eBird Annual Report

Its been a good year working on eBird. Check out our annual report online here. If you aren't reporting your bird sightings on eBird...take a look at it again. Lots of good stuff helping us track bird populations across the Western Hemisphere (and New Zealand, and soon the whole world!).

Howling in the Night

After a late night of work, I took a walk and called up a Great Horned Owl and a couple of Barred Owls. Nice to be out away from city noise. I also seemed to get a pack of coyote excited--they were yipping and calling and running around. Just another sign that I'm not in Philly anymore!

Morning in Mississippi

So I'm in Mississippi for a couple days of meetings at Tara Wildlife, a 17,000 acre hunting preserve and Important Bird Area on the Mississippi River north of Vicksburg. This morning before breakfast had a nice walk with thousands of Snow Geese and Blue Geese flying up off the river to head out to their foraging fields. I'm always amazed at how common Eastern Towhees are in the forests down here, since I've mostly lived where they are much more scarce. Looking forward to some nice roaming around down here over the next couple days.

Crossbills and grebe

Stopped by Lake Nockamixon "on my way" to work this morning. No crossbills at 9am, but two flyover siskins. Went down to the marina and saw the Red-necked Grebe out in the open water. Back at the crossbill site at 9:15 I immediately heard the cracking of spruce cones as I got out of the car. The flock of White-winged Crossbills was pretty easy to see in the top of a spruce, but only for about 20 seconds. 25 birds took off calling, circled the grove, and headed off--apparently startled by a gull flying low overhead. Then it was off to work. Not a bad way to start the morning!

My leetle friend

I didn't get to take a walk until almost dusk today, and the little red screech owl was back in his tree hole again (he wasn't there Saturday). Wonder if I could call him up to my house with a screech owl tape...

MEGA ALERT: Pine Flycatcher in Texas

A Pine Flycatcher is being seen in Texas. This will be the first record of this species for North America north of Mexico. Too bad I'm not in Austin anymore!

The Birds Were Right!

This afternoon on my walk I stopped to look in the tree holes where I had seen the birds going crazy yesterday, and sure enough, there was a red phase Eastern Screech-Owl sticking its head out in the mid-afternoon sun! The birds had undoubtedly seen it in there yesterday.

I went home and got my son, but when we got back there the owl ducked back into the hole and wouldn't come back out. We did see several chickadees and titmice stop by, look in the hole, and start calling excitedly before flying off. We also watched a Belted Kingfisher dive into the creek and come out with what looked like a crayfish.

On my walk, before I saw the owl, the most interesting birds were a pair of American Pipits in an open area along the hike and bike trail. Didn't see any of those on my walks last year. There's always something different out there!

Best Birds of 2008

2008 was a pretty decent birding year. I'll do a recap in a moment, but to start, here are my best birds of 2008.

1. Northern Jacana: I started out the year in Utah, then spent a week on business in Arizona, where I was able to see this Mexican bird at the golf course in Casa Grande. Pretty cool!

2. Bendire's Thrasher: After missing this one a couple years ago near Rodeo, NM it was great to finally run into one out west of Tucson.

3. Rufous-backed Robin: Nice bird for my North American list, at Catalina State Park in Arizona in January.

4. Brown-capped Rosy Finch: I had been too early to see this bird in Colorado a year ago, but made a run up to Sandia Crest while in New Mexico to give a talk in March. Nice to see all three Rosy Finches swirling around 2 miles almost directly above suburban Albuquerque.

5. Wood Sandpiper: I've been looking for this bird for a long time, and was thrilled to be able to chase one found in Delaware last spring.

6. European Storm-Petrel: This one is a bit controversial, I was the only one to see it on a pelagic trip off Oregon Inlent, NC this Spring, but I got good close if brief looks. Great two days of trips with many nice birds and Sperm Wales, sea turtles, etc.

