The friendly hummingbird

Today a young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird visited the backyard early in the day while the girls put out a different patio table. It perched on top of a chair, mere feet away, and patiently waited for them to finish their task. After that it ate from the feeders throughout the day. When I returned home I heard the above story as soon as the hummingbird returned and perched on the same chair I was sitting on. I asked them a simple question, "Do you want to take its picture?" Below is what happened as it sat on a tomato plant.

Grab the tripod and pick an angle focused on its favored perch...

....and start shooting.

Move the tripod and take some more photos.

Lower the tripod and share the camera with Danielle.

Who had a slightly different angle....

 

...and flipped the camera vertically. Micheaela's vertical photo (right) is cropped.

Michaela even had a Monarch land while she was taking photos....why not take this one too!

Other names considered for this post included:

• 15 fall warbler species get upstaged by yard bird!
• Gold family succumbs to peer pressure and shares yet another hummingbird photo on FB!
• The girls still think dad's hobby is cool. I wonder how long that will last.
• RTHU, be thankful this was written before you peed on the author.

Lake of the Woods June 2018

This isn't the first time that I've asked myself "Why do I blog?" but it should be stated this might be the last legs of this blog. Due to changes in our online presence we now post updates, photos, and day trips on Facebook. In addition, I now post my personal thoughts and expanded bird reports on the Ruminating Birder blog. Until we figure out a different location to share them, memories from Canada and a few other topics may be shared here in the future.

Four years ago we took the girls to Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Canada for the first time. We have visited at least once a year since and you can see photos from the 2017 trip here. Below are highlights from the 2018 June Canada trip where Malcolm and Mike spent 5 days total while Cindy, Christine, Michaela, and Danielle joined them for the last three.

Smiles

Time with family and friends is easily the best source of smiles for the girls. Christine and I believe they should see different places, have the opportunity to explore different things and have time in nature.

The girls decided to ferry a Spiny Baskettail (Epitheca spinigera) from the middle of the lake to the lunch island.

Sunsets

The view from my parents' single-wide trailer is the best. It reminds most every one of the advantage associated with this location; affectionately naming it "The Deck".

(Above Top to Bottom): Sunsets views from the Deck on June 13th, June 15th, and June 17th 2018.

Below: A phone snapshot of Danielle taking the above sunset photo on June 17th, 2018.

Outdoor Activities

While sunset dominates the view, there is more. It is tough not to enjoy the rocky islands, lake, and everything else that differentiates this location from KC.

 

Kayaking (above), swimming, and hiking were all part of the last couple of days.



 

Fish

I used to think the single reason we went to Canada was to catch fish. Fortunately, I realized a while back it includes the fish but is for the memories overall. We released many nice walleyes on this trip: 27' fish for Cindy, four 26' fish split evenly between Mike and Malcolm, a 25' fish for Danielle, and another ten between 24' and 22'. We've caught larger fish before, but fishing Thursday through Sunday was really good. We ate fresh fish most of the evenings and even brought a few back to share.

 

Above (L to R): The ladies holding a regular sized fish and one of Mike's 26' Walleyes.
Bottom (L to R): One of Malcolm's 26' Walleyes and Grandma Cindy with the big fish of the trip.

 

Thoughts on Owls

Owls seem to have intrigued and have inspired many. Perhaps it is because Owls are cute and curious, perhaps it is because they are awesome hunters, perhaps it is because they are seen less frequently than their diurnal raptor relatives, or perhaps it is just because Owls are awesome! They are used as education birds often after they get injured or imprint illegally to humans as babies and cannot return to the wild. A quick search on Google returned 132 million pages for "owls" whereas "warbler" returned less than 2% of that many.  There strong opinions on Owls seemingly disregard respect for others and completely ignore science. I realize there is still much to be learned, but I have a hard time believing that any personal opinion (without support) is more likely to be correct that scientific projects.  Yes I am biased toward science and data; if you don't know what bias is please look it up rather than ask! Anyways, this blog focuses on my personal thoughts toward owls as a birder rather than as a scientist.

Personal Opinion: Owls bring out craziness! 

The Good!

