Young Barn Owls Learn How to Fly

Cute Barn Owl Learns How To Fly – Super Powered Owls – BBC

Barn owls are very pretty and unusual-looking creatures. This short video shows two young barn owls being raised from chicks by humans and now need to learn how to fly. Luna, the older, is first to experiment with flight. The unique head movements are curious and look at the size and sharpness of the talons!

A Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in the Desert

As followers of JBRish.com know, I live on the edge of the desert in North Phoenix only a few miles from Cave Creek, Arizona. As such, we have an interesting array of wildlife including many birds. One of my hobbies is trying to identify as many birds as possible when I can see them and/or capture them with a camera.

Today, a hawk landed on a telephone pole near the back corner of our yard. I have a Canon Powershot SX50 HS which has a very large zoom and allows me to get relatively close to birds even if they are far away. Since this bird was large, it made it just a bit easier.

I took these two pictures just before the hawk flew away.

 

juvenile Red-tailed Hawk

 

juvenile Red-tailed Hawk

It turned out to be a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

What birds reside in your area?


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Birds of Las Cruces, NM

NOTE: To read more about one of the birds presented and to see an alternative picture, click the link associated with the name of the bird in the article below.

 

NM Birding Trail Sign

During our hiking visit to the Las Cruces, NM area, I was able to focus my attention on bird photography as well; forgive the pun.

One bird that was a new sighting for me was a Scaled Quail.

Scaled Quail

I thought the pattern on the feathers was quite interesting.

Hiking along a canyon wash, I spotted a bird atop a wall.

Rock Wren

It had a somewhat familiar look because, as I later found out, it is a relative of the Cactus Wren. It was a Rock Wren.

Rock Wren

The smallish bird below sitting on a branch is a Western Wood-Pewee.

Western_Wood-Pewee

As a gust of wind came along I caught a shot of a Peewee from the other side.

Western_Wood-Pewee

We also encountered a… Black-throated Sparrow

Black-throated_Sparrow

and a Chipping Sparrow as we made our way up and down the mountain trails.

Chipping Sparrow

At the nearby Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park we spotted additional birds

This Swainson’s Hawk was very high in the sky, but I did the best I could. The unique color pattern of the underside is a sure give away.

Swainson's Hawk

Several Barn Swallows were dodging in and out from under one of the roofs and the light was very dim, but this appeared to be a parent with some food for a nestling.

Barn Swallow

A Northern Mockingbird did not seem to mind as we moved in to get a closer look.

Northern Mockingbird

At a rest stop on the way home from Las Cruces this fellow was hopping from trash bin to trash bin looking for some goodies.

Chihuahuan Raven

Chihuahuan Raven

Hummingbird Banding and Study – SABO

During a recent weekend, my wife and I took four days to visit Sierra Vista and the surrounding area to do some hiking and birding. We enjoyed hiking in the Coronado National Memorial and nearby Brown Canyon. This area is a hotspot for bird watchers. Our Bed and Breakfast, Casa de San Pedro (CDSP), caters to nature enthusiasts and birding hobbyists.

Little did we know when we made our reservations, that on one of the days we would be visiting CDSP, there would be a hummingbird banding. This was exciting news indeed! I had no idea how they would go about capturing, assessing, banding and releasing these very tiny creatures. I was very interested to witness the process.

Humming Bird Evaluation and Banding

(photos are below the narrative)

The first step is setting up the capture feeder is for one of the volunteers to place a capture net over the feeder.

SABO volunteer setting up capture net

The top of the feeder has a battery-operated mechanism which uses remote control to drop the net. When the bird is at the feeder, i.e. inside the net area, the net is triggered. (yellow arrow points to battery compartment)

View of capture net and battery holder

The remote control device stands at the ready.

Remote control is ready to be triggered

The Director of this program is Sheri Williamson, author of A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America (Peterson Field Guides)

Sheri Willaimson's name badge

Sheri Williamson explaining the process

The banding was a collaborative effort. Volunteers worked to record specific data about each bird, collect donations from attendees, assist in transporting captured birds from the feeder area to the work station and finally safely releasing each bird.

Work table with SABO volunteers

Once the net is dropped around the feeder, the bird is placed inside a laundry delicates holder to safely move it from one area of the field to another.

Captured bird in delicates bag

Sheri works to band a female Black-chinned Hummingbird. The yellow arrow points to the thin bird bill.

Assessing the bird

A variety of measurements were taken including the length of the bill, the length of the bird, the length of the wing, etc.

Measuring the bird

More measurements and assessment.

More measurements

Here is a look at the record book (rotated to make it more legible (if zoomed in for a look).

