Palemaleirregulars

Culprit the Cooper's Hawk, Mourning Doves-Doorstep and Friend

2012-01-26T02:13:00.036-05:00

I looked out the window and realized there was an odd lump in the Maple tree. A lump that might well explain why there hadn't been a single bird at the feeders all day. I changed windows.

Indeed... the likely culprit. Flash! She was gone. Typical of my having seen mostly tail feathers lately. That is until a few seconds later when I looked out the patio door.

Well, well, Culprit the Cooper's Hawk is sitting on the bird bath. She'd looked straight at me earlier, I know. Could Culprit be slightly human habituated? That would be new.

Notice how her far left tail feather and also the far right are shorter then their neighbors. And the second in slightly shorter than its neighbor towards center and the feathers progress towards the center. (Except where it is slightly separated.) That's a field mark for a Cooper's as the gradation makes the rounded tail when spread that is typical of the species.

She decides to have a drink.

She's dying for one of the many sparrows inhabiting the Sparrow Pile to make a break for it.

She tenses.

Then suddenly flap jumps to another edge.

Still no sparrow is startled enough to leave their twig refuge.

She looks down fixedly.

Back to the sparrows. Still no joy.

Back down. You'd think there was something unusual down there.

Back to the sparrow pile.

It almost appears as if something is moving down there that I can't see.

See what I mean?

Now what? Is she possibly standing on the bath to warm her feet?

Whoa! She gives me a challenging look.

Does a wing flap spin...

...lands and settles...

...and gives me the back of her head no less. I don't appear to be much of a threat in her mind, do I?

Back down to the water.

Another drink.

Pause to check the neighbor's bird feeder.

Drink.

Me.

Out waiting sparrows must be very thirsty work.

She tenses.

Then back to scanning.

The branches of the maple...

The park....

And Culprit is gone!

Well not really gone as there isn't a flight by anyone for a seed meal until dusk.

And then just as the sun was going down, I looked out and saw something I hadn't seen for awhile and as Culprit has been haunting the feeders I'd begun to worry. The Mourning Dove pair, Doorstep and Friend were sitting warming themselves on the bath before roosting, watching the sunset together as they have on many a winter's evening for years.

Donegal Browne

P.S. Remember yesterday I pointed out the Cornell Lab's, All About Birds, site had said that a Ring-necked Duck had a chestnut neck ring in one paragraph and in another that it was purple?

I checked today and they've corrected it. :)

Where Are the Bald Eagles today? And Even More Mysterious, What Doesn't That Red-tailed Hawk Want Me To See? And Could That Possibly Be Mr. M?

2012-01-24T23:31:00.046-05:00

Looking for Bald Eagles?

First stop-The Riverview, a food establishment which, you guessed it, has a dynamite view of the river near the dam in Indian Ford, WI.

Open water in winter. That's the ticket.

The Riverview is a place in which the cook, the waitress, or a local patron eating the Eggs Benedict at this very small cafe, will have the latest information about where the Bald Eagles are or might be today.

What a great excuse to have a dynamite breakfast and get the latest Eagle report at the same time.

Except since I was last here in the sleet and frozen mist white out, there has been milder weather and the river is completely open. No reason for the Eagles to be hanging reasonably close to the open water of the dam so you can easily spot them.

But as Jim the cook says, "You never know what you might find."

Instead of the hundred mallards of the other day, a pair glides by giving me the eye in case I stashed my breakfast toast in my pocket.

They were right. I did.

What is that?

A diving duck not the least interested in toast for one thing.

The other thing is, I didn't know what it was but photographer Francois Portmann did. http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/

It's a Ring-necked Duck.

As I was as unfamiliar with this duck as I am with most water fowl I went googling. And one site I visited was the Cornell Lab's All About Birds website, in which I discovered a most peculiar thing. Notice anything odd about these two entries about the Ring-necked Duck below?

"The most common diving duck to be found on small ponds in migration, the Ring-necked Duck is more easily recognized by the bold white ring around its bill than the subtle purplish one around its neck."

