Richard Crossley, one of the authors of The Shorebird Guide, has put together a new bird guide for the eastern United States. The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds is slated to be available in early 2011. The guide takes a different approach to bird identification, using photos rather than illustrations and placing them with lifelike backgrounds, showing many different photographs of each bird. Context is key. Recently the author spoke about his ideas for this new kind of bird guide:
Early versions of pages from this book were shared almost a year ago at 10000Birds.com, and that post garnered 32 comments. To say this book is highly anticipated would be an understatement! The book is now available for pre-order. Meanwhile you can view more sample or working pages here.
Friday morning found us back on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. The Biggest Week in American Birding was starting to wind down, but the birds were still spectacular. Late Thursday afternoon we noticed a sudden temperature increase, and the murmurs among festival participants was that Friday would be the day. Indeed, warm southerly winds overnight brought in tons of warblers and other migrants to the preserve, and birders were loving every minute. We were about halfway through the boardwalk path when a Chicago birding acquaintance of ours, Eric Gyllenhaal, quickly passed us. He was talking on the phone, and it was obvious he had some news. He was kind enough to interrupt his call momentarily to tell us: “Check your tweets!” Good advice. [Thank you, Eric!!]
At this time we were completely unaware of Magee Marsh outside of the boardwalk, but we followed Eric’s direction and headed east off the boardwalk. Another tweet came in.
By the time we crossed the road towards the beach, we were among several dozen birders heading towards a thicket of trees separating the eastern parking lot from the beach.
Emerging onto the beach, we found ourselves among hoards of people heading towards a growing group of birders. Since this was our fourth try to see this bird (in Ohio, even!), I tried to keep my expectations low. I asked a birder heading back to the parking lot if she had seen it. With her enthusiastic “YES!” I allowed my hopes to rise.
When we approached the birders staking out the rarity, a very kind woman beckoned us over and told us where to look. We could see the Kirtland’s Warbler with our naked eyes. In our binoculars he was larger than life.
What a gorgeous bird – such a great thrill to see. He was singing, and foraging out in the open.
The crowd of spectators grew and grew, and we in turn helped new arrivals get their binoculars on what was surely a life bird for most visitors.
It was really uplifting to be among so many happy birders. People were laughing, doing the lifer dance, high-fiving, and most of all thanking Kenn Kaufman for the amazing sighting.
The bird stayed on the beach nearly all day, and wasn’t refound the next day. Friday was definitely the day!
Last week, during the Biggest Week in American Birding, we spent a great deal of time on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. We missed birding here during last fall’s Midwest Birding Symposium, so it was our first visit.
East entrance to the boardwalk.
The boardwalk is the stuff of birding legend, and the stories are all true. Birds perched in front of your nose, great looks at 20+ species of warblers in under an hour, and hundreds and hundreds of birders.
Crowds of birders everywhere!
We arrived at the Marsh late Wednesday afternoon, after a long day of driving. The first thing we saw on the boardwalk was a small group of birders staring into the foliage. One of them said matter-of-factly, “There’s a Black-throated Blue right there.” Expecting to peer deep into the vegetation, it took me a moment to find the bird. I didn’t expect it to be within 7 feet of my nose.
Black-throated Blue Warbler on the boardwalk.
Later, we entered the boardwalk on the west end, where the railing marker numbers start.
What do the numbers mean?
There must have been millions of dollars worth of binoculars and camera equipment on the boardwalk during any daylight hour. One morning, we saw the previous day’s losses waiting to be reclaimed.
Home for wayward lens caps.
Most of these photos were taken with my trusty Canon S2IS, a 5MP “superzoom” point-and-shoot camera.
American Redstarts were everywhere, too.
Scarlet Tanager.
Black-throated Green Warbler.
The boardwalk passes by swampy water in several places, where waterbirds skulk for prey.
Green Heron seen through thick foliage.
Great Blue Heron out in the open.
