[cayugabirds-l] Yellow-billed Cuckoo again
I was in Rochester yesterday, but back at home this morning, and still have a Yellow-billed Cuckoo calling. The call is a harsh throaty Kowp Kowp Kowp Kowp Kowp Kowp Kowp Kowp I had decided that I just couldn't describe the differentiation of Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoo calls as John requested, but regarding _this_ particular call, I listen for the differences between hard C and harder K, and between a mellow oo and a raspy hollow owp. (this just breaks down a transliteration found in some field guides; I'm not asserting that it should be meaningful to anyone other than me) Out the window right now, I'm watching a pair of Great-crested Flycatchers gathering nest material from the garden! My responses to Richard's Mockingbird questions: 1, How large a collection of different sounds can one bird make? The brain's the limit! 2. I recognize some of the sounds. Would a cardinal be confused in hearing his call? Perhaps momentarily, but the Mockingbird's habit of varying the calls, and delivering each one in triplicate, quickly gives the game away 3. Are the sonograms of a mockingbird and a cardinal about the same, or can you tell them apart. I'm not up on sonograms, but I assume they can be drawn at various resolutions, and that a low-res similarity would break down at sufficiently high resolution. 4. Mockingbirds migrate. Can you tell where they spent the winter by the songs they sing? I had a Catbird around home one summer who sang chuck-wills-widow. I couldn't say _where_ he learned that, but l don't think he made it up! 5. Do mockingbirds make calls of predators like owls or hawks? Yes. -Geo Kloppel -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Osprey interaction
Last night, during our sunset walk at Salt Point in Lansing, Joe and I got some nice views of the osprey pair sharing a fish on the platform edge. When we were ready to leave (it was getting quite dark by then) one osprey was down incubating presumably while the other stayed alert on the perch (ha-ha... fish or pole or both). Some movement along the outside of the nest caught Joe's attention. Although the light was terrible, I could see a long, twitching tail with a slight notch and very quick movements. Blue gray gnatcatcher I'm guessing. The little bird and the big osprey had to have been aware of each other but unbothered by each other's presence. The little bird worked its way around the edge and then into the nest itself before it got too dark to see anymore. What was going on? Gleaning bugs? Anyone else seen this? Could it have been some species other than gnatcatcher? -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Mimicking bird
Hi all, My neighbor has a pet mimickingbird, I don't know what species it is. But daily morning from 4.30 to 5.15 am or so it mimics various calls and also I it has its own song I think. I would have to like it recorded but unfortunately my recorder was full. I did not feel like getting up to find for a new micor sd card. But I listened to him while lying in the bed. About mimicry: He has one song which he repeats very often that is po po witch sometimes uttered slowly sometimes fast. Then he does variety of mimicking from these I could recognize some of my yard birds 1. Cardinal which he does only talk to me, talk to me 2. Tufted Titmouse which he does only CFCU' 3. Catbird (my ex) meow' or jump a teak or teag 4. House Wren a jumble I cannot translate into words I am yet to recognize other birds. Now in the yard variety of baby bird calls of starlings, grackles and American Robin are being heard, I would like to know if he picks any of those. He sings in the evening but not so elaborately! But none of these mimicries are perfect, but you can say that they are very close. Cheers Meena Meena Haribal Ithaca NY 14850 42.429007,-76.47111 http://haribal.org/ http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/ -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Mockingbirds on our house
Hi Richard, The range map for Northern Mockingbird in *Birds of North America* indicates that they breed as far north as southern Ontario, and are permanent residents as far north as Watertown, NY. Regarding migratory habits, BNA says it is Not well understood. Reported to be partly migratory in northern portion of range, but at least some individuals remain in winter at northern limits of breeding range. Perceptions of status could be affected by reduced visibility of mockingbirds during winter. About the number of songs types one bird can make, The vocal repertoires of individual males have been estimated to be as low as 45 and as high as 203 song types ... Song types appear to be added continuously to the vocal repertoire, suggesting that an individual bird may not have an upper limit to its repertoire. The BNA account does not appear to address the issue of the fidelity of mimicry, so I will venture into the realm of my own impressions of how mockingbird mimicry can be distinguished from the songs of birds they imitate. I would welcome commentary from others who have similar or different impressions. BNA mention that Mockingbirds typically repeat one song type several times before switching to another. Songs are presented in “bouts,” with each bout consisting of repetitions of only one song type. Song types of short duration are repeated more often within a bout than are longer song types This suggests one of the cues that might clue me into the fact that I'm hearing an imitation of a cardinal song rather than a real cardinal song. The mockingbird is likely to make several identical repetitions of the same cardinal song