Monthly Archives: February 2009

Chicago area bird rehab needs help

by Amy Posted on 22 February 2009

Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation, a private nonprofit rehab organization in the Chicagoland area, is in trouble. The group has three locations, in Itasca, Barrington and Chicago (Northerly Island), and in the past six month they have suffered through three floods at two locations. The Northerly Island location suffered a burst pipe on January 17th, ruining the center’s flooring.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Since September, flooding twice forced [founder Dawn] Keller and her all-volunteer crew at Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation in Itasca to evacuate 43 birds from outside cages. Then last month, while Keller was still figuring out where she was going to get $15,000 to replace damaged bird habitats, Flint Creek’s bird emergency room at Northerly Island in Chicago flooded.

Repairs to the ER will cost more than $8,000, and Keller fears they won’t be finished in time for the start of migratory bird season. And as the weather thaws, mildew will start to turn the ER into a veritable bacteria farm, she said.


Read the whole article here

Donations can be made to the center via the website. You can donate via Paypal or contribute to their current fundraising drive via firstgiving.

Here’s a message from founder Dawn Keller, recorded for the 2008 holiday season.

Visit the Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation website for more information.

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Posted in Charity, FCWR, Illinois, Rehabilitation, Video | Leave a comment

PBOT

by Amy Posted on 20 February 2009

The Painted Bunting Observer Team, or PBOT, is a group of citizen scientists in Florida and the Carolinas who provide data which helps develop strategies to sustain the Bunting’s population. PBOT is a project from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and they need volunteers to join the team. If you’re in the Carolinas or Florida and want to know more, read all about the project and then become a member!

Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris)
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) by dominic sherony, Creative Commons on Flickr

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Posted in Citizen Science | 1 Comment

Oh no, it’s CAM time again!

by Amy Posted on 19 February 2009

Last year I spent a lot of time watching live online bird and nest cams when I should have been working. I doubt this year will be any different.

My favorites are the Rochester Falconcam and the Beleef de Lente cams from the Dutch arm of BirdLife International, Vogelbescherming.

This year will be very exciting for the Rochester cam. The long-used nest box was relocated over the winter to a new location due to construction work. A second nest box was also placed in the area and falcon-watchers are waiting to see if and when the falcons, Mariah and Kaver, will choose one of the boxes. The Rochester Falconcam cameras were turned on this week at the Powers Building location so you can already tune in to see if the falcons will make an appearance. You can keep up with all the Rochester Falconcam news by reading their blog, Imprints, which also includes frequent updates on Mariah & Kaver’s offspring from previous years.

Imprints

If you’re interested in supporting the Falconcam, you can make donations here. You could also purchase a Mariah & Kaver t-shirt or other product from Birdorable, where 30% of your purchase price goes to the Falconcam.

The cams at Beleef de Lente won’t start up until March 1st. Last year there were cameras following families of Common Kestrels, Little Owls, European Kingfishers, Eurasian Spoonbills, Sandwich Terns and Common Swifts. The Little Owls suffered quite a drama as all four eggs hatched but the parents were unable to provide enough food for the family and only one of the chicks survived to fledge.

Beleef De Lente

What are some of your favorite Bird Cams? Wait, don’t tell me – I’ll never get anything done all spring!

UPDATE: I just read which birds will be on the Beleef De Lente cams this year: Great Tit; Common Kestrel; Little Owl; White Stork; Eurasian Spoonbill; Sandwich Tern; Peregrine Falcon; Common Kingfisher. I can’t wait!

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Posted in Webcams | Leave a comment

Beautiful bird art exhibit in Chicago

by Amy Posted on 16 February 2009

Paintings by artist David Kroll will be on display at the Zolla-Lieberman Gallery until 28 February. The art gallery is at 325 W. Huron in Chicago.

The artist, on his paintings:

Our world has been touched and tended and tamed to such a degree that it often seems we’ve wrested the wild out of the wilderness. As a species, we mistakenly believed that our survival hinged on refining and degrading nature, but it is becoming ever clearer that our actions have led to an increasingly precarious habitat for all living creatures – humans included. As the fragility of nature becomes more apparent, so does its value. My paintings explore the natural world not as an expendable resource but as a past home, once left and forgotten, now longed for and dreamlike.

