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Conservation Maven was launched in July 2009 and provides a lot of interesting insight into various conservation topics including many featuring birds.

The information presented focuses on conservation studies and has summaries that make digesting the science of it much easier. References are included as well.

Over the past three years we’ve managed to attract a nice variety of woodpeckers to our city neighborhood yard. In fact, of the seven species commonly found in northern Illinois, we’ve had six (Pileated Woodpeckers . . . no).

In order of most abundant to least:

1. Downy Woodpecker
2. Red-bellied Woodpecker
3. Northern Flicker
4. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
5. Hairy Woodpecker
6. Red-headed Woodpecker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Our yard has quite a bit of room (for being in a large city) and has a wide diversity of trees: maples, birch, American Sycamore, oaks, a massive American Elm, and the remains of a once mighty willow. Each of these is a magnet to woodpeckers looking for natural food and sometimes a place to nest.

Downy Woodpecker

If your yard lacks tree diversity the next best way to attract woodpeckers is with feeders, especially peanuts (and suet). We’ve used several types of peanut feeders including a ringed one that was difficult to fill and would periodically lose nuts (photo below). We’ve even just placed them in trees or on the ground but of course that’s a sure way to attract squirrels.

Instead, we recommend a nice, sturdy feeder that holds a lot of peanuts. One of our favorites is the one we sell in our OpenSky store. It has a large capacity (3.5 lbs) and is stylish. More importantly, the peanuts stay put unless a bird (or other animal) works them out.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Northern Flickers are a bit more picky and don’t seem to go to peanut feeders. We only get sapsuckers in migration and the flickers seem to avoid our feeders and stick to the trees.

Get free shipping and a $25.00 off coupon when you order now until the end of November from OpenSky and don’t forget to check out the other stores for great products!!

Just got some photos from Jennie (Veery) from her temporary home in Missouri. These are from mid-October.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park – the castle

Birding was S L O W. But we had a nice group of 12 birders and the weather was pleasant for November. Here’s a recap of what we saw.

Common birds were even lacking and hard to find. Several Blue Jays worked the oak trees along our main trail along the Dead River. We followed this trail out to Lake Michigan and scoped out the water. A large raft of Greater Scaups were the only birds other than Herring and Ring-billed Gulls.

I was the leader for the hike so my photography was a bit limited

We met a group of birders that had traversed further south along the lakeshore to an area where permits are required to bird (they are limiting the number of people because of the ecological sensitivity of the area). They had a slow morning as well.

Prickly Pear along the dunes

We scoped out another section of lakefront and finally found a little variety: 3 Horned Grebes and 2 Buffleheads (could not get any photos).

13-lined Ground Squirrel – taken by Stacia

Afterward, we headed to the north unit of the park where they conduct annual hawk counts. They too had a slow day with only five birds total when we arrived at lunch time. The birds may have been hard to find but we had a great time with good people and great weather.

A dragonfly along the trail

Birds of Borneo: Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan by Susan Myers is the first full field guide to cover the astonishing, ecologically important island of Borneo. With nearly 1,600 color illustrations covering over 630 species, this is the perfect all-inclusive field guide for birders wishing to visit this birding paradise.

The introduction to Birds of Borneo covers a lot of the standard information of field guides. Climate and habitat types are explained in great detail as well as basic geographic information. Also included (something often left out of guides) is a listing of the endemic birds (those found only in this region) and a list of useful addresses for nature societies.

The layout is clean and pleasant with all the species info including range map side-by-side with the drawings of the bird. Most of the drawings follow the same basic pattern/positioning amongst family groups. This helps with the learning experience and also makes for a much better flow and design. However, some similar birds are shown in opposing directions which disrupts this otherwise solid flow.

This is a minor complaint but the style mastered by the Sibley guides seems to improve learning birds from a field guide. Of course, when producing a field guide there are often reasons to display certain birds differently, often to enhance the identification process.

While Birds of Borneo is a bit “fancier” than our North American field guides, it is still sized right and completely useful as a “true” field guide.

Birds of Borneo: Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan (Princeton Field Guides)
Susan Myers
Princeton University Press

Disney/Pixar’s Up has been praised for the wordless, yet beautifully-rendered, portrayal of the courtship and marriage of main character, Carl Fredrickson, and his now-deceased wife in the opening sequence. Although entertaining and fun, this movie perpetuates a few misconceptions and myths that ruffled the feathers of a few of us in the Birdfreak team.

One misconception is that dogs of certain breeds (namely Doberman, Rottweiler, and Bulldog) are vicious animals—not true! These dogs make wonderful pets, and are only mean if their owners train them to be that way. But the biggest fallacy that Up perpetuates is that a Snipe is a mythical creature.

Wilson’s Snipe

The Snipe-hunting myth is one piece of American folklore that I have only become aware of in recent years. A friend had mentioned a joke an uncle had played on the kids in the family, and didn’t believe me when I assured her that Snipes are real birds. To find out more about this myth, I searched online. According to web-indexes.com (http://myth.web-indexes.com/american-folklore/Snipe-Hunt.html), a snipe hunt “is one of a class of practical jokes that involve experienced people making fun of newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task. Inexperienced campers or hunters are told about a bird or animal called the snipe, as well as a (usually ridiculous) method of catching it – such as running around the woods carrying a bag, or making strange noises. Since the supposed snipe doesn’t exist, the hunt never succeeds, no matter how foolishly the newcomer acts.”

Birders will be able to tell you that Snipes do indeed exist, and Birdfreak.com has the photographic evidence to prove it! So let’s get this straight, once and for all: Although newbies to the world of the Great Outdoors are tasked with an absurd method of catching a Snipe, the birds themselves are not mythical beings (although Up does contain a mythical bird, nicknamed Kevin, that I am positive does not exist outside of this movie).

Wilson’s Snipes foraging in a creek

Because the Birdfreak team only watches birds and doesn’t hunt them, we can’t offer any advice on actual Snipe-hunting methods, but if you would like to see a Wilson’s Snipe in the wild, look for this short, stocky, and shy shorebird in vegetation low to the ground, and keep in mind they are very well camouflaged with their surroundings. Look for them along roadsides in marshy, muddy places where they can be seen foraging in the mud for earthworms, insects, etc.

Note: Wilson’s Snipe is often referred to as “Common Snipe” but the species was split into two, the Common being found in eastern Asia.

Post written by Snowy Owl, guest writer and editor for Birdfreak.com

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Downy Woodpecker, digiscoped in poor lighting at Deer Run Forest Preserve in Winnebago County, Illinois.

For those in the Northern Illinois area, I will be leading a birding field trip for North Central Illinois Ornithological Society (NCIOS) to Illinois Beach State Park on November 14th, 2009.

Meeting Place: Menard’s at Highway 173 and 251 in Machesney Park, IL
Time: 7:00 AM (we will depart within a few minutes so don’t be late!)
Or, feel free to meet at Illinois Beach State Park’s south entrance near Zion, IL around 9:00 AM at the parking lot by the nature center.

Illinois Beach is a wonderful park with some interesting diversity of flora and fauna. This may be an off time but we should have some good birds out on the lakefront.

Bring your spotting scope and I’ll also be able to demonstrate digiscoping with my Swarovski Setup for anyone interested.

I’ve always thought greeting cards that played sounds when you opened them were a bit quirky and sometimes even a tad annoying. So I was a bit skeptical when I heard about Really Wild Cards. But after seeing the beautiful artwork and knowing the sounds were from the Macaulay Library and sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, my skepticism declined.

Really Wild Cards has a collection of some fourteen different North American bird species as well as a dozen British birds. I received two North American bird sound-producing cards: Common Loon and Canada Goose.

The artwork is by Maurice Bebb, someone I had never heard of prior. Each of the cards is excellent and realistic as expected from something Cornell endorses. Inside the card is a small photo and a page’s worth of information about the bird including some “cool facts”.

Of course, the main draw is the sound produced when you open the card. The loon call is of good quality although a bit on the loud side. I would have preferred a softer sound (since volume control would be difficult) and maybe also a shorter clip. When you hold the card open the sound runs for awhile and then is quiet. The goose card seemed to upset Bella (my Doberman/Chesapeake Bay Retriever).

Overall, Really Wild Cards are a pretty cool thing to send to birders and non-birders alike. The factual information along with a cool sound and nice artwork makes a nice starting point to get someone interested in birds. They are priced at $7.99.

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While out testing some new equipment (full review coming soon) we digiscoped this Dark-eyed Junco at one of our favorite birding spots, Rock Cut State Park in northern Illinois.

There are many tools to help with improving your birding. One of the best ways is to go where birds are being sighted and to visit places that are likely to have birds. Such sites are often discussed on birding message boards (list-servs, rare bird alerts, forums) and many are referred to specifically by their location in a state-specific Delorme topographical atlas.

Delorme has an atlas that covers every U.S. state. I’ve used them extensively for Illinois and Wisconsin (my main birding haunts) but they are extremely valuable for traveling to unfamiliar areas. Over the last few years I’ve been to Arizona and Texas and used Delorme Atlases for both to help locate areas I’ve read about or heard about from other birders.