"Both the common name and the scientific name "collaris" refer to one of the Ring-necked Duck's most inconspicuous field marks. Rarely visible in the field, the chestnut collar on the black neck is noticeable when the bird is in the hand. Such subtle characters would have been obvious to the people first describing the duck from dead specimens."

I sent them an email to help them avoid any further embarrassment unless of course the duck has two collars.

Particularly interesting as you can't see the color for yourself very well without shooting the duck or finding someone with a bird skin.

Right. So how about those Bald Eagles?

Do you see any?

I finally did find one way over there--far far away. If you look very very carefully you may see a speck of white that is the Eagle's head instead of a clump of snow on a branch.

Here she is looking down at a passing duck.

Then she just turns away and stays there until she takes to her wings.

Love those tail feathers.

No more joy at the dam but I'd heard that there had been an Eagle sighted flying over Lake Koshkonong on HWY 59 near Newville earlier in the day.

I'm off.

I'm making my way toward Newville when a Bald Eagle flies right across the highway in front of me. WHAT!!! I jerk the car over on the shoulder, grapple for my camera...

And LOOK! More tail feathers.

And guess which way she is going?

It's a couple of miles away but what's that to a Bald Eagle on a sunny winter's day? She could well be heading for the Indian Ford Dam to chat with Eagle friends. Maybe go for the fish fry at the Riverview?

Sigh.

No joy at the Newville Bridge or the Edgerton Pond or anywhere else. But just maybe I'll see a Red-tail, the raptor closest to my heart, on the way home. And if I'm careful maybe the hawk will sit there a bit so I can watch him hunt.

A few seconds ago there was a Red-tailed Hawk on that wire.

Look! I even drove over to another road in hope of not disturbing him but nope. He left the wire and is currently flying underneath it and back towards me.

Towards me?

See there he is! And he is definitely looking left which of course isn't where I am.

Why?

Eye contact with a mate?

Still looking left. Interesting. Also this is territory belonging to Mr. and Mrs. M whose nest in the oak tree in the middle of the field we watched a couple seasons back. Could this be Mr. M?

Then it's into the treeline as usual for a raptor who wishes to avoid too much notice but why choose to go this direction past me rather than up or down the road which would have put him out of my sight almost immediately?

It is interesting that though he was in the treeline he then cuts across beside me again in full view. Perhaps this is one of the Ms standard "Look At Me!" not my nest ploys?

Over the cypress..

Into the trees...

Now what?

He flies in full view so I have to turn my back completely away from the direction that he kept looking and in which there might be something to protect.

Then a curve away...

... and a curve back around to turn me even further away from his original focus point and then he's into trees and? He's completely disappeared in a blink..

Oh I do so love Red-tailed Hawks.

They don't always just show you their tail feathers and flee. They often give you something to think and wonder about for the rest of the day before they disappear.

Donegal Browne

Indian Ford Dam Bald Eagles, Bobby and Violet of Washington Square Park, Crow Bath in Freezing River, and the Belted Kingfisher

2012-01-23T00:18:00.016-05:00

A juvenile Bald Eagle bides her time watching for prey after she has just disengaged her head from out of a sleeping tuck. I can completely understand why she'd decided a nap was the better part of valor.

Last night I'd gotten word that there were seven Bald Eagles currently fishing in the open water near the Indian Forge Dam on the Rock River in Wisconsin.

I couldn't wait to go take a look.

Unfortunately the weather was completely dismal. Temps in the teens and a frozen mist coming down which brought visibility to a near white out.

Well, if the Eagles can persevere I thought, so can I. Fortunately for them they are far better suited to the weather.

Something plunges into the rushing water of the river that has just come over the dam. In a moment the plungee, a male Belted Kingfisher is back on his perch waiting to spot another fish for the next course of his lunch.

(Correction: Thanks to Francois Portmann for correcting by inadvertent male Kingfisher into its proper sex, a female. Forget that avian males have the flashy colors, in Kingfishers it is the female who has the rusty orange belt second belt. The male has the gray belt only.)

See the juvenile on the left (note that suddenly there are three Eagles on the branch) is doing the beak in the air look that we most often see from young Red-tails on the nest or from a sitting formel when something passes far overhead.

In this case a family of American Crows has decided that mobbing Eagles is their Crow responsibility of the moment.

Suddenly the cawing and fly-bys over the Eagles stops and upon closer inspection of some large black things moving on the far edge of the river it appears that perhaps the Crows are having a conference in their quieter en familia Crow language.

It went on for awhile.

Crows have one language, quiet and melodious, they are technically song birds, for use in discussions with their extended family and another, their famous caw sequences, that we hear them using when signalling long distances to each other or mobbing unwanted company.

Eventually the largest Crow watches the other members of his family stride away.

After a few plops of his bottom in the water, Crow just went ahead and upended himself in the freezing stuff and then wallowed in it.

When Crow finished his bath, he gave me a look and then everyone in the Crow contingent went back to mobbing Bald Eagles.

I'm going back come sunrise to see if the visibility is any better.

Next up-- PonDove, Washington Square Park hawkwatcher and a moderator of the NYT Livestream Hawk Cam Chat Room, contributes to a Canadian Broadcasting Company podcast about people's interactions with wild animals in cities.

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/dnto_20120121_75997.mp3

Pale Male, the Junco Startle Offense, Cardinal Takes On Everybody, and Possum Rides the NYC Subway

2012-01-20T22:30:00.020-05:00

Pale Male, the Monarch of Central Park surveys his kingdom.
Photo courtesy of palemale.com

Word from the Hawk Bench is that everything appears to be going along swimmingly for Pale Male and Ginger Lima.

In Wisconsin, winter having taken a vacation until mid January has now decided to make up for lost time.

Apparently when the snow appeared the accipiters that had had all the feeder birds in hiding, took to their wings, and the feeder birds are now back with a vengeance.

When these photographs were taken today it had already been snowing for many hours and the temperature was beginning to plummet further which could have something to do with their brazen hyper eating.

A Black-capped Chickadee who had been frequenting the sunflower seed feeder suddenly flew down, grabbed a piece of bread the size it her head, didn't get off the ground with it the first try but on the second try she power winged herself and the bread into a tree.

I've never ever seen Chickadee's eat bread. EVER. And it wasn't like there weren't sunflower seeds, their feeder staple, available. Perhaps she felt the need for a few carbs today?

I looked out at Mrs. Cardinal and she looked back at me. She's really terribly shy so felt the need to see what I was doing. But that gave an opening for the Junco to come closer. Juncos use this particular Junco leap from a standing start to startle each other and other birds too.

Now I know they're going to do it and so do the other birds but it works anyway. Their lazzi is to mosey closer and closer to another bird who has worked through the snow to a layer that holds seed beneath the snow. They do their startle jump. The working bird goes WAAAAA, and flies off. The Jumper doesn't have to do the work for the seed.

I'm beginning to believe that within a certain perimeter that birds have a kind of wired in startle response that their rational mind absolutely cannot control and which the Juncos as a species take advantage of. It is almost as if the Junco can enter a certain perimeter near another bird, Junco or other typical feeder bird, the Junco jumps, the attackee cannot stop the startle to flight response. They take off and loose what they worked for. Even though sometimes they appear to know it is coming but can't do anything about their response.

Jack Junco has gotten closer while she looked at me. She now turns straight onto him and raises her crest. He nonchalantly chews.

She looks at me again, Junco gets into position for a jump. Mrs. Cardinal can't take it and off she flees.

Mr. Cardinal is about to get company at the feeder from the sparrows.

Having finally gotten the feeder to himself Cardinal discovers all the currently accessible sunflower seeds in the mixed seed feeder are gone. He looks towards the sunflower seed feeder. It's already got customers and he goes for the numerous seeds spilled on the ground.

It is an everyday occurrence for a Goldfinch to visit a feeder but rather rare in this flock of inveterate ground feeding Juncos to find a Junco eating somewhere besides the ground.

Allowances must be made for 8 inches of new snow and temperatures plummeting to zero and below.

There is currently a flock of 17 Juncos--15 males and 3 females.

Why the lopsided count?

Because Junco males can be very aggressive towards females in winter flocks, therefore many of the females just head further south than the males go and have their own flocks in a warmer clime.

