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Ibis Parade
At once grotesque and stunningly beautiful, the ibis was venerated by the ancient Egyptians because of its association with the Nile River, the source and protector of life. A hieroglyph in the form of an ibis represented Thoth, one of the most important gods, mediator of good and evil, creator of the 365 day calendar and inventor of the hieroglyph method of writing. Florida folklore regards the ibis (mascot of the University of Miami)  as a bit more humble a hero, the last creature to take shelter before a hurricane and the first to reappear afterward. 

A Playful Shrike
Between rain showers, I noted a Loggerhead Shrike on the back patio, hopping along and carrying a dead leaf from one of our Travelers Palms. It almost seemed to be playing with it, as it positioned it like a flag and carried it about for several minutes. Since the behaviors of wild creatures usually carry some survival value, I observed the shrike more closely to see if there was some purpose. I photographed it through the patio windows, so the quality of the shots is sub-par.

FLASH: Wildlife Have Disappeared from ANWR
The Fox News story is sad indeed, as one of our own elected representatives plans to make a visit to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) this weekend, as he is skeptical that any wildlife even live in that "barren" land. House Minoriy Leader John Boehner explains the reason for his visit: "But I understand there's none there. But I'm still going to look for it. If I find any, I'll let you know."

Fall Migration– Already!
Even before the short New Mexico summer relinquishes its hold, we welcome the first signs of autumn. Around July 4th, adult male Rufous Hummingbirds arrive at our feeders, and descend into Albuquerque during the next week . The females, abandoned by their mates, are still busy tending to their nestlings up in the far Northwest. Usually, we hear the little “Rufies” before we even see them. Unlike the cheerful cricket-like chirp created by the wings of resident Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, the sound of Rufous wings suggests a monstrous, angry bumblebee.The aggressive behavior of these little golden brown visitors matches the intrusive buzz of their wings. No hummer of any species who dares feed within its sight is safe from attack.

Fire Restrictions Lifted
Trails are open! Cibola National Forest officials will end Fire Restrictions for the Sandia, Mountainair, Magdalena and Mt. Taylor Ranger Districts effective Friday, July 11th at 8 a.m. Fire danger has decreased due to moisture and higher humidity over much of the Forest. Although restrictions are lifted, visitors are reminded to be careful with their campfires and/or the use of chainsaws.

Florida Lawn Ornaments
As you can tell from today’s photos, we are back in South Florida after a fun month in Illinois. A Bald Eagle flew low over our patio this morning, but was gone before I could retrieve my camera.  Happily, our lake has risen several inches, covering the shoals that had been exposed. Higher water levels are a safeguard against intrusion of salt water into the aquifer. Before we left Florida early last month, we discovered the likely nesting sites of the Least Terns that had been courting and fishing on our lake. It appears to be the flat roof of an elementary school a few blocks to our northeast. We saw at least two pairs hovering over the school and calling loudly. Today we saw a youngster following after its parent, begging for a fish.

Nature Discovery at Spring Bluff Nursery
Our granddaughter attended a nature discovery program at Spring Bluff Nursery, Sugar Grove, IL. We accompanied her there today. Of course, the flowers were beautiful. The Blanketflowers reminded us of New Mexico, where they sometimes covered the fields: The children were shown a Hyalophora cecropia (Cecropia Moth) that had just emerged from its cocoon. The Cecropia is also known as the Robin Moth because of its red body and large size. With a wingspan of 5 to 6 inches, it is said to be the largest North American moth.

Summer at Hawk’s Bluff Park, Batavia, IL
Here in Chicagoland, the birds have settled into the nesting season. At Nelson Lake in Batavia, a Sedge Wren, presumably the same one that I photographed a couple of weeks back, has shifted its singing perch from the south to the north side of the grass trail that leads to the east viewing platform. For some reason, a large area has been mowed and a couple dozen trees have been planted right in part of the regenerating prairie! The purpose of adding to the (already expansive) tree cover at the expense of long grass escapes me. At any rate, the bird now has a territory that hopefully will not be disturbed during nesting season. This time I remembered to turn on the image stabilizer on my 300 mm lens, and got a much sharper image.

Bark Beetles, Three-toes and Fire
Earlier this year, New Mexico water managers expected the biggest runoff in nearly thirty years. Yet, this spring brought hot and dry winds that dessicated the forest vegetation. The Manzano Mountains just to the south of the Sandias, suffered a major fire. Dead and dying trees, and the beetles that feed upon them, are also favorable to woodpeckers. American Three-toed Woodpeckers specialize in stripping the bark of weakened trees to get at the plump beetle larvae. Three-toes were absent from the Sandias for over ten years, but a pair appeared near Sandia Crest in 2005. They have been seen intermittently every year and have produced at least one brood. Last week they were reported again by Celestyn Brozek, an expert Albuquerque birder.

Short-billed Marsh Wren
At the edge of Troy Meadows, New Jersey, in 1951, after I had been birding for about three years, I saw my first Sedge Wren. It was the 162nd species on my life list. At that time it was called the "Short-billed Marsh Wren" to distinguish it from Its longer-billed relative, which I had identified as life bird #96 during the previous year. My first "Long-billed Marsh Wren" (now simply called Marsh Wren) was in "The Meadows" along Berry's Creek and the Hackensack River, later to be distinguished as "The Meadowlands," home to the NY Giant's Stadium.

Dicksissels at Dawn and Two Lifers
Walking leisurely and enjoying the wild flowers, we reached the south loop of the trail. Here, the character of the vegetation changed somewhat. It appeared not to have been burnt or mowed as recently as the other fields. Scattered amid the tall grass were scraggled woody shrubs, about 3 or 4 feet high. Henslow's Sparrows are said to favor a certain stage of prairie succession after fire or disturbance, and our hopes rose. Sure enough, we heard the regular, two-note chirping "ch-lip!" of a Henslow's. It was quite loud-- I expected it to be barely audible-- but it was also very difficult to localize. At one point, I thought the bird was in front of me at my feet, and then realized it was behind me!

Nelson Lake Grasshopper Sparrow
We are now back at our second home in Illinois, and this morning had a chance to visit our favorite patch, Nelson Lake/Dick Young Forest Preserve, Kane County, Batavia. We were seeking the Henslow's Sparrow, Dicksissels and Bobolinks that were reported there the day before yesterday, but saw "none of the above." Cool winds and the threat of rain shortened our visit. A Grasshopper Sparrow gave us good views, reminiscent of Mary Lou's 500th life bird described last March in this post. We heard one singing quite close by, but could not find it. Then, one appeared suddenly, on the asphalt track that runs into the Preserve from the northern entrance.

Bald Eagle Nest
Early this past December, I photographed two Bald Eagles courting and copulating at our lake. Within the next 2 weeks they were seen carrying nesting materials to a wooded area near a busy intersection not far away. Despite searching the area, we were not able to find the nest until a neighbor finally located it on April 20. The observer stated: "I didn't want to linger around and draw attention to the nest but I did notice an eagle flying overhead. It was flying high and it appeared mottled like a juvenile. I really hope this property is not slated for development but I suppose it is only a matter of time."

Not a Chameleon
As a kid in the mid-1940s, I was fascinated by the idea of having a "chameleon" as a pet. My desire began when I read an enticing advertisement in a well-worn Johnson Smith Catalog. Among the ads for novelties, magic tricks, fake mustaches, midget Bibles and miracle cures, were those for two exotic pets. The first was for horned toads, "Most interesting pets-- amusement by the hour," for 25 cents each, "By Mail, Postpaid. Safe Live Delivery Guaranteed." According to the ad, "The horned toad can live for a very long time. Just how long, nobody seems to know." The second, for "Chameleons" also 25 cents each, really captured my imagination.

