Wednesday at the New York Botanic Garden and More on Avian Tools

Photograph by Pat Gonzalez
Hooded Merganser

Our birder of the New York Botanic Garden Pat Gonzalez has quite the day:

Donegal:

The attached photos were taken on Wednesday, Jan. 20th at the NYBG.

At 10:25 AM, I noticed about six hooded mergansers. I could make out at least one female. They were swimming in the Bronx River just off the Magnolia Way overpass. I was walking on the Spicebush trail in the native forest and was able to see them clearly. Even though I was waaaay up from were they were, looking down at them, I knew that if I made any sudden moves, they would bolt, so I took the shots where I stood.


Photo by Pat Gonzalez
At 10:41 AM in a different section of the forest, a hawk landed on the top of a dead tree. It is the camera angle, the sunlight or me? This hawk looks a bit different from a red-tail. Even with my zoom lens all the way out I still had to crop these photos. Donegal, what do you think?

Photo by Pat Gonzalez
Pat,

Could you tell anything about the size of the hawk from where you were standing? I'm wondering if it is an immature Accipiter. Perhaps a Sharp-shinned?

There are a couple of odd things here which tend toward the bird being something besides a Red-tail. And as we know unless one can see both the tail of a hawk and her belly, it's a tough call.
It could be the light but a Red-tailed Hawks feet are quite a vivid yellow and thicker toed than this bird's feet appear.

This bird looks quite light eyed even if it were only a first year juvenile RT.

There is something odd about the coloration, particularly on the hawk's side. Somehow it doesn't seem to be a warm enough brown for an RT. A clear breast and a belly band instead of a possibly over all streaked anterior would be telling but the hawk just wasn't cooperative about giving us a 360 degree view.

The tail appears longer and slimmer than a buteo.

And at least from this angle, the final bar of the tail looks thicker than the bars higher on the tail.

That said I'm open to suggestions from the house.

Turtle
When I got to the bank of the Bronx River, I was surprised to see a turtle moving under the water. He found a spot, and then stopped, just laying there. In the attached photo, he's just to the right of the branch.

Male Wood Duck, Aix sponsa

At 11:50 AM I was walking along a different section of the Bronx River, just off the Stone Mill Road overpass and saw the usual gang of suspects: a LOT of mallards, the mystery farm duck and later, a couple of Canadian geese.

I was standing right on the river bank, in the mushy soil, when I noticed a beautiful male wood duck. He was spinning, bobbing his head back and forth, opening and closing his beak. I think he was trying to impress a female who was nearby.

As Wood ducks always run (with the exception of the very friendly lone female from last week) when you so much as blink, I moved VERY slowly, ducking behind a tree to get closer to the edge of the bank.
Here's video that I took which I posted on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/user/NATURECAMHD#p/u/0/QJfc0bS-YoU

But it was hard getting a clear photo, because this little duck just couldn't keep still. Attached is the closest shot I've ever taken of a male wood duck.

All in all, a very good day.

Pat Gonzalez

Louie yawns (relieving ear pressure?) while using his feather tool on his ear.

Re Louie cleaning his ears....versus scratching from Linda, Louie's owner, via Robin of Illinois.

Linda writes:
You know....I don't think Louie is cleaning his ears, he's just scratching
the inside. Don’t know if parrots get wax in their ears :)

(As to the possibility of Avian ear wax, you never know, right? So I did a rudimentary search which brought no evidence of the substance nor have I seen any evidence of it with Quicksilver the African Grey. D.B.)

Robin writes:

Linda also said that she discards the tool feathers when Louie is done, so she doesn't really know if he would stash them for future use, since she hasn't given him a chance as yet.

Photograph by Donegal Browne

Also from Robin of Illinois, Crows using traffic to crack their walnuts for them--the automobile as TOOL?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5_DuZ8WuMM

COMING SOON, TEMPERATURE AND THE FIRE ESCAPE ROOST OF THE DIVINES, ISOLDE AND NORMAN

Pale Male and Lola, A letter from Mai, and More Crows For Sadie

March 17, 2008 --7:11PM
Lola returns from eating the dinner Pale Male brought her.

Long time reader and contributor to the NYC Hawk blogs, Mai Stewart, responds to John Blakeman's thoughts about Pale Male, Lola, and the 2009 season.

