Keeping track of the eye of Hurricane Sandy

If you are trying to keep track of exactly where the eye of this massive hurricane that is currently attacking the north east, "wind map" is extremely useful.  Check it out here! http://hint.fm/wind/ There are pretty ridiculous wind speeds reaching very far out from the eye of the storm...but note how there is very little wind in the actual eye!!!

Gearing up for my trip to the Azores...

During the first week of October, I have planned a trip to visit my sister who lives on the island of Terceira in the Azores, Portugal. The Azores is an archipelago of 9 islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. From the coast of New Jersey, it is about 2500 miles to the Azores. From Newfoundland, it is about 1200 miles to the Azores.  On the other end, from the west coast of Portugal and Morocco, it is about 800-900 miles to the Azores.

This location in the middle of the ocean makes the Azores a great landing spot for vagrants from both directions. In addition, there are a number of endemic birds on the islands, and also a few introduced species. I really have no idea what I will come across, but I will likely see many familiar birdy faces from North America.  For the not-so-familiar faces, I ordered this book, on the advise from a few birders I tracked down on the internet who have spent time in the Azores.  Field Guide to the Birds of Macronesia

                                 

This book is going to be extremely helpful, as it lists all the birds recorded in this region, in addition to which islands they have been seen on, along with range maps specific to the Macaronesia region. Only a handful of birders have entered their sightings onto ebird, so this book will really come in handy.

On my way to Terceira, I have planned a 12 hour layover on Sao Miguel, home of the Azores Bullfinch, an endemic species, and my target bird for the day. So, page 300 is clearly my favorite.

(pretend this page isn't in Spanish)

I'll post more on this book after my trip, and hopefully will have some advice for other birders in my situation planning a trip to the Azores!

I am still here...

If you haven't noticed, I've been posting exclusively on Nemesis Bird.  But I realize this blog has captured most of what I have done for the past 5 years, so no need to let it die into the neatherrealm of the internet. Field work has taken me to some great places, and this blog captures some of the more memorable days. Like the time I found a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher in La Paz County, Arizona. Or the day I found 327 over-wintering Wilson's Snipe in Arkansas. Or, the day I came across my first Ferruginous Hawk and multiple Rough-legged Hawks. Or, two years of awesome nightjar photos. Or the day I got dumped on with snow in Nebraska. Or, any day in south east Arizona. Or any day in Caribou-Targhee National Forest where I could have easily been attacked by a moose. Or this awesome weekend of good birding and great lighting in Florida. I could go on. The point is it is sad to see a blog die (even though google image search keeps it alive), so I'll keep posting here occasionally. Besides, some things just aren't appropriate for Nemesis Bird. Like this.

My lionhead rabbit, Wookie.

Or this.

How is this van still running....

Or this.

A baby burrow

Or, a link to this video. 

I'm living in State College, Pennsylvania for the next year, which might be enough for someone like me to lose their mind, but this isn't the worst place to be. Right now is peak warbler migration, and I live a mere 3 minutes from Jo Hays Vista hawk watch. I also have a trip to the Azores planned in early October to visit my sister (in which I have planned a 12 hour layover on Sao Miguel to find the Azores Bullfinch).   So, I think I'll be keeping busy. In the meantime, I am looking forward to more field jobs starting next summer, and wherever they will take me (and now Wookie).

I will resist the urge to rename my blog "Birding with a Wookie."

Headed Down South to the Land of the Pines...literally...

It is always bittersweet to finish a field season (check out a post about my last few days of hawk watching on Nemesis Bird). I'm looking forward to my next job, but sad to leave the current one. But, I will be back in Centre County next season to do more raptor work, so I have that to look forward to!

Next, I'll be working for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission out of Gainesville, Florida, until July. I spent a lot of time in and around Gainesville back in 2007 and 2008 when I tracked Whooping Cranes in Florida, and I'm looking forward to spending even more time there!  I'll be working for Karl Miller, who is the Upland Nongame Bird Lead, on a project monitoring the threatened "Southeastern" subspecies of the American Kestrel. This subspecies has been declining in Florida, and like most Florida birds, is faced with habitat loss due to development; in this case, Karl ties the decline to loss of natural nest cavities created by Northern Flickers, as there has also been a decline that species. I'll also be doing some work with Florida Scrub-Jays on the side.

On the kestrel side, I'll be installing and monitoring nest boxes and banding nestlings. In addition, I'll be searching for woodpecker and kestrel nests in natural pine snags, and monitoring those nests.  I'll also be helping out with color-banding and territory mapping of Florida Scrub-Jays, which is a species I've been wanting to work with for awhile!  I'm really (obviously) looking to the Florida sunshine, and not having to wear 17 layers of clothing. I forget what its like to be able to move my arms freely!  I'm also looking forward to upping my Florida list and birding the unique habitat of Florida that most people don't even know exists.

Florida Scrub-Jay: Avon Park, FL CBC January, 2011

Florida Scrub-Jay: Avon Park, FL CBC January, 2011

Also, it pains me to say it, but it's getting too tough to write on two blogs!  I'll most likely be shutting down Speed Birding, and devoting posts exclusively to Nemesis Bird. That is, unless my one reader out there has any objections :o)

Owls

My favorite order of birds is by far the owls, also know as Strigiformes, which includes Tytonidae (the Barn Owls), and Strigidae (the "typical owls," all other owls besides Barn Owls). I recently bought a new camera body, but haven't had time to go searching for any birds to photograph.  So until I can get back out there, enjoy some of my favorite owl photos taken with cameras I have retired! 

