Birders and book lovers should like this one...

H is for Hawk wins Costa Book of the Year

Helen MacDonald's H is for Hawk has just won the Costa Book of the Year award in London, England.   In November of last year the same book also won the Samuel Johnson Prize in Britain.   Prize money for Ms MacDonald, for the two awards totals approximately $104,000 Canadian.  The book was also  short-listed for the Booker Prize, in its non-fiction category.   H is for Hawk is a lyrical depiction of the relationship between human, wild bird of prey, and enduring emotional loss.   Her biographical memoir of being grief-stricken upon the death of her father and then turning to the technical training of a Goshawk named Mabel, has been described by the chair of the judging panel, novelist Robert Harris, as "...brilliantly written, muscular prose and staring at grief with the unblinking eye of a hawk...it was a very clever, accomplished bit of writing that wove everything together".   The author, who had been a falconer from the age of 13, was struck by grief upon the the death of her father and "became obsessed" with training a hawk; a task at which her father had failed.   The book "has been acknowledged as a modern classic," Mr. Harris said.   Several of the the judges "felt very passionately it was a book that haunted them and they would never forget it."   Well, I'm off to Indigo Books to get my own copy of this highly praised book.
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BtheB 

Barn pigeons turn out to be wedding doves

Photos by BarrytheBirder

While driving on Dufferin Street yesterday, south of King City, I noticed a flock of pigeons circling over a roadside barn.   This would be a fairly common sight in many places here and about, but this flock of pigeons were all white.   I pulled over and took a couple of photos and then noticed two folks near the barn.   I drove in and said hello and commented on the white pigeons flying overhead.   The woman said they were wedding doves.   I was momentarily puzzled and then suddenly realized that these were not wild pigeons, but a flock of white doves that are released at wedding ceremonies, as part of the nuptial proceedings.   Any flock of soaring and swooping pigeons is remarkable but I have to say when all the pigeons ( pardon me - doves) are bright white, it is a very impressive display.   The pleasant young woman said that it was feeding time and her doves were stretching their wings while waiting for she and her partner to serve them lunch.   

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BtheB

Smew news

Photo: WWT/PA

Smews do twice as well in protected areas

Global warming/climate change is often a mixture of bad news and good news.   In the case of the Smew (Mergellus albellus), a native of northern Eurasian, north Africa and south Asia, some good news has come to light regarding this duck's presence in northern Europe. It seems to be a combination of climate change and availability of protected areas.   The rare European duck, whose habitat is changing because of global warming, is doing twice as well in conservation areas protected by the European Union.   The dramatic-looking Smew drakes (see photo above) and their female mates are spreading northwards across Europe as temperatures climb.   A wetland data study shows nearly 1/3 of the birds now winter in north-east Europe, compared to just 6% twenty years ago.   In that region, Smew numbers have grown twice as fast in Special Protection Areas created under the EU Birds Directive.   Smews are to be found as far west as Britain where they winter in lowland England, but population numbers are dropping, making the case for protected areas there also.   The appearance of the Smew drake is not extravagant, but it is certainly very striking and dramatic...at least I think so.   Oh to see one in the wild, one day.

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BtheB

Largest aviary in Asia

                                                                                               (Photo:www.arkive.org/Hugo Pierre/Biosphoto)

The new Wings of Asia aviary in Singapore includes birds such as the threatened Luzon Bleeding-heart Dove.                                               

WINGS OF ASIA Aviary

The aviary at Singapore's Jurong Bird Park, previously known as the Southeast Asian Birds Aviary, recently underwent a major makeover that includes an expansion of existing aviaries and updated educational displays.   The rejuvenated and expanded facility is now known as the Wings of Asia aviary.   The 2,600 square-metre aviary will host about 500 birds from 135 species including some of Asia's rarest birds and featuring 24 threatened species such as the Luzon Bleeding-heart Dove (pictured above).   Eleven of the 24 threatened species are new additions, with five being displayed for the first time in the park. These include the Javan Green Magpie, the Rufous-fronted Laughing Thrush, and the Racquet-tailed Parrot.   Through conservation breeding, the park hopes to maintain and safeguard a sustainable population of threatened birds and eventually introduce selected species back into the wild, in their native lands.   Opened 44 years ago, Jurong Bird Park is Asia's largest bird park; a haven for 5,000 birds representing 400 species, which sees 800,000 visitors a year.
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BtheB 

