The Birdcouple

I just started ebirding...

2012-01-27T09:19:00.000-05:00

I've never been a lister and I'm not saying that Ryan Gosling motivated me or anything....

But, I am really enjoying keeping track of my birds for the first time. Of course, Cute Husband is doing most of the tracking and shares his lists with me.

So, if you need a little motivation to bird or just need a little motivation, check out Hey Girl... bird with me.

This is perhaps my favorite...

Happy Friday!

Have a few mintues?

2012-01-26T12:47:00.000-05:00

How about taking them to help save the Greater Sage-Grouse?

Photo: Alan Wilson

The American Bird Conservancy has issued an alert regarding a conservation plan being devised for the Greater Sage-grouse.

BirdCouple is on it and you can help also!

The Greater Sage-Grouse, iconic bird of the western sagebrush, has suffered extensive population declines in recent decades, and continues to be impacted by oil and gas drilling, wind energy development, and livestock grazing across a vast region. Please give this a read and consider taking action in support of the Greater Sage-grouse and other bird species that depend on sagebrush habitat such as Sage Sparrow and Brewer's Sparrow.

We are talking about 50 million acres of public land.

50 million acres!

Take a few minutes and submit a public comment about how those 50 million acres of public lands from Colorado to Oregon will be managed.

Even Crows like to Snowboard...

2012-01-18T11:20:00.001-05:00

Not quite a Half Pipe, but with a little practice I'm sure this Russian Crow will be doing Alley-Oops before the spring thaw.

THANK YOU

2012-01-08T17:27:00.000-05:00

Darling - you are my best friend and my favorite birding partner, bar none. Most spouses detest the other spouse doing a Big Year. Or grudgingly accept it. You, you are special. You're my biggest fan and advisor ... and boy are we having fun! Tearing it up - 94 species in the first 8 days of 2012!

We learned to tell a Ring-Billed Gull and a Black-Headed Gull apart. And ...

.... how to lure that BHGU in with some cornbread from the nearby grocery store.

We've been flying like mad in search of birds..

... and talking about them a lot.

You are really cute, too. In fact I think you're foxy!

I think we have a lot more adventure before we're done!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T15:26:00.001-05:00

A Happy New Year ( and lots of good birds in 2012) from the Birdcouple!

(Thanks to young Adam for taking this pic of our new Audubon calender).

Birding around the Chrismas Tree..

2011-12-24T17:04:00.000-05:00

You gotta love a bird in boots...

Male Sparkly Bird.

And, Female Sparkly Bird.

Other ornaments with wings...

After gorging on cookies, I feel like you, Plump Bird.

These guys always make me feel a little voyeuristic

Happy Holidays from the BirdCouple!

What next? An Elegant Trogon in Annapolis?

2011-12-21T20:52:00.000-05:00

It feels like rarities are fallling out of the sky in Maryland this month, Actually, they are! There has been a Calliope Hummingbird in Easton (see our recent post!), a LeConte's Sparrow in Harford County, a Barrow's Goldeneye in St. Mary's County and a very rare wintering Black-Headed Gull. The gull is hanging out in a Best Buy parking lot at some mall north of Baltimore.

Yes, you read that right.

This is the first Black-Headed Grosbeak that has been seen in Maryland (at least in terms of accepted record) since 1969.

You read that right, too.

It suddenly appeared today at a feeder in Denton, on Maryland's eastern shore. And Warren happened to have today off!

What's next? A Western Tanager at OUR feeder? An Elegant Trogon at the statehouse in Annapolis?

To quote Roger Tory Peterson: "Birds have wings ... and they use them."

Where did the year go...?

2011-12-11T20:23:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe it is two weeks until Christmas and soon we'll be staring 2012 right in the face! It's been a heck of a year (they ALL are for Birdcouple) and we intend to "ride it like we stole it" right up until New Year's Eve.

Lisa is getting that crazy Christmas excitement she gets every year. She's busting out with anticipation.

Warren's Maryland Mini-Big Year has netted him 283 species so far in 2011. He's dipped twice on the nearby LeConte's Sparrow (Lisa saw it on our first attempt last weekend, while W and our good buddy Paul Baicich weren't so lucky).

Here's some of our recent hijinx, starting with a lovely Calliope Hummingbird that's been hanging out in Easton, Maryland since October:

Last night, the full moon rose in the woods behind the Lovenest, as we watched Navy beat Army (yay). Lisa insisted I go outside and see it, and I grabbed a few snaps:

Finally, for your reading pleasure, here's a short vignette from the New Yorker about former Treasury Secretary (and big-time birder) Hank Paulson on birding, banks and bailouts.

Santa Loves Annapolis!

2011-12-07T09:39:00.000-05:00

I think he came early to do some bird watching with us!

BirdCouple is 5 Years OLD!

2011-11-28T14:07:00.000-05:00

Warren and I are so proud of our little blog child and are stunned that five years have passed since the creation. BC has not only been a great learning and sharing experience, but it has also been a wonderful diary of adventures and new friends.

We met Peter Kaestner in 2006.

And went and visited him and his lovely family in India in 2009.

We met Paul Baicich in 2006 and he opened our minds to birding conservation.

In 2007, my Dad taught me everything he knew about beekeeping.

In 2009, I said goodbye to him for the final time...

In 2007, David Sibley commented on the "mystery bird" that found his way to our feeder...

As the years went by, so did many cameras (and one computer) that proved themselves unworthy of BirdCouple magic. We introduced BC to Twitter and Facebook.

Cute Husband and I celebrate each New Year's Day counting all the common birds as new "ticks" for the year and then we spend a weekend every February at the Ocean City Maryland Inlet... freezing and remembering the anniversary of the day we met.

Warren traveled to Iran , Afghanistan , Indonesia and Iraq for journalist work and a little birding -as safety permitted.

Our boys grew up and became men...and gentlemen!

We hiked 500+ miles on the Appalachian Trail, noting loads of birds as we walked.

We also took note of all the other cool things planet Earth has to offer...

We traveled to India, Namibia, Arizona, North Dakota, Florida, Oregon and Hawaii in search of birds and more birds....

And, sure we have our occasional love spats, but the best part of the last five years has been sharing and celebrating it all with the love of my life, my best friend.

Here's to another 5 + 45 years of pure fun and love!

So, that is why they call it Paradise...

2011-11-23T21:11:00.000-05:00

YES! Aloha!

Cute Husband was locked in editing for APEC in Hawaii for a week and I decided to migrate in and play with him after a week of sun and fun.

In fact, I was doing the running man to get him!

Nothing in Oahu would be complete without a day of snorkeling in Hanauma Bay Park...

Or a trip up to the top of Diamond Head.

How can the sky be so blue?

Hi Honolulu!

Why I refer to him as Cute Husband...

And of course BIRDING!

We managed to tick off the majority of non-native species such as these Red Crested Cardinals. Beautiful, but not native to the island. Along with a Northern Cardinal, who really does not belong in HI. Along with Java Sparrows, White Rumped Shamas, Red-billed Leothrix, Japanese White-eyes, Yellow- fronted canaries, Common Waxbills and Bulbuls of different varieties. All beautiful birds, but not native to the island.

We checked out the Lyon Arboretum twice in hopes of meeting some true Hawaii natives.

Sigh.

We hung out in the native Hawaiian plant garden and managed to get a quick glance of an Akekee, but the plants, mammals, people and birds who visit Hawaii seem to enjoy it so much, they never leave and sometimes push out the natives....

We drove to the North Shore and see... it is paradise....

Turtles loved my Love. Warren managed to snorkel with them...

Right after I left to warm up...

And, then the wanted to hop up on his paddle board to be near him....

But, Beware! There are many dangers in Paradise!

But, BirdCouple laughs at danger!

Really, how can a place be so beautiful?

Warren birds the last of the day...

Maybe a monthly visit to the Islands?

We could do bird research!

Quiz: Where am I?

2011-11-11T17:56:00.001-05:00

Warren went walking on the beach the other morning, and then did a little urban birding. Some of the birds he saw: Common Waxbill, Java Sparrow, White Tern, Ruddy Turnstone, Pacific Golden-Plover, Black-Crowned Night-Heron, House Sparrow, Zebra Dove.

Where is he?

And the Winner is...

2011-11-01T11:50:00.000-05:00

The 2012 Duck Stamp will be a Wood Duck!

After two days assessing nearly 200 entries, the judges declared work by Joe Hautman of Minnesota the winner.

This is Hautman’s fourth win. His art appeared on the duck stamp in 1991, 2001 and 2007.

I'm always a fan of Wood Ducks! And the Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp!

Ducks Unlimited, the nation’s oldest and largest waterfowl conservation organization, is urging waterfowl hunters to double up this fall and buy two federal duck stamps, rather than simply purchasing the requisite one.

BirdCouple is urging birders to do the same! A small investment in our natural resources....

Fall warblers...

2011-10-29T16:20:00.000-05:00

.. can be confusing, as these migrating beauties lose their spring and summer garb, or young birds, just born a few months ago and making their journey south, show off a confusing array of finery.

As you can tell from our last post, Lisa took me down to far Somerset County on my birthday last weekend to go birding and push my county "ticks" list over 2,300, or an average of 100 species seen in each of fair Maryland's 23 counties.

The tree and the plumage of this bird made us think it was a Pine Warbler. But a closer look at the sharp bill, eye stripe and (not seen in this picture), streaking down the back led us to conclude it was actually a Blackpoll Warbler.

This is a female Pine Warbler. At least we're pretty sure. This is getting confusing!

No mistaking this one, even in the fall: Black-Throated Green Warbler.

Palm Warblers largely disappear from our area around April, summering elsewhere and returning in Fall:

Here at last is a classic adult male Pine Warbler. We're sure. Well, pretty sure. Fall warblers. Geez.

Yesterday was your Birthday...

2011-10-23T16:37:00.001-05:00

So, I asked you how you would like to spend YOUR day.

Well, birding of course...

With me!

We traveled the lanes and byways of Somerset County in search of new county ticks.

You made your goal of 2,300 Maryland County ticks on your birthday!

We had a picnic on a pier as a Greater Yellow Legs called to us. We walked miles of dusty road in the middle of a swamp. We jumped and crawled through fences in search of an elusive Somerset County Cardinal. We counted hundreds of Yellow Butts and several White Throated Sparrows which reminded us that winter is on its way....

I wished the day would never end.

Happy Birthday Cute Husband... thanks for sharing it with me....

The Big Year movie - quick review

2011-10-16T21:59:00.002-05:00

Lisa and I saw the movie last night, ending months of anticipation.

In a word (or 3), Birdcouple loved it. The movie captured the joy, zaniness and well, stress, of competitive birding. And through three different characters and different lenses, as it were, the tension between the release from life that birding is, and the responsibilies of life.

Most importantly, it was fun and touching.

There were some marvelous scenes involving beautiful looks at birds -- Xantu's Hummingbird and Great Grey Owl, to name two. Could it have used more birds? Of course, but we would have said that in any case.

W's one critique is that there was no scene in the movie where birders worried/argued over the identification of a species - an Alder vs Willow flycatcher, say, or a late fall warbler. That's a big part of a Big Year and, instead, the three birders nailed everything they saw. A bit unrealistic.

Most importantly, the movie didn's stereotype birders in the usual way as antisocial geeks. That's a big step forward for the birding community.

