Jacqueline

What great photos!

Not cheating!!  Elevation includes changes in climate, which means changes in vegetation and the birds and animals that live there. Good observation.

I used the Ontario Feeder Cam and looked at the footage from 1-19-21, which included a group of Common Redpolls feeding on a flat feeder.  Most of the birds ate and were neither aggressive, nor submissive.  There were two aggressive birds that seemed to shoo at least two other birds from the portion of the feeder occupied by the aggressors.  The more timid Redpolls simply moved to another part of the feeder; they were not completely run off.  The aggression probably related to rank within the Redpoll group.  Something spooked all of the Redpolls, as they all flew away at once, with the exception of one bird, which eventually left.  I couldn’t tell what startled them.

I watched a webcam located in Ontario, Canada and saw what I think is a Canada Jay, based on likely birds in Merlin.  It is Robin-sized, I think, and is shaped like a Northern Cardinal or Blue Jay without the crest. It has a long tail, is gray with white on its face and neck.  The nape of the neck is darker, almost black, compared to the rest of the body.  Merlin says these birds often are in small family groups, although I did not see other such birds.  They are often found in campgrounds.   According to “All About Birds,” these birds use sticky saliva to help store foods above the snow line and this might explain why they are able to live so far north.

<p style="text-align: left;">Activity 2:  one bird described for each of three groups</p>   <p style="text-align: right;">Woodpeckers—Northern Flicker.  I used Merlin and “All About Birds” to obtain information about this species.  Our lesson lists the following characteristics for the woodpecker group:</p> <p style="text-align: left;">“Climb along trunks and whack at wood; distinctive group.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Cling to tree trunks and sides of branches Hammer on wood and peck holes Small to medium-sized Medium-sized, pointed bill Short neck Moderate to short tail Very short legs”</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Unlike most of its fellow woodpeckers, this is a moderately large bird, being in size between a robin and a crow. It is brown with black markings; the eastern variant has yellow on its wings and tail, whereas the western has red.  Its bill is medium-sized and slightly curved.  It has a white rump that may be seen in flight.  These birds hammer on the ground where they search for insects (beetles and ants), but will live in holes in trees at least 6’ above the ground surface, where they build their nests.  They like to capture flying insects with their tongues.  They also eat berries and seeds.  They are found in ecotonal areas, where they can access sparse tree cover in open areas, as well as access forested areas.</p>   <p style="text-align: right;">Wading Birds—Roseate Spoonbill.  I used Merlin, “All About Birds” and the Audubon Society website to obtain information about this species.  Again, our lesson provides the following list of characteristics for the Wading Birds group:</p> “Large, long-legged birds often wading in water; includes herons, egrets, ibis, storks, and cranes. Wade in water, sometimes fields Large to very large Very long neck Long bill, may be curved Very long legs Short tail” The Roseate Spoonbill is a large bird with a pink body and long pink legs, a white head, red eyes, and a very distinctive bill that is flat, like a spoon, and used for capturing prey in shallow water.  These birds wade in shallow (5”) fresh or salt water areas and use their bills to sift muddy water for fish, aquatic invertebrates like crustaceans, and other small aquatic life. Their color comes from carotenoids found in the food they eat.  These birds are social and are often found in mixed flocks with other similar birds, like Ibises, Herons, Cranes, and Storks.  In the United States, they are found in states along the Gulf Coast and on Florida’s southern Atlantic Coast. They occur along the coasts of Mexico, and throughout South America.   The distinctive bill shapes are somewhat famous in North American archaeology, as they show up as decorative elements on pottery found in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri between 200 BCE to 400 CE.  These are areas far outside of the geographic distribution of these birds.  Such art-work helped support the concept of a far flung interaction amongst prehistoric peoples throughout Eastern North America.  People traded copper from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; catlinite, or Pipe Stone, from Minnesota; conch shells from the Gulf Coast; spike freshwater mussels from Eastern Georgia, used for personal adornment, such as necklaces; and had knowledge of fauna and flora from other parts of the continent, like the Spoon Bill.  Pottery in Illinois was made from local materials using decorative motifs of birds from another part of the continent.  How did ancient Illinoisans know what these birds looked like?  We have examples of skeletal remains of these birds found buried with humans from the time.   <p style="text-align: right;">Parrots—Scarlet Macaw.  I used information from the Rainforest Alliance to obtain information on this species.  Our class provides the following information:</p> “Parrots have a heavily curved, short, strong bill; distinctive group. Large head Short neck Short, strong bill with upper mandible curving over the lower one Short legs Many with brilliant colors on parts of body; mainly green” Scarlet Macaws are large birds and represent the largest of the parrots in the world; they can be up to 33” long from tail tip to the tip of the beak. Their faces are almost featherless and white.  The dominant color is red on wings, tails, and body.  The wings also have yellow and blue feathers. The large curved beak helps the bird eat the hard nuts found in the rainforests of Mexico and throughout South America. It is not uncommon to find hundreds of these birds clinging to clay cliffs along a river, as the clay helps neutralize poisons they ingest when eating certain toxic fruits that would kill other animals.  They live in large gregarious groups in tall deciduous trees near rivers.  They like to nest in holes found in dead trees and they mate for life.  Adults love to preen one another, as well as their offspring, which helps form strong social bonds.  These magnificent birds are sometimes stolen from their nests as juveniles to be sold in the United States for as much as $4,000.

Owls are recognizable by their rounded heads that appear to grow out of their bodies or shoulders, with no neck in between.  The Barred Owl, which has a very distinctive call, is large and recognizable.  I was fortunate enough to go for a walk early in the morning when it was still dark.  I saw an owl shape on top of a substantial wooden sign in front of a neighbor’s house.  I realized it was not a piece of wood shaped like an owl as I passed it because it was very round and three-dimensional.  I was perhaps 6 feet away from it and my presence obviously bothered it, as it started to stand on first one foot, then the other.  It had dark eyes set into a light-colored face; I saw no ears.  I observed it for a few minutes, then continued on my walk.  When I returned to the area, the owl was gone.  I had been hearing the distinctive call of the species for a number of mornings prior to first light.  I live in a town in Central Illinois, near a very large park that contains deciduous woods and a couple of ponds. The Northern Cardinal has a distinctive crest that both males and females exhibit, a long tail, and tend to be the first ones to my feeders in the twilight of morning and the females are the last to leave late into dusk.  I know them by their sounds before I see them, as they have distinctive calls.  There are two males who have visited my yard for the last several years.  They have unusual grey markings on their heads, necks, and backs.  I think they must be from the same parents, or even a father son; the black at the throat is more of a very dark grey and the other markings are random, like there was a slight genetic glitch.  Otherwise, they seem to be like other cardinals.

Montana I am so sad to read of the death of birds in your area after a cold snap or because of fires, or because both of these events over-stressed your beautiful visitors.  I am hoping to help my migrants and year-round residents to keep well-fed and warm this winter in Illinois.  They suffer so when our temps dip into the minus zero temperatures; they just get hypothermia and fall out of the trees because they don't have enough fat on board to warm their bodies.

What a wonderfully detailed picture.