7. Little Egret: Another bird chase to Delaware got me this bird at Bombay Hook NWR in June.

8. Sharp-tailed Grouse: Still fascinated by these birds I saw almost every day I was in Utah for New Years last year, sitting in people's yard trees in Paradise, Utah south of Logan.

9. Totoweh: This was my favorite bird name from my Belize ethnographic research trip. It's the Mopan name for the Barred Antshrike, which has a characteristic call of totototototototototoweh! A common bird, but a great call and name.

10. Atlantic Puffin: My youngest daughter was finally old enough to go on the boat out to see these guys on Eastern Egg Rock near the Hog Island Audubon Camp where we've been going the last few summers. A great bird to finally get my whole family to enjoy!

Some great times this past year. I had originally hoped to see 500 bird species this year, and to see at least 100 species in at least 5 states. How'd I do?

I saw about 537 species last year, but not all in North America (which was my original intention). I only saw 417 species north of Mexico. I did see 100+ species in Pennsylvania, Utah, Texas, Arizona, and Maine.

I also started the year wanting to get my Bird RDA of 20 species each day...I did that every day until sometime in June or July, when I missed a day. After missing one day, it was easy to miss more days. I still tried for the RDA most days, and probably got it on over 300 days last year--but I lost track. I'll see how it goes this year.

I was also doing a BIGBY to see how many birds I could see on foot from home or work--I got over 100 species that way, then lost interest and ambition to push that list higher.

A lot of the loss of birding ambition came late in October when I finally realized I could actually finish up my PhD dissertation on Urban Bird Conservation in the Geography Department of the University of Texas at Austin. 2008 will always be the year I finally got that done and became Dr. Rob.

Now that that is behind me, what are my birding goals for 2009? For the first time in many years I don't have any! I think I'm going to have a busy year, and birding will be important for maintaining my sanity, but I don't have any specific goals in mind. I'll be birding wherever I travel this year, and hope that includes a lot of new locations as well as old favorites. I haven't been out to see my family in Oregon for over 3 years, so hoping to do that this year. So far I have work trips scheduled to Mississippi, New Mexico, Florida, Texas, and Alaska.

We'll just have to see how it goes and enjoy the journey! Happy New Year and best birding to everyone in 2009!

1st Bird Chase of 2009: White-winged Crossbills

While checking my email this morning, I got word that some White-winged Crossbills were feeding in spruce trees at Lake Nockamixon about 10 minutes from my house. So I jumped in the car and headed up there. Unfortunately, by the time I got there nobody was seeing the birds. I heard them once on the far side of the spruce grove, but never got to see them. Not the most satisfying conclusion, but since I saw a bunch in Maine last summer, at least I got to hear them today--the first I've heard in Pennsylvania. They've been moving south since last year, so maybe if I keep my eyes and ears open I'll get to actually see some around here soon.

(photo: Wikipedia)

2009: Year of the Blue Jay

The first bird I saw this morning while I was peeling an orange for breakfast was a Blue Jay perched in my back yard--making it the first bird of the year and christening 2009 as the Year of the Blue Jay. That's fine with me--Blue Jays are intelligent, handsome, and gregarious--not a bad inspiration for a year in which I have a lot of things to do!

After my quick breakfast, I took a 3 mile walk and found 22 other species. Mostly I just walked and listened, but I did stop at one point where 9 Blue Jays and a couple of Tufted Titmice were calling and peeking into a hole in a tree. There was probably a screech owl in there. For a brief moment I thought I saw the reddish feathers of the owl's head in the bottom of the hole opening, but it was too quick to be sure. I'll have to go back down there by the creek with my owl tape one evening and see if I can call it out.

It was really, really cold and windy out, but nice to have the hike and bike path along the creek mostly to myself and the birds. Happy New Year everyone.

What was your first bird of 2009?

(Photo: Wikipedia)

Join me in Alaska--June 6-14

In June I'll be leading an Audubon Odyssey cruise out of Juneau. Come join me if you like whales and seabirds! Details here.

Magpies, etc.

