Merlin IDs House Finch

Merlin is a new, free iPhone/iPad app from the Cornell Laboratory for Ornithology to assist beginning birders. When you see a bird, what Merlin does is ask you five questions. Where are you? (Merlin automatically knows your present location—but perhaps you want to identify a bird from somewhere else.) When did you see the bird? (Merlin knows today’s date.) What size is the bird? (Sparrow, robin, crow, goose?) What are the main colors? (You have nine colors to pick from, and you can pick more than one.) What was the bird doing? (At a feeder, swimming, soaring, etc.) 

And, voila, you are presented list drawn up from current, local eBird records of possible birds matching your answers. Despite only including 285 species of birds, the odd thing is that this app seems to work. Merlin had no trouble identifying both sexes of House Finches currently flocking at my bird feeder. My non-birding son in Seattle only looks at birds in his backyard and was pleased when Merlin identified a Red-breasted Nuthatch for him.

If you are a beginning birder or know someone who is, I think it is worth your time to investigate Merlin by clicking on this link: Merlin Bird ID. Note that you do need a WIFI connection to download and use the app—included are many photos and sound recordings, as well as its use of eBird. An Android version is due out later this spring.

Snowy Owl

I was glum because everyone seemed to be reporting Snowy Owls from nearby Dakota County. Erika and I already had made three unsuccessful trips to see the birds. Sunday morning I was moping around the house.  “OK,” announced Erika, “One more try.” We had just arrived when we spied a Snowy Owl perched on a roadside telephone pole.

Taking these photos, I looked in the rear view mirror and was surprised to see a line of two or three cars. Usually I am not thrilled to be among a mob of birders. In this case, however, I make an exception—it sure was nice of these folks to help us push our car out of the snow drift in which I had parked! A heartfelt thanks to them all!

In previous posts in this blog (2011, 2012), I wrote that Snowy Owl invasions were the result of low Arctic lemming populations. A fascinating article on the eBird website offers a different hypothesis. High lemming populations result in large owl clutches with consequent huge owl numbers. The owls are forced to move south in search of food. One piece of evidence for this idea is that many of the owls that move south are immatures, which would be a major component of the population if there were too many owls. The  eBird website contains a great deal of Snowy Owl information and describes how this year’s invasion is slightly different than previous influxes.

As do all raptors, Snowy Owls regurgitate pellets containing the bones and fur of their prey. I believe this owl is yawning. Snowy Owls are daytime hunters, which is lucky for them, considering the nearly 24-hour daylight of the Arctic summer. Perhaps this owl was just getting ready for the day. We watched the owl for about 20 minutes before a friendly farmer drove up and asked what we were doing. We pointed to the top of the telephone pole. He gasped so loudly and with such surprise at seeing the owl perched so close, that the owl flew off, low over the surrounding fields.

Common Goldeneye

I photographed this rather bedraggled-looking Common Goldeneye at the west outlet of Black Dog Lake in northern Dakota Co. I am not sure how to explain this appearance, since this species is a hearty duck, often found in Minnesota winters.

I was surprised to learn in Eadie et al. (1995) that fish constitute only a very small portion of a Common Goldeneye’s diet (4%). Crustaceans, insects, and mollusks are their prized prey (70%), filled out by vegetation (26%). Goldeneyes are diving ducks, and can remain under water for almost a minute. They swim underwater with closed wings. They can capture more than one prey item per dive and usually consume their catch while submerged.

American White Pelican

On Wednesday, Erika and I found a solitary American White Pelican sitting on the ice at the west outflow of Black Dog Lake in northern Dakota County, Minnesota. This water, as it enters the Minnesota River, is often open, since the lake is heated by a nearby power plant. The water is aerated and attracts an abundance of small fish. Consequently this location often supports a number of waterfowl and gulls during the cold, winter months.

This pelican probably was hurting. Possibly its wing is broken. On these photos, notice the ice on the black of the wing feathers. A bird capable of flight would likely shed such ice. It seemed odd to me that the bird chose to stand and rest with its feet in the cold water. Perhaps, however, the water was warmer than the surrounding ice.

