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Weedon Island Preserve – Pinellas County, Florida

The Birdfreak Team — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:03:16 +0000

To escape from the winter blahs of northern Illinois, Stacia and I headed to the Tampa area in Florida for a week. We were able to fly out of Rockford (instead of Chicago) which meant it was super easy and hassle free.

Shortly after landing at St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport, we headed to Weedon Island Preserve along Old Tampa Bay.

Ospreys were easy to spot (as they were throughout the week in Florida) and many were on nests.

We hiked a boardwalk trail that lead to some open water where we spotted an Anhinga, White Ibises, Little Blue Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, and Black-crowned Night-heron.

Little Blue Heron

Anhinga

We also spotted a Brown Anole on the boardwalk and enjoyed all the palm trees and mangroves.

Brown Anole

Despite it being overcast, we were delighted to already have temperatures over 70 degrees where back home it was some 40+ degrees colder.

Stacia at Weedon Island Preserve

Bird Photography Weekly #180

The Birdfreak Team — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:08:34 +0000

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Phriday Photo – Kishwaukee River

The Birdfreak Team — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:16:18 +0000

Kishwaukee River – Illinois

A Day at Starved Rock

The Birdfreak Team — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:42:58 +0000

Sammie is the Birdfreak Team’s Illinois young birder. She attended the Bald Eagle Watch Weekend at Starved Rock State Park in Northern Illinois. She writes:

Yesterday, on Saturday, January 28, I went with my grandma, grandpa, and sister to Starved Rock State Park for their annual Eagle Watch Weekend. We woke up earlier than we usually do on the weekends so we could get there in time, because, after all, it is about an hour drive to Starved Rock from Rockford. So, after waking up around seven o’clock, we ate breakfast at my grandparents’ house and then we were off! Unfortunately my mom could not come, no matter how badly she wanted to, because she had to attend the school board meeting. We realized that we had forgotten the binoculars, of all things, a few minutes after we left. So we had to go back and get them because you can’t go birding without bins!

Once we arrived, we found a parking spot and went inside. It was really busy and we had to squeeze our way through the crowd. Grandpa got some 12 o’clock tickets to the raptor show because the 10 o’clock tickets ran out and we didn’t manage to get into the 10 o’clock show. So to pass the time, grandpa, Allison, and I went on a little hike to look at some of the Starved Rock canyons while grandma sat in a cushioned chair by the fireplace. We saw really cool canyons such as the Aurora and Sac canyons and but did not see any birds. When we got back, we got some popcorn and then waited in line for the next show.

Allison with Mischief

While we waited, I pet a snake and drew a picture on a piece of paper for these people who needed help making posters. Then we finally got to go in for the show! We sat approximately in the middle of the room, the best spot to sit. The first bird they took out was a Harris Hawk. It flew back and forth right over our heads! Next they took out a Kestrel-falcon. It looked really pretty up close with all its colors. It also flew around above our heads. It was a fast little guy. Then they took out a Tawny owl and demonstrated how far an owl can turn its head around. And no, it cannot turn its head all the way around. They said that an owl’s eyes take up about three quarters of their head, so how owls are associated with wisdom, well it’s probably not very accurate.

Then a Barn owl, a bird with very excellent hearing, flew over us. Their ear holes are positioned so that one is raised above the other, allowing the Barn owl to better locate the source of sounds. Most ghost stories originate from Barn owls. Their white belly feathers and eerie shriek cause people to think they are ghosts. Also, owls fly silently so it makes them appear even more like ghosts. Next, we got to the eagles. First there was an Australian eagle. It weighed about 8 pounds and had brown feathers. The space right around the eagles’ beak has no feathers so they can eat carrion without it staining their feathers.

Next, they brought out the Bald eagle! Her name was Patriot and she weighed about 12 pounds. After the show, we got to go up for a closer look at Patriot and I had my picture taken with her. I also got hit in the face with her wing when she was flapping for balance. Cool, right!? It hurt a little, because her wing got me in the eye, but it was still cool.

Patriot

They had the White Necked raven, Mischief, and we gave him some donation money. He would take it and then stick it in the box with the rest of the money. If you gave him a five dollar bill, he would give you a little medallion. Then we looked around a bit and left to have lunch at Burger King. We came back after lunch to look for some wild eagles. We did see some. Allison and I saw about 9 eagles each, my grandpa saw 5, and my grandma saw 4. We went inside a science fair trailer and looked around at the stuff inside. The trailer was down by the visitors center. Then we left to go home. We had been gone for about 9 hours total. It was really fun!