Each atlas has oversize pages that flow from left to right across the state. The entire state is broken up in a grid on the back cover to aid in finding the correct page for a particular area. It takes a little time getting used to it if you are following a particular feature north/south. For example, when I visit the Mississippi River, the way the pages are set up can be a bit confusing.

I love using print atlases because it provides a great ability to plot a course to find birding location(s). Plus, it is worthwhile to browse for areas that are likely to have birds: small creeks, dead-end roads, quarries, sewage treatment plants, small lakes, and more. All the quiet, out-of-the-way areas that are explorable and usual places to find birds including campgrounds, trails, trailheads, and even fishing and hunting locations (which can also be good for birds).

The atlases also show many parks, preserves, and wildlife areas including a lot of areas that are not found on other maps including Google Maps.

I’ve used my Illinois atlas to plan out the Christmas Bird Count I created last year. Without it I would never have been able to get the circle centered where I wanted it in order to maximize the amount of good bird habitat to cover.

You can purchase the atlases through OpenSky where I am a shopkeeper. All products are 10% off from now until November 15th, 2009. Use coupon code: EDDIE1009

Trees are one of the most important parts of a healthy habitat for a great number of bird species. The importance of trees is often overlooked when viewing certain types of bird habitats. Knowing what types of trees are used by what kinds of birds is a vital step in aiding in the successful search of various birds. Being able to identify these trees is what The Sibley Guide to Trees makes possible.

The Sibley Guide to Trees has sparked a new major goal for us at Birdfreak.com. We desire to become full blown naturalists to better understand all living organisms and how they work together in the wonderful world of nature. Trees are just the beginning as we further advance in our efforts to promote all of nature and push to learn as much as possible.

With a fully-loaded, detailed 30 page introduction, this guide begins at the beginning describing what makes a tree a tree and moves along on the taxonomy (how the trees are arranged in the book). These critical “baby steps” are all important for making full use of the guide.

Each component of the tree is discussed with accompanying illustrations and examples from species found throughout the book. The components include:

• leaves
• flowers
• fruit
• twigs
• buds
• bark

These introductory pages are critical when it comes to knowing what to look for to make the identification.

The guide focuses on the majority of native trees of North America with the exclusion of those found only in southern Florida. This exception could be considered a bit of a fault, like leaving out birds found only in southern Texas. However, Sibley’s decision to do this in favor of commonly cultivated ornamental trees will be much more useful to the majority of tree enthusiasts.

The layout of The Sibley Guide to Trees is familiar to those who use Sibley’s bird guide. This design has proven to be not only visually appealing but functional for digesting the information and making an identification. Pertinent artwork is used for each species, so not all species show the full tree or other components that don’t aid in the identification process.

Some species have an additional highlighted box with interested facts about a tree, such as the Quaking Aspen):

“Groves of Quaking Aspen can all be parts of a single plant, each stem connected to a common root system. These single organisms can cover many acres, and one in Utah is estimated to be 80,000 years old, possibly the oldest living thing on Earth . . .” pg. 230

Range maps are also included to assist in knowing where to find nearly identical species.

Now, if Sibley could just come out with a few more guides: butterflies, wildflowers, mammals, insects, reptiles . . .

Purchase The Sibley Guide to Trees

Disclosure: we were given a copy of this wonderful book by the publisher to review. However, we were not persuaded to say or do anything other than give an honest review, which we have. This is a book we use and will continue to use in our quest to learn as much about the natural world as possible.

As a daily coffee drinker I was delighted to have the opportunity to sample seven varieties of Bird-Friendly® Coffees from Golden Valley Farms in Pennsylvania.

Golden Valley Farms’ Bird-Friendly® Coffee is now the official coffee roaster for all National Zoo visitors!

I am usually a “normal” flavor coffee drinker but am always up to trying new flavors, especially because the aroma spills out of my office and pulls in my coworkers. Each variety is certified as “100% organic shade grown” coffee. Why does this matter for birds?

Organic shade grown means that the coffee plants are grown in the forest understory. Non shade-grown coffee is grown in the open meaning no sustainable forest. So, for birds and conservation, having a working coffee farm that doubles as a functional forest means migrating and nesting birds still have the habitat they need and yet we can still enjoy wonderful coffee.

Each coffee flavor has a bird featured on the package, birds that migrate from forests in North America to places in Central and South America. This makes it much easier for bird-of-mouth marketing since some of the flavors have long, unmemorable names.

