Bird Cam: Take 2

I'm going to do a few more days of testing this thing. For some reason, it only took 6 pictures today. I moved it to a new area pointing at my feeders, but I think the sensitivity was set too low. Here are some pics from yesterday. This thing is FUN!

Viva New Mexico!

As the eloquent Homer Simpson once said, "There's a NEW Mexico?" Indeed there is and Beth and I will be there in late November. Our goal: Birds, scenery, wine, Mexican food, and other cool stuff. We'll be visiting Bosque del Apache NWR, Elephant Butte, Petroglyph National Monument, and, of course, the famed Sandia Crest. If you have any tips, must-see places (nature-related or otherwise), or anything else to say, please leave a comment.

BirdCam: Take 1

The folks over at Wingscapes were generous enough to send me a BirdCam to play with. It's real easy to set up and I had it going in no time. Here are a few sample shots for what I've gotten so far. I'll come back with a full review after I try it out for a few more days.

For now, I have it mounted on the ground to see what birds and other critters are hanging out down there. The spot I put it in is a bit dark, so I moved it tonight.

I got a bunch of squirrel pics!

The House Sparrow party is well-attended. They're on the perimeter and it's a bit dark. I got a few shots of these too.

I got a few nice Blue Jay shots, again a little dark due to how I positioned the camera.

Umm... who the heck is this? This was a bit of a shock. No clue who this kid is. We also had some pics of two other kids playing in the yard.

The camera has been fun to play with. The "unknown" factor of what you'll see is great. More to come this week!

Get those easy Rosy-finches while you can!

The Sandia Crest east of Albuquerque, New Mexico has been known as the best place in the US to see all three species of Rosy-finch. The feeders at the restaurant at the top of the mountain attract these species, and others, in winter. Thousands of birders have visited this location to add these beauties to their life lists.

Unfortunately, the future of this location is in jeopardy. The Crest House restaurant is up for sale. Hopefully, the new owners will be bird lovers and the site will remain as great as it is today. There is the chance that some large corporation will buy this and stick a TGIF's up there. This season could be your last chance to see these beautiful birds at these feeders.

"Winging It" and "I & The Bird #60"

If you're an ABA member, check out page 9 of the latest issue of "Winging It" for an article by yours truly! Special thanks to Rick Wright for picking out one of my blog posts to include in that great publication.

When you're done with that, head over to Search & Serendipity for a video-filled 60th edition of I & The Bird. David lived in Papua New Guinea for a while and he has some really cool posts elsewhere on his blog about that experience.

Selasphorus Hummingbirds in the East

In the east, more and more people have been leaving up their hummingbird feeders until late into the fall. Most of our regular Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have gone south, but there's always a chance of attracting a vagrant hummingbird from the west or from Mexico. A Calliope Hummingbird was seen in Cape May a few weeks ago. My buddy Adam from Virginia has a Selasphorus hummingbird visiting his feeder. Wait... a Selas-what?

Adam's mystery hummingbird

Selasphorus is the genus that includes Rufous Hummingbird, Allen's Hummingbird, and Broad-tailed Hummingbird in the US. According to Cornell, Rufous Hummingbird is most likely to be found as a vagrant in the eastern US. Allen's is less likely, but can appear. Broad-tailed is the least likely. The reason I didn't say that Adam had a Rufous or an Allen's is because the females and immatures of these two species are virtually identical. They are best identified in the hand or through some very detailed photographs. For some excellent case studies on identifying vagrant hummingbirds, check out this synopsis of vagrant hummingbirds in the NYC metro area.

Adam's hummingbird was identified tentatively as a female Rufous. It actually has a band on its leg, but he hasn't been able to read it yet. Banders are scheduled to come on 11/3. I'll keep you all updated!

Hawk Trapped in Park Bench

You may have caught this story on "Good Morning America" yesterday. A Red-tailed Hawk got its leg stuck in between the slats of a park bench. There's video and photos with the story.

Blog Action Day! 5 Less-Common Things You Can Do

As you may or may not know, today is Blog Action Day in honor of environmental issues. As a collective blogosphere, we may not be able to solve global warming or some other environmental problem, we do have the opportunity to educate people. One of my biggest reservations about blogging is that I sometimes feel like I'm "preaching to the converted." 90% of the time I probably am, but for that other 10% or for that person that stumbles across my blog through a web search, I hope that those people can walk away learning something. Recycling, hybrid cars, and global warming have gotten enough press and I'm sure topics like that will be talked about ad nauseum for Blog Action Day. So, for Blog Action Day, I decided to post a list 5 easy and less-common things one can do to help the environment. So here's my list:

1. Learn the common invasive plants in your yard and remove them. Start with Garlic Mustard, Ailanthus (AKA Tree of Heaven), Japanese Barberry, Japanese Knotweed, and Spotted Knapweed. Tell a neighbor.

2. Learn the names of 10 birds and share them with someone, especially a child. You never know what interest it might spark. I'll get you started with the most common in the northeast US: American Robin, European Starling, Mourning Dove, House Sparrow, House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee. That's more than halfway there! Here's an excellent resource for learning birds.

3. Consider the coffee you're drinking or, at least, the way you prepare and drink it. Start here. Serve some shade grown coffee at your next party!

4. Don't use bug zappers. Studies have shown that out of 10,000 insects killed over the course of one summer, only a few dozen were actually mosquitos or other biting insects. Use citronella or another natural repellent.

5. Let it grow! Pick a small area of your lawn and just let it go. Don't mow it. Resist the urge. In a short time, it will welcome insects, wildflowers, birds, toads, and many other interesting things. Be sure to keep down those invasives though as per #1.