Re: [cayugabirds-l] Merlin nest GIAC
On Thu, Jul 25, 2019 at 7:20 AM John Confer wrote: > Hi Suan, > >Thanks for posting that. > >Mammals are rarely captured by Merlin, but not never. Adults often > remove the tail and head before they bring it to nestlings. That has been a > frustration when I tried to identify prey, which I did for 50 prey. None of > them were mammals, but dead floppy birds without tail or head look like > mammals. I couldn't tell what it was. At one frame I thought I saw two > bumps on the ventral surface where the legs of a bird would be. By the way, > they do eat the bird's legs. Lots of calcium I guess. > Thanks John. On that evening, I first observed a parent flying by with the prey in its talons, over the field and an unseen site away from the nest. The video was taken about 10-20 minutes later when a/the parent brought the prey to the nest. That timeline is consistent with some food pre-processing. Meanwhile, this morning the two fully-feathered fledglings sat in the nice morning sun, preening, ever attentive of the parent's few fly-by's, and made a couple of short flights to a nearby tree and back, but always wanting to stay close to home. Suan -- 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] Merlin nest GIAC
Hi Suan, Thanks for posting that. Mammals are rarely captured by Merlin, but not never. Adults often remove the tail and head before they bring it to nestlings. That has been a frustration when I tried to identify prey, which I did for 50 prey. None of them were mammals, but dead floppy birds without tail or head look like mammals. I couldn't tell what it was. At one frame I thought I saw two bumps on the ventral surface where the legs of a bird would be. By the way, they do eat the bird's legs. Lots of calcium I guess. John From: bounce-123767908-25065...@list.cornell.edu on behalf of Suan Hsi Yong Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2019 7:59 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Merlin nest GIAC This message originated from outside the Ithaca College email system. Stopped by GIAC this evening, one merlin (couldn't tell if parent or young) was perched visibly until my attention caused it to hop behind some branches. They can definitely tell who's paying attention and who isn't, like the few dozen parents watching the ongoing basketball game. Anyhow, last Friday, July 19, I happened to get a video of a feeding: https://www.facebook.com/suan.yong/posts/10220272976272542<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsuan.yong%2Fposts%2F10220272976272542&data=02%7C01%7Cconfer%40ithaca.edu%7C900d7e82990f4decb5bb08d70fc9712e%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C636995230175812880&sdata=e0Iqb1jyJv4l%2Bt62RNEIFMLSQdpQxqsWU95DtLpX7ZA%3D&reserved=0> Can anyone ID the rodent? Suan -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.northeastbirding.com%2FCayugabirdsWELCOME&data=02%7C01%7Cconfer%40ithaca.edu%7C900d7e82990f4decb5bb08d70fc9712e%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C636995230175822888&sdata=z5PcunasQ77gei6yURmaN5AlbEbHm6aIIElI3ZaRtQw%3D&reserved=0> Rules and Information<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.northeastbirding.com%2FCayugabirdsRULES&data=02%7C01%7Cconfer%40ithaca.edu%7C900d7e82990f4decb5bb08d70fc9712e%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C636995230175822888&sdata=5lMi7s2GxfNjR5O799BIbrQUC7MDeS1D9VqaxNjY5DM%3D&reserved=0> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.northeastbirding.com%2FCayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm&data=02%7C01%7Cconfer%40ithaca.edu%7C900d7e82990f4decb5bb08d70fc9712e%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C636995230175832872&sdata=sh9ikeLD2YYpDnRIw2KY%2F%2FejmIJnD5MNMwWlI5S6VK8%3D&reserved=0> Archives: The Mail Archive<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mail-archive.com%2Fcayugabirds-l%40cornell.edu%2Fmaillist.html&data=02%7C01%7Cconfer%40ithaca.edu%7C900d7e82990f4decb5bb08d70fc9712e%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C636995230175832872&sdata=2jaGN0XfLTiQWOu7sa%2BoZDbbxL4ylZx8CFkUjnMTDi4%3D&reserved=0> Surfbirds<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.surfbirds.com%2Fbirdingmail%2FGroup%2FCayugabirds&data=02%7C01%7Cconfer%40ithaca.edu%7C900d7e82990f4decb5bb08d70fc9712e%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C636995230175842865&sdata=g%2BV7Z7yYOupFOGY%2Bxv5gYJo%2FfSz9x%2FiEOFDduAzW9MU%3D&reserved=0> BirdingOnThe.Net<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbirdingonthe.net%2Fmailinglists%2FCAYU.html&data=02%7C01%7Cconfer%40ithaca.edu%7C900d7e82990f4decb5bb08d70fc9712e%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C636995230175842865&sdata=w%2F6fuxV1Ia0cvuJvgep6UKq8PjTir3nwCLOSRPMC9cs%3D&reserved=0> Please submit your observations to eBird<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fcontent%2Febird%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cconfer%40ithaca.edu%7C900d7e82990f4decb5bb08d70fc9712e%7Cfa1ac8f65e5448579f0b4aa422c09689%7C0%7C0%7C636995230175852859&sdata=aPt46QH6SyIFvXXA1yuhPH8QjfE5dfT%2BwBSU1gF6o34%3D&reserved=0>! -- -- 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] Merlin nest GIAC
Stopped by GIAC this evening, one merlin (couldn't tell if parent or young) was perched visibly until my attention caused it to hop behind some branches. They can definitely tell who's paying attention and who isn't, like the few dozen parents watching the ongoing basketball game. Anyhow, last Friday, July 19, I happened to get a video of a feeding: https://www.facebook.com/suan.yong/posts/10220272976272542 Can anyone ID the rodent? Suan -- 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] Merlin nest GIAC