Burrowing Owl: Boise, Idaho

Northern Saw-whet Owl: King's Gap State Park, Pennsylvania

Elf Owl: Madera Canyon, Chirachua Mountains, Arizona

Western Screech-Owl: Santa Barbara County, California

Snowy Owl: Cambria County, Pennsylvania

Great Gray Owl: Sax Zim Bog, Minnesota

Northern Hawk Owl: Sax Zim Bog, Minnesota

This week of raptor watching...

While I was hoping for a Rough-legged Hawk to make its was down ridge this week, my site wasn't incredibly productive over the last few days for raptors.  Admittedly, less raptors moving through the state in general means that I will probably not see as many as the bigger sites anymore; my site has a poor viewshed, and I count alone, increasing the chances that a few are getting by me. The week started out very warm, and despite the great thermal production, no buteos were taking advantage of them.  I guess in November, warm weather might mean "I made it!" to a raptor. While a lot of raptors end up in South America and southern North America for the winter, a decent number of them actually stay in Pennsylvania and other "northern" states, finding enough food and space to suit their needs.  Meanwhile, most of the local Turkey Vultures have left the area, leaving me with an empty sky. Later in the week a small cold front moved through, but I wouldn't have known it based on raptor numbers, except for the fact that I was freezing my butt off.  Friday and Saturday were the kind of days where you can wear basically every article of winter clothing you own, but the wind still finds its way right through you.  And, November can be a bitter-cold month in PA. The winds are very inconsistent; one second you are enjoying the sunshine like a fat duck sunning on the bank of a pond, and the next second you are nearly knocked over by a 30 mile an hour gust of wind.  If you are lucky, its also snowing, and the fun fluffy snow you were just enjoying, nearly thinking "I love winter!" turns into tiny little ice pellets in a snow squall that seems to find the few places of bare-skin that you haven't covered. Needless to say, at the end of the day you can feel a little frost-bitten.  So, the highlights of this week were not raptors for once.  My first Tundra Swans of the season came through, and Common Loons were fairly numerous.  My favorite non-raptor to watch was a porcupine that wanders pretty aimlessly around the area.  If he's not rustling around the field pulling down the remaining green vegetation he can reach, he's sitting high up in a maple gnawing on its branches. Meanwhile the rut is in full swing, and deer are everywhere.  I've been visited most days this week by a huge 8-point buck, and he is always hot on the trail of any doe that wander by.  There is also a set of older fawns and their mother that visit the nearby field, eating anything left that is green and out of reach of the porcupines. Thankfully for them, I am not a hunter, and I'll continue telling the hunters I see that I haven't seen much of anything besides birds :o)

Zone-tailed Hawks

After hawk watching mostly in the east over the past few years, I really love going out west and seeing the raptors that just aren't present on the east coast.  I spent part of the last two summers in Arizona, and my favorite raptor to see there is the Zone-tailed Hawk.

Zone-tailed Hawks breed from Northern Mexico into New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. EBird also shows records in California, Utah, Colorado, and Oklahoma, in addition to a sighting from October of  1976 in Nova Scotia!  (This particular bird was present from September 24th through October 4th).  Any well-planned birding trip through Texas should include a small detour off I-10 on the "Sheffield Loop," also known as Hwy 290.  The Ft. Lancaster Overlook at the Sheffield Rest Area is one of the most famous and well-known areas for Zone-tailed Hawks.  Alex and I made a stop here in the summer of 2010, and within 5 minutes of being at the rest stop, Alex spotted a Zone-tailed Hawk!  At first, I didn't really believe that it was one; their flight behavior is almost exactly the same as that of a Turkey Vulture, with a strong dihedral and plenty of "rocking" movement.  But through the scope, I could clearly see its black and white barred tail (also down the road from here, we found a pair of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers on a nest!).

Zone-tailed Hawk - adult

Frquency of Zone-tailed Hawk Reports

(darker purple=more frequently reported)  see eBird for complete interactive map

Many people are using eBird lately, so probably the best way to find a Zone-tailed Hawk is to search for recent sightings in the breeding season, go there, and wait it out.

I've only ever photographed one adult Zone-tailed Hawk. Apparently juveniles appear more brownish than adults. Also, juveniles have many light bands on the tail, while adults only have three. 

I've only ever seen four Zone-tailed Hawks. One was on the Sheffield Loop in Texas, and that was an adult.  While working on the Yellow-billed Cuckoo Project near Cibola NWR, Alex and I saw a juvenile Zone-tailed Hawk.  And this past summer in south east Arizona, on our 5 day birding trip, we saw one in the Chiracahuas, and one in Tucson (the one in the pictures below).  Both were adults.

Zone-tailed Hawk - adult (molting)

Note 3 white bands on tail, and two-toned underwings with black trailing edge

Zone-tailed Hawk - adult

Note dihendral.  At a distance the "two-toned" appearance of the

 underwings can appear like that of a Turkey Vulture.

This post is a part of WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY!