Birds, birds, birds

White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) are amazing birds who are able to exploit a unique foraging niche in the bird world - they can move face first down trees!  They must have an advantage this way in inspecting tree trunks for insect prey and other tasty morsels. 

It's all I think about anymore.  I have said that I've loved birds ever since they evolved from dinosaurs.  Well I guess that doesn't make complete sense, but what I mean is that I loved dinosaurs as a kid and as I got a bit older my obsession evolved from dinosaurs to birds.  I've been a casual bird-watcher since I was about 12, a more serious bird-watcher since 2006, and now I have become a BIRDER!!  I make the clear distinction between bird-watchers and birders based on a number of behaviors.  Bird-watchers are laid-back, opportunistic in their hobby, appreciate birds despite how common or rare they are, and enjoy actually WATCHING them.  Birders are crazed, hasty, they "chase" and "get" birds, and are obsessed with making lists.  I'm sure that there is a gradient between these two descriptions, but it is a slippery slope once you start falling into the "birder" category that I described!  eBird is single-handedly responsible for my transition.

Found this little owl while driving one day.  Immediately turned around and prepared my passengers for the experience haha.  It's a red morph Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio). 

Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) are tough birds.  They can handle standing in the freezing cold Cuyahoga River due to physiological adaptations that limit blood flow to the feet and legs.

Being a birder isn't SO bad, but there are some birding behaviors that bother me.  I guess it all just boils down to ethics and keeping the birds' best interests in mind.  One thing that I still haven't gotten sucked into yet is "chasing" birds.  See, when a rare bird shows up in an area and a someone reports it in today's world, this report instantly hits the communication waves.  Depending on the bird, birders may flock from all over to come see the bird - who in turn becomes a local celebirdy (hahaha).  The reason that most birders flock from all around to see these rare birds is because they need to "get" one for their list.  My best friend even chases them across the country!! I don't have a problem with other people doing this (even though they use a lot of gas).  To each their own.  I personally enjoy the excitement and the challenge of finding my own birds.  That being said, I do believe that there are some benefits to chasing birds.  Since some species can be so infrequently discovered (whether they are rare, secretive, or both), the chances are a lot lower that a single person will find them.  If you want to learn more about a particular species, the best way is to see and watch one.  Once you actually see a bird, you get an idea for what it looks like, how it moves and behaves, and where you might find it.  After you have seen a bird, you are far more likely to detect that species in the future.  So bird on my friends!!!  Let's just do so ethically : )

This pair of Redhead (Aythya americana) drakes were hanging out in a small section of open water in Lake Hodgson (Portage county).  This winter has been cold enough that most bodies of water are frozen over - so there are often many birds to be found in various open water that is available!

Back to eBird.  I just want to make mention how great of a tool that it is.  I said that eBird made me a birder because it made me obsessed with lists.  I've recorded lists and behavioral notes about birds for years (on paper), but I really just started using eBird this past fall.  Your list on eBird just looks so clean, the stats are great, and you can break down your numbers in many different ways.  You can also use eBird to view distribution data for any species in any time scale.  For example:

Here is a snapshot of Sayornis phoebe or Eastern Phoebe sightings in February of this year.  It won't be long until they make their way up to NE Ohio in big numbers!!!

I just think that this is such a cool tool to use.  There are a lot of possibilities, and as I said, I am hooked!!  One other thing about eBird that I must mention is something that I wish my prof at school wouldn't have showed me.  Under "explore data" there is a "top 100" link.  This takes you to look at the top 100 eBirders for any specified region down to county level.  I think that I can safely say that when my prof showed me this and said "You're killin' it in Portage county right now" is when I became a birder.  Since then I have been making efforts to look for birds like I wouldn't have before.  I still won't be chasing any birds, I can promise that - but I am using my knowledge of birds to find as many as I can on my own.  So if you know about any rare species around here I don't want to know about it!  Haha but seriously - if you have any thoughts on any of this birder/bird-watcher business, I'd love to read your comments.

I caught this Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo linneatus) in dragon pose while he was hunting in a lawn.

This young Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) was so cooperative that I had time to "interpret" him for almost a dozen park visitors, ride my bike home to get my camera and come back (30 minutes later) to find him still around and willing to let me capture beautiful photographs of him.

For a closer look at the photos from this blog and to see more like them, please check out my bird gallery at - http://www.naturaleye.org/