Bird Photography Weekly #179

The Birdfreak Team — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:12:29 +0000

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Bird Photography Weekly #178

The Birdfreak Team — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:59:56 +0000

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Review – Wildflower Wonders: The 50 Best Wildflower Sites in the World

The Birdfreak Team — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:43:17 +0000

Wildflower Wonders: The 50 Best Wildflower Sites in the World by Bob Gibbons is a stunning collection of awe-inspiring, wildflower-rich, locations across the globe.

Of the 50 sites included, 28 are in Europe, 5 each in Africa and Asia, 3 in Australia, and 9 in North America. There are none found in Mexico or South America.

While I love almost all of the locations included, I do wish Big Bend National Park and at least one prairie location in the U.S. were included in the list. They are only listed as “other sites”.

Understandably, the author was trying to pick places that blended diversity and accessibility along with being large enough to spend several days exploring.

Each location includes a map and info about when to go and why. The accompanying text explains in more detail where to go and what to look for.

Wildflower Wonders: The 50 Best Wildflower Sites in the World is a great book to help assist in trip planning and definitely opened my eyes up to some new places that would be worth trying to visit.

This is definitely a great book to browse through while snow is falling and I’m dreaming of spring wildflowers and gardening!

Disclaimer: We received this book for free from Princeton University Press to review on Birdfreak.com. The links above are Amazon Affiliate links.

Bird Photography Weekly #177

The Birdfreak Team — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:58:37 +0000

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Review of Two Merrill Hiking/Winter Boots

The Birdfreak Team — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:01:53 +0000

Just in time for the Christmas Bird Count season, Stacia and I received a pair of Merrell boots each from Natureshop.

Stacia’s pair is the Merrell Taiga Buckle Waterproof.

My pair is not “officially” in the winter boot category but is instead a hiking boot: the Merrell Refuge Core Mid Ventilator Waterproof.

We both wore them into the field for the Rock Cut Christmas Bird Count but alas, there was no snow to plow through.

However, the weather was brisk and the started out below freezing. Later in the day, some of the trails were sloppy with mud and we hiked for about 6 hours. We had the boots on for some ten hours.

First off, Stacia’s boots are adorable. We both think so. With a little cream-colored faux fur and black waterproof leather and other materials, the boots are stylish without distraction.

More importantly, the boots were comfortable and warm. The entire time of wearing them, Stacia’s feet stayed pleasantly warm and dry. She ended up wearing a pair of smart wool socks which helped, but the boots did not allow any water inside.

As far as comfort, they proved excellent despite not being broken in at all. The tread provided great footing on the somewhat slick trails as well.

My boots were made for hiking and not necessarily for snow. So the muddy trails were a good test.

My feet stayed dry but not as warm (no smart wool socks). They weren’t freezing, just cold, but that is usually the case with my feet.

As for comfort, the boots provided wonderful support, even over rocky, rough terrain as I skulked deeper in the woods to find birds.

While driving, the tops of the boots pressed against my shins a bit but it was a mild discomfort.

The tread is excellent but collects a lot of mud and debris. A few times I had to knock some of it off as I would lose footing in thicker muck.

Overall, we are both highly pleased with our boots and have used them several times since the count.

They look they will take a lot of abuse and remain comfortable for a long time.

View all Merrell footwear from NatureShop.

Disclaimer: we received both pairs of Merrell boots for free from NatureShop to review on Birdfreak.com.

2012 Species Goal – 200

The Birdfreak Team — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:58:44 +0000

For 2012 I have decided to set a moderate goal of seeing 200 species of birds.

I have been notoriously bad at keeping records so thought this would be a good way to “force” myself to record what birds I see.

Eastern Bluebird

Why 200? I’m not really sure how many species I see in a “normal” year but this seems like a nice solid number to shoot for. Most of my birding is done locally and I do not chase birds too often so I think it will be challenging enough.

At the end of January we are traveling to Florida and I hope to boost my list greatly and hopefully add a life bird or two (or twenty!).

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Currently I am at 35 species, all sighted in two counties. I plan on updating the list periodically throughout the year.

165 species to go!

Bird Photography Weekly #176

The Birdfreak Team — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:25:46 +0000

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Rock Cut State Park Christmas Bird Count Year 4 – Final Results

The Birdfreak Team — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:09:55 +0000

We have completed collecting data from our field teams for the 4th Rock Cut State Park Christmas Bird Count. Here are the results.

