Musings of a Birder

Another Kansas Adventure

2011-04-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

A Kildeer at Cheyenne Bottoms CA, KS

Well, tomorrow I am off on another Kansas bird watching adventure. This one is to help other people see and enjoy the birds that give me so much peace and joy. I am guiding at the Wings & Wetlands Festival in Great Bend, KS. This event is held every other year and attracts nature and bird lovers from across the country. Two of the largest wetlands in the midwest, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and Cheyenne Bottoms CA, are in the middle of Kansas. Large numbers of shorebirds, ducks, cranes, plovers, and terns use these wetlands to breed and as a stopping point during migration. At the festival participants are led on tours and can attend seminars on various topics including photography, bird identification, and natural history.

A classic Kansas sunset at Cheyenne Bottoms CA, KS

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous to be guiding at such a high-profile festival. It seems like just a couple years ago it was my first trip to Quivira and Cheyenne and it was me learning all the wetland birds. I am trying to remind myself that there have been a lot of hours of birding since then and I am getting more and more confident with my shorebird identification. Even though I am becoming more experienced there is always something to work on and learn. I feel lucky for the opportunity to guide and to learn right along side my tour groups.

American White Pelican in flight at Cheyenne Bottoms CA, KS

Great Backyard Bird Count 2011

2011-02-20T07:27:00.000-08:00

I figured that this year's Great Backyard Bird Count was a great time to resurrect the blog from it's deep slumber. First, I will let you know what has been going on with me since I last wrote. The biggest and best thing that happened is that we now have a beautiful daughter Jovee that will be joining the birding blog from time to time. Also, I completed my first century bike ride last year with the Spin Doctors bike group which was one of my life goals. Enough about me though let us get to the thing you are all desperately waiting for: birds, birds, birds.

Yesterday I made my annual trek to the Burroughs Audubon Library at Lake Jacomo in Blue Springs, Missouri for their annual Great Backyard Bird Count Event. They have a lovely feeder setup with all the trimmings for their feathered friends. They offer: black oil sunflower, safflower, suet, fine sunflower chips, nyjer, peanuts, and scatter white proso millet. What more could a bird want?

The GBBC is a great way to be a citizen scientist for the day and the count creates a snapshot of the where birds are in the country over one weekend. It is easy to do in your own yard but there are a lot of events that you can go to as well. At the events people can learn how to count in their own yards or even what birds that they are seeing but might not know what they are. Burroughs Audubon invites anyone to come out for a spell to help with the count. It is always fun to meet different people and to help them learn the joys of backyard bird feeding and to stretch their knowledge a little more.

This year's count was no disappointment with great sightings including Harris Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Purple Finch, Rusty Blackbird, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. At one point we even had a well planned out sparrow flash mob scratching at the ground. Another fun thing this year was finding birds with bands on their legs. A couple weeks ago a couple researchers banded some of the birds around the library. So every once in a while you would find a Dark-eyed Junco with a blue band or a Downy Woodpecker with a red band. It will be interesting to see if we locate some of the same birds next year!

If you want to do your own GBBC it goes through Feb. 21st. For information go to http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

Good Birding!

Northern Cardinal, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco

A Blue Jay Eating aSunflower

A Group Of Northern Cardinals

Harris Sparrow

Male Purple Finch

A Cavity Nesting Warbler?

2010-05-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

This spring there have been quite a few Prothonotary Warblers around so I wanted to have some fun and blog about this amazing warbler. Prothonotary Warblers are one of the two cavity nesting warblers, the other is Lucy's Warbler. People have even had them nest in House Wren Boxes before. They are most likely to be found in flooded forests, cypress swamps, and along lakes and rivers. Unlike most warblers the Prothonotary is most likely to be seen low to the ground instead of high in the trees. Prothonotary's mainly, eat insects by foraging through tree bark. Normally lack of food is not a problem. Trust me when I say that the habitats they prefer can leave you a little bit itchy! The name Prothonotary refers to clerks in the Roman Catholic Church who wear bright yellow robes. These warbler's have such an amazing color. I always enjoy being on a bird trip with people who have never seen one before and all at once you hear a collective "wooooooo." I hope that all of you will get a chance in your lifetime to see at least one Prothonotary Warbler. I guarntee that you will remember the moment forever. Migration is in swing so get out and find some birds!

Velib Bicycles

2010-04-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

Overland Park KS: One of my co-workers recently went on a trip to Paris, France. Knowing that I am a cyclist she new I would be interested in one of Paris's forms of local public transportation. Velib Bicycles are Paris's answer to their bad traffic congestion problems. Talk about the ultimate in green transportation! There are Velib Stations all over Paris and you get 30 minutes free on a cycle and can return it to any of the stations you want. All you do is swipe a credit card as collateral in case you decide to steal the bike. Velib is short for vélo libre in french and in English means "free bicycle" or "bicycle freedom." I was so excited to learn about this short range form of green transportation and would like to see it tried in various metropolises across the USA. Not only would it releave some of the congestion but would provide much needed jobs as well. They would require a support staff to monitor the conditions of the bikes and to fix flat tires. Another thing that crossed my mind was the possibilty of this being a step in the right direction to controlling our country's obesity problem, any little bit can help. Below I pasted a link to youtube that explains the bikes and process in detail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDBfwU6zni8

The Beast Called County Listing

2010-04-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

American White Pelicans

A couple of years ago my birding took a drastic turn to the insane due to a beast known as County Bird Listing. This practice involves keeping track of every bird species you see in a particular county in a state. I mainly focus on Kansas as you have probably already guessed. So lets get down to the nuts and bolts of county listing. Every bird species you see in a county counts as a tick. Once you reach a certain number of ticks in a county you become listable. Only your listable counties count as your total state ticks. In Kansas once you see 75 different bird species (ticks) in a county, you are listable. Kansas has 105 counties with which to try to be listable. I know this can sound confusing but it is very simple when you get down to it. Keeping a notebook of your listing can really help.