L and I are both wondering how non-birders perceive/enjoy the movie. It's hard for us to put ourselves in non-birder brains. :) We'd love to hear any anecdotes on that score!!

In the meantime, the Ny Times has done a fair review here.

The Big Year Movie Week!

2011-10-10T18:07:00.000-05:00

L and W have been off hiking, with son Adam, knocking off another 26 miles of the Appalachian Trail. 851+ miles down! We had some good birds, too, including Blue-Headed Vireo, calling Nashville Warbler and Barred Owls serenading us at dusk and dawn while we crashed in our tents.

But now, we are back and psyched for the debut of the BIG YEAR MOVIE this coming Friday, October 14. A lot more snippets from the film are available here.

In the meantime, the inimitable Laura Kammermeier has created one of her wry, hilarious animated shorts to celebrate/explain/wonder.

See ya at the flix. Some of the Maryland birding battalion will be going to the premiere bins around neck, to show their stuff.

Assateague in October

2011-10-02T20:14:00.002-05:00

You never know what you'll see on Assateague Island, off the Maryland and Virginia eastern coast, in October, the month of rapid migration of bird and beast.

One thing you won't see is Birdcouple birding nude. We don't do that. Well, not in October, anyway.

Peregrine Falcons were on the move as we walked the beach on Saturday and Sunday. We saw at least a half-dozen shoot by in less than 24 hours!

Later, we found this plaque that informed us how Assateague Island is a major migration crossing point for the tundrius or arctic subspecies of the Peregrine. Click the link here and you will read some wonderful words concerning this bird's endangered status: "Delisted due to Recovery."

Not delisted, but hopefully getting the protection it needs, is the endangered, and very soulful, Piping Plover. W and L practically stumbled over this little guy:

Red Knots are also endangered. So many special species in one place in October.

Also on the move: Tree Swallows, Brown Pelicans, dolphins. Hint to pelicans: you are going the wrong way. South is the other way.

There were beautiful scenes...

... and lots of birds, like this Yellow-Rumped Warbler (a sure sign of fall) and American Redstart.

Lark and Clay Colored Sitting in a Tree..

2011-09-27T06:20:00.000-05:00

Here's a sight you dont see everyday - at least not in Maryland - a Lark Sparrow (on the right there) sitting on the same branch as one, and maybe two, Clay-Colored Sparrows.

Mikey Lutmerding found these birds on Assateague Island and, another birder, Scott Housten, put Warren on to them. He went searching and almost literally stumbled across them. Both sparrow species are rare in Maryland, although they show up on Assateague with some regularity.

Lots of other birds were about,,,,,

But this is why most people (non-birders, anyway) come to Assateague:

Two Whimbrels Survive Storm, only to be shot upon landing in the Guadeloupe...

2011-09-15T10:25:00.001-05:00

Barry Truitt

This is Machi, a Whimbrel who has been tracked for two years by scientists at the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary.

Machi and another Whimbrel (Goshen) made the fatal mistake of landing on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, French West Indies after surviving Tropical Storm Maria. Though Whimbrels (and most other North American birds) are protected in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act it’s legal to hunt them on several Caribbean islands and there are no bag limits.

And, hunting shorebirds during migration and especially after storms is quite popular in the Caribbean. Hunting in French-owned Guadeloupe and Martiniquen is also mostly recreational and unregulated.

Lisa Sorenson of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds(SCSCB) says the answer is not to beat up on hunters, but to encourage their governments to adopt sustainable hunting regulations and set aside safe harbors for migrating birds.

I see another opportunity for birders to get involved....

You can help SCSCB's education efforts here.

The Big Year Movie Trailer

2011-09-11T20:48:00.001-05:00

The trailer for The Big Year movie is here at long last. Check it out and see what you think. Please tell us your opinions.

Birdcouple is going to hold our fire until we see the movie (in theaters on October 14), but we hope the trailer doesnt reflect the movie: there's not a lot of birds in it!

The Big Year by teasertrailer

This, on the other hand, is a bird. A very un-shy Scarlet Tanager, to be exact. Seemed to like to pose for the camera!

Carbon Offset Bird Project (COBP)

2011-09-07T13:50:00.001-05:00

There is nothing I love more than jumping in the car with Cute Husband and setting off on some all day birding adventure.

An adventure which may take us to the hills of Western Maryland or perhaps creeping along farm lands on the Maryland Eastern shore or maybe scoping the bay in Northern Maryland.

Or possibly, all three habitats in one day...

What I don't love about all day birding adventures is that while we are cruising about, innocently checking out birds, we are also burning fossil fuels—lots of them—that add to greenhouse gas emissions.

This year at the Midwest Birding Symposium, an experimental and voluntary Carbon Offset Bird Project will be launched giving attendees an opportunity to calculate the impact of their bird-related travel to and during the symposium. (Hooray!)

Monetary values are suggested to offset emissions based upon mileage and vehicle type. The donations collected will be used to secure additional wetland habitat adjacent to Meadowbrook Marsh, just east of Lakeside. (Yay!)

Not attending the Midwest Birding Symposium? We can't go make it either...:(

Still think this is a genius idea that all birders should do voluntarily? Still want to offset your birding-related carbon emissions from spring migration? The funds would be used to secure quality bird habitat—in this case vital migratory bird habitat in Ohio.

Yes?

Download the form here, send it in with your donation and pass along this idea to other birders!

Lucky American (Birding) Man!

2011-08-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

Update: Warren saw an American Avocet in Maryland on Aug. 31. Lisa's present broke the curse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am always telling Princess Lisa that I am a "Lucky American Man," and it is true, believe me..

L is not only TOLERATING my "Maryland mini-Big Year," she is ENCOURAGING it and helping me in my mad quest to see as many species as possible in the great state of Maryland in 2011. Current count is 271, with hopes of hitting 280 by December 31. That's harder than it sounds when you've already seen most of the common ones and a lot of the rarities.

Every weekend, L agrees to go birding where I need to go for my year list - whether it's a random Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher in a park in Howard County, or a White Ibis sighted at Lilypons Water Gardens out in Frederick County. (We dipped on both of those, but have found the birds I was looking for more often than not and some we didn't expect to see).

She even bought me this beautiful framed print of Audubon's rendering of the American Avocet - my Maryland nemesis bird. Avocets in Maryland flee at the sound of my name. They can hear me put the car keys in and start "Pippit," our trusty Ford Escape hybrid, and immediately fly to another state or undisclosed location. Then they do an Avocet laugh. Or snicker.

Someday I'll see an Avocet in the "Free State." For now, I'll treasure this picture as a reminder of a fun and crazy year with L and the birds. Sigh.

A Pelagic?

2011-08-26T09:22:00.000-05:00

Well, we are hoping that Irene doesn't make a boat necessary to travel around Annapolis, but a few birds blown in by the storm would be bonus.

There have been some highly unusual birds reported in Maryland after previous hurricanes and the information gathered by birders provides important data about the effects of such storms on birds and their populations.

That said, safety is the highest priority after the passage of hurricanes, and no one should venture out until authorities declare it is safe to do so. Fallen power lines, flooded roads, falling trees are all hazards, and tornadoes can still pop up after the storm's center has passed.

As you may know, Cute Husband is working on a big Maryland year.

Clearly, I will need to restrain and shackle him up until the coast is clear...

Be safe!

The Big Movie

2011-08-23T06:19:00.001-05:00

It's been a year since we first posted about The Big Year movie, based on the hilariously funny book by Mark Obmascik and starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson.

At long last, word is out that the movie is ready to hit theaters on October 14. We have not yet found the movie trailer, although the unseen trailer has its own blog.

This looks to be a major cultural watershed for birders in America. The movie could making birding "cool" - not that we really care what others think of us, right? - or it could reinforce old sterotypes. We'll find out October 14.

"What you eat affects where you live"

2011-08-13T15:27:00.000-05:00

Birdcouple is not just for the birds. We're for sustainable agriculture and healthy eating, too. Thanks to Princess Lisa, and our recent visit to Polyface Farm, we have been learning more and more about food that is good for the environment, better for the plants and animals we consume, and better for the people who raise and eat it.

(Movies like Food Inc. and books like Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma have had a profound effect on us),

So we were delighted when Lisa stumbled upon Maryland Table right here in our home town of Annapolis. It's a partnership that works with local farmers and producers to provide wholesome local, organic foods.

Local and organic are not only better for us (and more health = more birding!) but better for the birds, too, since they help heal the pastures, meadows, forests and streams upon which birds depend.

Food and stomachs may not be the best thing for us to be blogging about right now, to be honest. We're off tomorrow on a 16-hour pelagic bird trip off the Mid-Atlantic Coast, sponsored run by See Life Paulagics.Shearwaters and Storm-Petrels, here we come!!!

MothCouple!

2011-07-31T20:29:00.000-05:00

Clymene Moth

Not quite as charming as BirdCouple... but we do love all things outdoors...except maybe those tiny little midges that try to fly into your eyes as you are hiking...

BC just returned from hiking across the state of Connecticut! Warblers ruled the mountain tops and insects enjoyed sleeping in the tent with us...

See our AT blog soon for the details!

(Past) time to get this year's Duck Stamp!

2011-07-23T11:15:00.000-05:00

   Princess and I are headed off to Connecticut for our longest-ever hike on the Appalachian Trail, 66 miles in 6 days. To say we are beyond excited is an understatement! We'll also be starting a Connecticut bird list, since it's a state we've never birded before. Pretty unlikely we'll see a White-Fronted Goose like those above in the Appalachian forests and mountains of Western Connecticut.

  July - and the entire summer - are passing too quickly. So we leave you for now with a reminder - nay, a plea! - to please go buy your annual Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (the "duck stamp") if you haven't already.

  Regular visitors have heard us say this before - it only costs $15, most of the money goes to buy land to provide bird habitat at those National Wildlife Refuges you love, and it's a free pass to NWRs.

  As Paul Baicich reminds us, there's an extra good reason to get the Duck Stamp this year: other conservation and environmental funds, including the Land and Water Conservation Fund, are at severe risk in the ongoing federal budget deliberations. That makes that little stamp up there all the more important.

Click here to find out how to easily purchase your stamp.

  CONNECTICUT and the Appalachian Trail, here we come!
W a& L

Whatcha Doing Saturday?

2011-07-14T12:31:00.000-05:00

How about checking out the Your Garden Show's online bee-a-thon event?

Bee-a-thon 2011 is a free, online "town hall" event broadcast live to a worldwide audience on July 16th to shed light on the plight of our bees. Tune in for 12 minutes... or 12 hours! Learn how pollinators are responsible for one in every three bites of food, contribute billions of dollars to global economies and face challenges from colony collapse disorder and other threats.

Tune in as top bee experts, beekeepers and key environmental players reveal the latest buzz on what's happening to our bees and what you can do this summer to make a difference.

The Bee-a-thon kicks off the Great Bee Count, a Citizen Science campaign hosted on YourGardenShow.com in partnership with the Great Sunflower Project.... counting bees across North America and helping shape bee conservation efforts.

I'll be counting in the LoveNest yard and hoping my Artemis hive gals put in an appearance on the Rosemary plant I have selected to observe for the count.

But, I will be completely fine if I count bumblebees, green bees or carpenter bees.

