California Condor Update

Remember the California Condor that was convalescing at The Raptor Center? Well, after spending a few weeks in an outdoor flight pen, rebuilding its strength, it has been released out into the wild. Let's hop it has better luck this time.

In other news, there's a preview out for the-novel-turned-into-a-movie, Hoot. It looks like it's about some young kids light heartedly sabotaging a construction site to protect some burrowing owls. I'm not sure how accurate the movie is going to be since the preview shows a burrowing owl in a tree. Also, the hooting of a the burrowing owl in the preview sounds a lot like a great horned owl. Harrumph, now I'm disapproving.

A Marcia Brady Kind Of Day

Even Cinnamon is shocked at the amount of disapproval needed for this entry. Will she be able to deliver? I started by asking if Cinnamon would play Jan to my Marcia, and true to form she is not being very sympathetic to my day. All she has to say is, "It's always Birdchick, Birdchick, Birdchick!"

It started with my nose (not quite as painful as a football, but nearly as embarrassing). This week at The Raptor Center they are having a bird care and management workshop for people who have zoos and nature centers and are interested in having live birds for display and education. This morning, as part of my shift at The Raptor Center, I had to work the greeting station in case anyone came in late or if someone walked in for a tour. I saw several people I hadn't seen for awhile like Gail Buhl who runs Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center and Deanne Endrizzi from US Fish and Wildlife. They didn't even know about my job change so it was good to touch base with them. I also had the opportunity to meet people from other facilities around the country. At one point, someone had mentioned I had a smudge on my nose and I thought I wiped it off. Then at the end of my shift, I went to the restroom and noticed that a rather large brown smudge surrounded the tip of my nose from my coffee travel mug. I looked like a total brown noser. So much for dignity.

Continuing on with my Marcia Brady day, I discovered that I am double booked in February. And like Marcia, I am so mortified, I could just die (I'm throwing my head into a pillow right now)! So, I'm in the process of getting it worked out. I think I can negotiate my way through this one with the help of Non Birding Bill, but I may have to watch KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park with him (what I do for love). It will get worked out, but I can't believe I did this, I am such a dork sometimes.

When I get stressed like this, I realize I need to spend some quality time with birds, pronto--preferably wild, but will settle for captives. The nearest birds at the moment were in TRC's education courtyard. I don't talk to them or anything weird like that, I just like being around birds and watching their behaviors. A couple of the great horned owls were dozing out there, but as soon as there is movement, they make look asleep, but they are watching you. If you look at the photo of this owl sleeping next to the screening of its mew, at first glance it looks like both eyes are closed. Take a close look at the left eye, it's open just a tiny bit. This is how wild owls keep an eye on what is going on during the day. Keeping their eyes closed helps cloak them while they are hiding. Sometimes, when people get close to owls that look like they are sleeping, they assume that the bird is not stressed. The bird is very aware of what is going on and can internalize stress without showing it. This particular great horned owl is imprinted on humans and is fairly tolerant. We have one great horned in the courtyard that was found injured as an adult along the side of a road in Indiana and is not imprinted on humans at all. Her mew is covered with mosquito netting and you can't see her through it from the outside, but she can see you from the inside. It's hilarious to walk by her mew because, all of a sudden you hear, "hiss...hiss,hiss...clack, clack, clack...hiss...clack, clack" as she hisses and clacks her bill at you in warning.

The imprint great horned owls were very hooty again today. I tried last time to get a photo of some of them hooting but the owls weren't very cooperative. Today, I did have some success of getting a great horned in midhoot. Check out the posture they assume to get that sound out: it fluffs out it's gular (patch of white feathers that are puffed out right above the chest), lean forward, raise up the tail like a wren and doing it all on one foot. How cool is that? And some people think birds are boring? Just look at what this owl is going through to get its song out. I'd like to see Tom Jones put forth this much effort.

Old Man Eagle

Okay, in order for the caption below the photo to work, you need to imagine the voice of an old man--preferably a crazy-neighbor-type old man.

"Hey, somebody get those darn smoochers off a ma property!"

Eagle Optics Sponsors Bobby Harrison

I got to make the coolest phone call on Christmas Eve to Bobby Harrison. I got to tell him that Eagle Optics will sponsor his quest to get a photo of an ivory-billed woodpecker this winter! Basically, Eagle Optics will cover his cost for some motion sensitive cameras and the cost of someone to take over teaching his classes at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. We also gave him a pair of the Vortex DLS 8x42 binoculars (the same pair I have) to aid in his searches in the swamp.

The really exciting part is that Bobby is going to check in with me once a week to let me know what he sees and hears in the swamp and those updates will be available at www.eagleoptics.com. I will announce in my blog when the updates are available. Another reason to get your binoculars through Eagle Optics, you're not just purchasing binoculars or spotting scopes, you are aiding in conservation and research with your purchase. To learn more about some of the MANY projects we help out with check out this link.