Night Vision
These photos were taken at a wildlife drinker by remote cameras in Coyote Canyon, south of Albuquerque on the west side of the Manzanita Mountains, a testing area for Sandia National Laboratories. They were originally e-mailed by an employee of Sandia Labs, are copyrighted by the owner and reproduced here for educational purposes. Note dates and times of the photos. This one shows not just one, but two mountain lions. My guess is that one of them is a female and the other is her year old cub, as adults avoid each other except, briefly, during the mating season, which is usually in the winter.

Mockingbirds and Muscovies
We arrived home from Illinois to Florida to find that Northern Mockingbirds were rearing three chicks in an ornamental planting just outside our front porch and next to our garage door.

This is the third year that the birds have built a nest in almost the same spot (the small opening at about 9 o’clock in the upper globe of the topiary, with a bit of straw protruding. It wisely faces to the north).

Spring Is So Fleeting
An astronomer defines spring rather precisely. In the Northern Hemisphere, spring begins with the vernal equinox, usually March 21, and ends with the summer solstice, usually June 21. In South Florida, spring, as defined by the appearance of flowers on the trees, starts creeping up around early February, and ends with the rains of June and July. Ask a birder when spring migration begins, and you will get many answers, depending on where the birder lives and her particular interests. In temperate areas, raptors begin arriving in early March. Flocks of swallows may be seen in April. When I visited the Arctic tundra during the first week of June, many shorebirds were just arriving on their nesting grounds. To me, here in Illinois, as in my childhood home of New Jersey, spring means the time of arrival of flocks of warblers.

Key West Migration Radar Sequence
From my perch here in Illinois, I thought I would check out the migration from Cuba, as west to west-southwest winds and clear skies back home in Florida suggested that there might be some action. Lacking David’s technical abilities, the best I could do was to pluck a few radar loops from sunset until bedtime. The one hour Central Time differential allowed me to peer into the early morning hours without disturbing my sleep cycle. These five consecutive loops of about an hour each, were captured at hourly intervals, beginning at about at about 9:00 PM EDT. The midnight loop is repeated with enhanced imagery to show relative headings of the flocks.

Lippold Park Scarlet Tanager
A little ways down the bike trail, at about the same spot where we saw the Cape May Warbler a couple of days ago, we heard the distinctive song of a Scarlet Tanager. To my ear it sounds like a Robin with a sore throat. Since Mary Lou started birding only a few years ago, I have shared most of her new bird sightings. I find this almost as thrilling as when I first saw the same birds, many of them in my childhood. Just as I can remember many of my first sightings, her new "finds" also stand out in my memory.

Cape May Warbler in Lippold Park
The weather forecast was very promising, so Mary Lou and I headed out early to Lippold Park, located on the east bank of the Fox River in Batavia, Illinois. We hoped to see warblers, and we were not disappointed. In addition to those pictured here, other brightly-colored birds we also saw included Chestnut-sided, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) and Blue-winged Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Northern Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles. A Cape May Warbler was our most exciting find, as neither of us had ever seen a spring male. Although it is named after a place in New Jersey (where the first specimen was collected), they are actually very rarely seen there. No surprise that I missed seeing one, despite growing up in North Jersey.

Migration in Progress
Once again, the Key West radar shows a nice flight from Cuba. This one-hour loop was downloaded at about 11:30 PM this evening (Monday). In a few days some of these birds may join us in Illinois.

A New Birding Companion
A reunion with 20 members of our Illinois family this past weekend, and preparations for a Cinco de Mayo party that our daughter's family plans to host this coming Sunday have occupied much of our time. Happily, there is a new city park, only four or five doors away from their home in Batavia. It hugs the bank of Mill Creek, just a few hundred yards west of Randall Road, a busy thoroughfare. It opened a few months ago, and is a nice example of the many natural areas that are preserved by local and county governments in Illinois. Some neighbors who enjoyed fishing in Mill Creek feared that the park would disrupt the surrounding woodlands and degrade its waters. Time will tell whether these fears were warranted.

A Dumb Question About Deaf Birds

The natural world is so full of questions. Before I retired, I traveled a great deal and spent lots of time at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. One day I noticed that European Starlings were feeding nestlings, whose heads popped out of nests located in crevices located where the jetways connected to the airport terminal's walls. It seemed odd that the birds were exhibiting normal behavior in such a noise-filled environment. All the humans who worked in that area were wearing hearing protection. Yet these birds, of a species that is particularly vocal, seemed not to be suffering in the least. Surely, their sensitive ears must have been severely damaged by all those decibels.

Rosy-Finches of Sandia Crest
Back on December 7, 1999, Mary Lou and I saw our first rosy-finch up there, in the parking lot of the Crest House at 10,678 feet. Then, they were considered "rare but regular" winter visitors to the Sandia Mountains. We had previously chased after them several times after seeing reports on the Internet, but had not succeeded in finding them until that snowy day. Since they had been attracted by bread crusts thrown away by some workers, we decided to return and scatter seed. It worked, and we kept putting out seed in the parking lot, and the birds have been visiting reliably every day of every winter since then. Usually, all three species and both the Interior and Hepburns race of the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch have been there together.

Nelson Lake Morning Walk
On our first chance to get out birding since our arrival in Illinois this past weekend, we got out early to Nelson Lake Marsh (Dick Young Forest Preserve) in Batavia, Kane County. We had not been there since last November, when we returned to Florida for the winter. We rolled our socks over our trouser legs (we heard there were ticks galore) and welcomed the temperate climate.

Warblers Arriving in South Florida
From our perch in Chicagoland we can enjoy the many reports of arriving warblers in South Florida, and hope that when we are finally able to get out in the field, they will have made it to our neighborhood. This is the Key West radar as we are turning in fot the night, which is just after midnight Florida time. At this hour, the flights from Cuba and the Keys are less dramatic than a couple of nights ago, but certainly worth watching.

Migrants Burst out of Cuba
Pretty much on schedule, the winds shifted to the southeast last night, bringing about much more favorable conditions for migrants venturing across the Florida Straits. I checked at bedtime, and found a "teaser" image. While the one-hour loop provides little but a glimpse of the big picture of neotropical migration, the fluid motion from the quick refresh rate lends a dramatic touch.

Wind and Waves
The lake is most interesting when the wind is still, when it is easy to see the bass splash to capture insects on the surface, or groups of small fish jump out of the water in unison, porpoise-like, to escape an underwater predator. The lake reveals quite a bit about the weather: wind shadows, wave intensity and direction. It signals sudden downbursts from thunderstorms and shifting winds.

Tree Tops Park
Yesterday morning, the air was crisp and cool after the passage of a second cold front the night before. As it turned out, the temperature never rose above a bone-chilling 69 degrees, a record low for April 15th. Mary Lou and I had some business to conduct in Fort Lauderdale, so we arranged our route to include a visit to Tree Tops Park in Davie. We had not been to Tree Tops Park since just after Hurricane Wilma, when we found the area closed to visitors because of many felled trees and branches.

A Bird Killer Towers Ominously
On this morning's walk, we checked on the progress of the construction of a communications tower that is going up. About a mile to our east, and about 150 feet high, it already casts its reflection on our lake, and promises to loom much higher. As birders, we have additional cause for some concern.

Loxahatchee NWR Birds on Radar
This morning, on Miami Radar, I was able to capture a better-defined ring of birds exiting the general vicinity of Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge at about  7:00 AM. Another large flock is seen flying from Water Conservation Area  3 (WCA-3)  west of Fort Lauderdale. There is suggestion of an expanding ring here as well, but the bulk of this flock is progressing to the southwest, ahead of the advancing line of thunderstorms.

Two “Donuts” and a Morning Walk
Miami Radar this morning showed two “donuts.” The first, rather small, appears NW of Fort Lauderdale in the 6:59 AM frame, and is located on or near Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Palm County. The other, a larger and more distinct burst shows up best in the final frame and is 25 miles SW of Fort Lauderdale, in the same location as the one we captured and posted on March 31. David LaPluma (BADBIRDZ) believes these represent the departure of flocks of wading birds or blackbirds from concentrated roosts in wetlands.

