Nippersink is a 309 acre park with two lakes, woods, wetlands and marshes. Here’s a view we had from the main trail that circles the park.
It was very cold with a biting wind. We couldn’t feel our faces for much of the walk.
Here Arthur’s smiling but you can hardly tell since he’s so bundled up.
And that’s me, bundled up on the boardwalk.
The sun was shining brightly through the bare trees. In just a few weeks the trees will start to be green again.
While walking, we saw few birds. A pair of crows called from across the park. Some juncos foraged in the foliage. And we saw a little brown furball busy at the water’s edge in one of the few places that wasn’t frozen over: a muskrat!
I took this little video when we were a safe distance away. You might want to turn down the audio as the wind was howling:
Do you know about the BPP (Bird Phenology Program)? They currently have a huge initiative to transcribe millions of records about bird migration. The processing of these records is a citizen science project run by the USGS in which anyone with access to a computer can participate.
The North American Bird Phenology Program houses a unique and largely forgotten collection of six million Migration Observer Cards that illuminate migration patterns and population status of birds in North America. These handwritten cards contain almost all of what was known of bird status from the Second World War back to the later part of the 19th century. The bulk of the records are the result of a network of observers who recorded migration arrival dates in the spring and fall that, in its heyday, involved 3000 participants.
Those handwritten cards are being transcribed into an online database by citizen scientist volunteers like you and me! You can become a participant and transcribe scanned cards into online records. If you live in the Baltimore-Washington area, you can also help with scanning the original records. Check out the BPP Website for more information.
I had a look on Flickr for photos of either of these birds. I came up empty but did find this nice picture of a leucistic Sandhill Crane taken in Indiana last year: Partial Albino (leucistic) Sandhill Crane
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation, a private nonprofit rehab organization in the Chicagoland area, is in trouble. The group has three locations, in Itasca, Barrington and Chicago (Northerly Island), and in the past six month they have suffered through three floods at two locations. The Northerly Island location suffered a burst pipe on January 17th, ruining the center’s flooring.
Since September, flooding twice forced [founder Dawn] Keller and her all-volunteer crew at Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation in Itasca to evacuate 43 birds from outside cages. Then last month, while Keller was still figuring out where she was going to get $15,000 to replace damaged bird habitats, Flint Creek’s bird emergency room at Northerly Island in Chicago flooded.
Repairs to the ER will cost more than $8,000, and Keller fears they won’t be finished in time for the start of migratory bird season. And as the weather thaws, mildew will start to turn the ER into a veritable bacteria farm, she said.
Paintings by artist David Kroll will be on display at the Zolla-Lieberman Gallery until 28 February. The art gallery is at 325 W. Huron in Chicago.
The artist, on his paintings:
Our world has been touched and tended and tamed to such a degree that it often seems we’ve wrested the wild out of the wilderness. As a species, we mistakenly believed that our survival hinged on refining and degrading nature, but it is becoming ever clearer that our actions have led to an increasingly precarious habitat for all living creatures – humans included. As the fragility of nature becomes more apparent, so does its value. My paintings explore the natural world not as an expendable resource but as a past home, once left and forgotten, now longed for and dreamlike.
The works shown on the gallery website look like an interesting mix between still-life and landscape images with birds and nests. My favorite one is Swallows and Grapes.
There’s a movement to designate the Osprey as the state bird of Oregon (replacing the Western Meadowlark). A few months ago schoolchildren in Florida elected to name the Osprey the new state bird, to replace the Mockingbird. I love Ospreys as much as the next person (it’s even one of my favorite Birdorables), but how come they’re so popular as to be replacing existing state birds all of a sudden?
Osprey Hovering by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region, Creative Commons on Flickr
Have you seen a bird with a fat tick stuck to its face? If so, the University of Georgia would like to know about it. In fact, you can participate in a research project by donating the ticks to UGA. […]
Interestingly, if the ticks are removed before the bird develops breathing problems, all these effects will quickly be reversed and the bird will recover and be fine.
If you want to attempt to rescue the bird, recommendations are that you wrap the animal in a towel to keep it from struggling. Pick the ticks off, examining under the feathers carefully to be sure all have been removed. Avian rehabilitators suggest then placing the animal in a large paper bag or box for a few hours to allow it to recover before it is released in the wild, where it might be at a disadvantage if it encountered predators before regaining flight ability.
A new permanent exhibit called “Birds of Chicago” opened at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum last Friday. The Nature Museum is located in Chicago at 2430 North Cannon Drive.
Learn about birds native to Illinois, with nearly 100 specimens on display that date back to the early 1900s. The birds range in age, size, color and rarity, showcasing everything from the large Midwest turkey and the common blue jay to the endangered prairie chicken. Touch screen kiosks provide visitors with additional information on the birds.