Birdchick and Cinnamon Rant

Here is Cinnamon atop her new Cottontail Cottage. At first she disapproved, but now I think she understands that with this new bunny hideout she can bring her disapproval to a whole new level.

Meanwhile, she has other problems on her plate. Mike Hendrickson sent a link warning us that we are not the only female birder and bunny act in the blogosphere. Somewhere In NJ Blog has started up and she's letting her bunny photos loose with a vengeance. You can already see in this link the bunnies are going for broke with hiney photos. I asked Cinnamon if she would like me to do the same for her, but she gave me here usual disapproving look and apparently butt shots are a little too exploitive for her taste--hopefully she hasn't noticed the photo in the previous post. I'm sure she would disapprove and accuse me of making her butt look big.

Something interesting, I've started to explore the world of bunny related blogs and I am surprised and a bit taken aback by the number of rabbit run blogs (here is an example) where the bunnies type in a sort of baby talk that almost resembles Buckwheat talk similar to the Eddie Murphy- Saturday Night Live routine. Cinnamon is not happy with this and would like everyone to know that rabbits are capable of proper grammar and speech and this move of rabbits blogging in baby talk must be a predator run conspiracy. Personally, I find this disturbing, and yet, I can't stop reading it.

Today I stopped into a bird store I don't typically patronize for some article research. I found a pet odor elimination product and as I was waiting in line to purchase it, a customer in front of me enquired on how to get rid of crows. I waited for the store employees to answer and they hesitated so I volunteered some information. Usually, I try to stay quiet in bird stores because I don't want to upstage the employees, but they weren't quick to answer and I've had lots of experience with crows and bird feeders. I started to point to some weight sensitive feeders and mentioned my luck in using those to keep crows out. However, this woman didn't want to just keep crows out of her feeder, she wanted to keep them out of her yard. For the record, there is no humanly way to keep crows out of her yard. She mentioned that she had a neighbor who throws bread out specifically for squirrels and all involved were upset the crows were coming for the bread and scaring the squirrels. Before I could stop myself I started chuckling, and noticed one of the guys behind the counter did too. It's not every day you hear someone upset about a bird taking food from squirrels!

The customer said that she wouldn't mind ten or twelve crows but she had over three hundred in her woods and she needed expert advice on what to do with them. I suggested that she learn to love crows, but that wasn't what she wanted to hear. Here were her other suggestions (in bold) and the answers to those suggestions (in regular type):

Fake owl or hawk: Those never work, first they just bring in crows who want to mob them and second, any self respecting bird figures out they are fake in about five hours or less. Fake owls and hawks are a waste of money as far as repellents go.

Feral cats running through the woods: I told her those are way more likely to keep the songbirds away than crows. This was unacceptable because she wanted to keep the other birds around and anyway, the neighbor that feeds the squirrels was working on taming the cats so they won't chase the birds.

Noise Makers: They might keep all the birds away for a little while, but eventually birds can get used to the sound.

Her Neighbor Chasing Them With A Broom: Will work at the time, but unless the neighbor will be out there all day long, is a temporary solution at best. However, this might provide endless amusement for others who live on the block.

Her Dog Out In The Woods: See Neighbor With Broom answer.

The Raptor Center Coming Over With Birds Of Prey To Chase The Crows Away: The Raptor Center will not come out for a crow problem. Although, you might find someone from the Minnesota Falconry Association to help with that, but alas they do not have a website or phone number and cannot be contacted easily.

A Non-lethal Gun: This was Non Birding Bill's favorite suggestion. What was she talking about, a nerf gun or super soaker? I'm not sure what this non-lethal gun is that she was speaking of.

At this point the conversation started going weird and in circles. The customer mentioned that something needed to be done about the crows scaring the cats and squirrels (that perplexed me and clued me in to "let her go" because earlier she had asked if cats would keep crows away). After the non-lethal gun suggestion I figured it best to wish her "good luck" and move along with my own purchase.

Cinnamon’s Disapproving Rampage

To the left is one of the many Katies of Eagle Optics helping a customer over the phone. Little does she know that as she is innocently giving oh so informative answers that Cinnamon is sneaking up behind her to give a stealthy disapproval. Katie was wise not to take this particular incident too personally since Cinnamon knows little to nothing about binoculars.