Love the pollinators!

7 Year Surprise!

2011-07-12T10:15:00.001-05:00

Cute Husband makes the most wonderful anniversary gifts. Last year it was surprise hike on the AT.

This year it was chickens, rabbits, cattle and pigs!

Polyface Farm Field Day! An event that only occurs once every 3 years and draws about 1,600 people.

Polyface, Inc. is a family owned, multi-generational, pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. We learned about Polyface from our recent read of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.

Without exaggeration, spending the day at Polyface literally changed my life.

Polyface is run by Joel Salatin, a self-described Christian- libertarian- environmentalist-capitalist-lunatic-farmer.

Warren and I have always been conscious of what we eat, but Salatin's message of healing the land, healing the food, healing the economy, and healing the culture was a real epiphany.

This is Joel's son, Daniel speaking about rabbit raising.

The bunnies spend some time in these unique cages in the Rabbit House

Chickens are layered underneath to scratch and peck through the droppings and food scraps, eliminating odor and disease.

Meet a healthy rabbit who will also spend some fattening time in the pasture, grazing on grass, just as a rabbit was built to do.

Meet a healthy chicken who has plenty of room to scratch around and who will also spend some time scratching around eating grass in a pasture.

Adorable right? These holistically grown rabbits are prized by chefs in the area. We learned about rabbit raising and I learned that I could raise rabbits, sell rabbits, butcher rabbits and eat rabbits.

I just don't know if I could slaughter rabbits..

I'm sure people get off on pictures with Brad Pitt and Bono, but check us out... posing with Joel Salatin!

If this farm was a Concentrate Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), I would have had to enter the chick house in a biological suit to avoid contaminating the animals.

Yes, I realize I am the only adult in the chick house....

Turkeys! Following the path grazed by cattle days before...
Chickens get to do the same thing!

One of Polyface's guiding principles is that plants and animals should be provided a habitat that allows them to express their physiological distinctiveness.

Respecting and honoring the pigness of the pig is a foundation for societal health.

These pigs were chilling in the woods doing what pigs do in the wild.

Rooting, digging and laying in mud. Not sitting on concrete eating corn.

Looks pretty content, right?

Children were running through the woods petting these 300 lb creatures. I avoided direct contact after I heard that pigs can fight off a wolf pack and give a bear a pretty good battle.

Cute Husband! You are so brave!

OH, Wilbur...

This guy was the only one that I had very little trouble thinking of as bacon...

Another Polyface guiding principle is moving livestock and poultry frequently to new "salad bars," which offers landscape healing and nutritional superiority.

Chickens enjoying the landscape...

Joel telling us to go in peace to love and serve the land...

How could you not fall in love with this farm?

Polyface refuses to send food to locations outside a four-hour drive of his farm-- outside the local "foodshed". Luckily, Birdcouple is within this foodshed and we have the benefit of joining the Polyface buying club.

The benefit of enjoying high-quality meats, which are raised using environmentally responsible, ecologically beneficial, sustainable agriculture.

Thanks for making me such magical anniversary gift, Warren, my love.

Red, White & Blue birding

2011-07-04T21:31:00.000-05:00

   Lisa and I went birding on Independence Day, down to the remote Nanjemoy area of Charles County, Maryland.

   We saw Red:

Summer Tanager

White:

Bald Eagle

Immature Bald Eagle

And Blue:

Eastern Bluebird (immature)

Happy 4th of July
from
The Birdcouple!

Probably not a good idea to enrage a crow...

2011-06-29T08:37:00.000-05:00

According to a new study published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Crows remember the face of someone who mistreats or threatens it.

Researchers wore a unique "dangerous face" mask as they captured and banded and released crows around Seattle. The researchers then drove to different areas wearing the mask. Crows that had never been banded recognized the "dangerous face," and started mobbing and scolding the researchers. Both relatives and strangers joined in the scolding and mobbing, which could occur over a mile away from the original banding.

So, through some sort of social media, the captured crows spread the word about the dangerous masked banders and all their crow friends joined in on the payback.

This I believe, as crows are known as very intelligent creatures and probably do have access to Facebook.

I did, however, find this very disturbing:

"...other social, long-lived species that live closely with humans might also share information in a similar manner. Possibilities include animals such as coyotes, raccoons, gulls, pigeons and rats. All could practice a combination of social and trial and error learning."

What?!

The raccoons that I throw water on and scream at to get off the bird feeder are possibly imprinting my mean girl behavior and spreading the word to their buddies.

They could be planning a counter offensive as I write....

Clearly, I need to get start wearing a disguise around the LoveNest.

Birds have wings....

2011-06-23T07:02:00.000-05:00

.. and they use them, as Roger Tory Peterson is supposed to have said.

Well, these Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks used their wings to fly from the south-central and south-western US all the way to Patterson Park in urban Baltimore. Lucky for us!

And lucky they landed in a relatively small pond, where we could get great looks at their crazy plumage and easily snap photos.

Wow!

They almost look like toy ducks.

We deduced that the bird in the background must be Mama Duck, watching over her 4 young 'uns.

We don't know what brought you here, Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks, but we are super glad you stopped by. Safe travels!

Hummingbird Live Nest Cam!

2011-06-09T08:58:00.000-05:00

Meet Phoebe, a Channel Island Allen Hummingbird who nests in Orange County, California

The link to the live nest cam is here.

As of today, when she flies off the nest, you can see one egg and one chick. You can also see how fast her little heart beats even as she just sits on her nest.

Big thanks to Patty for turning us on to this....

Camp birds

2011-06-06T20:46:00.000-05:00

Birdcouple was out hiking on the Appalachian Trail on Memorial Day weekend with youngest son Adam and his girlfriend Katherine. We heard (more than saw) some really nice birds - a drumming Ruffed Grouse, a hooting Barred Owl, trilling Veerys and Wood Thrushes, not to mention singing Cerulean Warblers, Ovenbirds and Redstarts. A very noisy woods it was!

Eastern Phoebes are nowhere to be heard in the woods, but we often find that when we arrive at one of the small wooden shelters set in the forest along the trail, a Phoebe family is not far away, using the eaves as a place to nest. Wonder where Phoebes nested before humans came along to build them bridges and roofs to use?

These Phoebe babies (say that five times fast!) were nestled under the corner of the Priest Shelter (elevation 4,000 feet) in Virginia, close by a stream over which mom and dad were no doubt catching insects for their breakfast. Princess will soon write about our hiking adventures over on our AT Blog.

Honored to be included...

2011-06-03T15:31:00.000-05:00

Dawn Fine, compiler of http://www.birdingblogs.com/ included some of our best BirdCouple posts in one of her recent posts. Click here to check it out.

We are beyond honored to be included in one of Dawn's crazy fun blogs.

Look for a post on our AT site this weekend. We got religion on the Priest over Memorial Day weekend!

Happy Friday!

Still here!

2011-05-22T20:10:00.000-05:00

   Wow, what a relief that whole "Rapture" thing didn't work out. Must have been a minor miscalculation. Birdocuple's grateful, though. We LIKE the world. We want to conserve it, and preserve it, and explore it a whole lot more.

   Mostly, preserve what's left of it - like this beautiful Dickcissel, singing for all he's worth from a telephone wire on a beautiful late May afternoon over on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Now what's wrong with that? Seemed pretty rapturous to us!

  Here he is again:

   Handsome fellow, yes?

   As Birdcouple's regular visitors will know by now, Warren - with Lisa's full indulgence - is doing a mini "Big Year" in Maryland, trying to see 280 species in the state this year. So far, the number is 236. (Thanks, Mr. Dickcissel, for showing up today). It's a lot of fun, very educational and just a bit zany.

   We've seen a lot of beautiful sights this spring that thankfully (man-made hazards and wacky end-of-time predictions notwithstanding) are still with us:

Lesser Yellowlegs...

Willet

Tree Swallow. Yup, we're still here....

Thanks for being here, Princess!

Looking for Higher Ground...

2011-05-20T12:30:00.000-05:00

No, this post is not about the Rapture. Although, I really wish I had known about this end of the world business happening tomorrow. I really would have bought myself a pair of Leica Bins months ago, with all the money I would have saved from not paying my parking tickets.

This post is about some baby Ospreys that were saved from becoming alligator when the flood waters in Cow Island Louisiana rose almost to the height of their nest. You can read the rest here.

This is my favorite bit of the story:

Swamp dwellers — deer, raccoons and alligators among them — also are trying to stay dry.
A herd of deer and a bear were seen going under a U.S. Highway 190 bridge south of the Morganza spillway. Increased wildlife traffic prompted the cutting of the speed limit from 60 to 45 mph on Wednesday.

Crazy!

Cute Husband and I will celebrate the potential last weekend by leading a bird walk at Anne Arundel Dairy Farm on Saturday morning.

Come join us!

Splish Splash!

2011-05-13T12:24:00.000-05:00

All candid photos taken by Wingscapes BirdCam

My new appreciation for Robins...

Here, BirdCam captures talented and very Cute Husband contemplating life without peanut butter.
NO!
That is a horrible thought!
Especially for a Friday.!
I'm sure he is listening for a Common Nighthawk flyover...

Squirrels are rather cute when they are not feasting on bird seed.

Eastern Phoebes have returned to the LoveNest!

Yes, you do clean up well...

It looks like this Mourning Dove was aware of the secret camera filming his every move.

Or perhaps, Mourning Doves have those weird picture eyes that seem to follow you around the room?

Someone may need a towel...

Cardinals are way too dignified for such behavior.

This is certainly not the best photo of a Blue Jay, but check out Mr. Piggy lounging on the back of the terrace furniture...

Birds enjoying Bee Stuff....

2011-05-11T11:36:00.000-05:00

BirdChick has some interesting pictures of warbers eating honey, old bee larvae and perhaps bee's wax from old bee hive frame.

I have no idea if honey is bad for birds, but honey is quite a miracle substance, with daily users claiming numerous health and beauty benefits. So hopefully, the honey snack will help the warblers on their journey North and make them even more beautiful for mating season.

Speaking of bees, I lost all three of the LoveNest hives last winter. I realize that bees are just annoying insects to most people, but I ADORE my bees. I watch them all spring, summer and fall (sometimes I speak encouraging words to them). I watch them foraging in the garden. I await warm days in winter, in hopes of seeing a few venture out.

So... when I lose a hive, it is quite devastating.

Four weeks ago, I hived Artemis II, Athena II and Aphrodite I. About 3 weeks after hiving, I came home from work and noticed some of Aphrodite's bees (my only Italian queen), attacking something on the landing board.

After further inspection, I saw that they were balling the queen! Biting her, pulling at her wings and legs and not allowing her back in the hive. When she was too weak to move, they left her alone and I carried her away from the hive. I can only guess that they initially accepted her and then, perhaps, because she was infertile, they dethroned her.

I found a new queen, although she is Russian and not Italian...so far, so good. I'll know in another week or so, if she is laying.

Artemis II and Athena II have laying queens and I predict Artemis will be our strongest hive.

I also predict that BirdCouple will see a Golden-winged Warbler this weekend.

beee-buzz-buzz-buzz!

Big, medium and small

2011-05-09T20:25:00.000-05:00

Princess and Warren went a-birding on May Day to Susquehanna State Park, which is near the (wait for it!) ... Susquehanna River in northeastern Maryland. We were hoping to see lots of little warbly things, and that we did, but our birding wasn't size-limited.

