HAPPY NEW YEAR AND REMEMBER TO LOOK AT THE LITTLE THINGS

Now Carol for all intents and purposes has her back turned toward me but I can still see the gleam of her left eye. Which means she can still see me. It's a little thing but awfully important to a bird to have wonderful peripheral vision.

Look at Carol on the right. Crows tend to have expressions of clever intelligence but Carol's look, I assume due to her fluffed feathers in this photograph, looks quite sweet.

Look at male House Sparrow's extremely sharp little toenails. If he were hawk sized we'd be tempted to call them talons.

In winter, the House Sparrows not infrequently seat themselves in a female section and a male section.

I particularly like this little thing. Look carefully at Junco's mouth. I thought at first that the little point midway between the two sections of his beak was the point on a seed but after scrutinizing it, that's the tip of Junco's little pink tongue.

House Finches always look sleep deprived. See the bags under this guy's eyes? I suspect that the "bags" are more apparent because they've few feathers around their eyes in the bag area.

And here's a little opening in the fence row. Where does it go? Why is it there? If one pays attention there are a million possible adventures waiting to happen.

Donegal Browne


P.S. Lola has yet to be sighted again.

P.P.S. My daughter Sam just called, yes, at 3:30 in the morning and told me I had to see the Transformer Owl on YouTube. Well folks, I think you have to see it too. And no it isn't a little thing, well the owl isn't huge, but the transformation is! Go for it. Here's the link-- (You may have to copy and paste. Lately the links just don't turn into links on the blog for some reason.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJrupqPqKYo

THE BIG SNOW and WHERE ARE ALL THE BIRDS?

The day before the big snow, I was keeping three dogs for friends who were out of town. I'd been distracted by the dogs so when I looked out and saw dozens of birds sitting on the wires in the back of the yard, staring at the back door, and waiting, even though it had gotten late for the afternoon seed I dropped everything and got it out there. The Big Snow was coming and they and I both knew they were going to need their meal before roosting.

Guilty, I put out a double helping.

And then it came, and came and came. The wind began to blow with vigor and the temperature plummeted to below zero.

The next day, I waited for the rush to the feeders but no one came, that I saw anyway. Was it the dogs? Needless to say the dogs didn't spend any longer than absolutely necessary outside and being of the very short legged variety they didn't do much running around even when they were out there. The snow was so deep they rather floundered around in it very briefly and then galumphed back inside. But still, no birds. No Doorstep Dove and Friend either I began taking the dogs out the front door, just in case they were an issue.

I stood staring out the backdoor. Where were they? Then whoosh, the Cooper's Hawk sailed across the yard and went that-a-way into the trees above.

Was she still out there somewhere? There was nobody in sight but the snow woman and her child staring into icy infinity.

Looking around, I realized the strange clunk I'd heard during the storm was the cracking of a limb off the Maple that thankfully it didn't make a direct hit on the roof with the stout section.

Where were the birds?

Ah, the sparrows were emerging from their snow covered stick pile. The Coop must be gone.

Silver watched as some juncos arrived.

And then there she was, Doorstep Dove, accompanied by Friend, peering in the door as the sparrows headed back to the pile and Silver got into a serious preening session.

The little birds returned but still Doorstep stared. At first I thought she was looking at me but she didn't do a head bob in my direction which is her usual behavior to me. I return the bob and she goes about her business. Was she looking at the parrot?

She then marched up and looked directly through the window, while Friend peered from the side. Seemingly having satisfied herself about whatever it was. everyone then proceeded to eat.

A while later I looked back, everyone was gone and Silver was puffed up having a late afternoon nap.

Well not everyone was gone., Mr. Downy and a male House Finch were having a few sunflower seeds before bed.

H. Finch gave us a stare while he shucked.

I looked up and there were Doorstep and Friend--not off to roost just yet. Instead they'd taken their particular perch in the maple tree to catch the last warm rays of the day.

