Chuck-will's Widow

A breeding bird of the southeastern United States, the Chuck-will's Widow has been expanding its range north and west. The Oahe Dam, upstream from Pierre, South Dakota, must be about as far north and west as this species can be found. Chuck-will's Widows were first found breeding on the ground in a large grove of cottonwoods in 2000. For the next several years, if birders knew exactly where to search, they were often successful. This nocturnal bird was also found in the same area for several years in the 1980s, but nesting was not confirmed (Tallman et al. 2002).

This species is most active at dawn and dusk. Chuck-will's Widows (and nighthawks) are goatsuckers. Folk traditions often believed mistakenly that these birds suck goat's milk. Although primarily insectivorous, Chuck-will's Widows do occasionally take small birds, bats, and frogs (Straight and Cooper 2012). They usually feed while flying low to the ground or under street lights. Their name derives from their call (thanks to Thayer Birding Software for permission to use this file).

Common Nighthawk

Nighthawk numbers are falling. The birds are considered to be imperiled in most of New England. Declines of about 50% are reported from Canada, where the species is listed as Threatened. Pesticides and habitat destruction are the most likely causes. Another factor may be that architects no longer favor flat gravel city roofs. Nighthawks often nest on such roofs, as well as on the ground on gravel beaches, outcrops, and burned-over woodlands. A nest is not made, the eggs being laid directly on the ground (Brigham et al. 2011). These authors further comment that the name nighthawk is "inappropriate...because it is most active at dawn and dusk, not night, and...not related to the hawks."

This photo was taken several years ago near Pierre, South Dakota. Although I was on the lookout in Minnesota, and although birders in the state reported seeing many nighthawks, I did not seen a Common Nighthawk this year.

Double-crested Cormorant

The often maligned Double-crested Cormorant is, never-the-less, a handsome bird. The photo was taken several years ago at Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern South Dakota. All four toes are webbed, making the cormorants systematically allied (at least traditionally) with the pelicans in the order Pelicaniformes.

Cormorants are often accused of taking excessive numbers of gamefish. Add to that accusation great increases in cormorant numbers, and you have the ingredients for political (i.e. state's rights) debates. Cormorants are opportunistic feeders--they take whatever fish are most abundant and easily caught. These fish are rarely top of the food chain species prized by fishermen. Only when gamefish are stocked and abundant do they constitute a large percentage of a cormorant's diet. Although cormorants are protected species and their economic affects on fisheries are not precisely known, permits have been issued in a few states to cull their numbers (Hatch and Weselch 1999).

White-winged Dove

Erika took this White-winged Dove's photo near Fort Hood, Texas. Before the 1980s, this species ranged only as far north as southern regions of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Since then, it has spread north, with breeding birds found in Oklahoma. Now vagrants are seen almost annually by birders in Minnesota and the Dakotas. The reasons for this expansion include increasing agriculture and the planting of ornamental trees across the Great Plains (Schwertner et al. 2002).

Lincoln's Sparrow

Ornithologists consider the Lincoln's Sparrow to be one the the most elusive of North American birds (Ammon 1995). This bird nesst in boggy willow swamps of the far North. During migration and winter, Lincoln's Sparrows skulk through brush piles, like this one in the Carleton College Upper Arboretum. I have previously blogged about this sparrow, which can be recognized by the fine stripes on its tan-washed breast.

Patriotic Mockingbird

I have a few photographs left over from my series of blog posts I shared with you from last March's road-trip across the western United States. The first is a patriotic Northern Mockingbird singing atop a flag pole at the The Flower Fields of Carlsbad, California. Farnsworth et al. (2011) write that both sexes of mockingbirds sing. Repertoire's often contain over 150 song types. This repertoire changes and increases as the bird ages. Mockingbirds mimic other birds, non-avian species and even mechanical sounds. I have heard mockingbirds in Washington, DC, imitate trains, complete with whistles and high-pitched squeals. Why so much mimicry? Mockingbirds defend territory against multiple species. A large repertoire may also communicate fit genes. Such a playlist may also indicate the knowledge and fitness that often accompany old age.

Note on the upper right column of this blog, my dragonfly book is offered at a 20% discount until 23 October 2012. Click the book graphic. Enter the word "FANS" when you checkout of the Blurb site.

Hermit Thrush

October has brought Hermit Thrushes to the banding station. These thrushes are common migrants in our area, one of the first to appear in the spring and a relatively late in the fall. I have previously blogged on the species. One reason for this migration pattern is that this species is our only small thrush that spends the winter in the United States (although some go as far south as Central America). A few even attempt to winter in southern Minnesota. Fruits and arthropods comprise its diet.

Book Review: Bird Watcher's Bible

This fascinating book is aimed at beginning to intermediate birders. It would make a great holiday gift for a young person just beginning to show interest in birds. While not quite the "complete treasury" of "science, know-how, beauty, and lore" as hubristically noted on the cover, the book does present a competent, well-written, and entertaining introduction to birding. 

