Movement in the Dakotas

I was checking the radar tonight to see if there was any movement ahead of the predicted warm up for the upper midwest this week and it doesn't look like much except in the Dakotas. It looks like there might be some significant movement tonight.

There are two big weather systems on either coast with the east coast really being affected. The next 2-3 days shoud be interesting as a high pressure system settles over the plains and brings highs in the 70's to the upper Mississippi River Valley by mid-week.



The other interesting spot is off the north coast of Cuba. It looks like a movement of migrants is making the jump from Cuba to the Florida peninsula and is being picked up by radar in Key West. There are storms over Florida so the migrants should make landfall shortly after reaching the southern tip of the mainland state.

Both of these images are from NOAA.

New Field Guide to the Birds of Europe

Princeton University Press has released a second edition of it's birds of Europe Field Guide. I haven't seen it personally but the few comments I've seen have been positive.

Following is the text from the Princeton website:

"Since it was first published a decade ago, Birds of Europe has become the definitive field guide to the diverse birdlife found in Europe. Now this superb guide has been brought fully up to date with revised text and maps along with added illustrations. Uniquely designed for easy use in the field, this expanded edition covers all 772 species found in the region as well as 32 introduced species or variants and 118 very rare visitors. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, voice, habitat, range, and size. More than 3,500 full-color illustrations depict every species and all major plumage variations, and color distribution maps provide breeding, wintering, and migration ranges for every species.

Complete with an introduction to each group of birds that addresses major problems of observation and identification, this new edition is the ultimate field guide to Europe's fascinating birdlife.

Expanded and fully updated
Covers all 772 species found in Europe, 32 introduced species or variants, and 118 very rare visitors
Features more than 3,500 color illustrations that depict every species
Includes detailed species accounts
Provides color distribution maps for every species
Color plates face text and maps for at-a-glance identification

Lars Svensson is one of Europe's foremost field ornithologists. Dan Zetterström and Killian Mullarney are two of Europe's leading bird artists."

A "Sweet" Banding Session

In spite of the fact that the previous week had been really nice, Saturday morning started sunny but cold. With enough volunteers present we decided to go ahead and use mist nets along with our Potter traps in order to catch as many birds as we could during our program. We had some nice birds like the above Downy Woodpecker.



We still have a number of Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows around and we were able to catch some of both. This handsome fellow should be headed back north soon. If the winds change this week he may be in Canada before next weekend.



Something you don't get to see unless you have a junco in the hand is the variation of the amount of white on the third rectrix. This seems to be one clue to help aging juncos. The more white on R4 the older the bird (R4 on the right is the feather on the outside). As always though, you have to use the entire set of characteristics to really come to a good conclusion.



One of the hazards of living in cold climates is that sometimes the cold can do some damage. A couple of the toes on this junco appear to have been damaged by frostbite this winter. How bad the damage is, is hard to say. The discoloration though is obvious.


While we were banding, the nature center was also doing a program on making maple syrup and was boiling down some sap right where we were releasing our banded birds.


The odor was great and made this a really sweet session. We didn't get any early migrants but we did see 2 Red-winged Blackbirds at the feeders that were banded so we know some of "our" birds are back.

Numbers for the day are:

Black-capped Chickadees - 7 (2 being recaptures)
American Tree Sparrows - 15
Dark-eyed Juncos - 7
Downy Woodpecker - 2 (1 recapture)
White-breasted Nuthatch - 5
Hairy Woodpecker - 1 (a recaptured female)

Total species = 6
Total individuals = 37

One More Photo

Any time a question comes up about the identification of an odd bird, the wealth of knowledge and insight that weighs in on the subject amazes me. There seems to be some doubt as to whether the bird in question is truly a hybrid and if it is, what the parent besides junco might be. The photo above gives a view of the back of the bird that may help further the mystery. The streaking on the back certainly looks sparrowish. I don't know if this changes anything but it is another piece to the puzzle. If you double click on any of the photos you should be able to view it enlarged which should help show detail.

I'm looking forward to our monthly banding session this Saturday and if the weather holds it could bring in some early migrants. I'll post results later.

Hybrid Junco/White-throated Sparrow?

A friend of mine, Ben Sandstrom, is down in Texas doing some bird survey work this winter and has sent me some pictures of a Junco that suggest it is a possible hybrid with a White-throated Sparrow. The pictures here show the bird from different angles and hopefully are enough to reveal possible explanations.