Dear John,

I was so interested to read your email to Donna re the possibilities for PM/Lola in 2009.

I'm almost positive that the weather you described in your email -- persistently, even unusually, cold, rainy, windy days -- occurred last spring, esp. in March and April. I remember this, because I remember wondering at the time whether the raptors, and the eggs, could survive. I believe we had a lot of this kind of weather during those months -- perhaps even snowshowers, although I'm not positive about the snow.

What I don't remember as well is how much time Lola and PM spent off the nest, leaving the eggs uncovered. There's always plenty of prey here no matter what the season, so that's not an issue.

But I believe the weather was daunting, although, conversely, the Riverside Park hawk pair successfully hatched their eggs, and their nest was even more unprotected than PM/Lola's.

So we have a paradox here in NYC. (Nothing unusual about that!) Of course, last year, the failure to hatch at 927 was attributed to the steel structure on which the nest now rests, and questions persisted about PM's viability. But now, thanks to your observations and investigations, hopefully we have another cause, which gives us new hope for this year!

I'd love to hear, via Donna's website, from any other NYC hawkwatchers who might remember what the weather was like last spring, or who may have checked the meterological records, to confirm whether I'm remembering correctly or not.

In any case, as I once emailed Marie, I refuse to give up hope on the 927 nest until some incontrovertible, definitive facts become apparent which show that PM/Lola absolutely cannot reproduce!

Thanks so much for bringing this new information to light!

Happy New Year,

Mai

From weatherman Todd Hill's monthly weather snopsis for Staten Island, March, 2008.

In Staten Island, March of 2008, there were 13 days colder than normal
Lowest temperature was 27F on March 10th
Wettest day --- 1.21 inches rain on 7th
Peak wind gust --- 64 mph (northwest) on 8th registered at Newark Airport
Average cloud cover 61%
Snow-a trace

Rarely do the Crows venture into the patio feeding area. This morning two did. This bird walked across the iced over snow carefully looking down. ( Wisconsin had a January thaw and then froze over again, harder than a rock. When I stepped out of the car Monday into the driveway after my trip from the airport, I found myself sitting on the pavement in the blink of an eye. Nothing hurt but my dignity.) Then she'd punch through the ice with her beak, and I assume eat the tidbit, likely a sunflower seed, she'd seen through the ice.

Notice that the bird in the top Crow photo is almost out of the left frame. So of course I just had to creep over to the right for a better position.

Crow sees me and I think, DRAT she's going to fly away as usual when I'm seen. That's it for this photo op.

But instead of a burst of wings, she stood up and gave me a good hard look through the ice spattered glass. Well, that's interesting. That's never happened before. Does she recognize me? Have I finally reached the semi-okay stage with this Crow?

My jaw dropped. I must have changed status with this Crow anyway, because she leaned over and went about her foraging again.

Until a moment later when Pyewackit Cat raced over to see what I was looking at. Crow would put up with me or possibly put up with the cat, but not both of us together.

So there goes Crow with the other two members of her foraging party. But as she stayed once, it's a lot more likely that she'll stay at some point again. Hope must spring eternal when it comes to Crow watching.

NEXT UP--More gorgeous photos of Valkyrie of Tompkins Square Park taken by photographer Francois Portmann!!!

Donegal Browne

Horvath Eagle News plus Crows for Sadie

Eagle photographs courtesy of The Horvaths

The juvenile American Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, currently under the Wildlife Rehabbing Horvath's care.


A note from Bobby Horvath--

I’m off to work but a quick huge thank you to all for your support and interest in the Eagle. We moved him outside over the weekend and he’s doing better. Still needs improvement with the feather situation but we're working on it. Again thank you…

Happy New Year to all,
Bobby, Cathy, and Sadie

I'd also sent an email along to Cathy to see how things were going at their facility. I'd thought that perhaps her tremendous load of responsibility for all the birds who needed help had surely slowed down at least a little since the rush of fledglings needing help during breeding season.

I was wrong.

And no doubt raptor biologist John Blakeman would have reminded me as he so often has reminded all of us about the dangers of a young bird's first winter just as Cathy Horvath did.

Cathy said that with the particularly tough cold weather that has hit New York it is even harder than ever for this year's youngsters to survive.

So the birds keep coming.