Quivira NWR after a storm

The thing I love the most about county listing is that it gets you to parts of the state that you would probably never see otherwise. Most people view Kansas as a giant flat wheat field, which is not accurate. We have the beautiful Flint Hills, vast and majestic. There are the Red Hills in the southern part of the state that are just stunning. The Cimmaron National Grasslands are probably my favorite with an underground river, wide open vistas, and the actual wagon tracks from the Santa Fe Trail. I highly recommend exploring Kansas or the state you live in because there are an endless number of things to discover.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

I am fortunate enough to have some close birding friends that have introduced me to county listing and I can't imagine birding with out it. I still get excited when I see a crow in a county I haven't been in before. It is like having a lifelist for 105 counties that can always be increased. This year I am hoping to reach the milestone of 3000 total ticks in Kansas. There are not a whole lot of people who have accomplished this so I am excited. One of my good friends has over 10000 ticks which is just incredible to me.

A wind farm outside of Salina Kansas

If you want to download county lists for Kansas or to find out more about the Kansas County Listing Project I have included a link below to some great resources.

http://www.ksbirds.org/checklist/checklist_index.htm

March County Listing Madness

2010-03-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

Overland Park, KS: Madness is probably the best word I can use to describe this past weekend. Matt Gearheart and I met up with two other Kansas birding diehards for an insane trip of county listing. It would take us through 30 counties, rain, snow, mud and 114 species of birds. As gruelling as these trips can be i can not think of a much better way to spend my free weekends. To the average american Kansas is a flat wheat field that borders I-70 and is the punishment one must take to get to Colorado. This is an unfortunate view of the state and if you go north or south at all off of I-70 it turns very beautiful. A new spot for me to visit and an absolute gem was Alcove Springs which was discovered by the Donner Party who was part of the gold rush. It has a beautiful waterfall and great trees for the birds. We did not see many birds due to snow and rain but we did nail Purple Finch and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Matt and I parted ways with the party and headed to Wilson Lake to get Long-earred Owl for the year and to end up in Great Bend for the night.

Great Bend put us in position to bird two of the best wetlands in the midwest, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and Cheyenne Bottoms. Fortunately the weather turned to beautiful on Sunday as we birded the wetlands and made our way back home.

Some of the bird highlights on the trip were: American-golden Plover, Sandhill Crane, Trumpeter Swan, American Pipit, Vesper Sparrow, Cinnamon Teal, 6 owl species, and a total of 24 waterfowl species. This finally gave me the boost to my year list that I was looking for bringing me to 128 for the year. Maybe this is the year I can get to 300 in Kansas for the year only time will tell.

Sunrise at Quivira NWR

American White Pelican in Flight

Blue-winged Teal at Cheyenne Bottoms

Tucson Birding: Chapter Two

2010-03-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

Overland Park, KS: Day two I decided to do a little hiking in the east side of Saguaro National Forest. Packing lots of water and snacks I headed out on what would be a 12 mile roundtrip hike up a mountain. Now I don't know what I was thinking since I haven't climbed a mountain in over a year and a half. Maybe it was my crazy brain or maybe i needed to prove to myself I still had it. The hike started out in a mesquite grove and was very rewarding. Two large dark colored hawks shot into the air and I immediately noticed a white rump patch. Harris's Hawks are one of my personal favorites no matter how many times I see them they are still so majestic. Then a bird started calling and my brain triggered a bird call that should not be in Southeast Arizona. "Drink your teeeeee," what my brain triggered, as it would in any eastern US birder, was Eastern Towhee but this was not the case. It actually was a new lifebird for me, Rufous-winged Sparrow, and I have included a photo of it below. Many of the creek beds that are normally dry had water flowing from a wet winter and everything was amazingly green and lush. I was reawarded at the top of my accent with a Greater Roadrunner perched on the top of a desert shrub. Down I trekked with my feet only barking a little bit and started to head back to the hotel to meet Marci and her friend for dinner after there interviews. On the way back I tagged one more lifebird at a horse ranch. It was one that I had been thinking about and this was just the habitat I had been looking for. Two Bronzed Cowbirds with bright red eyes were working the ranch over for whatevere they could find. There is one more day left to blog about Tucson and that is the Sonoran Outdoor Desert Muesum so stay tuned for more!