in a pretty short time frame. Beyond that, it appears to me that while many aspects of the cardinal song are faithfully reproduced to my ear, there are definitely alterations. To me, a real cardinal song has more dynamic range, more change in pitch, more variety between repetitions of the same song, more variability in song length, etc. To anthropomorphize, when I hear a real cardinal, I sometimes form a mental image of an opera singer. I hear years of voice lessons. Each note is milked for every possible ounce of melodrama and emotion. I can almost see the exaggerated facial expressions. The mockingbird reminds me more of an advanced beginner pianist. The repertoire is getting to be quite large and increasing every week, but each of the pieces is of similar length because it gets boiled down to a single page in the piano lesson book. The performance is lacking in dynamic range, change of tempo, and creativity. Each repetition is rendered mechanically and identically. My impression is that of a rote performance. Does this ring true for other observers? Richard, I'm guessing you would really enjoy reading The Singing Life of Birds http://www.amazon.com/The-Singing-Life-Birds-Listening/dp/0618840761/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8qid=1402234001sr=8-1keywords=kroodsma by Donald Kroodsma. The book discusses Northern Mockingbird among other species, comes with a CD, and is full of sonograms. -Mike On Sat, Jun 7, 2014 at 8:25 AM, Richard Tkachuck rictkal...@gmail.com wrote: A mockingbird has selected our house as a place to display his wide variety of sounds from early morning until the sun sets. This has raised some questions. 1, How large a collection of different sounds can one bird make? 2. I recognize some of the sounds. Would a cardinal be confused in hearing his call? 3. Are the sonograms of a mockingbird and a cardinal about the same, or can you tell them apart. 4. Mockingbirds migrate. Can you tell where they spent the winter by the songs they sing? 5. Do mockingbirds make calls of predators like owls or hawks? Thanks, Richard Tkachuck -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] First osprey egg at Salt Point hatches
Yesterday morning, after 38 days of incubation, the first osprey egg at Salt Point hatched. I suspect there are two more eggs on the way, but it is purely a guess. The Baltimore Orioles around the osprey platform serenaded the new chick and it was a wonderful day at the point. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who kept an eye out for the first osprey egg and all the osprey nests in the basin. We are very fortunate to have such a great generous group of birders willing to help each other. With gratitude, Candace -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
RE: [cayugabirds-l] Mockingbirds on our house
Hi all, The idea of identifying winter ranges from songs that are mimicked is neat, and while it may not work for Northern Mockingbirds, it possibly could be used for other species. I know of only a single person who ever tried doing this (there could easily be more…I don’t know the song literature at all), and he was trying to identify where the few Marsh Warblers that nest in England spend the winter in Africa. As best I know, that part of the student’s research never came to fruition. As an aside, if you’ve got a few minutes, you can listen to Marsh Warbler recordings either at the Macaulay Library (a bird mimicking at least Great Tit, Barn Swallow, Skylark, House Sparrow, and Chiffchaff: http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/71611), or a marathon song session at xeno-canto: http://www.xeno-canto.org/135647 . I find it interesting that these two mimics (mockingbirds and Marsh Warblers), although not at all closely related, some roughly the same sort of song quality: jarring, abrupt notes with very few whistles. Oh, and while mockingbirds can have repertoires of a couple hundred song types, these are not necessarily all mimicked songs of other species, but just recognizable and repeated phrases. “Sampled” sounds from other species just happen to be part of the mix of phrases that the birds can use. Wesley From: bounce-116224129-3494...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-116224129-3494...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Mike Pitzrick Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2014 9:40 AM To: Richard Tkachuck Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Mockingbirds on our house Hi Richard, The range map for Northern Mockingbird in Birds of North America indicates that they breed as far north as southern Ontario, and are permanent residents as far north as Watertown, NY. Regarding migratory habits, BNA says it is Not well understood. Reported to be partly migratory in northern portion of range, but at least some individuals remain in winter at northern limits of breeding range. Perceptions of status could be affected by reduced visibility of mockingbirds during winter. About the number of songs types one bird can make, The vocal repertoires of individual males have been estimated to be as low as 45 and as high as 203 song types ... Song types appear to be added continuously to the vocal repertoire, suggesting that an individual bird may not have an upper limit to its repertoire. The BNA account does not appear to address the issue of the fidelity of mimicry, so I will venture into the realm of my own impressions of how mockingbird mimicry can be distinguished from the songs of birds they imitate. I would welcome commentary from others who have similar or different impressions. BNA mention that Mockingbirds typically repeat one song