The other day a young female Merlin with a broken wing was retrieved, and a trip made to save another. Yesterday two Great Blue Herons who were found starving in the cold, one who didn't make it, but Cathy's busy feeding up the second.

Today brought a Dovekie covered in oil, and a young male Red-tail from the Bronx. Who knows what tomorrow may bring and all these are on top of the many patients being cared for already, including the young Bald Eagle.

And oh yes, we mustn't forget Skippity Doo Da the playful Fish Crow with the broken wing who plays tag and tug a war using a sock of Sadie's with her brand new long haired chihuahua puppy, Lobo.

Why, some might ask, would a little girl who lives in a place with all those other wonderful animals need a puppy? Well, as her mother told me, it is nice sometimes to have someone to snuggle with who doesn't have talons. Which, you must admit, is an excellent point.

Which brings me to my point, if anyone would like to make a last minute year end charitable contribution, the birds at the Horvaths, with all their special needs when it comes to food, let alone medications, could use your help.

You can send it right along to--

WILDLIFE IN NEED OF RESCUE AND REHABILITATION

202 No. Wyoming Avenue

North Massapequa, NY 11758

Some weeks ago on a particularly blustery and bitter cold day in Wisconsin, I noticed that a family group of American Crows was sheltering in the lee of the Spruce tree. I few would go down to forage, while others would stay in the sheltered spot to keep watch and then they would switch. There were approximately 6 or 8 individuals in and out though out the short day.

But this I'd never seen before. Look at the two Crows with their heads softly leaning on each other. They weren't allo-preening, a behavior done by Crows much like that of social grooming in primates, in which a bird preens the head and neck of it's fellow. This I take to be a form of bird snuggling. One day I'll post the whole sequence.

I suspect the snuggling two to be the bonded reproductive pair of this Crow group. The alert Crows above and below keep watch for predators who might threaten those members in the yard or the pair intent on each other and give that couple a chance to deepen their bond. Which considering the rather nasty reputation that the species has gotten would seem quite out of character.

But it isn't at all. There are any number of family events for which the entire group collectively cooperates and dare I say it, enjoys.

For instance, as far as anyone who seriously watches Crow nests with identifiable Crows has seen, only the single female who lays the eggs, ever sits on the year's eggs. Not even the male takes a turn.

How does she eat? The extended group brings her food. During incubation, trips to the nest average about three or four food visits per day all tolled. But on the day that the eggs hatch, suddenly the average number of visits jumps to nineteen. And these aren't trips to feed the nestlings.

Why then? Well, serious researchers who don't come to these sorts of conclusions easily at all, have concluded that it looks very much like everyone in the family pays several visits that day because they want to look at the new babies.

It doesn't hurt the hypothesis either that Mom has a tendency, when the others arrive, perch nearby, and stare, to get off the nest so that they can see the chicks.

Rather like the parade of grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and close friends of the family who troupe through looking at a new human baby, don't you think?

Donegal Browne

Crow Sentinel Eating Part 1, More Spaghetti "Cooking"

I
I see her, but does she see me? She doesn't leave.

Look carefully in the bowl, you can see the spaghetti. Mrs. Crow is tending it. See the portion of pasta that is floating directly below her beak?

A squirrel scampers across the back and Mrs. Crow watches. The crows and squirrels have a very adversarial relationship here.

More tending.

She watches.

She looks up, possibly at the sentinel crow who is the lower branches of the tree in that direction.

Cawing is heard. She pauses.

Now she looks at the far side of the bowl.

Look to sentinel crow.

Suddenly she flattens out and flies to a lower branch of a nearby maple.

She looks down and SW.

She looks at sentinel.

Then back at whatever she was looking at before.

Focus.

Quickly turns , still vigilant.

More scrutiny, and then she takes off towards the sentinel. As I didn't see what she was doing the first few moments upon landing, I don't know if she brought pasta up with her and stashed it behind that big branch. Though I didn't see her pick any up. But one never knows if birds are carrying things in their beaks and halfway down their throats.

CONTINUE DOWN TO CROW SENTINEL EATING, PART 2

Donegal Browne

P.S. I looked high and low for Red-tails, or hawks of any kind, today and didn't see one. I looked in their usual haunts and drove the countryside. Nothing.

Some days you can't get away from them and other days? It's as if they've all gone to the movies.