Owls are often spark interests in birds and nature. A kid seeing a white Harry Potter owl, also known as a Snowy Owl, may result in them caring about nature and birds the rest of their life!  I can remember the Snowy Owl that landed in a branch mere feet above my head while deer hunting one November in Minnesota; it was magical. I met an elderly gentleman that shared how he saw his first Short-Eared Owl just a month ago. I suspected his smile has not diminished in size upon telling the story.

The Bad! 

Owls spark an insane desire to see them that can be bad for the bird. The guilt is on many levels and should not be unfairly put on only one group. As a birder I suspect we have all been guilty of driving a car close to a perched bird only to have it fly off.  When I had a camera in my hand I was too often tempted to walk closer to perched birds, often resulting in them fly. I've unfortunately seen others do far worse; trespassing, repeatedly harassing the bird for a photo, and yes even baiting. It is my opinion that we should minimize any stress on birds.

My Takeaway

I share locations of owls to individuals because I still believe that people are good. Sometimes their actions afterwards result in my unwillingness to share any further information with them unfortunately. I don't post specific locations of owls publicly to eBird or to ListServs unless it is already there; thus I don't add more locations. I realize how tough this is for others to follow up on reports. Even in Olaf Danielson's big year he expressed frustration that the only ebird report for Northern Hawk Owl was at the county level (yes it was mine). That story had a good result because he went to the same location we saw it at anyways, he was the one that shared the location with us in the first place.  Alas I read repeated reports of ^$$%@&*s stressing birds in the north-woods to get their shot. It would seem that the value of a photo is much higher for the person taking the photo than for anyone else. Many of the best bird photographers offer travel trips (7 times as many results on google compared to warblers!) to pay their bills because making a living selling photos is very tough. If you read this far in the blog you likely already know my personal opinion; take a snapshot to remember the moment from a respectful distance. Celebrate any good fortune if a bird flies toward you and offers the perfect photo but be willing to go home without the money shot. Share the photo we love seeing them. Lastly, don't pretend that you found a bird without help of others if you relied on them. That last one makes you seem ungrateful, personally I am quite thankful that others have kindly shared locations to check and I hope that I have respected the birds.

2 of 7 Short-eared Owls seen tonight in Miami County. 

2017 Summer Travels: Canada in June

Timing worked out early this summer and we were able to squeeze in a week trip north to MN visiting family and fishing in Canada the second week of June, which was almost unexpected given the our commitments around the KC area.  

We left Friday and stopped in Staples before heading to Lake of the Woods the next day.  We lucked out and Great Grandma Betty, Stacie, Tessa, and Morgan were available for supper at Tower Pizza.

The girls spent two days in Canada while I spent an extra couple of days there dad while the girls were back in central Minnesota. Here are some photos and their memories from this year's jaunt north.

Baudette Minnesota...perhaps the land of 10,000 statues!

 

Michaela's Journal

 

Danielle's Journal

Here are a couple more photos from the trip. The sunset is similar to one that we've seen many times before, yet is still something to watch each night. The lunch location is similar to many throughout the lake; it only requires a relatively nice rock to land the boat next to.

 

These Yellow Perch were brought back for family, we ate walleyes and let the Northern Pike go.

It was wonderful seeing so many extended family during a get together the last night. We played a few games of cards but didn't get too many people to try out the slip n slide.

 

Eagle Days

A recent walk through the woods.

As many of you know, I got into bird watching and birding shortly after Michaela was born. As a baby she would not sleep on her own, so carrying her in slings while we went for walks was one option. Since that time, we have went as a family to many outdoor education programs, introduced them to many species, and in general often try to spend time outdoors.

This past weekend we went to Eagle Days at Wyandotte County Lake. Three years ago we attended the event but this is the first year since then in which the schedule worked out.

While there were various activities going on during the event, the Operation Wildlife presentations and their educational birds, were the highlight.

Below are some photos from two different programs and the girls memories from the day (their written comments are below this paragraph). Just a heads up, I did not fact check their memory.....no worries, we'll just treat them as the gold girl's alternative facts if disputed.

    

A Peregrine Falcon (top left) is the fastest animal in the world and have nose flaps that help protect it while it is in a stoop.  Broadwing Hawks (top right) migrate to South America in large flocks.

Both of these Eastern Screech-Owls (below) are missing an eye due to getting hit by a car.
They are the smallest owl with tufted horns.