Yesterday we went to the 12th Annual Bald Eagle Watch at Starved Rock State Park. Besides viewing over 100 Bald Eagles over the Illinois River, we attended two raptor awareness programs.
Starved Rock is in Utica, about 75 miles southwest of Chicago. The park is named for a legend that tells of a band of Illiniwek starving to death after fleeing to the top of the flattopped rock cliff and being trapped by rival Potawatomi and Ottawa tribes.
Starved Rock is about 2630 acres in size and is a great place for camping, hiking and boating. During winter the park is home to hundreds of Bald Eagles.
We arrived at the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center at about 9am and joined other Bald Eagle watchers on the viewing area. Several Audubon Society members offered use of their scopes to get an up-close look at the Bald Eagles perched on trees on Leopold and Plum Islands.
Besides the many perching eagles, dozens of juvenile and adult birds were flying and hunting over the Illinois River at the Starved Rock Lock & Dam.
Bald Eagles were on the brink of extinction in the lower 48 in the early 1970’s. The banning of DDT and additional federal protection has helped the species recover to a status of Least Concern today.
Our next stop was Starved Rock Lodge, where several vendors and bird organizations had tables explaining their causes. We spoke with the International Crane Foundation representative. They are not too far away in south central Wisconsin so I’m sure we’ll pay them a visit soon.
At noon we attended the Raptor Awareness Program by the World Bird Sanctuary of St. Louis. Two handlers showed us several different birds of prey while telling us about each species.
The first bird was a Harris Hawk. We recently made a Birdorable Harris Hawk so we had read about them. These birds live in the desert. Since perches (often cactus) are sparse in the desert, Harris Hawks will stand on top of one another when there is no other available perch. I would love to see this! The program’s Harris Hawk flew low across the audience several times which was fun to see.
Other birds in the program were Turkey Vulture, Barn Owl, American Kestrel, Great Horned Owl (who gave us some great hoots), Bataleur, and Bald Eagle. The American Kestrel also flew during the demonstration. The Barn Owl should have flown over the audience but got a piece of meat skewered on the beak after the first leg and flew no more.
Check out these powerful Bald Eagle talons.
The last bird of the demonstration was no raptor. One of the sanctuary’s White-necked Ravens came out and accepted donations from the audience.
After the program we looked down at the Illinois River valley from the Lodge. A Red-shouldered Hawk was perched on one of the Lodge’s trees in the viewing area.
Next we went back to the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center to attend the 2pm Live Eagle Program by the Illinois Raptor Education Center. This program was a bit smaller scale and took place in the basement of the Visitor Center. Here we were shown five birds: Turkey Vulture; Red-tailed Hawk; Golden Eagle; Bald Eagle; and Great Horned Owl.
The Bald Eagle was just 4 years old and didn’t have its full white head yet.
We had a great time at the Eagle Watch at Starved Rock and I’m sure we’ll attend more such events in the future.
The Madison, Wisconsin Audubon Society is looking for an intern to work in the field this summer. The application deadline for this position is Friday, February 27th.
2009 Summer Internship:
Orientation to Restoration Ecology Fieldwork
Madison Audubon Society, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin
Overview: As an intern in this supervised practical experience, you will spend the summer in the field where you will learn by doing a number of tasks in broad-scale landscape restoration and management projects, including work in prairie, savanna, woodland, and wetland habitats. The primary focus of activities is the control of invasive species, but some time will be spent on seed collecting and endangered species monitoring. The internship will give you the opportunity to become familiar with both native and alien plants and to learn about their life cycles and ecological requirements; to observe what natural conditions and processes have been altered in a landscape; and to gain an understanding of restoration and management goals and objectives. Interns work in groups at sites within 30 miles of Madison. Two teams will be hired for the summer of 2009; one to work at Madison Audubon’s Faville Grove Sanctuary east of Madison, and one to work at several sites north and west of Madison. Applicants will be considered for both teams but may express a preference.
Dates: This is a full-time summer commitment from May 26 through August 14, 2009. Stipend: $4,320 for the summer.
Eligibility: For some intern positions, applicants must be continuing students, or accepted for enrollment, as undergraduates or special students at a University of Wisconsin System institution. Academic credit may be available for participation in this program; each intern is responsible for making academic credit arrangements with her/his university. Applicants must be able to perform sustained physical work outdoors.
Other: Interns are responsible for their travel, housing, and other living expenses, and are encouraged to carpool between home and worksites. Sturdy work boots, gloves and clothing, as well as sun, rain and insect protection are required. All tools will be provided.