Key West Migration Explosion
This one hour Key West radar loop, from about 8:45 PM this evening, looks very promising, with a VERY LARGE exodus of migrants from Cuba and the Keys. Be sure to check BADBIRDZ to see where they may be stopping for the day!

Spring Snowfall on the Sandias
It takes about 55 to 60 minutes to drive the 40 miles from the Albuquerque airport to Sandia Crest. Half is on I-40 at 65-70 mph; about 6 miles on NM 14 at 35 mph or so, and the last 13 miles is on the Crest Road, which takes about 25 minutes under good weather conditions.
Visitors to Albuquerque planning to see the rosy-finches sometimes confuse Sandia Peak with Sandia Crest.

Rosy-Finch Epilogue
Update on the Rosy-Finches of Sandia Crest, New Mexico.  The flag has stopped waving. Although individuals or a few finches have been seen since April 4th, there have been no appreciable flocks. One Black Rosy-Finch was coming in for seed on April 8.  Feeders and sighting logs were removed April 9th.

Poisonous Eggplant and “Sweetheart”
When I think of Grandma “Sweetheart,” I am reminded of her oilcloth kitchen table and her shelves stocked with Mason jars full of homemade jelly, relishes, vegetables and other preserves. There was a grape arbor out back with a bird house for “Jenny Wren” atop it, and her backyard had neat rows of tomatoes, eggplants, corn, peas, beans, lettuce, radishes and squash. There were also clumps of rhubarb and horseradish, a big sour cherry tree and two peach trees. All of it fit on their 1/3 acre plot.

Fear and the Fence
Fear again rules in the Rio Grande Valley. Many of you birders have visited this marvelous place, where the populations and delicate ecosystems of Mexico and Norteamérica merge, where cows, deer and rabbits from both sides of the river casually sip the waters of Rio Bravo. This past week, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that, under legal mandate and as authorized by waivers that bypass federal environmental reviews, he will push forward to complete 370 miles of fence, and "thousand of acres along the Rio Grande will be ceded to the Mexican side of the fence."

Fern Forest Nature Center
Yesterday, we briefly visited Fern Forest Nature Center in Pompano Beach. The Center includes over 250 acres of Hardwood Hammock, Maple Cypress Wetland, Prairie area, and a Slash Pine - Cabbage Palm habitat. There are several miles of trails, including about a mile of boardwalks and an observation platform.

Rosy-Finches Still Flocking
We took the flag down a bit too soon– It should still be waving, as it signals that flocks of rosy-finches, though much smaller, were still visiting the feeders at the Crest House on April 2. As Fran Lusso and Dave Weaver report, they will keep the feeders up another week and again try to pinpoint the date that flocks depart. As in past years, we can expect a few stragglers to persist even longer.

New Bird Species Discovered on New Mexico Mountain
On this winter’s last day of banding rosy-finches at Sandia Crest, the team trapped a bird that had features of several different species. It was finch-like, but definitely not a rosy-finch, although it flocked together with them. It had a distinctive two-syllable call, sounding somewhat like a Killdeer. The banders took numerous photos and even blood and feather samples for DNA analysis, then released it back into the wild

Migration Radar “Donut” Echo
Most remarkable was something that looked like an expanding donut, with its center about 25 miles southwest of Fort Lauderdale. It exploded outward and westward from the northeastern corner of the Everglades Water Conservation Area (WCA-3) impoundment that is west of Okeechobee Highway (US-27) and south of Aliigator Alley (I-75). This is what the “donut” looked like:

Pembroke Pines wetland walk
This morning, on our way to return a movie to the library, we stopped for a walk in a very pretty park (Anderson Dream Park) in Pembroke Pines. Not too active for birds, though we flushed a Brown Thrasher that allowed us a very poor portrait, and a Common Moorhen, who hogged the lens.

Photos of Late-Season Rosy-Finches
Jim kindly permitted me to display several of his photos here. His birds are lined up almost as in a field guide, to permit ready comparison of plumage features. They all appear to be adult males, which makes identification easier. Early in the winter, some hatch-year birds and females can be more difficult to separate, as the gray crowns may not be as distinct and the black may not be as deep as now. Note, that as breeding season approaches, the bills of most turn from bright yellow and become darker, almost black. He certainly is right about all the bands

Sharing the Table: Commensalism
The behaviors of the herons and mergansers were related in some meaningful way. They were engaged in commensalism, meaning that the herons were deriving a benefit from the activity of the mergansers, without causing the latter any harm.It made more sense and was more efficient in terms of energy expenditure for the herons to simply wait until the ducks resumed their fishing forays along the edges of the lake.

Long Key Natural Area
We made our first visit to the newly opened Long Key Natural Area. It is a beautifully restored hammock-like old sand bar that used to rise above the Everglades, located just west of Flamingo Gardens, north of Griffin Road on Flamingo, in Davie, FL. There are now handicap-accessible trails, a beautifully restored pond, and extensive equestrian trails

New Yard Bird
This morning it was barely light when I noticed a splash on the lake. When my eyes focused on the disturbance, about 100 yards out, I noted unusual silhouettes. The scope confirmed my bino view. There were 5 Red-breasted Mergansers out there, making them the 62nd species I have seen on our property since we moved to South Florida in 2004. Not too shabby. It beats the 48 species I counted in our suburban Dallas yard, but will not match the 120 species as I logged in our New Mexico back yard

Radar Drama: Migrants vs. Storms
At around 9 PM last night, the Key West radar showed what looked like northbound migrants beginning to leave the north coast of Cuba as well as the western Keys. By 2 AM this morning, the radar appears to show large numbers of birds crossing the Keys. By 4:00 am the eastern leading edge of the flock reached Miami-Dade County, but about 2/3 of the flock was over open waters, as another weather system approached from the west. These birds appeared to be on a collision course with the storms.

Easter Rosies and Banding
Update on the Rosy-Finches of Sandia Crest, New Mexico.  The flag is waving– smaller flocks of  Rosy-Finches are still visiting the feeders at Sandia Crest House. Feeders to remain up until the end of March if bears don’t start appearing.

Saturation Banding
As winter progresses, an ever larger percentage of captured birds already has been banded. Having so many banded birds can bother some photographers, who are looking for a “saleable image, ” as they say. They view bands as detracting from the image of wildness. It leads some photographers to try to find rosy-finches elsewhere. One good place is the Taos Ski Valley, where the Kandahar Condomiums are very birder-friendly and the view of the feeders is wonderful. However, it seems that the Sandia Crest birds are now “contaminating” those up in Taos!

Rosy Finches: March 19 Update
Fran and Dave reported: “Although the banding was sparse this past Sunday, the Crest House staff saw a flock of about 150 yesterday so we think there are still numbers of birds up there."  Back here in Florida, the Bald Eagle that we had not seen since since mid-January flew over our lake yesterday morning carrying some type of smaller prey. It was heading in the direction of the location where Bald Eagles had been seen carrying nesting materials in December. Perhaps they did nest and this one was bringing food either to its mate or nestlings. I photographed the one here as it flew low over our patio just before Christmas, 2007.

Migration From Cuba Tonight
There has not been much evidence of migration on the radar for the past three nights.Winds have been from the north, and today we have had very  heavy easterly winds. Later in the day I noted that the circulation off the coast of Cuba was shifting from the southeast, towards the northwest, perhaps providing a ride across the Florida Straits for migrants piling up in Cuba. This evening I checked the Key West radar at about 10:15 PM and saw this good flight out of Cuba. The biomass of these birds is impressive!

Capulin Spring "Bird Log" Construction
As this winter’s rosy-finch season winds down, our thoughts turn to the marvelous “Bird Log” at the Capulin Spring Picnic Area, located at 8,840 feet elevation, at the 8.1 mile mark just above the base of the ski run, on the way up to Sandia Crest. Beginning with spring migration, and continuing through the breeding season and into the fall, until deep snow forces closure of the access road, this peaceful spot is THE place to relax and let the birds come to you.