     

In order to keep a wild bird, the Operation Wildlife facility has to have a permit and the bird must have an injury that does not allow it to be released. Some of these birds were unable to be released as they imprinted on humans.  Raptors imprint for the first 13 weeks of their lives.  If you find a baby bird put it back in the nest or leave it alone rather than bring it home!

In the second program we went across the lake to the lodge and saw another dozen species.

    

If you wanted to have animals named after you should have been a friend of John James Audubon like
William Swainson (Swainson's Hawk) and Edward Harris (Harris's Hawk right side).

The tail of Bald Eagles are almost brown in their first year. In each year afterwards there will be more white on the tail feathers. It takes five years for the tail and head feathers to become completely white.  The name Bald is a historic simplification for the balled usage meaning white, but now we seem to think it means hairless.

    

All species in the Falcon family (American Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, and Merlin L to R) have a malar stripe
distinguishing them from other hawks.

The American Kestrel is the smallest member of the falcon family. The Merlin is the similar in size as the American Kestrel, but only appears in winter months for much of the US.

   

The Rough-Legged Hawks (left) have many feathers on their legs! The Barn Owl (right), also known as
the Ghost Owl, will nest in buildings and screams. 

Dad writing again.....the program was awesome for me, but the best was watching the kids sit still and pay attention for a couple hours straight!

Northern MN Birding: Sunday January 8th 2017

After three remarkable days there was one target bird remaining for our return trip to Kansas City on Sunday. It was the previously reported Slaty-Backed Gull in Des Moines. This is a bird I potentially saw a week earlier with my wife and kids, but it was too far away to tell for certain and never spread it's wings while we were watching.  I wanted another chance at this vagrant.  

Before we got too far into our drive we saw a couple of Rough-legged Hawks. One of these birds was a dark adult male. Below are some photo of Rough-Legged Hawks I saw over the Christmas break. The dark male on the left hand side was the same bird we saw on Sunday.

By midday we read a report of a Brambling in Nebraska. Unfortunately it was too far to arrive before dark and we continued as planned. Two days later we would drive to Nebraska only to arrive at the house five minutes after it was last seen. Back in Des Moines we stopped at the locations the Slaty-Backed Gull had previously been reported around Saylorville Lake. At the fourth stop we finally found gulls, but there were only a few there. None of the gulls were Black-backed but I grabbed the scope none-the-less and focused on each bird. One stood out from the handful of Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls. It was an adult California Gull! While this bird is common further west, it is tough to find in the Midwest. My hopes were so high that the rare bird did not compare to the hopeful vagrant and I failed to take any pictures of it. Alas it wasn't even a bittersweet consolation for dipping on the Slaty-Backed Gull again. 

Even with the last day miss the trip was absolutely amazing. During the massive road-tour Jennifer added 13 lifers, Micky 10, and I added one! Below is a complete list of species and the daily number of birds of that species seen on the trip.

Fortunately planning the trip was not as challenging as visiting an area for the first time since I've been on these roads and searched the areas multiple years before. Realistically anyone could search recent reports on eBird, the MOUNet Listserv, and Facebook groups to have a decent idea of where to start looking for their target species. Volunteers at the Bog Welcome center are amazingly kind and often share recent information for visitors. 

If I've learned anything from the past three years of showing KC birders around northern Minnesota it is to make sure everyone has cold-weather clothing. We were fortunate to see all the species we did from the comfort of a vehicle this year. It is nice to have a reliable car and being prepared for the worse case scenario. Respect private property and remember that others call these areas home. Don't be a bad steward of the land, block the road, or represent birders as anything other than grateful guests. While I could give driving suggestions for snow packed icy roads, I suspect no matter what I write here won't change your tendencies anyways. Instead make sure to add AAA, your insurance, and tow-company contacts to your phone as you may be lucky enough to have coverage if something happens.  Good birding.

