"No Impact Man Goes Bird-watching"

Folks,
  I'm thinking about contacting COLIN BEAVAN, a.k.a. No Impact Man (have you seen the movie or read the book?), to get his take on birding, as usually done or as *could be* done.  What do you think I should ask (or tell) him?  dfallow@yahoo.com

Another by-bike winter bird species!

A windy day in Madison today.  I biked a total of only about three miles, but saw some cool (cold?) landbirds:  a small Falcon on a telephone pole, a too-distant buteo, and a flock of about 20 of a certain winter-only bird.  Any guesses as to what all these birds were?  Location is not important.  Email me with your ideas...

Winter birds in Madison

Some of these have already arrived this season.  Some, I've never seen in Wisconsin.  Any guesses as to the, say, six most likely?  If so, or any additions, please email dfallow@yahoo.com

Northern Goshawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Gyrfalcon
Glaucous Gull
Snowy Owl
Long-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Saw-whet Owl
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Townsend's Solitaire
Varied Thrush
Bohemian Waxwing
Northern Shrike
American Tree Sparrow
Junco
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Pine Grosbeak
Purple Finch
Red Crossbill
White-winged Crossbill
Common Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll
Pine Siskin
Evening Grosbeak

Who likes to bike?

Please reach the trip-destinations via bicycle. We'll often leave our bikes at the meeting place and proceed by shank's mare. Trips generally cost $10. Comments/questions to:

dfallow@yahoo.com

HAWKS over Madison!

I saw (including vultures) about 310 raptors over Madison today. Love those Northwest winds, no matter how little sun!

Friday morning at 8:30, there's a bike-birding trip. Email me for details:

dfallow@yahoo.com Thanks.

passerines passing through

Passerine = smallish land-bird. Around here, these would include the last of the Baltimore Orioles and Eastern Kingbirds, species not long for Dane County. Other common nesting (i.e. summer) species, like Indigo Buntings and Eastern Wood-Pewees, will be around for weeks yet.
Yellow Warblers and Purple Martins are pretty much gone already. Recent arrivals include Swainson's Thrushes, Magnolia Warblers and Double-crested Cormorants. Today I saw eight kinds of warblers (mostly Tennessees), a bunch of thrushes (Swainson's, Wood, Veery), several Yellow-throated Vireos, several "female" hummingbirds, a trio of Eastern Kingbirds, three "female" Scarlet Tanagers (with a food-begging Cowbird fledgling), two Green Herons (will be gone within about two weeks) and a road-killed juvenile Sora. The last bird was NOT killed by a bicycle, guaranteed!
If you're not getting emails from me, I might not have your current email address.

"Fall" migration

Birds are heading south! The calendar and thermometer might say it's summer, yet many bird species are already migrating. Sandpipers start in late June (!), passerines (such as warblers, flycatchers and thrushes) in late July/early August. I chanced upon a Black-crowned Night-Heron near the WORT studios on August 8th, and saw Northern Shovelers, a Northern Waterthrush and an Olive-sided Flycatcher the next day. On the 15th of August, in the Arboretum, "pishing" turned up a Swainson's Thrush and a Golden-winged Warbler. A few days later, I ran across a Tennessee Warbler, a Blackburnian Warbler and a "pod" of NINE Common Loons! All of these birds were within easy biking-distance of the Capitol Square. In a few days, we should be handlebars-deep in migrating passerines in Madison. If you're interested in bike-birding, be sure to contact me to see what tours are coming up:
dfallow@yahoo.com

baby Green Herons, cuckoo, silent owl, Snipe Fly

Biking in my 'hood this afternoon, I did a double-take and a U-turn upon "seeing white" on the pavement. Under a maple tree near a creek, there was a generous splattering of processed fish, thanks (I figured) to a pair of GREEN HERONS. I think I did the same stop/check last week, but found nothing. Today I peered up into the maple branches, but couldn't see any herons nor any nest. But I happened to look under a nearby conifer, and there were two light-green eggshells, and more whitewash. Sure enough, up in the needles were four fledgling Green Herons, grayish down still clinging to their heads. Could those eggshells have lain on the ground for the two-to-four weeks between hatching and fledging? With all the calcium-seeking critters ou there, including birds of many species that need to replenish their supply (from laying their own eggs), I doubt it...so I reckon the parent herons have already started a second brood. Cool!