New ideas about evolution of bird species

Wildlife Extra.com has just published a story from Smithsonian Science which states that the genomes of modern birds reveal how they emerged and evolved after the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.   The family tree of modern birds has long been the subject of of debate and the evolution of more than 10,000 species has not been known.   Now a four-year international collaboration of more than 200 scientists in 20 countries has sequenced, assembled and compared full genomes of 48 bird species.   The first findings suggest some remarkable new ideas about bird evolution.   The first paper published in Science presents a new family tree for birds, based on whole-genome data.   The whole-genome analysis dates the evolutionary expansion of 'Neoaves' to the the time of the mass extinction event 66 million years ago that killed off all dinosaurs except some birds.   This contradicts the hypothesis in earlier research that 'Neonaves' arose 10 to 80 million years earlier than that.   Using the new geonomic data, the conclusion is that only a few bird lineages survived the mass extinction.   These gave rise to the more than 10,000 'Neoaves' species that now comprise 95% of all the bird species we have today.   Researchers believe that the ecological niches left by the mass extinction event may have allowed birds' rapid species radiation, in less than 15 million years, which explains modern avian biodiversity.   Visit Science to learn more.

Comparing the artistic image at top of a prehistoric avian creature (which was probably flightless at this stage) to the Shoe-billed Stork, at right, a visual similarity emerges, much more so than a comparison with a tiny hummingbird would produce.   Interesting.

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BtheB

Photo by David LI/Flicker.com

2014 GBBC bird photo contest winners

Photos by Georgia Wilson

Flying across the moon

The 2014 Great Backyard Bird Count photo contest  has selected its winners and the top overall winning photo is shown above.   It was taken by Georgia Wilson of Florida.   There were six categories for photo entries and the top eight photos in each category can be viewed online by going to www.birdcount.org/2014-photo-contest-winners/.   Georgia Wilson was also a second place prizewinner in the 'Behaviour' category for another Sandhill Crane photo (see below).   The GBBC photo contest is a joint production of The Cornell Lab, Audubon, and Bird Studies Canada.   The winning photos were selected from 4,000 entries.

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BtheB

More hawks and Wild Turkeys

Photos by BarrytheBirder

During the past week I have seen Rough-legged Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks (see above), Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels and two other unidentified raptors, and in the past two days I have made three sightings of Wild Turkeys, totaling 100 of the big birds.   Alas, I have yet to see a Snowy Owl.

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BtheB

No Snowy Owls ~ but a Rough-legged Hawk

Photos
 by 
BarrytheBirder

I have been on the lookout for irrupting Snowy Owls every day so far this winter, particularly in the Holland Marsh, but have not seen one yet.   Monday of this week was another unlucky day but I did spot the Rough-legged Hawk, seen above.   I had to be satisfied with these skyward shots as the female bird would not come to ground or perch on any fence posts.   This is normal behaviour for Rough-legged Hawks, whereas other Buteo hawks rarely hover.   Not only do 'Roughies' hover and hunt, like Snowy Owls, but they also occupy the same kind of hunting territory in winter.   In this part of Ontario, that means open fields and marshes.   Further north and west they are to be found on plains and tundra.   Snowy Owls and Rough-legged Hawks feed on similar prey and are especially partial to lemmings and voles.   When the supply of these prey creatures is good, Rough-legged hawks can produce six or more chicks, but in low lemming years, the nests of these hawks can fail entirely.

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BtheB        

Closest living relative to the extinct Dodo

Photo by Ivan Lesica

Nicobar Pigeon

(Caloenas nicobarica)

This beautiful bird is the Nicobar Pigeon.   It was photographed at New York's Central Park zoo by Ivan Lesica and appeared in National Geographic's 'Photo of the Day' on January 9th of this year.   The photo was entitled "Flashy Feathers"... rather trite, but nevertheless accurate.   Nicobar Pigeons are native to southeast Asia, stretching from the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, east through the Malay Archipelago, to the Solomon Islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
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BtheB 

BP's oil spill fine cut by billions

NASA Terra Satellite photo

Well, that makes everything all right...right?