The works shown on the gallery website look like an interesting mix between still-life and landscape images with birds and nests. My favorite one is Swallows and Grapes.

There is more info on the artist here.

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Posted in Art, Illinois | 1 Comment

Why’s the Osprey so hot lately?

by Amy Posted on 13 February 2009

There’s a movement to designate the Osprey as the state bird of Oregon (replacing the Western Meadowlark). A few months ago schoolchildren in Florida elected to name the Osprey the new state bird, to replace the Mockingbird. I love Ospreys as much as the next person (it’s even one of my favorite Birdorables), but how come they’re so popular as to be replacing existing state birds all of a sudden?

Osprey Hovering
Osprey Hovering by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region, Creative Commons on Flickr

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Posted in Birdorable, North America, Offbeat | Leave a comment

Georgia calls on citizen scientists to help with bird tick study

by Amy Posted on 12 February 2009

From The Daily Citizen:

Have you seen a bird with a fat tick stuck to its face? If so, the University of Georgia would like to know about it. In fact, you can participate in a research project by donating the ticks to UGA. […]

Interestingly, if the ticks are removed before the bird develops breathing problems, all these effects will quickly be reversed and the bird will recover and be fine.

If you want to attempt to rescue the bird, recommendations are that you wrap the animal in a towel to keep it from struggling. Pick the ticks off, examining under the feathers carefully to be sure all have been removed. Avian rehabilitators suggest then placing the animal in a large paper bag or box for a few hours to allow it to recover before it is released in the wild, where it might be at a disadvantage if it encountered predators before regaining flight ability.

Full article here.

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Posted in Aside, Citizen Science, North America | 1 Comment

Another freaky Northern Cardinal

by Amy Posted on 9 February 2009

Last month a gynandromorph (half-male/half-female) Northern Cardinal spotted at a feeder in northwestern Illinois made the news. Today’s Columbia Daily Tribune has a report of a white-headed female Cardinal feeding at an Ohio back yard feeder for several years running. I’ve never seen anything like this, either, but apparently this type of coloration is not so uncommon. The below image is from a photographer in Virginia.

White-headed Female Cardinal #2 Mar 30

And this feeder visitor is a Flickr find.

White Cardinal (4)
White Cardinal (4) by Lee Coursey, Creative Commons on Flickr

Have you ever seen a white Cardinal or another bird with unusual coloration?

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Posted in Offbeat, Yard Birds | 3 Comments

New bird exhibit in Chicago

by Amy Posted on 4 February 2009

A new permanent exhibit called “Birds of Chicago” opened at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum last Friday. The Nature Museum is located in Chicago at 2430 North Cannon Drive.

Learn about birds native to Illinois, with nearly 100 specimens on display that date back to the early 1900s. The birds range in age, size, color and rarity, showcasing everything from the large Midwest turkey and the common blue jay to the endangered prairie chicken. Touch screen kiosks provide visitors with additional information on the birds.

Visit The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum website for more information.

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Posted in Aside, Illinois | 1 Comment

Stimulating Dutch Sparrows

by Amy Posted on 2 February 2009

Amsterdam members of the Dutch political party GroenLinks (Green Left) want residents and businesses to help stimulate the city’s population of House Sparrows. GroenLinks is asking that new roof construction and roof renovations include sparrow-friendly ‘Vogelvide’ roof tiles.

The number of House Sparrows in the Netherlands has declined by 50% in the last 25 years. GroenLinks is asking Amsterdam to subsidize use of the bird-friendly roof tiles to help with the declining sparrow population.

Sparrows
Sparrows by barockschloss, Creative Commons on Flickr

In 2006, 100 new homes in Noordwijk, Alkmaar, Hardenberg and Amsterdam were fitted with the Vogelvide roof tiles.

Source: Geef de mus een huis in de Amsterdamse binnenstad

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Posted in Netherlands | 1 Comment