The sparrows often do the same, on the top of the pile but the sun had moved behind the spruce and one by one they were retiring into the shelter of their now almost igloo stick pile. The cover of snow making it even snugger than before.

Donna Browne

Young Red-tail in the MBTA Station? The Cooper's Waits for the Sparrows

Photograph by Donna Browne
This is a young Red-tailed Hawk. In fact she's a fledgling from the nest of Isolde and the late Tristan at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Take her in. Look at her carefully.


Photograph by Donna Browne
This is a young Cooper's Hawk that I photographed in Wisconsin back in 2007. Look at her carefully as well.

That done. On to something else to look at.

Here is an news article and video, from 7NEWSwhdh Boston, sent in by Robin of Illinois, link below--

BOSTON -- Animal rescue workers got a bird’s eye view of a South Boston MBTA station all because of a hawk’s new found home.

A young red-tailed hawk perches on a pipe in the Andrew Square T station, even as hundreds of commuters pass through the station daily.
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12002929102294/a-hawk-takes-up-home-in-an-mbta-station
You may have to copy and paste the link because of length.

BEFORE GOING ANY FURTHER , CLICK ON THE LINK AND WATCH THE VIDEO. WE'RE GOING TO WANT YOUR OPINION IN A MOMENT.

**************************************************************************When The next I looked in my email box, there was a forwarded email from rehab volunteer Sally of Kentucky, who said--

It's a Cooper's I think, certainly not a redtail. Poor baby!

After some discussion about the differences in adult and juvenile Cooper's Hawks, Robin agreed.

What do you think?

As for me, I'm going for a juvenile Accipiter, as well. Not a Red-tail.

-Why?

Look at the top photograph of the young Red-tail. Her breast is clear down to the belly band.

Look at the photograph of the young Cooper's Hawk and that of the bird in the video, they both have streaks up to their necks.

Interesting that there were falconers on the spot in Boston, who didn't catch what Sally did. Or perhaps they caught it, but the reporter didn't get the message.

Speaking of Accipiters, I looked out my back door yesterday and this is what I saw.


A young Cooper's Hawk (still light eyed, and brown toned) sitting on my pile of twigs that earlier this year had been the building materials for the Big Nest. That is until about 100 House Sparrows moved in for the winter.

Young Cooper's Hawk decides to ignore me, distracted perhaps by movement deep in the twigs.

I'd been wondering why I'd been having so few visitors to the feeders since I'd returned to Wisconsin. Young hawk here could well be the reason.

Then after staring fixedly in a different spot, she looked back at me as I tried to set up to digiscope inside by the patio door. Then she flew to the big nest and off into the trees.

Today once again I noted absolutely no business at my bird feeders. When I went outside with a bucket of water for the bird bath, a Cooper's Hawk flew from the near left Spruce in the yard into the big Spruce on the far deep right and disappeared into the branches.

I immediately went out to look if I could spy her amongst the needles. Not a feather could I see. Either it was too dim or she'd pulled a fast one on me and flown directly out the back side of the tree without stopping.

Donna Browne

Nuthatch Underwear, Sparrow Motive, M. Downy Returns, Ravens in General, and Tower of London Ravens in Particular

White-breasted Nuthatch not only shows her underwear but also her unusual perching method of grabbing the feeder with her toes on the fly. Then she flipped around facing the opposite direction and shopped the feeder for the fattest sunflower seed. (They actually do look for the biggest, fattest seeds.)


There is some kind of ruckus going on in the grape arbor again. It's about the houses, also again. There is one on each upright of the arbor. A male House Sparrow is inside the south house fighting off all comers. What is the big deal about these houses? I could understand if it were breeding season but why now?

The female House Sparrow has secreted herself behind the post. See her standing on the pipe to the right of the post? Male Sparrow can't see her. He comes out and flies to the other house on the other end of the pipe.