Rosy-Finch Update: March 16
The flag is waving--flocks of Rosy-Finches are still visiting the feeders at Sandia Crest House.  The  researchers will make a decision as to whether they will cancel the final banding session at Crest House on Easter Sunday, March 23,  depending upon reports from Gene and also other birders as to whether the birds continue to be present in any numbers. The average departure date for flocks is March 27th, and flocks have persisted beyond that date in 5 of the past 8 winters that we have been keeping records.


Beauty in the Commonplace
A birder’s definition of a "common" bird is a very fluid concept. As a small kid, it seemed that every new bird that I was able to match up with its picture in Chester A. Reid’s little book, Land Birds East of the Rockies,  was "uncommon," starting with the discovery that my grandmother’s "chippies" actually had a name: English Sparrow! At eight years old, I dutifully defaced each "new" bird by overwriting Reid’s image of it with penciled block letters : "SEEN."

Backyard Signs of Spring
From my boyhood days up East, I remember how spring came on with a great flourish. It seemed that everything happened all at once, heralded by the cries of spring peepers and the smell of skunk cabbage and the swelling of the pussy-willow buds. Early May in New Jersey meant a burst of color and the arrival of the warblers, even before many of the trees had begun to leaf out.  Here in South Florida, spring begins to sneak in around mid-February, when the mangos and apricots start to bloom.

Heron and Comorant Antics
A Double-crested Cormorant was busy just off our patio yesterday morning. It was being followed around the perimeter of the lake by a three herons: A Tricolored, a Little Blue, and a Snowy Egret. They were feeding on small fish that the cormorant was probably scattering about as it dived. As I have seen happen several times before, the Snowy Egret actually flew out to where the cormorant was working underwater and, on the wing, appeared to skim small fish from the surface of the water.

Tibetan Mastiff Puppy
This is the hopeful beginning of a happy sequel to the story of Maceo, the big Doby/Lab mix whose loss was felt so deeply by our two Illinois granddaughters. Now they have a new family member, one of a rare breed, a Tibetan Mastiff named Agramonte (officially, Washani’s Calixto Garcia y Agramonte). Students of history (and Googlers) will detect a trend in the names of the family dogs– Maximo, Maceo, and now Agramonte.

Rosy Finches: March 9 Update
Don't miss seeing this local PBS documentary about the Sandias that includes a segment on the rosy-finches, on line now. Click on this thumbnail to get it started. The eight chapters of this film document a project for a one-night spectacular light show, but also delve into the cultural, geologic and natural history of the mountain. If you are pressed for time, go directly to Chapter Three, which describes the ecology of the Sandias, and features the rosy-finch banding project near the end. There are great views of the birds taken at the Crest House, at the feeders and in the hand, not to mention wonderful photography that makes me really miss my mountain home!

Cuba to Florida Radar
Yesterday we had a fairly strong front come down from the north, but it stalled and retreated as a warm front. The winds shifted to steady southerlies, the rain stopped and the skies began to clear. I thought this might create good conditions for north-bound migrants, so, before retiring, I checked the Key West radar. This is what I saw, a little before 10 PM.

"Nature Deficit Disorder"
Will the real bird watchers please look up! Recently, there have been interesting Birdchat threads on "Fledgling birders" and "Engaging young birders," and "Why the lack of young ones?" They included some excellent links worth exploring, If you, as have Mary Lou and I, been engaged in educating youngsters in the wonders of nature and the particular thrills of observing wild things, you have shared in their excitement as they watched a cicada emerge from its larval shell, a predatory wasp capture a caterpillar, or a hummingbird feed its fragile chicks.

Tres Pistolas & Sandia Hawk Watch
In just a few weeks Scott’s Orioles will return to Tres Pistolas, one of the best in the Albuquerque area for this species. My digiscoped photo of a male bringing food to its young is not very hi-res. Its nest is only a couple of feet above ground in a scrubby Gray Oak. Vegetation reflects the arid nature of the canyon floor. Nearby, Hawk Watch International has been counting raptors in the Sandia Mountains every spring since 1985. Their banding project  commenced in 1990. Up to 18 raptor species have been observed over the years, with spring counts in the range of 4,000 to 6,500 individuals. Their spring count usually begins in late February and finishes up in early May.

Rosy-Finches of New Mexico: Mar 2 Update
Today was cold, windy and snowy atop Sandia Crest, but the banding team captured 194 rosy-finches, of which 176 were repeats and 18 were newly banded. So far this winter, they have newly banded 445 Rosies and recaptured 573. The sixth Brown-capped Rosy-Finch from the winter of 2004-05 has been recaptured, and 5 of today’s Black Rosy-Finches were from the winter before last (2005-06).

Help Stop the Killing of Protected Raptors
I  just received this Audubon Alert, which deserves your immediate attention. Please respond by clicking the link below, to express your personal concerns to your elected US Representative: "Last spring, citizens across the country were appalled to learn that thousands of protected raptors such as Cooper’s Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, and Red-tailed Hawks had been killed in Oregon, California and Texas... [P]igeon enthusiasts have been routinely killing raptors in an attempt to protect their roller pigeons..."

How Many Rosy-Finches?
As each winter season progresses, the percentage of recapture of same-season banded rosy-finches at Sandia Crest increases. An isolated population of birds could be compared to an unknown number of beans in a jar that could be shaken up uniformly. If we mark a known number of the beans as "banded," we then may withdraw a random handful, count the total and the percentage that are "banded," and extrapolate to determine the total number of beans in the jar. The larger the sample we examine, the greater our certainty about the total number of beans in the jar. Simple?

Rosy-Finches of New Mexico: Feb 24 Update
Regular visitors to this blog may notice that now I am including regular updates on the status of rosy-finch viewings at Sandia Crest, New Mexico. Updates will continue until the last flocks depart. Then the flag here and on rosyfinch.com will stop waving, and we will just have to wait until late October or early November for it to flutter in celebration of their return.

Will the Rosies wait for Easter?
This time of year we are frequently asked whether the rosy-finches will still be there when the enquirer is planning a visit to family in the Albuquerque area at Easter time. The answer differs from year to year. On average, the median date for Easter is April 7. Easter may fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25, inclusive, but, believe it or not, the most likely date is April 19. This year, Easter falls on Sunday, March 23. Such an extremely early date means that birders will have a good chance of seeing at least one of the three species at the Sandia Crest House feeders this Easter.

The Moon and Migration
The ancients had numerous theories about where birds spent their time after they disappeared in the fall and returned each spring. The moon figures prominently in both one of the oldest theories and in our present understanding of migration. They hibernated, hiding away in a torpid state, or, as some maintained, underwater or in the mud of marshes.  Aristotle believed they transmuted back and forth between other species that were present only in the winter. Another belief was that they spent their winters on the moon.

Rosy Finches of New Mexico: Feb 21 Update
Earlier, I noted that Gil Bachmann, General Manager of the popular Kandahar Condominiums in Taos Ski Valley, is also a birder, though quite a busy one during snow and ski season. He sent me several very nice photos that capture the thrill of seeing hundreds of rosy-finches crowd into his feeders. Gil extends a kind invitation to any hardy birders that may wish to view the birds privately, but asks that you call him to give advance notice.

Rosy-Finches of New Mexico: Feb 19 Update
We time-shifted with our DVR and watched last week’s PBS Nature special on the Red Knots and the Horseshoe Crabs of Delaware Bay. There is a striking parallel between the Red Knots and the rosy-finches, as both species exist on the edge of survival. While the knots are in a more precarious situation, both spend relatively little time on their arctic and alpine breeding grounds, and both face formidable hazards during migration and on their wintering grounds. Both may be adversely affected by climate change.

