Last week the Chicago Tribune ran the story Falconer a rare bird in Illinois. It was accompanied by the video below, showing a licensed falconer working with his bird, a Red-tailed Hawk.
In handling education birds of prey there is overlap with some of the equipment, housing and techniques used by falconers. I’m not interested in the hobby itself but found the video interesting – although I don’t agree with everything mentioned by the falconer in the video or text. 🙂 According to the article there are 4,500 falconers in the United States, with 148 in Illinois. Falconry has been around for hundreds of years, coming to Europe from the Middle or Far East in about AD 400.
Weekend rain and higher temperatures melting feet of snow left Rollins Savanna wet and fresh during our late afternoon walk yesterday.
The path was flooded near a stream crossing, but at less than an inch of water this was no problem to pass.
Red-winged Blackbirds were staking out grassland stalks. Konk-la-reeing continued even on icy marsh water.
Muskrats were muddy, and active in the warmer weather. Time for spring cleaning, I reckon.
We took a detour which ended up being totally flooded out. We decided not to pass here, as the water was at least 6 inches deep and the flooding continued further up the path, maybe even deeper.
A small herd of deer watched us as the sun started to set.
We even heard our FOY (first-of-year) Meadowlarks singing their hearts out. Yay spring!
Migration is on! Woodcocks are peenting, Red-wing Blackbirds are konk-la-reeing, Sandhills are bugling, Purple Martins are scouting. Birds are on the move and their songs are filling the air once more.
And the hummingbirds are coming! If you’re looking forward to the return of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, as we are, keep an eye on the annual migration map at hummingbirds.net.
During this week’s Raptor Internship at Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation, we learned about raptor diets. We also got to watch Pip do a bit more flight training. Along with the usual handling experience and mew maintenance, I got to hold a Red-tailed Hawk for the first time. (!!)
Pip the Barn Owl was given some more flight training. Last week we watched two of Flint Creek’s volunteers, Karen and Linda, work with Pip. This time two classmates got to flight train. Pip started out a bit over-enthusiastic – flying before he should have. Then after a few flights he completely lost all interest, the rascal.
As the class was coming inside after the flight training, a huge huge flock of Sandhill Cranes flew overhead. I took this crummy video – see how big the flock is?
After lunch some classmates took Junior and Meepy out of their mews. The rest of us waited inside while Dawn brought 0511 into the classroom. I got to hold her first.
Dawn warned that if she bated, it wouldn’t feel like anything we’d experienced before – like she was taking our arm away with her! 0511 was agitated during the initial transfer and I was awed by her strength.
First taking 0511 onto my glove
0511 starts to settle down
Once the transfer from Dawn to me was complete, I was surprised by how heavy 0511 was. She didn’t fully relax while I was holding her and a few times I could feel her strong talon grabbing my arm – what power!
0511’s powerful talons
Nervous but happy
Most of the time her legs remained in a somewhat awkward position and she kept her wings slightly spread. It probably didn’t help that I was nervous, too. I was waiting for a bate but after a while my arm felt fatigued so I gave her back to Dawn.
After this we took turns walking with Junior and Meepy. Towards the end of my walk with Junior, he bated and didn’t correct himself. I was happy to have the chance to lift him back up, with coaching from both Dawn and Linda, who were nearby at the time. During my walk with Meepy I took the long path. 🙂
While we were cleaning out a couple of the mews, Dawn showed us the insides of a quail (prey item), to illustrate the digestive tract of a bird. We had seen diagrams in the morning but it was helpful to see the real deal. Lucky for you I did not manage to take photos of this. 😉
Last Saturday Arthur and I attended Birding America VIII, sponsored by the Chicago Audubon Society. The event was a kind of symposium, beginning with a keynote address by Joe Lill, former president of CAS.
When we arrived I got the thrill of my life seeing one of ‘my’ bumper stickers on a car in the parking lot. I just had to take a picture!
Following the morning keynote, attendees could choose from several hour-long sessions. Generally these break-out sessions or workshops fell into three categories: Near Chicago Birding Areas; International Birding Trips; and Skill-Building Workshops. This was a nice mix and we attended sessions of all three types through the course of the day. Before the lunch break we learned about the local specialties of southern Arizona and “Birding the Frozen North” (Wisconsin). The Wisconsin presentation was by Steve Betchkal, author of All of This and Robins Too: A Guide to the 50 or so Best Places to Find Birds in Wisconsin.
Clair Postmus answers questions about the birds of Arizona. His wife Bev gave the presentation.
During the lunch break, birds of prey from three area centers were on display. One of the groups was Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation, and the Saturday class of Raptor Interns was on hand to handle the birds. Yes, I was jealous! There were also birds from the Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest and Stillman Nature Center in South Barrington.
