Monday, November 30, 2009

Phainopepla and Project Feeder Watch: Week 3 totals

We had alot going on this weekend, so we weren't able to spend as much time as we'd usually like to watching the feeders. The biggest groups were cowbirds and house sparrows (boo!). The number of juncos continues to rise. We're still waiting for Redpolls and Pine Siskins to show up. The Northern Shrike is still hanging around. We watched it hover over the suet feeder. We weren't sure if it was waiting for the starling that was feeding there to leave or if it was interested in the starling itself.

When we were driving home from Toronto on Sunday afternoon, we decided to take a detour to Brampton in search of the Phainopepla. Unfortunately it was pouring rain and quite dark out by the time we got there (around 4 p.m.). We did hear some peeping, but that could have been anything. I spoke to some of the neighbours and they shared their sightings and pictures. There is a big "Welcome Birders" sign and a table with free coffee. It seems like a very friendly neighbourhood. We know the bird was seen as recently as Sunday morning. We hope to try again early next Sunday if he's still in the area.

Here's our tally for Week 3 of Project Feeder Watch:

Weather and Effort: November 28, 2009
When did you watch your feeders?
Day 1: morning
Day 2: morning
Estimated cumulative time: 4+ to 8 hours
Daylight temperature: -9 to 0° C (15 to 32° F) low
1 to 10° C (33 to 50° F) high
Daylight precipitation: None - -
Total depth of ice/snow cover: None

Checklist for FeederWatch Ontario Birds

Ruffed Grouse0
Wild Turkey0
Sharp-shinned Hawk0
Cooper's Hawk0
Red-tailed Hawk1
Rock Pigeon0
Mourning Dove12
Red-bellied Woodpecker1
Downy Woodpecker1
Hairy Woodpecker2
Northern Flicker0
Pileated Woodpecker0
Northern Shrike1
Gray Jay0
Blue Jay8
American Crow1
Common Raven0
Black-capped Chickadee4
Boreal Chickadee0
Tufted Titmouse0
Red-breasted Nuthatch1
White-breasted Nuthatch1
Brown Creeper0
Carolina Wren0
American Robin1
Northern Mockingbird1
European Starling9
Bohemian Waxwing0
Cedar Waxwing0
American Tree Sparrow0
Chipping Sparrow0
Fox Sparrow0
Song Sparrow0
White-throated Sparrow0
White-crowned Sparrow0
Dark-eyed Junco7
Snow Bunting0
Northern Cardinal1
Red-winged Blackbird0
Common Grackle0
Brown-headed Cowbird17
Pine Grosbeak0
Purple Finch0
House Finch8 (0 with eye disease)
Common Redpoll0
Hoary Redpoll0
Pine Siskin0
American Goldfinch8 (0 with eye disease)
Evening Grosbeak0
House Sparrow21

Friday, November 27, 2009

RARE: Phainopepla in Ontario


In the month of November, there have been repeated sightings of a Phainopepla. This beautiful bird has been seen in Brampton, Ontario. Assuming it's a wild bird, he (it's a juvenile male) is a long, long way from it's American southwest home.

It's also possible that this particular bird was being held illegally as someone's pet and has escaped. It is worrisome as to what will happen once the snow and freezing temperatures inevitably arrive. This November has been quite mild, but we all know those below zero days are around the corner. I found one write-up online that discusses how this particular bird has been part of the illegal pet trade (why are people so selfish??)


"It might be noted that unfortunately this southwestern species, with a home range deep into Mexico, has been among those captured illegally for the pet trade."
http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/msg00697.html



Here's another article from a local paper that discusses the find and what it's eating to survive at this time of year (it's a flycatcher and we know flying insects are getting harder to find at this time of year): www.northpeel.com/brampton/news/article/80407

Dave and I going to try to make a trip out there on Sunday afternoon. It could certainly be the only opportunity we have in our lifetime to see this bird in the "wild" so close to home.
Ontbirds reports it has been observed as recent as yesterday, so it's still around.
http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Mail/Ontario_Birds/614525

Here's a more detailed description from www.bird-friends.com:



Description:

The Phainopepla, whose name means "silky robe", is part of the silky flycatcher group, a tropical group of birds named because of the silky appearance of their feathers. This bird is the northernmost (and the only in North America) of the group.


Appearance:

General: 6.25 inches in length.