We stopped at a locally famous Bald Eagle's nest just outside the park, in use for a decade or more, and so large and heavy that it's beginning to tilt backward.

After several hours walking and chasing birds, it was relaxing just to watch a wildlife spectacular unfold before our very eyes:

A third eaglet was hidden behind the tree trunk on the lift. Given the competition for food in the nest, only two of the three eaglets may survive.

We knew the parents weren't far away, even though they were unseen for long minutes. But when a kettle of vultures began to get too close to the nest, one parent (papa, we think) swooped in..

This Grey Catbird falls in the medium category, and we don't mean that as an insult. A handsome bird indeed:

And then there are our warbly friends, jiving and twittering and generally making themselves difficult to identify and photograph. This Worm-Eating Warbler was more cooperative than most:

Once more with feeling:

Birds, big small medium tall, we love 'em:

Bird Mourns Death of Mate...

2011-05-04T12:12:00.000-05:00

This is an old story and set of pictures (which I could not find the original), but our friend, Patty passed them along today and I was so touched... I thought I would share...

A flock of Barn Swallows had stopped on a highway, perhaps to hunt or rest. A vehicle passed by and one of the birds was injured and unable to move from the roadway.

Here, she is, but the condition was fatal.

Her mate lingers nearby and eventually brings food to her.

On one of his return trips he finds his mate dead and seems to try to shake her awake and attend to her.

Aware that she is lost to him he seems to cry out in anguish. Every time a car passes, the bird flies off for a moment but then returns to mourn. Shocked at her death, he tries to move her.

Eventually the photographer, concerned for the safety of the living bird, put down his camera, picked up the bird and removed it from the road. The grieving bird lingered in a nearby tree, "crying" out loud. This photo breaks my heart...

No one knew how long he stood beside her and appeared to mourn...

I have actually witnessed mourning behavior in a squirrel that was hit by a car, where his/her mate kept trying to move the body and sat beside the body for several hours.

According to Darwin...the difference between us and animals is only a matter of degree.

Happy 226th Birthday!

2011-04-26T12:34:00.001-05:00

"I felt an intimacy with them...bordering on frenzy [that] must accompany my steps through life." ~John James Audubon.

Yes Sir, I get that bird frenzy! Especially during spring migration!

Check out how Google is honoring Audubon's influence on ornithology and natural history.

And, as I tried to pay my respects to Mr. Audubon, I discovered that website of The National Audubon Society, a wildlife and ecosystem conservation organization that was named after him, went down today as fans across the country remembered the famous naturalist.

Cute Husband and I just returned from an Easter hike on the Appalachian Trail where we paid homage to the natural world with Adam and his adorable girl pal.

A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children ~John James Audubon

... more soon on our AT site...

Warbly things! Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T08:54:00.000-05:00

Our friends Dave and Doodles over at Birds from Behind call them the "Warblys," and that seems like a fitting name to us...

Well, the Warblys, as well as other neotropical migrants, have started to arrive in good numbers, and right on schedule, a reminder on this Earth Day weekend that we humans have not totally screwed up the planet yet. That Prothonatary Warbler up there is also a reminder of how important it is to protect and conserve the natural environment.

Here he is again...

This looks like a fine nesting hole...

A Yellow-Throated Warbler nearby. That's a racy looking bird!

Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers can often be plain and mousy looking. But this one looked sharp and even a bit fierce...

Warren spent this past week, before starting a new job, doing nothing but birding. It was fun, but he desperately missed the Princess. As soon as he finishes this blog post, he's going to go show her some Warblys.

Here are a few more Warbly shots from a trip Birdcouple took to nearby Calvert County recently. Happy Easter everyone!

Prairie Warbler

Don't I look smart!

Pine Warbler. Oddly, not in a pine..

Just another Yellow-Throated Warbler. Ho hum...

We wish we could go...

2011-04-15T13:13:00.001-05:00

Leelanau Peninsula BirdFest! June 1-5!

OH, I wish BirdCouple could watch this treasure with the folks at the BirdFest!
This festival offers a wide variety of unique field trips, including:

Birding by Tallship (I love birding by any ship)
An entire afternoon with nesting endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers (cute little guys)
A visit to a 300 acre native prairie installation, where Northern Harriers nest (prairies are awesome)
Trips by pontoon boats to the Leelanau Conservancy’s Cedar RiverPreserve (I love birding by boat)
Noted author and speaker Paul Baicich is our Keynote speaker (I adore Paul!)

Best of all ...the theme of the BirdFest is conservation…every field trip site, seminar and keynote program reflects that theme!

We wish we could go, but, Cute Husband is starting a new gig in two weeks (today is his last day at McClatchy Newspapers....bittersweet day for my guy).

So, we are going to be local birders for a while until he gets adjusted to his new job at Reuters as an editor (exciting!).

But, please join Paul (I adore Paul!) and our buddy, Kay Charter of Saving Birds Thru Habitat   at BirdFest and feel free to torture us with stories of how great it was!

Birdcouple Does Oregon

2011-04-12T12:07:00.001-05:00

Sweet, huh?

Cute Husband spoke at the Lewis and Clark College's 49^th Annual International Affairs Symposium last week in Portland Oregon (Cute Husband is a genius!) and let me tag along for some west coast birding, coffee, Pinot noir and rain...

Gray, cloudy... pretty typical Portland Oregon spring weather.
But, it was still gorgeous as we spent a day heading East toward the coast.

And, in this turbulent mountain stream, we discovered our first ever American Dipper! The American Dipper holds the same mystique for me as unicorn or one of those crazy Bowerbirds. Dippers are plain Jane solid gray birds with a slightly brown head. Nothing particularly pleasing to gaze upon, although they do have white upper eyelids.

That said, American Dippers forage in the coolest way! They jump or dive into frigid water and catch most of their food under water! They walk, heads submerged, holding their little breaths, along river bottoms, moving rocks to find prey underneath.

If I hadn't been so excited to see this guy, I would have taken a video to share, but check out his technique here.

Terrific cool, huh?

The weather was pretty dreary most of our visit, but spring likes it wet....

We also spent a day driving down the Columbia River Gorge. See some blue in the sky?

The sun made a brief appearance, blinding us with its un-realness....

We were in search of the Multnomah Falls. The tallest falls in Oregon!

I have no idea who this person is who jumped in the way of my picture of the waterfall. Walking along the bridge was a spectacular treat, although a bit noisy for birding..

Yes, he is still very Cute....

California gulls! We're undeniable. Fine, Fresh, Fierce. We got it on lock. West Coast represent. Now put your hands up!

The trip was also not without dangers...

This along with constant signage reminding us of
Rocks!
Mud Slides!
Tsunamis!

But, BirdCouple loves a little birding danger to reflect upon later as we enjoy a sampling of excellent Oregon Pinot noir.

The in-between time

2011-04-09T08:42:00.000-05:00

Spring has finally arrived, with the first migrants arriving from points south, and the temperatures (slowly) warming.

But for the past couple of weeks, birding has felt like the "in-between time," with winter not quite out the door and spring dallying on the way. Even this female Eastern Towhee is snacking on an acorn from last year's crop.

Here are a few other pix from a recent outing at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary with birding buddy Dan Haas. Up next: Birdcouple's lovely interlude in Oregon...

Female Nothern Harrier.

Greater Yellowlegs.

Rusty Blackbird.

April Fool's Day

2011-04-01T13:24:00.000-05:00

Take your pick - the 40 degree weather we are having on the first day of April, or this report from the ABA.

We'll take the latter. Spring, please?

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-elagic!

2011-03-28T18:10:00.001-05:00

Birdcouple was ABOUT done with cold birding by mid-March. But we had one more task ahead of us: a pelagic boat trip to the Atlantic Ocean waters off the coast of Ocean City, MD, looking for seabirds. It promised to be interesting, adventurous and COLD.

Northern Gannet

In case you were wondering what the Atlantic Ocean looks like in March, thanks to Birdcouple you don't have to go and look for yourself:

Dan Haas was on the lookout for an elusive Skua! We didn't find one, but Dan got a decent enough picture of a shearwater to confirm it was a Sooty Shearwater, a lifer for many of us onboard.

What with birds disappearing behind waves, diving and flying off, and the boat lurching back and forth, Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-elagic photography can be a challenge. This is the best Warren could do with a nearby Razorbill:

As we pulled back in towards port and poured the last of the chum overboard, gulls flocked about our fine ship, the Morningstar. This one reminded us of a certain Alfred Hitchcock bird movie:

Others seemed to dance along the water:

Even Herring Gulls can be pretty sometimes:

Our last birds of the day were a pair of Laughing Gulls at the OC Inlet parking lot. We tried to turn them into Franklin's Gulls. Dan wasn't buying it.

We were tired too, after 11 hours on the boat and a 4:30 am wake-up call. Time to go home and rest. And warm up.

Big Moon

2011-03-23T10:24:00.000-05:00

The moon on Saturday was the most hugest in 19 years, due to its closer-than-usual proximity to Earth. We, along with good buddy Dan Haas, happily found ourselves in Ocean City, Md., preparing for a pelagic birding trip the next day.

We wandered on the beach for awhile, enjoying and photographing the moon, and the moon-lit waters of the Atlantic Ocean. And then it was early to bed, for a 5:30 a.m. dockside call for the boat. More on our seafaring birding trip soon...

Nesting time(s)

2011-03-17T10:29:00.001-05:00

While a lot of bird species, especially our neotropical migrants that arrive from parts south each April and May, nest in the spring and early summer, not all do. This Great Horned Owl, found at an undisclosed location, was already on her nest in the second week of March, and her eggs should hatch soon. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website, the clutch is normally one to five eggs.

The site goes on to say that the Great Horned Owl "typically takes over nests in trees made by other bird species. Often puts nest in hollows or broken-off snags in trees." That's doubly true here. This owl's nest is an a hollow, and it was the site of a Red-Shouldered Hawk's nest last year.

Good luck with the new family, dear.

Killdeers have quite different nests, typically a shallow depression scratched out of the ground. Some have even been found nesting on flat, gravel-covered roofs of low buildings. Here's a fact from Cornell we didn't know: "After egg-laying begins, Killdeer often add rocks, bits of shell, sticks, and trash to the nest. Curiously, these items tend to be light colored, and this tendency was confirmed in one experiment that gave Killdeer the choice between light and dark sticks."

Birdcouple prefers light colors, too.

Ospreys seem to nest on just about any high structure or tree: wooden nesting platforms provided by humans, cell phone towers, even light poles at athletic fields:

     On the same day Birdcouple saw Mrs. Owl, Princess indulged Warren's burning desire to see his first Osprey of the year. We made a side trip to Anne Arundel Community College where, according to a resident nearby, the Osprey has just arrived.

     So, the Owl family is already underway, the Osprey are just getting started in the baby-raising business, and the warblers, tanagers, orioles and flycatchers won't even be here for a couple more weeks. Always something going on in BirdWorld.

    Happy homesteading!

Winter Birding... what I won't miss...

2011-03-14T09:48:00.000-05:00

Freezing!

I would much rather endure 110+degree weather than 30-degree weather. I am a cold weather wuss! I am always the first to return to the car and crank up the heat and wait until Cute Husband waves me back outside because he has found something good in the scope. Which reminds me of something else I won't miss about winter birding...

