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billfromlaketravis

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/animalkind/2023/08/17/maui-bird-conservation-center/70591965007/

 

Cool story of a brave woman who may have saved 2 native Hawaiian birds (Hawaiian crow- extinct in the wild, akikiki- i think fewer than a dozen pairs remaining on Kauai) from extinction during the Maui fires.

Climate change and the subsequent elevation climb of avian influenza has devastated Hawaii's native songbirds. Releasing genetically modified mosquitoes that produce sterile offspring has been discussed, but I don't believe approval has been given, although I want to say this has been done elsewhere in the US.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Finally got out unencumbered by baby or dog and spent a few hours out at Granger Lake. Not huge numbers of fall migrant shorebirds and waders, but there were some decent finds, including a flock of avocets, a number of both black-bellied and American golden plover, a buff-breasted sandpiper, stilt sandpiper, and this little Merlin, waiting for an opportunity.

Screenshot_20231017-114840_Photos.jpg

Edited by hookem2010
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5 minutes ago, hookem2010 said:

Finally got out unencumbered by baby or dog and spent a few hours out at Granger Lake. Not huge numbers of fall migrant shorebirds and waders, but there were some decent finds, including a flock of avocets, a number of both black-bellied and American golden plover, a buff-breasted sandpiper, stilt sandpiper, and this little Merlin, waiting for an opportunity.

Screenshot_20231017-114840_Photos.jpg

Nice.  I went hiking there once, but need to make it out again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This bird is sure to get everyone excited. I found a Brewer's sparrow at my neighborhood park. It's not much to look at, but there are less than a half-dozen records for WilCo, as we are well east of their typical range. One day, I will get a real camera and will no longer have to hold my cell phone up to my bins while my dog pulls at my waist and my baby in a stroller cries. 

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Doomlet likes birds, so we've decorated our yard for Halloween with a bird-related theme. 

We first put some of it together last weekend. 

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We later learned that John J. Audubon was a real "product of his times" sonofabitch and that most local and state groups are taking his name off of their organization. 

So we nixed to Audubon shirt... 

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And the bird-shaped gourd that the boy insisted we buy because it looks like a bird. 

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Edited by Prepuce of Doom
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14 hours ago, 686 said:

I don’t know much about birds, but had a fun encounter with this one at the shooting range. Long sharp talons.

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This one strikes me as an immature red-shouldered hawk, but I don't know for sure.

Also, if you hear strange honking the next few weeks, look up! Geese and cranes are on the move.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just found winter wren at my local neighborhood park for park bird #121. It's been great to have such a productive area walking distance from our new place. Unfortunately, a disturbing number of trees are getting tagged with pink ribbon, presumably by the gas company that has a line running through there. It's really going to suck if the couple undeveloped acres south of the park get turned into a sterile grass field.

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Anyone with an opinion about the AOS deciding to do away with all eponymous bird names in favor of more descriptive names? I'm sure the impetus for this was change was the switch from McCown's longspur (confederate general) to thick-billed longspur a few years ago. 

It will be annoying to learn a bunch of new names, but descriptive names make more sense, especially as there is a huge hobby dedicated to using physical descriptors to aid in identification. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what new names come of this. Even descriptive names are total shit sometimes (I'm looking at you, ring-necked duck!).

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A lot of bird names seem stupid as fuck. Suddenly deciding to change the bird names seems stupider than fuck, especially since the offensive names were those who had the biggest impact on ornithology and the mass popularity birding. 

But they won't force Audubon to change it's name, even though Audubon was associated with slave ownership. So it's also highly hypocritical. 

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On 11/10/2023 at 7:31 AM, hookem2010 said:

Anyone with an opinion about the AOS deciding to do away with all eponymous bird names in favor of more descriptive names? I'm sure the impetus for this was change was the switch from McCown's longspur (confederate general) to thick-billed longspur a few years ago. 

It will be annoying to learn a bunch of new names, but descriptive names make more sense, especially as there is a huge hobby dedicated to using physical descriptors to aid in identification. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what new names come of this. Even descriptive names are total shit sometimes (I'm looking at you, ring-necked duck!).

I can't wait to see what they do with the "cardinal."  

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On 11/22/2023 at 9:03 PM, Patricio Swayze said:


Thanks. Would like to get closer so I wouldn’t have to crop so much.

They are really tough to creep up on. It's very rare that I've had a decent close-up opportunity, much like kestrels. Too small and too fast to catch up with. And they always see you first. They'll screw with you and watch you until you get close to being in range, then they bolt.

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I helped out with the Round Rock Christmas Bird Count this morning at Lake Pflugerville. Absolutely perfect day, and our crew of 5 recorded just over 50 species in 3 1/2 hours, despite very few ducks on the water. Highlights were marsh wren, a couple northern harriers, a pair of hidden soras calling from the reeds, and an osprey as our very last bird.