Male: Entirely (shiny) black plumage. Dark red eye. Long tail. Small, thin bill. White wing patches visible in flight. Spicky crest feathers. Female: Smaller with all dark gray plumage. Juvenile: Similar to female.


Habitat:
Desert landscape, hot areas with single tall trees containing mistletoe, and open woodlands.

Nesting: 2-4 speckled pale green eggs with a 14 day incubation period. Fledging occurs 19-20 days after hatching. A simple and shallow nest is usually built in a mistletoe-bearing desert tree.












Photo Credits: http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/05/08/phainopepla-male/ (top)
http://www.bird-friends.com/BirdPage.php?name=Phainopepla (bottom two photos)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A picture revisited


I was just organizing some old pictures on the computer and came across this from August of this year. The juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk perched in a tree in our front yard. I didn't realize there was a squirrel in the frame as well. There's definitely a face off going on here, but I can report that the squirrel lived to see another day. This photo was taken by my brother Jon.

IDing a Sparrow





This little sparrow showed up in the yard last week. We think it's a Chipping Sparrow, but we only see those in the summer, so it seems a bit late in the year for it. It has been quite a mild fall, so perhaps that explains it. I'm going to post it to whatbird.com to get confirmation.

Key points of identifying a Chipping Sparrow-
the brown cap
the black eyeline
the long tail
the smaller size relative to other sparrows

They look quite similar to the American Tree Sparrow too, so that can cause some confusion. Cornell (of course) has a great comparison chart to help with IDs between the two.

http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/learning/trickyIDs/sparrows/

Apparently they will eat spilt seed on the ground, which this guy was doing too. In the spring/summer we get groups of them and they have a lovely song. The males sing while perched up in the high tree branches.

I'll post the confirmation once we get it.


UPDATE: http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/thread/127053.aspx
The comments confirm it's a Chipping, but it's also noted that it seems quite late to be seeing this bird in this location in mid/late November. I hope he/she gets going to a nice warm place for the winter. The snow can't be too far off.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Where were you on the weekend?

The Sharp-shinned Hawk just made an appearance in the field behind our house this morning. I wish he had been here on the weekend to add to the count (alas!). It's a juvenile (not sure if it's male or female based on appearance). He hung out on a post, near the apple trees (the same trees the unknown waxwings were in). Dave walked out to get some pictures. Here they are:






Monday, November 23, 2009

Project Feeder Watch: Week 2 totals

It was a bit boring this weekend- just the usuals showing up at the feeders until Dave pointed out some waxwings. Unfortunately due to the way the light was shining, we couldn't tell if they were Cedar or Bohemian Waxwings (and it could be either this time of year). Dave went for a closer look, but since that entailed hiking through the little forest area, he thinks he might have scared them off. We can't add them to the count since we're not 100% sure which one it was.

Here's our numbers for this week. There are still a ton of Mourning Doves around (Dave said there must have been a hundred in the woods), but we didn't see more than this number at one given time this weekend.


Species Nov 21
Alphabetic | Taxonomic

Mourning Dove 32
Brown-headed Cowbird 22
American Goldfinch 16
House Sparrow 13
Blue Jay 13
European Starling 12
House Finch 12
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Cardinal 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Dark-eyed Junco 2
American Crow 2
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
Northern Shrike 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
American Robin 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Common Grackle 0
Cooper's Hawk 0
Total species observed 21
Total individuals observed 149

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Project Feeder Watch

We received our package from Project Feeder Watch yesterday. It contains more instructions, a calendar and a lovely poster of common backyard birds. I love how organized this event is. Again, I encourage you to spend even 1 hour twice a week watching a feeder and participating. If you live in an area where further development is a possibility, then this information could be valuable to help protect undeveloped land.

Here's another link to the information: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/learnmore.html

and another interesting link is: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/DataRetrieval/trendgraphs/index.html
which allows you to enter a species of bird and see where they are showing up and in what numbers throughout N. Am.