Dragging around the scope!

Our scope is not standard spring bird gear. Warblers are often closer than ducks on a body of water and ducks stand still better for scoping.   In fact, when Cute Husband asked me to get the scope out of the back of the car this weekend, I am ashamed to say I gave him a bit of the side eye...
Stupid awkward scope that likes to bite into the side of my neck while I tote it about.

Layers upon layers of clothing!

Yes, completely related to Freezing! and caused by Freezing!, yet different.   This relates to the winter birding nuisance of dressing to get out of the car and undressing once entering the warmth of the car. Actually, only Cute Husband does this, I stay completely layered throughout the entire birding adventure, as my perfect temperature is 80 degrees.

Enough complaining.

What I will miss about winter birding....

Sleeping in!

Ducks tend to hang out long past sunrise and passerines tend to remain active through much of the day (probably because they are Freezing!), which generally allows for a leisurely wake up. Not in the spring- the early birder gets the bird- daybreak is best for warblers and peeks at other migrants.

Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and especially Canvasbacks!

Hooray! It is going to be above Freezing! every day this week in Annapolis!

Laura K strikes again, plus a reminder

2011-03-09T17:46:00.000-05:00

Laura Kammermeier has been creating a series of hilarious, and very pointed, bird-related animated shorts on her blog. Her latest, The Coffee Contradiction, touches on one of our favorite subjects. Our dear friend Paul Baicich is credited with an assist on this one.

... and for our readers in the Annapolis-Baltimore-DC triangle, a gentle reminder not to miss tomorrow night's annual Heise lecture at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis. Live African Penguin included. Always a great event, and an important fund-raiser for our own Anne Arundel Bird Club.

Sprung!

2011-03-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

This has to be Birdcouple's favorite post each year. We don't care that the calendar says there are still two weeks to spring. We know that it's sprung.

And these lovely purple crocuses (croci??) in Lisa's garden aren't the only sign. In our area, large flocks of geese and other waterfowl have been seen heading north. Osprey, recently arrived from South America, have begun to be spotted here and there. Yesterday, we saw Tree Swallows twittering and diving near the Potomac River, and heard an Eastern Phoebe doing its fee-BEEE! thing.

Come on flower blossoms and warblers! Soon....

List Purity...

2011-03-03T17:29:00.002-05:00

Cute Husband and I go birding last Saturday in search of a Red-necked Grebe and a Black-headed Gull. Two nice birds for our year list and a great way to spend some time together since Warren has been so busy writing, writing, reporting, writing, reporting.

Plus, I love winter duck and gull searching, as it usually does not call for an early Saturday morning wake-up.

We go to the non-red-necky area where the Red-necked Grebe had been spotted. We searched and searched through Ring-billed gulls and a few lingering Lesser Scaup without any luck. I spent some time trying to turn an American Crow into a Raven and then we drove to the other side of the river to see if the Grebe might be paddling about over there.

Nope.

But, Cute Husband spies an unusual partially hooded gull. It was pretty far out and we couldn't make out the color of the bill. Black-headed Gull made some sense, but he seemed to have too much white on his forehead to match the plate in our field guides.

We moved on, as after all, we were next going to a spot where a Black-headed Gull had been seen a few hours before.

Nope.

And, not for lack of trying. Dipping twice made for a somewhat sad birding adventure.

By the time we got home, someone had posted a sighting of a Black-headed Gull at the Grebe site!

Hmmm... the description sounds exactly like the unusual partially hooded gull Cute Husband found...

The poster of the sighting is a really good birder and was only able to solidify the ID after the bird flew.

So, I've been nagging Cute Husband about counting it as a needed year and Maryland bird. My argument is that he would have counted it if we had been there when the bird was ID'd by someone else. He found the bird and recognized it for its different-ness. He called it a Black-headed Gull and I was the one that wasn't convinced.

Count it- darn it!

Maybe. But, not until he checks it out again tomorrow morning....

2 much wrk, not enf play

2011-03-02T18:38:00.000-05:00

With world events being what they are (do things ever slow down?), Warren has been working TOO much lately, as has Lisa The Princess. Hey, we won't complain about steady paychecks. But birding time has been grabbed in between long weeks, amid short weekends. Maybe the Middle East will CHILL OUT when spring comes to North America and the migrants arrive? Doubt it.

There's almost no such thing as bad birding, tho, and Birdcouple has had some pleasant experiences recently, as we always do. (We won't discuss that Black-Headed Gull here). Here's a few pix:

Brown-Headed Nuthatch, near Truitt's Landing, Worcester County, Maryland

February 20, 2011

Horned Lark, near Truitt's Landing, Worcester County, Maryland

February 20, 2011

Common Merganser, over the Susquehanna River, Harford County, Maryland

February 26, 2011

Crazy Like a Fox...

2011-02-23T17:23:00.000-05:00

While a fox's actions appear arbitrary and foolish......

A fox's main goal is to...

catch dinner. Not so crazy, non?

Thanks to Vencka for snapping some pics of our neighborhood beauty.

Happy President's Day...

2011-02-20T19:44:00.000-05:00

Abraham Lincoln's Sparrow

Piping Plover Cleveland

And, then there is ....
George W. Bushtit
Chuck-will's-widow Wilson
Hairy Woodpecker Truman
Barack American Oystercatcher
Chester A. Anhinga....

Don't forget ... it's GBBC time

2011-02-18T18:28:00.000-05:00

    In fact, GBBC has already begun. We always try to call it Greater Backyard Bird Count, as if it were a bird species, to be compared with the Lesser Backyard Bird Count, and the Intermediate ... oh well, never mind.

   It's great, alright. All the information you need, including tutorials, FAQs, and place to enter your sightings is right here.

   As of 6pm-ish this evening, here are the stats so far:

_ Total Checklists Submitted: 4,064

_ Total Species Observed: 409

_ Total Individual Birds Counted: 349,166

Gotta go. Time to go Great(er) Backyard Birding...

Peter, Peter, Peter...

2011-02-15T11:46:00.000-05:00

I love the Tufted Titmouse's song this time of the year...

No matter how much snow is still on the ground..his echo of "Peter, Peter, Peter", seems to say... spring is just around the corner

Hmmm.. I suppose I am the only bird that sings "Warren, Warren, Warren..."
Anytime of the year....

Happy lovers' day!

2011-02-14T10:50:00.000-05:00

Darling....

... I otter be known as the luckiest guy on Earth. Life with you feels like we are always playing and splashing and swishing our tails...

You are my bluebird of happiness....

I'd be a Hermit Thrush without you!

Happy Valentine's Day 2011, Lisa!

Batwoman and Penguin(s)

2011-02-09T21:28:00.000-05:00

Princess and I went to the monthly meeting of the Anne Arundel Bird Club on Friday evening, something we don't do nearly often enough due to our hectic schedules. The topic of the evening was not birds, but bats, and boy did we learn a lot from listening to Nina Fascione, the executive director of Bat Conservation International.

We learned how essential bats are to our way of life - who knew? - because of their role in controlling insects and pollinating plants. We learned that there are roughly 1,100 species of bats worldwide, or about 1/5th of all mammal species. And we learned, sadly, about White Nose Syndrome, a fungus that has spread rapidly since it was discovered in a New York cave in 2006. Mortality rates for infected colonies can be a staggering 90 percent.

We are glad "BatCon," or Bat Conservation International, is there to help. Their cool website is here.

There's no Robin in this post, and we're going to move straight from Batwoman (sorry, Nina) to The Penguins in the form of the Anne Arundel County Bird Club's annual, and always excellent, Heise lecture. This lecture attracts first-rate speakers, and this year's event, on March 10, will feature conservationist and penguin expert Steven Sorro. The flyer is below. If you live anywhere in the DC and suburban Maryland area, and are interested in conservation, you won't want to miss it.

Must-watch video: "I Saw A Rare Bird"

2011-02-04T17:36:00.000-05:00

This animated video, from writer/blogger Laura Kamemrmeier, is hilarious, and reminds us of too many interactions we've seen between birders arguing over a bird ID!

Weekend Rarities...

2011-02-02T10:58:00.000-05:00

Cute Husband and I found ourselves without electricity last Friday at 3PM until sometime Saturday afternoon. We built a raging fire and slept under loads of blankets and woke to a 42 degree house.

But, the car had heat!

Warren captured this Northern Shrike which we had missed earlier in January to add to our big January total.

Pine Siskins continued at our home feeders. A lovely thistle mix from the Wild Bird Center has been our ticket to finally attracting Pine Siskins to the yard.

Oh, and of course, the raccoons like it too!

Sunday morning (only 2 days left of January!) called for a 5AM wake up to visit this lovely fellow in St. Mary's County. This guy should be in Mexico this time of year, not in Maryland, so the early wake up was worth it.

Plus, the Yellow-headed Blackbird selected one of the sweetest people in the birding world to visit.

Thank you, Patricia, for letting us invade your kitchen, look through your amazing photography and sit in comfy warmth waiting for our 116th bird of 2011!

Special Feature: National Geographic on evolution of feathers

2011-01-29T16:44:00.000-05:00

Tail feather, assists in climbing.
Institute of Zoology and Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg

We birders see feathers all the time, but how often do we really stop and think about them? We may notice a few feathers on a bird when we're trying it. Does that chickadee have enough white on its cheek and nape to make it a Black-Capped? Is there any black in that gull's primaries? Could it be an Iceland Gull? And we may notice a pile of feathers on the ground and try to decide what it was that Mr. Cooper's Hawk had for lunch. Tufted Titmouse? Mourning Dove? Sparrow?

But what about feathers themselves? Where did those wonderful devices come from? How do they work? Why do they come in such a dizzying array of shapes, sizes and forms?

Carl Zimmer answers a lot of those questions in the latest issue of National Geographic magazine, in an article illustrated with eye-popping photographs by Robert Clark and art by Xing Lida.

Disk tail-feather tip, wobbles during display.

Courtesy Peter Mullen, Ph.D.

As he traces the evolution of feathers, as scientists now understand it, Zimmer shares some surprising conclusions. Among them: "Scientists now know that feathers evolved long before they were used for flight." They are still struggling to understand how the transition to flight happened. But feathers were probably first used for insulation, help with running and climbing, and attracting mates.

First Came Fuzz
Birds evolved from dinosaurs, but the origin of their feathers may trace back even deeper in time, to the common ancestor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs, like the fossil at left. These flying reptiles were covered with thin filaments that may have looked something like the down on this pheasant chick.
Jeholopterus ningchengensis
168-152 million years ago, China
At Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing

The article also tells how new fossil finds have changed our understanding of feathers and dinosuars. It was once thought that feathers were only found on a group of dinosaurs called theropods, to which birds are closely related. But they've now been found on other classes of dinosaurs as well, suggesting a common feathered ancestor far back in time. Paleontologists have even been able to recreate the color of one dinosaur's feathers, thanks to fossilized pigment sacs. Too, too cool.

You can find the full gallery of Robert Clark's photographs right here. They are in the February 2011 issue of National Geographic magazine, on newsstands January 25.

Birdcouple loves this magazine. Warren got Lisa a subscription as a present years ago, and we have been subscribers ever since.

Our Big January is not complete without...

