Endangered Sparrows?

Really? I had to read this twice to believe it. Apparently, sparrows are dying out in England, because everyone is paving over their front yards, and therefore reducing the insect population the birds need to feed they young, which often starve to death. Here is a video, and here is the link to the story.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7739102.stm

Prepping for winter. Be kind to the animals

I'm writing this and staring at a bag of birdseed, sitting at my feet. The feeders are empty and I feel a twinge of guilt. So, tomorrow, before I head off to PLU, the feeders will get filled.

Here is a great blog and a great post on how to be kind to the critters in our back yard during the winter, which here, seemed to start this weekend with blasting rainstorms that knocked all the leaves off the trees.

Bird art

The New York Times has a great piece, and multi-media presentation on bird art today. It's worth the read.

Of course this parakeet comes from the galleys of Mr. Audubon.

Still time to catch the swifts

I plan to head up that way for my 30th class reunion (go Cascade High School, class of 78), but I will try to swing by Monroe while I'm up there this weekend, so see if there are any swifts left on the tail end of this migration.

This Seattle Times package is very nice.

Wildlife in Iowa

Yeah, Iowa, were I was representing PLU at a conference of Lutheran Colleges. Actually, it's wasn't as dull as I expected. Lots of interesting and fun people back there who didn't take themselves too seriously.

In front of the student dorms, where we stayed, was this wonderful sawgrass prairie with wonderful wildflowers, all elbowing each other for the top part of their canopy. The sunflowers won out. But the wildlife was wonderful, if you just had patience. Deer, fox, pheasants, goldfinches (the state bird), cardinals (very shy), and rabbits.

And I decided to go on the canoe trip. Not much wildlife except for trout and turkey vultures, and lots of swallows, all in their mud hut condos that where stuck to the top of chimney-like slate formations that rose up from the river about 200 feet above our heads.

Bohemian Waxwing? I think so.

I was walking the dog this am (before the storm blew in, as it's doing right now) and looked up, seeing a crested bird that seemed greyish with red and black tips. I think it was a pair, or three actually, Bohemian Waxwings.

However, the Seattle Audubon page said that it could be another type of waxwing that was orange. But these birds weren't orange, or rust, (Cedar Waxwings) they were definitely gray. I could tell that, even tho they were silhouetted on the telephone lines.

Anyone else seen them around Kent?

Picture courtesy of Seattle Audubon.

A Bittern?

I think so.

As I was swinging around from Peasley Canyon, on to Highway 18, I looked up to see a small brown-looking bird, flying with its feet kicked back, sort of like a heron. But it was small and mottled-brown colored.

The crows were already on its ass, chasing it away. I was thinking, what a baby heron? But brown? So I browsed the Audubon filed and came up with this picture. What do you think?

Warning: Goose crossing

Driving into work today from Kent, I spotted a momma canadian goose, walking behind two fluffy chicks (maybe have been more in the grass). They were at the offramp of the truck stop -not right by the freeway - just south of the 320th Street Exit. I just hope she doesn't waddle further east but stays in the bushes. Of course, these photos are not of said momma, and came from National Geographic, not moi.

On highway 18, coming home from Wal Mart in Federal Way, stopped a goldfinch, perched on the freeway overpass. Of course, didn't have my camera to catch its yellow and black markings.

Osprey Rescued

Of course, sometimes, we actually do try to help animals, or birds, rather than shoot them.

Yes, It's a Quail

As we were driving to school yesterday down our Kent road, we both looked up at our neighbor's fence at the same time, and lo, there was a male quail. Looking back.

It was fat, and I didn't see any female quails hanging about. I remember when we first moved to Scenic Hill 20 years ago, we'd see Chinese Pheasants. But in all that time, I think this is the first quail I've seen.

Has Anyone Seen Birds Like This?

Frankly, I hope not.

The fact that something in our environment is causing this deformations - which eventually result in the birds starving to death - makes me a bit ill. Anyway, if you do, report to the local fish and wildlife, EPA or Audubon rep.

