Author Archive | Larry Jordan

World Migratory Bird Day 2018

By Larry Jordan on May 11, 2018 in Birds, Conservation, In the News

International Migratory Bird Day

In 1993, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center created International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD). This educational campaign focused on the Western Hemisphere and celebrates its 25th year in 2018. Since 2007, IMBD has been coordinated by Environment for the Americas (EFTA), a non-profit organization that strives to connect people to bird conservation.

Broad-winged Hawk juvenile at Marin Headlands Hawkwatch during fall migration

In 2018, EFTA joins the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) to create a single, global bird conservation education campaign, World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD). WMBC celebrates and brings attention to one of the most important and spectacular events in the Americas – bird migration.

Important Bird Areas

Over the years, EFTA has made changes and improvements to International Migratory Bird Day. They developed the concept of a single conservation theme to help highlight one topic that is important to migratory bird conservation. Over the years, these educational campaigns have been integrated into numerous programs and events, focusing on topics including the habitats birds need to survive, birds and the ecosystem services they provide, the impacts of climate change on birds, and the laws, acts, and conventions that protect birds, such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Convention on Biodiversity.

The Pectoral Sandpiper migrates from South America to the Arctic, a total return-trip of more than 30,000 km

They also removed a specific date from the event. Once celebrated only on the second Saturday in May, they recognize that migratory birds leave and arrive at breeding and non-breeding states at different times, depending on many factors. They also stop at different sites across the Western Hemisphere to rest and refuel, providing opportunities to engage the public in learning about birds and their conservation. Today, they maintain traditional event dates on the second Saturday in May and the second Saturday in October, while encouraging organizations and groups to host their activities when migratory birds are present.

Nashville Warbler

Join us for a bird walk at Battle Creek State Wildlife Area and celebrate World Migratory Bird Day with Wintu Audubon!

Tree Swallows Return, It Must Be Spring

By Larry Jordan on May 5, 2018 in Birds

Whenever I see Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) I know that Spring is upon us. I have witnessed small groups of these gorgeous aerial acrobats twice, from an excellent vantage point, engage in what seems to be a courtship or pair bonding display. (Click on photos for full sized images)

Here you see, what appears to be an adult male clinging to a snag, being approached by a yearling female sporting the mostly brown plumage with a hint of greenish-blue.

This activity seems to be centered around the small hole in the snag which the male has been checking out, but is obviously too small for a nesting cavity.

The male assumes a rather vertical posture and the female comes toward him, both with mouths open

This is another encounter where it is difficult to determine the sex of these two birds but I believe the bird on the right is a female

They may make several passes at each other with their mouths open like this

And then actually connect with a mock feeding display

Of course this all takes place in the blink of an eye so I never really saw this mouth to mouth connection until I viewed these photos from the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge blind I took a few years ago.

I concluded that this must be pair bonding behavior, after all, Spring is in the air! Does anyone know for sure?

Here is another photo of this beautiful species.

Watching the Tree Swallow, or most any swallow, makes me wish I could fly myself, how about you?

Anna’s, Rufous and Calliope: Hummingbirds of the West

By Larry Jordan on April 14, 2018 in Birds

Here in Northern California I am fortunate to have at least three of the western hummingbirds of North America visiting my yard. The least common species of hummingbird I see here is the Calliope Hummingbird (Stellula calliope)(click on photos for full sized images).

The smallest of the North American hummingbirds at just 3 1/4 inches, and with wings extending beyond its short tail, the Calliope Hummingbird is usually distinguishable from its larger counterparts by size alone. This is a photo of a male Calliope Hummingbird on the feeder next to the much larger male Anna’s Hummingbird.

Because of its shorter wing length, the Calliope also has faster wingbeats, making it sound more like a bumble bee. This also sets it apart from the larger hummers.

The male also has a unique gorget among North American hummingbirds. His iridescent gorget is divided into separate magenta-red rays, which can be elevated in an elegant star-burst display against the white background of his throat. This photo by Wally Rufous is the best photo I have ever seen of this phenomenon!

Calliope Hummingbird Male Courtship Display courtesy Wally Rufous

This beauty is the female Calliope Hummingbird, she looks similar to the female Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) but she has dark and pale spots in front of her eye and a weak pale line over the base of her bill. She is the latest of our local breeders, not nesting usually until mid-May.

The female Rufous Hummingbird has more rufous in her flanks and often has a few patchy orange-red feathers on her throat. She will begin breeding in April.

The male is the only hummingbird in North America with a rufous back.

He also sports a brilliant orange-red gorget.

Enjoy this close-up look at this guy preening.

The most common hummingbird seen in my neck of the woods is Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna). The male is the only North American hummer with both a rose red crown and gorget.

The female is the earliest breeder of all these species, arriving on breeding grounds shortly after the males in November. Here you can see the female collecting nesting material.