Katie was a huge help to me in my training. She sat across from me as I would answer the phones and as I would repeat what customers were telling me, she would help me find the right answers. She was fascinated by Cinnamon. At one point while I was on the phone I noticed that she stood up with a Kleenex and bent down towards Cinnamon. I guessed that Cinnamon had left a little poo pellet outside her litter box and Kate was going to try and clean it up. Then I heard Katie say, "Oh...oh, okay...ew." I instantly knew what happened, Cinnamon had eaten her poo pellets (or cecotropes), which is typical rabbit behavior. Here's an explanation from the House Rabbit Society:

Cecotropes are clustered, soft gel-like "bunches" of fecal matter, which are covered with a light mucous film and resemble a mulberry in shape and size. They are manufactured in the adult cecum through "hindgut fermentation," and contain high concentrations of proteins, B and K vitamins, fiber, ash (nitrogen-free extract) and unidentified "energy" elements, as well as the hindgut microbes. Cecotropes are an important part of a healthy rabbit diet and are usually eaten directly from the anus as they are produced.

Mike McDowell (pictured, right) tried everything in his power to be friendly and knowledgeable but Cinnamon was unimpressed, perhaps it was because he's been talking about snowy owls too much or that he never mentions rabbits. Whatever the reason, no one was safe from her today . Katie refused to acknowledge that she was getting disapproved of, but she was just in denial. There was no approval to be had this day. Katie felt that if she petted Cinnamon in her every free moment she could get some kind of approval, but it wasn't working. But take a close look at the photo below. I took this photo as Katie was petting her, I ask you, does that look like approval?

I think Cinnamon was pretty bitter about having to wear a harness and leash. She is pretty much of the attitude that she cannot be tamed...even though she is s domestic rabbit. Of course, having a golden eagle in the office (see previous post) didn't help matters either.

All in all it was a very educational visit for me, and some fun was involved, some of the Eagle Optics crew took me out for some karaoke and I must say we really rocked the bar. After I sang Xanadu--which is becoming my signature song-- a woman came up and said I did an awesome job and she was so glad I sang it. I don't know what disturbs Non Birding Bill more, the fact that I have a signature karaoke song or that the signature song is Xanadu.

Super Cool Part of My Job

Today was fun. You never know what will happen or show up at the Eagle Optic offices, today it was a golden eagle from Hoo's Woods Raptor Center in Milton, WI. Owner of Hoo's Woods, Diane Moller found out about a bald eagle that was discovered in Alaska scavenging in trash. The eagle had lost its left eye and was covered in oil. With an eye injury like that the eagle would never be a candidate for release so it needed to find a home as an education bird at a licensed raptor center be destroyed. Fortunately, Moller is not only a licensed falconer and raptor educator, she is a member of the International Eagle Austringers Association. She needed help with funding the eagle including airfare to get the eagle from Alaska to Wisconsin, annual state and federal permits to have the bird, feeding, vet care and various other sundry expenses that come with housing and eagle.

Moller brought her education golden eagle by to say thank you for our support. She still has to train in the new bald eagle who has been named Angelo. When the eagle arrived, I was with one of the many Katies that work at Eagle Optics helping some in store customers. It was fun to be able to take them back and show them the eagle. How often can you say you tested the close focus on your binoculars on a golden eagle?

That's a really cool thing about Eagle Optics. You're not just buying binoculars, you're helping other organizations and contributing to conservation projects.

For the record, Cinnamon greatly disapproved of the golden eagle visit.

Bunny Buttheadery

This morning as I was checking out of my hotel, Cinnamon decided that she was NOT going to deal with the leash today and preferred to wedge herself in the space between the wall and the bed. When I poked my head behind the bed, she grunted. Many people don't realize all the sounds a rabbit can make. When rabbits are fairly irritated and feeling territorial the will grunt like little piggies and it is the highest level of disapproval. Had I not been so irritated, I would have gotten a photo of it, but I needed to get moving.

I did eventually get Cinnamon out, but not without a few well chosen four letter words.

On our way down while playing the red-tail game we passed over a river and saw two pairs red-tails thermalizing on either side of the highway. I've never seen four red-tails hanging out like that except during migration. I have a feeling this was more along the lines of two pairs of birds arguing over territory. I wish I could have stayed and watch how it played out.

Another highlight was a big beautiful rough-legged hawk on the side of the highway. I haven't seen one since last fall--I haven't been spending much time up north either so that's the reason.

I'll be curious to see if I find any more on my way back. By the way, if you don't read Bill of the Birds Blog, check this link here about CGI Carolina Parakeets in the movie New World. Finally someone is using special effects for accuate birds. I'm so happy.

Hope

So, I'm currently at Eagle Optics learning how to answer phones and brushing up on info so I can be better prepared for boothes. I'll be trying to answer phones and help customers tomorrow and Friday too. If anyone wants to test me out or has questions about binoculars and spotting scopes, call in at 1-800-289-1132.

Cinnamon is here too so you could probably even get disapproved of over the phone. At the moment she is stalking behind a cubicle trying to send a disapproval to Mike.

