Hoary Redpoll? Opinions Needed

We did some banding at Carver Park on Saturday and had an explosion of Redpolls. Of the 50 birds we caught, 24 were Common Redpolls and one appears to be a Hoary Redpoll. All of these photos show the bird we believe is a Hoary, in the hand and from different angles. I'm hoping some of you readers might have a comment or two on whether you believe this is a Hoary.



We measured the bill and it did fall in the range of measurements for Hoary Redpoll.




The overall lightness of the bird set it apart from all the others we were banding.




The rump, while light and faintly streaked still did show some streaking.



The undertail coverts were very white wih some of the longer ones showing just a hint of a faint streak.



Taking into consideration all the characteristics we saw, we did call this a Hoary Redpoll. If anyone has any insights that will help confirm or deny this ID please let me know.

No matter what, it was a pretty cool day when the banders got to handle so many visitors from up north. Now if we could only get a net into a spruce tree so I can get my hands on a White-winged Crossbill....

More Meetings of Interest to Birders

I have become aware of some more meetings that will be of interest to birders, especially with the approach of spring and the time of heavy duty field work. A sincere thank you to all those who have sent me messages about their upcoming gatherings.

The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Waterbird Society
4-7 November 2009
Cape May, New Jersey
Hosted by the New Jersey Audubon Society

The Eastern Bird Banding Association 86th Annual Meeting
March 27-29, 2009
Chincoteague, Virginia

47th Annual Meeting New Mexico Ornithological Society
25 April 2009
Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, NM

Not necessarily a birders meeting but certainly pertaining to birds:

International Symposium on Urban Wildlife and the Environment
21-24 July 2009
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Upcoming Bird Festivals:

Midwest Birding Symposium
Sept. 17-20, 2009
Lakeside, Ohio

12th Annual Festival of Birds
May 14-17, 2009
Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

New River Birding and Nature Festival
April 27- May 2, 2009
New River National River, West Virginia

Roger Tory Peterson Birding Festival
June 4-7, 2009
Jamestown, New York

13th Annual Great Texas Birding Classic
April 26 - May 3, 2009
Sponsored by the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory

12th Annual Horicon Marsh Bird Festival
May 8-11, 2009
Horicon, WI

Henderson Hummingbird Hurrah
Henderson, MN
August 28th- 31st, 2009

This is the time of year we all get the itch to be out birding every possible moment. Here in Minnesota we've had a regression back to winter after being teased by some warm days with lots of snow melt. This Saturday we will be banding at Carver Park Reserve for our regular monthly session. It looks like it will be too cold for nets so our species variety will be limited to feeder birds. It could be a busy day if we get the snow that is predicted for Friday night. Wish us luck!

It's Been a Long Week

I have been battling a horrific head cold this past week and haven't been able to do much but stare blankly through watery eyes. My family didn't really notice the difference until I didn't go to work. The silver lining in all this is that I did get a lot of time watching my feeders. I was very excited to see Common Redpolls at my thistle feeder regularly all week. They aren't here in huge numbers, but this is the first time I've ever seen them here.



One of the signs of spring that I love to see is the changing of American Goldfinches into their summer plumage ("alternate" plumage to banders). In the next few weeks these birds will start to look pretty ragged.




I did go out to chase the Varied Thrush that is being seen not too far north of the state fairgrounds in St. Paul. I sat at the location for over an hour and saw some nice birds but alas, no thrush.




To be honest, when you can't get out to bird even the House Sparrows that come to the feeders can be a source of entertainment.

Upcoming Meetings for Ornithologists and Others

The most recent Ornithological Newsletter has listed the following meetings that may be of interest to professional ornithologists and/or birders who have an interest in specific groups of birds or regions of the world. Contact links are provided when available:

One of my favorite regional meetings has always been the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology Spring meeting. This year is special because it is the 70th meeting and is taking place in NW Wisconsin, my old stomping grounds -

The Wisconsin Society for Ornithology 70th Annual Meeting
May 21-24, 2009
Siren, Wisconsin

Bird Education and Conservation Conference
The Council of Environmental Education (CEE),Flying Wild, and the Bird Education Network (BEN)
Feb 22-26, 2009
Jekyll Island Club Hotel
Georgia

2009 Annual Meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Society and the Association of Field Ornithologists
April 8-12
Pittsburgh, PA

79th Annual Meeting of the Cooper Ornithological Society
April 16-18
Doubletree Hotel at Reid Park
Tucson, AZ


The American Ornithologists Union 127th Stated Meeting
Aug. 12-15, 2009
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

For those of you with an international interest -

25th International Ornithological Congress 2010
August 22-28, 2010
Campos do Jordao, Brazil

Birds Saving Forests

We often think about the relationship of birds to forest being more in one direction than the other, if the forest disappears so will the birds associated with that forest (think Golden-winged Warbler and Wood Thrush). New looks at that relationship suggest the forests may be as dependent on the birds as vice versa. A nice synopsis is found in a recent article on-line at Live Science.

Locally, we had a nice warm-up over the weekend and lost a lot of the snowcover that we had. The bird feeders were active at my house but from reports around the state it looks like things might be starting to change as the days get longer. Up north, Great Gray Owls are not being seen as much as in the last month or so and the early movers such as Horned Larks will be starting their northward migration as the daylight length gets longer. This month alone we will gain 1 hour and 17 minutes of additional daylight. Finally, it looks like we have a Great Horned Owl sitting on a nest already. I know they have been actively calling around my house for the last 3-4 weeks.

Now, out to look for those rumored White-winged Crossbills.