Pictured above: Black-throated Sparrow

Rufous-winged Sparrow

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Rock Wren

The spring desert bloom is going to be spectacular this year

Tucson Birding: Chapter One

2010-03-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Overland Park, KS: Last Sunday Marci and I left for Tucson for a few days. For those of you new to birding, Southeast Arizona is one of the top birding locations in the country. Marci was interviewing for a medical fellowship in Tucson which left me free for a little desert birding. Arriving early in the day on Sunday meant we had a full day to just play and bird. As soon as we got our rental car we headed to the west side of Tucson to the Saguaro (sa-wa-row) National Forest. They have a very nice visitor center with interpretive trails to walk and introduce people to the desert ecosystem, which is as amazing as it is resourceful. After we got some trail maps we headed up the King Canyon Trail which is about 6 miles round trip.

Immediately my excitment was starting to be satisfied as there were Curve-billed Thrashers calling from their perches, hoping to find mates. I snapped a few pictures and was thankful once again for the new camera, which I didn't have on our last trip to Arizona. This was a very nice hike with plentiful evidence of the desert benefiting from a wet winter this year. Butterflies were fluttering between flowers painting the desert in reds, yellows, and purples.

Weather in Kansas this winter can be described in one word- gray! For me this is not good so it did my mind some good to absorb the sunshine and as much nature as possible. After our hike we checked into the hotel and I made plans for a full day of birding on Monday while Marci was at her interview. My excitement lead to a restless night, reminding me of my childhood and trying to sleep on Christmas Eve. Stay tuned this week for two more days of Tucson birding! To all my Kansas friends- I promise the 80 degree days will be here soon.

Pictures from top down - Curve-billed Thrasher, Butterfly (unknown for now), Canyon Towhee, Lush Desert Flowers.

For all the Tucson pictures go to: https://www.photoshop.com/user/kcbirder

2010-03-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: 5:00am rolled around way too soon this morning when it was time to get moving for a busy birding day. A little help from some cereal and a lot of help from my coffee I headed out to meet up with Matt Gearheart for another birding adventure. Matt and I had worked on a game plan the night before and had decided to do a southeast loop of Kansas. We thought that this loop might produce a few early migrants for our Kansas and county lists. County listing is an addictive, fun way to bird with friends in which you list every bird species you see in each county.

Today's trip took us through five Kansas counties: Coffey, Woodson, Greenwood, Wilson, and Elk. The morning started off with a bang finding a Greater Yellowlegs and Bonapartes Gulls at John Redmond Reservoir and a host of ducks on the small ponds. This was shaping up to be an outstanding March county listing trip. March is always a little bit of a gamble for a bird trip in Kansas. Extreme weather differences and wind patterns can really fowl, pun intended, things up. We left John Redmond with visions of bald Eagles cruising on thermals over the dam and made our way down a chain of lakes. Crossing that magical dividing line that seperates Black-capped Chickadees and Carolina Chickadees we started knocking off year birds left and right. On one highway we saw a dark hawk fly over the vehicle that looked different. Pulling a quick turn around we parked the truck on a road just off the highway and the hawk cooperated by flying right over our heads. Rough-legged Hawk! This was on our hit list for the day and what a view! My favorite thing about this bird was the dark tail band at the end of the feathers, just stunning to see flying around above. So many raptors were seen on our trip that it was mind boggeling to count each one. We added Red-shouldered Hawk, Merlin, American Kestrel, Turkey Vulture, Barred Owl, Northern Harrier, and Red-tailed Hawks that ranged from almost all white to black.

After lunch we started to bird our way back home after asking the locals, the cows, for directions. Matt and I just had a feeling that we should check John Redmond one last time. Up the highway we drove arriving at the resevoir and surveying one of the lower ponds. A big brown gull was sitting on one of the mud flats and we started to study the specimen. Both of us had a hunch of what the gull was but we needed more proof. Soon after it stretched a wing and turned sideways to give us a good view of the head. Round head creamy brown underwing, Thayers Gull! I thought I might miss Thayer's Gull this spring which meant I would have to wait until the fall. But wait no more- it is on the list! Last but not least we picked up one more early migrant a Baird's Sandpiper.

What a great day of birding! I can't think of much else that could be better. Oh wait....I am going to Tucson, Arizona tomorrow for a few days of birding! So I will be on a birding trip through next Wednesday but expect a week's worth of blogging about Tucson when I return.

For all of the photos from this trip and more go to
https://www.photoshop.com/user/kcbirder

Good News for Coastal Louisiana!

2010-03-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: Sorry no pictures today, but instead I wanted to share a news story with you. A couple of days ago a charity story peeked my interest. The only reason I even read the article was that it was about former Chiefs player Scott Fujita. Fujita just won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints and is a little bit of an unsung linebacker. Recently he signed with the Cleveland Browns but before he left town he gave the city a wonderful parting gift. As you probably know, Super Bowl winners get big bonuses from the league, Scott Fujita did a great thing donating 1/2 of his to charity. Fujita gave half of that to Haiti and the other to Coastal Louisiana Wetlands Restoration. As you know, I went to an Audubon and NWF workshop in Louisiana in January about restoring coastal wetlands. One of the big issues with any restoration project is raising money. So excitedly I emailed a fellow birder and Audubon employee in Vicksburg MS, David Ringer, to see if our coalition was the receiver of the money. As of right now we are not sure where the money is going but David has put his feelers out to see. Regardless of who gets the money it was nice to see an environmental project get some national PR. Here is a link to an article about it and feel free to ask me questions about Coastal Louisiana Restoration.