One of the things I've learned and appreciate is that there are a lot of people out there who know way more than I do and are willing to pass that knowledge along. Well, this is one of those times. Is this a hybrid?



Ben did do a bit of investigating and found references to SCJU/WTSP hybrids but it seems all those records are from the eastern U.S.



The whitish throat and white stripe over the eye are seen the best in this photo. If nothing else, this will keep us busy while we wait on those migrants to move in to our neck of the woods.

Tufted Titmouse / Chickadee Hybrid

I've followed the discussion on line of the hybrid Tufted Titmouse and Black capped Chickadee and people who know a whole lot more than I do have pointed out some details that appear to confirm this birds hybrid status.

The best visible clue is the sharp demarcation of white on the face with a darker cap above. Tufted Titmice would be expected to have the color all the way down across the cheek. There were some other comments on some more subtle markings but it looks like this is the real deal.

Here are some other comments:
Mark Stackhouse said:
"The dark area on the chin was one of the things that I was hoping to get some input from the observer - I'm having a hard time deciding if those are actually black feathers on the chin, or dark gray (something that may be within the normal variation). The definition and shape of the line between the cap and the cheek do suggest a chickadee."

Allen Chartier said:
"I too was wondering about the chin, but as a bander I see a lot of bird with white underparts that show dark bases to the feathers, and the absence of some throat feathers could create this effect. Or, staining from sap..."

Tony Leukering said:
"I didn't have any problem with Matt's ID on this bird, it seems an obvious hybrid to me, with only some of those reasons already pointed out in this venue. I'd add two more:

1) The placemenht of the eye relative to the dark of the crown is intermediate between the two species -- TUTI has the eye entirely surrounded by pale, while BCCH has more of the eye within the black of the crown;

2) The nasal tufts are brown, something that is variable in BCCH (brown or black) and, as far as I'm aware, invariant in TUTI (black)."


So with that pretty much put to bed the next post is going to be another hybrid puzzle. Stay tuned!

Is This Really a Hybrid?

I've copied a picture taken by Matt Farker of Bloomington, Illinois of a reported hybrid Black-capped Chickadee x Tufted Titmouse. Tom found this bird and has reported it to the Bird ID listserve as a rare hybrid.

To be honest, I'm having trouble seeing the characteristics that convince me of it's status as a hybrid. Admittedly I haven't looked in any references yet but I wouldn't have picked this bird out as unusual. Tufted Titmouse is not found commonly where I live but I do catch them once in a while when I'm in Wisconsin banding birds.

Here is a link to the original photos.

Any thoughts???

More Signs of Spring

After I posted the radar map showing what I think was an early migratory movement, I received a couple of comments that support that birds are starting to move in the south.

Mitch from near San Antonio, Texas said:

"We have had recently White-fronted Goose flocks
heading north at night. Cranes have been moving too,
but that is generally diurnally."

Catherine in Wichita, Kansas wrote:

"I just saw a Gray Catbird in Wichita, Kansas this morning. I
believe it's very early for that species to be here. Typical dates are
early May to late September, according to Thompson & Ely 'Birds in
Kansas, Vol. II.'"

I'm really starting to feel the onset of spring fever. I'm hearing reports from Wisconsin that Sandhill Cranes are showing up as are a few Killdeer here and there. The Mississippi River is opening up and Bald Eagles are beginning to head north. Horned Larks appear to be along the shoulder of many back roads around here and every morning the singing seems to get louder and louder.

On the other hand, I know that we haven't seen the last snow of the season yet and my son will still have to watch out for icy spots on the road as he bikes to school in the morning. However hope springs eternal and I know that before long I'll be sitting out in the woods, swatting mosquitoes and cursing the hot, humid summer days.

Radar Indication of Migration in the southern Great Plains

Thanks to the folks at University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (NCAP) I think we're starting to see some migration movement already in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.




This is the second night in a row that this return pattern has shown up in the same place. It could be waterfowl or something else. The color of the return seems to indicate that the numbers of birds moving might not be large. I saw the same image last night but hesitated to post because I've just never looked for migration this early in the spring but from posts on line it does sound like things are beginning to move around.

If you got to the National Weather Service and click on the button for a looping view of the national map, you can see the rings in the lower plains enlarging over time.

This is really going to help make my case of spring fever even worse!