Palm Warbler

 Late every spring warblers invade Minnesota. Starting typically in late April and running through the first few week of May warblers stop by on their way migrating north. How long that they stay depends n the weather. In years where we have an early spring they hardly stop at all but in years where winter lingers we can see them for a week or two. Last winter was a great year for photographing warblers. Winter lasted very late and when the warblers came through in May they stayed for a while because their were no insects to eat further up north. The late winter also meant that the trees had not leafed out yet which makes the warblers much easier to see. This year has the possibility of being another good year for warblers watching. We have had some warm days lately which has some of the trees budding but a cold snap this week with a possibility of a little snow might help slow things down just enough for us to et a good warbler showing this year.

One of the earlier species to come back through are the palm warblers. The reason that they are one of the first back is because they do not winter as far south as most warblers. They typically winter in the southern U.S and Caribbean, while most species of warblers head down to Central and South America for the winter. Palms breed in northern Canada. They are found mostly in the eastern half of North America. I often hear palm warblers before I see them. Instead of flitting around in the trees like most warblers they are usually foraging through the leaf litter, like a fox sparrow, looking for insects and seeds. 

Sunset Over the Platte

I would like to thank everyone who has come here this week to help us celebrate the 7th year anniversary of the ecobirder blog. Although life has limited the amount of time that I have to post I plan on continuing the blog for a long time to come. I took this photo of the sun setting on the Platte River in Nebraska a few weeks ago before I started my new job.

Osprey

One of the most interesting raptors is the Osprey. They are often called the fishing hawk but in reality they are not really a hawk at all. The osprey has its own genus (Pandion) and own family (Paninidae) of which it is the only member. So what makes the osprey so unique? The main difference is the osprey's feet. Most diurnal raptors, those that are active in the daytime, have one toe that is longer then the other three. This toe is called the hallux. It usually is the backward facing toe and one one that many raptors use to kill their prey. If you look at the young osprey being banded in the photo above you can notice that all the toes are relatively the same length. Also note that instead of 3 toes forward and one behind ( Anisodactyl) like other diurnal raptors this bird has two toes forward and two behind (Zygodactyl) like an owl. Osprey are able to switch back and forth.

Osprey feet also have pads on the bottom with tiny spines, called spicules, which help them to grasp fish. These adaptations on their feet help them to catch fish which makes up about 98 percent of their diet. Osprey are much better at fishing then bald eagles are, often diving up to 2 feet under the water to catch them. Osprey are found on every continent except for Antarctica. They do not nest in South America but birds from the northern portions of North America, like the birds in these photos which were photographed here in Minnesota, can migrate over 7500 miles a year from Canada down into central South America.

Seven Years

 This Tuesday will mark the seventh year anniversary of the Ecobirder blog. I began the blog on Earth Day in 2007. In October of the 2007 I began as a volunteer at The Raptor Center. At first I began as on the Transport Crew. These are the people that go out to pick up injured birds. As a part of the Transport Crew I was happy that I was helping The Raptor Center fulfill their important mission but since I was only at TRC when I was dropping of a bird I did not feel like I was as involved as I wanted to be.

 So I asked the Volunteer Coordinator if I could come into the center and help out during my transport shift. So they agreed to let me become a lobby assistant on Wednesday afternoon. The lobby assistants job is to greet visitors when they arrive and help out with the office administration. This was definitely a step in the right direction but I was still not completely satisfied. So I started bugging the staff and with in a couple of months I was able to worm my way on to the Education Crew.

 When you begin on the education crew you spend most of your time cleaning. You clean the crates, you clean the mews and you clean the dishes. That is because one of the primary jobs of the ed crew is to take care of our 30+ education birds. The other primary job of the ed crew is to help educate the public about raptors and TRC. Eventually after training you get to begin interacting with the public by doing tours. Since I already knew a lot about raptors, after all I had been photographing them for about 20 years before beginning at TRC, it did not take me long to start giving tours. Eventually after a year in education I auditioned and began being trained as a handler.

Handlers use many of the techniques of falconry to work with the birds. Handlers are responsible for doing programs for the public and private groups. They also help the staff reinforce positive behaviors by feeding the birds while they have them on the glove. The photos above are just 3 of the birds that I have handled over the past 5 years. Handling is one of the most rewarding experiences at The Raptor Center. Another rewarding experience is the occasional opportunity to release an eagle. This winter we had a lot of snow which made it very difficult for the Flight Crew to take the eagles out for their final practice flights. So as the snow melted we had a good number of eagles that were ready to be released. Since I had not released one since February of 2008 I had the opportunity to release this very handsome male at the Carpenter Nature Center at the beginning of April. My friend Les, who is a great photographer and a member of the Wednesday afternoon ed crew photographed the release for me. The other photos where taken by my old crew leader and TRC staffer Kelly Scott.

Northern Hawk Owl

 The northern hawk owl is an unusual owl that is found through out the boreal forests of the northern hemisphere. They are the only members of the genus Surnia in the world. There are three subspecies. Two subspecies are found in the forests of Europe and Asia and the third subspecies is found primarily in Alaska, Canada and parts of the northern United States. Northern hawk owls are unusual in that the are more diurnal, active during the day, then most other species of owls.

Like most owls the northern hawk owl remains on its breeding grounds year round. The habitat that they prefer is boreal forest, which is primarily coniferous. There they hunt a variety of prey including small mammals and birds. Their primary prey are voles, which are a type of field mouse. They usually use their acute vision to find their prey, although during the inter they often use their hearing to locate prey burrowing under the snow. During some winters food is scarce, either due to a crash in the prey species or an over abundance of owls raised that year, and the owls head south in search of prey. This is usually the time that we see these birds, most of which are immature birds who have just left their parents territory. These birds were photographed at the Sax Zim Bog in northern Minnesota.

Mallard

 The mallard is the most common duck that we see here in Minnesota. They have a very wide range, which includes most of North America, Europe, northern Asia and northern Africa. They have also been introduced into Australia and New Zealand. They are a large duck weighing approximately 2 to 3 pounds. They are a dabbling duck so the can often be seen floating on the water like a bobber, with their tail on the air and their head underwater searching for aquatic vegetation to eat.

There are several different varieties of mallards. There is the Mexican duck, which is found in Mexico and the southwestern United States, which is a subspecies of the mallard. The Hawaiian duck, found in the Hawaiian Islands is a separate species that is believed to have evolved from the mallard. Mallards will also hybridize with other species of ducks. Mallards with breed with other wild ducks or domesticated species, most of who's ancestries can be traced back to mallards. The duck in the front of this photo is a female hybrid between a mallard and most likely a domesticated duck.   

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

 The ladder-backed woodpecker is a small woodpecker that is fairly common in the southwestern United States, Mexico and northern Central America. The ladder-backed woodpecker is a year round resident in these areas nesting in cavities in trees and cactus. They are typically found in desert scrub and thickets although, according to Cornell, they are found in Pinelands in Central America.

I have only photographed these birds on visits to Texas, where their numbers are in decline. This bird was foraging among dead trees in a city park. Ladder-backed woodpeckers are insect eaters that get their food primarily from gleaning it from the bark or plying the bark off and eating the insects underneath. They are rarely seen excavating holes in search of prey.