The color photographs in this book will inspire would-be birders to take to the field. Two especially caught my eye. A Black Skimmer, in silhouette only, leaving a trail of splashing water behind its elongated lower mandible, is exquisite. Another stunner is a close-up of a Peregrine Falcon carrying a still-alive Willet. 

The book is edited by Jonathan Alderfer and contains seven chapters written by several authors. The paragraphs that follow give an extremely brief and non-comprehensive review of some of what is covered in these chapters.

Chapter 1, "The Anatomy of a Bird," by Kimball Garrett, gives a superficial discussion of avian anatomy and physiology. For example, two bird skeletons are illustrated but none of the bones are labeled. The book is full of odd lists. The list in this chapter is the completely subjective "Top 12 birds with the Best Plumage." How can you limit the world's most beautiful birds to 12?

Chapter 2, "Birds through the Ages," is by Catherine Herbert Howell. She takes us from ancient Egypt and aboriginal America to the mid-1900s. Along the way we meet such subjects as a pet Starling that mimicked Mozart's music and a pigeon that won a medal in World War Two.

Chapter 3, "The Life of A Bird," is by Kimball Garrett and discusses avian development and ecology. Included in this chapter are descriptions of the "top 10 amazing bird nests." Courtship and eggs are also discussed, as are birds that have adapted to the human landscape.

Chapter 4, "Science Discovers the Bird," also by Catherine Howell, talks about paleontology, banding and tracking, and human commercial use of birds. Another of those lists names the top 10 most common bird blogs. My blog is not listed (sniff). Art as science is an odd discussion that takes the reader through Peterson but omits any living bird artist. This book includes an abundance of antique bird illustrations. A few of these golden-oldies are fine, but such numbers supplant space that could have been used to showcase more modern artists. Finally a few current avian studies are recounted in "Breaking News."

Chapter 5 is called "To be a Birder." Curiously the author is not cited. Two pages are devoted to National Geographic's Birds of North America. Had this really been a birder's Bible, other current field guides would have also been highlighted. Optics and birding hotspots are described. A sort of out of place chart of bird body parts is also included here.

Chapter 6, by Scott Weidensaul, briefly discusses the mechanics of flight and migration. You can read about flyways, weather and fallouts, as well as banding and telemetry. As you might guess, there is a list of the "top 10 long-distance migration champs."

Chapter 7, again without author citation is about attracting birds. Beginning birders will learn about "food and feeder basics," bird houses (complete with a martin house design), attracting hummingbirds and bluebirds, and even a list of the "top 10 birds that live in bird houses." Water features are mentioned, followed by pages on landscaping in the Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest, but not in the Midwest.  The Chapter includes a discussion of Citizen Science.

Finally comes Scott Weidensaul's "Birdographies."  This list is relatively poorly illustrated and includes a paragraph about each of Scott's favorite birds. The book ends with a short list of further reading. I'll end this review by asking my readers to guess the 10 top-grossing films about birds.  Hint: The Big Year is not among them. The answer is in yet another list in this book.

Black Meadowhawk

On Monday, Scott King alerted us that Black Meadowhawks were flying at Lake Byllesby Regional Park in Dakota County. Erika and I met Scott at the park. "This meadowhawk is a northern species," explained Scott, "and is only rarely found this far south." He guessed that these dragonflies already bred further north and were pushed south by drought and October winds. Lake Byllesby provides the spring-fed ponds this species prefers, but, as you can see in the lower photo, not necessarily a safe haven. We witnessed a Leopard Frog leap into the air and narrowly miss a passing Black Meadowhawk.

The first of these photos shows a male Black Meadowhawk, the second a female. This species normally ranges from Alaska to eastern Canada. It drops south through the Rocky Mountains and also into northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and New England.  It is also found all across northern Eurasia (Paulson 2011). Mead (2003) cautions that, although large migrations of Black Meadowhawk have occurred off the coast of Ireland, such movements are unreported from North America.

Philadelphia Vireo

This last week I banded a single Philadelphia Vireo. I have previously posted about separating Philadelphia and Warbling vireos. Moskoff and Robinson (2011) suggest that Philadelphia Vireos are also often confused with Red-eyed Vireos, both due to similar plumage and calls.

An ecological rule states that no two species can occupy the same niche, which is to say they can't exploit the same habitat in the same way. Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireos come close to breaking that law. Philadelphia Vireos actively defend their territories against Red-eyes--in dense populations the two species may actually fight each other.  Philadelphia Vireos may avoid competition by utilizing areas not exploited by Red-eyes. The Philadelphia Vireo, although usually an inhabitant for younger forests, often forages higher in old-growth forests than does its competitor (Moskoff and Robinson 2011).