The Adventures of the Stealthy Belly Band, the Red-tailed Hawk.

When last we met, Belly Band the Red-tailed hawk, whom I was leaning toward being the female of the pair, was heading off into the distance.

 In actuality this is what she looked like using my long lens so in actuality she was about twice as far away as this view and no more than a speck.

  I cropped this down so you could see BB's wing span. That is definitely more of a female span than a male's.  She's gliding, looking around.

She catches an updraft.

 She starts to gain altitude.  There is no flapping involved here.

 She's still gaining altitude.  She's now at the top of that ribbon of blue sky.

                                                     Faster.

                            She tips up slightly.

 She banks left.  Yes, the bird is still Belly Band.  They've switched off so many times I keep checking whenever I get a chance.

Her right wing tip flips up.  

She heads towards a wood lot.  Suddenly there is the most gosh awful ruckus over my head.

It's a flock of geese trying to arrange themselves into a tidy flying V and everyone has something to say.

The cacophony continues but things are shaping up. 

  I often wonder if they are honking get out of the way or make room or here I come or whether it is just a sound cue so everyone knows where everyone else is?

WAIT!

Then I realize....where did the hawk go?  DRAT!  I look back.  She of course is long  gone having taken her chance to disappear while I was distracted.

We shall meet again!

Happy Hawking!

Donegal Browne

Red-tailed Hawks-Pale Male and Pale Beauty, Screech Owls-Oscar and Olivia

Photo courtesy of palemale.com
Checking out the view and the accommodations.


Photo courtesy of palemale.com
And then back to the important activity of the moment-making eggs.

Next an update from Jane of Georgia about the residents of her Owl House, Oscar, the red phase Screech and Olivia, the gray Screech.

Monday, March 14, 2011 6:31 PM

I just returned home from five days in Florida. It’s well into the time of day that Oscar would be visible, but he is nowhere to be seen. I have, however, seen Olivia poke her eyes and “ears” just up to doorway level for a quick peek outside. Once she notices me on the deck, she darts back down. I’m wondering if there are eggs/hatchlings and if Oscar has flown the coop for the time being, only to return to bring food. I’ll keep an “eagle eye” out for him and let you know as things progress further/

Jane

Nevermind -- Oscar just poked his head out of the box!

Monday, March 14, 2011 7:32 PM

He must have been taking a late afternoon nap!

Jane

More on Ginger's presence in Pale Male's territory, and reader's responses coming soon.

Happy Hawking!

Donegal Browne

Multi-lingual Red-breasted Nuthatch, Chickadees, Antelopes, Rob Schmunk Hits a Raptor Bonanza and Guys in Trees

Red-breasted Nuthatch
Courtesy of dnr.wi.gov.

From long time contributor Robin of Illinois--

Last week my Red Bellied Woodpecker pair showed up for the winter, and this
week, my White Breasted Nuthatch pair arrived as well. (I usually have both
red breasted and white bellied nuthatches during the winters.)

I wanted to get more information on Nuthatches and checked Wikipedia and
found this interesting bit of information:

"The Red-breasted Nuthatch, which coexists with the Black-capped Chickadee throughout much of its range, is able to understand the latter species' calls. The chickadee has subtle call variations that communicate information about the size and risk of potential predators. Many birds recognize the simple alarm calls produced by other species, but the Red-breasted Nuthatch is able to interpret the chickadees' detailed variations and to respond appropriately."

Alright! Nuthatch are multi-lingual. Now many birds and animals react to the basic Chickadee alarm call but as Chickadees have been known to fake alarms by making alarm calls when no danger exists to run other species off feeders ( who knows it might be a popular Chickadee joke) and as fellow Chickadees know the subtle difference, it would appear likely that the Red-breasted Nuthatch who is also into the subtleties of Chickadee speak wouldn't be fooled either.

See what happens when one species lives around another species all the time. They begin to understand each other.

There's a concept.

A point to think about, that.

Which brought to my mind that when an individual of one species lives around another individual of another species all the time, such as the two above and my cats and my parrot, (Our motto being from Stuart Little-No eating of family members) what might be thought to be unnatural behavior can occur and become "natural behavior" at least for those individuals.

The back story on the owl and the kitten--From Robin of Illinois

It all started when a litter of stray kittens were given to the Hawk Conservancy Trust in Hampshire. (“Fascinating” spot to drop off kittens don’t you think? D.B) This kitten became fast friends with Nigel, a white-faced scopes owl. Just goes to show: "Friendship" knows no bounds when it comes to species.

Which further reminds me of a extremely tattered book of Albert Schweitzer writings which appeared in the give away pile of books in my apartment building lobby a few days ago--The Animal World of Albert Schweitzer- translated by Charles R. Joy, copyright 1950, published by The Beacon Press--with a dedication that reads, To Monsieur Le Pelican, faithful guardian of Albert Schweitzer.