Heard something outside the house this morning (6 a.m.) that I've only rarely heard "from the yard" -- a series of hollow "coo" notes, mostly 8-12 in a group, but once up to 18. This was not long after thunder, lightning and a few raindrops...twas a "Rain Crow," a.k.a. a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. I couldn't see the bird, but it seemed to be calling from a neighbor's Walnut tree. I associate Walnuts with Fall Webworms and their webby nests...and cuckoos are known to eat these and other hairy caterpillars. The half-hour spent calling from that tree made me think this cuckoo was a male seeking a mate. You can hear a couple (of many) recordings of YB Cuckoos through Cornell's Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds -- for example,
http:macaulaylibrary.org/audio/107351 or 106712.

Sometimes an adult owl will fly in, sans vocalizing, in response to an imitation of its call. I've seen that happen twice in the last few days in different locations with a BARRED OWL. Having newly fledged young might put a damper on their response-calling.

I think today was the first time this year that I've seen the enchanting (and well-named) GOLDEN-BACKED SNIPE FLY. For some photos, go to bugguide.net and enter that name in the Search box. Ya gotta love (some) dipterans.

Any readers in June?

I'm wondering if any of the General Public (on The Annointed) might be reading this little blog in the month of June...? or is it too hot to read. Tuesday June 7th I'll go out quite early, before it's fully light I hope, and use my eyes and especially my EARS to see what might be within reach by bike, eyes and ears. I don't think you can see very much before 4:30 (or even 5:00), but birds are singing up to an hour before that. Have you read Aldo Leopold's appropriate chapter in "A Sand County Almanac?" Have you donated lately to AFSCME, OneWisconsinNow or WORT Radio? Will you drop me a line at
dfallow@yahoo.com
? and darned if the weather forecast for THURSDAY doesn't seem ideal!

JUNE!

June is a great month in Madison for finding/observing/learning the songs of all the locally breeding birds, as well as seeing four species of turtles and getting started on butterflies and dragonflies. It's also a great month to get up at 4:00 a.m. Stay tuned for many biking tours! Let me know of your interests and availability (time, day, place):
dfallow@yahoo.com

SUNDAY probable trip, need your email though

I don't have the email address of all you readers of this blog. There could be a Sunday morning trip near the U.W., but the exact meeting place (for this $10 bike-birding trip) is a bit obscure...plus I will need to send out a confirming (re weather) email an hour beforehand...so let me know that you're interested by emailing me. Thanks, Dave Fallow
dfallow@yahoo.com

Hey You

Inviting all readers to suggest a time and place for a birding-by-BIKE trip this Sunday, that's May 22nd, in Madison. Very very interesting today was the apparent lack of warblers after a single night of calm...that is, no wind after days on end of north or north-east blows. I'm guessing that there will be another "slug" of migrating warblers in the next week; south winds could bring in a new bunch, as well as "clear the decks" of the old hangers-on. Today: a Cuckoo, an unsettled Alder Flycatcher, a few warblers (Bay-breasteds dominating the non-breeders) and the first fledgling GRACKLE that I've seen thus far. Saturday: supposedly rainy, so no planned trips.
Sunday?

Well, this is the Peak!

Lots of birds are in Madison these days. Certainly it's the peak of the Spring migration. Warblers, vireos, waterbirds, flycatchers, orioles, tanagers, goatsuckers, sparrows and many others are here NOW but will mostly be gone (north) in less than two weeks. On the Tuesday bike-birding trips this week, we found more warblers than I've seen in one location in...a long time. In addition to a couple of semi-rarities, we saw Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, Pine, Magnolia, Golden-winged, Mourning, Cape May and other warblers, some eating Psyllids in almost-bare Hackberry trees and hence fairly easily seen. Vireos included a Blue-headed and a Philadelphia, woodpeckers a Red-headed, orioles an adult male Orchard, flycatchers a Yellow-bellied, mouses a Tit, nuthatches a Red-breasted, mergansers a Red-breasted, tremoloing a Common Loon in breeding plumage, owls a pair of Great Horneds, Sandhill Crane families a colt...all this at PICNIC POINT!
In subsequent guided bike-birding trips at other locations, we noticed a molting male Summer Tanager, Hooded and Prothonotary Warblers, Eastern Kingbirds, Philadelphia Vireo, Green Heron and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
All my trips are by bike (or bike-bus) and mostly cost a mere ten dollars. If you're reading this blog but have not yet signed up, you might want to send me an email so as to get important details and not miss out on the May migration.
Next trips: Friday May 13th at 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Meet by the bikerack.

