellow-headed Caracaras were common as well.  Scarecely a moment passed where one wasn't seen or heard.  

In this part of Brazil they look different from the rest of the population.  There head is more white than yellow.  Apparently boating is a hobby.

The slightly less common Southern Caracara was also a pleasure to watch.  Sorry for the crap photo.

Needless to say, Great Kiskadees were just about everywhere, as common here as anywhere else in the Neotropics from South America to south Texas.

Cayenne Tern, formerly classified as a population of Sandwich Tern, was uncommon but seen regularly.

Large-billed Tern.  Another common bird.  Another crappy photo.

Beware of the evil goats on the windblown dunes of Lencois.  Frightening.

Orange-winged Parrots.  The only Amazona that we saw in the mangroves, and the only parrot we identified there.  I think we had parakeets at one point whose identity was never confirmed.

Good night.

Other cool species we saw included Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Ringed and Amazon Kingfisher, Greater Ani, Little Blue, Tricolored, Striated, Rufescent Tiger-, and Cocoi Herons, Great Black Hawk, Tropical Mockingbird, Yellow-billed Tern, Gray-hooded Gull, and of course the countless shorebirds.

~Luke

The Shorebirds of Coroa Dos Ovos

Well I'm back from Brazil, and excited to start posting again.  As I mentioned, the main purpose of my visit to northern Brazil was as part of a project run by David Mizrahi at New Jersey Audubon to band and flag Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) on their wintering grounds.  We had a very successful trip, banding 1600 birds in just 8 days of netting.

Semipalmated Sandpipers on Coroa Dos Ovos

The island we were on was called Coroa Dos Ovos, which is Portugese for Crown of the Eggs.  It is a very long sandspit that becomes an island at high tide and connects to the mainland during low tide.  There are several species of regularly occurring shorebirds here such as American Oystercatcher, Whimbrel, Willet, Greater Yellowlegs, Sanderling, Red Knot, Semipalmated, Black-bellied, Wilson's, and Collared Plovers, Short-billed Dowitcher, and of course Semipalmated Sandpiper.  Interestingly enough, all of these species (except American Oystercatcher, Wilson's Plover, and Collared Plover) can be seen feeding in the mangroves at low tide, a behavior that is very difficult for us to imagine in North America.

The tides in this area are extreme.  Low tides expose rich substrate in the mangroves, and create extensive mudflats between Coroa Dos Ovos and the mainland on which the shorebirds forage.  At high tides, birds are pushed up into the mangroves and onto the island to roost.  It was not uncommon to see Whimbrel and Willet roosting in mangrove trees (weird to those of us used to seeing them in salt marsh)!  At extreme high tides, many more birds are forced out of the mangroves to roost on Coroa Dos Ovos.

Whimbrel and Semipalmated Sandpipers roosting in the mangroves

We concentrated our efforts right around the full moon, allowing for the highest tides, and we were not disappointed.  Up to 10,000 Semipalmated Sandpipers, and hundreds of Willets, Whimbrels, Sanderling, and Black-bellied Plover, dozens of Short-billed Dowitcher and Red Knot, and several other species of shorebirds and terns were found roosting on the island.  We caught sometimes more than 300 birds in a night.

One of the Western Sandpipers we captured – an after second year (adult).  Note the dark centers to the back feathers, dark tertials, and little bit of rufous on one or two scapulars (leftover from breeding plumage).

The most exciting part about this was the number of rare shorebirds that could be found in these flocks. While scanning for flagged Semipalmated Sandpipers, I located a Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), and Tom Magarian spotted the first few Bar-tailed Godwits of which we eventually had a high count of 14!  We captured a total of 4 Western Sandpipers, and I found one long-billed individual mixed in with the semis once as well.

Curlew Sandpiper

Curlew Sandpiper

Curlew Sandpiper

Up until last year there were no records for Western Sandpiper on the Atlantic coast of South America (last year our team minus me caught two).  There are not many records for Bar-tailed Godwit for Brazil (not certain of the exact number), but last year the team had the first record for the state of Maranhão with a count of 12 individuals.  There are no published Curlew Sandpiper records for Brazil, but we just found out about a photograph of an individual from 2010.  That makes our bird the 2nd for Brazil, and the first for the state of Maranhão.

Whimbrels and 13 Bar-tailed Godwits (and a Willet that you can't really see)

And again, can you find all 13?

Here's 1-8

...and here is 5-13

And here is the 14th Bar-tailed Godwit, with Whimbrel and Gull-billed Terns (the tern in the bottom left is a Yellow-billed Tern)

~Luke

Off to Brazil

I'm off to Brazil for three weeks to band shorebirds.  I'll post photos and stories when I return.

Take care, and happy birding –

Luke

What’s Next for Academic Ornithology?

