 |
|
|
|
|
IN-BIRD for Friday, January 18, 2002
[ Prev Day
| Next Day
| Calendar Month
| IN-BIRD Info
]
|
|
To use email addresses replace '(AT)' with '@'.
This is done to confuse the spam 'bots.
|
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Need Loction of WinterCrow Roosts
From: Ron Weiss <chipperwoods(AT)WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 9:31am
Dear Inbirders
Does anyone know the locations of any winter crow roosts?
The USDA folks at Purdue and the Indiana State Department of Health
folks that are tracking West Nile Virus in Indiana would like to compile
the current locations of crow roosts prior to this next mosquito season.
This year, we are interested in locating roosts State wide as the West
Nile Virus is more widespread than the first time we made this request.
The corvids are good indicator species for WNV, and knowing the
locations of their roosts will assist in tracking down the focal points
of the virus infection.
You can respond to the address in the heading or this message or to my
address at the ISDH at
rweiss(AT)isdh.state.in.us
Thanks for your help!
Sincerely,
Ron Weiss
ISDH
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: State Atlas Projects
From: Ron Weiss <chipperwoods(AT)WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 10:35am
Dear Inbirders
Does anyone know if Illinois has completed and published their state
breeding bird atlas?
Also, is there a central URL or other site that will list those states
that have completed their atlas?
Thanks
Ron
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Need Loction of Winter Crow Roosts
From: Ron Weiss <chipperwoods(AT)WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 2:26pm
Alicia
Thanks for the offer to help with the crow monitoring. I will keep you posted.
We have discussed the possibity of tagging a few crows to
follow their movements. As you may already know, they wander up to 50 miles or
more from their roost sites.
It is likely that the crows are being infected with the West Nile Virus by
mosquito bites at their roost sites, so if the roost sites are
located, the areas can be checked for mosquito breeding sites and the mosquito
breeding sites eliminated. This is an effective and economical
way to break the infection cycle. It is good for people and for the bird
populations, esp. the corvids, since this virus is mostly fatal to
them.
There is a photo essay on the Indiana program to control WNV and the other
Arborviruses on the CWBO web page in the topics menu.
Ron
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: more screech owl questions
From: "Dunning, Barny" <bdunning(AT)FNR.PURDUE.EDU>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 2:57pm
The message below appeared earlier this week, and I have not seen any =
posted responses. I just reclaimed my BNA account for the Eastern =
Screech-Owl, and can report the following:
Nesting takes place in a period lasting about 18 weeks, and begins =
earlier in the southern portion of the species' range (i.e., egg dates =
range 6-7 days earlier in northern population than for those in =
Florida). A complete portrait of timing is available only for central =
Texas populations:=20
courtship: late Jan-mid March
first egg: 21 March in suburbs, 27 March in rural areas
first hatchling: 21 April in suburbs, 27 April in rural areas
first fledgling: 18 May
We can add a week or so to those dates for our latitude. Eggs are laid =
later in rural areas than in suburbs, and later in suburbs than in city =
centers, probably due to the "urban heat island" effect which makes =
urban areas comparatively warm and wet. Eggs are also laid later in =
cold springs, in years with low food supply, and if both parents are =
inexperienced.
Barny
-----Original Message-----
From: Pj & Lori Pulliam [mailto:pulliams(AT)ATT.NET]
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2002 6:22 PM
To: IN-BIRD(AT)LIST.AUDUBON.ORG
Subject: [IN-BIRD] more screech owl commentary, questions
recently our screech owl has only eaten one mouse
instead of it's normal 3-4 on three different nights and
on one occasion passed entirely and then flew into the
woods . my wonder as to why was shortly answered when i
heard it doing the social call in the woods. seems he
may have something more important on his mind. now the
question. when do they start pairing up, mating, laying
eggs etc. the people on this list have been very
helpful with all of my questions. thanks.
pj & lori
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: never read your own postings
From: "Dunning, Barny" <bdunning(AT)FNR.PURDUE.EDU>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 3:08pm
I just looked over my last posting and realized I got one thing mixed =
up. Since phenology is advanced earlier in the southern part of the =
Eastern Screech-Owl range, then I should'a written:
"... egg dates range 6-7 days LATER in northern populations than in =
Florida..."
Barny
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
Purdue University
West Lafayette IN 47907-1159
bdunning(AT)fnr.purdue.edu
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Illinois information online
From: Don Gorney <dongorney(AT)YAHOO.COM>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 3:11pm
Ron and others, Illinois has not published their breeding bird atlas
yet. However, Vernon Kleen has done a great job of getting breeding
bird maps online at: http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/ifwis/maps/
--- Ron Weiss <chipperwoods(AT)WORLDNET.ATT.NET> wrote:
> Dear Inbirders
>
> Does anyone know if Illinois has completed and published their state
> breeding bird atlas?