And You Thought Crows Were Smart Before-- Or Mr.and Mrs. Crow Make Dinner Togerther.

All times Central--All Photos D.B.
4:28:45pm
When I look outside, there are two Crows. One standing on the bath and the other delving into a crack on the top of the stump with his beak. A squirrel keeps coming toward Stump Crow's stump at which point he jumps into the air and flaps, then comes down on the stump again. The squirrel does it again, and Stump Crow leaps up into the air and startles him again. Startled squirrel runs off a few yards, recovers, and heads back toward the stump. I try to take several photos of Stump Crow, but as I'm having to use the timer, I keep missing him. Suddenly after a delve with his beak into the stump he flies over to the bath, stands on the edge, bends toward the water, then flies back to the stump. I've turned the camera onto the bath but miss the two crows as I have to focus the scope. Then Bath Crow moves so I have to focus again. Better sharp than not right? Besides it's dim, and she's moving so they're going to be blurred so I need to do what I can. While I'm focusing, Mrs. Crow aka Bath Crow has taken a wad of leaves out of the water with her beak by sliding them up the side of the bath and pushing them onto the ground. Then she goes back to watching something in the bowl.


4:28:58pm Another leaf seems to have come into beak reach, she retrieves it, slides it up the side, over the top, and it drops to the ground.

4:29:30pm She then walks over to the left side of the bowl and dips her beak into the water. She raises a wad of several leaves, along with a stiff white something. Is it spaghetti! Is it petrified spaghetti! What happened to the leaves? Did she drop them back in the water? Her beak goes down into the bowl and moves towards the right like she is nudging something. When she raises her beak it is empty. What is going on here?

4:29:41pm She watches right.

4:29:50pm Then she starts walking toward the right edge again.

4:30:04pm She sees me and looks startled. Stump Crow flies off.


4:30:16pm Bath Crow watches him go but doesn't leave herself. Then without really thinking about why I'm doing it, or if it's a good time, or anything else. I just go to the refrigerator, grab a beef bone I've been saving for the wildlife, and grab a baggie with cooked spaghetti which I think is chicken. I go to the patio door, she's still on the bath. I open it a crack and immediately start squeezing and rustling the baggies together. Mrs. Crow who's been looking west, immediately looks at me with interest.

Aha! She does know the sound of baggies, ie. human with food. As I step out I try not to look directly at her. I turn to slide the door shut, and as I'm turning back again, I see her fly into the Maple that's a few feet away. The NEVER happens. Every other time if I look through the door and they catch me at it the Crows fly to the other side of the park. So it isn't easy but I don't look at her because I don't want to screw it up. I go to the stump and empty the baggies on it. That's when I discover I've brought cold spaghetti not chicken scraps, which perhaps was a subconscious act after all in the end. And I march directly back into the house. In the meantime, looking at the reflection on the glass door, I realize that the angle of the light reflects the back yard in the door at this time of day and that's why they hadn't seen me initially.

I don't look, I don't look, I don't look.

4:33:56 Back in the house I grab the camera and am surprised that she is sitting in a spot completely unobscured. Thank goodness for that reflection. I get two photos and she must hear the click because she goes a few limbs higher out of my sightline from inside the house.

She's sticking; she wants the food. Or maybe, just maybe, after how many years of my watching the Crows, and the Crows watching me, that she recognizes me as harmless. And not only am I harmless but I'm the one who puts snacks on the stump. Which I suspect now, she has watched me do before--out of baggies!

Then I remember that the Crows always, always have more patience than I do when it comes to waiting for the other to leave. She's up in the tree just waiting for me to get impatient and go do something else. But how do they know that I've left?

Then I remember the white stiff item that was in the bath. The possible spaghetti. Why am I thinking that it might be possible spaghetti? It was probably just a leaf stem.

Then the light bulb goes off in my head.

Last week I'd had some leftover cooked unembellished getting stale pasta in the fridge. When I was clearing things out, I wondered if since pasta is made from grain, whether the grainivore birds would like it. I went out and put it on the stump. Where it sat.

I kept an eye on it and it looked like it might have been stirred and eaten a bit but eventually after several days it became hard and petrified. Therefore I grabbed the bulk of it and threw it out. Brushed off the stump, where some of the dried pasta bits fell down in the crevices, and forgot about it.

