This video was shot on our Nikon Coolpix 5100 so the quality isn’t that great but it is of Jeff Corwin discussing crocidilians and a group of kids holding an American Alligator!
Jeff Corwin Shows us the American Alligator from birdfreak on Vimeo.
Tags: American Alligator, Jeff Corwin
Making our third survey of the week, we did Deer Run Bird Survey #13 on Sunday, May 18th. It was by far our best survey yet in number of species as well as warbler diversity.
Wilson’s Warbler
We spent over six hours hiking and covered more than 7 miles. We were delighted to find four Henslow’s Sparrows and pleasantly surprised to find a Bobolink. Other interesting finds included Yellow-breasted Chat, Black-billed Cuckoo, and many Empidonax Flycatchers. We had 18 warblers total and four vireos.
Bobolink
We found a Red-breasted Nuthatch (a little late for them to still be here). Another cool find was a Gray-cheeked Thrush singing and hopping around in the brush. We found 674 birds of 85 species. That brings our overall total species count to 121 and 4925 individuals.
New Birds for the Count:
Barred Owl
Tags: Barred Owl, Bobolink, Wilson's Warbler
May 16 was our 12th Deer Run Bird Survey and we got our 100th species (and then some)!
Veery, Dad and Arizona (one of our canine helpers) started out around 8 in the morning and finished up by 11. It was around 60 degrees and sunny.
Arizona Doberman….canine birder
Our 99th species was a beautiful pair of Orchard Orioles. In a blaze of orange glory, we found number 100 singing in a large Cottonwood tree, the Baltimore Oriole.
We then passed up species number 100 with a Magnolia, Tennessee and Yellow Warbler, Yellow-throated, Red-eyed and Warbling Vireo, Cedar Waxwing and Bank Swallow!
A few other highlights included a baker’s dozen of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Great Crested Flycatcher, and American Redstart.
Baltimore Oriole is species number 100 for the D.R.B.S.!
Around ever corner we found a singing Common Yellowthroat, Red-winged Blackbird and Song Sparrow. The birds are frisky and love is definately in the air.
For this survey we had 329 individuals of 55 species. Our overall total consists of individual birds is 4251 of 108 species.
The Common Yellowthroat is a common species at Deer Run FP
A couple months ago we heard that Jeff Corwin was going to be in Sycamore, Illinois (about 30 miles southeast of our home in Rockford) so we decided to make it a family event and bought tickets. Saturday we had the live “Jeff Corwin Experience” and it was awesome!
Jeff Corwin being mobbed with questions
For those unfamiliar with Mr. Corwin, he is a wildlife-television superstar who does many shows on Animal Planet and has also recently written a cool book (which we plan on reviewing sometime soon). But Jeff is much more than just some smart-talking celebrity. He’s the real deal when it comes to conservation.
While the show focused on reptiles and amphibians (no birds) it was still great to hear Jeff in person and to listen to some of his insights about conservation topics. He even discussed nature-deficit-disorder and voiced his displeasure about kids that have never held a toad or played in a creek.
We videotaped part of the question and answer session at the end including when he was asked his favorite bird. Unfortunately, the audio wasn’t great and we are unsure the bird. Anyone who knows the bird (especially how to spell it) please add a comment!
Jeff Corwin Tells the Crowd His Favorite Bird from birdfreak on Vimeo.
Tags: Jeff Corwin
The eleventh Deer Run Bird Survey started a bit slow. We were met with a brisk, constant breeze as we crossed the prairie around 6:00 AM on Wednesday. We only had an hour and a half before Birdfreak had to get to work so our numbers were destined to be a bit low.
Despite the low numbers of individuals, we still tallied 46 species including NINE new ones for the survey. The biggest highlights were two Henslow’s Sparrows and a life bird, Le Conte’s Sparrow!
Henslow’s Sparrow
The new birds for the survey:
The list so far is at 98 species and 3,922 individual birds. We haven’t been able to do as many surveys or for as long as we’d like, but we are pleased with the diversity of birds and the project thus far.
Hooded Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Tags: Hooded Warbler, Yellow Warbler
If you haven’t familiarized yourself with Cornell, now would be a great time. Their website is one of the best in the birding world but they also offer many wonderful programs including this sound recording workshop (which we wish we could attend).
Press Release From Cornell:
From June 7 to 14, the annual Sound Recording Workshop offered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology returns to San Francisco State University’s Sierra Nevada Field Campus in the spectacular surroundings of the eastern foothills of California’s northern Sierra Nevada mountains. Participants learn state-of-the-art techniques for capturing bird sounds, guided by experts.
Learn to capture the sounds of wildlife through lecture, discussion, and daily field recording sessions participants learn how to effectively handle a portable field recording system to make scientifically accurate recordings of bird vocalizations. Participants learn how to conquer wind, how a roadbed can help overcome the sound of a rushing stream, and why placing a microphone on the ground is sometimes the best strategy. There is also an introduction to the science of sound analysis which converts sound waves into visual images called spectrograms. With signal analysis it’s possible to visualize a bird song note by note.
The Sound Recording Workshop fee of $895 covers tuition, class materials, ground transportation, food, and lodging. A $100 deposit is requested to reserve a space, which is limited to 20 students. Registration and payment are due by May 31. Learn more at: The Macaulay Library or contact Tammy Bishop at (607) 254-2198 or macaulaylibrary@cornell.edu.
This certainly sounds like a fun and education opportunity (and if they are full there’s always next time!)
Another week at the Callaway Nature Preserve and we are still finding warblers and other migrants. Two new species have arrived, a Yellow Warbler and a Philadelphia Vireo which is new for the Callaway Nature Preserve Life List! (number 98!) There are more nesting hopefuls…one very energetic pair of Gray Catbirds and a busy Common Grackle that was spotted gathering shavings from the fallen Willow Tree.