This is the link to rare birds showing up at feeders (2008/09):
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/DataRetrieval/RareBird/2009/rare-birds2009-1.html


and finally the most common birds at feeders in the Great Lakes Region (08/09):
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/DataRetrieval/Top25/2008-2009/Region/GreatLakesTop25.htm









Common Name
Percentage of feeders visited
Mean
group size
(when seen)
FeederWatch
Abundance
Index
Black-capped Chickadee
96.18
3.42
2.59
American Goldfinch
91.45
7.07
3.85
Mourning Dove
89.72
4.59
2.38
Blue Jay
89.16
3.05
1.45
Dark-eyed Junco
88.53
4.99
2.37
Downy Woodpecker
88.05
1.67
0.95
Northern Cardinal
78.32
2.73
1.20
White-breasted Nuthatch
72.34
1.50
0.61
Pine Siskin
67.06
7.44
1.08
Hairy Woodpecker
66.99
1.50
0.51
House Finch
64.28
3.94
0.89
Common Redpoll
63.24
9.59
0.86
House Sparrow
59.42
7.29
1.49
European Starling
59.42
4.20
0.52
American Robin
59.14
2.02
0.14
American Crow
51.84
2.35
0.27
American Tree Sparrow
49.69
3.34
0.45
Common Grackle
48.51
4.03
0.15
Red-breasted Nuthatch
48.37
1.42
0.27
Red-winged Blackbird
44.89
3.42
0.14
Red-bellied Woodpecker
41.49
1.21
0.24
Purple Finch
40.72
2.69
0.17
Song Sparrow
31.55
1.48
0.07
Cooper's Hawk
30.30
1.02
0.05
Brown-headed Cowbird
25.50
3.47
0.08


The only one that stands out to me as something we don't see often is the Purple Finch. I saw them once a few weeks ago, but Dave didn't see them at all. We only see them once or twice a year at our feeders. I'm not sure why that is. They are quite pretty, so we're happy to see them and would love to have them come out more often.

The other one of note is the cardinal. We see them quite often in the winter, but come spring until late fall, we don't see much of them at all. In fact, we saw our first pair in months and months just the other day. I think the feeders are so busy in the summer with other birds, that the year-round birds tend to go elsewhere. With the valley and the creek nearby, I think other food sources come available and the cardinals, woodpeckers etc are off on their own.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Happy Monday: Links to Good News about birds!


Whale Branch Middle makes habitat that's for the birds

http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/1036429.html

Wyoming group on the lookout for hawks

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_fca11554-d259-11de-8166-001cc4c002e0.html

Sandhill cranes by the thousands attract fans

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1885964,sandhill-cranes1116.article

Bird on a wire

http://www.mnn.com/food/wine/stories/bird-on-a-wire

Family stunned as 96-year-old leaves £9m to charities

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/family-stunned-as-96yearold-leaves-pound9m-to-charities-1818036.html

Restoration of brown pelicans is encouraging

http://www.caller.com/news/2009/nov/15/restoration-brown-pelicans-encouraging/



Milikin prof heads bird feeding group

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-feedingbirds,0,2753786.story


Birds rescued after oil spill freed in Berkeley

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/14/BAQV1AK5CH.DTL

Project Feeder Watch: Week 1 totals


Here's our weekend tally. There were so many mourning doves at the feeders, in the trees and in the neighbour's trees. A crazy amount!!

Other exciting sights- a Red-Tailed hawk and Cooper's hawk together- chastising each other. We also saw an adult and juvenile Red-Tailed hawks at the same time, which we've never seen before. We're happy to be able to get a picture of them!




We also saw robins, the mockingbird (pictured below) and the shrike.


It's not too late to sign-up to participate in feeder watch. Help science! Help the birds!!

Personal Count Summary for 2009-2010 : Oakville, ON L6M 4E8


Species Maximum number observed during count period Average group size when seen Average group size per count period
Alphabetic | Taxonomic Nov
14
Cooper's Hawk 2 2.0 2.0
Red-tailed Hawk 2 2.0 2.0
Mourning Dove 97 97.0 97.0
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 1.0 1.0
Downy Woodpecker 3 3.0 3.0
Hairy Woodpecker 2 2.0 2.0
Northern Shrike 1 1.0 1.0
Blue Jay 8 8.0 8.0
American Crow 3 3.0 3.0
Black-capped Chickadee 5 5.0 5.0
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 1.0 1.0
White-breasted Nuthatch 2 2.0 2.0
American Robin 1 1.0 1.0
Northern Mockingbird 1 1.0 1.0
European Starling 6 6.0 6.0
Dark-eyed Junco 3 3.0 3.0
Red-winged Blackbird 2 2.0 2.0
Common Grackle 1 1.0 1.0
Brown-headed Cowbird 18 18.0 18.0
House Finch 9 9.0 9.0
American Goldfinch 10 10.0 10.0
House Sparrow 9 9.0 9.0
Total species observed 22

Total individuals observed 187

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Steps in the right direction....