Techno Birding

Blogger is acting weird tonight so if there are more typos than usual, I apologize. Spell Check got very wonky.

There is a new product showcase at Bird Watch America where attendees can show off a new item and participants can vote for what they think is the best new product. The last two years have really perplexed me in the choices that won the award. Perhaps the reason was that not all new products entered the contest or that attendees who are buying for their stores look at it from the perspective that they think a certain item will be easiest to carry as well as be a hot seller. I’m looking at it from more of a consumer angle. As a consumer, I find that someone going in a completely different direction much more exciting.

The big buzz at the show was technology. We’ve seen it in the past in the form of the Yankee Flipper, the weight sensitive and motorized feeder that literally flips squirrels off or in the form of heated bird baths. But now technology is really coming to the forefront in birding and birdwatching circles. A couple of these I have mentioned before, but they are still cool and worth mentioning again.

The PullUin Software booth was busy every time I passed (pictured, right, President of PullUin, Mary Derby demonstrating the new PDA field guide to buyers). PullUin is the company developing National Geographic’s Handheld Birds, a PDA with National Geographic’s North American field guide complete with maps and audio recordings of almost all the birds loaded onto a PDA.

I’ve actually had a test version since December that I took down with me to Arkansas. There were a few bugs that were still being ironed out, so I was hesitant to mention it until it was ready to go. (My favorite bug being that when you clicked on the range map for the ivory-billed woodpecker, the program would crash and reboot--this made me chuckle for days). I’m happy to report that this flaw is fixed and the program is oh so cool. I tend not to take a field guide out with me, one because I usually don’t need it and two I don’t want the added weight. The PDA field guide is perfect because it is small and light weight and as an added bonus you can use it to make field notes. In Arkansas I had to spend ten to twelve hour days out in the field loaded with recording equipment and food so the PDA was easy to sneak in without added weight. If you have never used a PDA before, getting the hang of it can seem intimidating, but after playing with it for a day you can really start to have a good time. Mary took quite a few orders this weekend. I think this is only the beginning, and more field guides will follow suit.

I had always wondered why National Geographic had never updated their bird identification cds, but after using the handheld, I understand--there are way more bird calls on this than any other North American bird cd I have ever purchased--including calls of the ivory-billed woodpecker. The birds are organized alphabetically or taxonomically and program also includes range maps, field marks, conservation status and the ability to create lists.

Another product getting some buzz was the birdPod, which I have reviewed before and really enjoy. The company did not have a booth, but they were present at the show and were met with interest and excitement. For birdPod to work, you need three things: an iPod, the Stokes CDs (either eastern or western) and the birdPod program. BirdPod will organize all the calls either alphabetically, by family group and habitat and eliminate the narration. As an added bonus, the program will take a track that has two different bird species on the same track and divide it into two separate tracks! I already had an iPod and a Stokes Eastern CD of bird calls so I just ordered the program itself. I had always wanted to download the Stokes CDs onto my iPod, organize them and have some of the tracks without Lang Elliot’s narration. I had started and even tried to rope Non Birding Bill into doing some of it for me, but it was just too time consuming. I found the idea that I could just download a program that will organize the bird calls into several different play lists and take out the narration very appealing and more than worth the price. If you just have the Stokes CDs you can order an iPod and the program or if you don't have those you can order an iPod already programmed with the cds and the software.

One intriguing item I found was a heated mealworm feeder by NovaBird (left). I had heard of someone in southern Minnesota who used one of these and it had cost them somewhere in the neighborhood of $150. This person had bluebird coming to feed all winter and wanted to put mealworms out. When it gets cold enough, mealworms go dormant and birds are less likely to eat them. I think the wiggly movement of mealworms stimulates them to eat so when they just lay there the birds aren't as motivated. The feeder is thermostat controlled and is only warm enought to keep the mealworms alive, so birds can't just sit in it to warm their toes.

A final booth was a product that I almost missed called Hear More Birds. I don't know if their site is up just yet but should be in the next few weeks. They offer an inconspicuous earpiece (pictured, right, nestled discreetly in my ear) that enhances sound behind you or in front of you. It’s similar to the earpiece I wear on my KARE 11 segments when I have to answer phone questions, but it fits a lot better. As I was trying it out, I could hear conversations three booths away or hear someone’s cell phone vibrating in their pocket. I’m very impressed and interested, it’s a product that could help birders with deteriorating hearing be able to listen to those northern parulas or help birders with great ears listen for birds just a little farther away out of their normal range of hearing…come to think of it, I really REALLY wish I had that in Arkansas.

I believe this product originated in the hunting industry as a means for hunters to be more aware of their surroundings and perhaps be able to hear approaching prey. I’d really like to try it in the field during warbler season to see how well it works, or for doing owl surveys in the evening.

What an exciting time to be a birder.