Are Phalaropes Properly Sexed?
Wild Muscovy Ducks, found as far north as the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, are all black with conspicuous white wing patches. The feral populations in my neighborhood are mostly black with white head and neck, and variable amounts of white on the breast and other parts of the body. A few are nearly white. They have more or less extensive bare red patches on their faces. In males, the red skin is swollen into “caruncles” that sometimes protrude like globular turkey wattles or chicken combs. So far, I have seen only two pure white Muscovies, and both were drakes. This led me to the unscientific conclusion that the pure white color must be a sex-linked recessive, based upon my knowledge of human chromosomes...

Shark Valley Quickie
Both Mary Lou and I have been fighting a cold, and we woke up Sunday morning not feeling much ambition. Nevertheless, since I have recently been barely meeting my 20-Bird RDA (BirdChaser’s Recommended Daily Allowance) and was much in need of a nutritional fix, I talked Mary Lou into accompanying me. We briefly visited the Shark Valley Visitors Center, one of the five in  Everglades National Park.  It is only a little more than a 30 minute drive from our home. Although the temperature  was in the high 60s, it was cloudy, windy, and we were  uncomfortably chilly in our tee shirts. This kept the smaller birds under cover and difficult to see. It also demonstrated how we have changed our definition of "cold weather" since moving to Florida from the mountains of New Mexico.

Staying Connected
Avid birders who often report rare sightings acquire their skills and amass huge trip and life lists not only by being where the birds are, but also being there when the birds are. There is that important dimension of the amount of time one spends in the field. Some of the most treasured memories of my childhood were the Saturday mornings when my father took me "down the river" (which to us meant the Passaic River floodplain in Rutherford, just as New Jersey folks say "down the shore" when they mean the Atlantic Ocean beaches). We would follow rabbit tracks in the snow and catch garter snakes and red salamanders in that marvelous place, now entirely "reclaimed" as houses and condos...  Just being there imparted such a great feeling of freedom from and yet, connection, to the world around me. 

Lazy Birding
There are only two ways for a birder to find birds: either get out and chase them or let them come to you. If you feel lazy, you can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, February 15-18, 2008, or the Bird Watchers Digest Big Sit in October. I can usually meet my 20-Bird RDA (BirdChaser’s Recommended Daily Allowance) while just sitting on the back patio. The birds I expect to see so easily fall into these three categories:

Ryan and the Winter of 2004-05
This Sunday, the banders recaptured a rosy-finch from the winter of 2004-05.  I cannot help but think that the Brown-capped Rosy-Finch that was recaptured from the winter of 2004-2005 may have been banded by the late Ryan Beaulieu, and, as was his habit, he kissed it before it lofted from his hand. I recalled Ryan’s expression that so aptly described his (and our) favorite bird family: "I love their color and their behavior," he said. "Their pink is like no other pink you’ve ever seen. And I love how they come down in this huge, swirling flock and just the whole living-on-top of the mountain thing."

Marco Island Boating
We have had a wonderful week-long visit from our Chicagoland grandchildren and their parents. Yesterday we capped off their visit with a boating excursion in the waters around Marco Island, Florida. After we cleared the dock at The Isles of Capri Marina, we headed for some fishing in one of the the small bays behind the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands.  The children were on the lookout for dolphins.

Bird RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)
This morning I checked my e-mail and learned that Rob Fergus, the Pennsylvania Blogger better known as BirdChaser has written a prescription for better birding. "Most people don’t eat enough vegetables, or fiber. They also don’t see enough birds. This year I’ve decided that I need my minimum Recommended Daily Allowance of Birds. For me, and for most folks in the Lower 48, a good Bird RDA is probably 20 species." Our backyard lake is a natural magnet for birds, so I figured I could easily exceed his recommended RDA.

So Dry in South Florida
Lake Okeechobee is a good indicator of our lack of rainfall. Lake levels have been falling for the past two years and have reached record lows. Our little lake is down nearly four feet. We are restricted to watering lawns only once a week. A few days before Christmas, this beautiful sunrise over our backyard lake seemed to promise some relief, outlining the anvil heads along the ocean front. The showers never ventured onto land. The lake was still. The lack of aeration from rain and wind drove the fish to the surface, gulping for air.

A Frugivorous Efflorescence?
During our visit to nearby Chapel Trail Nature Center, a peaceful bit of restored Everglades,  I was surprised to see something  very unusual-- or so I thought at the time. Next to the boardwalk, a vine with yellow flowers was winding its way through the branches of a tree that had red berries. One of the flowers on that same vine looked as if it had gobbled up some of the berries and was engulfing and absorbing them! Its petals were swollen and turning orange, perhaps from the red color of the juice of the hapless berries it had engorged. A vegetarian plant? Wow! I had never heard of such a thing. Of course, I snapped a few photos for posterity. Was this an incident new to science, and never to be seen again?

Rosy-Finches Flock to Sandia Crest
To many people, New Mexico conjures the image of arid brown landscapes and year-round sunny skies, a dry, almost sub-tropical paradise.In fact, the topography of New Mexico produces an amazing variety of climates and microclimates. Mile-high Albuquerque is arid and mostly a desert-like grassland, just north of the true Chihuahuan Desert, but it experiences one or two blizzards every year. Total annual snowfall in Albuquerque averages 9.6 inches, and total precipitation is about 9 inches.

Local Bald Eagle
In prior years, we occasionally saw Bald Eagles flying over our small Florida lake. Once I saw one attack an Osprey that had just caught a fish. The eagle’s larceny attempt was not successful. However, this year the eagles have paid us several visits (see Double Eagle and The Eagle Has Landed). There is now evidence that they may be breeding within a few miles of us. At least twice, adult Bald Eagles have been observed carrying sticks to a possible nest site. So far, none of my neighbors has seen the actual nest. This morning, during a feeding frenzy that attracted about 5 Ospreys, a couple dozen Ring-billed Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants and several heron species, an eagle suddenly appeared. It flew directly overhead, only about 20 feet high.

Our Lake Just Turned Over
This phenomenon, called "turnover," is caused by the mixing of the lake’s cool and warm layers. I think there were rather subtle turnovers around Thanksgiving the past two years, when cool evenings and gentle fall rain lowered the temperature of the normally warm water near the lake’s surface. As it cools, the density of the upper layer becomes greater than that of the warm water underneath. At some point, the density reaches a critical level and the cool water sinks downward, displacing the warm water that now floats upward, carrying with it the green stuff from the lake bed.  The fish that depend upon the vegetation for food and shelter now are distributed more evenly, and become more vulnerable to predators all the way up the food chain.

A Closer Look at Yard Birds
Maybe we become just too familiar with yard birds to appreciate some of their interesting and unique characteristics. The long-legged waders that are so common on our Florida lake are a case in point. At first glance they all seem alike, except for size, shape and color, as they appear along the lake shore and go about the business of finding their meals. I’m noticing two right now, at both size extremes of the heron clan, the Green and the Great Blue Herons. Both are standing there, motionless, staring at the water, ready to strike at the first fish that crosses their paths. Both seem to have favorite fishing holes.

Losing a Best Friend
Maceo, a Chocolate Lab/Doberman mix, was old and failing. After several surgeries and courses of chemotherapy for his extensive mast cell tumors, it was time for him to be sedated and spend his final days with the children. He was there before they came into the family, and he welcomed and protected them. Our granddaughters and Maceo were best pals. Now it was their turn to care for him.

Double Eagle
This morning I was processing my e-mail backlog when I heard the distinctive cry of a Bald Eagle. One has been hanging around our small lake for several days now. I was surprised to see two eagles on a rooftop diagonally across the lake from our home, about 200 - 250 yards away. I ran for the camera and took a few pictures, then sat down on the patio to watch them. They called to each other periodically, and then the male bird flew up above the female and mounted her..

Trash Birds: Ibis and Swamphen
On garbage days, the birds usually get there before the collectors. Invariably, one or more of our neighbors will put some of their wet garbage into a flimsy plastic supermarket bag, making it easy for the Muscovy Ducks, Boat-tailed Grackles and White Ibis to scatter the contents in their search for nutritious morsels. We don’t have House Sparrows, and rarely see European Starlings, so common and often reviled in many urban areas. So, for “trash birds,” we have to settle for the alien Muscovies and the native grackles and ibis. This one was walking on our front lawn yesterday morning.