Many many birds today (Tuesday) -- Wednesday too?

Tonight I'll send out an email to those on my Bike-Birding email list detailing what was encountered on this morning's trips. If you're a reader of this blog who wants to become an active bike-birder, let me know.

WEDNESDAY trips, if weather is decent: 6:30 a.m. at one end of Lake Monona, and 4:oo p.m. at the other. Days of intermittent rain at the peak of migration (now!) can be very good...and I'm not just saying that. More trips on Friday and this weekend -- to influence times and locations, email me:
dfallow@yahoo.com

Thanks.

More migration, more trips....by bike

For readers of this blog who do not regularly receive emails from me: let me know that you're interested in the bike-birding tours that are happening almost daily, and I can give you details and useful information. Next trips: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Where: in Madison. Cost:
$10. How: by bike/bus. Questions? Email me: dfallow@yahoo.com

Greener birdwatching

Birds fly. Madisonians can stay put and still see most of Wisconsin's bird species over the course of a year. "Staycation," you'll hear it called. Next time you tell me about a bird or butterfly you saw, please add how you got there. Madison is blessed with a variety of habitats and lots of water, hence many different birds appear here. While I don't like seeing an approaching Metro bus with a full bike-rack, I'd love to hear that every birdwatcher in town had gone bike-bus birding! It's easy to do -- scroll down to the bottom of the Metro homepage and watch the amusing video: http://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/

May in particular is a great time for ultra-local birdwatching. On every city block, there are dozens of warblers, flycatchers, vireos, nuthatches, kinglets, woodpeckers, lightbulb birds, thrushes, swallows, sparrows and hawks in sight or hearing during the month. (I guess the Yard List is the ultimate in a no-carbon avian staycation.) How many birds have you noticed within one mile of your home?

Low/no-carbon birdwatching

"Can I drive my car to your tours?" No.

"Can I give my bike a ride in my car's trunk, backseat or bikerack?" Nope.

What a Sunday that was, eh!

Yesterday morning at 6:30, as I set off on my bike as the lightning flashed, I thought, "Good thing I didn't schedule a bike-birding tour today!" Well...WRONG! as it turned out. The scary weather that was forecast never materialized (hereabouts), and I ended up spending most of the day outside. The SOUTH winds brought in some first-of-the-year birds, including HOUSE WREN, SORA, EASTERN TOWHEE, BANK SWALLOW, BROAD-WINGED HAWK and several sparrows -- WHITE-THROATED, SWAMP and LINCOLN'S. A dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk was surprising, as I thought I'd seen the last of that species for the season. Loons were flying northwest, over GREEN DARNER dragonflies including one "in tandem" pair. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers seem to be near their peak, already, with females predominating yesterday. As I mentioned on "Diaspora" last Thursday, the Sapsuckers' "wells," sap-oozing holes in the bark of various trees, are visited by many other kinds of birds -- other woodpeckers, chickadees, kinglets and warblers, for example -- which can lead to some exciting interactions when they are discovered and driven away by the well's "owner." I didn't find the American Toads, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher or Northern Waterthrush reported to me, but did notice a MOSQUITO in our kitchen at night. And I got it before it got me! Opening the door this morning, I heard the first full song I've heard this year from a White-throated Sparrow. Soon they will be legion, along with Myrtle/Yellow-rumped Warblers. Sunday saw a big influx of Field Sparrows. The winter sparrows (Junco and American Tree) remain in small numbers, but that will change with the next serious south winds!

Whoa, an update! So many birds showing up recently in Madison and nearby busable/bikeable environs...especially waterfowl and raptors. On March 17th, after my "spot" on Terry O's popular radio show "Diaspora" (which runs on Thursday mornings between 9 and noon; I'm on somewhere in the 11:00-11:15 vicinity), I got back on my bike and found a Great Horned Owl on a nest, a male Kestrel near an old nest-site, a lingering Rough-legged Hawk and an overflying flock of about 40 White-fronted Geese. Today within bus/bike distance there were at least 17 species of ducks. Bluebirds are back, Kingfishers too, not to mention Pied-billed Grebes, Eastern Meadowlarks and American Woodcock. Now widespread are Sandhill Cranes, various blackbirds (mostly Redwings and Grackles), Turkey Vultures, Killdeer, Song Sparrows and
Robins.
So many upcoming birding-by-bike fieldtrips!