Life, Birding, Photos and Everything

Hell's Angels with Wings

2012-01-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

Looking out the kitchen window, I was surprised to see a gang of Hell's Angels with wings instead of wheels. Our feeders have been invaded by 50-60 Common Grackles, mixed in with another 30 or so European Starlings. I had not filled any of the feeders yet, and delayed doing so until the mobs went elsewhere after demolishing the few remaining peanuts.

Common Grackles are large, noisy, and gregarious birds that often flock with other blackbirds, cowbirds, and starlings, especially in winter. At feeders they tower over other birds and push them aside to get at food. Grackles typically forage on the ground and roost high in trees or on power lines. All our regular birds - the Cardinals, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Wrens and woodpeckers - stayed safely out of range of these iridescent bullies.

They pointedly looked at me as I watched through the door. "Hey you! Get with it and bring out the seed!"

One or two moved over to the creek for a drink...

...followed by most of the others, drinking and splashing vigorously in the cold water. Hmm, that reminds me. It's time to get out the heater and put out some shallow water that won't freeze for the smaller birds, since the creek is too deep and too fast for their taste.

"The Birds"

2012-01-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

I have never heard anyone say that the European Starling is their favorite bird. After all, they are noisy, they poop all over your car, they eat most of the seeds in your birdfeeders, and they devour a farmer's crops. In the winter they gather in huge flocks, and sometimes you have to wonder if they are just birds, or something else altogether.

Just before sunset, I drove to Jeffersonville, IN, just across the river from Louisville, KY. Last week I saw a "blob" of birds, but couldn't take a photos since I was driving across the bridge at the time. You would agree that photographing birds while driving falls under the same category as texting while driving-- something that should not be done. Tonight I returned for some shots taken while NOT in a moving vehicle. The birds starting moving into neighborhood trees by twos, then tens, then dozens, chattering constantly. They make a variety of noises, none of which could be called melodic by any means. For no reason I could discover, they would all fly out of the tree at once.

Starlings can fly in large numbers, forming a "blob" in the sky, that appears, darkens, then disappears, depending on which direction the birds turn while in the air. In fact, coming up with a descriptive term is a challenge itself. Is it a blob, a flock, a swarm? Actually there is a term I'm not familiar with - a murmuration. How about that one! But it's hardly scary enough, and they certainly do not murmur. I always think of science fiction movies or horror stories at this sight.

Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds comes first to mind. Should I hide underground when the birds start swarming like this? How about the locust invasion in The Ten Commandments? I'm sure many a farmer thinks of them this way. Is it some super strange storm cloud, or how about an alien invasion? As the cloud of birds changes shape, expanding and contracting, I wonder if it is some large overgrown amoeba-like organism. My imagination runs away quickly!

Why are all these birds flying over the middle of the Ohio River? Apparently they decided that the center span of the bridge (which now carries traffic for three interstate routes) is the best place to spend the night. They jostle each other for a spot on the girders - the girders that we just spent millions of dollars getting painted recently!

The sunset was beautiful, but driving home across the bridge was a little spooky as the birds continued to fill the air above, below and beside all the vehicles. I expect that any low flying bird went splat against a semi.

Vulture Visitors

2011-12-29T17:05:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has followed my blog for long knows that I love vultures. I first saw them at the Falls of the Ohio, and love telling our visitors more about vultures than they ever want to know. At Raptor Rehab, we have two Turkey Vultures among our educational birds, and the wild vultures often come to visit. The first time I saw this, I panicked, thinking that EO had escaped from his cage! How many vultures do you count in the trees above the Center?

Black Vultures are smaller than Turkey Vultures, with a 5' wingspan instead of 6'. They have black heads, of course, and a white patch at the tip of each wing. Their tails are shorter, and they have to flap more often than the Turkey Vultures, but they are still good fliers.

They don't have a good sense of smell, but find their food with their excellent eyesight. While a Turkey Vulture can find food by smelling it through the trees, the Black Vulture tends to hunt in river valleys, lowlands and open areas where they have a better field of vision. When dead fish wash ashore at the Falls of the Ohio, the Black Vultures descend for the feast. Black Vultures watch Turkey Vultures to follow them to a carcass found by their sensitive sense of smell. Then the Black Vultures chase them away from the meal. Black Vultures have also been known to actually kill newborn calves.