I made a quick trip out to Utah and Idaho last week for my grandfather's funeral. Not much time for birding, but did get to spend some time watching magpies. I love those birds. So social. Stunning black and white pattern. I know farmers don't like them...but taken on their own terms, they are great birds.

I also saw several Rough-legged Hawks on my trip. I don't get to see these birds here in PA, so that was nice.

Mostly I just saw a lot of snow and sage. I nice tonic to the overdeveloped landscape I live in here in the East.

Pie Birds

OK, not sure why I never knew about this one, but just found out about the tradition of placing ceramic birds as steam vents on baking pies. Pretty cool. Two of my favorite things. Birds and Pies. Awesome!

Image: Wikipedia

FeederWatch Day

Thursday and Friday is Project FeederWatch day at work. Most days I can see 15-20 species at our feeders, but FeederWatch days are a nice excuse to pay a little more attention and try and see even more birds coming to the feeders or hiding in the bushes. A Downy Woodpecker (the official PFW bird!) just showed up with my House Finches, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, and White-breasted Nuthatches. Will today be a four or even five woodpecker day? Every FeederWatch day is an adventure--its exciting to see what shows up. You don't have to be a crack birder to participate. If you know the common birds in your yard that's enough to get started. So, if you need a little excitement in your life, check out the Project FeederWatch website and give yourself a FeederWatch day every week to add a little spice to your routine.

Sungrebe in New Mexico--anything is possible!

In case you didn't hear, a Sungrebe (a tropical water bird never before seen north of Mexico) was photographed in New Mexico last month. Almost nobody ever guessed that this bird would show up north of the border, let alone in central New Mexico. If you haven't seen the photos of this bird yet, wander over to the Sungrebe page on the Arizona Field Ornithologists website for a treat. Keep your eyes open out there...you never know what you may see!

Methane Burned Kestrel

Still collecting info on birds of prey killed or injured by methane burners at landfills. Here's an American Kestrel from Illinois:





The kestrel didn't make it--too much permanent tissue damage.

Here's a Red-tailed Hawk with a melted beak and singed face. Fortunately, it was able to be released, but only after 5 months of rehab:



For more info on this problem see Audubon Birdscapes.

Photos and info courtesy of Bernadette Richter, SOAR.

Baby Nighthawk Hors D'oeuvres?

Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist Tim Hoppe has been studying roof-nesting Common Nighthawks for the last couple of years in and around Erie, PA. Of the four rooftop nests he found last year, none were successful--all babies disappeared from their roof gravel nests soon after they hatched. We don't know yet what is taking the babies, but crows may be the culprits. Further studies are needed to figure out what is taking these baby birds, and if this is a significant problem for these birds across their range. Nighthawks have declined in numbers by 51 percent over the last 40 years. For more info on how Tim and other biologists are trying to help nighthawks, see Audubon Birdscapes.

Keep your eye out for banded Savannah Sparrows

Folks conducting Christmas Bird Counts this year have a chance to help us better understand the distribution of Savannah Sparrows.

A group of biologists are working with a heavily studied Savannah Sparrow population that breeds on Kent Island, Bowdoin College's scientific field station (Nat Wheelwright, of Bowdoin College, is the head of this effort). They band all Savannah sparrows that breed, hatch, or are found on the study site as juveniles with at least two bands; juveniles receive two bands (an aluminum USFWS band on one leg, a plastic color band on the other) and adults receive four bands (an aluminum USFWS plus a color band on one leg, two color bands on the other).

We know that the birds, both adults and first year, return each year to the study site to breed. One part of the project centers on song development, and it is clear that some of that process occurs before the young birds return to the study site for their first breeding season. It would be very useful to be able to find their wintering grounds so as to determine what effects the winter environment has on song learning in this philopatric population. However, we have no idea where this population winters (except that it is likely to be in the southeast US).