This law is for the birds
Kyle G. Brown Special to the Star
Published On Sun Nov 15 2009


"Commonly found deceased at the bottom of buildings," the macabre "Field Guide to Common Birds of Toronto" says of the ruby-throated hummingbird.FLAP.ORG


Michael Mesure has lobbied property owners, rallied activists, and teamed up with the City to find ways to stop birds from crashing into Toronto's buildings. Now, in the latest in a series of campaigns that have spanned 20 years, the executive director of Fatal Light Awareness Program has released the Field Guide to Common Birds of Toronto.


Far from being a pastoral picture of birds perched on tree branches, the 10 species depicted are dead, on their backs, beak-up.


The macabre, almost satirical spin on traditional guides is driven home with a caption for each bird: "The American Woodcock is seldom seen until flushed out or killed by high-speed impacts with buildings. Brain haemorrhaging is usually the cause of death. Of all species of birds that die this way, its high-speed flight style makes its mortality rate the highest."


On the heels of this unorthodox information campaign has emerged the City of Toronto's new regulations requiring buildings be made safer for birds – the first such rules in North America. "This will be huge," says Mesure. "I thought it was something we were only able to dream about."


From January, those seeking permission to build in Toronto will have to "mute the reflections of windows," or "treat glass with a density pattern which makes it easier for birds to see it is a solid object."


The rules are part of a wide-ranging City of Toronto Green Standard, which will require residential, commercial and industrial buildings to increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and protect wildlife habitat.


Birds are often disoriented by glass and mistake the sky and trees they see in reflections for the real thing. Migratory birds, unaccustomed to the urban environment, are the most vulnerable.
To prepare property owners, developers and architects, council first made Toronto's guidelines voluntary in 2007.


Leona Savoie, a manager at developer The Rockport Group, said "our architects are trying to get their minds around it."


For conservationists, it can't come a moment too soon. Every year, it is estimated that between one and 10 birds collide with each building — domestic, commercial and industrial. With just under one million structures in Toronto, this means up to 10 million bird collisions occur in the GTA alone, every year.


Daniel Klem, an ornithologist and professor of biology at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, believes this figure is a conservative one, as the dead and injured are often hidden from view.
This Thursday and Friday, Toronto will host a symposium for conservationists, academics, and planners from the National Audubon Society and cities including New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C, who want to know more about Toronto's law. "Toronto has become almost unintentionally a leader in this area," said Kelly Snow, a policy planner at the City of Toronto.


What kind of problems are faced by builders and architects, seeking to ward off birds? Window netting, reflective tape, stickers and decals are familiar but are not always effective.


A window film developed for glass firm Convenience Group Inc., with the help of Toronto's Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP), is showing promise. It cuts reflection.


"We've found that the treated windows are very successful in deterring birds," says Victoria McGrath, director of the sustainability office at the Town of Markham, where the film was installed on solarium glass.


Daniel Klem has developed a film consisting of alternating stripes that absorb and reflect Ultraviolet light. They are visible to birds, and invisible to the human eye.
This may be a coup, since many people would be put off by window coatings for homes and businesses if they interfere with the view.


For Klem, invisible film is a short-term solution until manufacturers are able to prepare a permanent effect in glass, as they do now to reduce solar heat or improve security.
That could save buyers from having to repair or replace the film every 5 or 10 years. But it's a long way off; Klem's own film has yet to be mass-produced or sold in stores.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Feeding Frenzy





Every morning we put out peanuts for the blue jays. As soon as they see us outside, the calls go out and there is a chain reaction of blue jays calling to each other. The word goes out that breakfast is ready. We are still getting anywhere between 6-10 jays on a regular basis. Here's some shots of them flying in, grabbing peanuts and then flying off.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Cooper's Hawk




He's (or she's) been very busy hanging around our yard. We've watched some failed attempts to make a grab. We've seen him standing around on our front steps. Arthur let Dave know the hawk was there- not by barking or really making any noise, but just by alerting Dave to the fact something new was out there. That gave Dave the opportunity to take some pics of it up close. He's very beautiful!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Ducks and Geese

On our trek through Sam Smith Park, we saw quite a few water birds. Aside from the usual Mallards and Canada Geese...


...we saw two pairs of Bufflehead actively diving for food by themselves in their own little bay...


...and we saw several pairs of Hooded Merganser in the same pond as the Mallards...





