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Buy a Duck Stamp?  Why?
(From Wildbird Magazine,
November 2006)
Do we, as birders, realize what great conservationists duck hunters are?  “Since 1934, sportsmen have purchased an annual Federal Migratory Bird Hunting & Conservation Stamp to legally hunt migratory waterfowl…..that translates into more than $700 million…from each dollar used to purchase a stamp, 98 cents goes to the purchase or lease of wetland habitat within the National Wildlife Refuge System.  That means more than 5.2 million acres of waterfowl habitat have been protected…).  “Myriad bird species and other wildlife live within those 5.2 million acres.  Those animals likely wouldn’t be protected within that land if not for the Duck Stamp.”  And we, as birders, have also benefited from the Duck Stamp, since that money has “created or contributed to popular birding sites in Florida (Ding Darling NWR), Texas (Santa Ana NWR), New Mexico (Bosque del Apache NWR) and California (Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR).  So, join the hunters (who really are not the bad guys) and buy a Duck Stamp for only about $15! 
www.duckstamps.com or your local post office.
What’s in a Name?
(from Wildbird Magazine
May/June 2006)
“Old” names for some of our bird friends; given to them based on songs, behavior, foods, bills, etc.
-American Woodcock:  “bog sucker”
-Shrike:  “butcher bird”
-Common Nighthawk:  “bull-bats”
-Sharp-shinned Hawk:  “little blue darters”
-Northern Flicker:  “high holes”
-Sage Grouse”  “cocks of the plains”
-Northern Shovelor:  “spoonbill”
-American Wigeon:  “baldpate”
-Greater Scaup:  “bluebill”
-American Bittern:  “bog pumper”
-Cedar Waxwing:  “cherry bird”
-Eastern Kingbird:  “bee martin”
-Eastern Towhee:  “chewink”
-Bank Swallow:  “sand martin”
-Common Moorhen:  “mud hen”
-Hermit Thrush:  “swamp angel”
-Great Black-backed Gull:  “minister gulls”
-Long-tailed Duck:  “oldsquaw”
-Bufflehead:  “butterball”
-Snow Bunting:  “snowflake”
-Wood Duck:  “acorn duck”, “summer duck”
-Peregrine Falcon:  “duck hawk”
-Merlin:  “pigeon hawk”
-American Kestrel:  “sparrow hawk”
-Black Vultures:  “carrion crows”
-Anhinga:  “darter”
-Common Loon:  “great Northern diver”
-Green Heron:  “fly-up-the-creek”
-Spotted Sandpiper:  “teeter peep”
-Chipping Sparrow:  “hairbird”
-Goldfinch:  “wild canary”
Bird Self Defense
(from The Backyard Bird Newsletter
June 2006)
10 Anti-predator behaviors:
-“No-See-Me”:  Coloration can practically make a bird disappear.  Females are usually duller in color to hide well when nesting and other birds coloration can render them practically invisible.
-“Check This Out”:  Various feather colors can be quite visible when a bird is trying to flee a predator and are designed to startle and distract the predator by the use of bright color.
-“Can’t Touch Me Here”:  Fly toward something that is safe. 
-“Safety in Numbers”:  Flocking or “closing of ranks” can make it hard for a predator to “pick out a lone bird”.  Also, fast & erratic flying can confuse the predator.
-“Don’t Move a Muscle”:  Many birds will “freeze” all motion when a predator is near-by.  In that way they “blend” with their environment.
-“Warning – I’m a Snake”:  Some birds, like burrowing owls and black-capped chickadees will make snake-like sounds to warn a predator away from the nest.
-“Look Out!  Look Out!!”:  Alarm calls given warn of approaching predators.  Some birds, like jays, give different call for different types of predators, and other species that flock together will take turns as “sentinel” birds to watch for danger and then give the alarm.
-“Damn the Torpedos”:  Some birds go on the attack and will try to (and often succeed) in aggressively chasing the predator away.  Usually birds that do this can fly faster than the slower moving predator.
-“Leave Me Alone or I’ll Puke on You”:  Some birds like Turkey Vultures, gulls and herons will vomit when grabbed by a predator.
-“Let’s Gang Up On Him”:  “Mobbing” behavior is when a group of birds (usually various songbirds) gang up on a predator to chase it away.  This may be done to either actually chase the predator out of the area, or distract from young.