The females who have stayed to over winter with the males here don't put up with much bullying from them.

In fact one puts up with none at all and just leaps at any male trying to startle her off of the scrape she has scratched in the snow to get to buried seed.

Cardinal on the other hand is beginning to feel crowded by the Juncos below the feeder.

He lifts his crest at them. Nothing. He then flies off and comes whipping back in and lands with a great puff of snow. The juncos startle into flight and he looks downright pleased with himself.

Ah. That worked. Alone at last.

But where did I leave my feet?

And here come the sparrows...

A note from NYT Livestream Chat moderator and Washington Square Park Hawk watcher PonDove about a hawk radio interview tomorrow, the 21st, 1:30-2:00pm EST.

Dear Friends,

As most of you know, Saidhibin did a phone interview for Canadian Broadcast Company and I did one in the NYC studio. The interviewer put both interviews together. She is discussing the hawks with someone else and in between are excerpts of our interviews. It will be on from 1:30 until 2 tomorrow EST. It will also be available after tomorrow online if you miss it. I don't have the url yet but will soon. Here is how you can listen live tomorrow:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Radio

Best to all, Pon

Photo courtesy of The New York Times

And from our New York Times gleaner, W.A. Walters--
N.Y. / REGION | January 18, 2012
Seen It All on Subway? Look Under This Seat
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Last Friday - yes, it happened to be the 13th - the straphangers on a late-night D train were startled to discover that a nonhuman creature was in their midst. An opossum, to be precise.
(For more hit the link above. Eventually the possum comes up missing- follow up story link below.)
Caged? Writing a Book? The Next Stage in Life for a Subway-Riding Opossum

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Published: January 19, 2012

Case of the missing marsupial.

After it emerged that a stowaway opossum had been spotted aboard a late-night subway train last week in Brooklyn, forcing the evacuation of fellow riders and a delay on the D line lasting nearly 30 minutes, one key question remained unanswered:

What happened to the opossum?

Some officials claimed the creature had been given to a Manhattan animal care center, but the city insisted it had no record of having received it. The police said the opossum had been carried away in a cage, but no subway workers could recall such details.

(So what happened to the possum?-link below)
N.Y. / REGION | January 20, 2012
Caged? Writing a Book? The Next Stage in Life for a Subway-Riding Opossum

Donegal Browne

The Hooded Crow vs the Eurasian Crow and What Is Play for Play's Sake?

2012-01-18T22:14:00.009-05:00

Courtesy of 10,000 Birds

Look familiar?

This is the visiting bird seen on Staten Island in 2011.

New York City birder Eleanor MacDonald was the first to pop up with an ID for the snow sliding Corvid-

Dear Donegal

Anyone who has spent time in Scotland will recognize a Hooded Crow, or "Hoodie". They are more common in the North and West of Scotland and almost the only crow seen in the Outer Hebrides.

One frequently sees both the all black and the hoodie versions in the same locations in Scotland.

A hoodie was recently reported in Staten Island.

Eleanor MacDonald

Then I received an email from long time contributor Diane D'Arcy--
Hi Donna:

Thanks for the posting. The bird is a Eurasian Crow just having fun!

Happy New Year,

Diane

Dear me, I thought. Here we have the exact problem, the use of two different common names for possibly the same species...or not, that was supposedly solved by the use of "Scientific Names". A problem I expressed to Diane while scrambling madly for hours looking for unavailable answers as to the incidence of triplets in sheep.

Diane came through with another email-

Hi: Thanks for writing and here is the information I derived from the following field guides...
1) Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe, Petersen, et al and
2) Birds of Russia and Adjacent Territories, Flint, et al;

The bird is Corvus corone cornix or Corvus corone.
It can be divided into two races one solid black and one black with grey.

The bird in the English book is named the Hooded Crow and in the Russian book it is the Eurasian Crow.

Suffice it to say that looking at the range maps in both books the bird has a huge range over Western Europe and all across Russia.

Interestingly one showed up in NYC last year and Rob Jett posted photos on his blog City Birder. I am no expert but have come into a large library of bird books.