Part of our group of Birdfreaks

The first three years:

Year 1 – 47 species, 11,952 birds
Year 2 – 44 species, 3,637 birds
Year 3 – 32 species, 1,072 birds

Year 4 – 54 species, 8,659 birds

We are happy to announce we tallied a record number of species for this count circle! This brings the average number of species to around 44 per year.

Always good to have some kids along on a CBC

Dakota and Sammie

Total number of birds were up from the last 2 years as well. This is due to another large number of Canada Geese: 5,712.

Some big highlights:

1 Golden Eagle and 1 Ross’s Goose were both highly unexpected and new for the circle.
2 Northern Shrikes, 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 3 Hermit Thrushes, 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and 1 Pileated Woodpecker were all nice finds.

American Robin silhouette

The only real disappointment was that the Lesser Black-backed Gull sighted during the count week was not relocated. It goes in the books as a CW (count week) bird, but would have been a great species #55.

Fourth Rock Cut Christmas Bird Count – Initial Report

The Birdfreak Team — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:23:51 +0000

For the fourth year now the Birdfreak Team has run the Rock Cut Christmas Bird Count. We started the count in 2008 and each year we have attempted to refine where we send counting parties.

Downy Woodpecker

The Birdfreak Team took a couple good-sized preserves and also checked Rock Cut State Park briefly (to assist a team there). Here are some of our findings. We will have a full report once all the data is collected from the other teams.

Northern Shrike

The weather was chilly but no precipitation and absolutely no snow cover (a first for the count). We hiked for several hours and drove only a short while (to the other locations).

Our team recorded 30 species and 469 individual birds. Diversity was definitely up but numbers down.

Cedar Waxwing

Our areas didn’t really have water like some other parts of the circle so waterfowl numbers (geese and ducks) should increase our species and total birds.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

The best bird for our group was one of the first ones we saw: a Northern Shrike!

Later in the day we were informed of a wonderful sighting of a Golden Eagle from a party not “officially” on the count but in our circle. This is a great find for this still young count.

Eddie and Stacia

Bird Photography Weekly #175

The Birdfreak Team — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:25:48 +0000

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Bird Photography Weekly #174 – Merry Christmas!!

The Birdfreak Team — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 05:25:32 +0000

Join in now on this special holiday edition, (number 174) of Bird Photography Weekly!!

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[Short Story] “A New Home For Christmas”

The Birdfreak Team — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:00:53 +0000

In preparation of the Christmas holiday we are posting a short story Eddie wrote last year. Besides enjoying the great outdoors, Eddie has been writing stories since he was 10. Please give it a read, print out the PDF (download here [PDF 487 KB]), and feel free to share with others and read to your family. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated in the comments below or emailed to birdfreakblog [at] gmail [dot] com. Enjoy!

A New Home for Christmas

by Eddie Callaway

It was the night before Christmas. Emma Lee could barely contain her excitement. Her parents were reading her stories by the fireplace but her mind and eyes kept wandering.

Her mind was on the presents she anticipated under the tree; thoughts of when Santa would show up and how he would make it down the chimney with so many gifts.

Her eyes were fixated out the large picture window, partially blocked by the splendidly decorated tree. It was snowing. Hard.

The night was going to be a cold one, perhaps a record low temperature and even a record for snowfall. That didn’t matter to Emma. She was wrapped tightly in a blanket on her mother’s lap, warmed by her and the fire.

Her father’s deep and relaxing voice read aloud but the words didn’t matter to Emma. Her mother’s rhythmic breathing and the overall warmth and calm was quickly putting Emma into a state of near sleep.

And then she fell asleep.

***

Outside it was cold. The wind blew harshly in what felt like every direction. The snow was cold and heavy. Anyone with any sense would be inside, with their family. In their home.

But not everyone had a home. In the alley behind Emma’s home lived a young dog. She had no name, no family, and no home. She was all black save a white patch on her chest and one white paw.

Every day she huddled away from people but where she could watch them. She longed for a family, for warmth, for love.

She had not always been a stray. She had a family but they turned her away for selfish reasons. She found safety in the alley. She could hide from the dogcatcher and find enough scraps of food to survive.

The alley stray had no knowledge of Christmas but had watched with interest over the last few weeks. The hustle and bustle; the lights and decorations; the insanity of Emma’s father dragging a once-living tree into their house. A tree!

But as the wind blew more violently and the snow fell harder, the stray tucked her muzzle deep into her fur and just wished for it all to stop.

***

Emma must have fallen asleep but now she was wide awake. She was in her bed so must have been carried up there in her father’s strong arms.