A Site About Long Island Birds & Birdwatching
Deer Cause Fewer Birds
(from Birder's World Magazine
June 2006)
Besides nest predation and deforestation, it is now believed that deer can also cause a decline in the number of forest-dwelling songbirds.  Studies in British Columbia have shown that the foraging of deer affects the populations of songbirds, hummingbirds and woodpeckers.  “The plant-eating mammals alter the mix of a forest’s understory vegetation and insects” and “birds that nest or forage in understory vegetation were hit the hardest”.
Feather Functions
(From Birder's World Magazine,
June 2006)
Feathers are beautiful and they allow for flying…
what else do they do?
-Conserve body heat: insulate body by trapping air.  Different seasonal molts adjust the amount of feathers.
-Regulate body temperature: not only the amount of feathers, but what they do with them; “fluffing” allows increases insulation in cold weather, “erecting” feathers allows escape of warm air against body during hot weather.
-Shielding body parts against “wind, moisture, dirt, insects, and air-borne pathogens…against ultraviolet radiation”.  Also protects ears, eyes, nostrils,
-Repelling water
-Flying
-Swimming & diving: some birds have short, stiff feathers allowing wing strokes through water to act as a propulsion system.
-Floating:  as well as insulation, the air trapped in the layers of feathers allows for buoyancy.  This buoyancy can be regulated by compressing or de-compressing the feathers and regulating the air in the layers.
-Snow-shoeing: winter feathering on birds like ptarmigans enlarges the foot area and reduces the amount the bird sinks into the snow.  Conserves energy & body heat.
-Toboganning:  some birds, like penguins, conserve energy and increase speed across land surfaces by sliding across the snow and ice on “closely overlapping belly feathers”.
-Bracing: tail feathers can be used as props on the ground or as support when climbing trees.  Creepers & woodpeckers have stiff, specially reinforced tail feathers for this purpose.
-Feeling: “though not equipped with nerves, many feathers serve as tactile organs”, aiding in sensing air currents to help control flight, sensing movement around them, detecting prey or obstacles.
-Hearing: feathers around the ear opening aid in “keeping dirt and insects out while allowing air and sound waves in” and “in diving birds, the feathers may keep out water”.  In some species the feathers around the ears are “often dense and appear to collect & reflect sound into the ear”.
-Making sounds: specially designed “sound-producing feathers” can produce “a variety of humming, drumming, whistling, or other sounds” used in various courtship or territorial displays.
-Muffling sounds: soft feathers can muffle flight sounds (as in owls).
-Foraging: various feather movements can aid in hunting and mouth bristles can help find food.
-Ensuring food supply: pollen transfer allows plants to reproduce thus ensuring a continued food source for the birds.
-Keeping clean: feathers that produce powder may keep parasites away and keep feathers dry, and a scarcity of feathers on the head of vultures can keep the head easy to clean.
-Aiding digestion:  some birds, like grebes, swallow feathers to help line the stomach and protects it from sharp fish bones.
-Constructing nests: feathers help insulate and cushion eggs in the nest.  Some birds find other birds’ feathers and some pluck their own feathers.
-Transporting water:  by soaking the belly feathers birds can then transport water back to the nest to cool themselves and their chicks, or to give the chicks a drink.
-Sending olfactory signals: feathers absorb odors from the skin and can give various signals to other animals or birds:  mate attraction, courtship, predator repellant.
-Eluding predators: shedding feathers from the tail, breast or rump can aid a bird in evading a predator.
-Sending visual signals: “coloration, patterns, and posture combine either to make a bird conspicuous or to conceal it”
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Bright Light Causes Early Mornings for Robins
(from Birder's World
June 2006)
We all know about the “dawn chorus” when most songbirds start singing at first light.  A study has been done to determine if artificial light also affects the singing behavior of birds.  Birds were studied in brightly lit areas like around the White House and it was discovered that “at places where artificial lighting is high, the first robins sang two to more than three hours before civil twilight, which is when sunlight clearly defines the horizon and bright stars remain visible”.  The brighter the artificial light, the earlier the singing.  “Future research may study whether earlier singing makes robins more vulnerable to predators or if extra waking hours increase foraging and mating opportunities.”
“Sun Singing”
(from Audubon Magazine
May/June 2006)
Researcher Karl Berg, after recording more than 100 hours of birdsong in Ecuador found that “those birds higher in trees and with larger eyes started singing before lower-level birds with smaller eyes.  Berg theorizes that predatory influences are the cause.  “Singing can be dangerous if you can’t see”, but when the morning light hits, it’s safe to start crooning.”
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