>
> Also, is there a central URL or other site that will list those
> states
> that have completed their atlas?
>
> Thanks
> Ron
=====
Don Gorney
Indianapolis, IN
dongorney(AT)yahoo.com
www.dongorney.com
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail!
http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Black Rail locations
From: Jhawillet(AT)AOL.COM
Date: 18 Jan 2002 3:39pm
My impression is that Black Rail is a long shot in Indiana and neighboring
states--I don't have the bird on my Indiana state list.
If you are planning to travel, though, here are some good spots for at least
hearing one of the maddening little critters:
1. West Pond and Mittry Lake, Lower Colorado River Valley,
California/Arizona. See the ABA Birder's Guide to Southern California. Great
spots--I'm 3 for 3 in hearing them in this area, but didn't see any. And
they responded not just after dark but also at 8-9 a.m. on a sunny day on one
occasion, and 12:30 p.m. on a cloudy day another time.
2. Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, upper Texas coast; see ABA Birder's
Guide to the Texas Coast. I haven't tried for them here, but it is supposed
to be a great spot, especially in spring migration.
3. Roanoke Island, North Carolina; see John Fessell's Birder's Guide to
Coastal North Carolina. Good for hearing them toward and after sundown in
spring and early summer, I understand; again, not from personal experience.
4. Elliott Island, Maryland's Eastern Shore; see Claudia Wilds, Finding Birds
in the National Capital Area. In the 1970s and 1980s, this was considered
the best spot on the east coast. Maryland birders held night trips in June
and almost always got them, frequently even SAW one! (I was on two of those
ventures and never even heard one--just lucky, I guess). Haven't heard much
about this site lately, but I think it is still good.
Jim Haw
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Need Loction of Winter Crow Roosts
From: Angelo Dattilo <adattilo(AT)SECOR.COM>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 3:57pm
Mosquito breeding sites are virtually everywhere in Indiana. How will they
be eliminated? Will chemicals be used?
-----Original Message-----
From: Bird discussion list for Indiana
[mailto:IN-BIRD(AT)LIST.AUDUBON.ORG]On Behalf Of Ron Weiss
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2002 9:32 AM
To: IN-BIRD(AT)LIST.AUDUBON.ORG
Subject: Re: [IN-BIRD] Need Loction of Winter Crow Roosts
Alicia
Thanks for the offer to help with the crow monitoring. I will keep you
posted. We have discussed the possibity of tagging a few crows to
follow their movements. As you may already know, they wander up to 50 miles
or more from their roost sites.
It is likely that the crows are being infected with the West Nile Virus by
mosquito bites at their roost sites, so if the roost sites are
located, the areas can be checked for mosquito breeding sites and the
mosquito breeding sites eliminated. This is an effective and economical
way to break the infection cycle. It is good for people and for the bird
populations, esp. the corvids, since this virus is mostly fatal to
them.
There is a photo essay on the Indiana program to control WNV and the other
Arborviruses on the CWBO web page in the topics menu.
Ron
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Black Rail locations
From: "J.D. Phillips" <phillipj(AT)WABASH.EDU>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 4:11pm
Another good Black Rail location is the Palo Alto Baylands just south of San
Francisco. A few times each winter the tide gets so high that all the Black
Rails in the park scurry to the very few patches of land that don't get
submerged. Sometimes you get almost perfect views of the rails, just a few
feet in front of you, clinging to the last dry clump of land in the park. But
you do have to be there for the unusually high tides, which are, of course,
forecast with great accuracy well in advance. . . Clapper Rails are easy to
find there, high or low tide.
Cheers,
J.D. Phillips
*******************
J.D. Phillips, Chair
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Wabash College
Crawfordsville, IN 47933
email: phillipj(AT)wabash.edu
Phone: 765-361-6431
Fax: 765-361-6340
Department web page: http://www.wabash.edu/depart/math/
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Almost Perfect Lunch Hour
From: Dan Kaiser <dhkaiser(AT)SPRYNET.COM>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 5:48pm
As I left for lunch today I felt a little melancholy. Last weekend's
trip to Lake Monroe to spot eagles had fallen short. Lot's of birds but
no eagles. Barb and I were looking forward to this upcoming weekend's
Turkey Run DNR's Eagle watch, a sure thing eagle trip. Only Barb has
come down with a cold and my schedule ensures another saturday at work.
To top it off Barb had just canceled our lunch date, she had to work
through lunch hour. As I said I was a little melancholy.
But that was soon to change.
As I drove to the Subway I spotted a hawk soaring over the highway
garage here in Columbus. Couldn't tell, probably a Cooper's or a
Sharp-shinned. Sort of neat I thought to myself.
I then headed to Mill Race Park which is next to downtown Columbus.