The Eagle Has Landed
We walked to the supermarket this morning, and on the way back we saw an adult Bald Eagle sitting on a roof, about a quarter of a mile east of our home. We hurried home and I immediately ran to get my camera and drove to the location where the eagle was perched. During the winter it is not unusual for us to see Bald Eagles flying over our lake. Once I saw one attack an Osprey, in an attempt to rob it of a large fish it had just caught. However, they never landed, at least within view, so this promised to be a photo opportunity.

Puddle Ducks, Geese and Coot
I captured these images in a small lake near Baptist-Saint Anthony Hospital in Amarillo, where we took the grandchildren to feed the waterfowl. Also photographed a Black-crowned Night-Heron at close range, but auto-focused on the nearer branches!

Palo Duro Canyon Cochineal Walk
Palo Duro Canyon State Park is quite near our Panhandle grandchildrens’ home in Canyon, Texas. While awaiting the arrival of their sister (our eighth grandchild, who will join two brothers and two sisters, respectively 12, 10, 6 and 2 years old), we trekked with the older three along a creek in the canyon under a warm November sun.

Future of the Rosy Finch Capitol
As we await the annual arrival of the flocks of rosy-finches at the feeders arrayed around the picture windows of the Sandia Crest House, our anticipation is tempered by some anxiety, for this Gift House and Restaurant  is likely to undergo a change of ownership.

Goodbye, Butterfly
We departed the Fort Lauderdale airport for Chicago with our undeclared cargo of four Black Swallowtail Butterfly larvae safely encased in a plastic bag with a generous bunch of fresh parsley. We were uncertain as to whether Homeland Security might regard them as “liquids or gels” that required special attention

A Spider Walk In Tekawitha Woods
We decided to spend most of this summer at our condo up north in Chicagoland, away from the heat and hurricanes of South Florida. Well, there have been no hurricanes here, but so far the Sunshine State has also been spared. As for heat, we met or exceeded the highs back home for much of early August. There have been a few delightful mornings, just right for birding and nature photography. Last week, we took two of our granddaughters to a place with a very catchy name, Tekawitha Woods, a Kane County Forest Preserve.

The Capulin Spring "Bird Log"
There is a special place at 8600 feet elevation in the Sandia Mountains just east of Albuquerque. I took this photo one morning in early May of 2003. Sunlight dappled through the leaves of the large Rocky Mountain Maples that thrived in the moist runoff of Capulin Spring. Water from the spring flowed through a pipe and was diverted into a trough formed by an ancient hollow log. Water is scarce in the mountains, and the “Bird Log,” as it is called, attracts most of the creatures that call the mountain their home. One needs only find a comfortable place to sit and simply wait for the birds to come in to drink and bathe.

Bungee Jumping Nieta
Yes, it's the same little girl whose portrait captured so many hearts, and she is just as crazy about birds as when we she found that sparrow in the tree last year, but now, at three years of age, she is flying with the birds! She went bungee jumping at the Kane C

Black Swallowtail Butterfly Metamorphosis
Earlier this month, I decided to leave my parsley plant to the mercy of the Black Swallowtail caterpillars that were devouring it at an alarming rate. The early larval stages (termed instars) molt several times, changing their appearance more or less dramatically between molts. The earliest instars are dark and have a white saddle, making them look very much like bird droppings.

Muscovy Mortality
Yesterday morning I found a freshly dead adult White Ibis on our lawn, at the side of the lake. I did not think too much of it. However, a little later, diagonally across the lake, I saw a large group of Black Vultures congregating around the carcass of a freshly dead Muscovy duck.

Backyard Heron Trifecta
The rains have already brought our lake levels up to normal and sunfish are tending their circular nests along the shore. This one’s dark gill extensions and the black spot at the base of its dorsal fin tentatively identify it as a Bluegill.

Who Ate My Parsley?
This afternoon, I noticed that more than half my parsley plant seemed to have been cropped off quite neatly. I immediately suspected Old Whitey, the Muscovy Alpha drake who defeated Whitewing to expand his territory into part of our back yard. He looked guilty, as he had been hanging around the herb garden all day. On closer inspection, several brightly colored caterpillars were evident.

Why in [!!#!@*##&%] Did You Move From New Mexico To Florida?
It is usually without the expletive, but this is a common question, often from other Floridians. Why give up the land of Enchantment for the Sunshine State? Why leave the mountains and blue skies behind? Why trade dust storms for hurricanes, cactus and deserts for St. Augustine lawns? Mountain Lions for alligators, rosy-finches for Palm Warblers, Gore-Tex and Timberlands for T-shirts and flip-flops, swamp coolers for air conditioning, juniper pollen for mold spores and ragweed, four seasons for only two, and so on…

More Bird Bath Photos
When I collected my New Mexico "Bathing Beauty" gallery I neglected to include a couple of special photos. These two, of the Williamson's Sapsucker, bring out the stunning beauty of this little woodpecker. He usually visited the water so briefly and infrequently that he was gone before I could set up my cumbersome digiscope. One day he delayed his departure just long enough to provide me with a couple of views that show different aspects of his plumage.

Bathing Beauties
Laura (Somewhere in NJ) recently mentioned in her Blog that one bathing bird often attracts others. She inspired me to rummage through my photos of bathing birds. How I miss our ponds in the front and back of our New Mexico home! They were one of the few sources of drinking water at 7000 feet in the Sandia Mountains, so they provided me with many photo opportunities. However, most of the opportunities did not result in photos.

A Peep Poses on the Road to Nowhere
One of the ‘peeps” had a particularly warm brown back. It kept to the shore, as if afraid to get its feet wet. Thanks to what I had learned from the Guide, these two clues were enough for me to tentatively identify it as a Least Sandpiper, but I wanted to clinch the diagnosis by seeing its leg color, which should have been yellowish instead of black as in its similar relatives. Luckily, it struck a perfect pose, thrusting one pale leg out for all to see. I captured it with my Digital Rebel.

Short Sad Saga of a Texas Horny Toad
Before bedtime I prepared a habitat for my new pet, a large glass bowl with sand and a rock. First thing in the morning, anxious to make the animal feel that it had returned to sunny Texas, I placed its enclosure out in the center of our back lawn, away from any un-desert-ly shade. He seemed happy and became quite active. The neighborhood kids were duly impressed, watching it bask in the noonday sun. I went into the house for lunch, then hurried back to see Tex.

Oystercatcher Beach Drama
The birds became agitated and performed distraction displays, a response that suggested that the children were invading their nesting territory. I walked over to the location, and by using the same “reverse psychology” that has helped me locate Killdeer nests (moving in a direction opposite to where the birds tried to lead me), I quickly found a single egg in a scooped depression in the middle of the beach just above the high tide mark.

New Boss Duck but No Babies
This spring, the third we have spent here in South Florida, we have so far seen no Muscovy Duck chicks on our 10 acre lake. Usually, by now there would be between 3-10 broods in various stages of growth. During March and April I found four nests on ours and neighboring properties with eggs that failed to hatch. One nest just off our patio contained 14 eggs and the hen incubated them for well over a month before abandoning them, all intact.Could this be due to the instability of the social order that was caused by the loss of El Presidente?

Why Did You Step On That Ant?
As a kid I remember my grandmother telling me that if I stepped on an ant it would make it rain. On my way to school, not wanting to be caught in a downpour, I would usually go out of my way to keep from squashing them on the sidewalk. Sometimes when I got tired of long hot summer days I longed for the excitement of a thunderstorm and the nice clean smell that came with the first raindrops. Then I’d go looking for ants to stomp.

500 Bird Milestone
Mary Lou only started birding in 1999, and yesterday she recorded her 500th bird species in North America. Sure, I have seen Grasshopper Sparrows before, little flat-headed, short-tailed waifs singing weakly and quickly dropping for cover or running mouse-like through the grass. Never have I seen such a beautiful sparrow as Mary Lou’s #500. The field guides do not do justice to this one.