In the meantime, as he flew out, female sparrow came round to the front. She is in the vines in the bottom left of the above photo. Then she flies up into the house.

Male Sparrow has gone into the second house on the other end of the pipe. Then suddenly he comes bombing out and heads for the first house. Female whips out of House One and Male dives in.

Then the mystery of the house attraction is solved! Male sparrow's head pops out and he is eating what looks like a grain of wheat. Evidently, one of the caching birds, perhaps the newly arrived Blue Jay, has been stashing grain in the houses. I need to find out if Red-bellied Woodpeckers cache. He's back as well.

Not to be fooled again by the female, male also keeps an eye peeled below the house.

What's going on in the Spruce tree? Sight lines just aren't good enough.

Male sparrow comes out and perches on the roof. Better but still not good enough.

Female sparrow bombs him off. And at this point, I have to leave. DRAT! I don't know how it all turned out.

Male Downy Woodpecker is back also as of today. Look at his eyes. There is something about certain highly active species of bird's eyes: Woodpeckers, Hummingbirds, Nuthatch. Somehow they seem to bulge more than other species. It reminds me of hyperthyroid humans.

I found this position fascinating. He's bracing himself with his vertical tail while his body is at a near 45 degree angle vertically. How does that work?

Blog contributor Jackie of the Tulsa Forum with some goodies about Ravens--

Hi, Donna:
Your recent postings about the crows, your fondness for bird group names, and your interest in things British put me in mind of our Tulsa Hawk Forum discussion about ravens a couple months ago. Here are some highlights, as well as some links of interest.

"A group of Ravens is called 'An Unkindness'. It can also be a 'Constable' or 'Conspiracy', though, depending on what they are doing at the time. For example, an unkindness of ravens might torment a dog and steal its food. A constable of ravens is stationed at the Tower of London. A conspiracy of ravens might be seen lurking in the shadows of a garbage dump." http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/names.html

Regarding the famous Tower of London Ravens (from Wikipedia): "It had been thought that there have been at least six ravens in residence at the tower for centuries. It was said that Charles II ordered their removal following complaints from John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer.[5] However, they were not removed because Charles was then told of the legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the monarchy, and the entire kingdom would fall…. The earliest known reference to a tower raven is a picture in the newspaper The Pictorial World in 1885. This and scattered subsequent references to the tower ravens, both literary and visual, which appear in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century place them near the monument commemorating those beheaded at the tower, popularly known as the "scaffold."

This strongly suggests that the ravens, which are notorious for gathering at gallows, were originally used to dramatize tales of imprisonment and execution at the tower told by the Yeomen Warders to tourists.[7]

There is evidence that the original ravens were donated to the tower by the Earls of Dunraven, perhaps because of their association with the Celtic raven-god Bran.[9] However wild ravens, which were once abundant in London and often seen around meat markets (such as nearby Eastcheap) feasting for scraps, could have roosted at the tower in earlier times…...[10]

During the Second World War most of the Tower's ravens perished through shock during bombing raids, leaving a sole survivor named 'Grip'.[10] Before the tower reopened to the public on 1 January 1946, care was taken to ensure that a new set of ravens was in place.[12]

There are currently nine ravens, whose wings are clipped to prevent them from flying away, and they are cared for by the Ravenmaster, a duty given to one of the Yeomen Warders….as of November 2006):[13]
Gwylum (male, 18 years old)
Thor (male, 15 years old)
Hugin (female, 11 years old)
Munin (female, 11 years old)
Branwen (female, 3 years old)
Bran (male, 3 years old)
Gundulf (male, 1 year old)
Baldrick (male, 1 year old)
Fleur (female, 4 years old)
The oldest raven ever to serve at the Tower of London was called Jim Crow, who died at the age of 44.[14]

In 2006, ahead of the H5N1 avian influenza scare, the ravens were moved indoors; as of July 2006, they are once again free to roam about the grounds within the tower complex." (I removed footnote markers for #6 and #8 after 1885 and Dunraven. For some reason, the posting here insists on replacing them with a couple of funky icons.
Two other entertaining links:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4098894.stm BBC article about The Ravenmaster, the officer in charge of the Tower's ravens.