It is fun to look through them and in instances like this they are very useful. Best, Diane

And I'm glad she did. The plot thickened. Once done with the triplet sheep search I did a little sleuthing on my own on the net. And a very thick and downright messy plot over centuries it turned out to be.

Many thanks to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooded_Crow, for the following information-

Back in 1758, Linneaus, the father of scientific names and scientific classification, classed the bird in question as--

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Corvidae

Genus: Corvus

Species: C. cornix

Binomial name Corvus cornix

Then the games began. Corvus cornix as per Diane's email is a very widespread species which peskily looks somewhat different depending upon where its home range occurs.

The group in Iraq and Iran look almost white against the black from a distance.

There were heated arguments amongst naturalists and ornithologists as to whether some of these odd versions of Corvus cornix weren't other species altogether. And if there were different species how many different ones were there? And in the meantime, Corvus cornix got a new scientific name and the rows propagated. That is until not so many years ago when DNA testing became available.

Guess what? After all that Linneaus was right and the name of the species reverted back to his original binomial name Corvus cornix.

BUT... it was also decided that there were a number of subspecies which took in those pesky differences within the population. The subspecies then were renamed the their scientific names in subspecies form that the people who originally brought them to light in the scientific community gave them.

Better but let us just say that there are still some questions....

Four subspecies of the Hooded Crow are now recognised; previously all were considered subspecies of Corvus corone. A fifth, Corvus cornix sardonius (Trischitta, 1939) has been listed though it has been alternately partitioned between C. c. sharpii (most populations), C. c. cornix (Corsican population) and the Middle Eastern C. c. pallescens.

C. c. cornix, the nominate race, occurs in the British Isles (principally Scotland) and Europe, south to Corsica.
C. c. pallescens (Madarász, 1904) is found in Turkey and Egypt, and is a paler form as its name suggests.
C. c. sharpii (Oates, 1889) is named for English zoologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe. This is a paler grey form found from western Siberia through to the Caucasus region and Iran.^[7]
C. c. capellanus (P.L. Sclater, 1877) is known as the Mesopotamian Crow or Iraqi Pied Crow. This distinctive form occurs in Iraq and southwestern Iran. It has very pale grey plumage which looks almost white from a distance.^[7] It is possibly distinct enough to be considered a separate species.^[8]

SEE?

Exactly where is our bird who is doing that sliding? Siberia maybe?

She does look slightly paler than the bird seen in Staten Island. Might she be C. c. sharpii?

Enter all the variables about light on feathers, type of camera, and operator that we just went through with Bobby of WSP's new girl...

THEREFORE A PAUSE TONIGHT--FOR ROBIN OF ILLINOIS REGARDING "PLAY" IN ANIMALS A TOPIC WHICH REARED ITS HEAD IN THE NEXT POST DOWN--

I sort of always thought that animals' play was survival / skill based, as in young goats (kids) bouncing around like ping-pong balls to increase their agility for rock climbing, and Ice Man and Rocky head-butting, but for the life of me, I can't think what skill is being developed or affirmed in a Corvid who has developed snow-boarding skills? Maybe there is just play for the sake of play?

Robin, perhaps there is as we see it. And perhaps there is a lesson in this. You're right, typically we think of young "playing" animals developing physical skills as above or stealth skills- as in kittens hiding and jumping out at each other.

Corvids have a brain capable of coming up with solutions to obstacles when it comes to food at least, right? For example, the jay that bent the metal wire in the form of a hook to retrieve the food. She's capable of figuring out how to get around three differing obstacles, three steps to get the food. She keeps her eye on the prize. She has focus.

Corvid play like human play might well include the more advanced honing of problem solving skills. Why do humans love puzzles of many kinds? We like jigsaw puzzles. We like mystery novels. Do we enjoy them because they are building pathways in our brain-- which they do. Or do we enjoy them because they are "fun"?

Is the feeling of "fun" our body's "reward" for doing things that will stand us in good stead for survival later? Those of use that feel the joy of fun do those activities that give it to us. And let's posit that those activities might help us survive later.

Those of a species that don't do the activities because they have no "feeling of fun" doing them, don't. Therefore not gaining a possible survival advantage which might lead to a demise before reproducing? Was the sliding crow not testing perhaps what she could do to improve "the fun"? Problem solving?

