[nysbirds-l] partial albino red tail
this morning james velozzi found a partial albino red tailed hawk near the intersection of rt 94 and county route 1 in orange county, between warwick and pine island. it was mainly white with a few black primaries and secondaries and a few red tail feathers. i was able to locate the bird and take several pictures perched and flying. it also caught what i think was a vole and carried it in its mouth at first and then in its talons. the pictures are on my website- _www.stevesachsphotography.com_ (http://www.stevesachsphotography.com) >NEW FALL 2009. steve sachs white plains -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] QCBC Meeting, Wed. Nov. 18th
*The Queens County Bird Club* *will be meeting at the Alley Pond
Environmental Center (APEC) on Wednesday, November 18th at 8pm.*
(For travel directions, see http://www.alleypond.com/directions.htm).*
*
PROGRAM: Cowbirds, Cuckoos, and Coots: Behavioral Diversity of Brood
Parasitic Birds, or Even Cowbirds Get the Blues,
by Dr. Mark Hauber, Hunter College
Perhaps the most surprising image in nature is a host feeding a large and
unrelated cuckoo chick. Why do birds not recognize and reject foreign
young? How can cowbirds and cuckoos get away with costly brood parasitic
breeding tactics? This talk will survey the evolutionary and behavioral
diversity of avian parasites, from the backyard cowbird to the world’s
largest parasite, the channel-billed cuckoo of Australia. Dr. Hauber will
draw examples using work from collaborative studies across Europe, North
American, African, and New Zealand.
QCBC is a tax exempt, charitable organization {501c3}.
Trips and Meetings are free! Please consider joining or making a
contribution if you attend or participate.
Please check our website for more information:
http://queenscountybirdclub.org/
Please send questions about the meeting and QCBC to Arie Gilbert, President,
*Donna Schulman
QCBC*
--
NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
[nysbirds-l] Aggressive Northern Shrike
The Northern Shrike that I posted about on 11/7/09 is still regularly showing up in our backyard. This particular shrike continues to be a fascinating bird to observe! On 11/14/09 at 7:45 a.m. the Northern Shrike was perched at the top of the favored winter tree, but took off and aggressively chased American Robins from a bushy area. It continued to follow the robins into deciduous trees. While the shrike was perched above a robin, it flew straight up as if in a flycatching mode, then 180-ed into a vertical dive straight down at high speed toward the robin, which immediately took off. Then, the shrike began to chase Blue Jays, and eventually flew out of sight. On 11/9/09, I spotted the Northern Shrike at the top of a deciduous tree near the marsh behind our home. I observed 4 Amer. Crows flying into view (but high overhead). I heard another bird, and briefly shifted my binoculars. When I looked up, there were only 3 Amer. Crows flying over and the 4th crow was down in the bushes being attacked by the shrike! I can't believe I missed how the attack began - the crows were quite high, and I have no idea how the shrike took down a crow. There was a vicious interaction before the crow got away and re-joined the other crows. I found it interesting that the other crows did not attack or mob the shrike, but continued on as if nothing was happening. In the BNA account for Northern Shrikes, it states that it is virtually impossible to distinguish aggressive shrike behavior from prey-attack behavior. The next thing that happened was even more remarkable. The shrike had changed trees after chasing away the crow (closer to my location on our back porch). I was studying the shrike in my binoculars when I realized it was flying directly AT ME! (If you've ever had this situation while peering through binoculars, it is quite bizarre!) I put down my binoculars when I realized what was happening. The shrike continued to fly at me, and then abruptly turned over my 2 wrestling dogs and around our house into the top of a deciduous tree in our front lawn. I assumed this must have been some kind of strange coincidence until I checked the BNA - it states that shrikes are territorial (not just around their nest sites, but on winter territories also) and will attack mammals - including the heads of humans! Wild! I have not heard the shrike sing since my last post. Other sightings: 11/13/09 Black Scoter on Norwood Lake (a wide section of the Raquette River) 11/8/09 Light morph Rough-legged Hawk - first of the season House Finch - female (an unusual bird for our location) Joan Collins Potsdam & Long Lake -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Pink-footed, Barnacle and Cackling Geese and Jamaica Bay birds
11/15/09 - Jamaica Bay W.R., Broad Channel, Queens Co., NY Time: 9:15am to 11:30am Observers: Andrew Block 15+ Horned grebes 7+ Double-crested Cormorants 4 Black-crowned Night-Herons 1 Great Blue heron 12+ Snow Geese (+1 Blue Goose) several Canada geese many Brants several Gadwalls 8+ American Wigeons several American Black Ducks many Mallards many Northern Shovelers 9+ Northern Pintails 6 Green-winged Teals 1 Canvasback many Greater Scaups several Lesser Scaups several Buffleheads 2 Hooded Mergansers several Red-breasted Mergansers many Ruddy Ducks 7+ American Coots many Herring Gulls several Great Black-backed Gulls 1 Fish Crow 1 Black-capped chickadee 2 Tufted Titmice 2 Carolina Wrens 1 American Robin 3 Gray Catbirds 2 Northern Mockingbirds 15 Cedar Waxwings several Yellow-rumped Warblers 3 Song Sparrows 2 Swamp Sparrows several White-throated Sparrows 4 Red-winged Blackbirds 4 House Finches - Sunken meadow S.P., Smithtown, Suffolk Co., NY Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm Observers: Andrew Block 30+ Common Loons 1 Red-throated Loon 3 Long-tailed Ducks many White-winged Scoters 7 Hooded Mergansers 30+ Canada Geese 4 Mute Swans 4 Double-crested Cormorants 1 Pied-billed Grebe 8+ gadwalls 5 Mallards 5 Dark-eyed Juncos several White-throated Sparrows 2 Northern Flickers 1 Blue Jay 6 Fish Crows many European Starlings 40+ Brown-headed Cowbirds several Herrings gulls several Ring-billed Gulls 6 Great Black-backed Gulls - Kings Park High School, Rte. 25A, Kings Park, Suffolk Co., NY Time: 2pm to 2;15pm Observers; Andrew Block, Mark Schwartz, Tom Burke, Gail Benson 50+ Canada Geese 1 Cackling Goose 1 Pink-footed Goose 1 Barnacle Goose Andrew Andrew v. F. Block Consulting Field Biologist & Eco-tour Leader 37 Tanglewylde Avenue Bronxville, Westchester Co., New York 10708-3131 Phone: (914) 337-1229; Cell: (914) 886-5124; Fax: (914) 771-8036 "When the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again..." - William Beebe, first Curator of Birds, Bronx Zoo "Crikey! Have a look at that!" - Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter "Just like the white winged dove sings a song, sounds like she's singing whoo, baby...whoo...said whoo" - Stephanie L. Nicks, Edge of 17, Bella Donna -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Red-necked grebe, late yellow warbler, and waterfowl
A few interesting birds on a warm November day included a red-necked grebe scoped on Great South Bay from the fishing pier at Captree State Park, Suffolk County, and a very late yellow warbler, also at Captree. The warbler was in the brush on the north edge of the parking lot where an asphalt path leads to the middle of the fishing pier. "Bull's Birds of New York State" (1998) lists the extreme fall date for yellow warbler as 24 Oct, though I think there are some more recent late records in NY State and there are records into December and January in other northeastern states. The bird was bright yellow below with a faint diffuse orange on the breast, and bright greenish- yellow above including the crown. According to "Peterson's Field Guides - Warblers", by Dunn and Garrett, birds at this late date would be D. p. amnicola, or another of the northerly breeding sub-species, though this bird seemed very brightly colored, more like the coloration described for the locally breeding subspecies, D.p. aestiva. Waterfowling in Suffolk was slow. A female common goldeneye was at Connetquot River State Park. It took an Internet search for me to identify a male cape shelduck, which was at Belmont Lake State Park. Seth Ausubel Forest Hills, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Eider recount
Meant to cancel last post and hit send instead. Was going to say that final eider tally was 27. Also had 4 late Black Skimmers at west end of Coney Island boardwalk. Regards, Shane B. Brooklyn NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Common Eiders/Brooklyn
Thanks to Rob for posting. Sent from my iPhone -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Eider recount
Meant to cancel last post and hit send instead. Was going to say that final eider tally was 27. Also had 4 late Black Skimmers at west end of Coney Island boardwalk. Regards, Shane B. Brooklyn NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Red-necked grebe, late yellow warbler, and waterfowl
A few interesting birds on a warm November day included a red-necked grebe scoped on Great South Bay from the fishing pier at Captree State Park, Suffolk County, and a very late yellow warbler, also at Captree. The warbler was in the brush on the north edge of the parking lot where an asphalt path leads to the middle of the fishing pier. Bull's Birds of New York State (1998) lists the extreme fall date for yellow warbler as 24 Oct, though I think there are some more recent late records in NY State and there are records into December and January in other northeastern states. The bird was bright yellow below with a faint diffuse orange on the breast, and bright greenish- yellow above including the crown. According to Peterson's Field Guides - Warblers, by Dunn and Garrett, birds at this late date would be D. p. amnicola, or another of the northerly breeding sub-species, though this bird seemed very brightly colored, more like the coloration described for the locally breeding subspecies, D.p. aestiva. Waterfowling in Suffolk was slow. A female common goldeneye was at Connetquot River State Park. It took an Internet search for me to identify a male cape shelduck, which was at Belmont Lake State Park. Seth Ausubel Forest Hills, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Pink-footed, Barnacle and Cackling Geese and Jamaica Bay birds
11/15/09 - Jamaica Bay W.R., Broad Channel, Queens Co., NY Time: 9:15am to 11:30am Observers: Andrew Block 15+ Horned grebes 7+ Double-crested Cormorants 4 Black-crowned Night-Herons 1 Great Blue heron 12+ Snow Geese (+1 Blue Goose) several Canada geese many Brants several Gadwalls 8+ American Wigeons several American Black Ducks many Mallards many Northern Shovelers 9+ Northern Pintails 6 Green-winged Teals 1 Canvasback many Greater Scaups several Lesser Scaups several Buffleheads 2 Hooded Mergansers several Red-breasted Mergansers many Ruddy Ducks 7+ American Coots many Herring Gulls several Great Black-backed Gulls 1 Fish Crow 1 Black-capped chickadee 2 Tufted Titmice 2 Carolina Wrens 1 American Robin 3 Gray Catbirds 2 Northern Mockingbirds 15 Cedar Waxwings several Yellow-rumped Warblers 3 Song Sparrows 2 Swamp Sparrows several White-throated Sparrows 4 Red-winged Blackbirds 4 House Finches - Sunken meadow S.P., Smithtown, Suffolk Co., NY Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm Observers: Andrew Block 30+ Common Loons 1 Red-throated Loon 3 Long-tailed Ducks many White-winged Scoters 7 Hooded Mergansers 30+ Canada Geese 4 Mute Swans 4 Double-crested Cormorants 1 Pied-billed Grebe 8+ gadwalls 5 Mallards 5 Dark-eyed Juncos several White-throated Sparrows 2 Northern Flickers 1 Blue Jay 6 Fish Crows many European Starlings 40+ Brown-headed Cowbirds several Herrings gulls several Ring-billed Gulls 6 Great Black-backed Gulls - Kings Park High School, Rte. 25A, Kings Park, Suffolk Co., NY Time: 2pm to 2;15pm Observers; Andrew Block, Mark Schwartz, Tom Burke, Gail Benson 50+ Canada Geese 1 Cackling Goose 1 Pink-footed Goose 1 Barnacle Goose Andrew Andrew v. F. Block Consulting Field Biologist Eco-tour Leader 37 Tanglewylde Avenue Bronxville, Westchester Co., New York 10708-3131 Phone: (914) 337-1229; Cell: (914) 886-5124; Fax: (914) 771-8036 When the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again... - William Beebe, first Curator of Birds, Bronx Zoo Crikey! Have a look at that! - Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter Just like the white winged dove sings a song, sounds like she's singing whoo, baby...whoo...said whoo - Stephanie L. Nicks, Edge of 17, Bella Donna -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] QCBC Meeting, Wed. Nov. 18th
*The Queens County Bird Club* *will be meeting at the Alley Pond
Environmental Center (APEC) on Wednesday, November 18th at 8pm.*
(For travel directions, see http://www.alleypond.com/directions.htm).*
*
PROGRAM: Cowbirds, Cuckoos, and Coots: Behavioral Diversity of Brood
Parasitic Birds, or Even Cowbirds Get the Blues,
by Dr. Mark Hauber, Hunter College
Perhaps the most surprising image in nature is a host feeding a large and
unrelated cuckoo chick. Why do birds not recognize and reject foreign
young? How can cowbirds and cuckoos get away with costly brood parasitic
breeding tactics? This talk will survey the evolutionary and behavioral
diversity of avian parasites, from the backyard cowbird to the world’s
largest parasite, the channel-billed cuckoo of Australia. Dr. Hauber will
draw examples using work from collaborative studies across Europe, North
American, African, and New Zealand.
QCBC is a tax exempt, charitable organization {501c3}.
Trips and Meetings are free! Please consider joining or making a
contribution if you attend or participate.
Please check our website for more information:
http://queenscountybirdclub.org/
Please send questions about the meeting and QCBC to Arie Gilbert, President,
ariegilb...@optonline.net
*Donna Schulman
QCBC*
--
NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
[nysbirds-l] partial albino red tail
this morning james velozzi found a partial albino red tailed hawk near the intersection of rt 94 and county route 1 in orange county, between warwick and pine island. it was mainly white with a few black primaries and secondaries and a few red tail feathers. i was able to locate the bird and take several pictures perched and flying. it also caught what i think was a vole and carried it in its mouth at first and then in its talons. the pictures are on my website- _www.stevesachsphotography.com_ (http://www.stevesachsphotography.com) NEW FALL 2009. steve sachs white plains -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