A pair of Scarlet Tanagers gave a surprise courtship display right on the cable wire and while they probably won’t nest here, maybe they will find a suitable nearby forest preserve.
Male Scarlet Tanager
On the plant side of things, the Wild Columbine and Wild Geranium are blooming alongside the Bluebells. The Cupplants (aka bird magnets) are growing fast. It is going to be a wild year at the CNP!
Swainson’s Thrush, hanging out at the CNP
The final part of three recounting our May 10th Spring Bird Count. We went in search of Clay-colored Sparrows and a variety of marsh and night birds.
Our initial search for Clay-colored Sparrow was a bust. Luckily, we were invited to check out another area with a couple of world-class birders and within a half hour we had a highly energized Clay-colored Sparrow defending his territory. This sparrow was our 11th species of sparrow for the day!
Our next stop was a marshy area where we went in search of rails and bitterns. We found four Soras and four Virginia Rails plus a Green Heron. It is amazing how well rails can hide even after they flush in plain view.
Before night fell, we headed back to one of our original areas with Dan Williams (who is the definition of expert birder) to get set up for some night birding. As we waited for darkness, we heard Grasshopper and Lark Sparrows.
We had moderate hopes of finding out if any Barn Owls resided in the area but the tape playback went unanswered. However, we did add American Woodcock and Whip-poor-will and heard a fairly close Barred Owl.
To round out our day we headed to a farm where we had permission to drive down a grass-track between farm fields and out to a marshy area where we were wishful for Yellow or Black Rails. Unfortunately, neither were found but the excitement of our 16th hour of birding, standing in the dark in an unfamiliar area in the middle of nowhere was exhilarating.
For the day we tallied 105 species of birds, 8 more than last year and our new goal to beat. We counted 1,349 individual birds but probably missed one or two.
Part two of three of our Spring Bird Count wrap-up we recount the wonderful birds we found over a 4+ hour hike at a way cool preserve called Sugar River Alder.
Before heading to our next stop, Sugar River Alder Forest Preserve, we had a quick lunch break by the Sugar River. A Baltimore Oriole sang the entire time and we had our first Eastern Towhee of the day.
Sugar River Alder is a wonderful preserve with a lot of miles of trails to cover. We were keyed up to cover the majority of them but the going was slow as we observed a wide variety of species. Some of the main highlights were our one and only American Redstart (!) and four Red-headed Woodpeckers.
There were several times during our trek that we were wishing the camera wasn’t in the car. Scarlet Tanagers perched twenty feet away, Indigo Buntings sang recklessly in our faces, and a pair of Lark Sparrows mated unabashedly in full view.
Baltimore Orioles were everywhere creating a few odd remarks:
“Just another oriole.”
“I can’t hear that warbler over the oriole!”
“Are there any ‘non-orioles’ in that tree?”
Of course, we can’t complain since they are such beautiful birds!
As 5:00 rolled around, 1/2 of our team headed home but we (Birdfreak and Veery) still had a few more hours so we went off in search of Clay-colored Sparrows before hitting some marshes and night-time spots.
Stay tuned for part three to find out if we were successful on the sparrow and what night birds we found, plus totals from our 16 hour day!
In part one of three we discuss the morning highlights of the 2008 Spring Bird Count which took place May 10th in the entire state of Illinois.
We began the long day of birding by getting up at 0400 and were at our first stop at around 0530. Last year we began here earlier but with plans of a late night, we decided the extra sleep was a good thing. Our goal was to see what was about at Nygren Wetlands, a property belonging to the Natural Land Institute, a local organization that does wonderful things for conservation.
Nygren Wetlands
The Birdfreakmobile at Nygren
We had a wonderful mix of birds at Nygren, our first of the day being a Common Yellowthroat. By the time we had left, we had seen or heard nearly 40 species including a few that were only seen there.
Our next stop was a road with a mix of flooded farm fields and mud flats. We were looking for American White Pelicans (no luck) and intended for a quick stop which turned into over an hour of some really interesting finds.
Best finds along this road were an American Pipit, Pectoral Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Sandhill Cranes (pair), and a group of Bobolinks!
American Pipit
The biggest highlight though was a flock of 12 Cattle Egrets, a first for us in our county and a pretty unusual find (and something we were unsure about until we found out another group had the same flock!).
We eventually pulled ourselves away from this area and made it to our next stop, Sugar River Forest Preserve. We had high hopes of a lot of warblers but with numerous flooded trails, we were not so lucky. We were able to add Golden-winged, Yellow-throated, Chestnut-sided, and Cerulean Warblers to our list, so it was still successful.
Stay tuned for part two of our Spring Bird Count - more warblers and some other nice finds (although we took no more photos the rest of the day).
While scouting for our upcoming Spring Bird Count (Sat, May 10) we checked out a cool area that we’ve never been - Rockton Bog. This “bog” is actually a sedge meadow but it was plenty wet, yet a bit devoid of birds.
Cool fern at the Rockton Bog
We checked out a few other areas to get our bearings for tomorrow’s big day before heading to a local gem, Severson Dells Forest Preserve, where there were reports of Harris’s Sparrow and Summer Tanager (both rather rare in our area).
There was no sign of a Summer Tanager but the Harris’s Sparrow showed up immediately!
This was through a window so the quality wasn’t so great
This is a lifer for Birdfreak and will hopefully stick around for tomorrow’s count (although this is actually not in our counting area so hopefully someone else finds it).
We plan on being thoroughly exhausted after tomorrow but hopefully will have tons of birds to report (although perhaps not many photos since we will be “extreme” birding).
Tags: Harris's Sparrow
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