More on the Tower and the Ravens in http://everything2.com/node/1060691

Enjoy!
Jackie (Tulsa's KJRH Hawks Forum)

Some years ago I visited the Ravens at the Tower of London. In the Ravens opinion it is they that run the place. They are also officially Constable Wardens of the Tower of London, or so I was told by one of the human Constable Wardens. According to report the avian Constable Wardens, can be quite disagreeable if crossed. There was something about them that caused most visiting humans to stand aside when one came their way.

I was also told that the Ravens were first made Constable Wardens because that was the way their rations could be drawn from the military commisarian. Currently the daily Raven Rations include 6 ounces of meat and bird biscuits soaked in blood. Once a week they get an egg and periodically a rabbit as the fur and other odd bits are good for them as they'd be eating that sort of thing in the wild.

I knew the Raven's wings were clipped but I also know they are very smart and willful so I asked if any of them had ever escaped. I was told, absolutely they have. One was a Raven named Grog who was rather fond of the beverage he was named for. (Grog is watered rum.) Raven Grog escaped in his 20's so no doubt he'd had time to figure out and beat the security system. He was last seen standing in front of a pub called the Pitcher and Rose.

But my favorite escaping Tower of London Raven is George. Now keep in mind these guys don't manage to sneakily grow their flight feathers out without the Ravenmaster noticing and then glide over the wall in the dark of night. Oh no. An escaping Tower of London Raven has to walk out. And he has to walk out a secured door or jump out a low secured window. Remember the Crown Jewels are kept at the Tower so the security isn't frippery.

Well, George managed to escape. In fact our buddy George the Constable Warden Raven managed to escape repeatedly. Each time he'd made yet another clean break, George would walk, bold as brass down the middle of the sidewalk, until he reached the fire escape he had his eye on that day. Upon reaching the fire escape he would climb the fire escape to the roof. On the roof, he would proceed to the buildings large television antenna, that he'd also had his eye on and proceed to dismantle it. To be honest, he chewed and tugged them to bits. And of course everyone in the apartment building would loose their BBCTV reception.

Amusing at first perhaps, but George was so good at getting away, and demolishing antennas that before long the neighbors were up in arms about him. So to save the neighbors their television reception and possibly George's well being if an irate neighbor caught him in the act, he was moved to the "protective custody" of the Welsh Mountain Zoo.

And they never did find out just how George was managing to circumvent all efforts to stop his escapes.

Two other Ravens have been banished for "conduct unbecoming". I'm told these two found it quite amusing to menace the tourists and on occasion to jump at them, and even, now and again actually give someone a nip.

It sounds to me that these particular Ravens could have used some large Raven toys to dismantle and puzzles for mental stimulation. Given an enriched environment, they might not have lost their Constable Warden status. But then again being extremely willful, it might not have made any difference at all.

Donegal Browne

Amaze Your Friends! Spout the Scientific Name.

Photo Karen Anne Kolling
Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
A species with few problems in the self-esteem category.

Photo Karen Anne Kolling
Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
Does this guy look grumpy or what?

Photo Karen Anne Kolling
Eastern Chipmunk, Tamias striatus
Just like Chewy, my resident Chipmunk, Karen says of hers, "He's been out there off and on for hours ."

Photo Karen Anne Kolling
House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
(This name has changed. When I first learned it, the scientific name was Passer domesticus domesticus.)
As to Mr. Cardinal, he's still looks pretty annoyed.


Photo Karen Anne Kolling
Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapilla
Though tiny, or perhaps because of it, these fellows rarely look frightened. Rather, their tendency is to look alert and plucky.


Donegal Browne