Remember Albert Schweitzer? The German physician who lived and worked in Africa? Beyond being a doctor he was a theologian, naturalist, and philosopher to name a few. Oh and we can't forget a musician who played the organ and almost single handedly brought J.S. Bach back to the fore of classical music. And as it turns out an animal lover and rehabilitator.


Obviously all the Africans with Malaria and parasites and Dengue Fever didn't keep him quite busy enough. (Jeez) He was also very concerned that the Western World had very little in the way of a standard of ethics when it came to animals, we very badly needed one, and he wrote about it a lot.


Nothing was ever killed at the hospital...okay, the parasites got nixed but he still found it a bit worrisome.


What is it now, the end of 2010? And we've still got a ways to go when it comes to getting many people to "get it" about animals. Like ahhhh....being a nuisance does not rate death, for instance?

At any rate, Monsieur Le Pelican of the dedication hung out on the front porch and was a very scary version of a large hugely beaked guard dog who would not let you pass if he didn't believe you should enter the house, be you a snake, an assassin or cosseted reporter from The Times.

Owls roosted under the roof of the veranda and inside the house rehabilitating Antelopes cavorted in the doctor's rooms among other animals some of them carnivores plus Dr. Schweitzer's Dog and his nurse's African Grey parrots had reserved seats at the dinner table.

And nobody got to kill each other.

I suspect that the mice and other rodents were on their own when it came to the raptors. Unless of course you were a rodent being rehabilitated,i.e. an individual then you came under the heading of family member and we all know what that means.

See, it can be done with individuals of different species. We all just have to be habituated to each other.


Which brings us to the brothers in the trees of Central Park, sent in by W.A. Walters dedicated gleaner of the NYTimes, who aren't hurting anyone nor are they hurting the trees--

Finding a Bed Among Central Park’s Trees

There is no shortage of places in Manhattan where visitors can spend the night. Luxury hotels offer lavish suites that can run thousands of dollars, and youth hostels have beds for as little as $20. At least one flophouse survives on the Bowery. And, of course, there is couch-surfing — countless travelers bunk with old friends or near-strangers for little more than an owed favor….

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/nyregion/13trees.html?emc=eta1

(You may have to copy and paste this guy above as so far it won't turn into a link for me.)

AND DO NOT MISS ROB SCHMUNK'S PHOTOS OF HIS BOUNTIFUL RAPTOR SUNDAY ON BLOOMINGDALE VILLAGE AT THE LINK BELOW--

http://bloomingdalevillage.blogspot.com/2010/11/1114-morningside-hawkwatching.html#comment-form

Tuesday Miscellany

Photograph by Pat Gonzalez, as is the following email.

Donegal:

Amazing adventure today at the Botanical Garden. First up, not one but TWO large red tail hawks on the same branch. I wasn't able to get close enough to see if one of them was my pal who I've been photographing the last couple of month. I've been meaning to look at all the photos for any distinctive field marks. Anyhow, one flew off landing on a tree in the Bronx Zoo which is across the way, the other flew under the canopy of some pine trees..... WITH A BRANCH IN ITS BEAK. Should I break out the rattle and cigars in anticipation of a visit from the stork? : )

Well Pat, it's quite possible that you can anticipate natal festivities, though we have had cases in Manhattan, Charlotte and Pale Male Jr. last season are a case in point, where they brought twigs and bark to their previous nest site but never laid any eggs. They took the year off for some reason.

(By the way, big news about Charlotte and Pale Male Jr., the second post down after this one!)

Photo:Pat Gonzalez
Later, I saw my pal red-tail in the native forest. All of a sudden a HUGE raptor flew towards him with talons extended ready to pounce. At the last second, Red-tail turned his head and saw what was coming, jumping off about a second before the bird landed on the exact same branch occupied by Red-tail.


Photo:Pat Gonzalez
It was my pal great horned owl. Yikes! I guess it was safe to assume he was defending his area as he was just a few yards away from the branch where I usually see him perched.
Pat

As the photographs had been modified they no longer had the original time they were taken so I've emailed Pat asking what time of day the Great Horned Owl was out and about chasing Red-tails. Shouldn't she have been asleep?

NOW TO THE WISCONSIN REPORT--

We are now well over 48 straight hours of cold drenching rain.

The various local rivers are at or near flood and still the rain falls, incessantly, heavily. I went out to check on the Red-tail nests and the vernal ponds I've been keeping an eye on.

The second nest on County M, N2, has lost a side, and a pair of Red-tails was seen circling in the sky above the area.

N2 was not built nearly as sturdily as N1 (above) and I suspected that perhaps it was a first nest. Better to have fallen now than later. Perhaps they will build a replacement nest, learning from their first attempt, and try again.

