Kishwaukee and Rockford Christmas Bird Counts
December 31, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
Over the past few weeks we participated in two area Christmas Bird Counts, one being the long-running Rockford CBC and the other a newer count along a favorite river corridor, the Kishwaukee. Both were enjoyable but not as birdy as we had hoped.
The Rockford count would have been perfect for digiscoping except snow depth was over a foot deep and we didn’t feel like dragging the scope over several miles of trudging. Thus, we missed a gorgeous juv. Bald Eagle and two exciting sightings of Eastern Coyotes.
Birding in the fog is difficult!
The Kishwaukee count happened to be held on what turned out to be the foggiest day we’ve ever seen (and birded in). Visibility was zero and outbursts of rain (and no hiking trails in our area) forced us to bird from the car for most of the time. We were able to find a good number of birds but it was a strain on the eyes to stare through the fog.
Our best finds were a cluster of five White-crowned Sparrows, a gang of nine Northern Cardinals, and a ghostly sighting of a raptor that went unidentified as it disappeared into the fog.
Somehow we were able to find a Red-tailed Hawk in this parking lot
It is likely that count numbers this season will be a bit “interesting” to say the least.
Rock Cut State Park Christmas Bird Count
December 30, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation
Sunday, December 14th, was our first Christmas Bird Count (CBC) of the winter. The Rock Cut State Park CBC [count code ILRC] is a brand new count, covering Rock Cut State Park and much of Boone County Illinois. The Birdfreak Team is completely in charge of creating, organizing and compiling this new count.
Groups were assigned areas and we had 19 participants. The weather forecast was unusual; a high of almost fifty degrees, windy (30+ MPH) and rainy. The hardest obstacle on this count was the ice from melted snow that covered many of the trails and parking areas.
Herring Gulls digiscoped at many many feet away
Being that this was the first count EVER for this area, we didn’t know what to expect. Contained in the 15-mile diameter circle are several great forest preserves and a lot of country roads and open fields. With the wind keeping birds down, we managed a respectable 47 species. Area coverage was incomplete, so it is highly likely we could have topped 50 species.
Of course, Christmas Bird Counts aren’t the same as “Big Days” in the sense that it isn’t the number of species but the exact (well, as close as possible) count of the birds in a given area on a specific day. We tallied 11,952 individual birds, 62.39% of these being Canada Geese.
While nothing extraordinarily rare was spotted, several good finds included 3 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 4 Northern Shrikes, and 26 Pine Siskins. Next year we plan to do more scouting and spread the teams out a bit more to find even more birds.
Gulls Eating A Fish
Bird Photography Weekly #18
December 29, 2008
Article in: Bird Photography Weekly
Bird Photography Weekly #17 is all wrapped up! Join the next installment today!!
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Review of Rare Birds Yearbook 2009
December 28, 2008
Article in: Book Reviews
The Rare Birds Yearbook 2009
Much like the 2008 version (Rare Birds Yearbook 2008: The World’s 189 Most Threatened Birds
- Conservation Works
- California Condor – how condors are adapting to life in the “modern” world
- The Role of Biodiversity – where editor Erik Hirschfeld discusses hot conservation topics with expert conservationist Dr. Nigel Collar
- Bamboo Specialists – Birds of the Atlantic Forest
- Religion, Tradition, and Bird Conservation
- Haribon – which covers the search for the “King of All Birds”, the Philippines Eagle
- and more…
The main part of the Yearbook is of course the directory that covers 190 Critically Endangered species. Each species received two, one, or a half page and includes a photo (or illustration if no photo is available), map of breeding range, population number and trend, reason(s) for listing, and threats that have led to this status. 130 new photos were added, much of which came from the photo competition held in close association with Birdlife International.
Many of the birds featured face dangerously uncertain futures and sadly, some may already be a lost cause. Sixty Critically Endangered species were covered in 2008 but are not part of the 2009 edition because there is either no new information and/or there has been no recorded sightings.
However, there is still hope as long as we act now and come out in full force. You can start by purchasing this book from www.rarebirdsyearbook.com where £4 [~$5.63] of the £18.95 [$26.65] price goes straight to bird conservation. That’s over 20% of the sale price.
Read our review of the Rare Birds Yearbook 2008 which is still available but in limited quantities.
Phriday Photo – Pine Siskin
December 26, 2008
Article in: Birding
Baby it’s cold outside!
Merry Christmas!
December 25, 2008
Article in: Birding
Merry Christmas to all including our feathered and furred friends!
Review of Birds In Flight
December 24, 2008
Article in: Book Reviews
Birds in Flight: The Art and Science of How Birds Fly
Birds in Flight is broken into three main parts:
- The Art of Birds in Flight
- Avian Aerodynamics
- On the Wing
The author discusses the beauty and wonder of birds locally and abroad. He mixes in his experiences with tips and ideas to fully see and appreciate the flight of birds.
Chapters two through five delve into the science of flight. Wingtip vortex, Venetian blind effect and Bernoulli’s Principle might sound unfamiliar or complicated but the author makes these scientific concepts interesting and understandable. He also writes about feathers, bones and wing structure. Chapter five discusses the importance of the tail, used in all kinds of aerial maneuvers.
Taking off, landing and the types of flight are in the last three chapters. Some birds use their legs to push off into flight, others need a long runway of water to lift off. They also have different ways they land, from hovering down to water-skiing. Birds have many unique flight patterns which help them fly long distances or search for prey.
Birds in Flight combines equally the joy and wonder of seeing birds fly with the science of how they manage it. A good reader from about ten on up could handle this great book and it is a gorgeous addition to any bird lover’s library.
A great phrase from this book:
The Black Vulture is the Rodney Dangerfield of the bird world. It gets no respect.
Rating: 10 of 10 feathers
Review of How and Why Species Multiply
December 22, 2008
Article in: Book Reviews
Charles Darwin has always intrigued us, especially his work on the Galapagos Islands and the finches that would become known as Darwin’s Finches. In the wonderful book, How and Why Species Multiply: The Radiation of Darwin’s Finches (Princeton Series in Evolutionary Biology)
Anyone with an interest in species diversity but might not be as attuned to deep science, will be pleased to know this book is actually readable. This is not to say that the information isn’t complex and by no means is the text watered down. But the Grants do an excellent job discussing topics such as speciation, radiation, natural selection, geographic isolation, hybridization, and more (topics we are behind the curve in). Mixed in with the text are graphs, tables, and charts to help illustrate the various topics without it feeling like a textbook.
The Grants are undoubtedly experts and extend their knowledge about these lovable “little brown birds” effectively to the reader. However, you may need to read through this book a couple times to fully digest all the wonderful science throughout.
Rating: 9 of 10 feathers