For instance, the pecking up of the lid to make the lid slide when it didn't immediately go when she got on? Had she already realized the importance of steep slope as she brought the lid up on the roof but perhaps not the importance of a particular amount of snow cover on a steep slope? After all the snow stopped her lower down where it was deeper.

Once one solution has worked in a situation, does it cross over to others?

Crows have a reputation for problem solving as do parrots. Some parrots are absolute wizards at escaping parrot cages which often have a sequence of manipulations necessary to get the door open. Sometimes in such cases they do manage the door or go for another cage weak spot such as lifting the bottom grate, then tipping the catch drawer to escape through the gap. Some parrots even put everything back in place after going back into the cage so unless caught in the act the humans are mystified as to who in the world opened the sugar canister and dumped the contents into the floor.

How does honing mental skills fit with the crows watching each other ride pigs? I suppose that had something to do with problem solving but not so one could notice. The pigs were crowded and broad backed. The crows hopped on while watching each other, in a similar manner, and the pigs didn't react noticeably. Perhaps they would have if the crow wasn't delicate in landing? Or was it all on a dare?

Bet you won't ride the pig! I'm wondering if bragging rights aren't as important to crows as they are to humans. Is there a built in urge to one up one's fellows in crows? One upping ones fellow crows would go with outsmarting them in food stashing.

Cleverness in tricking others so they don't find one's own stashes but seeing what they do with theirs and stealing them would mean more food for the "one upper" and therefore increased survival possibilities. When we think about it, exactly "what is play for the sake of play" anyway? Definition anyone?

AND MORE FROM ROBIN ON THE BLACKWATER EAGLE'S NEST "01/18/12: Our parents have really been hiding the eggs -- even putting grass on them -- so it's been hard to rule out a third egg. We'll post a clear photo of the eggs once we get one."

http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html

A Detour to Triplet Sheep Plus Play Behavior: Cleatus the Duck, Rocky the Goat and Ice Man the Ram

2012-01-16T00:12:00.014-05:00

The reason we're suddenly talking sheep is Ida Mae's fault. Well she and her triplets.

Not to worry we'll be back to Bobby's new girl, and the sledding Corvid tomorrow, as while I've been doing sheep, blog readers and contributors Eleanor MacDonald and Diane D'arcy have been on the job and on our current topic. I roped Robin of Illinois into helping with sheep. Many thanks Robin!

But back to Ida Mae. I got a call that Ida Mae had done a rare thing for an animal with only two teats. She'd had triplets. So I figured I'd run over, take a few pictures of the triplets for the newspaper and get back on the real job of the day- Red-tails and the Corvid who Sleds.

When I took the sheep pix in, the publisher decided I should write a story about Ida Mae and the triplets, so late in the day Monday I was suddenly doing a crash course on sheep.

I learned many fascinating things. Not all of them useful.

Courtesy of Sheep 201-A Beginner's Guide to Raising Sheep

Like the fact that some breeds of sheep have wooly scrotums.

Who knew?

But having my mind on "play" in different species due to the sledding Corvid it also gave me time to process some of the "play" I observed amongst the animals shut in the sheep shed due to the first heavy snow.

Meet Cleatus the Duck.

Cleatus and the Cat watch the ram and the goat play.

Then Cleatus puts his head down and jumps at the cat. The cat runs and Cleatus chases her. Big fun.

I wondered why Cleatus wasn't hassling the Cat like a normal duck, i.e. Cleatus would jump at the cat with his neck stretched and bill out. The cat would run. Then eventually the cat would hide and jump out at Cleatus later. A common form of interspecies fun.

Here are the two playing animals that Cleatus and Cat were watching.

The rump on the left belongs to Ice Man a young Dorset ram. On the right is his pen mate, Rocky the young goat.

Notice that Ice Man has now braced his back legs. Rocky has gone to the far side of the pen and is leaping toward the ram. The reason Ice Man is bracing forward is because Rocky is going to leap over to Ice Man, put his head down, and the two ruminants will butt heads with a resounding crash. Then they'll do it again.