BP will face a maximum fine of $13.7 billion under the Clean Water Act for its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, in 2010.   The amount is several billion less than feared by investors.   Penalties were originally estimated to be $17.6 billion, but a federal judge has just ruled that the size of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig spill amounted to 3.19 million barrels, down from the government's estimate of 4.09 million barrels.   The spill was still the worst offshore spill in U.S. history.   The news immediately helped BP shares to rise by 1%.

Tell it to the birds!

Photo by Charlie Riedel/AP

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

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BtheB

These birds are all starlings

 From left to right and top to bottom: Common Starling by Pierre Selim; Iris Glossy Starling by Doug Janson; Golden-breasted Starling by Perry Quan; Superb Starling by Sumeet Moghe; Violet-backed Starling by Doug Janson; and Long-tailed Glossy Starling by Thom Haslam.

According to National Geographic there are 113 species of starlings in the world, of which I have seen one: the Common Starling.   I am surprised to now discover how many of those 113 starling species look nothing like the one starling species I am familiar with.   Starlings owe their resplendent colours to not just pigment but to the actual structure of their feathers, which impart iridescence.   Because of my geographic location in Canada, I feel obliged to defend the appearance of the Common Starling.   But I won't be satisfied to describe it in words.   I will let the photos below speak to the Common Starling's remarkable appearance.

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

While the Common Starling may be described simply as a small bird with a glossy black plumage, I will just say that I am always greatly impressed with its striking and dramatic plumage both in summer and winter

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BtheB

State bird of Jammu & Kashmir province in India

Photo by Dubai Shapiro/Lynx Editions

BLACK-NECKED CRANE

(Grus nigricollis)

Photo by Purbu Zhaxi/Corbis

Black-necked Cranes are seen above flocking in Linzhou County, in the Peng Po Valley of south-west Tibet's Autonomous Region.   The story of the Black-neck Crane is a bright spot in that its number have kept rising in the past several years, thanks to a series of protective measures taken in Tibet.
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BtheB  

Goosander with a big mouthful...

Photo by Yonhap / EPA

A Goosander (Mergus merganser) holds a fish in its beak, in a stream in Gangneung, Gangwan Province in South Korea.   The Goosander is native to Europe, as well as central and northern Asia.   In North America, the Goosander is known as the Common Merganser. There are three slightly differing subspecies of this bird: two in Eurasia and one in North America.   Holding on to slippery fish (see photo above) is easy for this bird because of the fine tooth-like serrations along the sides of its bill.
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BtheB

Model planes downed by falcon

Photos by John Qiu/Caters News Agency 

                                                                                     

The skies over one of the parks in South Bay, Los Angeles, USA, were recently the scene when a female falcon took great exception to model airplanes gliding too close to her nest on a nearby cliff.   The falcon's relentless attack culminated with two of the intrusive gliders falling to the ground.   The model planes were no match for the falcon, which can reach speeds of 200 mph. 
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BtheB

Pectoral Sandpiper has stamina to spare

Photo by Wolfgang Forstmeier/PA

A male sandpiper is seen trying to make an impression on nearby females.   Chasing the ladies around the clock can take a toll, unless you are a highly sex-driven male Pectoral Sandpiper (Caladris melanotos).   The birds avoid sleeping for weeks at a time so as not to miss out on mating opportunities.   And, spending the mating season and summer in the arctic tundras of north-east Siberia and Canada and Alaska does not seem to cool their ardor.   Researchers have found that the birds spend up to 95 percent of their time awake but seemingly suffer no ill effects.   I must say this behaviour makes me think way back and I become vaguely reminiscent... but certainly no need to go into that here.