http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2010/03/scott_fujita_a_champion_for_ne.html

Wild Bird Center Trip to Nelson Island

2010-03-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: Today I helped Mike Stoakes with the Wild Bird Center bird walk to Nelson Island that is on the Kansas River. This year temperatures were in the 50's with a little chill in the wind. Last year on this walk on the same weekend it was 82- What a difference a year can make! We had 15 or so brave souls join us to see what we could make of one of the slowest bird winters I have seen. It is always nice to see a few new birder faces on the walk and hopefully people learned a little bit about the art of birding. Matt Gearheart met us in the parking lot when we arrived with everyone else and had accrued quite the list just from the parking lot with some early migrants including Wood Duck and Killdeer. Giving the island and creek a thorough look through we did manage to pull some goodies and were even treated to a singing Brown Creeper. Personally I am not sure I have heard a Brown Creeper sing it's full song before. The song had a warbler quality to it and now it is apparent to me why it is a song bird.

Common Goldeneye

While birding near the Waste Water Treatment Plant near the trail a Red-shouldered hawk circled overhead before a crow dive-bombed the hawk and chased it away. Suddenly Matt pulled a Glaucous Gull out of the hundreds if not thousands of gulls overhead. What a beautiful bird, all white and no black in the primary feathers,, separating it from other gulls. This was a new Johnson County bird for me and not an easy one to add by any means. Next we drove around to the top of the Plant and scoped the many ducks and gulls that were in grass near the ponds. Out of the gulls I spotted a Franklin's Gull in breeding plumage, a full black head! Feeling good about the gulls we decided to finish off the trip at the near by Shawnee Mission Park where there was a Great Horned Owl on a nest. What a fun day of slogging around and getting a brief glimpse of the impending migration to come. Good Birding.

Belted Kingfisher Landing

Cliff Swallow Mud Nests

An Owl Pellet - Maybe a Blue Jay?

2010-02-28T13:34:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: Suffering from a case of cabin fever and a severe longing for spring migration, Marci, the dogs, and I headed out for a walk at the Overland Park Arboretum. The Arboretum is some of the finest woodland habitat in Johnson County. Consisting of a number of different habitats from riparian woodland to prairie this is one of the best spots to go birding for wintering migrants as well as migratory warblers. My target species for the day was Purple Finch since I have not seen it in Kansas yet this year. Unfortunately we did not see one partially due to the large amount of foot traffic around the feeder stations at the birding blind. No day is ever a bad day at the Arboretum and we did see many good birds. The sheer number of Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmice were astounding. Probably the best birds of the day were two Red-shouldered Hawks flying in circles while making their telltale call "keeur, keeur." It was great to get out and enjoy some forty degree weather while slogging in the mud and remaining snow, and tiring the dogs out in the process! The trees are budding, and the birds are singing. What a relief it is to see and hear some signs of spring reminding us of nature's seasons about ready to change.

Riparian habitat at the Overland Park Arboretum

Black-capped Chickadee at the Birding Blind

These mossy rocks were the only green we saw, but that will change soon!

Marci and the dogs exploring the woodlands

Is that James Bond?

2010-02-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: I figured now would be a good time to introduce you to the birding crew. I am so fortunate to have a fun bunch of guys to bird with and that push my birding to new levels. From the left: Mark Land, Me, Matt Gearheart, and Aaron Mitchell. Mark lives about a block from my house and Matt's parents still live about 2 blocks away. There must be something in the water in the neighborhood that makes people crazy for birds! I can't tell you enough how important it is to have a close group of birding friends. You learn so much from your peers. I remember one of my first backyard bird counts at the Burrough's Audubon Library where Mark spent the whole day teaching me the different subspecies of Dark-eyed Juncos. Matt and I bird together every chance we get. When migration rolls around this spring you will see a lot of stories of our morning adventures before work spying out warblers. I haven't birded with Aaron in awhile since he has been busy with work and family events. Anytime you bird with Aaron you know your sides are going to hurt when you get home from all the jokes and funny things he does. You may never see another picture of birders looking as good as this again in your life. I can almost promise you that you will never see this group in tuxs again. This picture was at Matt's wedding, it was an outdoor wedding, and it was a little difficult to participate in an outdoor wedding when birds are singing all around. Have a great weekend. Get out and bird!

How to find bugs on a frozen day.