I wondered if this "play" may have, with the youthful rush of all that testosterone, gotten a little out of hand and perhaps Ice Man, even though larger, wasn't having as much fun as Rocky was and perhaps was just defending himself. Not the case it seems because one day the family heard Ice Man bawling his head off. Somebody went to check on him and found that the reason he was bawling was because Rocky had escaped from the pen and Ice Man wanted him to come back.

Could all this jumping and head down butting between the goat and sheep have affected how the duck plays with the cat?

It seems unlikely but then why isn't the duck acting like a duck?

So many questions and so few answers.

A Wild Hooded Crow "talks" Back... he keeps responding anyway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=milHiN94luM

THE BLACKWATER EAGLES HAVE A SECOND EGG FROM ROBIN OF ILLINOIS!
http://www.facebook.com/FOBNWR

http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html

Donegal Browne

A Corvid Takes Up Sledding, Plus "Take a Gander" and "Craning"

2012-01-14T23:22:00.010-05:00

For those who may not have heard, January 9th was National Crossing Guard Appreciation Day. Well the local paper had sent me out to take some photos of Crossing Guards doing their job over at the elementary school. While I was waiting for said Crossing Guards to have some children in which to do their job with, I noted a group of crows which had been foraging in the school lawn.

By some unknown signal unheard by me, perhaps the closing bell of the day, the Crows took to a tree across the street. Then proceeded in a trickster kind of way, no physical attacks you understand, to attempt to steal each others stashes of food. It was all rather playful in a Crow kind of way.

For Crows are very clever if you pay attention to what they are doing.

I told you all that, to introduce a rather spectacular piece of of bird behavior in the video below. And the bird in question from the look and behavior might well be in the family Corvidae.

Corvidae includes Jays, Crows, and Ravens.

SO JUST IN FROM SALLY OF KENTUCKY --

BEHAVIOR IN THE "IT'S JUST GOTTA BE A CORVID" CATEGORY
(Any one familiar enough with the Old World Corvids to know the species of the video bird?)

In my opinion, yes the bird in the video is definitely indulging in a "play" behavior. Corvid is not pecking at the bottle cap in order to "eat It" as some have suggested. I believe that Corvid is pecking under the bottle cap in order to get the "sled" moving again.

Corvids are notorious for various kinds of "fun" behaviors. I watched a piece of film (Perhaps on NATURE?) in which numerous Crows were perched on the fence of a hog pen. They took turns riding the pigs. One rode while the others watched. Then she got off and another bird got on a pig. Rather like a Corvid Rodeo.

Definitely take a gander at the video.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/01/12/145131708/video-could-it-be-a-snowboarding-bird?ft=1&f=1001

Bird Vocabulary Alert- Above I used the phrase, "take a gander". Why is gander used for a male goose and also for a certain kind of look?

I don't have a OED to hand but doing a Google search brought several citations claiming that the phrase "take a gander" was first used in print in 1887. While gander for a male goose came much earlier, perhaps around 1100 or so.

Why did the noun gander become a verb for a look?

Perhaps because an adult male in a gaggle of geese is the group sentinel and if you've ever gotten a bit too close to a group of geese the sentinel will first give you a penetrating look and then likely will crane his neck (oh no, there is yet another bird vocabulary word- to stretch one's neck at an angle ) in order to get a better view of you-- the INTRUDER.

Do be advised that a human habituated goose will take you on in a New York minute and they can give you quite painful pinches with their bill plus they will whomp your soundly and repeatedly with those big wings while hissing. You heard me. They really do HISS.

But then you were rude for intruding now weren't you? Corvids may be clever but it seems Canadian Geese for instance, are sticklers in the civility department.

(As Linda Maslin's comment points out, oh so correctly, it is Canada Geese. Thanks for the correction!)

Donegal Browne

FLASH--FAA vs Whooping Cranes Update

2012-01-11T02:35:00.002-05:00

From Robin of Ilinois--

Hip Hip HOORAY!!!!!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/faa-waives-rules-says-paid-pilots-can-guide-whooping-cranes-to-florida-using-bird-like-plane/2012/01/09/gIQA7IYHmP_story.html?tid=pm_pop

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