Buffleheads in a vernal pond near Clear Lake off Hwy 59

There are a variety of water fowl: Mallards, Canvasbacks, Ring-necks, and Canada Geese. They glide, paddle, dip, and dabble around the pond's surface. They being ducks don't find the rain the least problematical.

Nor did this Sandhill Crane making her way to the marsh over the hill.

Meanwhile in the front yard on Rainbow Drive, a flock of over 200 Cedar Waxwings took turns sitting in the Willow on watch and eating the Mountain Ash berries in the adjacent tree.

The Robin and his mate sat in the lower branches of the Mountain Ash for some time watching the large flock of Cedar Waxwings. There was an intention on the Robins part but exactly what it was I'm not sure. Eventually some decision seemed to have been made and the Robins went to ground to forage.

And the rain, cold and constant, continued.

IN NYC, CITY BIRDER HAS NEWS ON BIG MAMA AND JUNIOR--

http://citybirder.blogspot.com/2009/03/hawk-update.html

And from New York Times gleaner of significant articles of interest Bill Walters, information which was suspected and has now been quantified-

SCIENCE / ENVIRONMENT March 20, 2009

One Third of U.S. Bird Species Endangered, Survey Finds

By CORNELIA DEAN

The survey found that over the last four decades, grassland birds had declined by 40 percent and birds in arid lands by 30 percent.

D.B.
P.S. If you haven't seen them yet there are news updates following this post on the Riverside Park Red-tails plus Pale Male Jr. and Charlotte, posted Tuesday.

Covering Eaglets with Grass? More Sharp-shin photos, a Red-tail Drinks, and a Sleeping Saw-whet

From R. of Illinois concerning the Blackwater Eaglets--

The adult covered the chicks with grasses. To keep them warmer? To camouflage them from predators above?

In chilly weather, if the sitting bird must leave the nest, some raptors, including Red-tails and Eagles, will cover their eggs with light materials such as grass. It has always been thought that it was done to conserve the heat of the eggs as the birds don't tend to do it in warm weather.

I would say that covering the eggs and covering the eaglets, has the same impetus, keeping them warm. These eaglets are so young that they can't regulate their body temperature yet, and not having much in the way of feathers means they can't retain what heat they do have. These are the big reasons that the parents continue to sit on them. When the nest is threatened whether there are eggs in it or young, the formel will cover them by sitting on them.

Even when people rented helicopters in order to see into Pale Male's nest to check for eggs, it was all in vain. Why? Because even for an urban hawk a helicopter hovering near the nest registers as a danger, so once the craft got into a position to be able to see into the nest, Lola had already plumped herself down on the contents.

On the other hand if things become so threatening that the larger bird, the female, must either take on the threat or spell the tiring tiercel, the tiercel bombs over to the nest but ordinarily doesn't sit on the young or eggs, he stands in the bowl and looks as scary as possible.

Why? Good question.

I've never even seen the behavior mentioned in the literature so it's doubtful anyone has attempted any hypothesis testing to find out.

Perhaps by the time the tiercel takes over the nest, it is clear to anyone in the area just where the nest is, having seen the female come off and the male go on that there is no reason to be unobtrusive and hunker down.

The male is shorter so standing puts him into a better defensive position? Seems doubtful.

Or perhaps he is just so het up, and testosteroned out he just can't sit down no matter what. Pale Male has been known to, when in a particularly intense nest protection skirmish, where several switches between Lola and he have taken place to spell each other, to stand in the bowl and literally rake his talons across the nest materials. The motion is very much in the style of an infuriated rooster. Though steaming, Pale Male as yet seems never to have done any damage to eggs.

Another New York Botanical Garden adventure with Pat Gonzalez--
While at the garden, I headed on down to the river bank (Bronx River) hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive hooded merganser. The last time I got a clear shot was three days after the snow storm, but because there was so much snow on the way down to the bank, I didn't want to risk injury, so I settled for a long shot.

I'm not even there one minute when my buddy red-tail shows up. He gracefully glided over the water then touched down. (Note that the Red-tail is having a drink. For many years, the literature agreed it was likely that Red-tails didn't drink water but rather got their necessary liquid from their prey. Hawkwatchers in Central Park have watched Red-tails drink and bath for many years as there are many eyes number one and two they had the opportunity to see it because the resident birds are habituated to humans. D.B.) I creeped in very slooooooow. He stayed long enough for me to get the shot before taking off. As I walked away, quite happy with myself…

I barely noticed the two mergansers quietly going up river. I took several shots before they swam off.

More photos from Pat Gonzalez of Yesterday's Mystery Hawk the New York Botanical Garden, which I thought was a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Pat then delved into the field guides and she agreed--Sharpie

JOHN BLAKEMAN'S TAKE ON THE MYSTERY HAWK?