She had been startled out of her slumber from some sort of noise. She heard it again, this time louder, but could not pinpoint what it was. Although it sounded like it came from the backyard and it sounded interesting.

“Santa,” Emma mouthed the words and in one quick motion was scurrying out the back door in her puppy-eared slippers.

She had somehow remembered to grab her coat but neglected to zip it or add any other typical winter garb. She was in a hurry to catch a glimpse of Santa and maybe his reindeer and sleigh.

She shuffled through the snow and ignored the cold. She had made it to the back gate, which was swung wide open, and before she could make a sound, someone grabbed her and everything went dark.

***

The stray dog was only half-asleep. Suddenly she was completely alert. She heard an odd sound followed by an odder sound. A dark van was sitting in the alley, engine running but lights off. Her ears turned towards the sounds and she could make out a man’s groan and a short squeak of a little girl.

Without another thought, the stray was on her feet and trotting softly through the snowdrifts. She peered around the side of the van and saw a grotesque figure with a garbage-bag wrapped child. The child’s legs were flailing but to no affect. The man stumbled about and struggled to slide the van’s side door open.

The stray could not believe what was happening. She thought of barking but used her dark fur and silent approach to catch the man off-guard.
In a spectacular leap she was on top of the man. He lurched backward but managed his balance. The child squirmed free and fell into the snow, still entrapped by the garbage bag.

The man smelled of whiskey and evil. His eyes were blank and emotionless.

The stray bit hard into his shoulder and then twice into his arm. She had aimed for his throat but he pushed away with the arm that once held the child.

Somehow he managed to wrangle the stray dog off his arm and reached into his pocket. He quickly found a knife he had stored there and lashed out at the dog.

She whimpered but knew she was the only hope the child had. With her quickly vanishing strength she leaped forward onto the man. He toppled and smashed his skull against the side of the van.

He slumped quietly to the ground.

The stray howled as loud as she could until her breath faded into the cold night air.

***

Emma’s father woke with a start. He heard a deep howling sound. Something told him this wasn’t just a neighbor’s dog. Something was wrong.

When he reached the scene everything turned into a blur. He could hardly remember calling the police until there was yellow tape lining the alley and four officers and a detective were standing around the van.

Everyone was talking at once. Emma’s mom held her little girl tightly as her father answered questions. The evil man had regained consciousness, was cuffed and roughly placed in a squad car.

Emma was shaking and pointing but could not speak. Finally, her mother looked in the direction of her quivering finger.

There the stray lay quietly. Her black fur was matted where the blood had finally dried. Emma’s mother gasped and got the attention of the detective.

He quickly discovered a bloody knife next to the dog. Suddenly everything made sense and Emma could speak.
She recounted everything she heard as her vision was blocked by the garbage bag. The dog had saved Emma’s life. But now her own life was fading.

***

The vet examined the stray dog in his home. He lived down the street, was a family friend, and the news of the nights events was spreading across the town. He looked the stray over and kept shaking his head.

“We’ll need to perform emergency surgery. Tonight,” he sighed. “It doesn’t look good at all.”

Emma’s father was about to ask something when the vet stole the question from his lips.

“There’s only a small chance she’ll survive,” the vet spoke softly. “And it will be really expensive.”

Emma began to cry uncontrollable. She had been staring deeply into the stray’s big brown eyes.

“You have to save her!” she screamed. “Sell all my presents. I don’t want any of them. Just please save this puppy’s life!”

***

The surgery was costly. Emma’s parents could barely afford it but did as Emma requested. They sold all her gifts plus all the toys Emma owned.

News of the wild Christmas night had reached the surrounding towns. It soon became national news. Donations came pouring in from all over the country.

“We’ll have to wait to see how she recovers,” the vet said but was a bit more optimistic than the night before.

***

A week passed. The tree, once decorated and covered in lights, now sat naked by the garbage cans in the alley.

Inside Emma played quietly. She was having a tea party with invisible teacups, invisible tea, and invisible cookies.

But she had a guest at her tea party. Sitting beautifully with a large smile on her face was the stray. Her black fur was shiny and clean.

There was no sign of the attack but a small fur-less patch on her side and a healing scar. Around her neck the stray sported a bright pink collar and a shiny heart-shaped tag.

On the tag was one simple word in block letters. “CHRISTMAS”.

***

The tea party was interrupted by a reporter from the local news station. She had been interviewing Emma’s parents and wanted to ask Emma a question.

“Do you feel sad that you don’t have any toys?”

