Birding

[belovelife]

"I would suggest doing this at a minimum especially during the mating/brood raising season. It has been suggested for some types of birds' date=' the presence of a human doing this repeatedly in a territory can drive a male bird away as he feels he would lose a fight with this larger competition."

 

NOTE: I did not say you should NEVER do this, only put some thought into when and where you choose to mislead these wild creatures. Ya know.. like not leading them out onto the busy highway while waiting for someone to pick you up hitchhiking.

 

 

[/quote']

 

 

yea as a matter of fact that instance i was talking about i had to walk through a city to get to the other side

 

but i have done this across the country on foot

and most birds take well to it

and if they are upset

then i wonder why when i sit they cruse right up next to me and chill?

 

 

good point about the mating seaason ting

 

you know i woke up this morning and did my morning whistle

and this humming bird came out

and he did a cool really high pitch whistle (not like a chirp)

then he landed on the fence next to me

[belovelife]

having time to understand your comments

i see the picture you are drawing

you seem to come from the druidic standpoint

whereas i come from a shamanistic standpoint

i believe we would have alot to learn from oneanother

as far as names of birds

i say the small one with the cool pattern

or the big one with the not so cool pattern

so names are different

but i see eyour point

[Cedars]

Earlier this season was some discussion on young bald eagles vs vultures. They can be confusing to identify sometimes.

 

So today going thru some pics, I came across a few for comparison.

 

1st pic is a returning spring bird so its almost a year old. Crex Meadows.

2nd pic is probably a new fledge from 2008. I think the pic was taken July 27th. We had some concerns about the neck swelling. May be a bone lodged in. Crex Meadows

3rd pic is my close to home bird and a 2008 bird (July again). It has the darker markings.

 

Common feature in all three of the above is the whiter areas on the underwing are in the wing linings. Technical term for these areas of the wing are Underwing Coverts and Axillaries. The mottling patterns can vary greatly between birds, even siblings of the same brood.

 

The 4th pic is of a typical Turkey Vulture pattern. For these birds, the underwing area is dark and the Primarys and Secondaries (long outer wing feathers) are typically silvery/gray looking when they are soaring overhead.

 

Sometimes the soaring height of these birds wont allow you to see that much detail. Another general guide to use is head/tail size.

 

A vultures head in a soaring spot will be much (1/2) as long as its tail. It may even appear there is no head on the bird. An eagles head (and their large beak) show up as nearly tail length in an overhead soaring bird. The width of the neck is also a visual measurement when the bird is not too high or far away. A vulture appears to be a kinda pinheaded (or like a golfball sticking out of a bird) where the neck of the eagle is much broader and more proportional to the bird. Almost a V (capital) shape.

 

Maybe next spring I will get some decent overhead vulture shots to add to this.

[Cedars]

Just posting this as a thought for people.

 

There are several persons along the rivers of MN who feed overwintering waterfowl during the winter. In spots, hundreds of Trumpeter swans have spent years returning to these same spots, aided by the people who are feeding them. There has been some issues raised and one person has been required by the MN DNR to cease feeding after a certain date in January each year (I cant remember if its the 1st or the 15th).

 

I received a report on two (of three) swans who are crex meadows area birds just transported on January 1st to rehabilitation centers for lead poisoning. One is in very critical condition and wasnt expected to survive the night. This one is a tagged reproducing and mated female crex bird. She did survive through yesterday (Jan 3) but her condition remains critical.

 

The person who reported (and helped capture) these 3 birds is one of the people who feeds the overwintering birds. He told the rescue people he sees about 6 birds a winter poisoned by lead. Without his daily attention to the feeding, no one would have known about the sick animals.

 

This year (2008) several birds (eagles and swans) were taken in with lead poisoning off crex meadows alone.

 

Hunters have options to use steel shot for hunting. Fishermen have the option to use steel sinkers when fishing. I would like to encourage anyone reading this to actively convert their hunting/fishing gear into more environmentally sound items, and when out participating in these pastimes to actively seek out and remove discarded/lost lead items when encountered.

[Cedars]

While this is not a happy topic, it needs attention.