Donna

I, too, think the accipiter in question is a Sharpie. It's hard to see the bug-eyed eyes, but the distance from the smallish beak to the chest is rather small. The head doesn't have a neck. It just sits on the bird's shoulders.

--John Blakeman

WE HAVE CONSENSUS!

Photograph by Pat Gonzalez
And here is a great photograph in which we can check out the field marks of a Sharpie tail.

From Peterson's Field Guide, Birds of Eastern and Central North America--"...folded tail is slightly notched or straight and narrowly tipped with white".

And in the above photograph there it is, the slightly notched tail narrowly tipped with white of a Sharp-shinned Hawk. TA DA!

Did you notice the amazingly long center toes of this bird?

Photograph by Pat Gonzalez

After her wonderful display of the important physical details we needed to identify her species, off she goes refreshed from her bath.

Northern Saw-whet Owl at the New York Botanical Garden

The sleepy little fur ball in the attached photo is a Northern saw-whet owl. I found him (or her) about 1/4 mile from where I left his neighbor, the much larger great horned owl. At one point he opened his eyes for a whole two seconds, then went back to snoozing. Here's a link to my you tube page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2bHJbx1EzQ

As you can see he only does one thing on camera. zzzzzzzzzzz....

Pat

Tulsa Nest, Horvath Eagle, Merlin in Tompkins, and Parks Contest

Tulsa nest photos courtesy of KJRH-Tulsa TV

An update on the mysterious pods from Jackie of the Tulsa Hawk Forum--
Hello, Donna--

I'm attaching a couple of screen capture photos from the KJRH nest this morning. We thought you might like to check out the latest contents, perhaps a boom in the number of sycamore pods/balls, an increase from two to, perhaps as many as five: one on the platform to the left of the nest, and four either in or to the right of the nest's interior.

Jackie ("Bville") of the Tulsa Hawks Forum


And here a bit more zoom for a closer view of the nest, which seems to have grown exponentially of late. And as Jackie points out, five more London Plane fruits or as we're calling them for short--pods.

And just why do they seem to be placing them specifically? What is the purpose of the pods? Rather maddening actually. Sympathetic magic? They are taking the place of the traditional evergreen boughs? An insecticide? Do London Plane fruits have a fragrance, a sap that does something? We'll just have to keep watching...
.
Wildlife rehabilitator Bobby Horvath and the now washed juvenile Bald Eagle that had been and still partially is, covered in a mystery substance.

Here is an update from Bobby and Cathy Horvath on the Eagle--

Hi all,

I just wanted to forward some pictures taken of a recent trip to the field creance flying the eagle. We were disappointed with the lack of flight ability at this time .

Unfortunately since the feather condition has deteriorated instead of improving after discussing the case with DEC and other eagle experienced rehabbers it was decided the best course of action for this case is to hold the bird till it molts . That won't be until this summer at least.

A first year bird molts later and not necessarily completely as adults do. A broken feather sample was sent to the DEC pathology lab and they were unable to determine what the substance is or come up with a solvent to remove it. The feathers now feel like hairspray was applied and anymore washing is only drying them and causing them to become brittle. We followed the TriState Bird Rescue protocol for oil soaked birds with no success. He's only partially flighted at this time. We know for sure the feather situation is a definite problem but aren't sure if there's any others issues besides.

We had hoped to get him back out as soon as possible as it is beneficial for bald eagles juveniles to be released in the winter, contrary to other bird release timeframes, as they are social at this time of the year and learn from being released where other older birds are wintering.

Sorry to report that won't be the case here. Anyway we plan to continue exercising him for physical and psychological reasons until the new feathers start to grow in and then we will be forced to let him rest as to not damage any new growth. Until they are developed enough then we will start flying him again for pre release conditioning.

Thank you for your support and your followers support as well.

Cathy and Bobby

Here you can especially see the deteriorated condition of the eagle's feathers.

Cathy Horvath and the Bald Eagle

An alert from writer and squirrel rehabber Carol Vinzant--

Did you see how parks is having a contest to create a mascot?
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/mascot.html
I think we have to submit some things to get a dog, squirrel or bird in there.
http://animaltourism.blogspot.com/2009/02/animal-watchers-please-save-nyc-parks.html

Carol Vinzant

Photograph by Francois Portmann www.fotoportman.com/

Francois questions: "Kestrel or Merlin female at TSP? [Tompkins Square Park]. This bird looks very large for a Kestrel and has heavily streaked underparts!"

I just looked in The Peterson Field Guide- Hawks of North America and I'd say we have a juvenile or adult female Merlin, Falco columbarious.

The field marks are size, heavy streaking, a faint if any "mustache", thin pale horizontal tail stripes (Kestrels bands are dark on lighter tail), and a definite white throat.

Donegal Browne