Ninja Birder

What a pleasant surprise when I was shooting the feeder friends on the post a few days ago, that I heard the call of the Pileated Woodpecker. Of course, I had to go investigate. So, I sneak towards the sound as quietly as I can, but the snow crunching gave my location away. It flushed, but I watched it closely and saw where it landed. I squeak along again, and flush it again. This time, as my frustration peaks, I stood in place. It took another 10 minutes and the tapping on wood suddenly sounded thru the woods. My ears chose a direction and I ninja-ed my way closer. I finally see it thru some heavy limbs, so I took some shots:




I ninja-ed some more but the peckerwood saw me and vanished! Oh well, I got proof I saw him, which was only the second time I have ever photographed one. So all in all, the day was a success even though the shots were not!

Note: Peckerwood is slang for "poor southern white folks". I used this term loosely as I just wanted a reason to cuss out my frustration.

Gasp!

I was shooting a Northern Harrior flying low over the prairie until it was too far away, and so I was about to move on...I put the car in gear and started rolling, when something caught my eye just a few yards away, perching on a snag, very low in the tall grass. What the ????



In the first few seconds of thought, I wished it to be a burrowing owl. Oh man, would that have been a dream...

I studied it and studied it, and determined it to be a harrier. The facial disks threw me...Now, I am still excited mind you, but slightly let down. Finding the male harrier roosting is indeed a rare find, but a burrowing owl would have made me pee my pants, seriously! Anyway...




He stayed for quite a long time, looking right...




looking left...



until he decided to flush...



which made for more exciting photos...




There is quite a difference between the male and the female...



The male is plenty paler...



than the female I found flying over , displayed above.



Here are some cool facts:

A long-winged, long-tailed hawk of open grassland and marshes, the Northern Harrier forages by flying slowly low above the ground looking for small rodents. It is one of the few raptors in which the sexes look quite different: the male is white below with a light gray back and hood, the female is mottled in browns.

Most male Northern Harriers are mated to one or two females at the same time. Some males pair with up to five mates in a season.

Unlike other hawks, the Northern Harrier relies on its hearing as well as its vision to capture prey. The feathers of the face are stiff to help transmit sound, and it shows a pronounced "facial disk," much like that of an owl.

The Northern Harrier feeds primarily on mice, other small mammals, and small birds. It will, however, take larger prey, such as rabbits and ducks. It has been known to subdue large prey by drowning it.

Source: All About Birds

Feeder Friends

When the snow falls, the cutest lil birds come out!

Just a few hanging around the feeder:



Chickadee






White-throated Sparrow






White-breasted Nuthatch






Pine Siskin

You Ain't Got No Alibi...

You ugly....Wha?....You Ugly!


So maybe you think I am being harsh? I am... I do love turkeys! I love them for their inner beauty... yea, that's it...

But... while researching the actual words of the Ugly cheer, I stumbled on to this one which scares me:


I'M SEXY, I'M CUTE, I'M POPULAR TO BOOT
I'M BITCHIN, GREAT HAIR
THE BOYS ALL LOVE TO STARE
I'M WANTED, I'M HOT, I'M EVERYTHING YOU'RE NOT
I'M PRETTY, I'M COOL, I DOMINATE THIS SCHOOL
WHO AM I, JUST GUESS
GUYS WANNA TOUCH MY CHEST
I'M ROCKIN, I SMILE, AND MANY THINK I'M VILE
I'VE GOT IT, I JUMP, YOU CAN LOOK BUT DON'T YOU HUMP
I'M MAJOR, I ROAR, I'M SWEAR I'M NOT A WHORE
WE CHEER, WE LEAD, WE ACT LIKE WE'RE ON SPEED
HATE US CAUSE WE'RE BEAUTIFUL
WELL WE DON'T LIKE YOU EITHER
WE'RE CHEERLEADERS, WE ARE CHEERLEADERS!

Now that is what I call ugly! Gimme a U!

And for all of you who don't know the words to the Ugly cheer, here it is:

U-G-L-Y, YOU AIN'T GOT NO ALIBI
YOU UGLY, YEAH (2x) YOU UGLY
M-A-M-A WE KNOW HOW YOU GOT THAT WAY
YOUR MAMA, YEAH (2x) YOUR MAMA
D-A-D-D-Y YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT GUY
YOUR DADDY, YEAH (2x) YOU DADDY
C-U-T-E THAT'S THE WAY YOU WANNA BE,
LIKE ME, YEAH (2X) LIKE ME
C-O-U-S-I-N THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE YOU'VE BEEN
YOUR COUSIN, YEAH (2x) YOUR COUSIN
N-A-S-T-Y THAT'S WHY YOU GO HOME AND CRY
YOUR NASTY, YEAH (2x) YOUR NASTY
B-U-T-T THAT'S THE WAY YOU LOOK TO ME
BUTT UGLY, YEAH (2X) BUTT UGLY

What has this world come to? Seriously...