Christmas Bird Counters should be on the lookout for these banded Savannah sparrows? A simple report of their presence would be very valuable, and if the colors on each leg could be ascertained, that would be an amazing bonus. In the absence of tiny transmitters with GPS units (which may come our way eventually), the only chance of finding the wintering location of these birds is to disseminate the question and a heads-up to watch out for and notify those interested of banded birds to a community such as the CBC participants.

If you see a color-banded Savannah Sparrow during the Christmas Bird Count, or any other time during the winter, please contact

Heather Williams
Biology Department, Williams College
Williamstown, MA 01267
hwilliams AT williams DOT edu
(413) 597-3315

More information about the study is online at http://www.collegenews.org/x5526.xml.

Birding for Everyone

One of the best things I did when I was working for the Travis Audubon Society in Austin was help with a birding class that took two dozen mostly Hispanic and Black at-risk 6th graders, gave them binoculars, field guides, and notebooks, and taught them how to identify and enjoy birds. Half the kids were from the talented and gifted program, and the other half were "resource" kids that needed academic help.

After the first session, it was clear that some of the dyslexic and other "resource" kids were much better at finding and identifying birds using the Ken Kaufmann's field guide. One kid named George clearly excelled at this--perhaps the first academic activity he had ever been good at. It was great to see him light up. At one point he boasted that if he could do this, he could do anything--he could even be president of the United States someday!

We took these kids birding once each month during the school year, and had a great time. During the second session, I saw that one of the kids had drawn a bunch of Mexican birds in his notebook. I asked him if he had been just copying birds out of the book. He said no, he had taken his book on a visit to his Grandparent's house back in Mexico and had drawn the Green Jays and other birds he saw there. Pretty cool, huh?

These kids had a great time while the class lasted, and sometimes I wonder what happened to them afterwards. Without a community of friends and family to support their interest, did it just eventually die?

In a brand new book, Birding for Everyone, John C. Robinson--an African-American and birder for nearly 30 years--discusses the challenges of engaging minority audiences in birding. The biggest problem seems to be, like we found in Austin, that there isn't a lot of support for birding in these communities. They aren't anti-birding--the kids we took out loved it--but there just isn't a tradition of birding and birders in place in those communities to foster and support birding activities.

So how do we share the joy of birding with more of our neighbors? Robinson offers a number of suggestions--most of which will involve birders taking a greater role in actively encouraging our minority friends to take up birding, and working through the schools and other institutions in minority communities to create a network that can support those kids and others who might enjoy birding, but who don't do it because they don't see it happening around them and don't have anyone to go birding with.

Robinson has a lot of good ideas about this, so take a look at Birding for Everyone and think about how you can be a better ambassador for birding in the communities around you. While it may seem like a lot of work--sharing birds with others is always a joy, and unless we want these minority communities--who are soon to outnumber the rest of us--to not care about birds and the environment, the future of birds and birding may depend on it!

(See a more detailed review of this book at Audubon Birdscapes)

Birding Lenapehoking

Lenapehoking is the homeland of the Lenape (Delaware), where I live. On Saturday we went to the Penn Museum and saw the exhibit Fulfilling a Prophecy: The Past and Present of the Lenape in Pennsylvania.

I enjoyed this from the Prophecy of the Four Crows:

Netami ahas kenthu li guttitehewagan wichi Kishelemukonk.
The first crow he flew the way of harmony with Creator.
Nisheneit ahas kwechi pilito entalelemukonk, shek palsu ok ankela.
The second crow he tried to clean it the world, but he became sick and he died.
Nexeneit ahas weneyoo ankelek xansa ok koshiphuwe,.
The third crow he saw him dead his brother and he hid.
Neweneit ahas kenthu li guttitehewagan lapi wichi Kishelemukonk.
The fourth crow he flew the way of harmony again with Creator.

According to the interpretation of the prophecy at the exhibit, we are living in the time of the fourth crow, when the Lenape and others will live in harmony again with all of creation.

I signed the Treaty of Renewed Brotherhood at the museum, and look forward to doing my part to promote Lenape culture and environmental stewardship here in Lenapehoking.