“Looking for an excuse for a road trip, or maybe just an afternoon at a local park? Here are ten top must-see natural spectacles that you can catch each spring….”
Eddie adds: The good news is that events in at least three of the ten categories (four, if you are a fly fisherman) happen here each year in the North East USA, so check out the suggestions in the above link, from The Nature Conservancy!
(Part 1 of this article — Songbird Banding — may be viewed here)
Our Wildlife Watchers and Nature Photographers group trip to the Braddock Bay Raptor Research center [BBRR] was primarily about the annual springtime phenomenon of mass migration involving birds of prey. By happy coincidence, many of our friends from the Buffalo Ornithological Society were there at the same time.
A few of the many people on the viewing platform at Braddock Bay. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
Like many hawk-watch locations, success at Braddock Bay is very dependent on the weather, with the optimum opportunities coming on days when the wind is from the south west. On the day of our visit, it seemed as though the wind, at various times, came from every direction except the south west! Such is life.
A small part of a ‘kettle’ of over 200 broad-winged hawks, together with a few accipiters. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
Even so, for those with the patience to wait on the viewing platform, there was still plenty to see. Sightings while we were there included:
The lakeside location plus the nearby bushes and woodland also provided plenty of interest with relevant species.
Eddie Wren
Other sections of this topic:
Part 2: Raptor Watching — you are currently on this page
Part 3: Captive (i.e. Injured) Raptors
Part 4: Photo Gallery (submitted images)
The Braddock Bay Raptor Research center [BBRR] is located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario near the north west corner of Rochester, NY, a city famous as the global headquarters of Kodak, and BBRR was the primary reason for today’s visit.
More will be written in Part 2 of this four-part article (see foot of page for links) regarding the excellent opportunities to watch migrating raptors at BBRR, and the reason they come here in high numbers but our group visit, on 27 April 2014, started with an owl prowl which disappointingly drew a blank, then we continued with a visit to the nearby Braddock Bay Bird Observatory [BBBO] banding station.
Golden-crowned Kinglet. Photo copyright, Eddie Wren, 2014. All rights reserved.
In my own opinion, one of the best things to come out of the banding visit was the chance to see North America’s two kinglet species, side-by-side.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Photo copyright, Eddie Wren, 2014. All rights reserved.
The Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) has, as its name makes clear, a golden or yellowy-coloured crown, front-to-back on its head, but when seen in the wild, it differs most visibly from the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) in having full-head-length black and white stripes above its eyes, whereas the the Ruby-crowned has only a white ring around its eyes. The ruby-crowned also has the ability to hide its bright red pate under the surrounding drab olive feathers, to help with camouflage when predators are about (see photo, left).
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
Birders travelling between North America and Europe might wish to check Golden-crowned Kinglets (Regulus satrapa) against the Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) and the Firecrest (R. ignicapillus).
The numbered band/ring. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
The most remarkable fact of all is that Golden-crowned Kinglets — tiny, 4-inch long insect-eaters — overwinter not only throughout the USA but also in southern Canada and even in Alaska. The obvious question is how do they find their tiny insect prey species in frozen north woods in winter. When I have the time, this will be the subject of a separate post in this blog.
Ruby-crown’s wing. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
Back to the subject of the BBBO station, it is always a pleasure to watch the deftness and gentleness of experienced bird ringers/banders — the way they can hold tiny and relatively fragile creatures securely without causing any harm — and the three ladies today were no exception. I even asked them whether women are better at handling tiny birds than are men but was told it is not a gender issue, it’s just down to the care and to some extent the hand-size of the person in question.
Ruby-crown’s tail. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
Each bird brought in is checked to see whether it is already wearing a band (referred to as a ‘ring’ in British birding circles), in which case the number is noted so that the bird’s movements since it was first ringed may be recorded. If that’s not the case then obviously a ring is fitted and the number on such is noted and entered into the system. Over the last 25-30 years, how much must computerisation and the Internet have done for bird banding research, around the world?!
Blowing on the breast feathers so the bander can check the bird’s fat reserves. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
The bird is also checked in relation to gender and physical condition. Measurements are taken and — perhaps the strangest sight for first-time viewers — the breast feathers are gently blown back so that the amount of fat the bird is carrying can be estimated. This is crucial to the bird’s ability to migrate. If it isn’t carrying enough fat (fuel!) it will not survive the long journey.
Listening to the remarkably fast purr of a kinglet’s heartbeat. Photo copyright, 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
When it came to releasing these remarkable little creatures, one was gently held to people’s ears so that we could hear the heartbeat — so fast that it could best be described as a purring noise.
Thank you to the BBBO banding team for the demonstration. It is always a privilege to see this ‘up close and personal’ side of birds and the research work. Without the efforts of banders/ringers over the decades, it is frightening to think how little we would still know about birds… period!
Eddie Wren
Other sections of this topic:
Part 1: Songbird Banding — you are currently on this page
Esther Kowal-Bukata has kindly sent me some photos to add the the Iroquois ‘collection’, as posted below. (The the original Iroquois NWR post and photographs may be viewed here.)
Osprey. Copyright, Esther Kowal-Bukata, 2014. All rights reserved.
Eastern Bluebird. Copyright, Esther Kowal-Bukata, 2014. All rights reserved.