Extremely Cold Woodpecker and Dove

On Monday morning, temperatures in Northfield fell below −20 degrees F. This Downy Woodpecker had more problems than the cold. The bird is severely wounded, with feathers missing from the lower back. Hanging from the wound is what appears to be a mostly decomposed leaf. Perhaps this leaf frozen to the bird has acted like a bandage.

Also at the feeder this frigid day was the Mourning Dove in the bottom photo.  Most birds in the cold seek shelter. Once on a similarly cold day in South Dakota, I found a Mourning Dove that had dug itself a snow cave—but froze anyway. Birds survive extreme cold by having seasonal increases in metabolic rates and by lowering their body temperatures at night (Natural Source). Birds normally maintain body temperatures of around 106 degrees. They accomplish this body temperature by fluffing their feathers and growing additional down during the winter. Birds also maintain high levels of fat. Most birds shiver by twitching their muscles. Many birds can shunt blood away from their extremeties and towards their internal organs (Yuhas 2013). 

Downy Woodpecker

On a frigid day this week, this Downy Woodpecker was “frozen” at the suet feeder. A predator must have been lurking nearby. Fluffed up as the bird was, it was hard to tell the breast from the back. The wing runs down the center of the bird. 

Another interesting note: unlike most Downy Woodpeckers, this bird lacks black spots on its white outer tail feathers. These woodpeckers can often be differentiated from the larger Hairy Woodpecker by the Downy’s dark-spotted outer tail feathers. Sibleycorrectly cautions that not all Downy’s show these spots.

Short-tailed Shrew

Up popped a shrew from a hole underneath the bird feeder. I should have listened to my wife.  Erika immediately identified the critter as a Short-tailed Shrew. Because of the white throat and white patch behind the eye, I was not so sure. I asked for help from the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union listserv. All the two dozen respondents agreed with Erika. The tail is just too short for it to be anything else. Thanks to all of those people who responded to my plea for help.

What about the white on the head? If you enlarge your computer view of these photos, you may notice that the white is bare skin, not fur. Apparently this shrew suffers from mange. Many of my correspondents mentioned that, in the winter, Short-tailed Shrews commonly forage under bird feeders.

This year is not the first time we have had a shrew under our feeder. Last year a shrew poked its head out from under the snow cover. Before we could fetch our camera, a Red-tailed Hawk swooped down and carried away the poor shrew. As Tom Klein wrote, “I would hate to be an insectivore at this time of year.” 

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Sometimes we don't appreciate our common birds. For example, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, a frequent visitor to the suet feeder, is a stunning bird—sort of a flaming zebra! Non-birders occasionally call this a “Red-headed” Woodpecker. These people do not notice this woodpecker’s red belly—see my post of 20 April 2010. Another friend habitually identified it as a “Ladder-backed” Woodpecker. His field guide illustrated all of the striped-backed woodpeckers under the heading of “ladder-backed woodpeckers.” Erika and I listed this Red-bellied Woodpecker on New Year’s Day, as we once again began building a year bird list.

2013 Banding

I am surprised by my 2013 banding results, which can be seen by clicking the appropriate tab at the top of this blog. After a dismal fall season, I assumed I would report mediocre results. Instead this was my second biggest banding year in Minnesota (since 2008). I banded 1741 individual birds at my study sites in Northfield and near Dundas (plus an additional 75, which are not included in this report, at either River Bend Nature Center or the Carleton College arboretum).

No doubt, the 750 juncos that I banded this spring greatly contributed to my success, as did 107 White-throated Sparrows. Other most-banded species include 91 Myrtle Warblers, 79 Nashville Warblers, and 95 American Goldfinches. Further details can be seen in my report. This year was the first that I did not band a new species to the list, which now stands at 101.

Thanks to Erika Tallman, John and Kathy Holden, Tami Vogel, and others who assisted during the year.