Northern MN Birding: Saturday January 7th 2017

After a successful Thursday at Sax-Zim Bog and Friday in Lake County we had a few misses from our target list.  We had missed Sharp-tailed Grouse Thursday, Black-backed Woodpecker both days, and dipped on the Golden-Crowned Sparrow in Duluth on Friday. With reports from Friday of Northern Hawk Owl we decided on three targets for Saturday: Golden-crowned Sparrow, Sharp-tailed Grouse, and Northern Hawk Owl. We knew the plan would require quite a lot of driving for the odd mix of species, but it was the best chance to get as much as possible with the last remaining day in case this trip was not one that would be repeated in the near future for either Jennifer or Micky.

We checked out of the hotel bright and early and started the morning before first light at the Golden-crowned Sparrow stakeout. Shortly after 7:20 am the bird appeared with two Dark-eyed Juncos! It was quite dark and we could barely see any field-marks, but the golden crown between the top of the head and the bill of the adult bird was visible!  It was not great views and too dark for photos, but it was enough to be identified. 

Three grouse species in three days: Ruffed, Spruce, and Sharp-Tailed!

From there we headed northwest to Sax-Zim Bog with hopes of finding Sharp-tailed Grouse. We drove directly to the lek and as luck would have it, we saw three of them out in the field! Two target birds with almost no time spent searching for them, it would be one of those days! 

More Ruffed Grouse and Pine Grosbeaks were seen along our drive, but with the amazing speed at which we found our first two target birds we quickly headed further northwest with hopes of finding a Northern Hawk Owl. 

Not the Hoary Redpoll we saw, 
but it is similar in appearance.

The Northern Haw is an

awesome looking species!

We passed Grand Rapids on the way and stopped for a Curve-Billed Thrasher. This species is regular in Kansas but quite tough in Minnesota. We had no intention of spending much time for this species, and left before it was refound. Fortunately the Minnesota birders found it a half an hour after our departure. I said hi to the ones I recognized and met a few new faces, but we had another species in mind. 

We drove to Washkish Minnesota and grabbed lunch from the convenience store. It was full of people going to Red Lake for icefishing, which was evidenced by the small town that we could see out on the ice as we drove by.

In the middle of the road were large flocks of Pine Siskins with a few Redpolls mixed in.  As we stopped along the busy road we watched the flock, which was too slow to fly away with each passing car. A Siskin was hit by each car we watched. In the carnage we also noticed a white fluff-ball mixed in the flock. It was a male Hoary Redpoll with. It really stood out from the other hundred birds! While this species may be lumped together with Common Redpoll in the near future, it was an unexpected lifer for the trip. With fewer Redpolls seen this winter, I figured we would miss it.

Shortly after we found a Northern Hawk Owl along Highway 72. I was actually talking on the phone with Christine when we spotted the bird. I could hear here say, "You must have spotted your bird", but only faintly as my phone was somewhere on the floor. It was the second time I reacted to a bird and dropped/put-down the phone with her on the other end. Thankfully she is amazingly understanding and was not mad when I called back. We had been searching at a slower pace for only 15 minutes when the bird was spotted. With amazing luck, we had seen all three target species by early afternoon!  

This is my only action shot that was in focus, taken shortly after the bird flew from one perch to another.

With plans of staying in central Minnesota at my parents we made a quick decision to head further west in search of Gray Partridge. We had been prepared to drive north to Roseau if needed for the Hawk Owl, but fortunately that time could now be spent on a species that was not on our target list a week earlier.  Our basic strategy was to get in the correct region of the state and drive back roads at slower speeds searching windbreaks and fields following up on a sighting almost a week old!

Approximately 500 miles!

After an hour of nothing and light starting to fade we found a flock of snow buntings in the road near a conservation area southwest of Terrebonne, Minnesota. They had flown into a harvested corn field and I jumped outside hoping to relocate them for Jennifer and Micky. As luck would have it, a handful of Gray Partridge decided to fly from that field of corn stubble over to the conservation area and crossed the road right in front of us! For the second time in three days we added a lifer at last light.

It was an AMAZING day! 

We made it to my parents by 8 pm, saw the three target birds for the day and did not have to drive to the Canadian border to do so, and added two lifers more than we had dreamed at the beginning of the day. I'm very fortunate to have parents that not only open their house up to us and friends but they even listened to our stories and were curious of our adventures.

Sunday was a travel day back to KC and the last day of this trip, but we had one more target bird to try for. The next blog post will detail the last search and an overall summary of the trip.  Here is a list of lifers from Saturday.