2011-01-26T07:28:00.000-05:00

A trip to the Maryland Eastern Shore!

We started the weekend with a goal in mind, to hit 110 species for the month of January. We discovered our first of the year American Wigeon at the Cambridge Waterfront. Cute Husband captured this female showing off her assets.

With a strategy in mind, we headed to Blackwater NWR in search of a white pelican who may have been hiding behind snow geese, but he/she never showed for us.

We then met up with Peter Kaestner and his wife Kimberly and zoomed off to Assateague Island in search of this!

After about a 1/2 hour of searching treetops, Peter discovered droppings and a pellet from this Northern Saw Whet Owl. Not only was he extremely cute, but he was a life bird for me! I could have looked into his eyes all day, but it was flipping freezing and... there were more birds to see (hopefully, by the heat of the car).

The sun made us a spectacular sunset to enjoy, as we headed in for the day, with more birds needed to make our weekend goal.

A chilly morning at the Ocean City Inlet produced Black, Surf and White Winged Scoter along with Common Eider and a fly by Bonaparte's Gull.

Ruddy Turnstones and Purple Sandpipers were added to the list along with a random Eastern Meadowlark sighting when Cute Hubby and I returned to Assateague Island.

Did I mention it was cold?
Luckily, an assortment of sparrows were enjoying the roadside brush, which allowed for plenty of car birding and sparrow practice.

An American Woodcock sat by the roadside and he became our 110 bird of the year! Goal met! Unfortunately, he didn't appear well and was waddling slowly with a drunken swagger.

The Cute Guy and I then headed to one of the many romantic spots my guy likes to take me, a landfill.

In search of a Glaucous Gull. No luck, but we did see lots of garbage.

The perfect weekend!

Good nesting news

2011-01-21T17:52:00.001-05:00

L & W are headed "downy oshen" - that's Maryland talk for "down the ocean," i.e., to the beach, to do some major-league birding this weekend. Northern Saw-Whet Owl? Clay-colored Sparrow? King Rail? Snow Bunting? We're chasing 'em!

We wrap up the week with some potentially great news about the endangered Short-Tailed Albatross. As noted in this month's Birding Community E-bulletin, the bird was once the most numerous North Pacific albatross, before being decimated by feather hunting and feared extinct. World population is estimated at about 3,000. Recently, a Short-Tailed Albatross nest and eggs were discovered on U.S. territory, on Midway Atoll in the Pacific.

Now the good news: according to an Associated Press report, an egg hatched last Friday, Jan 14. The nest is being monitored remotely by video camera.

Closer to home, at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, a Bald Eagle laid the earliest egg ever recorded by the refuge's Eagle Cam. The egg-laying date was January 13. You can check out the live Eagle Cam right here. (This news came to us via Dan Haas, a veritable font of bird news and info).

That's it for now. Time to head downy oshen.

2011, a banner birding year!?

2011-01-19T18:34:00.000-05:00

If you'd told Birdcouple on Christmas Day that by the 16th day of January, we already would have seen a mega-rarity (for Maryland) like White-Winged Dove, as well as such unusual treats as Iceland Gull, Rufous Hummingbird and Harlequin Duck (that's a Harley Duck up there), well .. we probably wouldn't have believed you one bit.

But it's all true! 2011 is turning out to be a year for the record books for Maryland birders like us, with new and exciting avians popping up seemingly every day. There's still a rare Golden-Crowned Sparrow hanging out over on the Eastern Shore, and Orange-Crowned Warblers seem to be hiding around every turn.

Birdcouple is trying to eat it up, especially in the first month of the year, and perhaps even break some of our Maryland birding records, while of course continuing to promote conservation and the environment. We've notched 78 species seen in Maryland as of today, January 19.

Bill Hubick and Dan Haas have some lovely, captivating photos of the recent rarities, and other birds being seen in our region.

The way we figure it, if a rare or special bird shows up, you should not dally in trying to see it.

It may be there....

It may be leaving...

It may be gone.

How very Sibley of Me....

2011-01-16T18:54:00.000-05:00

Among my many bad birding habits is the one where I (in the heat of an exciting moment) will call a bird by one name when clearly it has another name.

This proves to be very frustrating to Cute Husband. For example, once when we were on a field trip with our bird club and I called out "Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker!" As the entire group scanned the area, Cute Hubby says, "Is it to the left or to the right of the Red-Bellied Woodpecker?"

Ummm.... maybe he is hiding directly behind the Red-Bellied Woodpecker....

Or the time during spring migration when we were at the famous Maintenance Yard at Rock Creek Park, when I said (very softly), I think I just heard a Yellow-Breasted Chat. Of course, my little whisper was overheard by one of the best birders in DC, who said, "A Chat, wow, I'm not sure we ever get them here...." Complete disbelief was written all over his face and the next year, during spring migration, he actually remembered me as the "Chat Girl".

Or, take for example, today. Cute Husband and I made a second go for a Harlequin Duck. We drove up and there it was! All these birders had just walked away and my Darling Husband ran after them to inform them that the duck was showing. I set up the scope and informed everyone that the bird had just dove, but was to the right of the rocks. Cute Husband says, "Well, I see a female Ruddy Duck.....".

We did get the Harlequin (and have the pictures to prove), but there are two ducks I can always ID (beside Canada Goose and Mallard!). In fact, Cute Husband never trusts my sense of direction (if I say, I think we should go right here, he knows we must go left or be hopelessly lost), but he does trust by ID of Lesser vs. Greater Scaup.

The two ducks look almost identical and in fact, they often like to swim together. But, for years, I have always been able to tell them apart. For me, it is the Lesser Scaup's Ring-Necked Duck peaked looking head that makes them stand apart.

See my sloping non-peaked head? I am a Greater Scaup! Lisa proclaims confidently!

See my peaked head? I am a Lesser Scaup! Lisa proclaims confidently!

From this picture, I am not completely confident if this is a Lesser or a Greater Scaup, so I will choose to remain silent on the matter.

And, just call him a Scaup with an itch.

Steve Martin: The Big Year, and now Rare Bird Alert

2011-01-13T16:35:00.001-05:00

As most of our readers surely know by now, actor-comedian-author-musician Steve Martin is starring in the upcoming movie production of The Big Year, which hilariously recounts three birders' competition to see as many bird species as possible in North America in a single year.

Now, Martin is about to release (in March) his second bluegrass album, entitled Rare Bird Alert. Guest stars on the album include Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks. Think we'll be buying it. Martin's website has an image of the really cool Album cover.

Thanks to our buddy and fellow Maryland birder Dan Haas for alerting us to this one.

... speaking of fellow Maryland birders, we are pleased as punch that Rob Ostrowski has been named eBirder of the month by the folks at eBird.

"Not only has Rob been a devoted eBird user for his entire birding life, but he also has been instrumental in wider promotion of eBird within his home state of Maryland. Even better, he is spearheading an effort to capture historical data, which might otherwise be collecting dust in a long-forgotten notebook or in some antiquated computer files," say the eBird folks.

Maryland - not the largest state by size or population - is No. 5 in eBird checklists submitted for January 2011, behind only California, Texas, New York and Florida.

Ski Birding

2011-01-10T18:07:00.000-05:00

Before we talk about what we did this weekend, we want to give a big shout-out to friend Paul Baicich and all the others who helped organize the New Year's Bird Count for Kids in Washington, DC. The Washington Post ran a nice feature article on the event, along with several pictures of you-know-who. Nice to see some young minority birders out there.

Birdcouple would have joined the fun, but we were out in far, far western Maryland with the boys (OK, young men) for a ski-ing and winter sports weekend at Deep Creek Lake. No ski-birding was done - in fact no skiing was done by W &L - but we did do a little bit of birding in and around the other fun, and in between the near-constant snow.

Black-Capped Chickadee

This is your classic Black-Capped Chickadee, with bright white in the face, a somewhat ragged black "bib" and extensive white in the wings. A good identification lesson for us.

This Tufted Titmouse was waiting out the snow.

A closer look.

These photos were taken at the feeders at Deep Creek Lake Discovery Center, a really nice environmental interpretative center at the local state park.

After watching our favorite non-avian birds, the Baltimore Ravens, crush the Kansas City Chiefs, we began the drive home to Annapolis - and were delighted when three Wild Turkeys crossed the road right in front of us.

New Middle East conflict: 'spying' vultures

2011-01-06T18:15:00.001-05:00

Warren, who has spent a fair bit of time in the Middle East and South Asia, is all too familiar with this sort of silliness...

Seems that Saudi Arabia has "detained" a Griffon Vulture on suspicion that it was spying for the Mossad, Israel's secret service. The evidence? It was carrying a GPS transmitter bearing the name of Tel Aviv University. Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

The story, originally reported by Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper, was picked up by the BBC:

Saudi Arabia 'detains' Israeli vulture for spying

Griffon Vultures can soar at up to 11,000 metres (36,100 ft) above sea level. A perfect vantage point?

Saudi Arabian officials have "detained" a vulture on accusations of being a spy for Israel, media reports say.

     The griffon vulture was carrying a GPS transmitter bearing the name of Tel Aviv University, prompting rumours it was part of a Zionist plot.
     Israeli wildlife officials dismissed the claims as ludicrous and expressed concern about the bird's fate.
     Last month, Egyptian officials implied the Israeli spy agency Mossad was to blame for shark attacks off its coast.
    The vulture, which can have a wing span of up to 265cm (8ft 8in), was caught after it landed in the desert city of Hyaal a few days ago.
    When locals discovered the GPS transmitter, they suspected the worst and handed it over to the security forces, said Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper.
    Conspiracy theories quickly began circulating in Saudi newspapers and on websites that the bird was involved in espionage.
     Israeli officials told Ma'ariv they were "stunned" by the allegations and concerned that the bird could meet a horrible punishment in the notoriously severe Saudi justice system.

"The device does nothing more than receive and store basic data about the bird's whereabouts, and about his altitude and speed," a bird specialist at Israel's Park and Nature Authority told the newspaper.

     The data would be used to improve understanding of the endangered species' behaviour.
     "Now, this poor bird is paying a terrible price. That's very sad," said the unnamed expert.
"I hope they release the poor thing."
    The vulture is the latest animal to be accused of being an unwitting Mossad operative.
    In December, the governor of Egypt's South Sinai province, Mohamed Abdul Fadil Shousha, suggested the spy agency may have had a hand in a string of deadly shark attacks off the coast of the Sharm el-Sheikh resort.
     He said it was "not out of the question" that Mossad had put the killer shark in the area.
     The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed that allegation, saying the governor "must have seen Jaws one time too many, and confuses fact and fiction".

   Here's a bit more from National Public Radio.

Jonathan Franzen's Freedom...

2011-01-05T07:24:00.004-05:00

Santa was over the top generous to me this year... undoubtedly because I was such a nice well behaved girl all year.

But, my all time favorite gift was this book:

When I opened this gift, Santa tells me, "Yes there is a Cerulean Warbler on the cover, but it is not about birds..."

And, no, it is really not about birds. But for a non-birder or even for birders who are only interested in ticking a bird and could care less about conserving them, the book is an excellent education on the many threats birds face and the many trade offs involved in modern environmentalism.

But, the book is not about birds.

