Category: Vertebrates

Posted on in Birding Tips, Birds

Sorting Out Sandpipers

semipalmated-sandpipers_chicobasinranchco_20100501_lah_4500Late August is one of my favorite times to go birding. Maybe that’s because I really like shorebirds. I grew up near the beach, and studied marine biology in college—and I still get excited about anything to do with the ocean. The shorebirds here in Colorado are nowhere near a coastline, but they’ll have to do, at least for now.

The calendar may still say summer, but shorebirds consider this time of year to be fall. They’ve finished nesting, and it’s time to head someplace where winters are warmer. Many species breed in the arctic, and Colorado is right on their route south.

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Posted on in Birds

Mormon Crickets

mormon-cricket_sinkscanyon_20090808_lah_8837“What is that huge, weird bug in the road? And what is it doing?”

We were hiking along a dirt track in Sinks Canyon, Wyoming (a totally gorgeous place, by the way), when we came across a large insect I didn’t recognize. I should have. A bit of research revealed that it was a Mormon Cricket (Anabrus simplex), and not only are they common, but at times they’re so abundant that their voracious appetites consume the landscape!

They do look sort of “cricket-y,” but Mormon crickets are actually shieldbacked katydids, also known as long-horned grasshoppers (family Tettigoniidae, subfamily Decticinae). They are found all over western North America, preferring sagebrush/grass rangeland similar to the place we found this one.

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Posted on in Birds, Books, Media Reviews, Nature

I Loved “Red-Tails in Love”

Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park, by Marie Winn

red-tails-in-love-coverThere are a number of books that tell stories about nature. They describe birds and their behavior in ways that are accurate, but sadly boring. The reader is left thinking, “I guess you had to have been there.”

This book is different. Author Marie Winn writes with a gentle charm, leaving the reader smiling and content, yet yearning for more.

Winn starts with a lengthy prologue that sets the scene. I admit that I’m not overly fond of New York City, and I’ve never been to Central Park. Yet, after reading this book, I find myself eager to go and see for myself. In particular, I’d like to explore that portion of the park known as the Ramble, where one may spot migrating warblers in the elms and oaks and feed the birds at the Azalea Pond.

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Posted on in Birds

Family Birds

broad-tail-hummingbird-on-nest_bcnc_lah_6418If Spring brings courting birds, claiming territories and wooing mates with beautiful songs, July is the month of nestlings. Nature, in her efforts to reproduce herself, takes advantage of the abundance of food produced by a fruitful summer. A recent trip to the southwest parts of El Paso county (Colorado) confirmed that this has been a fruitful summer indeed. Everywhere we looked yielded an abundance of hungry nestlings and frenetic parents trying to keep up with the demand for food.

Our first stop, at Bear Creek county park, took us to a patient Broad-tailed Hummingbird, sitting dutifully on her nest. While the branch was over our heads—too high for a peek into the tiny cup-like nest—we guessed that the eggs hadn’t hatched yet. Perhaps this was a second attempt to reproduce, somewhat late in the season.

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Posted on in Birds, Nature

Birds—and Butterflies and Blooms, too!

aquilegia-caerulea_blue-columbine_emeraldvalley-co_lah_2992-revSummer birding can be somewhat unproductive, but that doesn’t mean you should stay home in front of the air conditioning. So what if the birds are busy nesting and raising young? Birds aren’t the only attraction in the great outdoors.

I recently took part in a field trip led by several naturalists. Among them, they had combined expertise in birds, butterflies, and blooms. What a great combination. When the birds were busy, we turned our binoculars on the colorful butterflies fluttering around us. When the butterflies were scarce, we  focused on the drifts of wildflowers along the trail. With so many fascinating subjects to examine, there wasn’t a dull moment to be had.

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Posted on in Birds, Conservation

Donating to Save Oiled Birds?

donateoilspillrecovery_160x130bWith the Gulf oil spill continuing to dominate the news, many conservation organizations are soliciting funds, ostensibly to help wild birds caught up in the environmental disaster. That is certainly implied by the (extremely misleading) picture to the left, gleaned from a well-known non-profit’s website. However, if you read the fine print on the donation page, it becomes clear that rather than being specifically targeted to the rescue of oiled birds, all these donations are simply being added to an organization’s general fund. As another website truthfully states:

BP has committed to paying for the clean-up and wildlife rescue efforts in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. While your donations cannot be used to fund bird rescue operations in the Gulf of Mexico spill, [the organization] welcomes support for our ongoing programs and to cover the cost of future rescue efforts.

I don’t want to discourage anyone from supporting these organizations in general. Donating to various environmental groups is a worthwhile gesture. One would hope that  all donations go to help conserve our natural resources, including birds and other wildlife. Just make sure to do enough research that you know how your donation will be used.

Posted on in Bird Profiles, Birds

Old (and young) Coots

american-coot_ridgefieldnwr-wa_lah_8614-1When you call someone an “old coot,” just what exactly are you implying? Perhaps we should take such name-calling as a compliment. In many ways, coots are pretty respectable birds.

Although they share habitat with ducks, and superficially resemble them, coots have lobed toes and a beak instead of webbed feet and a bill. They are members of the rail family, and are related to cranes and limpkins. Their other common name, marsh hen, comes from their chicken-like head bobbing as they walk and feed.

Far from being weaklings, coots display considerable stamina. American Coots have managed to fly across the Atlantic Ocean at least 23 times. Even more remarkable, in 2003 two birds were sighted in Tasmania, a whopping 8,000 miles from home!

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Posted on in Birding Tips, Birds

Some Cool Birding Ideas

sunset-grandcanyon-plhSpring migration is over, and the birds are all focused on mating and raising their families. The weather is too darn hot outside to be enjoyable, especially when one is hauling binos, field guide, water, scope with tripod, notebook, lunch, and possibly a camera. Then, to top things off, the sun is coming up at an hour when even birders would prefer to catch a few extra zzz’s. The early birds can have their worms.

Of course, most of us won’t let a few inconveniences like that stop us from birding. Sure, we may have a bit less enthusiasm, but we’ll still traipse around in the hot sun if there is the possibility of seeing some birds. But wait. You don’t have to suffer in the heat. There are a few things we can do to make our excursions more bearable.

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Posted on in Birding Tips, Birds, Photography

Family Photos

Canada Goose family, ColoradoJune isn’t a great time to go birding. In most parts of the country, territories are established, nests are built, eggs are laid, and the birds are either busy incubating those eggs or are run ragged trying to satisfy the insatiable appetites of their demanding offspring. Either way, the parents are being especially careful to hide the whereabouts of their progeny, making it very difficult for us birders.

However, June is a great time to take bird photographs. Family photos are so much more appealing than those of solitary portraits. If you can manage to locate a nest, grab your telephoto lens and settle in for a shoot.

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Posted on in Birding Trips, Conservation, Hotspots, Nature

Exploring Corral Bluffs

corralbluffsco_lah_0442-1Vast open spaces, blooming yucca, and constant wind were our companions on a recent hike to Corral Bluffs, an area under consideration as a new El Paso county park.

Most recently a stop for cowboys and their herds on the drive from Texas to Denver, the proposed park has a long history, dating back 65 million years. It’s hard to believe that the high plains grassland was once a sea-level swamp! Numerous fossils are being uncovered by paleontologists surveying the eroded bluffs—including a crocodilian head, as well as numerous small mammals and petrified wood.

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