2010-02-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS:   Today I was watching our feeders and birds in the yard foraging for food in a mini icestorm. It wasn't too long before I noticed one of our regular visiters this winter, a Brown Creeper. It was hopping up the tree poking around for bugs; when it would reach a certain height it would then head back down the tree. Brown Creepers always remind me of little leaves fluttering as they fall but they don't hit the ground like a leaf. Instead, it appears as if they have a magnetism for tree bark and adhere back on the tree. They are so amazing to watch that I could probably spend an entire afternoon just watching them be little busy bodies. On a bird walk a couple of years ago I had over 17 foraging on 3 or 4 different trees.
     Being stuck in the house today, I decided to do a little research about Brown Creepers and to share it with you. The Latin name of the Brown Creeper is Certhia americana, and it is the only member of that family in North America. There are other species nearly identical to this one in Europe and Asia, and the greatest diversity of creepers is in the Himalayas. Eating mostly bugs and other invertebrates, they also add seed and nuts to their diet in winter. Woodpeckers and creepers are very similar in their feeding style in that they scour trees probing crevices with a curved bill and gleening bugs and spiders from the surface.  Creepers always feed as they head up the trees and then swirl back down around the tree to land on a lower spot, ready to head upwards again. Even though a creepers call is soft and fairly high pitched it is still considered a songbird. Unlike other songbirds, the creeper is the only one that molts its tail feathers. This is a must since their tail is used for climbing and stability just like woodpeckers'.
     I am glad that I get to enjoy this fun bird, nicknamed LBJ, or little brown jobie by man birders, in our own yard and it is always one of the things I look forward to in the winter. Keep a watchful eye on your trees- you never know when you might see a little bark colored bird feeding about. Good birding this week and if you are in a cold place remember that migration is right around the corner!

A Biodegradable Chip Bag

2010-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: I got home from work the other day and grabbed a bag of chips out of the cabinet. To my suprise the bag was extraordinarily loud. Marci called out to the kitchen, "You found your suprise from the grocery store."

I couldn't figure out why she had brought me a bag of original Sun Chips for my suprise. Normally my grocery store suprise would be sushi, a soda, steak, and on the rare occasion gummi worms. Marci soon informed me that the suprise was the bag itself. It was one of the new Compostable Chip bags. The bag is 100% compostable and test data shows that it will biodegrade in an active compost pile in 12-16 weeks. Sun Chips has been able to accomplish this by combining different plant based starchs to make a film. Of course this process requires aerobic (oxygen rich) conditions. So, if this bag is thrown out in the trash and ends up in a normal landfill, which is anerobic (no oxygen), it will not biodegrade. Biodegradable bags are the imminent wave of the future and is one step closer to figuring out how to degrade a bag in anerobic conditions. The funny thing to me is that the bag is loud because of the material that is used. It even has a label on the bag that reads, "This bag is louder because it is compostable." I am very happy that more and more companies are looking to green materials for the future. This one bag has convinced me to start a compost pile which will help my flowers and plants as well! To see a cool timelapse video go to http://sunchips.com/healthier_planet.shtml?s=content_compostable_packaging There is also info on composting on the page. It is not everyday you find a wife that buys you environmental treats!

2010-02-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: Matt Gearheart, one of my birding buddies, and I went on a short half day trip to do some year listing and county listing in Kansas today. Matt is the person who fostered my insanity of county listing. Not a lot of birds were out but we made the best of it. Our list included two particularly nice birds, Merlin (Prairie subspecies) and Prairie Falcon. We also found county records in two counties by seeing Herring Gulls. Below you'll see Matt in one of the hotspots for the day: a cemetary. Why do we frequent cemetaries on these trips? They have a lot of mature trees, in some parts of the state may be the only nearby place with trees, and therefore attract a lot of birds. It was a fun but cold trip and I can't wait to get out again.

Snow Goose Flock

Matt birding in a Cemetary

Yesterday I was at the Burrough's Audubon Library at Lake Jacomo in Missouri. It was a very fun day counting birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count. My best memory of the day was over 30 cardinals in the morning visiting the feeders. There were some visitors that showed up and we had a blast teaching them about backyard birds and how to do a count. This is one of my favorite events of the year and I can't wait to do it again next year. Halfway through the day Mike Stoakes, a good birding friend, tipped me off that nearby there were five Trumpeter Swans. Off we went on a mini bird excursion and found the swans. None had bands around the neck so there is no telling where they came from. Thanks to everyone at the count for making it another fun and memorable year.

Northern Cardinal in Fresh Plumage

Chasing a Long-tailed Duck

2010-02-12T18:34:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: Yesterday my co-worker and fellow birder Christine tipped me off that there was a Long-tailed Duck reported at Smithville Lake in Smithville, Missouri. Being only about 40 minutes from there and not having to be to work until noon, I decided to chase the duck. Christine wanted to see it as well so we made plans to meet at the Camp Branch Marina where the bird had been seen recently. I was excited since this would be a new life bird for me. I had missed a Long-tailed Duck a couple of years ago in Kansas so I really wanted to see this bird. Into the guides and software I dove finding every picture and piece of info I could find on short notice so I wouldn't overlook the bird when I got there. It was reported as a female that was between summer and winter plumage. A flotilla of ducks was underneath a nearby bridge about 300 yards away. I started scanning this bunch: Male Common Goldeneye, female Hooded Merganser, male Common Merganser, another Common Goldeneye, no Long-tailed duck though. I knew that a lot of waterfowl was still on the pocket of water so I picked another group to scan. This group was only about 100 yards off shore. I always seem to start with the furthest group instead of the closest, and of course this closer group had the Long-tailed Duck. I tried to get some photos of the bird but I am still learning my camera and the photo is blurry but okay for ID purposes. I sent the picture to my main birding compatriot, Matt Gearheart, and he pointed out that the bird might actually be a male that was inbetween plumages. For once ice on a lake was a welcome thing- With such a little amount of open water the duck is staying in one small area making it easier to find.