...off on its own was another merganser, which we think is probably either a Common or Red-breasted Merganser...




...and were able to ID a new bird (for us), the Northern Shoveler. This one was a female, which is a little less distinctive, and harder to identify, than the male.

Here's the Northern Shoveler next to a male Hooded Merganser, who in the second picture looks surprised for some reason:



We were struggling to ID the Shoveler, and along came a birding expert who took one look and made the ID in a second.



He, along with others, were searching for the Brant, a goose that breeds in the arctic but may make a quick stop while migrating through. Brant are considered "rare to locally common spring and fall migrants". No one saw them on the Sunday, although they said others saw three of them on Saturday. Dave saw these highly sought out birds the week before when he was out walking Arthur and Lola while I was off visiting friends. So Dave had one up on the experts, which made me feel a bit better about not being in the know about the Shoveler.


Monday, November 9, 2009

"Rare and Unusual" sighting



Yesterday, just before the sun was setting, we decided to make a quick stop at the Rattray Marsh in Mississauga (we were on our way home from Sam Smith Park in Etobicoke- more about that to follow). Anyway, we were walking along the boardwalk and heard some noises coming from the ground. I saw some birds flitting around there, so we stopped to try to get a better look. It wasn't easy to see what was down there- the birds (at least 2) were moving very quickly, it was getting dark out, the brown of the birds camouflaged well with the dead leaves, the thick undergrowth and the trees. I noticed that the bird had a long pointy beak (so we knew it wasn't a sparrow). Dave saw it and thought it must be some kind of wren. We then saw that one had a distinctive white eye line and an orange/brownish belly. Then suddenly, the male made himself clear for less than a minute- he jumped up on a branch, looked right at us and chattered away. He was clearly chastising us (or the dogs?) for being so close and was telling us off. He then went on his way and we didn't see them any more. I did get video of the sound, but he doesn't show up in the picture (it was too quick). Since they were moving so quickly, we didn't get a clear picture either, so you can just barely make the birds out in some of the blurry frames I got (so lame, I know). Here's an example of what we were dealing with:



After we went back to the car, we pulled out the ID books and we are certain what we saw was the Carolina Wren. This is a new bird to our life list and it is described as "rare and unusual" to see. Very exciting!!



The park is very beautiful. It's free to visit as well! I highly recommend it as a lovely place to go for a day long visit. http://www.creditvalleycons.com/recandleisure/rattray.htm

Friday, November 6, 2009

Whooping Crane Conservation Efforts

http://www.rrstar.com/news/x235897054/Cranes-pass-through-on-Fla-journey

Local group excited to be part of birds’ trip


AMY J. CORRENTI | RRSTAR.COM
An Operation Migration pilot in an ultralight aircraft leads whooping cranes Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, over the Pecatonica River Forest Preserve on their journey from Necedah, Wis., to wildlife refuges in Florida.
RRSTAR.COM STAFF REPORTS
Posted Nov 05, 2009 @ 12:14 PM
Last update Nov 06, 2009 @ 12:24 AM

PECATONICA — About a half dozen National Land Institute members watched today as 20 juvenile whooping cranes flew over their heads.

To them, members of a group that strives to preserve natural lands in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, it was a live illustration of one of their many success stories.

“It’s encouraging to know that the work we are doing is benefiting something,” said Jill Kennay of Rockford, assistant director for the National Land Institute.

The endangered whooping cranes represented the 2009 class from Operation Migration, which focuses on reintroducing the cranes into eastern North America.

The birds left Wisconsin on this morning, flying over Pecatonica at about 8:15 a.m. before landing in Winnebago.

The cranes were led by ultralight aircraft and are at the beginning stages of a 1,200-mile trek from Necedah, Wis., to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. The birds were born this spring in Maryland. The conditioning for their migration begins immediately.

“Even before the chicks are hatched, they play a recording of the ultralight motor,” said Jamie Johannsen, an Operation Migration board member. “When they are hatched, they do a health check and they have to teach them to eat.”

NLI members pride themselves on preserving habitats for the birds.

“We protect the habitat for these birds and all the other birds and animals that use this part of northern Illinois,” NLI staffer Sue Merchant said. “The birds are just absolutely incredible. Saving the habitat for them means the habitat will be saved for so many others.”

Whooping cranes were on the verge of extinction in the 1940s. Today, there are only about 500 birds in existence, 350 of them in the wild.