Shrike a Pose

Another first for me...The Northern Shrike.

I didn't go out looking for one... I don't even know where to look...well, until now anyway...




I saw this guy fly from a tree, through an open field and land on this sapling. I thought at first it was a Bluejay, but the coloring was...I don't know...lighter. It flew like a bluejay and it's markings were similar in flight, but I grabbed the binoculars anyway, and I am glad I did. I took this photo, but It didn't take long before he disappeared into a treeline and out of sight. I left to check out another place.



The thought of that shrike was pulling me back to that spot. I came back hoping he had a liking of the area and was pleasantly surprised to see him in another tree. He was backlit by the setting sun, but I didn't care. He really was a beautiful bird with interesting markings. And...What I found out about him in the bird guides was really interesting!




He's a vampire of sorts! Well, he doesn't drink blood, but read what this guy does do:

A predatory songbird, the Northern Shrike breeds in taiga and tundra and winters in southern Canada and the northern United States. It feeds on small birds, mammals, and insects, sometimes impaling them on spines or barbed wire fences.

Cool Facts

The Northern Shrike, like other shrikes, kills more prey, if it can, than it can immediately eat or feed to nestlings. Such behavior was characterized by early observers as "wanton killing," but the Northern Shrike stores excess prey to eat later. Storing food is an adaptation for surviving periods of food scarcity.

Generally sits and waits on an exposed perch. Seizes prey near ground with feet or bill. Kills vertebrates by biting through neck. Removes wings, spines, and stingers from insects. Often impales prey, sometimes while prey is still alive, on thorns, spines, or barbed wire. May pull impaled prey and consume it right away, or may leave it for later consumption.

Source: All About Birds

Winter Plumage Starling

I'm not a big European Starling fan, but I can appreciate their winter plumage with the irridescent greens and purples.

He kinda looks irritated at me for taking his picture.

It's Snowy Time!

Although I do not have an honorable representation, I do have photographic evidence of how I will spend my winter...chasing Snowy Owls! As the irruption year of the snowy has definately begun, the northern parts of Illinois are starting to spot quite a few owls in the past few weeks. Lucky for me, there happens to be one making it's temporary home in the farm fields about 30 minutes from my home. Interestingly enough, he chose a place near a giant wind farm! I can't believe the turbines doesn't intimidate him:



This is the second Snowy I have ever seen, so it's distance is frustrating. My first was a few years ago, back on Christmas Day 2006. That morning was as magical as Santa Clause...

Here's how that morning went:





Snowy Owls: They are birds of the Arctic Tundra. They are commonly found in Canada, Alaska, and northward. Some Snowy's venture southbound when their food source is scarce (voles and lemmings are their staples, but they do eat rabbits, pheasants and other small animals). The Chicago lakefront gets a few visitors almost every winter, which are mainly juveniles who lose their way. My first snowy was discovered 50 miles south of where I live. I found out about it through the birding hotline on Christmas Eve of 2006. My plan was to go to the site on Christmas morning, before I went to meet my family for the holiday. The information I had was semi-specific, so I had road crossings and landmarks to check. None of that information has a guarantee of a sighting, but I didn't want to miss him if he was just resting on his wayward journey. I got up before dawn and headed for my destination along with my friend Pam. Our research led us to believe that the best time to find him would be at dawn when the snowy would be looking for breakfast, before finding a place to rest for the day. We followed our directions and were nearing our destination with our anticipation building with every mile. With our fingers crossed, we started scanning the fields for anything white. We found alot of Walmart bags, and milk jugs cleverly disguised, and pushed on. We are getting close to the crossroad we are looking for. We now need to find a rusty corrugated steel barn with 2 windows. (When you are in farm country, every barn is practically the same.) We see a barn in the distance all by itself in the field. From where we were, it looked like something white was at the peak. Could it be? As we approach, we get our cameras ready. Yes! We can't believe our luck. It was amazing to see him, because we are not supposed to. He doesn't belong here, and yet, here he is! We grabbed our tripods, set them up outside our respective windows, threw on our remote shutter cables and snapped away. He never left. We were so thrilled that he wasn't disturbed by us, that we thanked him and left after plenty of shots. We came back a few more times after that day, and found him in the cornfields, and once, luckily enough, on a utility pole just as the sun was setting. He was a beautiful bird and a prize for any wildlife enthusiast!

Now, if only I could talk this years bird into a closer shot...