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BtheB

Baby eagles rescuer faces year in jail + fines

Photo by Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation

An 18-month-old Bald Eagle, named Sam, has been released into the wild near Rock Island, Wisconsin.   In June of 2013, Sam and his sister, both baby eaglets, had fallen out of a tree, along with their nest.   They were discovered and rescued by wildlife photographer Steve Patterson (pictured at right) of Oglesby, Illinois.   The female, Patty (named after rescuer Patterson) is still receiving therapy for her more damaging injuries.   Patterson contacted the Department of Natural Resources in 2013 and was told to leave the birds alone.   He had already taken them home and then turned them over to the Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation.   Both birds had broken wings.   On January 1st of this year, Sam was released along the Mississippi River.   He joined a large group of nearby eagles.   Meanwhile, rescuer Steve Patterson, already charged and tried once in court, is still facing charges in a re-trial on Feb. 23rd.   Patterson faces up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine for each of his misdemeanor charges.   His first trial ended in 2014 with a hung jury.   Now, State Representative Bob Pritchard has filed a bill for the legislative session that begins  on January 14 (Wednesday of this week).   He is asking for the Illinois Wildlife Code, which Patterson violated by having the eagles in his home temporarily, to be amended to protect people like Patterson.   Patterson has a reputation of not suffering fools gladly and has had legal run-ins with wildlife officials in the past.   It is the price that sympathetic zealots must sometimes pay.   U.S. federal and state laws prevent people from touching or otherwise interfering with certain animals (no matter their plight) in the wild.   There is however a federal wildlife 'Good Samaritan' law.   Hopefully a sensible solution is near.
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BtheB       

Maybe it should have flown further south

Photo by Ian Plant/Solent News

Steaming Red-winged Blackbird

A Red-winged Blackbird is steamed-up as his breath is released into sub-freezing early morning air, in Virginia, U.S.A.

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BtheB

Farewell Minnesota

Photo by Jeff Wheeler - AP Photo/Star Tribune

Hummer becomes a jetsetter

A Rufous Hummingbird has finally made its way south for the winter after accidentally ending up in Minnesota in November of last year.   The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota says the hummingbird was released in Texas after boarding a private jet in Minnesota, when a private jet was provided by an anonymous donor.   The bird had been taken to the Roseville Wildlife Rehabilitation Center after it ended up at a feeder of St. Paul homeowner and wildlife rehab center avian nursery coordinator, Jessika Madison-Kennedy. She rescued and cared for the hummingbird after she realized it was unlikely to survive the unseasonably cold northern weather.   The Star Tribune newspaper reported that windy weather had blown the bird off its migratory flyway.   The wildlife centre said there had been only 16 sightings of Rufous Hummers in Minnesota since the 1970s.

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BtheB

More Snowy Owl miscellany...

This Snowy Owl is part of the latest collection of birds from Lego enthusiast, birdwatcher and professional tree surgeon, Thomas Paulsom.   He hopes to sell the toy company on the idea of making his birds into official Lego kits.

BtheB

Snowy Owls: more of us are seeing more of them

Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters

SNOWY OWL

Nyctea scandiaca

According to the National Audubon Society, the elusive Snowy Owl is appearing more and more frequently in Northern American winter skies.   Sightings of the raptors could surpass last season's record, according to preliminary data from the society's 115th Christmas Bird Count.   The count took place between December 14th of last year and January 5 this year and final results won't be available until June.   Numbers from just the first five days of the 23-day count showed 303 Snowy Owl sightings: a good indication that last year's tally of 1,117 owls will be exceeded.   There is speculation already that the irruption could be the the biggest in 50 years.   Southern Ontario, the Great Lakes and U.S. north-east contain the highest concentrations of sightings.   Locally, in King Township, north of Toronto, the Holland Marsh is a reliable spot  for sightings, but I have not heard of any yet this winter.

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     BtheB

Fewer finches ~ a lot more Juncos

More Juncos

Someone asked me a couple of days ago, at the Nobleton Feed Mill, if I had noticed there were a lot fewer American Goldfinches at the feeders so far this winter, in this part of Ontario.   I replied in the affirmative, but added I have had a lot more Dark-eyed Juncos than ever before.   I also have had more White-throated Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows than ever before, but fewer House Finches and Purple Finches.   These are somewhat different patterns than I am used to, but I do not know the reasons.   I'll keep feeding whatever shows up and enjoy it every day.   No doubt, at the end of the winter there will be observations and studies that will explain this winter's avian menagerie and range patterns.

.     