I highly recommend checking out a CBC if you're interested in getting more into the hobby. You can see a ton of stuff, often with people more knowledgeable than you, who are happy to share what they know.

 

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5 hours ago, hookem2010 said:

I helped out with the Round Rock Christmas Bird Count this morning at Lake Pflugerville. Absolutely perfect day, and our crew of 5 recorded just over 50 species in 3 1/2 hours, despite very few ducks on the water. Highlights were marsh wren, a couple northern harriers, a pair of hidden soras calling from the reeds, and an osprey as our very last bird.

I highly recommend checking out a CBC if you're interested in getting more into the hobby. You can see a ton of stuff, often with people more knowledgeable than you, who are happy to share what they know.

 

They do this at the Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory too and I really need to get my ass out there. 

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8 hours ago, hookem2010 said:

I helped out with the Round Rock Christmas Bird Count this morning at Lake Pflugerville. Absolutely perfect day, and our crew of 5 recorded just over 50 species in 3 1/2 hours, despite very few ducks on the water. Highlights were marsh wren, a couple northern harriers, a pair of hidden soras calling from the reeds, and an osprey as our very last bird.

I highly recommend checking out a CBC if you're interested in getting more into the hobby. You can see a ton of stuff, often with people more knowledgeable than you, who are happy to share what they know.

 

Any hooded mergansers there? I think there was a pair reported recently. I was thinking about maybe heading that way to get it on my list, haven't had one this year.

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4 hours ago, DougO said:

Any hooded mergansers there? I think there was a pair reported recently. I was thinking about maybe heading that way to get it on my list, haven't had one this year.

Nope, I haven't had any in 2023 either, actually. Even at Mueller in Austin, where they seem to be very regular, I haven't seen many reports.

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15 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

They do this at the Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory too and I really need to get my ass out there. 

Do it. Really easy to see a ton of birds out there, especially in the winter. There are probably a couple thousand ducks on the water right now. The "pond 3" swamp down the river trail is a really good spot for things you won't see driving around.

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Green-tailed towhees have been all the rage this year. They aren't easy to find, but they are around in central Texas if you look in the right places. They seem very shy and take some coaxing and patience.

 

greentailedtowhee.jpg

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I learned about 'firehawks' today. Apparently, some kites and falcons in Australia will take advantage of wildfires by grabbing a smoldering stick and dropping it an unburned area to start a new fire and stir up prey animals. Wild...

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So a Wilson's warbler in the backyard today.  Went to get my camera but then couldn't find him again.  Little guy must have been thinking that he was supposed to have left this cold shit behind.

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2 hours ago, hookem2010 said:

I learned about 'firehawks' today. Apparently, some kites and falcons in Australia will take advantage of wildfires by grabbing a smoldering stick and dropping it an unburned area to start a new fire and stir up prey animals. Wild...

Firehawks are damn interesting.  I'll add shrikes, too, and found in Texas:  Famous for impaling their victims, these songbirds first use a special maneuver to break the necks of small rodents. 

It’s no secret that shrikes are formidable predators. The grayscale songbirds of the open country might look as harmless as mockingbirds, but these black-masked “butcherbirds,” as they’re known, pack more fierceness ounce for ounce than any other bird in the country.

As the new study reveals, once shrikes induce paralysis with a precise bite to the neck, they roll their heads rapidly to vigorously shake their immobilized food. According to the researchers, this back-and-forth whipping motion generates accelerations of up to six g-forces—roughly the same amount of force felt by passengers on high-g rollercoasters, or the whiplash experienced by victims of low-speed, rear-end car crashes. This is more than enough force to snap the vertebrae of a large rat or break a mouse’s neck, and it’s all generated by the roll of a Loggerhead Shrike’s head.

https://www.audubon.org/news/shrikes-have-absolutely-brutal-way-killing-large-prey

Edited by Mdhorn
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Note to self: stop purchasing the habanero variety of wild birdseed mix because you think it's funny. The birds think it's funny when you're filling the hopper of a feeder that is above your head and the wind catches something just right and then you've got habanero in your eyes. 

Hopefully the act of transcribing this lesson will prevent the same thing from happening for a third time... 

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On 12/31/2023 at 12:59 AM, Coach pop a bitch said:

Anyone putting out suet with good results?

I bought a new hanging feeder for suet type stuff and it took about two days before it was on the ground busted because of the fucking squirrels.  

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The akikiki, native songbird of Kauai, is down to likely one individual and will almost certainly go extinct in the wild this year. There haven't been many bird extinctions in North America the last few decades, and this is the first one I've been aware of as it happens. Pretty sobering stuff.

 

 

SS-Akikiki-2.jpg

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