Mad Dogs
Attempts to immunize pet dogs were not successful in Juárez. Dogs ran all over the neighborhoods, but were not regarded as “owned” by anyone, even though they might live under the front steps and have the run of their houses and dooryards. With financial backing from the Pan American Health Organization, Juárez then mounted a campaign to eliminate stray dogs. It was quite effective. Dogs were poisoned and shot. Their carcasses were piled up on street corners.

Tame (and Dead) Robins
Early one summer, either in 1945 or ‘46 we encountered a “tame” robin that permitted us to approach it closely and even pick him up. At first, thinking that it had grown so accustomed to seeing us that it recognized us as friendly creatures, we did not realize that the bird was seriously impaired. Soon more “tame” Robins began to appear, along with others that were obviously ill and in distress. Corky and I took some of the sick birds home and attempted to nurse them back to health by keeping them warm and forcing them to drink water. I even tried using some of my baby brother’s vitamin drops in hopes of finding a cure. Every one of them subsequently died, and the lawns of the estate were soon littered with the carcasses of Robins. 

Hatching a Plot
Ok, I’ll confess. The statute of limitations for a Federal crime has passed (unless I am charged with murder). When I was about 9 or 10, I found a Killdeer nest right in the middle of the gravel parking lot between Clare’s Market and Rogers Garage on Union Avenue in Rutherford. It was easy find, as both parents led me right to it in a reverse sort of way.

Off to San Isidro, or is it El Paso?
The clock was ticking. My days as a civilian were numbered. When I learned of Max’s past that morning after my Washington adventure it was February 2, 1966. Only 7 weekdays remained before my induction date on Monday, February 14th.  My partner took on most of my patient care responsibilities as I rushed to set up my appointment for a physical examination in Staten Island the next day.

Exotic fish gives me a sore thumb
The fish broke water several times while I was bringing it in, and this apparently attracted a Great Blue Heron that came within 15 yards of me, perhaps anticipating a meal. I have seen Great Blues, Little Blues and Tricolored Herons, as well as Great and Snowy Egrets follow cormorants and Anhingas as they fished near the shore, probably for the same reason.

Mobbing Behavior in Rosy-finches
While leading interpretive walks at Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque I learned to always follow the crows. If the crows were in a frenzied flock and calling wildly, we would approach and take notice of the direction in which their bills were pointing. If the bills tended to converge on a certain spot, there we would almost surely find a large bird of prey. Usually it was a Great Horned Owl, but a couple of times it was a Red-tailed Hawk, and one winter, a Bald Eagle.

Pater Noster
My fondest memories of childhood were not those of solitary pursuits. Not having someone there to share an otherwise awesome event seems to take the edge off the experience. Maybe it’s because I simply want to say, “Hey, look at that!” and feel the satisfaction of having another appreciate and later reiterate the experience. Frequently, it works the other way. So many times I might have missed what another pointed out or interpreted.

Green Aliens
Yesterday, I set out some New Guinea Impatiens to fill the space in our planters created when I removed the tomato plants. Shortly afterwards, a three-foot long Green Iguana appeared on our patio. These exotic reptiles, native to Latin America but descendants of released pets, are quite common in our parks and in established neighborhoods that have large trees.

Hitchhiker's Identity Revealed - (Part 4 of 4)
I flew back, and the next morning after making rounds I recounted the prior day’s events with other medical staff members in the hospital coffee shop. One of those present was an Internist, who immediately recognized my Max as one of his long term patients. He said Max was a lawyer, and quite an accomplished one.  He asked if Max told me about the time he spent in Federal Prison.

The Kindness of a Stranger - (Part 3 of 4)
We arrived at Newark Airport in plenty of time to assure that the letter would be collected and delivered the next morning according to plan. On the way home, I expressed my gratitude. Max stated gravely and rather formally that I had been most kind to him and this was the least he could do in return. He went on to say that he had been personally enriched after he extended his hand to strangers in need, and he seemed to be saying that now it was my turn to benefit because of my kindness to him.

An Unusual Hitchhiker – (Part 2 of 4)
After seeing my morning office patients, I headed back to the hospital. It had snowed overnight and the streets were freshly plowed.  As I drove along Ridgewood Avenue in Glen Ridge, I encountered an unusual hitchhiker. He was a nicely dressed man in suit and tie and black overcoat, standing in the plowed part of the roadway in dress shoes, quite out of place. I stopped and asked if I could help him. He asked if I would be so kind as to drive him a couple of miles to Bloomfield Avenue, where he might catch a bus to the tubes in Hoboken that would take him to New York for a business appointment. Seems that his car was in the shop and the only cab in town was someplace far away.

Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius)
On September 12, 2003 a vagrant from southern Mexico suddenly appeared at Bosque Redondo near Fort Sumner, NM.  It was afterwards seen by multiple observers and identified as a Piratic Flycatcher, distinguished from the larger Variegated Flycatcher by its small bill, nearly unstreaked back and less extensive rufous areas on its tail. I was lucky to take several photos, posted here. It gets its name from the manner in which it nests.  Rather than building its own, it harasses other species of flycatcher until they abandon their nests, then does some remodeling before laying its own eggs.

“Greetings,” You’ve Been Drafted - (Part 1 of 4)
When I made the decision to enter private practice right out of internship, it was with the expectation that I would be drafted into military service, probably within a year. Actually, it was 3 ½ years later, in the dead of the New Jersey winter, when I received the telegram. It began with the word “GREETINGS,” as if it were a belated Christmas card. It informed me that I must report to Fort Dix in 14 days to be inducted into the US Army, unless I received a commission as an officer before that date.

Rookie Doctor in Town
On a Sunday afternoon while watching football on TV I received a call from a very desperate-sounding new patient, an elderly woman who gave me an address on Upper Mountain Avenue, where most houses stood far back on multi-acre plots. She screamed “My sister has cancer and she is bleeding to death!”  I told her to call an ambulance and I would meet her in the hospital emergency room. She refused, saying her sister wanted to die at home. I could not change her mind, so I grabbed my black bag and jumped into my car.

House Calls
Most house calls were simply performed as a convenience for elderly patients and anxious mothers. Others were warranted because a child had a rash and fever that might be signs of a contagious illness. The worse the weather, the more numerous the house calls. The ethic of our medical community seemed to be that a doctor should not allow a sick patient to go outside on a cold night or in the rain or snow.

Rosy-finch Fluctuations
The Brown-capped Rosy-finch has been honored with its very own US postage stamp, but so far it has not come to New Mexico for the celebration. Three species of rosy-finch visit the feeders at Sandia Crest, at 10,678 feet the highest point on the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque: Black, Brown-capped and Gray-crowned (including two distinguishable races of the latter species, the Interior and the Coastal, or Hepburn’s Gray-Crowned Rosy-finches). The birds usually arrive in early November and stay until late in March.

Osprey Sunrise
This morning the surface of our lake was as smooth as glass. The sun, still unseen behind the coastal cloud banks, created an ever-changing panoply of colors.  As I sipped coffee and watched the sunrise from our back patio I reflected that this was the kind of weather that makes Florida such a winter delight. Suddenly an Osprey flew directly overhead, toward the center of the lake. It rose higher and wheeled as if ready to plunge. Instead, it parachuted down and then dropped suddenly from only about 10 feet high. Surprisingly, it almost submerged, and then flopped up to the surface, seeming unable to rise.

The Goshawk and the Bear
In May, 1994 Mary Lou and I were walking in the Sandia Mountains when we encountered a pair of large hawks about 30 feet up in a Ponderosa Pine. They were facing each other on a large horizontal limb and calling loudly. We identified them as Northern Goshawks. One, in brown immature or juvenal plumage, had a dead Steller’s Jay in its talons, and the other, in sleek gray adult garb, was flapping its wings and appeared to be begging to be fed. Nearby, about 40 feet up near the trunk of a tall Douglas Fir, we found a large stick nest that had some fresh green branches in it. We presumed it to be the Goshawk nest.