“We are succeeding,” Johannsen said.

David and Sara Jones of Pecatonica were among a few others who just wanted to see the birds fly over.

“We have been following this project for quite a while,” Sara Jones said. “We aren’t deeply into birds, but we’re deeply into preservation.”

Weather permitting, the birds will fly over LaSalle County on Friday. For more information and progress of the birds, go to operationmigration.org.



Thursday, November 5, 2009

http://www.kpic.com/news/local/69290702.html

Thousands of NW seabirds killed by algal foam

Thousands of NW seabirds killed by algal foam

Flight crewmembers from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, Calif., and specialists from the International Bird Rescue Research Center load pallets full of birdcages onto a C-130 Hercules aircraft, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. The cages are being used to transport approximately 200 to 300 rescued migratory birds from the Pacific Northwest where they were affected by a red tide that bloomed along the coast of Washington and Oregon. The birds will be transported back to Sacramento, turned over to the International Bird Rescue and transported to a state-of-the-art oiled wildlife facility in the San Francisco Bay Area to be washed and rehabilitated. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Kelly Parker.

By Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The killer foam that hit Northwest seabirds has subsided but conservationists are worried about a death toll they say numbers in the thousands.

The first algal foam that hit Washington's Olympic Peninsula in mid-September claimed more than 10,000 scoters, or seaducks, said Julia Parrish, a University of Washington marine biologist and seabird specialist. She says that toll, mostly surf scoters and white-winged scoters, amounts to 5 percent to 7 percent of their overall population on the West Coast.

"I don't think it will knock the population back for years," Parrish said. "But at least with surf scoters — a species that's in decline — conservation scientists are rather concerned about it."

She thinks thousands more seabirds, including many red-throated loons, were killed in the second wave of foam off southwest Washington's Long Beach Peninsula about two weeks ago.

The foam has been linked to the bloom of a single-cell phytoplankton, or algae — called Akashiwo sanguinea — that hasn't posed a problem in the Northwest until now. Scientists suspect it made the most of a combination of warm water and low salinity. Winds blew the bloom toward shore where it was whipped by the surf into sticky foam that stripped the birds of their waterproofing.

There is some good news; several hundred rescued birds are being released.

This week, about 200 have been released by the International Bird Rescue Research Center north of San Francisco.

"To see them released and returned to the wild is a wonderful feeling for all the volunteers who've worked so hard to make this happen," center spokesman Paul Kelway said.

The research center accepted 450 seabirds from the Wildlife Center of the North Coast near Astoria, which was overwhelmed with birds from the nearby Long Beach Peninsula.

Almost 100 went to PAWS Wildlife Center north of Seattle and another 75 stayed at the facility near Astoria.

"We kept the worst of the birds because they wouldn't have made it through the trip," said Sharnelle Fee, director of the Wildlife Center of the North Coast.

Initially the birds were given warm fluids and food. Once they gained strength, they were washed in tubs of warm, soapy water.

The clean birds were put in plastic cages with netting on the bottom, giving them a soft surface not unlike the ocean.

To dry them, the cages were suspended under pet dryers circulating warm air.

The birds were then placed in preening pools to finish their rehabilitation.

The Bay Area center could free more birds next week, and the center near Astoria could stage releases as well.


Purple Finches and Northern Shrike

Yesterday I just happened to be upstairs and see three Purple Finches! One adult male and either some juveniles and/or adult females (I'm really not sure). We see these birds maybe once or twice a year, so it was good timing and luck that the camera was right at hand. Very exciting!



This morning, we think we saw a Northern Shrike (first time ever here). We have made a tentative ID based on size and shape and what we could see of the colouring. I had been out a few minutes earlier and heard a new call. After listening to the Northern Shrike recorded call on whatbird.com, I'm fairly sure it was the same sound. We'd like to get a better sighting of it to call it a sure thing.

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/444/_/Northern_Shrike.aspx

Interesting fact from whatbird.com:

Since they lack talons, they stun or kill their prey with blows from their powerful beaks. Then, if they do not eat their prey immediately, they impale it on thorns or barbed wire. This serves not only as a food cache but also marks territory and attracts mates.

I haven't seen anything impaled around here (yet)...yuck. Apparently this makes up their diet:

"Northern Shrikes eat mostly small vertebrates, especially voles and other rodents. They also eat small birds and large insects, and can kill prey as large as they are."

http://www.seattleaudubon.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=300