When I returned home I reviewed my field guides, and sure enough it was a male Long-tailed Duck in between plumages. This is why I love birding so much. No matter how long someone has been birding there are always new challenges and something to learn. This made for a very good day at work for me and I think I was even a little fiesty since I checked another bird off my lifelist. Sorry co-workers for having to deal with the excitement. Enjoy the weekend and happy birding.

Male Long-tailed duck in between plumages

Christine looking at her lifer Long-tailed Duck

Common Mergansers in-flight

Small ice opening to concentrate birds

Mature Bald Eagle in-flight

Bald Eagle bombing Canada Geese

Great Backyard Bird Count

2010-02-09T07:05:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: Well, I woke up this morning to 8 degree temps that feel like -10 and 17 to 20mph winds. The one benefit of this kind of weather was very active bird feeders. I love to see Dark-eyed Juncos hopping on the snow and American Goldfinch enveloping the Nyjer feeders. Even the Carolina Wren was frequenting the hulled sunflower seeds. I really hope that the yard stays this active for the Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend. Every year the Great Backyard Bird Count is held in February and is a blast. This year it is the 12-15 of February and is a great opportunity to take an active role in birds. Also, this is great for all ages and it only takes 15 minutes. You can count for as long as you want as well so if you are having fun keep it rolling. The GBBC is a joint project between Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Bird Studies Canada. What this count accomplishes is like a data snapshot of birds all across the continent at one time. Scientists use this data to track bird distribution from year to year. If you feel like getting out of the house for a count many of your local Audubon Chapters and Nature Centers will be hosting events that you can drop in on. I am going to help with the Burroughs Audubon Society count at their library at Lake Jacomo in Blue Springs, Missouri. For local events in your state go to http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/local-events and for general information click the Great Backyard Bird Count button on the right side of my blog. Not every event is listed so feel free to post other events on the comments section of this blog. I know there are some in Kansas that aren't listed. Remember to have fun and please share some of your counting fun with me and the readers I love to hear them!

Northern Cardinal and American Goldfinch

Female Northren Cardinal & Dark-eyed Junco

Even A Squirrel Was Having Fun

Carolina Wren Enjoying Some Sunflower

A Snowy Walk At Meadowmere Park

2010-02-06T11:18:00.000-08:00

Meadowmere Park, Longview Lake Missouri

Overland Park, KS: Today was the Wild Bird Center monthly birdwalk. The first Saturday of every month people have an opportunity to go on a free birdwalk no matter how experienced they are. I try to go as often as I can if I don't get stuck at the store. This month was to Meadowmere Park at Longview Lake a gem of a riparian woodland along a creek. This was one of my first forays into Missouri this year so I made a start on my MO state list. The trip meets at the store and then we carpool out to the locations. Unfortunately I was the only one to show up at the store. This is probably due to the 6-8 inches of snow we received yesterday. I met our trip leader, and birding diehard, Mike Stoakes at Meadowmere where we managed to compile a respectible list. This walk was a sum of the entire winter, not many birds. The speculation is that the big snows and brutal cold weather in December pushed a ton of birds south. The normal winter woodland birds that are expected were present including, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, White-breated Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, and a smattering of others. A Barred Owl flew back into the trees. We almost always see one on this walk. Two things that were very cool was a Red-tailed Hawk flying around with a squirrel. Which by the way the squirrel was half the size on the return trip that it was when we were walking out. The other was the bird of the day. Towards the end of the walk we saw a sparrow sized bird dart into a tree across the creek. It finally moved onto a branch where we could identify it and much to Mike and suprise there perched a male Purple Finch. Showing of his raspberry plumage, backdropped against snow it just screamed winter birding. This is the first Purple Finch of the year for me and I never grow tired of them. Finally, I got to scratch the birding itch and get out on a trip. I wonder where i will head next?

Magnolia Blossom With a Snow Cap

Snow Flocked Trees

Mike Stoakes Showing Me His Carbon Fiber Tripod

Water Bottles That Help Water?

2010-02-05T06:27:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: I am sure that most of you have heard about BPA especially in water bottles. There are now a lot of water bottles on the market that are BPA free. My sister clued me into a company that I thought was down right awesome! Kor One is a company that is not only helping our health but the health of the planet and environment as well. I will get back to the water bottles in a minute but first I wanted to explain BPA so hang with me. Warning science content ahead! BPA is the chemical abbreviation for Bisphenol A which is found in #7 plastics. It has been used in production for more than 50 years and can be found in epoxy resins. More commonly though it is found in polycarbonates. Now the thing most people associate with polycarbonate is water bottles. Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body's own hormones and may lead to negative health effects. A panel convened by the U.S. National Institutes of Health determined that there was "some concern" about BPA's effects on fetal and infant brain development and behavior. I won't bore you with anymore lab talk, just understand that anything that disrupts the endocrine system or baby development is not good. Back to Kor One, they are making a BPA free, reusable water vessel, as they call it, thats procedes help different water organizations and areas of water conservation. Depending on which bottle you purchase you will support, Ocean Protection, Watershed Protection, Container Recycling, or Global Water Crisis. Personally in light of my recent Louisiana trip to learn about how to save the deltas I am going for the Sawgrass Green for Watershed Protection. They might seem expensive at first, but you have to think big picture. First off, $5 of the purchase goes directly to the organization your vessel supports. Plus 1% of Kor Ones income goes back into programs as well. Think about how much is spent on purchasing disposable plastic bottles at the store. Even if you recycle disopsable plastic bottles it still has a larger carbon footprint then a reusable vessel. The Kor One vessels look awesome have a flip top and goes for something important. I might even try to carry them in the Wild Bird Center. For more info or to purchase online go to http://www.korwater.com/. Tomorrow I am joining the Burroughs Audubon Society on a trip to Meadowmere Park and i will share our sightings.