Parked next to the boat ramp. Down by the river was one Canada goose
and the one domestic goose we frequently see with the Canada's. As I
started munching my sub I noticed a Great Blue Heron flying along the
bank of the river. Passed by me and continued another 60 yards or so
when yet a second Great Blue took flight. The first made a 180 and
returned to land right in front of me. The domestic goose gave the
heron a lot of static as it passed by but the heron pretty much ignored
it.
I pulled out my binoculars and got some great views of the heron as it
slowly walked down the shore line in front of me and then retraced it's
steps. It then flew to the man made pond behind me. This all expired
over a 15 minute period. I was feeling a little more chipper and
decided to exit through the north end of the park. A slow drive through
the park sometimes is rewarded with a hawk, or a Kingfisher or
something. However the only thing I saw of interest was the heron until
I passed through the covered bridge. As I rounded the curve at the
north end of the park I spotted a large hawk soaring low on the far side
of highway 11. And then another. I pulled over and put the binoculars
on them. Two Red-tailed Hawks apparently had just taken wing and were
trying for altitude. Several times they both crossed the field of view
of the binoculars simultaneously. Really neat I thought to myself, I'm
feeling a lot better now!
Wait, there is a third. Stepping out of the truck I put my glasses on
it, yes another Red-tailed. But then the others were diving down, going
below my horizon on the far side of the road. I jumped back in the
truck and drove to the park exit. There I see one of the hawks perched
on a pole right across the street. I stop and put the glasses on him.
REALLY great view, thank you bird!
Another minute and someone pulls up behind me and honks. I step out and
wave them around. Somewhat irritated the driver complies. Stranding
there I watch as the hawk flies away to a goal post maybe 50 yards
away. Well I'm ready to go back to work now, feeling rejuvenated.
Wait! What is that! A BIG bird flying over the bridge. It's got a
white head! YES, it's a Bald Eagle! The binoculars confirm it, as I
follow it for about 10 seconds before it disappears behind some trees
along the river. A Bald Eagle here _in_ Columbus!
Now I am flying high myself, grinning as I drive back to work. The only
thing that could have made it any better, is if Barb had been with me.
Dan
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Need Loction of Winter Crow Roosts
From: Bill Murphy <billmurphy8(AT)home.com>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 6:18pm
Hi Ron,
At 2:30 pm today I saw an intriguing site over Ft. Ben. As I
watched it in the distance, my first thought was that it
resembled a circling, swirling kettle of Broad-winged Hawks,
which would be impossible here after October. As it came closer,
I saw that the kettle consisted of about 75 soaring crows. After
a few minutes the kettle dissipated and the crows flew
purposefully and individually toward the south.
Never seen that sort of group action in crows before.
--Bill Murphy, Indianapolis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Weiss" <chipperwoods(AT)WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
To: <IN-BIRD(AT)LIST.AUDUBON.ORG>
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2002 9:32 AM
Subject: Re: [IN-BIRD] Need Loction of Winter Crow Roosts
> Alicia
>
> Thanks for the offer to help with the crow monitoring. I will
keep you posted. We have discussed the possibity of tagging a
few crows to
> follow their movements. As you may already know, they wander
up to 50 miles or more from their roost sites.
>
> It is likely that the crows are being infected with the West
Nile Virus by mosquito bites at their roost sites, so if the
roost sites are
> located, the areas can be checked for mosquito breeding sites
and the mosquito breeding sites eliminated. This is an effective
and economical
> way to break the infection cycle. It is good for people and
for the bird populations, esp. the corvids, since this virus is
mostly fatal to
> them.
>
> There is a photo essay on the Indiana program to control WNV
and the other Arborviruses on the CWBO web page in the topics
menu.
>
> Ron
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Bird Behavior
From: Carl Henschen <cdhensch(AT)geetel.net>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 6:44pm
Thought this might be of some interest. I'm also curious to see if anyone
else experienced anything similar.
I was at the Lilly Nature Center in Laf. and sitting by the bird viewing
windows. At first I saw only a lone male House Finch who was right in front
of me. Then I looked over to the side window to see a Tree Sparrow, my
first for the year. I watch the sparrow go from one feeding area to
another, until it was up on the same feeding post as the finch. I then
watched as the sparrow was kicking up the sunflower seeds like it was
looking for a special tidbit. I suddenly realized that in doing this it was
showering the finch. This kept up for several seconds and even backing up
closer to the finch, that was when I realized that it was intentional. It
was so funny to watch. The finch wasn't going to give ground very easily,
but he decided he had enough, so he moved over to another corner (maybe 10
inches). Very slowly the sparrow started to turn, scattering seeds as he
went, until again his back was facing the finch so he continued to pelt the
poor finch. This only happened a few seconds because they both took off.
They may have seen the Cooper's Hawk that I had seen flying overhead not too
long after this occurred.