But, I loved that as a by-product of the story (which I can tell you no more about, as Cute Husband has not yet read), Franzen's character, Walter, recognizes not only the need to preserve habitat in the U.S., but also in the Cerulean Warbler's wintering grounds in South America.

But, the book is not about birds.

But, the bonus is that by enjoying the tale that is not about birds, devoted fans of Oprah's book club and even President Obama are learning that free-roaming outdoor cats kill at least a million birds a day in America alone and that natural gas drilling fragments habitat, making it unusable to the most sensitive species.

I was struck that this guy Franzen must be a birder. Which became completely clear when I also discovered an essay he wrote called "My Bird Problem". And, as it turns out, he is quite the birder, with an ABA list now topping 630.

Again, not to give anything away for Cute Husband, but with Freedom, Franzen becomes for birds what Walter hopes Katz will become for the issue of overpopulation... the cool popular guy that people will listen to now that he has become famous.

For an amazing honest read, buy a copy for yourself. To spread the bird word, buy a copy for your friends.

Thanks, Cute Santa!

Dead blackbirds in Arkansas ... and elsewhere?

2011-01-04T12:12:00.001-05:00

If you're into birds, you've probably been following the story of the estimated 3,000 blackbirds that fell, dead, from the sky over Beebe, Arkansas. Most were Red-Winged Blackbirds.

The latest news, from the BBC, is that the birds may have been startled or traumatized in some way by exploding fireworks from the town's New Year's Eve display. Another theory is that the flock could have been disoriented by major thunderstorms that occurred on Dec. 31. Poisoning apparently has been ruled out as a cause of the mass avian mortality.

There are now reports of 500 dead red-wings and starlings in Louisiana. And a smaller incident in Kentucky.

Worrisome. Is something bigger going on here? We need more info.

More at Birdchick.com on Aflockalypse Now..

And a New York Times article this week on what makes birds such fabulous flying machines...

Foxy...

2011-01-03T11:38:00.000-05:00

You know you're a cute little heartbreaker

Foxy

You know you're a sweet little lovemaker

Foxy
I wanna take you home

I won't do you no harm, no

You've got to be all mine, all mine

Ooh, fox sparrow...

Clearly I have had too many days off work...

Enjoy this lovely Fox Sparrow photographed by Peter Kaestner on the 2011 Christmas Bird Count.

FOY!

2011-01-02T19:59:00.000-05:00

Hi First of the Year Yellow Bellied Sapsucker...

First of Year!
And, the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is the perfect way to start our year list. We spent most of today with Peter Kaestner doing our citizen science thing in the same CBC territory we have enjoyed for the past four years.

And, we are really proud of your yearly Christmas Bird Counts because the information we and all other observers collect from December 14 to January 5th allows researchers and conservation biologists to study the long term health of bird populations across North America. The data is used to show how bird populations has changed over the past hundred years.

It is also always a treat to bird with Peter. Being the 8th birder in the world, discovering a new species and seeing over 8,000 birds takes dedication. It takes standing out in the pouring cold rain, pishing until your lips are chap and walking through acres of brambles to get a bird.

And, that is what we did. Or, I should say, that is mostly what Cute Husband and Peter did. As, I took a couple of powders to remain in the car, as they pished up the 80th White-throated Sparrow or a nice flock of number Cedar Waxwings... which remain off my 2011 year list due to my enjoyment of car heat.

I did see this gorgeous FOY Red-Shouldered Hawk enjoying a road side meal...

The best bird of the day (although, truthfully, they were all most excellent, due to the majority of them being NEW YEAR BIRDS) was a heard Virginia Rail. Cute Husband and I heard a tink-ingly sound and stopped to investigate, while Peter forged ahead in search of the day's elusive Mourning Dove. After a few minutes we heard "kid dik" and called Peter for a re-hear.

Of course, this Virginia Rail remained hidden and silent, but it was a lovely way to start the birding year....

2011 year goal 450. As of today 41!

Happy New Year! (And what you can do for conservation in 2011).

2011-01-01T16:37:00.000-05:00

   HAPPY NEW YEAR to friends, readers, fellow birders!

   That Red Knot up there was one of the last birds that Warren and buddy Dan Haas saw in 2010, down at the Ocean City, Maryland, inlet.

   Like too many bird species, the Red Knot is in serious trouble, thanks to over-harvesting of the horseshoe crab eggs it depends on to fuel it on its migration from the tip of South America to northern climes. With that in mind, here are a few things we can all do promote birds and conservation in the new year, while we enjoy and chase birds. Many of these come from a list developed by our dear friend Paul Baicich.

   1. Buy the federal "duck stamp." It costs $15, and almost all the proceeds go straight to purchasing more land for federal national wildlife refuges. That means more birds, and places to see them.

   2. Contribute time and effort to a Christmas Bird Count, or other bird and wildlife survey.

   3. Vote the environment. And bug your congressman, senator, governor and other elected officials on environmental and conservation issues.

   4. Take steps to prevent bird strikes at home and, if possible, at the office. Hundreds of thousands of birds die each year from such collisions, especially during migration.

   5. Feed the birds. It's cheap and fun!

   6. Buy organic, shade-grown coffee. It protects the wintering habitat of neotropic migrants like warblers, thrushes, vireos and tanagers that we enjoy here in North America from late April until October.

   7. Reduce your carbon emissions to help Mother Earth. Turn off unnecessary lights, use public transportation, and consider making your next car a hybrid.

   8. While we're on that subject, consider ways you can offset the carbon emissions (and we're all guilty of this) from thousands of miles driven each year chasing birds.

   9. Join (and/or donate to) a conservation or environmental education organization of your choice. Some of our favorites (links are over there on the right) include the American Bird Conservancy, Optics for the Tropics, and Saving Birds Through Habitat.

  10. Become more knowledgeable on conservation and environmental issues by reading up, attending meetings, etc.

  11. Talk about birds and the environment with non-birding friends. You'll be surprised at how interested they often are.

   and.....

  12. Keep those cats indoors!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, and Good Birding!
Warren and Lisa

The Chesapeake Bay at a tipping point

2010-12-30T21:47:00.000-05:00

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation issued its most recent State of the Bay report this week, and its a mixed picture at best. The Bay scored 31 out of 100 - that's a failing grade in Birdcouple's book - an improvement over the 2008 report, but still far from where we want it to be. There is some good news, and we should not discount it. Eight of the 13 indicators measured in the report improved, including the status of Blue Crabs in the bay, which showed significant gains. Underwater grasses, critical to the Bay's health for oxygen, food and shelter for other organisms, also improved measurably.

The CBF describes the Bay as at a "tipping point." And on Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a pollution diet for the Bay that will set legally enforceable limits on phosphorous, nitrogen and sediments flowing into it from six states. Past federal efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay have failed. Will this one be different?

Here are some reminders, of the avian variety, of how precious the largest U.S. estuary and its surrounding lands are:

Hermit Thrush

American Tree Sparrow

Long-Tailed Duck

A late, but very nice, Christmas present

2010-12-26T19:26:00.000-05:00

Yes, a Northern Wheatear, an extremely rare bird on the North American east coast. And there it was, for the viewing, in Wilmington, Delaware, less than 2 hours' drive from the Lovenest.

Princess, Kathie Lambert and Warren threw aside concerns about the east coast snowstorm, shuffled off our post-Christmas lethargy and bundled into "Pipit," our trusty Ford Escape hybrid, this morning, hoping the Wheatear hadn't flown before the storm.

When we got to Fox Point State Park, there it was like a shiny present. Other birders (we felt sorry for them, honest) had waited 90 minutes in the bitter cold for the bird to show. That was about 15 minutes before we got there.

We watched this lovely bird forage for a while.

It politely crept closer so Warren could get some nice shots.

And then it was back into "Pipit," as we raced southward to get home before the snow really started falling.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T13:05:00.000-05:00

   To all our friends in the Blogosphere and everywhere else. May it be peaceful, merry ... and birdy.

   - Warren and Lisa, The Birdcouple.

Another Maryland rarity - Golden-Crowned Sparrow

2010-12-21T21:02:00.000-05:00

It's been an amazing fall here in the fair state of Maryland for rarities, most of them visitors from the U.S. West. Since October, we've had a Say's Phoebe, Ash-Throated Flycatcher and Anna's Hummingbird (just the second Maryland record) to name the highlights. Dan Haas has more on the recent birding gold over at Nervous Birds blog.

Then, on Sunday, participants in the Kent County Christmas Bird Count found what may be the first Maryland sighting of Golden-Crowned Sparrow:

Warren went in search of this lovely little bird on Tuesday, and his and other birders' patience was rewarded with quite a show.

Here is an immature White-Crowned Sparrow, with which the Golden-Crowned was foraging, for comparison:

And, of course, it is now no longer fall. Tuesday saw the solstice, marking the onset of winter, as well as a lunar eclipse:

Great Backyard Bird Count is coming fast

2010-12-17T13:30:00.000-05:00

BC was just emailed a copy of this handsome poster, providing a timely reminder that the Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up fast. With some much to do this Holiday season - Christmas fun, New Year's celebrations, and of course the local Christmas Bird Count - we're going to make a calendar note that GBBC is only eight weeks away.

The GBBC is cospondored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon and Bird Studies Canada. You can find out more about the GBBC, and download instructions here. There's even an instructional video:

Ash-Throated Flycatcher!

2010-12-13T16:45:00.000-05:00

     Princess and I drove down on Saturday to Assateague Island National Seashore, which has been a great site for end-of-the-year rarities. Hard to believe it's been two years since we got our life Snowy Owl there.

     Once again, Assateague didn't disappoint. After a nerve-racking 45 minutes, we found our quarry: an Ash-Throated Flycatcher, a southwestern species, that had been delighting birders throughout our region for several weeks. Last time we saw this bird was way out in Arizona, where it belongs, in April...

     Check out the gorgeous russet color on its tail feathers. Snapped this shot a quarter-second too late:

Assateague is famous for its wild horses, which wander the island at will. There always have to be some tourist morons (tourons) who ignore signs in plain view that state not to feed the horses. It's bad for both man and beast.

Later, we stopped by the famed Ocean City inlet. This Ring-Bulled Gull is beautiful in its own u-g-l-y way.

Nevada birding

2010-12-07T12:36:00.000-05:00

Warren and our buddy Dan Haas found themselves randomly in Nevada on the same day on Sunday - Dan for a business conference, Warren to see eldest son Mitch run the Las Vegas Marathon, his first. Well, no sooner had Dan's plane landed and he checked into his hotel, the two time-pressed birders rushed over to nearby Red Rock Canyon.

There weren't huge numbers of birds around, but what W and D did find was great. This Crissal Thrasher first located by Dan was a lifer for both of us. ABA species #501 for Warren!

The top of every third piece of vegetation was shaped like a perching bird, making finding those avians difficult. But this actually proved to be fauna, not flora, a beautiful western Red-Tailed Hawk:

Red Rock Canyon, just 15 minutes from the western limits of the sprawl of Las Vegas, is beautiful and aptly named:

We're not on the Vegas "Strip" anymore":

Cute Husband is Flying Back to the LoveNest!

2010-12-01T16:29:00.000-05:00

Oh, Honey, you didn't need to bring me that... I'm eating plant based, remember?

Can't wait to have you home!

Birds vanishing from parts of Afghanistan?