Birders Start Young
Children seem to be wired to pay special notice to non-human creatures. Puppies and big furry things are usually favored. Kids' sense of wonder can be cultivated rather easily, to extend to tiny bugs and, especially, birds. Birds are easy to notice because of their activity and variety in size, color and shape. Even city kids can open a window to the natural world as they observe the pigeons and sparrows.

Origin of Flamingo Flock
Flamingos once roamed extensively over South Florida, but in recent years the only reliable sightings were of a flock at the southern tip of the peninsula at Snake Bight. This flock’s origins are uncertain. They may have flown in from one of the islands in the Caribbean and decided to stay. Interestingly, the Snake Bight flock was not seen at that location for about a year following Dennis.

Fishing for Eagles and Flamingos
More often than not I fail to set the hook firmly, and my fish are able to eject the lure by jumping high and shaking furiously. Fishing and birding, while not mutually exclusive, are not entirely compatible pursuits. Many birds are attracted to the lake, so they are a source of distraction. However, if I had not been fishing I would have missed some great views of birds.

More Killer Ducks
Early this year I found a hen sitting on 14 eggs under the Cocoplum hedge next to our back patio. Each time she left the nest she covered the eggs completely with down plucked from her breast, then camouflaged the nest with dried leaves. All 14 eggs subsequently hatched (photo), but her brood declined dramatically, day by day.

Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans (Part 4 of 4)
One of my memorable experiences was on Friday, April 5, 1968, the day after Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. I had to park quite a distance from the shotgun frame house that served as our Lower Ninth Ward free clinic. Parked cars had already taken up both sides of the shell road for more than a block. People were out on their front porches. Usually, we exchanged cheerful waves to the sounds of jazz music as I trudged along with my white coat and little black bag. That evening there was silence. There seemed to be agony oozing out of the houses, and it was so hard just to look up.

Purposeful Infanticide?
The tracks of coyotes are “purposeful,” meaning that they tend to go in straight lines, from this tree to the cover of that bush, to then
intersect with the tracks of a bounding mouse or vole. Wild creatures cannot afford to waste energy. In the snow of the Sandia mountains, I often noticed the difference between the “purposeful” stride of a coyote or Gray Fox, as opposed to a pet dog’s meanderings. Young coyotes (and young rabbits) appear to “waste’ much energy in play and seemingly mindless scurrying about. However, they are gaining survival skills with a long term payback.

Patterns of Illness in Two Segregated Shelters (Part 3 of 4)
As bad as Camille was, we were all thankful that it was not the “big one” that everyone talked about, the hurricane that would slosh water up into Lake Pontchartrain and force it over the levees into the East Bank of New Orleans. Of course, Hurricane Katrina was to do something very similar. The storm is estimated to have been responsible for $125 billion in damage, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

Working in the Hurricane Shelters (Part 2 of 4)
Working in the hurricane shelters after Camille, I found the clinical experience to be not very dramatic. Hurricane shelter medical practice was like busy general practice.

Remembering Hurricane Camille (Part 1 of 4)
Here in South Florida, Hurricane Katrina loomed in from the Atlantic and veered southward at the last moment, sparing us major damage. Of course, Katrina went on to devastate New Orleans. Then, as Katrina approached the upper Gulf Coast, we recalled our experience with Hurricane Camille– the horror we felt on Sunday evening, August 17, 1969, a family of six crouching in our home, below sea level on the West Bank of New Orleans, hearing the windows rattle and tree limbs shatter.

The Presidential Duck
There are probably 50 to 60 Muscovies on our 10 acre lake. There is a distinct pecking order, and at the top of the hierarchy are several older and very large drakes. They defend distinct strips of shoreline, with each Alpha drake controlling about 600 to 800 feet of the lake’s margin and lording over a loose group of much smaller females and younger or lesser males.

Watching the Lake
The lake is productive of aquatic life, and each autumn around Thanksgiving there is a crop of small silvery fish that attracts a huge assembly of birds. We have seen as many as 10 Great Blue Herons, over 30 Snowy Egrets, 20 Great Egrets, 5 Wood Storks, numerous White Ibis, and an assembly of Little Blue, Tricolored and Green Herons at one time, all feasting on the fingerlings.

Vistas
Staring at a distant point relaxes the eyes. It also confers an overall sense of relaxation. One caveat: our new home had to provide us with a vista, be it mountain or cityscape.

Cabin Pressure
At least once a week, Mary Lou and I led bird hikes and provided interpretation at the rosy-finch feeders on Sandia Crest, at 10,678 feet elevation. We always walked at a leisurely pace, as it was easy to get out of breath.

Early Birder
As we were posing for a family photo, Graciela looked up into the sky and I naturally followed suit. “Birds!” I exclaimed. She corrected me: “No, Grampa, Seagulls!” Can you identify the real birders in this photo?

“Schotzie,” Tuck and Amos
Amos would read all the postcards before delivering them, and my uncles would always add “Hi, Amos” to their messages. Everyone knew Amos, and he seemed to know everything about everyone. Amos would often relate the contents of a postcard as he delivered the mail, saying he would save you the trouble of reading it.

High Fives to an “Awesome” Birder
Participants on our Saturday morning bird walks at Rio Grande Nature Center ranged from seasoned birders to neophytes who were visiting Albuquerque for a convention or the Balloon Festival and were looking for a little diversion. They were of all ages, but one kid stood out. At first I did not even know Ryan’s last name, but I grew to respect his skills in finding and identifying birds.

The Earth is Flat, No Matter What I Say
My childhood world was hemmed in by rivers and Ocean. My cubicle had a roof. The sky stretched out, suspended from the tip of that great oak two doors down, draped over the chimney of Howie Hinckleman’s big double house out back, and stretched across the long tile roof of Union School, across Springfield Avenue. There was no north, south, east or west. To this day I cannot remember noticing where the sun came up or where it set. Streets were laid out in a crazy webwork ordered only by the bends of the river and the curved run of the Erie railroad “shortcut” spur.

Opening Windows
With the windows open, we felt a connection with the rhythms of nature.  We awoke early to the songs of Canyon Towhees and Cassin’s Kingbirds in the pre-dawn darkness. Abetted by the two hour time differential from the East Coast, we bedded early after the evening news and thrilled if we were awakened by the yodeling of coyotes, the occasional hooting of a Great Horned Owl or the caterwaul of a mountain lion.

Looking for the Elegant Trogon
Since we had a schedule to keep, we planned to drive home right after breakfast, so my hopes were dashed and I assumed Mary Lou did not care that much about missing her “trophy” bird after all. At dinnertime, to my surprise, she said “Let’s get up early and try to get out and see the trogon before breakfast.” I quickly assented, feeling like Br’er Rabbit in the Uncle Remus tale: "Roast me, Br’er Fox,” says he, “But don’t fling me in that briar patch.”

How Mary Lou Became a Birder
Why should we go out before dawn looking for birds with a bunch of “weirdo” bird watchers? She relented, but only on condition that she could study my field guide and see if there were any birds she might enjoy viewing. As if she could just pick and choose! I happily tutored her and provided lists of the most likely sightings. She settled on only one bird that she just really wanted to see: the Elegant Trogon. I certainly agreed with her on that, as I had never seen one myself.

Will the Real Rosyfinch Please Stand Up?
Today Mary Lou and I got word that the rosy-finches had just returned to Sandia Crest, at the top of the Sandia Mountains that stand just east of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mountain snows came early this year, perhaps hastening the arrival of these winter visitors, usually not seen until the middle of November. The news, received by us here in sunny South Florida, brings on nostalgia. We will not soon put away the memories of our many trips up the mountain to see and to feed these hardy finches that, not many years ago, were considered uncommon to rare on that same mountain.

Quest for Rar