As an extra bonus, I also had a very close look of a coyote that came into
the clearing, not long after my bird experience. It was a beautiful animal
with a variety of colors and it very big. But he had a bad case of
mange with large areas denuded of fur. I was able to watch him for about
one minute before he ducked into the marsh area. Boy did he blend, I lost
him right away. I say him because he was so big and I'm thinking that the
male is somewhat larger then the female, is that correct?
Mary Henschen
Rossville
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Herring versus Black-backed
From: Chuck Taggert <warrech(AT)EARLHAM.EDU>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 6:47pm
Hey Guys,
As I grow as birder I have begun to notice certain rare opportunities
that
arise while I am birding. Recently I was in New York City for a choir tour.
Being a born and raised a mid-western boy, I hate cities. So, I decided to
go to the beach instead of touring the city. The birds near Coney Island
were amazingly diverse. I was able to observe four relatively common gulls
within a few feet of me in several different plumages. The most numerous
were, of course, Ring-billed Gulls. There was a small tightly knit flock of
Bonaparte's Gull within the Ring-bill's. There was a good number of Herring
Gulls and Greater Black-backed Gulls as well. The most extraordinary thing
that I was able to see was the difference between Immature HG and Immature
GBBG up close. There were three bright-eyed imm. GBBG on the beach and
about five imm. HG. All eight imm. stayed closely together on the beach and
only took flight only if I moved closer than arms length from them. I was
able to squat down and look closely at the two species' immatures. Most
books I have seen do not do the difference justice. There is an obvious
difference in size overall between the two species and the HG's were also
noticeably lighter in the head, in color not brains, than the GBBG. Also,
the extent of the dark colorization of the beaks was greater on the GBBG. I
do imagine that seeing these two immatures separate from each other will
still be tricky but after this I'm confident that I will be able to make
the call. From a distance the biggest difference I noticed was that the
GBBG's was darker overall and the HG's were a warmer brown. I for sure will
not pass off any brown gull as an immature Herring Gull.
As a point of interest here was my overall list from Coney Island:
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Greater Black-backed Gull
Red-breasted Merganser
Mallard
Purple Sandpiper
? Scoter (flyby-no binocs)
Chris Warren
Earlham College
Richmond, IN
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Black Rail locations
From: "Bruce M. Bowman" <bbowman(AT)UMICH.EDU>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 11:08pm
High water forcing the rails to patches of high ground makes them easy
pickings for Great Blue Herons.
Bruce
> Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 16:11:12 -0500
> Reply-to: "J.D. Phillips" <phillipj(AT)WABASH.EDU>
> From: "J.D. Phillips" <phillipj(AT)WABASH.EDU>
> Subject: Re: [IN-BIRD] Black Rail locations
> To: IN-BIRD(AT)LIST.AUDUBON.ORG
> Another good Black Rail location is the Palo Alto Baylands just south of
> San Francisco. A few times each winter the tide gets so high that all
> the Black Rails in the park scurry to the very few patches of land that
> don't get submerged. Sometimes you get almost perfect views of the
> rails, just a few feet in front of you, clinging to the last dry clump
> of land in the park. But you do have to be there for the unusually high
> tides, which are, of course, forecast with great accuracy well in
> advance. . . Clapper Rails are easy to find there, high or low tide.
>
> Cheers,
> J.D. Phillips
>
> *******************
> J.D. Phillips, Chair
> Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
> Wabash College
> Crawfordsville, IN 47933
> email: phillipj(AT)wabash.edu
> Phone: 765-361-6431
> Fax: 765-361-6340
> Department web page: http://www.wabash.edu/depart/math/
----------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce M. Bowman |
Ann Arbor, Michigan USA | The bird is always right.
bbowman(AT)umich.edu ------ | -- Todd Newberry
bmb(AT)biosci.umtri.umich.edu -- +++++++ I'M FOR THE BIRDS ++++++++
http://www.umich.edu/~bbowman/birds/
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: (Fwd) Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Recording
From: "Bruce M. Bowman" <bbowman(AT)UMICH.EDU>
Date: 18 Jan 2002 11:08pm
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 13:56:20 -0500
From: Rosemary Rader <drrar(AT)wccnet.org>
Organization: Washtenaw Community College
To: drrar(AT)wccnet.org
Subject: Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Recording
If you missed the segment on NPR's All Things Considered on Wed.,
January 16, about the search for the ivory-billed woodpecker in
Louisiana, you may be interested in going to their archive site,
http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/atc/20020116.atc.09.ram and listening for
yourself. (You can hear the report with "Real Player".)
The highlight for me was hearing a 1935 recording of said woodpecker!
Rosemary Rader
|
|
|
|
BIRDxxxx
US:MidWest
Bloomington
IN-BIRD