Emma looked up after giving Christmas a drink of “tea”.

“All the toys in the world matter nothing to me so long as I have Christmas.”

~ The End ~

Download the story here.

DeKalb, Illinois Christmas Bird Count

The Birdfreak Team — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:46:28 +0000

For the first year we did a Christmas Bird Count for DeKalb County (Stacia and I had moved to the county in May).

The weather was pleasant and the previous night we had received our first “real” snow of the season. So the trails were snow-covered but made it easier to hear birds calling.

Unfortunately, many of the trails we were planning on taking were covered in flooded, breakable ice. So we got our feet wet and could not pass certain areas.

Black-capped Chickadee

So we only managed a paltry 10 species with the highlights being an American Kestrel and a fairly large flock of Cedar Waxwings.

Cedar Waxwings

We brought Bella along and she had a blast running and exploring.

We will try and update this count’s totals along with other counts The Birdfreak Team participates in.

Bird Photography Weekly #173

The Birdfreak Team — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 05:25:47 +0000

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The Birds of Skyrim

The Birdfreak Team — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:22:02 +0000

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the fifth video game in the Elder Scrolls series from Bethesda Softworks. It is an epic adventure and an open-ended game of exploration. We find it both beautiful and entertaining and have been having fun playing it since it came out 11-11-11.

Skyrim is a large land full of forest, mountains, cities, and farms. As you travel around you encounter lots of wildlife including quite a few birds.

The scenery in the game is amazing and in between fighting trolls and giants you are immersed in the sights and sounds of nature (well, in a make-believe sort of way).

Pine Thrush egg

The following is a list of some of the birds we’ve found. This is just for fun!

Blue Jay
Song Sparrow
American Robin
Northern Cardinal
Black-capped Chickadee
Rock Warbler (nest)
Pine Thrush (nest)
farm chicken
Pheasant (dead)
Hawk (we’ll call it the Skyrim Hawk)
Raven
Great Horned Owl (heard)
Mourning Dove

There are also lots of mammals running around:

bear
deer
wolf
elk
fox
goat
rabbit
saber cat (like a tiger)
skeever (rat)
mammoth
cow
horse (which you can own/ride)

You can “collect” insects as well such as bees, butterflies and dragonflies. There are also lots of fish species, most common seeming to be salmon.

The game is fun and the background sounds of birds signing early morning and at dusk is realistic. The night sounds are full of owls, wolves, and frogs.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a fun exploration escape now that it gets dark at 4:30 PM!

Owl Petting a Dog [Video]

The Birdfreak Team — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:21:43 +0000

Looks like a young Great-horned Owl. The dog maybe is a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon but we are not sure.

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Bird Photography Weekly #172

The Birdfreak Team — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 05:25:06 +0000

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Deer Run Forest Preserve Grows by 80 Acres!

The Birdfreak Team — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:54:32 +0000

We are pleased to announce that one of our favorite forest preserves is growing by 80 acres! The Winnebago County Forest Preserve District has acquired 80 acres of farmland that is adjacent to Deer Run Forest Preserve.

This is the location where we spent a year doing surveys and discovered that in one calendar year 145 species of birds used the protected land.

We are super excited as this is an area we had dreamed about the county purchasing. It brings the total acreage of the preserve to 675 acres, a nice amount considering this is part of the much larger Kishwaukee River Corridor.

Tractor on the land that was acquired

Henslow’s Sparrow is quite regular at Deer Run

Barred Owls are relatively easy to find here

Note: Is anyone familiar with such a reddish-brown Barred Owl?

Read the story from the Rockford Register Star.

Snowy Owl Invasion

The Birdfreak Team — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:39:22 +0000

There are tons of reports of Snowy Owls being sighted in Wisconsin and northern Illinois. We are planning on doing our own Snowy search this weekend (not the areas where they are being repeatedly seen).

We saw a Snowy Owl exactly four years ago in Winnebago County, Illinois (picture below).

You can check some of the Snowy Owl reports at the Illinois Birders’ Forum.

Bird Photography Weekly #171

The Birdfreak Team — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 05:25:22 +0000

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Horseback Riding Video From Hawaii

The Birdfreak Team — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:45:45 +0000

I was looking through some videos from the Hawaiian Honeymoon and found this one of Stacia and I horseback riding down a cool tropical trail.

Our guide, Bruce, told us a lot about the native and not-so-native wildlife, especially how much he deplores peacocks.

Hit refresh on your browser if the video won’t load.

You can view more photos and info about the ride we took.