type several times before switching to another. Songs are presented in “bouts,” with each bout consisting of repetitions of only one song type. Song types of short duration are repeated more often within a bout than are longer song types This suggests one of the cues that might clue me into the fact that I'm hearing an imitation of a cardinal song rather than a real cardinal song. The mockingbird is likely to make several identical repetitions of the same cardinal song in a pretty short time frame. Beyond that, it appears to me that while many aspects of the cardinal song are faithfully reproduced to my ear, there are definitely alterations. To me, a real cardinal song has more dynamic range, more change in pitch, more variety between repetitions of the same song, more variability in song length, etc. To anthropomorphize, when I hear a real cardinal, I sometimes form a mental image of an opera singer. I hear years of voice lessons. Each note is milked for every possible ounce of melodrama and emotion. I can almost see the exaggerated facial expressions. The mockingbird reminds me more of an advanced beginner pianist. The repertoire is getting to be quite large and increasing every week, but each of the pieces is of similar length because it gets boiled down to a single page in the piano lesson book. The performance is lacking in dynamic range, change of tempo, and creativity. Each repetition is rendered mechanically and identically. My impression is that of a rote performance. Does this ring true for other observers? Richard, I'm guessing you would really enjoy reading The Singing Life of Birdshttp://www.amazon.com/The-Singing-Life-Birds-Listening/dp/0618840761/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8qid=1402234001sr=8-1keywords=kroodsma by Donald Kroodsma. The book discusses Northern Mockingbird among other species, comes with a CD, and is full of sonograms. -Mike On Sat, Jun 7, 2014 at 8:25 AM, Richard Tkachuck rictkal...@gmail.commailto:rictkal...@gmail.com wrote: A mockingbird has selected our house as a place to display his wide variety of sounds from early morning until the sun sets. This has raised some questions. 1, How large
RE: [cayugabirds-l] Osprey interaction
At Sunken Meadow S.P. on L.I., there was a House Finch pair nesting in the lower level of an Osprey's nest. Bill McAneny _ From: bounce-116224047-7495...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-116224047-7495...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Karen Edelstein Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2014 7:51 AM To: cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu Cc: Candace Cornell Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Osprey interaction Last night, during our sunset walk at Salt Point in Lansing, Joe and I got some nice views of the osprey pair sharing a fish on the platform edge. When we were ready to leave (it was getting quite dark by then) one osprey was down incubating presumably while the other stayed alert on the perch (ha-ha... fish or pole or both). Some movement along the outside of the nest caught Joe's attention. Although the light was terrible, I could see a long, twitching tail with a slight notch and very quick movements. Blue gray gnatcatcher I'm guessing. The little bird and the big osprey had to have been aware of each other but unbothered by each other's presence. The little bird worked its way around the edge and then into the nest itself before it got too dark to see anymore. What was going on? Gleaning bugs? Anyone else seen this? Could it have been some species other than gnatcatcher? -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME Welcome and Basics http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES Rules and Information http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html The Mail Archive http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Surfbirds http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ ! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Osprey interaction
When I used to photograph the Bald Eagles at Mud Lock, I saw House Sparrows within the Eagle's nest as well, so I wasn't too surprised to hear that they do it to Ospreys as well. I'm glad to hear that the sparrows may provide some benefit to the Ospreys, as well. I hate the House Sparrows because they are so aggressive at the feeders and hog the bird houses. I tolerate them because they eat lots of bugs in my gardens and yard. I've never had an insect problem because the birds take care of them. Sent from my iPad On Jun 8, 2014, at 9:43 AM, Candace Cornell cec...@gmail.com wrote: There is a family of house sparrows nesting with the ospreys again this year at Salt Point. My Salt Point On Osprey Time blog #11 (http://www.lansingrec.com/parks/20-salt-point/salt-point-articles/27-on-osprey-time) address this, but it has not been posted yet as our web master is in Finland. The fish-eating ospreys tolerate other species such as the sparrows, tree swallows, starlings, and others to nest near them, usually under the platform. It's probably some form of mutalism, but it has not been studied. The smaller birds probably keep the nest cleaner with less ecoparasites for the osprey to contend with. In exchange, the smaller bird get a sturdy structure to build a nest on and the (passive) protection of the osprey against predators. I wish it had been a gnatcatcher. The house sparrows are ravishing the Salt Point nest boxes, destroying the bluebird and tree swallow eggs that were doing so well. Candace On Sun, Jun 8, 2014 at 7:50 AM, Karen Edelstein k...