 

I received a notification that a swan brought in for rehab christmas eve or day (not mentioned in the previous post) has died of lead poisoning. I believe this was the bird with lead fishing sinkers. It was a crex bird, mated and producing.

 

The three birds picked up New Years day are still hanging in there.

 

Yesterday, my crex companion (someone who roams the meadows with me) went on a rescue attempt (location unknown). They had received a report of a sick swan. This sick swan is one of the young birds tagged on crex meadows this past summer. The bird was not captured and is still out there most likely (based on symptoms) suffering from lead poisoning.

 

Thats a lot of sick swans in a very narrow range. This is approximately 80 miles from crex meadows, where the birds are turning up sick. And these birds are the lucky ones, with people paying attention to their needs and reacting when they see them struggling.

 

Again, if you fish or hunt please take the time to swap out your lead products for safer items. And while out roaming the beaches or back waters, if you find abandoned lead sinkers, pack them out.

 

If you see a sick animal Contact one of the people listed in the link below. If they cant help, they should be able to contact an appropriate person, or give you the correct responder info. Often, state DNRs take the position of letting nature take its course regardless of the fact these may not be natural events (lead poisoning).

 

Wildlife Rehab Centers A-Z

 

How To Locate a Wildlife Rehabilitator

[belovelife]

it should also be noted that these are our water resivuirs

the more lead we put in them the more we drink

[Turtle]

it should also be noted that these are our water resivuirs

the more lead we put in them the more we drink

 

Mmmmm...that honestly has nothing to do with birds. In fact, reading between the lines I get the sense it trivializes birds. I've got more... Your statement is lacking any support and is a gross over-generalization (generalization in the literary sense) of human drinking water sources. Finally, having read many of your posts & seeing you have a broad knowledge, I'm bothered by your intentional misspellings. :confused:

 

...Hunters have options to use steel shot for hunting. Fishermen have the option to use steel sinkers when fishing. I would like to encourage anyone reading this to actively convert their hunting/fishing gear into more environmentally sound items, and when out participating in these pastimes to actively seek out and remove discarded/lost lead items when encountered.

 

Some places it's required by law to use steel shot, and the push is on for more legal restrictions. We have a few hundred years of effectively slinging millions of small lead pellets from sea to shining sea, and they meet many birds' criteria for gizzard stones. Given the size & wide distribution of lead shot pellets, I don't see any practical means of recovering them in any appreciable amount. :(

 

The HSUS Calls for Nationwide Ban on Lead Shot after Endangered Condor Poisonings | The Humane Society of the United States

WASHINGTON — The Humane Society of the United States today urged a nationwide ban on lead-shot ammunition after the lead poisoning of seven critically endangered California condors. One of the seven birds has died, vivid evidence that this ammo keeps on killing long after it leaves the gun barrel.

 

“Like asbestos, lead shot is a lethal and cruel pollutant that has no place in our modern society,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. “Discharging countless tons of lead-shot ammunition and dispersing it in open space areas throughout the nation is a prescription for slow agonizing deaths for wildlife, particularly for scavengers such as condors who feed on animals killed by lead shot and are then poisoned themselves. It's time for policymakers to stand up to the extremist voices within the hunting lobby and demand that hunters use nontoxic shot.” ...

[Flapjack]

What do miss spellings matter? There are so many different spellings AND meanings in US English and US English. Deliberate or not, I see no problem.

[belovelife]

Mmmmm...that honestly has nothing to do with birds. In fact, reading between the lines I get the sense it trivializes birds. I've got more... Your statement is lacking any support and is a gross over-generalization (generalization in the literary sense) of human drinking water sources. Finally, having read many of your posts & seeing you have a broad knowledge, I'm bothered by your intentional misspellings. :confused:

 

can you think of a better way to say stop poisoning th ebirds

[freeztar]

I believe the main point that Turtle was trying to make is that the comment made by belovelife was off-topic.

 

It is true, though, that lead in the environment is a significant risk for nearly all living creatures. For a discussion of the effects on humans, I recommend the following thread:

 

http://hypography.com/forums/earth-science/2375-lead-hidden-danger-in-our-homes.html

[Mercedes Benzene]

I believe the main point that Turtle was trying to make is that the comment made by belovelife was off-topic.