Baby vultures are cute and fluffy, just adorable! Since their parents don't actually build a nest, people find them on the ground and assume that they have been abandoned by their parents, when the parents are just out looking for a nice smelly carcass. Thinking they are saving these cute little birds, the people take them home, and the bird becomes "imprinted" on people. In other words, the chick think it's a person, and looks to people for food, help, etc. In a few months, of course, they are no longer cute little chicks, but full grown Black Vultures.

This fall we received two such imprinted Black Vultures at the Raptor Rehab Center. They are perfectly healthy, but can't be released into the wild because they really don't understand how to be wild birds. Vultures have bad reputations as a general rule, since they scavenge carrion. But Black Vultures have worse reputations than Turkey Vultures as they tend to be more aggressive. All vultures will bite, and our Turkey Vultures don't like me. Our directors are trying to find another licensed raptor center that would like to have a nice imprinted Black Vulture for their program, but so far we've had no interest. John decided to put jesses on them this week to start the "manning down" process, and I got to help! As you can see, I was very excited to work with this bird! It didn't bite me even once, although our director reminded me that they get more bitey when they start producing hormones.

So if any of you know of a LICENSED rehabilitator who would be interested in adding a Black Vulture to their cast of birds for educational programs, please get in touch with Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky, Inc.

Holiday Wishes

2011-12-23T14:26:00.000-05:00

It's nice to take a break from Christmas shopping and cleaning and planning, and go birding instead. December is a good time for birding, since the birds are easily visible in the bare branches, but quickly moving weather systems make photography a challenge. The sun comes and goes on mountains of clouds.

Louisville set a record for rainfall in 2011. Can you tell what this photo is? Small trees reflected in the standing water look like some abstract art to me.

Some times a variety of ducks float on the temporary ponds at Garvin Brown Preserve, but today only Mallards were there, cruising in for a landing.

This little Kestrel can be seen often, but he's wary of people, and flies off whenever I try to sneak up for a closer photo. The gray sky reduces the light available, so I get good silhouettes, but not much for closeups.

As I followed the Kestrel across the field, a Red Shouldered Hawk called from beyond the fence row. He must have felt more self-confident and didn't fly off till I walked completely beyond his perch. I always hope that none of the raptors I see flying wild will end up at the Rehab Center.

Robins are not deterred by bad weather, and large numbers of them ate the crab apples. Apparently the fruit was just ripe enough for them!

Finding enough to survive the cold must be a high priority in the life of a bird, no matter where they live. I read that Chickadees can lower their body temperature from 108 degrees Fahrenheit to a low of 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night. It takes a lot less energy to keep a chickadee's body at 50 degrees than at 108 degrees. The birds in my neighborhood make their rounds of the feeders together. Either I have no birds in the yard, or lots of them! I fill the feeders with good sunflower seeds and peanuts, and by the next morning most need filling again. I saw a mystery bird and the field guide identified it as a tan morph White Throated Sparrow. Don't think I've ever seen one of those before.

Earlier this month I bought a wreath with fresh greenery from Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve. Weeks later though, much of it dried and fell out, so I cut some new from our yard - pine, coral bell seeds and oak leaf hydrangea! All my other decorations are artificial, so I'm very pleased with this wreath.

I hope you have enjoyed this break from frantic holiday preparations. We are so blessed and all our family will be home this year, including our new grandson and a new daughter-in-law to-be, along with Brian's mother and brother. I wish the best to each of you too!

There's more, much more to Christmas

Than candle-light and cheer;

It's the spirit of sweet friendship

That brightens all the year;

It's thoughtfulness and kindness,

It's hope reborn again,

For peace, for understanding

And for goodwill to men!

- Anonymous

How to Stay Warm

2011-12-12T12:29:00.001-05:00

It's December, and the Weather Channel is starting to show some really cold temps. Not in Kentucky, thanks goodness, but we will get our share of the cold stuff before long. So I thought this would be a good time to share some tips on how to stay warm. Our feathered friends would immediately say to "Keep your feathers fluffed up." This collects body heat, and makes you look really tough!

Eating properly is important too. This brave bird ducked behind the icicles one winter to get plenty of good oil sunflower seeds. The fat in seeds and suet is important to avian metabolism in the winter. Of course, people like it too - disguised as cookies!

If you don't have feathers, a fluffy tail serves the same purpose. Just curl up in your nest and wrap that long tail around yourself to keep warm.

Hydration is important in the cold too, but someone has to keep the heater plugged in for the bird bath. For humans, a hot shower feels great when you come in from the cold.

Pippin and Binx say you should always find someone warm to sleep with, and a 19 pound furry cat makes a terrific chair warmer. Sometimes I see Pippin with his "arm" over his smaller buddy Binx.