Want to know how studying microorganisms relates to studying adaptive radiation, and evolution in selected traits like color and morphology in birds like this White-winged Crossbill?  Sexual selection is well studied in a host of bird species, but the genetics of sexual selection have yet to be worked out.  Gavin Leighton has brought us yet another great piece on where ornithology may be headed in the near future.  Read on and keep an open mind (White-winged Crossbill, Provincetown, MA, December 2012).

By Gavin M. Leighton

There’s no hiding it anymore: the major academic ornithological societies, e.g. The American Ornithological Union, The Wilson Ornithological Society, The Cooper Ornithological Society, and smaller raptor groups, are facing declining membership numbers and reduced revenues.  These groups are currently in the midst of talks about forming a singular society so as to pool resources and reduce inefficiencies due to overlapping functions.  Importantly, the decline in the groups also reflects a similar, though less drastic, proportion of research biologists performing research on natural populations.  While species such as the Darwin’s Finches continue to receive much press, the fields of evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology have diversified into new groups. 

This diversification is welcome; we can test overarching biological principles in more species and some of the new work is done on species that are amenable to controlled studies in labs.  Therefore, the appropriate response of academic ornithologists is not to resent the burgeoning work on species such as Dictyostelium discoideum; rather, academic ornithologists should turn their attention to the genetic and mutational techniques that have been developed in the microbial and agricultural worlds.  The DNA sequencing technology now available to researchers is staggering; we can sequence billions of base pairs of DNA in less than a few days.  Other groups of researchers have used this data to characterize soil meta-communities, identify mutations in agricultural crops, and delimit the mutations associated with coat color in some mouse species. 

ABI Prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer – we have the technology... (Photo from Wikipedia)

Not only are these techniques providing truck-loads of data, they are also being refined by the researchers performing the techniques.  The researchers have worked out most of the kinks associated with common next-generation sequencing technology thus delivering to ornithological researchers a massive opportunity that should not, and can not, be wasted.  The reasons that first attracted researchers to studying birds are the same reasons that should be used to create a mini-rebirth in academic ornithology. 

For instance, the biological community has gravitated towards studying sexual selection in birds because of the wealth of color traits and behavioral traits that are supposedly due to sexual selection.  As referenced before, Darwin’s finches are a classic example of species radiation (as an aside, Darwin didn’t even realize the finches were all finches until he had an ornithologist friend examine the specimens), and a considerable number of bird species are studied because of their cooperative breeding behaviors. 

Until recently, serious genetic studies could only be conducted on “model” species that were both reared in labs and also had their genome sequenced and published.  Now, a host of enzymatic digestion and sequencing allow researchers to discover large swaths of the genome at a time.  And in some cases, these DNA sequences can be mapped onto the genome of a closely related species; for example, individuals working on Darwin’s finches could map sequences onto the genome of the zebra finch.

What does all this mean? First, we can begin to understand the genetic architecture that underlies the variety of bird colors we see.  We would be able to compare tanagers and Northern Cardinals to see if selection produced red feather color along similar molecular pathways.  We will be able to delimit the genes that underlie behaviors like cooperative breeding, whereby some individuals give up the opportunity to breed elsewhere and instead help raise their siblings or half-sibs. 

Is red feather pigment selected for along the same or similar molecular pathways in all species?  Is bill morphology in Red Crossbill types selected for along similar pathways as bill morphologies in Darwin's finches?  (Red Crossbill, Provincetown, MA, December 2012)

Once we define these genes that are correlated with certain morphological or behavioral traits, it won’t be long before researchers can insert mutations or new forms of a gene into wild individuals using vectors such as viruses.  Field experimentation/validation is considered the holy grail of field biologists, and in the near future ornithologists will be able to perform the studies that conclusively show that certain genes are responsible for certain traits.  Once we understand which genes control which traits, we can follow those genes over time and track evolution in real time in animal species. 

In total, the depth and breadth of our understanding of the natural world will grow exponentially.  The only necessary step is for ornithologists to catch-up with the technology that is coming online.  Regrettably, many ornithologists are only familiar with the new techniques, but hesitant to dive into the new world of next-generation sequencing.  This is disconcerting as the potential data that could be collected and analyzed on bird species would firmly entrench ornithology as a relevant and exciting field of biology.  Indeed, there is no reason why the bird traits that have drawn both researchers and the public to birds in the past, can’t be studied and understood using the new technology we have now.  Importantly, if academic ornithologists do take advantage of the opportunities presented by new sequencing technology, then we could reverse declining membership in bird societies and potentially engender a new renaissance in birding.

Gavin is a PhD candiate at the University of Miami studying cooperative behavior in Sociable Weavers.  To learn more about Gavin, see our Guest Writers page.

We at BoomCha are excited and hopeful to hear from you.  Please comment on this post with your thoughts, concerns, and opinions on Gavin's piece.