Aveda & Minnesota Audubon

The Aveda Institute is hosting a fundraiser day for Minnesota Audubon on March 28 from 11am - 3pm! The Annual Aveda Midwest Earth Month Cut-a-Thon and Spa-a-Thon at the Aveda Institute Minneapolis.  Services offered: Hair cut: $25 One step color: $35 Partial foil: $40 Massage: $45 Facial: $40 Express manicure: $15 Brow waxing: $10 Lip waxing: $10

This would help support programs like Golden Eagle 42, so get your hair done, get a massage or a quick little manicure and help out some cool bird studies.  Call 1-800-447-7808 or email avedaearthmonthevent@aveda.com for an appointment.

Open Letter To David Frankel & Red Hour Films

Dear David Frankel & Red Hour Films, Hey, I hear you are making a movie of the book The Big Year, a fun read about three guys who competed to see the most bird species in North America in a calendar year.  News is leaking that you have lined up Jack Black and Owen Wilson and quite possibly Steve Martin to star as the three leads--kudos!  I like all three actors and can't wait to see what you do with it.

But I'm writing this to ask  you a huge favor.  Can you please try to be accurate with the birds in picture.  I'm not asking for much maybe just don't play a red-tailed hawk call for all the bald eagles and the vultures (perhaps that is too much).  Don't make up bird names and at least get in the ball park of what a species looks like.  I'll understand on somethings, like if you get your gulls mixed up (happens to all of us) or if you make all the empidonax flycatchers look the same (cause let's face it, they kinda do) but if they boys are supposed to be looking a red-cockaded woodpecker, please don't show a pileated woodpecker instead--we'll know the difference.  According to US Fish & Wildlife, one in five of us Americans are watching birds, we'll know.  You might hire a consultant to double check your birds.  I'm not saying you need to hire Kenn Kaufman or David Sibley (awesome choices though), but maybe you could find a local birder where you are filming to help you out?  Maybe check with the good folks at Cornell Lab of Ornithology--they could probably help you with some stock footage of birds and their sounds!

Also, it would really mean a lot if all of the birders in the film didn't look like Jane Hathaway and if you could refrain from having Owen Wilson wear a Tilley Hat (no one looks good in those).

We birders want to support this movie, we're really pulling for you.  It's awesome to see birding in the mainstream.  Good luck to you and don't forget some of us bird bloggers when you do your promotions!

Sincerely,

Sharon Stiteler, Birdchick

Hawk Diving At People In Connecticut

There's a rather suspicious news story coming out of Stonington, Connecticut about a "red-tailed hawk attacking people." Apparently, a bird of prey has been diving at people and has struck at least 5 (taking off with a hat and headphones and sending one woman to the hospital for stitches.  Here's a video of the news story or you can read about it here. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JRojgdK0DE&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

There are a few things bothering me about this story.  The initial reports that "experts" are giving about why the red-tailed hawk is diving at people is that it's a most likely a territory issue.  This is puzzling 1. because it's a wee bit early for that type of territoriality in a red-tailed hawk and 2. according to witnesses, this has been going on since last summer.

If you ask me, this sounds like an imprinted bird, meaning someone raised a baby hawk who didn't know what they were doing, the hawk "imprinted" on what it saw feeding it and is associating people with food or interacting with humans the way the should be interacting with other hawks.

Another thing that bothers me is the hawk nest people keep pointing to as belonging to the diving hawk.  It sure doesn't look like a red-tailed hawk nest to me.  It looks more like an old Cooper's hawk nest.  The red-tail nests that I've seen are usually large even after the season is done--kind of like a big bowl shape.  Cooper's hawk nests are smaller and I've seen quite a few in small and narrow crotches of trees and they tend to not stand up to winter weather quite like a red-tail nest can.

I can't find any photos or videos of the hawk itself but I'm sure they will be coming. Stonington has sent out warnings to residents to be careful of the area because of the attacks, which I'm sure will bring a few birders or thrill seekers out to be dived at by a hawk (I know I would go).  It will be interesting to see how this situation plays out.  Hopefully, it will be handled better than the hawk situation that happened here in Minnesota last summer.

Saturday Night Moon

Sometimes it's fun to use my spotting scope for things other than birds. Lorraine pointed out that they clouds over the bright moon tonight made a sort of "moonbow."  Noting how bright the moon was, I grabbed the scope.

Even Non Birding Bill registered interest. I couldn't believe how clear the moon looked in my scope or that I was able to digiscope it with my Nikon D40.

NBB thought the edges of the moon looked the coolest.  As did I, all the various craters playing with the shadows of the Sun's reflections was incredible.

June Birding Quandary

I'm in kind of a quandary about what to do with my June.  I was not planning on going to the fabulous Potholes and Prairie Bird Festival this year--it's a great festival, but work was taking me in a different direction in June.  Then I heard through the grapevine that some bird bloggers are planning a trek to North Dakota including Hasty Brook, Birding Bev, Kat Doc, and Wrennaisence on top of Julie Zickefoose and Bill Thompson who are normally there too.  I thought that maybe I would head out that way for some fun birds and fun people.  I love birding in North Dakota--listening to Baird's sparrows and Sprague's pipits while you're surrounded by chestnut-collared longspurs is the BOMB! Then, someone brought to my attention that Bernd Heinrich is going to be in Grand Marais, MN this June for the Boreal Bird Festival!  I LOVE Bernd Heinrich book and not only is he a speaker but you can sign up for a two day course with the author who gave us such works as Mind of the Raven, One Man's Owl and  Ravens in Winter.

So, I'm really torn.  You can get good boreal birds in Grand Marais boreal forest so it's not a matter of birds. I need to decide--Bird Bloggers or Bernd? I don't have the time and money to do both.

Here are blog entries for the Potholes and Prairies Bird Festival.

Teenage Birder Explains Birding

This is a video by Stephen Rutt who is taking a media class and chose to use his hobby of birding to make a documentary about the definitions of a birder vs twitcher.  Very cool effort and fun video of some British species: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySRkIFsPp24[/youtube]

Very cool, Stephen!