Thanks for this intriguing report. It reminds me of a bald eagle nest I saw in the middle of Hamilton, NY, a town about 1 1/2 hrs east of Ithaca. This July 3, I saw three grown bald eagle chicks getting ready to fly, sitting on branches around the nest, one even tried a short round flying around the tree. One parent came back with food, then sat in another tree across the street, vocalizing back to the chicks. The eagle nest is in a large pine in Madison cemetery on Madison street, right next to people's houses, in a regular street area. Lots of people going back and forth in cars and on foot, including to see the eagles. People were sitting outside their house, right below the nest. Local people seemed to love the eagles, some stopping to look at the eagles in my scope. One person did say that at another nest nearby, someone flew a drone over it, and the eagles left and did not come back after that. Magnus -- Magnus Fiskesjö, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University McGraw Hall, Room 201. Ithaca, NY 14853, USA E-mail: magnus.fiske...@cornell.edu, or: n...@cornell.edu Affiliations at Cornell University, WWW: Anthropology Department, anthropology.cornell.edu/faculty/ Southeast Asia Program (SEAP), seap.einaudi.cornell.edu/faculty_directory East Asia Program (EAP), eap.einaudi.cornell.edu/faculty_directory CIAMS (Archaeology), ciams.cornell.edu/people/ Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA), cipa.cornell.edu/academics/fieldfaculty.cfm From: bounce-123738728-84019...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-123738728-84019...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of John Confer [con...@ithaca.edu] Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2019 10:16 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Merlin nest GIAC THANKS!! This is my fifth year of monitoring Merlin nest success. THANKS!! to the directions and assistance provided by many, I have been able to monitor over 30 nests, including 7 this year. Most of the nests I have monitored were originally discovered by others. I am so very grateful for so many reports. This year two nests have been predated (so far), three have fledged, and two still have nestlings. This is, so far, a good year for nesting success I never share the location of a nest that is early in the nesting cycle. I never share the location of a nest that can only be seen from private property, or a nest where the parents seem upset by human activity. There is one nest this year that I feel I can share without any danger of birding visitors jeopardizing the nest. There is a nest in a tall spruce between GIAC and the public swimming pool. In fact the spruce tree is inside the chain link fence surrounding the pool area. During the school year and now that the pool is open (after 12:00) there is an extremely high level of noisy human activity around the nest site. The addition of any quiet birders outsider the chain link fence, in comparison to kids leaving the school or playing in the pool, would make no difference to the Merlins. The male and female seem virtually oblivious to extreme activity. If the nest continues successfully, the young should fledge around the weekend of the 20th. For a few days before fledging, the young hop out limbs, exercise their wings, and generally look very comical. The nest can best be seen from outside the northwest corner of the chain link fence around the swimming pool. I have spoken to the lifeguards and some of them know that people with optical equipment are likely birders. But you may enjoy watching the birds before all hell breaks loose in the swimming pool at 12:00. John Confer -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Merlin nest GIAC
THANKS!! This is my fifth year of monitoring Merlin nest success. THANKS!! to the directions and assistance provided by many, I have been able to monitor over 30 nests, including 7 this year. Most of the nests I have monitored were originally discovered by others. I am so very grateful for so many reports. This year two nests have been predated (so far), three have fledged, and two still have nestlings. This is, so far, a good year for nesting success I never share the location of a nest that is early in the nesting cycle. I never share the location of a nest that can only be seen from private property, or a nest where the parents seem upset by human activity. There is one nest this year that I feel I can share without any danger of birding visitors jeopardizing the nest. There is a nest in a tall spruce between GIAC and the public swimming pool. In fact the spruce tree is inside the chain link fence surrounding the pool area. During the school year and now that the pool is open (after 12:00) there is an extremely high level of noisy human activity around the nest site. The addition of any quiet birders outsider the chain link fence, in comparison to kids leaving the school or playing in the pool, would make no difference to the Merlins. The male and female seem virtually oblivious to extreme activity. If the nest continues successfully, the young should fledge around the weekend of the 20th. For a few days before fledging, the young hop out limbs, exercise their wings, and generally look very comical. The nest can best be seen from outside the northwest corner of the chain link fence around the swimming pool. I have spoken to the lifeguards and some of them know that people with optical equipment are likely birders. But you may enjoy watching the birds before all hell breaks loose in the swimming pool at 12:00. John Confer -- 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/ --