But, if all else fails, Binx goes for the mechanical heaters - such as the cable box. There's always enough heat coming from the box to make napping comfortable even if the surface is hard.

Of course, as an experienced birder, I recommend dressing in layers when you have to go out in the cold - long underwear, wool socks (I get mine at Bass Pro), boots to keep your feet dry, sweater, fleece lined jacket, gloves, and hat. Keeping out of the wind is always a good idea too. A warm fireplace when you get back inside is delightful - just remember to close the flue when the fire goes out! I like to pull a double thick fleece blanket up to my neck when watching TV.

To help warm up the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus this season, they asked Calgarians to tweet their tips on how to keep warm in Calgary's winter wonderland, and put them all to music - Carmina Burana, one of my favorites. It's a good thing they added subtitles though!

If you have suggestions for keeping warm, please comment to this post with them, and thanks! We can use all the help we can get.

When I Am Gone

2011-12-10T21:36:00.001-05:00

This week a friend described as the Mother Teresa of her church lost her battle with cancer. As with any memorial service, I learned things I'd never known about her, but everyone agreed about this. I've often thought of her as the only person who qualified for sainthood in my life. Ethel worked as an elementary school secretary, and taught Sunday School to children at church for many years. Dick helped her at church and became very close to her. When our children were young and I became frustrated, Ethel said that when children deserve your love the least is when they need it the most. She always put things back in perspective.

Dick, Mary Beth and the baby went to see her the Friday before she died, and were so glad they did. She got to hold the baby and smiled and laughed with all of them. Her daughter said that visits from friends kept her going.

I learned that Ethel wrote poetry, and the family handed out booklets of her works. Here is the one they read at the service that had everyone reaching for a tissue.

When I Am Gone

When I am gone and you walk alone,
Know that I am near
To share those special moments
So do not shed a tear.

When you see a rainbow, a gay butterfly,
Or see a hummingbird flitting by,
When you walk through the falling
Of huge flakes of snow
Or hear rumbling thunder, then you will know
That I am close beside you
Smiling in delight.

Then turn and share this moment
With someone you hold dear
So smile with me and share my joy
And wipe away a tear.

Good-bye my friend. Keep an eye on us from heaven please.

December Sunset

2011-12-04T12:13:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted anything for a while, and can't really remember what I've been doing to inhibit posting. This week we went to an evening program at the Falls and I didn't take my camera, which is always a mistake, even if you plan to go immediately into the building.

Saturday was a beautiful afternoon though, so I got a second chance to record the sunset. I love watching the changing colors. The river is very high since it rained several day last week all though the Ohio Valley. The weather service thinks we could set a new record for annual rainfall in 2011. When the sun goes down though, the river turns from muddy brown to silver.

The first part of the renovation at the Interpretive Center is complete, and visible through the window as you drive into the park.

In addition to being beautiful, the glass sculptures all have meaning as well, but I haven't learned all those details yet. Someday....

You can enjoy the sunset directly or indirectly reflected in the large observation windows.

Geese circled overhead, honking as they searched for a quiet spot to spend the night...

...while Lewis and Clark commemorate their beginnings in the Louisville area with a handshake...

...and the city skyline sparkles as night falls. All this and I still made it home by 6:30!

Raptors at the Falls

2011-11-12T14:05:00.001-05:00

Knowing the wind would be cold and blustery at the Falls of the Ohio in November, we dressed warmly and joined the Beckham Bird Club on a Saturday morning bird walk. We hit the jackpot today for raptors, sighting a Peregrine Falcon, three American Kestrels, a Cooper's Hawk, and a Red Shouldered Hawk camouflaged at the top of a tree snag.

It was bound to be a great day when this juvenile Bald Eagle soared over the parking lot as we got out of the car! It was considerate enough to circle around a few times till I got my camera out and turned on.

A few minutes later, we spotted a second juvenile Eagle, and for a while, both were visible at the same time as they walked around on the fossil beds. Remember, it takes five years for a Bald Eagle to mature and get its white head and tale, but until then, they have varying amounts of white on their wings and body. This one has quite a lot of white on its belly.

We only saw one or two vultures this morning, which is unusual for the Falls, but it was easy to distinguish the flat wings of the eagle from the dihedral of the vultures.

Before we left at the end of the morning, one eagle swooped over the water with his feet extended and grabbed a fish out of the water. The gulls scattered thinking he was coming after them instead!