While many of the warblers are passing through Magee during their migration north, some birds like Prothonotary Warblers and Yellow Warblers breed at the Marsh. Birders were delighted to watch them bringing material to their growing nests. All at eye level, mind you. No warbler neck required.
Crouching Birder, Hidden Warbler
Magnolia Warblers were all over the place.
Chestnut-sided Warblers were abundant as well.
Prothonotary Warblers were busy nest-building.
Prothonotary Warbler feeding for the birdarazzi.
At one point we noticed a pair of Yellow Warblers madly chipping. Arthur spotted a snake in the tree between the birds; we guessed the predator was “disrupting” their nesting activity.
Although the birding on the boardwalk was phenomenal, the search for birds usually began in the parking lot. Here’s a typical scene – full parking lot, birder tailgate party, birdwatchers clumped along the entrance of the boardwalk in the background.
Magee Marsh parking lot.
One morning a roosting Common Nighthawk caused some excitement.
Roosting Common Nighthawk.
Of course, Magee Marsh is not ALL about the boardwalk. Especially on Friday, May 14th, when a very special bird was spotted on the beach. More on that in the next post!
Last week we were out of town on Thursday, so early this morning Arthur and I walked our Rescue & Recovery route for the ninth time this season. For this migration awareness post I would just like to share a bit about what it’s like to check the streets of downtown Chicago for injured birds now that we’ve had some more experience.
Arthur and I drive downtown, usually leaving home some time around 4am. The dark streets are deserted close to home, but by 5am the expressway into downtown is surprisingly busy. During the morning we park the car in several places and then check the surrounding streets. Arthur and I split up, mostly, to cover as much ground as possible. By the time we arrive at our first parking spot, it’s already twilight. We’re trying to beat the gulls and other predators, and pedestrians.
Walking the dark streets, our eyes play tricks on us. But even in daylight, a crumpled napkin is a streaky sparrow laying on its side. A fallen flower bud is a stunned warbler. We approach every object out of place on the street, courtyard, or sidewalk, to check if it is a bird in trouble.
During one of our first weeks, I picked up a dead American Woodcock. It was laying about ten feet out from the building it struck, and as I approached it, it seemed impossibly huge. Then, my eyes told me an old shoe was laying on the ground.
Not all creatures we come across are birds. Rats scurry along alleyways. Bunnies hop in tiny gardens. Earlier this season, we found three bats, all laying around one building. Those we cannot approach. Several times we have found dragonflies laying on curbs or next to buildings. Are they also window-strike victims? We think so.
We find birds huddled close to buildings, or in the middle of the street. This morning I walked by a dark male American Redstart, laying in the middle of an alley, as I checked the sides of the buildings. I noticed the tiny bird as I retraced my steps back to the car. Once we saw a large bird in the middle of the road. A thrush, we first thought. But the large dark bird was a Brown Thrasher, stunned, uncharacteristically quiet and still in the street.
We need to remain quiet around our patients, but when picking up a salvage bird, I can’t help but apologize to it.
When we finish with our route, we check in with the other Thursday volunteers. All of the rescues and salvages are brought to triage in the city. Patients are later transported out of the city, for further care or immediate release. The salvage birds are brought to the Field Museum. On a good day, we have more rescues than salvages. For us, today was not a good day.
I had a quick peek inside the American Robin nest late this afternoon. The last time I looked, on May 11, I saw two freshly hatched chicks and one unhatched egg. This is what I saw when I checked today.
From what I can tell, there are just two babies. They have grown so much! When I went out to check, Ma Robin was off the nest, but soon after I climbed up my ladder, I could hear a robin telling me off. I had seen a pair of adults foraging in our back yard, and I guessed this might by the parents of our nest. I’m not sure who was chipping at me, though. After taking a few photos and one short video, I headed back inside. Soon Ma Robin was back, settling on her babies and resting just a bit taller in the nest than before.
