Migration Musings

I read a nice editorial in the New York Times this morning: Empty Barn-Rafters 

Phoebe this morning

As if on cue, shortly afterward my Phoebe made a rare visit to my backyard (she usually stays in the front and side yard, nearer her nest). Perhaps she was saying ‘so long?’ But not yet, perhaps. The phoebes are one of the first songbirds to return in the spring and the last to leave in the fall. Cool fact: In 1804, the Eastern Phoebe became the first banded bird in North America. John James Audubon attached silvered thread to an Eastern Phoebe's leg to track its return in successive years.

And, this afternoon, the sun finally came out after a gray, rainy weekend. I spotted both Desert Hawk and Sky Hawk (my neighborhood Red-tails) for the first time in a long while, soaring on the thermals. I wonder if “our” hawks (NYC, Philly, Cornell) have begun their journeys south?

A not-very-good photo of my hawk!

Hawk Mountain, in eastern PA. conducts annual raptor migration counts. To date, they have spotted 466 raptors, 47 of them Red-tailed hawks. Interesting site. http://www.hawkmountain.org/

The beautiful and mysterious monarch butterflies also make an incredible migration each year. I noted that on the Hawk Mountain site, they cancelled a program, “Tag your own monarch,” due to the lack of monarchs this year. 

Butterflies on 9-13-2012

I’ve observed this in my own yard … have seen only a few, while last year, my butterfly bush was inundated with them. You can find many articles on the Web on the sharp decline of the monarch butterfly. Click here for one. 

(Click to enlarge photos.)

 

In Case You Missed It

WSP Hawks: NJ30, a banded juvenile, showed up at the park. Many assume it is one of “ours,” possibly Kiku. Stories and photos at Roger_Paw and Urban Hawks. Also, a lovely essay by BrightWings may be found here. (http://carolesbooktalk.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/kikus-journey-ii/)

FI Hawks: Peanut was successfully rehabbed and released away from the nest area. Read about it at Sunnydixie’s excellent Hawkwatch blog.

Cornell Hawks: Sadly, two of their fledgings have died. Read about it here (http://rth-nestcam-cu.blogspot.com/) and here (https://www.facebook.com/birdcams) The third fledgling is fine, hunting and soaring around campus.

PaleMale: One of his fledglings had a collision with a rooftop pool dome on the Upper West Side. Cathy and Bobby Horvath rehabbed him and released him back to the park. Video available on their WINORR site. (And a photo of the kid catching his own meal the next day!)

Calgary Falcons: I don’t have much news, but as far as I know, all 3 fledged successfully and are well. Let me know if you have any other details or updates.

Sydney Sea Eagles: This lovely pair had two eggs, but both seem to be unviable. The researchers there plan to remove the eggs on Monday and perform tests. (There are toxins in the river where they hunt near the nest.) I have been hoping for a “miracle” hatch (like our dear Pip) in vain. It is unknown if they will have another clutch.

Black Eagle

Speaking of second clutches, I just heard about an African Black Eagle cam. The pair — Emoyeni (mom ... believed to be over 40 years old!!) and Thulane (dad, her third mate), laid two eggs in late April. The eggs were unviable and Emoyeni eventually removed them from the nest , which sits on the edge of a cliff, near a waterfall in Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Johannesburg, South Africa. After a few week’s absence, she returned and it has been confirmed that she has laid two new eggs. The outcome is uncertain, as it is very late in the breeding season, and the new chick will endure hot summer temps and may not have the required time to learn to survive on its own before being chased out of the area.
Watch the cam at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/africam-black-eagle

Emoyeni’s nest in the botanic garden

      

Bad Summer in Philly / New Kestrel Species?

• The two oldest hawk siblings in Philly have died from window strikes. (Both flew into windows at Moore College.) The third juvenile, Peanut, was found injured on Tuesday next to the Ben Franklin Parkway. Read a story on Philly.com here.
Update: Peanut is at Schuykill with rehabber Rick Schubert, and is "resting, eating mice and staying quiet; waiting for an x-ray appointment. Sunny has just updated the Hawkwatch blog with more details on all the fledglings. Read it here.

Falco tinnunculus (roboticus var.) Click to enlarge.
(Photoillustration by Tablet Magazine)

•  From tragedy to comedy: A kestrel suspected of being Israeli spy by Turkish authorities turns out to be just a bird! Read the story here. And another story looks into how “Bird-brained conspiracy theories keep a tenacious foothold in the Arab Middle East, where science lags behind the West.” Read it here.  

Other News from Cornell and Down Under

Perfect Broccoli. A plant scientist at Cornell University is trying to create a perfect broccoli that will thrive in warmer climates, improving freshness and taste for many. His methods do not include genetic modification, but his research is still tinged with controversy, as he has partnered with Monsanto. Read the article in the NYT here. (Thanks, eliotts, for the heads-up on this!)

Sounds of the Saxophone. Researchers at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, are studying how a leopard seal named Casey responds to different sounds. It's believed that these seals “sing” to attract mates and perhaps to establish territories. Among other audible “environmental enrichment activities,” a zookeeper there plays jazz to him. Watch a short video here and read about it here.

More nest updates

Peace and Harmony have either fledged or are practicing advanced branching. Read the blog at http://mnbound.com/bald-eagle-blog/

Sad news at the Franklin Institute. The female hawk crashed into a window and died. Read Sunny's blog at http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/

Not a lot of news on our WSP fledglings. Roger_Paw has some great pics from July 8. Bruce Yolton (Urban Hawks) has not been to the park much.

The sea eagles’ nest in the Sydney Olympic Park, which Paula introduced us to two years ago, is back in action! The first egg was laid on July 6 and the second on July 9. Watch the sea eagles here (pop-out view): http://www.ustream.tv/seaeagles/pop-out . Or at the Sea Eagle cam site, which hosts the chat, here: http://www.sea-eaglecam.org/video.html


My eastern phoebes have fledged!
Did not get to see any of them make the leap. :-(
Hope they are doing well.

And also back: The Decorah eagles have fledged from their new nest, but are branching in the cottonwood that houses their old nest! Link is listed at the right.


And now for something completely different! Just found a Coopers Hawk nest cam (from Canada). View it here: http://www.livestream.com/coopershawkwebcam?utm_source=website-channel-page&amp

Eastern Phoebe nest update

About a month I ago, I chatted about a nest under the deck of my house, which has been there for at least 10 years, being washed out by the heavy spring rains. The eastern phoebe who built it lost 3 very young chicks. I reinforced the support under the nest and gave her a copper roof to prevent the rain from getting to her nest. She rebuilt in a jiffy and I believe has a new brood! (click on the pics to enlarge)

It's very dark up under the deck where the nest is ... peering up there the past few days I thought I saw one beak. Today, I went down to the basement door, camera in hand, with flash engaged. Imagine my surprise when I downloaded these pics and saw four babies!! Phoebe is awesome. She was quite mad that I was near her nest. (And I hope I didn't freak out the babes too much.) I calmed her down by sprinkling some mealworms between the bushes behind "her" bench in the garden. I love to watch her grab them up, fly up to the bench to check for intruders, and then fly into the nest.

Two nest updates

The Calgary falcons have fledged! Only a little more than 2 weeks after their banding ordeal (they are pictured here getting a meal soon after the trauma), one left the nest on July 2 in the evening, and the other two followed sometime in the morning on July 3.

As of yesterday (July 5), Peace and Harmony are still residing at the MN Bound nest, spending much of their time up on the tree trunk near the camera mount. In the late afternoon, Dad brought a fish, and the two eaglets returned to the nest bowl to tussle over the food.