 Photos by BarrytheBirder

Fewer Goldfinches

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BtheB

Threatened and endangered warblers

 Photo by William H. Majoros/Wikipedia 

CANADA WARBLER

Photo by Will Stuart/Wildlife South

PRAIRIE WARBLER

The bird species pictured above are two of twelve North American warbler species that appear on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List.   The Watch List was prepared by a team of scientists from the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI).   The team identified the 233 U.S. bird species that make up the 2014 Watch List.   The goals of the Watch List are to promote conservation for species  and to highlight the species most in danger of extinction without significant action.   The Watch List is divided into four main geographic sections and warblers are included in the "U.S. Continental" section.   The Watch List is further divided into two categories for each section.   The two categories are the Red Watch List and the Yellow Watch List.   The Red Watch List includes species with extremely high vulnerability due to small population, small range, high threats and range-wide declines.   The Yellow Watch List includes species that are either range restricted (small range and population), or are more widespread but with troubling declines and high threats.   Three of the twelve warbler species appear on the Red Watch List: the Bachman's Warbler, the Golden-cheeked Warbler and the Kirtland's Warbler.   The Yellow Watch List includes the Golden-winged / Prothonotary /  Colima / Virginia's / Connecticut / Kentucky / Cerulean / Prairie and Canada warblers.   I have seen two the twelve: the Prairie Warbler and the Canada Warbler.   I feel my chances of seeing the other ten warblers are now slipping away.   I have not given up hope however and will do what I can to aid the situation.   I hope you can also.

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BtheB   

Whistling Ducks at Run*A*Round Ranch

I once had a male Ring-necked Pheasant land on one of the small bird feeders in my backyard, but I don't think it was as impressive at these Whistling Ducks at Run*A*Round Ranch in Texas.   Theresa, the "TexWisGirl" at Run*A*Round Ranch, has many more photos like the one above on her blogsite.   They are fascinating and charming.   Google this remarkable gal at: Run*A*Round Ranch.

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BtheB

A Cardinal by any other name...

Photo: undermyappletree.net

The Guardian newspaper in England has a regular bird identification feature. A recent entry asked readers to identify a molting Northern Cardinal, similar to the one pictured above, with the correct answer to be given two days later.   The follow-up description of the bird went on to say the Northern Cardinal goes by many other localized names.   The list included Common Cardinal, Red Cardinal, Arizona / Kentucky / Florida / Louisiana / San Lucas / Santa Gertrudis or Eastern Cardinal, Virginia Nightingale, Virginia Redbird, Cardinal Grosbeak, Crested Redbird and simply as the Redbird.   There are nine other official names for various species of Cardinals and those nine species probably have several localized nicknames.   There are approximately 10,000 common bird species names worldwide.   God only knows how many nicknames there are for those birds around the globe.

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BtheB   

Close-ups by Bence Mate

Award-winning Hungarian Bence Mate, known as "The Invisible wildlife photographer", has earned a reputation for being able to capture pictures of birds and animals at very close range.

Eastern White Pelican on the Danube Delta of eastern Romania

 Keel-billed Toucan and Brown-headed Parrot at Laguna del Lagarto, Costa Rica

A Black-necked Stilt in mid-stride, in the Hungarian countryside

Grey Heron fishing in Pusztaszer, Hungary

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BtheB

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Photo by Steve Mills

The 2015 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is underway in London, England for the next several weeks.   The gripping photo above was a winner for Steve Mills, of Nottingham, England, in the Bird Behaviour Category in the 2011 competition.   The WPY (Wildlife Photographer of the Year) competition is a co-production of the Natural History Museum, in London, and BBC Worldwide.   A visit to the WPY website is a must for any lover of nature.   Google it at wpy 2015.

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BtheB

Four-eyed owl?

This is exactly the type of picture I wish I could take.   It's compelling, cute, and charming, all at the same time.   And oh those eyes!   I wish I could compliment the photographer, but I did not get the person's name when I stumbled across the photograph.   I've gone back through my Google sources but cannot trace the picture, for which I apologize.   Is there anything else like the stare of a wide-eyed owl?   I think not.

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BtheB

Olive Toad escapes Hamerkop's clutches

Photos by Garth Thompson

African safari guide Garth Thompson, who was sitting in a hide waiting to photograph an elephant as it came down to drink at a waterhole, captured these photos at Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.   The Hamerkop bird thought the Olive Toad would make a tasty meal, but was foiled by the gyrating escape tactics of the toad, which finally made its way into the water.   The toad, when telling its mates of the escape later on, could use any one of nine names for this waterbird: Hamerkop, Hammerkop, Hammerkopf, Hammerhead, Hammerhead Stork, Umbrette, Umber Bird, Tufted Umber and Anvilhead.   Or, it might just be simpler to call it by its scientific name: Scopus umbretta.

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BtheB