Could they possibly have been pulling the dried pasta out of the stump, putting it into the birdbath and waiting for it to absorb enough water to be enjoyable and tasty?

It's been a half hour. I can't wait any longer. I have to go out and see if there is pasta in the birdbath! I head out the door.

5:03:08pm This is NOT a worm. That is a piece of spaghetti! She was. And there isn't a leaf in the bowl! And there always are lately as it is Autumn and the bowl is under trees.

Mrs. Crow has put pasta in the bowl, removed all the debris, and is waiting for it to soften. Unbelievable!

AND she had a total method for separating the leaves from the pasta. She separated them from each other. Then nudged the leaves to the right. Then she went to the right side of the bowl, waited for the leaves to get there, propelled by her previous nudge, plucked them out and disposed of them. Absolutely amazing!

In a way, Mrs. Crow was "cooking" dinner. She was actually watching the pasta closely while it went through the process of softening. Removing the leaves that might obscure the view? She was actually waiting for it to be "ready". Come to think of it if she left it too long she'd be unable to get it out because it would have turned to goo.

Think of how many steps they went through to get to the goal. They? Because two crows were initially working communally. The male procured it out of the stump and she "cooked" it. All for the goal of properly Crow eatable pasta.

And now she's waiting to come down and get the food from the stump or from the bath? How do I know.

Wow.


5:43:10pm A flock of geese take to the sky from behind the park pavilion. They must have been foraging on the sports fields. It's been over an hour and Mrs. Crow still hasn't come down yet to the stump.

I need to go to the store. ( Yeah, I know, the Crows win again.)

When I get back it's completely dark but I immediately head for the stump.

The beef bone is gone as is some of the pasta.

I forgot to check the birdbath. Where's the flashlight?

Donegal Browne

Crows Doing What??? Part II

As a little refresher, the first photo here is the same as the last one in Part I.
Note the bird on the right who is watching Food and Pursuer.

Pursuer ends up with the food. Turns his back and eats it.

Pursuer walks south.

Lead/Food heads out toward the north. In the meantime Pursuer has two of, what I would take as more mature birds, double teaming him. They are coming at him from two sides.

Pursuer who is being double teamed returns from the south and heads to the northwest. The two other birds are closing in.

Then the weirdest thing happens. Mature bird 1 catches up with Pursuer and what does Pursuer do? Just because Mature 1 is eyeballing him, before he's even touched, Pursuer flings himself to the ground sideways. Position comparable to the behavior of a lower status dog presenting his neck to a higher status dog? See his feet sticking out on the left while Mature 1 stares fixedly down at him.

Mature 2 arrives on the scene, possibly the bird that has been the sentinel farther afield earlier, and continues being sentinel but also is double teaming Pursuer. Mature 1 grabs some of Pursuer's feathers, possibly primaries and tugs at them . He does not pull them out but rather tugs and slides his beak over them.

Mature 2 remains on watch as obviously the other two won't be paying attention to any possible danger during what might be a "disciplinary process"? After a few moments, Pursuer struggles to his feet and flies across the street with Mature 1 right behind him.

Mature 2 watches them go.

And then heads back to his more usual Sentinel position.

And the Crows on this side of the street go back to their business.

Now over to Pursuer and Mature 1's side of Hilltop Street.

Several other members of the flock are already on this side.

Not in the photo, but Mature 1 is still herding Pursuer, this time away from the other birds and to the south.

The other birds have found something just over the edge of the railroad track hump.

A head pops up from the food with focus.

A bird topside, checks.

Then leans over and attempts to include himself in the snack.

Mature1 appears again and is looking west.

Suddenly an intense Cawing comes out of the tree with the yellow leaves. The whole time there has been not only the sentinel on the ground on the east side of the street, but also a sentinel high in a tree on the west side.

After a touch more herding from Mature 1, Pursuer stays far from the other birds on the west side of the street by himself.

Crows begin to come out of the dip.

All the Crows have come out of the track dip now and are alert and looking around.

The western sentinel comes out of the tree and heads to the east side of the street. All the other Crows from the dip do the same. And then I see what has caused the alert. A man is walking his Husky along the railroad track. Man and dog keep to the track.

Sentinel calls a few more times, then realizing no doubt that man and dog are keeping to the track, does a bit of preening.

He watches as they go by and I get into my car and go home.

Donegal Browne