Thursday - May 2, 2024 - Happy Birthday Chicago Bob!

[howard lee]

Yes, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, we would like to wish you a very happy return of the day of your nativity.

"Hello, Bob?"

Have a good day, folks.

[Cornflake]

Good morning, folks. Happy birthday, Bob. We met at my first Ijam, many moons ago.

I'll have my social Zoom breakfast at 8:00 and lunch with an old friend at 11:30. Enjoy your day.

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[Marshall]

I’ll have to give him a call. I talked to him about Jan or Feb, and he was going to get married around now.

[Cosmic Wonder]

Happy birthday Bob.

I’m up, wife is still snoozing. I’m sore this morning be cause I took a tumble in a gas station in Sacramento yesterday when I didn’t see a curb and stepped off it. Getting old and making mistakes., kind of pitiful. Anyway, my kee is sore and my shoulder. Just popped some Tylenol. Getting old is embarrassing. Time to stumble across the parking lot of the Inn and find some coffee. Should be home in Newberg today by 3-4.

Mike
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[epaul]

Really, nothing else will do...

Happy Birthday, Bob!

[millring]

I really enjoy having Merlin along on my walks in the woods, but I'm skeptical that in the span of 200 yards I really heard Chestnut-sided, Nashville, Tennessee, and Cape May warblers. I'm guessing the most common to Indiana has a call that sounds like the other three. But maybe not. Maybe Indiana is the warbler melting pot of the bird world.

On my route I have a customer who owns both and English and a French bulldog. I wonder how the dogs communicate with each other? Does the Frenchy bark English or the other way around?

[Marty]

Good morning.

48F-56F rain.

Down to the shop. No need to go anywhere.

Happy Birthday Chicago Bob.

[drlj]

Clumsy day so far. I have broken two items due to wheelchair collisions. That’s depressing.

And it’s raining again.

Mike, the rule to remember about falling is DON’T!
Hope the soreness goes away quickly.

[Village Idiot]

Sorry to hear about the fall, Mike. Ouch.

Happy birthday, Chicago Bob! Of course you'll make it a good one.

It's been raining steadily since I woke me up when it was still good and dark outside, and hasn' lessened up yet. We need this.

[kenlarsson]

May 2, 2024 8:53:22 GMT -5 millring said:

I really enjoy having Merlin along on my walks in the woods, but I'm skeptical that in the span of 200 yards I really heard Chestnut-sided, Nashville, Tennessee, and Cape May warblers. I'm guessing the most common to Indiana has a call that sounds like the other three. But maybe not. Maybe Indiana is the warbler melting pot of the bird world.

Good morning. Back from a morning mountain bike ride at the Weeki Wachi preserve. I'm at a nice level of tiredness so it must have been a good ride. :-

It's the height of spring migration so it's highly likely Merlin was correct in it's id's. We were able to positively id 10 warbler species at our Fort Desoto outing and there were many more species, but some were just too shy and quick for a positive id.

I've got some shopping to do, and the Hernando Audubon chapter is having our annual picnic this evening. Have a great day Soundholians!

[millring]

I haven't been following Stephen's online classes closely. I click on the occasional image the makes me curious. As part of his teaching he is always discussing the most admired and famous portrait artists. I guess he occasionally demonstrates or dissects the original in a way that helps him describe the process. I thought this was interesting:

[millring]

May 2, 2024 9:59:28 GMT -5 kenlarsson said:

It's the height of spring migration so it's highly likely Merlin was correct in it's id's. We were able to positively id 10 warbler species at our Fort Desoto outing and there many more species but some were just too shy and quick for a positive id.

I just had a potter friend from MN confirm the same thing. She provided these interesting links:
birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migration-maps/
dashboard.birdcast.info/region/US-MN-025

[billhammond]

May 2, 2024 9:59:28 GMT -5 kenlarsson said:

It's the height of spring migration so it's highly likely Merlin was correct in it's id's. We were able to positively id 10 warbler species at our Fort Desoto outing and there many more species but some were just too shy and quick for a positive id.

I've got some shopping to do, and the Hernando Audubon chapter is having out annual picnic this evening. Have a great day Soundholians!

As it turns out, I just edited an interesting birding column. An excerpt:

By Val Cunningham 
Special to the Star Tribune

You enjoy watching birds, right? And you like a challenge?

Here’s a fun way to combine both: Gather up a few friends and go birding sometime during the Memorial Day weekend (May 25-27). But — and here’s the challenging part — you’ll only be counting female birds.

That’s right, doing a Female Bird Day means no bright-red male cardinals, no green-headed mallards, no blue-blue bluebirds. You’ll be looking for the usually more subtle, less obvious members of each species, and I guarantee this will make it harder to get a high count for your time in the field (or at the window).

What’s the point? Realization is growing that female birds are “the most overlooked birds in North America,” as one researcher puts it. To spotlight female birds, a group of staffers at the national Audubon Society created the Galbatross Project (gal + albatross). Anyone can join this fun event with a serious side: It’s designed to help point out the fact that ornithology has been focused on male birds, leaving out females almost entirely. This bias shows up in field research, bird conservation, field guides, bird watching, bird photography, the whole gamut.

Advocating for female birds isn’t some kind of misapplication of feminism to the bird world. Instead, it recognizes that we know very little about female birds’ lifestyles and specific needs, and such ignorance can have profound effects on a species, especially in the conservation area. Example: Golden-winged warbler females tend to live at lower elevations during winter than males do. If field researchers study only birds at higher elevations, they may conclude that the species is doing fine. But in fact, the areas females inhabit tend to be heavily logged, leading to a decline in the female population, and should be factored into conservation plans for this at-risk species.

[millring]

I've heard (and googling seems to confirm it) that female red wing black birds flock (seasonally) by the thousands while males don't flock at all.

[billhammond]

May 2, 2024 10:26:59 GMT -5 millring said:

I've heard (and googling seems to confirm it) that female red wing black birds flock (seasonally) by the thousands while males don't flock at all.

Among the photos we're using with this column is one of a female RWB -- looks like a bigger than normal sparrow, no color at all.

[Dub]

Wishing Chicago Bob a very happy birthday.

The resta youse guys, well…

[kenlarsson]

Red winged blackbirds



Painted buntings



Bluebirds

Fyi, the birds who look identical male/female id each other by smell.......

[Cornflake]

I've read that the elegant trogon is the bird most sought after by Arizona bird people. There are just a few habitats they frequent. Beautiful bird. (Not my photo.)

[epaul]

May 2, 2024 10:26:59 GMT -5 millring said:

I've heard (and googling seems to confirm it) that female red wing black birds flock (seasonally) by the thousands while males don't flock at all.

They both (M&F) flock seasonally for migrations, but they don't flock together or at the same time. Once arrived in the Spring, they nest as a colony. A couple shotgun blasts into slough will send a cloud of blackbirds skyward, males and females, in large circling mass.

(it isn't uncommon for migrating males to arrive ahead of the females to stake out their territories (and pick up their dirty socks and empty pizza boxes in case they get lucky).

[Rob Hanesworth]

The female birds that flock are called motherflockers.