@cornell.edu wrote: Last night, during our sunset walk at Salt Point in Lansing, Joe and I got some nice views of the osprey pair sharing a fish on the platform edge. When we were ready to leave (it was getting quite dark by then) one osprey was down incubating presumably while the other stayed alert on the perch (ha-ha... fish or pole or both). Some movement along the outside of the nest caught Joe's attention. Although the light was terrible, I could see a long, twitching tail with a slight notch and very quick movements. Blue gray gnatcatcher I'm guessing. The little bird and the big osprey had to have been aware of each other but unbothered by each other's presence. The little bird worked its way around the edge and then into the nest itself before it got too dark to see anymore. What was going on? Gleaning bugs? Anyone else seen this? Could it have been some species other than gnatcatcher? -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Ct Hill - no Protho
Seven of us explored Connecticut Hill this morning for the CBC field trip. No prothonotary, nor in fact any of the highlights from scouting (I should stop scouting before trips, as they always seem to find more stuff than the actual trip :-). But we did get good scope looks at a cooperative chestnut sided warbler, and came across a displaying and ruffed grouse on the road. We heard many least flycatchers, a few alder flycatchers, black-throated blue, redstart, ovenbird, yellowthroat, creeper, indigo bunting, and other usuals. Thanks to all who came, and to Dave for being our trail guide. Suan _ http://suan-yong.com -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Montezuma and Vicinity: K-M Marsh, Armitage Road. Seneca Meadows.
Started at K-M Marsh from East Road around noon. As expected lighting was bad but clouds helped to some extent. Most of the shorebirds were distant and in the shimmer which again, as expected, was really bad. Notable, but not rare birds, were a single CASPIAN TERN loafing with the lingering waterfowl. Same bird as last week? There was also a GREATER YELLOWLEGS closer to the west edge of the marsh in the weedy area. Again, same bird as last week? I also heard and then found a male adult ORCHARD ORIOLE singing from the top of a willow by the edge of the marsh. Next stop was Armitage Road. PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS were the highlight.The nest hole is easily seen from the road and I saw the female go in. The male was in close proximity and at one time was dive bombing a poor AMERICAN ROBIN who was innocently perched on the top of the dead tree stump just above the nest hole. I also heard a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH singing and singing. Same location as a week or so ago. I assume this is a breeder or at least a singing male on territory. This is a very interesting place where birds of northern affinities meet southern birds. CERULEAN WARBLERS are fairly common here. I also heard a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO calling. Near the bridge, to the left in the woods across the river, I heard what I believe was an ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. The song was pretty apparent... pit see!!! But it was distant and I heard it only twice so I can't be certain. Next stop was Seneca Meadows. There was nothing unusual. Highlight was baby KILLDEER along the path and in the gravel parking lot. Also spoke with the Field Biologist there, Mike McGraw?? and he mentioned that he has one singing GRASSHOPPER SPARROW down there. Then I stopped back at East Road with better lighting, less shimmer and thicker clouds. The shorebirds got closer at times and I was finally able to pick out a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER among the many SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS. The bird clearly had a longer primary projection, finer more even mottling down to the flank, white supercilium. It was also bigger, especially at the shoulders or upper wing area. Then when it flushed, the white-rump was easily seen. I also picked out one LEAST SANDPIPER with its darker brown plumage, slightly curved bill and of course lighter legs. Then I had a late SOLITARY SANDPIPER which was taking a bath at first. There were also SPOTTED SANDPIPERS,and KILLDEER as expected, and many SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS. 3 BLACK BELLIED PLOVERS including 2 gorgeous adult breeding plumage birds and one that was either a female or one still in molt, 1 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, atlantic race, as the orangish-red did not extend all the way to the tail. I also had a breeding plumage DUNLIN and 1 basic plumage DUNLIN with no evidence of any black at all on the under belly, a first summer bird?? The GREATER YELLOWLEGS of earlier in the day was still present almost in the same spot and also in the weedier areas I found a late LESSER YELLOWLEGS too. For this late date, I had 12 species of shorebirds. I also wonder if some of these birds (yellowlegs, SOSA) will linger into the summer and merge with the fall migration of shorebirds that begins in just a few weeks! The CASPIAN TERN also was still present with numerous BLACK TERNS. Will this CASPIAN linger into July and eventually be joined by southbound CATE?? Lingering or breeding waterfowl included both species of teal, shovelers, gadwall, and american wigeon. I also heard another YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO from the woods by Towpath road. The ORCHARD ORIOLE was also singing away from the same willow that I had him earlier. I could not re-locate any phalaropes but I probably just missed them. Dave Nicosia -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