That itch, that itch, I need birds!

2010-02-04T07:29:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: Well, I have reached another one of those points where I have that uncontrollabe desire to be on a birding trip. This normally happens because of big projects at work, to many gray days in a row, or like today a ton of activity in the backyard. We have snow predicted for tonight so the birds are power loading on the food to help them stay warm. But there is a hint of spring in the yard as well. Some of the daffodils have started to poke through the frost encased ground. More noticable is that the birds have started to sing! Cardinals have been belting out a melodious song as well as the Black-capped Chickadees. That reminds me that migration is not to far off and that the birding will be ramping up. To help myself, and maybe some of you, with that itch I am remembering my trip to Tucson, Arizona in November of '08. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I will be going back to Arizona in March because Marci has an interview there. I guess if I had to move to Tucson I would survive. What do you think?

A nice closeup af a Prickly Pear Cactus(Above)

Birding at Bell Rock in Sedona (Right)

Shadows at San Pedro House

Phainopepla

Corinth Elementary: Excited About Nature

2010-02-03T07:08:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS:

Dexter our beagle, and one of my chief editors of Musings of a Birder, encouraged me that it was a stay at home under the blanket and blog kind of morning. So with that being said I had an awesome time yesterday at Corinth Elementary School, Go Dragons! I was invited by the Junior Master Naturalists Club to talk to them about backyard bird feeding. So for about 30 minutes they were nice enough to listen to me ramble about feeders, seed, books, ipods, and the Great Backyard Bird Count. It was very refreshing to see 3rd - 5th graders that are excited about nature and conservation. It is easy sometimes to feel like there are not a lot of younger people that are into birds and the outdoors. So it is nice to talk to groups like this to re-instill the faith. The group learns all kinds of things about nature. The children told me all about bats that they learned the week before from Barbara Willson, one of my customers and great naturalist. There is also a garden and a water garden at the school that the students learn from. After I was finished they made a neat little bird feeder that I wanted to share with you all. Hopefully everyone enjoys making things like this as much as my nieces in Indiana and Nephews in Wichita, Kansas do. They took orange halves and took all of the fruit out of the rinds so it made a basket. Then with adult help they attached a wire to make a hanger, just a simple little loop. Then the inside of the rind was coated in peanut butter and filled with seed.

(Trumpets blaring and people cheering) You have a great new natural bird feeder. The best part of helping with the feeders was when three girls asked if they could use their snack (dried fruit) in their feeders. I think this was prompted by seeing one of our seed mixes that has dried papaya and cherries. Of course I said sure and now there will be some lucky birds eatting junior naturalists snacks. To finish out their meeting Linda Willis gave a nice presentation on a family of Cooper's hawks that nested right outside her window. It is a phenomenal story which she has turned into a childrens book. Now all she needs is a publisher! If any of you are publishers or know a publisher

you should really take a look at this book.

I don't have kids yet and I would buy it. An added bonus was a very nice handmade card with birds on it. Thanks to the Junior Master Naturalists for allowing me to share and keep up the good work!

Recycling is for the birds!

2010-02-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: The other day I was hanging around with a few of my good mountain biking buddies. One of them finished a pop and threw the can at the other one. He of course said, "What was that for?" to which the other replied, "I was hoping you would throw that out for me." I interjected with, "Or recycle?" I was chuckled at like it was some kind of joke. It prompted a lighthearted in-depth discussion about recycling. Now, you have to understand that we like to rib each other at any possible opportunity so it wasn't malicious at all.

Recycling is more than just doing something good. It is a responsibility each of us has to each other and the environment. It is amazing how you can reduce how much goes into a landfill (forever) just by recycling. Our household, which includes my wife, me, and our two dogs, produces a half bag of trash a week. This has been accomplished by, amazingly enough, putting recyclables into a different container than trash. Ta da! The same thing has happened at the store I work at by recycling cardboard. My wife has also started collecting pop cans at her work, and occasionally comes home with huge trash bags full of cans. It is amazing how fast this all can pile up! Our county also does Christmas tree recycling, which gets transformed into mulch and fish habitat in the area lakes.

Christmas Tree Drop-off Site

Probably my favorite recycling innovation has been by a group of companies that has formed a glass recycling service that gets re-used to make fiberglass insulation for homes. Ripple Glass dumpsters are now all over Kansas City. It starts by a green action and becomes a green product. Another advancement is the use of recycled plastic bottles to make bird feeders and houses. The birds don't mind the plastic at all and the product virtually lasts forever, saving the customer a lot of money in the long run.