The ability to take advantage of both nectar and insects allows Anna’s Hummingbirds to avoid competition from other hummingbirds by nesting in the winter. This is a photo of the female Anna’s Hummingbird in her nest.

The male Anna’s can be heard for quite a long way when performing his courtship display known as the “dive display” discussed in one of my previous posts.

If you haven’t seen a hover of hummingbirds around a feeder before, you may want to watch this video I filmed off my back porch. These little “jewels of the sky” are a blast to watch!

Osprey Nesting Platform Install

By Larry Jordan on March 26, 2018 in Birds

Osprey In Flight

The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) at Anderson River Park in Shasta County have been nesting atop a soccer field light stand for over 17 years. The problem is that they build the nest right on top of the field lights. This becomes an issue when, every four or five years the light bulbs need to be replaced and the nest can be destroyed in the process.

Osprey Nest

One of my wildlife rehabber friends had received a legacy gift and contacted me regarding the prospect of building a nesting platform to place at the top of the utility pole. This would allow the Osprey to safely nest above the bank of lights, thereby keeping their nest intact year after year, with no interference from the maintenance crew.

I, of course said, “what a great idea!” I found an excellent plan for the platform (shown below) from the International Osprey Foundation and built it in less than a day. It is a 40 x 40 inch box which I modified using all 2 x 6 inch pressure treated lumber.

Osprey Nesting Platform

Before building the platform I contacted the Anderson City Public Works department to discuss the possibility of actually putting up the platform and got the OK. We obviously wanted to get it up before the Osprey arrived and were able to install it on January 31st.

Osprey Platform Lift

This is an 86 foot utility pole so a lift was rented and the excellent workers from the City of Anderson Public Works department generously gave their time and expertise to the project.

Having never seen an Osprey nest close up, I asked one of the installers to take some photos of the nest before removing it and placing the nesting material in a bin to be put back into the new platform.

Osprey Nest

The shape of the Osprey nest changes during the breeding cycle. During incubation the nest is distinctly bowl-shaped. After hatching the nest flattens out, but a rim of sticks is maintained, sometimes by the young themselves, while the young are beginning to move clumsily about the nest. In the last weeks of the nestling phase, the nest often becomes completely flat¹. Note the large sticks and bark.

Osprey Nest

Here’s a shot of one of the installers placing the nesting material back into the newly installed nesting platform.

Osprey Nesting Material

About four weeks after the install I went back to the park to see if Osprey had shown up. I found one bird perched inside the platform!

Osprey In Nest

However, there were also a pair of very vocal Red-Shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatusin) in a nearby tree.

Red-shouldered Hawk Pair

Apparently they were interested, for whatever reason, in the nesting platform as well.

Red-shouldered Hawk

A week later when I returned, the platform was now occupied by a pair of Osprey!

Osprey Pair

I observed them for over an hour but never saw them bring in nesting material, although there is obviously new sticks in the nest. The Red-shouldered Hawks were still hanging around but this day, the Osprey pair were involved in mating and the hawks were vigorously chased away by the male Osprey.

Osprey Copulation

Osprey pairs copulate frequently, on average 160 times per clutch, but only 39% of these result in cloacal contact. Pairs average 59 successful copulations per clutch, starting 14 days before, and peaking a few days before, the start of egg-laying¹.

Osprey Copulation

Pairs copulate most often in early morning, at the same time as egg-laying¹.

Osprey Copulation

As I returned a couple of weeks later, the first thing I noticed is that there has been much more nesting material placed into the platform and the male was bringing in more and arranging the sticks.

Osprey Building Nest

After trimming and arranging these large, long sticks, the male Osprey took off and the female did some rearranging.

The male soon returned to a nearby utility pole on the opposite side of the soccer field with a rather large, what looks like a trout.

Osprey With Fish

He ate about half of the fish, starting at the head, before carrying the remaining portion back to the platform to share with his mate.

Osprey With Fish

References: ¹Birds of North America Online

New Bluebird Trail Goes Up In Redding

By Larry Jordan on March 21, 2018 in Birds, Conservation, In the News

Girl Scout Troop 70173

March 6th we were contacted by Heather McNeal, the leader of local Girl Scout Troop 71073, to help with creation of a new Western Bluebird Trail in the Redding area. Heather had already done the groundwork for the project and simply needed some help with the specifics of how to construct the nest boxes and where to place them. We were happy to help!

Girl Scouts Installing Bluebird Boxes

There are fifteen enthusiastic girls in troop 71073 and each girl, with a little help from some handy adults, put together fifteen quality nest boxes that were ready to install on Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17th.

When these girls found out that cavity nesting birds needed help, they were all in on putting up birdhouses on the Sacramento River Trail.

Girl Scouts Installing Bluebird Boxes

The troop did a great job installing the fifteen new nest boxes and will now begin monitoring the trail for nesting birds. We are excited about the addition of these birdhouses and the variety of species they will help. These nest boxes can be used by: