Rowe Sanctuary

 

At the beginning of April I decided to take a short trip down to Nebraska to see the sandhill cranes. I had already been offered a job but since it took a while for the background check, drug test and all of the paper work to go through I decided it was the perfect time to head down to the Rowe Sanctuary. It had been many years since I last visited the sanctuary, I was still shooting film at the time, and typically the timing never seemed to work out. Either we were vacationing down south in late winter or we were heading to Yellowstone in May, either way it would be difficult to get away so close to another vacation. Since I was not starting work for another week I decided it would be a perfect time to go. 

The Rowe Sanctuary is an Audubon sanctuary located in central Nebraska. It consists of 1900 acres of river channel, wet meadows and agricultural land along the Platte River. It is named for Lillian Annette Rowe who financed teh initial purchase of 782 acres back in 1974 to help protect the habitat for migrating cranes.

 It is necessary to protect this part of the Platte River because it is the main resting spot for cranes migrating back north across the central flyway. Each year approximately 600,000 or more cranes stop at the Platte between mid February and mid April. This includes about 80% of the worlds population of lesser sandhill cranes. It also includes a good number of greater sandhill cranes and many other birds. The weekend I was there we saw a pair of endangered whooping cranes mixed in with the sandhills.

The reason why they stop at this location is because the Platte is a shallow river with many sandbars. During the day the cranes venture through the bordering fields eating any left over grains. Since cranes do not have feet that allow them to perch in trees they spend the night standing in the shallow water of the Platte. The shallow waters act as an alarm to let them know if an terrestrial predators may be around. Each morning the cranes rise up from the river giving visitors a spectacular show only to return each night for an encore.

Quick

 

The peregrine falcon is the quickest animal in the world. Although they typically fly at speeds around around 40 - 55 MPH, which is slower then many birds and several mammals, they can hit speeds in excess of 200 MPH when hunting. Peregrines are bird eaters that frequently hunt by flying higher then other birds, over .6 miles and then dropping down on their prey in a dive called a stoop. In their stoop they can hit speed over 200 MPH with the fastest speed ever measured hitting 242 MPH. The peregrine has special adaptations that help it to fly at high speeds. The pointed shape of their wings makes them very aerodynamic. The also have posts in their nostrils, called nare baffles, that help to equalize the extreme air pressure associated with diving at these high speeds.    

 Peregrines are a world wide species that is found on every continent except Antarctica. The word peregrine means "wanderer" and they have earned this name because peregrines that nest in the tundra will often migrate over 7,500 miles to winter in South America or southern Asia. Peregrines living in more temperate climates typically stay on territory all year long, particularly the males. Their preferred habitat is areas around rocky cliffs where they nest. The nest is a depression called a scrape. The scrape is made by the female, who uses her talon to cut a depression on a cliff ledge about 2 " deep.

In the 1950's and 60's the Peregrine falcons population fell to disastrous levels. Peregrines, along with numerous other species had suffered from DDT poisoning. DDT was a widely used insecticide that was passed up to the peregrine through insect eating prey birds. DDT did not affect the adult bird but it made their egg shells very thin, so that most eggs broke during incubation. Very few peregrines hatched and as the adults died through more natural means the population began to plummet. By the time that DDT was banned in the US, in 1972 peregrines had been extirpated from most of the eastern half of North America and were placed on the Endangered Species List. In the 1980's several groups, including the Peregrine Fund in the Eastern US, and the Midwest Peregrine Foundation in the middle of the US, began releasing young peregrines back into the wild. The eggs from these birds came from falconers and the young were placed in hack boxes until they fledged. Many hack boxes were located on tall building in cities and as the peregrine population began to rebound many were replaced with nest boxes. These additional nest boxes were placed on Buildings, bridges, smoke stacks and other man made structures and it provided the peregrines more nesting habitat in areas where their are not a lot of cliffs. The pigeon population in the cities also helped, provided the peregrines with abundant prey. The peregrine was taken off the Endangered Species List in 1999 and today they are thriving in many areas.

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.

Killdeer

 The killdeer is a common plover found throughout North America, Central America and Northern South America. They typically nest in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Birds that nest in Canada and the northern US typically migrate as far south as Peru. Birds that nest in the southern and central US often are year round residents. Killdeer are ground nesters. The nest is a shallow depression in dry ground with little vegetation around. The bird above is on the nest and actually has chicks below her as well as the one visible out front.

Killdeer will sometimes nest in wetlands finding a slightly elevated dry spot for the nest. They have also been observed nesting on the gravel roofs of buildings, which can be disastrous.The typical clutch size for killdeer is four to six eggs. The eggs are incubated for three to four weeks. The eggs are buff colored with many speckles which makes them look like stones. When the chicks hatch they already have a covering of down feathers and are able to leave the nest and begin foraging right away.  Even though this chick was way to young to fly it still could run quite quickly and was an expert at hiding in the lily pads.

Although they are a shore bird killdeer are often found away from water in parks, farm fields, golf courses and along gravel roads. When a predator shows up near the nest or young the adult bird will often fake a wing injuring to try to lure the predator away. When the predator is far enough away from the nest or young or if it gets to close the adult will give up the rouse and fly away. This does not stop animals like cows that are not interested in eating the adult. In these cases the bird will puff itself up as large as possible and charge the larger animal, hoping to get it to change its path. The bird in the photo above is faking a broken wing.

Julia Butterfly

The Julia butterfly is a tropical brushfoot butterfly that is a member of the Heliconiinae, or logwing, subfamily. They can be found from the southern United States, particularly south Texas and Florida, down through Mexico and Central America and into Brazil. On some years, depending on the weather, they will invade northward up as far as the Central United States. Their larval host plants are passion vines. 

Inca Dove

 The Inca dove is a species of  dove that is found in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico and parts of Central America. Since this bird nests in tropical climates it is not migratory. They can often be seen foraging on the ground for seeds. They are also known for perching together in a pyramid form with birds perched on the backs of others up to three levels high. In 2007 an Inca dove got really mixed up and ended up in Two Harbors Minnesota at the beginning of winter. Needless to say a tropical bird does not have much chance of surviving a Minnesota winter. So after a few weeks of being viewed and photographed by birders throughout the north the bird disappeared and presumably perished. That was my first experience with an Inca dove since then I have photographed them in Texas where they are fairly common.

Harlequin Duck

 The harlequin duck is a colorful duck that is found in the northern regions of North America, Greenland, Iceland, and Russia. The harlequin is separated geographically into two populations. The eastern population nests in the coastal areas of Iceland, Greenland, and eastern Canada. They winter in the coastal waters as far south as Maine. The western populations nests from the Pacific coast to the Rocky Mountains in Alaska, Canada, and the northwestern United States. This population winters in the Pacific coastal waters as far south as California.

 The harlequin nest is built in a well hidden spot on the ground usually near the rapids of a rushing river. They are diving ducks so they find their food, typically fish, water bugs, and other invertebrates, by diving under the water. They prefer to hunt in rapids or other switch moving rivers. The top photo was taken a few years back. We had this male that wintered in the Mississippi for 4 years in a row. The bottom photo was taken in the Yellowstone River in Wyoming. Both pictures are of male birds. The females are much less colorful, as is the case with most ducks.