Tree Swallow. Copyright, Esther Kowal-Bukata, 2014. All rights reserved.
Tree Swallow. Copyright, Esther Kowal-Bukata, 2014. All rights reserved.
Northern Shoveller. Copyright, Esther Kowal-Bukata, 2014. All rights reserved.
Blue-winged Teal. Copyright, Esther Kowal-Bukata, 2014. All rights reserved.
View the original Iroquois NWR post and photographs here.
As we are still in the height of the spring migration of waterfowl, today was a follow-up from our visit last week to the Montezuma NWR, which is about 100 miles E.S.E. from Iroquois. These two preserves, however, do tend to have a different complexion to each other.
The s.w. corner of Cayuga Pool at Iroquois. Copyright 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
I’ve been lucky enough to visit the Iroquois NWR on a fairly regular basis for the past 12 years or so, which has let me see the seasonal variations in a little detail, and so we met this morning at the Cayuga Pool Overlook. The downside of Cayuga is that the birds tend to be quite distant, which drastically reduces the photographic opportunities, but the upside is the wealth of species that can be viewed, using binoculars, spotting scopes or — of course — longer lenses on one’s camera.
Blue-winged Teal. Copyright 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
My own species list from today is as follows, but I hope anyone in the group who saw other birds will e-mail me so they can be added here:
Osprey. Copyright 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
Briefly kidnapped for a photo! (Leopard Frog). Copyright 2014, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
Tree Swallows at nest box. Copyright 2014, Kathryn Fenna. All rights reserved.
One of the commonest but many would say most delightful birds to be seen arriving at ponds and lakes each April is the Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor). The “bicolor” part of its scientific name refers to the fact that the refractive sheen on this bird’s back changes from typically being more blue in spring to green in fall.
In spring, however, some birds appear to have only the back of their head showing colour, with their back being a drabber brown. These are first-year females that are just coming up to their ‘first birthday’.
Tree Swallows at nestbox. Copyright 2014, Cherie St. Pierre. All rights reserved.
As at least two of our group photographed tree swallows during this outing, I’ve included some photographs here.
I’ve also added an older photo of my own, taken in May 2011 at the same location (Cayuga Pool), just to make the point that even pocket-sized, point-and-shoot cameras can occasionally be used to get acceptably pleasing bird photos.
Tree Swallow emerging from hole in post. Copyright 2011, Eddie Wren. All rights reserved.
The shot in question (below left), of a tree swallow emerging from a nest hole in an old post, was taken with a Pentax Optio 80 camera, and despite the angle may show one of the first-year females I referred to above.
More photographs from this visit to the Iroquois NWR will be posted on the next page of this write-up [link to follow shortly], but for anyone wanting to visit the refuge on their own, you can be sure it is well worthwhile (otherwise it wouldn’t have that “national” importance in its title!).
The three primary habitats to be found at Iroquois are:
On this occasion, our own WWNP group visit focussed almost entirely on the areas of open water but we will certainly be going back to look at the other environments, including a ‘warbler walk’ in May. To contact the WWNP group and potentially join us for various outings, please e-mail wwnp [AT] eddiewren [DOT] com — replacing the ‘at’ and the ‘dot’ with the relevant symbols and leaving no spaces. (This is done to cut down on spam e-mails.)
You may view more photos from this visit to Iroquios, by Esther Kowal-Bukata, here.
Useful web pages are here:
Seasons of Wildlife (i.e. what you might see)
The best map of the Iroquois Refuge (pdf)
Eddie
Presumaby shot as a filler for use in between various programs on the WNED television channel, I’ve just happened across a 3m 20s video about Tifft that is well worth watching.
In it, Lauren Makeyenko talks about the history and achievements of Tifft. It would have been nice if there could have been mention of — for example — the fact that the current bird list has 264 species named on it but I’m very aware of how editors often chop important information from news and documentary clips!
View it for yourself at: http://video.wned.org/video/2365212936/
To view the intial article and photographs, click here.
All of our ‘Wildlife Watchers and Nature Photographers’ [WWNP] group who went to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge [NWR], near Seneca Falls, New York, are welcome to submit photographs for this gallery (as in please do so!)
Bald Eagle (immature), by Kathy Fenna. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Bald Eagle (adult), by Andrea Burke. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Bald Eagle in flight, by Anrea Burke. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Osprey at nest, by Kathy Fenna. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Osprey by Andrea Burke. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Northern Harrier (female) in flight, by Andrea Burke. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Song Sparrow, by Andrea Burke. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Lesser Yellowlegs, by Andrea Burke. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Red-winged Blackbird (male), by Andrea Burke. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Red-winged Blackbird. Esther Kowal-Bukata. Copyright, 2014. All rights reserved.
Red-winged Blackbird. Esther Kowal-Bukata. Copyright, 2014. All rights reserved.
Andrea Burke. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
And last but not least, by Andrea Burke, Snow Geese in flight (1). Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Snow Geese in flight (2), by Andrea Burke. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
Snow Geese. Esther Kowal-Bukata. Copyright, 2014. All rights reserved.
As requested above, if other members of the group have photographs they would like to include in this post we would be very pleased to add them. Please re-size them to 600 pixels on the long side and e-mail them to me, as attachments, via: wwnp[AT]eddiewren[DOT]com — simply replace the [AT] and the [DOT] with the correct symbols.
Eddie