We climbed to the top of the levee, as as we caught our breath, a Kestrel swooped around, flashing his wings, then landed on a perch next to a female which is probably his mate. A third Kestrel flew off in another direction. What a wonderful way to start the day!

Glacier Run

2011-11-06T23:02:00.000-05:00

Traditionally, our family goes to the Louisville Zoo in spring or summer, but the sun shined so warm and bright today, that we decided to take the grand baby for his first visit (of many) to the Zoo on his 6-week birthday. My daughter volunteered there while in high school, and worked during the summers while in college, so she's very familiar with the ins and outs. It was like having a private tour!

The Glacier Run exhibit has been under construction for several years (at least it seems that long to me), and it was well worth the wait. Before, there was simply a large pool for the few polar bears, and they seldom seemed to be out when we were there.

I was surprised to find two grizzly bears when we walked into the surrogate Alaskan village of Glacier Run! They chased each other around, jumping into the water, and vigorously shaking the water off again! The Zoo website identifies them as Otis and Rita, one year old cubs. Their mother Inga lives at the Zoo as well, but she chilled out in her room during our visit.

The Louisville Zoo works hard to keep their new residents engaged. We watched the keepers hiding food around the exhibit for 26 year old Arki to find. They have an excellent sense of smell, so she had no problem finding the food. Sometimes they give her a paper bag with just the scent in it. She stands in one spot just moving her nose around, sniffing, then walks off to find...

...a nice fish, or maybe her favorite un-natural snack - a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Her tongue and all skin are black to help retain heat. Her fur is hollow and tends to reflect whatever color is nearby, so they don't always look white.

Qannik was born in January 2011 and rescued on Alaska’s North Slope in April. She took up temporary residence at the Alaska Zoo before moving to her permanent home in Louisville in June. She enjoys a constantly changing set of toys and enrichment items in Bear Alley. It doesn’t take her long to figure them out, push them around and make a wild playground of barrels, tubs, balls, igloo, tubes and hay. The windows to Bear Alley were originally completely covered and are still being slowly unveiled to allow for Qannik’s ongoing acclimation to Bear Alley and the full wall of glass windows. This same strategy was used very effectively with the grizzly bear family, Inga, Otis and Rita.

We can't miss the elephant barn on any Zoo trip, since Mary Beth worked there and knows both Punch and Mikki up close and personally! In fact, Mikki gave Mary Beth her ring when Brian proposed.

Remember that song from Oklahoma! about the corn being as high as an elephant's eye? That's what I hummed as I looked at Mikki's incredibly long eye lashes. But no amount of skin softener would smooth our her wrinkles though.

As we stood by them chatting with the elephant keepers, Mikki moved her trunk around, trying to sniff out a treat from one of the humans. I was amazed at the size and flexibility of her trunk.

Statues of the various animals are strategically placed for good photo ops, and we took advantage of this baby elephant for Kittrick's first photo at the zoo!

Silent Hike

2011-10-30T16:47:00.000-04:00

Somehow, I haven't gotten out for a good walk for a long time. The Naturalists in Training at Bernheim enjoyed a fall retreat this weekend, and I joined them for a while. After Dick's presentation on Aldo Leopold, we all went out for a silent hike. It's easy to be silent when you walk alone, but much more difficult when a group goes out.

The first frost of the season coated every branch and twig along the trail. As the sun rose, the frost became shining pearls of dew strung on a necklace of spider webs. Click any photo for a larger version. One of the NIT's share her favorite poem before we set out. I'd never heard it before and want to share it with all of you.

Lost, by David Wagoner.

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

Of course, moss isn't always a bright moss green. Sometimes it resembles a lichen more than anything else.

Everyone in the group notices something different, which they are allowed to share with motions only. This salamander looks cold to me. How do they spend the winter? I wonder if this temperature drop caught him by surprise.

Be silent and let the light and colors speak to you as you walk through the forest.

A Word to the Wise

2011-10-28T12:02:00.000-04:00

You know how life goes. You get busy, taking trips, volunteering, yoga, a new grand baby , and you get distracted. Housecleaning and dusting can be put off until guests are scheduled, but you must go to the grocery store, put gas in the car, fill the bird feeders and BACKUP YOUR COMPUTER FILES regularly.

We've lived in this house for almost 33 years, and have never had any problems until last Friday. I was out for about 2 and a half hours running errands and when I returned home, a window in the back of the house was standing wide open with the screen raised. You guessed it, big enough for someone to enter the house, which is what happened. We were broken into and robbed. The first thing I noticed missing was my laptop. I called the police, just fuming. How DARE anyone break into my house! OH NO! I hadn't copied all my Galapagos photos from August to the backup drive yet!! In fact, it appears that I hadn't made any backups since about last April, so most of 2011 is gone. Anything I blogged about is on Picasa, but the original photos are gone along with all the slide shows I'd prepared for various organizations. Laptops and software can be replaced (a time consuming activity), but other things are gone forever.