 

Exactly, this thread is specifically about birds.:confused: The statements made with regard to humans were overgeneralized. Our modern water treatments are such that dangerous levels of lead are mitigated through the introduction of chelating agents during the treatment process.

 

Lead isn’t as widespread in water as hardness, iron or bacteria. According to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates, less than 1 percent of public water treatment systems in the United States use raw water with lead levels greater than 5 parts per billion (ppb), and EPA has a 15-ppb maximum contaminant level (MCL). Those systems serve less than 3 percent of public water customers. Also, the Water Quality Association (WQA) says lead is seldom found in groundwater or surface waters at levels exceeding 10 ppb.

Water Technology Online :: Brought to you by Grand View Media

 

Birds on the other hand are directly affected by lead in water systems.

Effects of lead on birds (Laridae): a review of la...[J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. 2000 Apr-Jun] - PubMed Result

This is expected, as most (if not all) animals are affected by the introduction of lead in cellular processes, particularly of the neurological variety.

[belovelife]

i know its off topic, sorry

but does it cost more for the goverment to remove higher levels of lead then lower levels on a national level?

[freeztar]

i know its off topic, sorry

 

It is off-topic. Please stay on-topic. :confused:

 

but does it cost more for the goverment to remove higher levels of lead then lower levels on a national level?

 

Again, this is a question for a different thread. It's a great question, but it's not relevant to the topic at hand, birding. If you are really curious about your question, then I suggest doing some research first, and then creating a new thread. You can also always post questions such as this in the Hypography Q&A forum.

[belovelife]

does anybody know the name of that huge bird from america

that was hunted down because of the rumors that it was taking away babies

is it extinct or is it only endangered

either ways are there any old or new pictures?

[Turtle]

does anybody know the name of that huge bird from america that was hunted down because of the rumors that it was taking away babies is it extinct or is it only endangered either ways are there any old or new pictures?

 

These 'Thunderbird' stories refer to condors, and which species is open to debate depending on the area the story comes from. I know of no verified sightings of Andean Condors in North America in recent decades, and my earlier article has information on the current status of California Condors. ............

 

Condor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Condor is the name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.

 

They are:

 

The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) which inhabits the Andean mountains.

The California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) nowadays restricted to western coastal mountains of the United States.

[Cedars]

Some places it's required by law to use steel shot, and the push is on for more legal restrictions. We have a few hundred years of effectively slinging millions of small lead pellets from sea to shining sea, and they meet many birds' criteria for gizzard stones. Given the size & wide distribution of lead shot pellets, I don't see any practical means of recovering them in any appreciable amount.

 

The HSUS Calls for Nationwide Ban on Lead Shot after Endangered Condor Poisonings | The Humane Society of the United States

 

I believe all waterfowl hunting is mandated steel shot now via fed law. Other types of bird hunting (turkey, grouse, pheasant, etc) are lead allowed in MN and many other states. Minnesota banned lead shot for waterfowl in '87 In early 2008 another attempt to ban all lead shot in MN was removed from the bill. This year very few of these types of laws will be enacted as its a budget session.

 

Seems hunters are evenly divided on pro/con banning all lead shot.

 

MinnPost - DNR considers extending ban on lead shot

 

Yes, lead shot is scattered about the environment and nearly impossible to remove by any practical methods I am aware of. But I find lead sinkers in my travels along the rivers and lakes around here. I have been packing out discarded fishing line and related stuff for years and years but thought the more aware people are, the better.

[Cedars]

Well the DNR stop feeding orders I spoke about in a previous post included private citizens and two DNR feeding programs. The DNR programs were stopped in December.

 

They have lifted the ban and resumed feeding swans in two locations now.

Why?

 

The foraging swans were turning up sick and injured. There are now around 30 swans being treated for injury and lead poisoning.

 

http://www.twincities.com/ci_11419513

 

I suppose with enough time and dead swans/eagles, we will eventually remove the lead from the environment.

 

 

Edit:

The tagged female Crex Meadows swan that was taken in critical condition *she was going into seizures* for Rehab on New Years day has regained enough strength to stand on its own now. She is not out of the woods yet, but is showing improvement.