Entries from December 2006 ↓

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature was sturring, not even a mouse;

The cat hat removed any stray rodents running the floors,
Because she followed the policy to keep cats indoors;

The birders were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of lifers flitted in their heads;

When out in the great oak a clatter did brew,
A Barred Owl calling “Who cooks for you?”;

I sprang from my bed and grabbed my bins,
Slipped on a bird book and bonked both my shins;

I felt the need for a pain reliever,
And nearly toppled over my sleeping Golden Retriever;

I made it to the window and looked at the feeding station,
And remembered all the year’s work for conservation;

I gazed at the moon-lit yard, which twinkled like glass,
Oh how great it looked nearly devoid of grass;

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
An early rising Cardinal chirping with no fear;

I grabbed my coat and was followed by my entourage,
Doberman, Heeler, and Retriever out towards the garage;

The shadows of the old willow blocked the light of the moon,
Concealing the suet where woodpeckers would be soon;

Suddenly out of the darkness a figure did stand,
The friendliest person I’ve seen in the land;

He carried a camera, bins, bird guide, and gave me a smile,
And asked if he could talk to me for awhile;

He called out bird names with a bellow,
“Whooping Crane, Cerulean Warbler, and that ‘Lord God’ fellow;

All birds facing the danger of vanishing from Earth,
Unless people realize just what they’re worth;

Birders and nature-lovers must make a stand,
Educate the ill-informed to make sure to care for the land”;

He warned me to never quit fighting for birds,
Even if just through my blog full of words;

Without warning his mouth was drawn and he let out a pish,
And a Bald Eagle arrived still carrying a fish;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Let me know if we work together we have nothing to dread;

And then I heard him exclaim as he vanished from sight,
“Merry Christmas and good birding to all, and to all a good night!”

I participated in my second CBC of the season, this time along the Kishwaukee River Corridor.  This area is loaded with forest preserves so the birding is usually pretty good.

We started at one end of our circle with nice quanitities of the usual suspects - White-breasted Nuthatches, Downies, Chickadees, a Hairy Woodpecker or two, Canada Geese, and American Goldfinches.  To our surprise and enjoyment, a group of seven Eastern Bluebirds flew across.  This are somewhat rare on our count so a good find.

We hiked for about 2 miles and came back to an area buzzing with activity.  It was the group of Bluebirds (we assume the same ones).  They were feeding and flittering about a Wood Duck box, probably where they roost at night.

This was the best picture I could get (full zoom on my Panasonic Lumix).  I like it because the brightest one was eating a berry.

In the same area by the duck house, a Carolina Wren scolded loudly and flashed his bright plumage.  The cloudy weather seemed to make the birds brighter and crisper.  This was another rarer species for our count.  (We ended with two.)

We stopped at another forest preserve and found some Tufted Titmice and continued on after finding more of the same (nutties, chickadees, goldfinches, woodpeckers).

We visited a place called Atwood Park and immediately were rewarded with a Hermit Thrush.  I climbed up a muddy bank to try and get a photo but was unsuccessful.  This was a good find for our area.  Our next big find was a large (and I mean large) group of Cedar Waxwings.  We tallied 101 but there were probably more.

One of the 101 Cedarbirds

Cedar Waxwings bathing in a mud puddle

A way cool suspension bridge over the roaring Kishwaukee River

Our count finished across the river with a Bald Eagle flyover.  We ended with 29 species, lower than our Rockford count, but still OK for a windy, cloudy day in December.

Driving around Winnebago County I found a “Scenic Dr”.

I don’t think this is going to attract many birds…Looks like loads of fun to mow, water, and fertilize.

I have been dreaming about the places I want to go birding in 2007 (when I have more vacation time) and I was also reminiscing of past trips. Some are super famous like High Island, Cape May, Salton Sea, Dry Tortugas, Cave Creek Canyon, etc. I want to build a list of the top 100 Birdspots based on information from other birders. Please add your favorites (as many as you wish) so I can start building a list - The Birdfreak 100.

Here are my top 5 favorites so far:

Horicon Marsh NWR, Wisconsin
Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona
Santa Ana NWR, Texas
Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona
Rock Cut State Park, Illinois

and of course, my backyard - The Callaway Nature Preserve!

Please add your favorites! I have dozens more but want to hear from others first. Repeats are welcome!

Nature Conservancy Site of the Week #3

Name: Nachusa Grasslands
Location: Northern Illinois near the city of Oregon.
Size: 2,500 acres

Nachusa Grasslands is one of the local Nature Conservancy sites I’ve been to quite often. I participated in a prescribed burn a few years ago and thought the place was truly awesome. Since returning a few times over the last years, I have been somewhat disappointed in the birdlife there. In fact, we found a new bird species there - the Prairie Flicker (actually, the Northern Flicker). We saw tons and tons of Flickers but not really any other birds.

However, the birdlife at Nachusa is wonderful. I’ve heard that Grasshopper and Henslow’s Sparrows nest there along with Dickcissels. I also believe Upland Sandpipers nest at Nachusa and apparently there is a healthy population of Badgers. Other wildlife includes a smattering of rare butterflies and a great variety of prairie plants.

Nachusa is like a blast from the past. This is how great expanses of Illinois used to look like before the land was ruined. Vast prairies full of life, color, and birdsong (and Flickers!). Volunteers at Nachusa also collect seeds to use for replanting there and elsewhere. Overall, Nachusa is great, even though I have been unsuccessful there. There’s always next year!

Welcome to a pictorial tour of fourteen of the fifteen Crane species of the world. All photographs were taken at the International Crane Foundation, so they are not wild birds. However, these birds are EXTREMELY important to education, conservation, and helping to ensure that these species do not ever face the evil darkness of extinction.

#1 - Demoiselle Crane

#2 - Blue Crane

#3 - Siberian Crane

#4 - White-naped Crane

#5 - Black-necked Crane

#6 - Sarus Crane (standing next to him at 6 ft tall is my dad)

#7 - Brolga

Part Two of the series will show 7 different, awesome cranes. Click on any of the pictures to view full species information.

Kicking off a new weekly is the Birdspot of the Week, starring Seney National Wildlife Refuge. Located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Seney was a complete surprise of greatness when we visited back in July of this year. We had planned to spend a couple hours at the NWR because it was on our way back from Whitefish Point. We ended up spending several joyous hours, slowly following the twisting gravel road, stopping numerous times at all the open water.

The star of Seney has to be the Common Loon. Loons were litterally everywhere: flying, diving, and displaying. They competed with the Trumpeter Swans for our attention, but the Loons were much more active. I have seen loons at various locations in northern Wisconsin, Minnesota, and even at home in Rockford, IL. But never before had we seen so many loons in one day - probably 30 or more.

If that wasn’t enough, we also lucked out on a flyby American Bittern (lifer) and a perching Northern Goshawk (also a lifer).

The refuge has over 95,000 acres and is a true gem as our the majority of our National Wildlife Refuges.  Thanks Teddy Roosevelt for starting one of the greatest conservation projects!