Recording the data

Sheri explains the examination process. …According to SOBA’s website:

The band is applied to the bird’s “leg” (actually the tarsus, equivalent to the long bones in our feet) using specially made pliers. The fit is checked, then the bird’s vital statistics are recorded: species, age, sex, lengths of wing, tail, and bill, weight, plumage condition, molt (loss and replacement of feathers), amount of visible fat, pollen color (if visible) and location, signs of impending or recent egg laying in adult females, and any peculiarities such as scars, odd-colored feathers, or presence of parasites. Pollen may be collected for later identification to help us understand what natural resources the birds depend on during migration and nesting.

Explaining the procedure

A straw is used to separate the feathers to check for parasites, evaluate plumage, etc.

Blowing through a straw to look under the feathers

The female Black-chinned Hummingbird had an egg which could be seen through the translucent skin although it is not readily visible in the picture.

Female's underside had an egg visible

Each captured bird is weighed. These hummingbirds weighed between 3 – 3.5 grams; a fraction of an ounce. According to Wikipedia, a penny weighs 2.5 grams.

Weighing the bird

Before release, each bird is offered a drink for their journey back home.

Bird is offered a drink before release

The second bird trapped was a male Black-chinned hummer. While it may be difficult to tell them apart, especially when upside down, the white tipped tail feathers are a reliable indicator.

Male Black-chinned hummingbird

From above the bird, the feathers create a very obvious pattern and enhances the male plumage.

Male Black-chinned hummingbird feather pattern

Sheri Williamson shows admiring onlookers the beautiful feather patterns of this male Black-chinned hummingbird.

Another view of the male Black-chinned hummingbird tail feather pattern

Sheri checks the band on this bird to assure that it is loose enough to be comfortable.

Checking the ID band for fit

The small band is encircled in this photo.

ID Band is very small

Banding attendees are offered an opportunity to release a bird. The bird is very carefully placed in a hand and…

A bird in the hand prior to release

then released (yellow arrow points to the bird)

Hummingbird being released

Read More:

Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory

Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory Hummingbird banding page

Sheri L. Williamson’s Website

 


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Critical Role of Migratory Birds – Texas Hot Spot

From the YouTube Video Notes (emphasis added):

“Published on Jun 19, 2015 – Did you know the coast of Texas is the most important spot for migratory birds in the U.S. and Canada? Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center staff journey to this small island annually to study songbirds returning from their tropical wintering grounds and share this experience with local schoolchildren. Understanding these species and teaching the next generation about them is critical to their survival. Learn more in this video made possible with the support of ConocoPhillips. #WeSaveSpecies #StateoftheBirds”

House Sparrow Feeding Time for Fledglings

Sierra Vista, AZ is known for the birds that visit that area year-round. There are migratory birds that leave south and central America as well as Mexico and spend part of the summer in the southeast portion of Arizona. While visiting that region recently, we took note of a house sparrow nest in a tree and a male and female that were taking care of their young.

In the picture (below), the “dad” is bringing food to the babies. If you look closely you can see a grasshopper (or similar insect) just to the left of the tip of the yellow arrow (center of photo).

The adult bird is getting ready to “cram” the insect down the throat of the chick. They do this with great energy.

Male house sparrow cramming food into chick's mouth

In this case, as in some bird species, both adults take turns feeding the chicks. This is a picture of “mom” watching the meal being delivered and perhaps providing instructions.

Mother bird gives offering advice about feeding

The male bird has left for a “refill” and both chicks look on in anticipation. The one on the left almost appears to be frowning as it awaits its turn.

Chicks await more food delivery

Here is another photo of the chicks looking on with apparent increased vigilance and vocalizations.

Chicks calling for more food

This scene repeated itself over time and we enjoyed watching the protocol of the house sparrow for taking care of its fledglings. It is estimated that these chicks were just a few days away from leaving the nest as they are rather large; as chicks go.

Read More:

House Sparrow (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Sialis: House Sparrow Biology

House Sparrows Habits

 



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Dubai World Record Eagle Flight – Video

“[An] Eagle cam captures stunning footage of an imperial eagle descending over 2,700 ft (830 m) from the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai.”

Goal: Take an Imperial Eagle (with a camera attached) to the tallest building in the world and from that height, have it locate its handler and land on the arm of that trainer. The bird looks around for quite some time until it sees the trainer and then it folds its wings (@ 1:40 +/-) and dives. What details could a human see from that height? (Admittedly, the trainer appears to be in the middle of a large red square, but still…)

Apparently this event was held to draw attention to the fact that these eagles are endangered.

To learn more about how the eyesight of humans and eagles compare, read What If Humans Had Eagle Vision?