A Great Horned Owl from Stillman Nature Center
Dawn with 0511, the Red-tailed Hawk. 0511 will make another appearance on this blog very soon!
In the afternoon we attended Dave Willard’s lecture on hazards of migration through Chicago, and a group presentation on bird conservation opportunities in the Chicago region. The final keynote address, by Kevin Karlson, was about the wonders of migration. It featured fabulous photographs by the Shorebird Guide co-author and noted birding trip leader.
Dave Willard answers questions about bird collisions in Chicago
It was a fun day and I learned a lot. Ironically the weather on Saturday was the most spectacular for several days before and since, yet 100+ birders were inside for their hobby! Anyway, I look forward to attending the next Birding America – hopefully on a rainy day! 😉
A film adaptation of Mark Obmascik’s The Big Year looks to be another step closer to production. In January news broke that the film would star Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Dustin Hoffman. Tonight reports are circulating that Steve Martin will take Dustin Hoffman’s place in the film. According to ABC News, filming is set to begin in May in Canada. David Frankel is still on to direct.
Although I do like Dustin Hoffman, I’m a big fan of Steve Martin, so I like this announcement. With this cast, there’s no doubt this will be a comedy. I just hope they don’t make birders look too goofy.
I’ll admit I’m pretty addicted to Lost. I’ve seen all of the episodes as they first aired (or as close to as I could while living abroad), I’m enjoying this last season and my husband and I even started re-watching the first five seasons a month ago. There are a couple of teeny tiny mild spoilers ahead (for episodes of Lost that have already aired), so be warned.
While looking through the fanatically comprehensive Lostpedia a few weeks ago, I came across the article on Birds. We had just re-watched the first season episode “Special“, where Walt is reading about Australian birds, so I already kind of had birds & Lost on my mind.
But birds appear in almost every episode of Lost; during the Island scenes there are usually bird sounds in the background, most often peafowl but also loons or doves. The Common Peafowl is an introduced species in Hawaii (where Lost is filmed).
If you watch the show you know that the Island gets around, so hearing such diverse species is not far-fetched. While improbable bird song is unfortunately common in popular culture, the makers of Lost could actually use sounds from any species of bird and they would work within the storyline of the show.
Wednesday night I had the pleasure to attend the annual meeting of Citizens for Conservation. CFC is a non-profit organization based around Barrington, Illinois. The group’s mission: “Saving Living Space for Living Things” through protection, restoration and stewardship of land, conservation of natural resources, and education. It was the group’s 39th Annual Meeting, and I was so impressed by the wide range of their activities and the diversity and dedication of their members.
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation was the proud recipient of the group’s 2010 William H. Miller Conservation Award. Three of FCWR’s education birds were on display during the social hour before the meeting began. I held Meepy (Barred Owl), while a fellow intern had Pip (Barn Owl) and Dawn had Spirit (Long-eared Owl). After I got over my initial nervousness, I had a lot of fun talking with people about Meepy and the other birds and the work that FCWR does. It was my first “program” experience (albeit very informal) and I really enjoyed it!
FSC096 by Barrington Area Library Local History, on Flickr
To find out more about Citizens for Conservation, visit their website. They also have a new group on Facebook. As a non-profit organization, they rely on volunteers and donations.
The focus during this week’s Raptor Internship was training education birds. The brief lecture covered how to glove and flight train a bird, and training using positive vs negative reinforcement.
Two volunteers, along with Pip, then demonstrated flight training using a creance.
Pip on the glove, prior to a flight
Pip in flight
Pip about to land on the glove
The trainers face away from each other between the flights. During this time the receiver prepares the food reward on the glove and the bird finishes the food it has just received from the last flight. When the bird and the receiver are ready, both trainers turn around and the receiver blows her whistle to signal the bird to fly.
Here’s a closer look at the creance. It’s a piece of capped PVC pipe with some sand (?) inside to make it the appropriate weight for the bird in training.
Dawn explained that lures may also be used to flight train a bird, and she showed the following two examples. The pigeon might be used for training a bird like a Peregrine Falcon, while the black and white “skunk” might be used for a Great Horned Owl.
In the afternoon we had more handling experience. I took Pip first and since he had flight jesses on, I had to change his equipment, which went pretty smoothly. Next I walked with Meepy, and finally with Darwin. All of the students were walking around the grounds at the same time; it was like a parade of raptors.
After the raptor walkies, it was time to clean out a couple of the mews. I hadn’t cleaned while a bird was in its cage before, but I got to pick up waste and change the water in Zen’s place while he watched me warily from the corner. Next I worked in Junior’s mew. Junior’s a bit horny these days, which might mean he could be aggressive towards people. While I was picking up, volunteer Karen kept an eye on Junior and stood guard in case he got any bad ideas. For those keeping track, I found another two headless mice while cleaning out the mews this week. 😉 Next week: feeding and nutrition!