Flavors Tested

• 100% Colombian Organic Don Telmo Reserva Bourbon Coffee – American Redstart
• 100% Colombian Organic Mesa De Los Santos Catura Coffee – Yellow Warbler
• 100% Colombian Organic Don Telmo Reserva Tipica Coffee – Barn Swallow
• 100% Mexican FIECH Organic, Bird-Friendly® Coffee – Baltimore Oriole
• 100% El Salvador Santa Teresa Bourbon, Organic, Bird-Friendly® Coffee – Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• 100% Peruvian Organic Arabica Coffee – Eastern Kingbird
• 100% Peruvian Organic Arabica Naturally Decaffeinated Coffee – Summer Tanager

Of these flavors, the only one I really didn’t enjoy was the decaffeinated one. This could be my predisposed opinion on decaf or it just wasn’t my cup of tea, er, coffee. I like coffee for its caffeinated effect!!

However, the other six flavors were just about perfect and made it difficult to pick one favorite. So I’ll choose two: American Redstart and Eastern Kingbird. Both have excellent aromas and both were smooth tasting. Both were also highly effective in providing that morning pick-me-up at work.

A portion of the proceeds from each pound of Bird-Friendly® Coffee is donated to the Smithsonian Institution Migratory Bird Center for research and conservation programs. This is yet another added bonus to purchasing this wonderful coffee.

Bird conservation comes in many ways from many people and organizations. Conserving habitat for ducks (and other waterfowl) helps increase populations of these birds along with many other wetland and prairie bird species. Ducks Unlimited is a leading force for bird conservation and although they represent hunters, birders benefit greatly from their efficient conservation efforts.

Ducks Unlimited was founded in 1937 during a turbulent time of vanishing wetlands and waterfowl. Today they are a world leader in bird conservation responsible for nearly 13 million acres of land conserved. DU’s Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign seeks to raise $1.7 billion for wetland conservation. Their strategic initiatives include:

• The North American Grasslands Conservation Initiative
• The Western Boreal Forest Conservation Initiative
• The Louisiana Coastal Conservation Initiative
• North America’s Threatened Wetlands Conservation Initiative
• The Pintail Conservation Initiative
• The Mallard Conservation Initiative
• The Educating Youth About Wetlands Initiative
• The Strategic Conservation Initiative Fund
• Endowment Initiative

Blue-winged Teal

It is important to note that these conservation efforts help many more birds than just waterfowl. Particularly, the grasslands of the Great Plains which provides superb habitat for breeding birds and the Boreal Forest which hosts unbelievable numbers of migratory songbirds.

The grasslands of North America are the world’s best waterfowl breeding habitat. This mix of shallow ponds surrounded by native grasses attracts millions of breeding waterfowl each year. Today, less than one quarter of our original prairie grasslands remains, and what is left is under imminent threat of destruction. Despite such dramatic habitat loss, the prairies of North America still provide the most important habitat for nesting waterfowl. – Ducks Unlimited

The conservation efforts Ducks Unlimited has initiated benefits more than just birds. Restoring wetlands increases recreation, water quality, and flood control among others. Increasing grassland habitat has economic benefits, improves soil quality, and provides carbon storage.

I am a Ducks Unlimited member but am not a duck hunter. I support DU’s conservation efforts because 86% of their funding goes to waterfowl/wetland conservation efforts. They’ve done an excellent job of blending the mix of hunting and conservation to provide wins for everyone including the overall populations of birds.

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Have a fun and safe Halloween! Go find some spooky birds!

While you’re at it, now is a great time to purchase new feeders and get them stocked for the coming cold months (at least for us here in the Midwest). Check out some of the feeders and other bird-related products we offer at OpenSky. All products are 10% off from now until November 15th, 2009. Use coupon code: EDDIE1009

We love the shape Turkey Vultures (TVs) make when they fly. They are one of the coolest birds to observe and often allow for up close study. Their behaviors are fascinating and something we will be discussing in the near future.

The following is a review of the two amazing new photographic bird guides: Birds of Eastern North America: A Photographic Guide & Birds of Western North America: A Photographic Guide. Both guides are by Paul Sterry and Brian E. Small and are published by Princeton University Press.

Stunning. This was the first word that came to mind upon cracking open these new guides. Before diving into any of the introductory text or even reading through the species accounts, I paged through the unbelievable photos with wide eyes. The photography alone is worth owning both Eastern and Western editions. Even so, the accompanying text is fantastic too.

Excerpt from the Western edition

Both guides have a wonderfully written introduction which includes nine full pages on bird habitat. This is most welcome because bird identification is aided greatly if you understand habitat and what birds are found where. There is also one page on plumage, something I wish was covered in greater detail with more photos. Plumage is often misinterpreted by many new (as well as experienced) birders.