Recycled Plastic Window Feeder

Recycling is not only a personal responsibility but a civic responsibility as well. Some of my friends don't recycle because their cities charge them a lot to do so. It can be difficult to convince others to recycle when it is not financially advantageous to do so. We need to somehow find a happy balance to encourage people to reduce their waste. None of this is ever easy to solve overnight. Just remember that every person who recycles is making a difference.

Glass Recycling Dumpster

New Photoshop Slide Shows

2010-01-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

I am very excited due to the fact that I just got a new toy for bird watching. I finally dragged myself into the 21st century of photography kicking and screaming a sound that resembles a Barn Owl. I recently purchased a Nikon digital SLR camera that is just amazing. The only thing to say about it is, what took so long! So hopefully I will be able to post full albums for you instead of one picture at a time. It is funny to me that it has taken this long to get a decent camera considering that I view myself as a more technological birder. I use the Ipod, and various computer software, Thayers Birding Software, Ebird, and watch the listservs for rare bird sightings. Well, at least I feel like a more complete birder again and can document my sightings better. My wife Marci is excited because she loves scrapbooking in her freetime and loves doing nature books for me. Enjoy the pictures and maybe you will get a grasp on how nature looks through my eyes and my thoughts.

Photoshop.com Album: OP backyard wildlife

2010-01-30T08:57:00.001-08:00

Backyard Birding

2010-01-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS:

When I am not on birding trips I am at my full time job. My job fits my life perfectly and I can't imagine doing anything else at the moment. I am a manager for the Wild bird Center in Prairie Village, KS. So all day I get to deal with birds which allows me to enjoy my passion all the time. Naturally when I am at home I watch my 17 bird feeders. My yard is not huge but in a given year I will see over 50 species flutter through. Some of the notables for this area are a Northern Goshawk, Baltimore Orioles, Indigo Bunting, Harris Sparrow, and a smattering of warblers and vireos. I find that you can learn so much by watching birds at feeders. This is very helpful for quick identification in the field. This is also a great way for beginners to get used to locating birds quickly in binoculars or a scope. Not only does my wife Marci and myself watch but our two dogs Dexter and hank love to sit on the futon and watch the activity. The picture above is of a White-throated Sparrow that has been frequenting our natural bird feeder. The picture below is Hank (Chow-Shepard Mix) watching our new recycled plastic window feeder that gets a ton of activity. Watch your feeders you never know what will show up next. Good Birdwatching!

2010-01-26T06:20:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS:

This past Saturday I joined the Burrough's Audubon Society of Greater Kansas City on their annual Gull trip to Lawrence, KS. The weather was decent, the birding was fun, and the group had a great time with many beginners in the group who were getting over 20 new lifebirds. Way to go you are now addicted! We only saw three species of gulls: Herring, Ring-billed, and Franklin's. Waterfowl was very plentiful where water was open which wasn't much. The trip ended up seeing 19 species of waterfowl including an awesome view of all three male merganser species in the same scope view. Seeing both Scaup on the same day is always a treat as well. Sparrows were a little bit to far and few but we managed to get a Fox Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Harris's Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow. All in all, a great trip. This trip puts me at 67 species for the year in Kansas not a bad start!

Eagles, Eagles, Eagles. We saw over 100 eagles which were eating fish and calling to one another.
Also in this picture directly below the eagle is a Herring Gull and the rest are Ring-billed Gulls.

This is what 98% of the water looked like on this trip so we did great with 19 species of water fowl.
Including all three Mergansers and White Pelicans. A group of about 700 Common Goldeneyes was nice as well.

Our trip leader Mark Land (stocking cap) explaining some of the nuances of identifying gulls.

A Eurasian-collared Dove was seen at the Work Station at Clinton Lake. Eurasian-collared doves are expanding their range rapidly.

Accipiter Invasion!

2010-01-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS:
My truck had its ABS light come on today so i had to take it to the shop to get it looked at. On the way I had a Sharp-shinned Hawk take out a Starling right in front of the vehicle. Now sitting at work looking out the front window we just had a Cooper's Hawk reduce the pigeon population by one. All in all that brings the scoreboard for the day to Natives 2 - Invasives 0. This has been a very good winter for accipiters (bird eating hawks) in the KC area. There have been large numbers of both Sharp-shinned and Cooper's in the yards and parks. One trip about a month ago I had 4 different Cooper's Hawks in the air at Shawnee Mission Park. Must have been a scary experience for most other birds in the area! Now all we need is a Goshawk to show up, plus i need it for my Kansas year list.

Louisiana Delta Trip

2010-01-19T07:14:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS:

Well, I am back from my advocacy training to help save the Louisiana Delta. The trip was awesome, the birding was great, and the company could not have been better. The Mississippi is controlled into channels which does not allow it to change it's course or to deposit silt in the delta to build more land. Louisiana loses a football field of land every 15 minutes. This land is not only important to wildlife but also to the safety of people living on the coast. Deltas reduce wave surge during hurricanes and would help prevent another disaster the scale of hurricane Katrina. This affects everyone and hopefully a solution will be reached soon.

Welcome To An Understanding

2010-01-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

Overland Park, KS: I have started this hoping that people will be able to understand nature and its beauty through my eyes. On the same token I hope to gain a different perspective from yours. Whether birds, plants, or any unique piece on earth, I hope you enjoy and get a sense of the wondrous thing we are all a part of.