Quiz Bird #5

Photo by: Lauren K.

So to make this more of a challenge I've disabled automatic posting of comments so you can't peek a look at what others are saying (although you'll probably tell each other on chirptracker anyway!). You can comment and I'll eventually publish your comment, or email your answer to: lowiequizbird@gmail.com

Answer to Quiz Bird #4

FINALLY! Here's the way to identify the bird:

So here we have a raptor of some sort. The stocky stature, relatively
small bill and short tail are quite unlike any eagle, accipiter or
falcon, so we're left with the Buteos (and a few near-buteos --
Harris's and Common Black Hawks). The white head and dark eye of this bird is truly striking and happens to quickly limit our options. Only
Swainson's, Ferruginous, Rough-legged, the florida race of
Red-shouldered Hawk, and a few of the plethora of Red-tailed Hawk
plumages can show anywhere near this much white on the head.
Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawks have feathered tarsi (the lower
part of the bird's "leg"), and our bird has bare tarsi.
Red-shouldered Hawk never shows a striking white head like our bird
(just a pale gray head), and should have a banded tail. This leaves
us with Swainson's and Red-tailed Hawks. Juvenile Swainson's (the
only plumage with a pale head), has a dark malar stripe, which our
bird doesn't. Swainson's Hawks also always have dark tails, quite
unlike the pale grayish tail on this bird. So that leaves us with our
familiar Red-tailed Hawk. Indeed, the silhouette of our bird is
quite similar to Red-tailed Hawk, but with some pretty wacky plumage.
Throughout most of Red-tailed Hawk's range, it's a highly variable
bird, with each individual looking a little different. This is
especially true in the Great Plains, where most birds have some
combination of the pale grayish tail, partially or mostly white head,
and white back that this bird shows. This bird falls on the extreme
pale end of Red-tailed Hawk, and is what is often called a "Krider's"
Hawk.

Quiz Bird #4

This weeks quiz is brought to you by Ben G. we'll post the answer on Thursday evening or Friday morning.

Of storms and storm-petrels

Sunday I woke up with the rain pouring down and a cell phone that wasn't working. So naturally, I went birding.

Northern Gannets, Wilson's Storm-petrels, and Common Terns were abundant, but not much else of note was turned up (by me - Jason found an Arctic Tern and he and Len had a brief look at an alcid that was probably a puffin). The rain and wind postponed Seaside Sparrow plans for another day (probably many more days).

I like birding in storms. It feels pretty awesome to be tough enough to stand in the brutal rain and wind scanning for birds. I think it makes me value what I see a bit more too.

Unfortunately, it may not be the smartest thing to do when coming down with a cold. Today I'm completely knocked back. Hopefully it will go away before my excursion tomorrow.

Come back tomorrow for the weekly bird quiz - brought to you by Ben G. this week.

I had to kill a bird today

(Warning: this post may contain images that may gross you out, disturb young children, or just make you really sad)

Sad but true; I had to kill a bird today. Well, I didn't kill it, my neighbor did because I couldn't stop tearing up when I tried.

To shorten the story - last night he found a fledgling Blue Jay that fell out of a nest. He tried to put it somewhere safe in the yard near a pile of sticks so that the parents could still tend to it etc. because he could not find the nest.

This morning while I was walking Olive he came over to me to tell me about it. I grabbed some gloves and camera to see what the deal was. When I found the bird it was in a very unfortunate position on its back, clearly injured, and being swarmed by flies. My heart sank. I called Steve M. and Ben G. to see if they had any suggestions. While I waited to hear back from one of them I attempted to help the bird perch to see if there was any chance it could make it.

Although it was not happy when I originally picked it up, it did not want to leave my hand once it realized I was not going to hurt it (a major reason why I couldn't bring myself to killing it in the end myself).

Finally I succeeded in getting the bird to an area where it was up and the parents could try to feed it. Before long things got bad though and the bird drowsed off and fell again. It quickly lost strength and I knew there really was no chance and that the right thing to do was to put it out of its misery (as my mother reminded me).

We dug a hole for it, humanly took care of the bird, and buried it in the garden so that it's body can provide nutrients for other forms of life; perhaps some pretty flowers that a Hummingbird will be attracted to.

It really broke my heart to have to do the right thing. I wanted so much for the bird to miraculously make a come back. I hate when the right thing sucks so much.

Red Sox Game

Off to the Sox game tonight against Atlanta. Hopefully we get some high five winning action. I'm not too optimistic seeing as Dice-K is pitching.

Until then I have no idea what I'm going to do. Maybe work on saving my camera and/or phone from the drowning death that ensued on Tuesday. Or maybe I'll just lay around.

Real exciting post. I know. Totally made your day didn't it.

Answer to Quiz 3

So making it multiple choice definitely made this one a bit easier. Fall shorebirds can definitely be tricky - just like fall warblers. But tricky just means fun. Also, you tend to see a lot more shorebirds in the fall as they lazily make their way south as opposed to the spring where they want to get north to get done what needs to get done (bow chicka wow wow).

So here we go then:

1. Dunlin - this non breeding bird may not look anything like the color seen in a breeding bird - but the thick, long, drooping bill should be enough to give it away. Overall it is a grayish brownish bird (usually a little more brownish tinge to the chest than the back).

2. Semipalmated Plover - I suppose you could argue that I cannot eliminate Common Ringed Plover from this picture. In which case I could go into some more detail. But for the basic part here there really is no other shorebird that has that chocolatey brown back and the little white around its neck. You can see another one in the blurry background of the photo that matches up exactly.

3. White-rumped Sandpiper - This bird is obviously a little bigger than the other two around it. Its wings are longer and it has a white superilicum. It is also more brightly patterned than the birds near it and the breast is not nearly as dingy as you would expect with a SESA.

4 & 5. Semipalmated Sandpiper - The back on these birds is much more uniform and scaley. There really is no rufous to the upperside (as opposed to Western). The cap is dark. The bill is relatively short and straight (longer and slightly drooped for Western)