2010-11-29T01:08:00.000-05:00

McClatchy Newspapers' own Kansas City Star published this item on its website, written by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Warren has seen a lot of birds for sale in the Kabul market, including cages full of the Chukar partridge, which has of course been introduced into North America.

Here's the item (Herat is in western Afghanistan, bordering Iran):

Rahimullah stood in his field, killing field mice one by one as they were driven from their holes by a rush of irrigation water. But the 55-year-old farmer understands that he’s fighting a losing battle against the scrambling rodents. And he knows that he stands even less of a chance of successfully combating the swarm of locusts that are destroying his crops.

He’s tried using chemical sprays and insecticides, but to little effect. What he’s lacking are the various species of birds that have long been the Afghan farmers’ natural ally in the battle to protect his crop.

Birds are disappearing from Afghanistan, either killed by hunters or caught by trappers who then sell them to the burgeoning international market.

Agriculture officials in Herat province confirm that hunting and smuggling have decimated the bird population in the province, allowing pests like mice and locust to run wild.

There are no accurate statistics on wildlife numbers in Herat province. But officials say that a dozen bird species are in danger. Hunting bans are virtually impossible to enforce. Meanwhile, the booming business in exporting birds has had a devastating impact.

Yes, I Should Be Raking this up...

2010-11-21T15:27:00.000-05:00

Or, better yet, out birding....

In the meantime, and for Cute Husband's far away amusement, this is time lapse of just a portion of the leaves that need raking.

Cool stuff created by our Wingscapes PlantCam

Kiterunners

2010-11-19T09:36:00.000-05:00

Many of our readers are probably familiar with the book and movie The Kiterunner, a gripping story that spans the time of (relative) peace in Afghanistan to the 1996-2001 rule of the Taliban. As its backdrop, the book describes the favorite pastime of kite battles in Kabul, and the Kiterunners who race to get kites that are falling from the sky.

Today being Friday in Kabul (the Western equivalent of Sunday), my Afghan colleague and I walked up to a hillside where dozens - maybe even 100 - kites were flying and battling in the sky. I was the only foreigner there, and I was mesmerized.

A kite, its string cut by another's, floats to earth:

Kids use these long poles to catch the kites, twirling the string around them. You can faintly see kites flying in the background:

Kites, which come in different sizes, are all handmade, from paper:

String, coated with a material that makes it sharp, for sale:

Not the bird kind of kites (as in Mississipi, Swallow-Tailed), but amazing all the same...

Miss you back, Princess!

2010-11-15T13:18:00.000-05:00

Oh, I do! Those are waterfalls behind me, hint hint.

This is at a famous lake in central Afghanistan called Band-e-Amir. To quote from the Wikipedia entry (now a bit dated, since the road is being paved): "The problems facing the visitors are harsh terrain, rocky plateau, lack of basic facilities and mined unpaved roads. The surrounding roads were heavily mined by the local militias and the Taliban during their respective reigns. Only a thin track is clear from mines and is in use by traffic."

Miss you darling.

PS - About these public love letters. ... Others read this blog, you know.... :)

Say I'm a Bird...

2010-11-15T09:30:00.000-05:00

So, as most readers of BirdCouple know, Cute Husband and I far from hip, cool or current on anything pop culture.

We don't watch television and rarely go to the movies, although we do watch occasional movies through Netflix. Which makes us completely clueless when it comes to current contestants on Dancing with the Stars and story lines to How I Met Your Mother, much less who is starring in what.

I also like to blame the fact that I rarely clean the house on our lack of television viewing, as I simply am not aware of the latest cleaning solutions that are available and widely advertised on TV.

With Cute Husband reporting from miles away and me pining for him from miles away, it probably was not the best idea to watch (3 times so far!) The Notebook without him. Now, I realize this movie is something like 6 years old, but referring back to our lack of hip-ness, it was completely new to me.

The movie has nothing to do with birds, although there appears to be some bird symbolism throughout. And, if you care to, you can may try to ID birds in certain scenes. I think the gulls in my favorite scene are Ring Billed...

Anyway, as I'm sure you are completely aware, there is a scene where Rachel McAdams' character asks Ryan Gosling's character to "Say I'm a Bird". He indulges and she then asks him to say he is a bird.

And, he responds, exactly as I know Cute Husband would respond (after I cajole him into watching the movie 4 more times with me)...

"If you are a bird I am a bird...."

I miss you, Warren P. Strobel.

Avian Keratin Disorder is Spreading...

2010-11-11T13:00:00.005-05:00

Photo: USGS

Deformed beaks, elongated claws and feather color variations are on the rise in Alaska.

Avian Keratin Disorder, found first in Black-Capped Chickadees, is showing up in an increasing number of other species including the Northwestern Crow. The disorder makes foraging and preening difficult, not to mention raising young.

In the past, Avian Keratin Disorder has been associated with environmental pollutants. Black-Capped Chickadees and Northwestern Crows are mostly permanent residents, but they do not share the same habitat, making finding the cause of the disorder difficult.

In the meantime, it looks like nuthatches and woodpeckers are starting to also be affected.

Oh, sometimes it just makes me want to scream about what we are doing to our planet...

Mitch, the Steppe Eagle from Afghanistan

2010-11-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

Here's a heart-warming story about Mitch, a Steppe Eagle (a species which princess and I saw in India) that was saved in Afghanistan, after it was wounded, apparently after an Afghan soldier used it for target practice.

The magnificent creature was nursed back to health by Army soldiers and Navy SEALs (go Navy!) and finally taken to the U.S., where Mitch found a home at the Berkshire Bird Paradise, near Albany, N.Y.

We like Mr. Steppe Eagle's moniker. Mitch is the name of our first-born!

Meanwhile, my Afghanistan bird list continues to expand slowly, the equivalent of Chickadees and Titmice and Cardinals, but much appreciated all the same: Laughing Dove, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Common Myna and Eurasian Magpie.

Starting that Afghan bird list

2010-11-04T13:06:00.000-05:00

Warren's been in Kabul since Tuesday morning, and there are *definitely* birds here. So far, my Afghanistan bird list is quite humble, a Eurasian magpie (pica pica) and the ubiquitous Rock Dove. But late this afternoon as I was getting some fresh air on the veranda, I saw this little sucker with a plain brownish belly, flicked-up tail, dark eye, and white outer tail feathers. If only I could get a better look.....

Here's an interesting and accurate (as far as I can tell) blog about birding in Kabul.

I actually saw a version of this happen today, just before my unidentified passerine friend popped in:

‘Every afternoon at around 5.00, I go to my window and look outside because I have been watching something which happens every day around this time, just before the sky turns pink and spirals of sweet smelling smoke start to appear from mud brick homes.
A man stands on a roof and starts waving a long thin red flag, giving short sharp whistles, followed by long ones. Then he waves his flag again, waits for a while and the whistling resumes.
I thought at first he must be corresponding with another person somewhere close by, but as I watched I realized he was communicating with a flock of birds.
Kabul’s pigeons are light brown in colour with bright black eyes. They are actually probably doves. A group of around ten of them suddenly appears and they begin to circle overhead, diving and soaring for a while, then come back to land beside the man on the roof.
After a few moments he shoos them away with his flag and the whole thing starts again in a frenzy of trained wings and synchronized swoops, until dusk falls and the call to prayers sounds out across rooftops in the cold evening air.’

Maryland 300 Club!!

2010-10-30T12:23:00.000-05:00

The "300" club is the elite group of birders who have seen more than 300 species of birds in the great state of Maryland.

Warren finally joined on Friday, and with a great bird, too - a Say's Phoebe, a western and midwestern flycatcher not often seen in these parts. Wahoo! The bird was found at Terrapin Nature Park on Kent Island over on the Eastern Shore by super-Maryland birder Joe Hanfman. Good buddy Dan Haas helped guide Warren into the site with calls and texts.

The bird was being seen distantly in some snags over phragmites bordering a pond. Warren didn't get great looks, but he did see the bird. No photos, either, but this picture of celebratory champagne gives the general impression of size and shape of the party afterward:

Mark Hoffman did manage to snap some shots with a 700mm lens. Wow! For those keeping track, Mark; Jim Stasz; and Paul O'Brien are at the top of the Maryland birding mountain, each having seen more than 400 species out of 435 species reported in Maryland. That's incredible!

The Say's Phoebe was a definite treat. Happy Halloween everyone!

The Birdcouple

I just started ebirding...

Have a few mintues?

Even Crows like to Snowboard...

THANK YOU

Happy New Year!

Birding around the Chrismas Tree..

What next? An Elegant Trogon in Annapolis?

Where did the year go...?

Santa Loves Annapolis!

BirdCouple is 5 Years OLD!

So, that is why they call it Paradise...

Quiz: Where am I?

And the Winner is...

Fall warblers...

Yesterday was your Birthday...

The Big Year movie - quick review

The Big Year Movie Week!

Assateague in October

Lark and Clay Colored Sitting in a Tree..

Two Whimbrels Survive Storm, only to be shot upon landing in the Guadeloupe...

The Big Year Movie Trailer

Carbon Offset Bird Project (COBP)

Lucky American (Birding) Man!

A Pelagic?

The Big Movie

"What you eat affects where you live"

MothCouple!

Clymene Moth Not quite as charming as BirdCouple... but we do love all things outdoors...except maybe those tiny little midges that try to fly into your eyes as you are hiking...

Clymene Moth Not quite as charming as BirdCouple... but we do love all things outdoors...except maybe those tiny little midges that try to fly into your eyes as you are hiking...

Clymene Moth

(Past) time to get this year's Duck Stamp!

Whatcha Doing Saturday?

7 Year Surprise!

Red, White & Blue birding

Probably not a good idea to enrage a crow...

Birds have wings....

Hummingbird Live Nest Cam!

Camp birds

Honored to be included...

Still here!

Looking for Higher Ground...

Splish Splash!

Birds enjoying Bee Stuff....

Big, medium and small

Bird Mourns Death of Mate...

Happy 226th Birthday!

Warbly things! Happy Easter!

We wish we could go...

Birdcouple Does Oregon

The in-between time

April Fool's Day

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-elagic!

Big Moon

Nesting time(s)

Winter Birding... what I won't miss...

Laura K strikes again, plus a reminder

Sprung!

List Purity...

2 much wrk, not enf play

Crazy Like a Fox...

Happy President's Day...

Don't forget ... it's GBBC time

Peter, Peter, Peter...

Happy lovers' day!

Batwoman and Penguin(s)

Must-watch video: "I Saw A Rare Bird"

Weekend Rarities...

Special Feature: National Geographic on evolution of feathers

Our Big January is not complete without...

Good nesting news

2011, a banner birding year!?

How very Sibley of Me....

Steve Martin: The Big Year, and now Rare Bird Alert

Ski Birding

New Middle East conflict: 'spying' vultures

Saudi Arabia 'detains' Israeli vulture for spying

Jonathan Franzen's Freedom...

Dead blackbirds in Arkansas ... and elsewhere?

Foxy...

Clymene Moth

Not quite as charming as BirdCouple... but we do love all things outdoors...except maybe those tiny little midges that try to fly into your eyes as you are hiking...

Clymene Moth

Not quite as charming as BirdCouple... but we do love all things outdoors...except maybe those tiny little midges that try to fly into your eyes as you are hiking...