The layout of both Eastern & Western versions is the same: left side holds the range map (from Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and text that covers identification clues, habitat, voice, etc. Some species also have a smaller photo on this side. On the right side is a cluster of large, beautiful photographs that cover male, female, immature, and alternate variations (where applicable). These photos definitely aide in identification.

Excerpt from the Eastern edition

Similar species are arranged closely together for quick comparison and the index is easy to use to find a particular bird (as tested on my father). The top corners of the pages (see image on the left) have small birds which also help to find specific birds while flipping. Quite a few of the species found in both editions have variant photos for the bird, especially when regional differences are encountered.

My only real qualm with the guides are their lack of white space. The layout is a bit crowded with so much information and so many photographs that it becomes a bit cluttered and overwhelming. The artistic value is superb though, so it may have altered the layout too much to provide a roomier feel.

Paul Sterry is the author or co-author of 50+ books plus a photographer as well. Brian E. Small is one of the world’s top nature photographers, featured in countless publications.

Purchase Birds of Western North America: A Photographic Guide (Princeton Field Guides) or Birds of Eastern North America: A Photographic Guide (Princeton Field Guides)

Birds of Eastern North America: A Photographic Guide
Paul Sterry & Brian E. Small
336 pages | 1,118 color photographs | 405 maps
Princeton University Press – $18.95

Birds of Western North America: A Photographic Guide
Paul Sterry & Brian E. Small
416 pages | 1,341 color photographs | 449 maps
Princeton University Press – $18.95

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is hosting a spooky bird contest and you have until Halloween to enter. “A Murder of Crows and other Spooky Bird Tales” consists of photos, stories, artwork, and more of birds doing weird but explainable behaviors.

For our entry we have chosen perhaps the most fascinating and oh so creepy North American bird, the Turkey Vulture. Our submission is below:

We observed a large group of Turkey Vultures riding thermals as the sun declined over Devil’s Lake State Park in central Wisconsin. This particular bird landed on one of the jagged rocks and methodically spread his wings and turned slowly to a small group of vultures, all while keeping his wings fully extended. He held this position for over ten minutes.

Why was this vulture doing this? Is it a communication to other vultures?
Why were there so many vultures circling in one particular area?
At one point, another vulture was closing and opening his wings methodically- why was he doing this?

Vultures are so fascinating and do a ton of creepy and gross things so we’d love to learn more about their behaviors.

How do you enter?

Email your entry to urbanbirds@cornell.edu.

1. Write “AMOC_YourFirstNameLastName_state” in the subject line. (use the 2-letter abbreviation for state in which the photo was taken)
2. Include your name and mailing address in the body of the e-mail.
3. Tell us why you submitted your entry to the Murder of Crows challenge; what’s the story behind it?
4. Read terms of agreement.
5. If you are submitting a visual image attach it as a .jpg
6. If you agree to the terms, send us your entry before October 31!
7. One image per entry, please

You can win some pretty wicked cool prizes!!

* EagleOptics Vortex binoculars, waterproof and fog-proof body, 10x 32, multi-coated optics, bright optics, small handy size, easy to carry
* ALPEN binoculars, 8×30, wide angle, long eye relief, with super close IPD (inter pupillary Distance, which means eye pieces can be adjusted close together so kids can use them)
* CD’s, books, posters, plush bird dolls with bird calls inside, and more.
* Birding for Everyone book by John C Robinson…Encouraging people of color to become birdwatchers
* The first fifty entrants will get a poster illustrated by Pedro Fernandes. This wonderful poster illustrates and describes behaviors of crows, jays, and other birds. We’ll also post selected entries on the Encyclopedia of Life and Celebrate Urban Birds websites.

Read more information and enter now!!

Join in now on the 61st edition of Bird Photography Weekly!!

If you haven’t yet, check out Sipping for Sakers, a joint effort to help conserve Saker Falcons.

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Birders are faced with an amazing number of products to enhance our enjoyment and increase our birding skills. Of course, with this ridiculous amount of products comes an overwhelming feeling of just what is necessary to help find and enjoy birds.

OpenSky is a new way to find products as it “connects you to experts and the products they love and use.” Birdfreak.com has recently become one such “expert” or as OpenSky calls us, a shopkeeper. Our goal is to promote products we personally use and/or highly recommend. We plan to cut through the clutter and seek out only the best items.

We are just getting started so our selection is limited. If you have an item you fully enjoy and think we would too, let us know in the comments and we’ll work on getting it added (and review it as well).

From now until Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 all purchases through OpenSky have FREE shipping. Check it out and also feel free to see Birdchick’s storefront as well.

From our visit to the International Crane Foundation, this pair of Whooping Cranes posed nicely for a high dynamic range (HDR) shot.