Accompanied by the police officer, I discovered that my entire jewelry box was also taken, but that's all. Have you ever tried to list the contents of your jewelry box from memory? The one good piece was individually covered on insurance, but everything else will be subject to the deductible. Most things were gifts, or purchased from the artist and one of a kind. I've been browsing the jewelry websites just to be reminded of what I had and try to get a feel for the prices for the insurance company.

So wake up and hear the rooster crow! Get busy and back up those irreplaceable files NOW! A removable hard drive is a good start, but what if the house burns? Then you would be in a worse condition than I am after the theft. Back up your back ups and put them someplace else for safekeeping. Write down the serial number of your computer, camera, etc. and put them in your off site location. That's the first thing the police wanted to know about my laptop. And for God's sake, go lock all the windows in your house! Nothing like locking the barn door after the horse is gone, I know, but maybe someone else can benefit from my negligence.

Galapagos Islands Revisited

2011-10-25T21:14:00.000-04:00

One of the fun things we did in the Galapagos Islands last summer was visiting the Post Office on Floreana. During the years when whalers stopped at the islands, they set up a barrel as a Post Office. Since voyages usually lasted several years before the men returned home, it was difficult to communicate with loved ones. So the sailors would leave letters in the barrel as they headed out into the Pacific. Sailors heading home would stop and sort through the letters for one to be delivered to their destination. Modern visitors have an easier time communicating, but it's fun to leave a post card in the barrel for another visitor to deliver later.

I left a post card for my friend Tavia at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve, not knowing when or if it might be delivered to her. Last week a mystery caller wanted to know when she could come to see Tavia, but wouldn't say why. When she arrived, she wanted to have a camera ready to take a picture of Tavia's expression when she looked at the post card from our trip in August. Judi Petty actually lives in a subdivision very close to the Nature Preserve. I've always said Louisville is the biggest little town in the world. How true! Thanks Judi!

Raptors at ColorFest

2011-10-15T21:00:00.000-04:00

Hagatha the Great Horned Owl

When the sun shines warmly, and autumn colors glow red and gold, everyone likes to get outside to enjoy it before winter sets in. Bernheim Forest takes advantage of this every year with ColorFest, and Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky brings a variety of raptors. This year the weather was absolutely perfect!

Miki the Missippi Kite

Miki, our Mississippi Kite, has grown his pale grey adult feathers, and looks so much different than he did last year this time. The only person today who knew what kind of bird he is came from Alabama where they are more common.

Miki spread his wings to absorb the warmth of the sun. Leaves blew to the ground all day, crunching underfoot. One leaf blew right in front of Miki who swiftly grabbed it with one foot, thinking it was an insect. You should have seen the look of surprise and disappointment on his face when he started eating it, only to find his snack to be dry and tasteless!

Scarecrow Jubilee stars whimsical scarecrows built by many people and organizations. Click Here to see all of the entrants and the winners of the competition. This year I found several scarecrows related to birding, and this is my favorite. Don't you think the birds get tired of being stared at by birders with binoculars? This giant raptor decided to take action, and carries this birder scarecrow away in his talons! I would have voted this one the winner.

Another group of scarecrow birders hide behind a fence of corn stalks, while the birds perch right under their eyes.

This owl scarecrow is pretty spooky, but I think our Great Horned Owl Hagatha is more intimidating, don't you?

Blue October Sunday

2011-10-03T22:26:00.000-04:00

After all the excitement of our new grandson, Dick and I needed some quiet time together, and Sunday morning was the perfect opportunity. The temperature was chill, and heavy dew on the rooftops looked like frost. We bundled up and headed for nearby Anchorage Trail, a favorite among local birders.

The people who come up with names for paint colors need to call one October Sky Blue - if they can match this sky at all! I can't think of any other time all year with such a shade of blue.

Enough talk, though. Just enjoy the beauty of our fall walk.

Yes, now we have the peace and serenity for another week.

New Life and Everything...

2011-09-27T13:29:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the World, Kittrick Alan Carson!
Born Sept. 25, 2011 at 5:52 am.
Weight: 7 lb. 15 oz. Length 20 in.

Proud parents, Brian and Mary Beth...

Grandparents, Dick and Kathy.