Yes, that’s not a great picture. Having a nest right by the front window is a good excuse out of window washing, don’t you think? 😉
We returned home yesterday from spending five days in northwest Ohio, birding at Magee Marsh and Ottawa NWR, and enjoying programs during the Biggest Week in American Birding. We had heard from many birding friends that Magee Marsh was amazing, but we still managed to underestimate the birding there… it was truly PHENOMENAL. We can’t wait to go back! This is the first of several posts on our time there… starting with some bird banding.
Baltimore Oriole
On Saturday morning we spent some time at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory banding station (which we also visited last fall) and got to see some beautiful birds in the hand.
Indigo Bunting
Nashville Warbler
The audience was large and several banders and volunteers showed the birds while explaining the process and what we learn from bird banding.
BSBO director Kim Kaufman explained that birds have a preen gland which secretes oil used in preening. And then she showed it to us, using a Gray Catbird she had in the hand, which was very cool.
I’ve been keeping an eye on the American Robin nest in our front yard. Earlier this week it was pretty windy, but she held tight.
Since we’re going away for a few days, I wanted to check inside the nest once more before we leave. I had planned to check today, but the forecast of relative cold (mid 40s°F) and rain didn’t seem ideal. Still, when I looked at the nest about a half hour ago, I saw Ma Robin wasn’t on, so I quickly grabbed the ladder and my camera and had a quick peek inside the nest.
It looks like two chicks are just hatched, while one egg remains intact (I had estimated hatching would be between May 9 and May 12). Ma Robin started to chip at me after a half minute so I got out of there fast (you can hear her at the end of the video).
By the time I got back inside the house, she was back on the nest. American Robin chicks fledge at approximately 13 days so we should be able to watch them a bit more in the nest.
Before heading home after the Illinois Audubon Spring Gathering in Nauvoo, we headed down to Hamilton to check out a Bank Swallow colony we learned about during lunch. The birds were congregated at a sand and gravel company lot, nesting in a large mound of sand. The activity was amazing and they were a lot of fun to watch. Thanks to Sonny for the tip – these were life birds for us!
Part of the program last Saturday evening during the Illinois Audubon Spring Gathering was a raffle and silent auction. Now, you know I have a problem with books. Maybe you can guess what happened.
I saw several lots of older bird books that I thought were pretty cool. Each item had a cup next to it, and players could add their ticket(s) to the cup to try and win that item when the tickets were drawn randomly later in the evening. Arthur and I purchased 30 tickets for $20. I placed multiple tickets inside a few of the cups, to increase my chances of winning.
In the end my name was called six times and I won 13 books plus 4 sets of bird call cassette tapes. When my name was called for the third time, it was already pretty funny. Subsequent wins were met with laughter and during the remainder of the weekend I became known as either “the book lady” or “Amy with the books.”
My favorite of the bunch is The Book of Birds from the National Geographic Society, published in 1925. The color illustrations by Louis Agassiz Fuertes are accompanied by some photos. More about this one later!
Our Sunday morning excursion during the final day of the Illinois Audubon Spring Gathering was at Stony Hills Nature Preserve.
They had signs and they weren’t afraid to use them (below picture is a composite).
This was our birdiest field trip of the weekend, but most birds were heard rather than seen. We did start off with a nice Summer Tanager on a wire for all to see. Field Sparrows were singing, we heard a Wild Turkey gobbling off the trail, a distant Tufted Titmouse sang unseen in the forest, and everyone got really nice looks at a Great Crested Flycatcher.
This was our last excursion before the wrap-up lunch at Nauvoo State Park. We had some time to kill before heading to lunch so we stopped briefly at Nauvoo Flat Wildlife Sanctuary. From there we had a nice view of the river and saw two adult Bald Eagles, several American White Pelicans, a flyover (erratic!) Eastern Kingbird, and a very nice Palm Warbler.
It was a fun weekend and I’m looking forward to the next Illinois Audubon gathering!
