Re: [cayugabirds-l] winter grouse

2015-12-23 Thread Norm Trigoboff 
Thanks for the info. The grouse didn't drum, just display (neck and tail, very 
striking). It was in a roadside thicket, where I think it would be unlikely to 
drum or have young. Guess it just wanted to confuse me. It succeeded. 

Sounds like you have a great experience with the grouse.My guess is that you 
heard a male grouse drumming. Although we often think of drumming by male 
grouse as a spring activity related to breeding, it also occurs quite a lot in 
the fall of the year.  In both spring and fall, I have heard (and sometimes 
seen) grouse drumming in fairly chilly weather.  One hypothesis by behavioral 
ecologists is that male grouse drum in the fall as part of a territorial 
display.  This makes some behavioral sense in that in early fall, male grouse 
hatched that spring/summer disperse up to three miles from where they were 
hatched to establish new territories.  Both “resident” grouse and these new 
interlopers might then be expected to drum in the fall to claim and hold a good 
territory. Of course, there may be other things going on to (e.g., day 
length-induced hormonal changes) that might be at play.Regardless, I think its 
neat that you had the experience you did.Jody Enck

I've had grouse drumming on CBC's in the past. It's not common but maybe their 
always ready to attract mates. Bill Purcell Hastings NY


Ruffed Grouse males sometimes perform their drumming displays in fall. And part 
of that is the visual display in which they ruffle up their ruffs. Given this 
mild weather maybe your grouse is a bit confused! I've only seen the female 
distraction display once, but it looked different from the drumming display... 
she had all her feathers ruffled up and was running at me, not away! Then I saw 
the tiny chicks!
Marie Read Wildlife Photography
452 Ringwood Road
Freeville NY  13068 USA

The Cortland winter bird count on 12-19 had, if not the lowest temperatures so 
far this winter, the most painfully cold winds. In the late am., a bird flushed 
from a thicket about 15 feet from the road. It sounded like a much weaker 
version of a grouse flushing. I glanced up, but no bird flew out. A minute 
later when I finished fiddling with my gloves, my binocs showed a grouse in 
full display walking away from me into the woods. Both sexes have the same 
plumage. Both display - males for mating and females to distract predators from 
eggs and young. Why did this grouse display? Force of habit? To distract me 
from yearling grouse nearby?If you have an idea let me know please - 
tt5...@yahoo.com 

On Tuesday, December 22, 2015 4:51 PM, Marie P. Read  
wrote:
 

 Hi Norm,

Ruffed Grouse males sometimes perform their drumming displays in fall. And part 
of that is the visual display in which they ruffle up their ruffs. Given this 
mild weather maybe your grouse is a bit confused! I've only seen the female 
distraction display once, but it looked different from the drumming display... 
she had all her feathers ruffled up and was running at me, not away! Then I saw 
the tiny chicks!

Marie Read Wildlife Photography
452 Ringwood Road
Freeville NY  13068 USA

Phone  607-539-6608
e-mail  m...@cornell.edu

http://www.marieread.com

Author of Sierra Wings: Birds of the Mono Lake Basin    Available here:

http://marieread.photoshelter.com/gallery/Sierra-Wings-Birds-of-the-Mono-Lake-Basin/GNlCxX37uTzE/CBPFGij6nLfE

From: bounce-120007351-5851...@list.cornell.edu 
[bounce-120007351-5851...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Norm Trigoboff 
[tt5...@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2015 3:04 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] winter grouse

The Cortland winter bird count on 12-19 had, if not the lowest temperatures so 
far this winter, the most painfully cold winds. In the late am., a bird flushed 
from a thicket about 15 feet from the road. It sounded like a much weaker 
version of a grouse flushing. I glanced up, but no bird flew out. A minute 
later when I finished fiddling with my gloves, my binocs showed a grouse in 
full display walking away from me into the woods.

Both sexes have the same plumage. Both display - males for mating and females 
to distract predators from eggs and young. Why did this grouse display? Force 
of habit? To distract me from yearling grouse nearby?

If you have an idea let me know please - tt5...@yahoo.com
--
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] Extremely O.T.

2015-12-23 Thread Melanie Uhlir 

Hello!

This is an amphibian and botany related question:

Does anyone happen to know a local paludarium hobbyist with whom I could 
speak? I'm trying to re-create a miniature version of a Fall Creek 
habitat in my dining room and I'm a rank beginner. I wound up with a 
small population of Leopard Frogs (long story), and I'm trying to give 
them a mini-habitat.


Any help is greatly appreciated as is your patience with my 
non-bird-related question!!


Happy holidays and happy birding!

Sincerely,
Melanie

--

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] Sapsucker Woods Bird Walks

2015-12-23 Thread Linda Orkin 
Hey All,

Saturday December 26 bird walk is cancelled.

Sunday December 27 walk is on.  9 AM.  Hope to see you there.

Linda Orkin
Ithaca, NY

-- 
Veganism is simply the acknowledgment that a replaceable and fleeting
pleasure isn't more valuable than someone's life and liberty.
~ Unknown

If you permit
this evil, what is the good
of the good of your life?

-Stanley Kunitz...

--

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/

--