The PI story that alerted me to this is here.

An Online Look at the Birds

And the other prints of Audubon, have been gathered online for a look. It's a nice browse.

Falcons to the South, Snow Geese to the North

The snow geese are in the Skagit Valley, and for those that want to go south, this article highlighted the raptors in the Nisqually reserve.

Picture courtesy of the Seattle Times.

Backyard Bird Watch is Coming Up

This from the Rainier Audubon site (which is having a meeting on the Feb. 18 at the Federal Way United Methodist Church BTY).

Unlike the national bird count which occurred in January, this count occurs Feb. 15-18 and encourages folks to count the birds that alight in the back yard.

A symbol of freedom still lives in Federal Way

As I was going up Highway 18 to I-5 yesterday, looked up to see what I call the Federal Way eagle wing over.

There's a pair that nests in the trees to the north of 18 near a lake. I guess they are wintering over still, and must still be tolerating all the traffic noise.

So how do the birds fair during the white outs?

I often wondered that as I looked at reports from the TV on the heavy snow and blasts of winter that the Cascades, as well as other parts of the country have been enduring.

So I checked in on a few blogs from that area and came across the Klamath Birding Blog, which has reports of birds hanging on to trees (lee side) for dear life.

How do birds fly?

This article caught my eye on the BBC feed I get on my Yahoo account.

If you ever wondered how birds fly, or how they learned to fly all those years ago. It's a good read.

Sometimes the food just isn't worth it

I laughed when I first saw this story, before I realized that some of the birds had died while diving into a pile of fish guts for dinner.

I read later the company that owns the fish processing plant is picking up the tab for the medical care for the birds, and donated several thousand to wildlife rescue agencies.

My hubby, who spent some time in Adak, Alaska, said that in fact, the bald eagles would perch on rock and you'd feed them like crows up there. Here's a great article from the local branch of the Nature Conservancy on eagles. I usually see one hanging out in an old snag by the Smith Brothers Farm each winter. But this year, not. Has anyone else seen the baldie?

In a roundup of other stuff I saw over the weekend, there was the story about fish, that died, again, in Hood Canal. Also, I saw a short blip in the Seattle Times about goats needing a home. Anyone? They work wonders on blackberry bushes.

Photo courtesy of the AP

Marco Polo with the Owls

In a few weeks, my daughter and I will be taking a nap in the afternoon, with the goal of getting up in the late pm, for an overnighter with the owls.

On Feb. 23, at 10:30 pm, the Soos Creek Owl Prowl will begin, as we look for things that go hoot in the night.

I love owls. This summer, I was taking the dog for a walk around Scenic Hill in Kent, when I heard what sounded like kids playing Marco Polo, except they were hooting at each other in Mill Creek Park. I listened for a bit, tho, and realized it wasn't kids, but owls saying hello.

Also, later in the summer, my husband and I were out at Ocean Shores, eating dinner and watching the dunes. All the sudden a silver shape shot out of the gloom and rocketed like a fighter pilot just above the grass, looking for his dinner.

I think it was this fellow, that I sketched this weekend. Maybe a grey owl?

This guy is a baby that was on the owl prowl web page.

A bird count on the fly

Didn't formally join the Rainier Audubon Society's bird round up today, but I did take a count in my back yard (seems when I broke out the binocs, all birds decided to go somewhere else, including the flock of robins and flickers that were out there all day yesterday.)

I did catch a few before we went shopping. Five black-capped chickadees, two purple finches, seven pine siskins (I think) and 5 juncos. The was the usually mob of rock pigeons by the Texaco station at the bottom of Gowe Street and one lone seagull in Mill Creek Park. I also saw three red tailed hawks (2 immature) in the wild area along Highway 167.

I wish, however, that the count had been yesterday. Then, ta da, I saw a townsend's warbler. Very cool. These guys are supposed to be in Mexico, I read later. This one must have missed the memo.

Pictures courtesy of Seattle Audubon.