He's not too excited, is he?

Brian is 6 feet tall, and his dad was 6' 7", so Kit may grow into those long legs!
Now the adventure begins!

Falls of the Ohio Updates

2011-09-20T11:56:00.003-04:00

I have volunteered at the Falls of the Ohio State Park for eight years, and love it. The park is not large as parks go, but there is always something new to be seen outside along the river.

The Interpretive Center at the Falls of the Ohio State Park opened in 1995, surviving a major flood only two years later when it became an island for a while, but the inside has not been updated since that time. School children remember the rotunda as the home of a mastodon skeleton and prehistoric fish.

Click on photo for a larger version

As an Indiana state park, there isn't a lot of money for building improvements, but the Falls of the Ohio Foundation is there to save the day. Their Crossroads Campaign is raising money to entirely re-vamp and update the exhibits inside the building to be more interactive. The first step is to re-design the rotunda making it more open. Many of the creatures that used to take up the center have been moved to other locations, and the mastodon is now the entrance to the auditorium.

Glass sculptures hang from the ceiling, and the introductory movie is being revised. The new exhibit design will replace current exhibits with state-of-the-art immersive experiences emphasizing four key themes of the region’s scientific, cultural, and natural history, and strengthen the connection between the Interpretive Center and the outside fossil beds.

The entrance to the Interpretive Center has always been at the front of the building, facing the road. But the parking lot is in the rear, and visitors grumble a bit at having to walk all the way around the building to reach the entrance (especially when they just need the restrooms really fast). Part of the renovation will move the entrance closer to the parking lot. Given time and money, it will be exciting to watch the developments come to life.

Of course getting there is more of a challenge than it was a few weeks ago. Louisville has three bridges crossing the river - two are for the major interstates, and the third is more for local traffic only. The bridge for I-64 going into New Albany has been closed indefinitely due to major cracks in the structure built in 1962. The newspaper article quoted one of the inspectors as saying he wouldn't let his family drive across it! Proposals to build a new bridge, or bridges, at Louisville have been kicked around for about 20 years, without any success.

The I-65 bridge took years just to re-paint and cost more than the original construction. So now all the traffic on two major interstates must be routed across that one bridge, and rush hour is taking over two hours for commuters. But at least no one ended up falling into the river on a collapsing bridge. We did a raptor program at the park near the Kennedy Bridge, and inspectors were walking across the top to make sure it can handle the extra load. You couldn't pay me enough money to do that!

Ecuadoran Hummers

2011-09-02T21:43:00.000-04:00

Cotopaxi Volcano

After seven wonderful days in the Galapagos, we stood in lines at the airports, and suffered through two different flight changes before arriving back in Quito, Ecuador. After one day of touring the city, we headed out of town to Guango Lodge on the other side of the mountains for some hummingbird viewing. The weather was unusually clear, and we got great views of Cotopaxi Volcano. The guide told us there are 65 volcanoes in Ecuador, and 32 of them are active. I was surprised that so many of the buildings in Quito seemed to be made of simple cement blocks. When the big quake comes, there may not be many buildings left standing.

Driving at Risk

Of course, actually reaching the Lodge was a risky undertaking. The roads leading through the mountains wind up, down and almost in circles. The pass was about 13,500 feet above sea level, with chill winds making us wish we had warmer jackets on. The roads are in good condition, but only two lanes, not surprising considering the height of the mountains. When the grade steepened trucks and buses such as our own slowed down, but the cars were impatient. Despite the double yellow lines, and inability to see around the next corner, no one seemed deterred by ther danger. They just stepped on the gas and roared passed us. Actually, we did so ourselves one time when stuck behind a truck filled with cement blocks proceeding at about 5 mph!

Collared Inca Hummingbird

The birds were worth it though! Kevin saw 37 species in all, including hummingbirds and others, but I didn't see half that many. Of course, hummigbirds fly really fast, as you know, and it was hard to find/identify them in the shadows. This black and white bird was probably the most common, a Collared Inca. Several species had white feathers around their eyes, making them look like big eyes from an Egyptian tomb. After a sip at the nectar, the little birds smack their beaks - or so it appears when their tongues dart in and out.

Chestnut-breasted Coronet

This Chestnut-breasted Coronet claimed one particular branch as his own. After sipping at the feeder, or chasing the other birds away, he returned to the same branch all day, basking in the sun, and watching to see what we were doing.

Buff-winged Starfontlet

The Buff-winged Starfrontlet was another aggressive bird, chasing the others away from the feeders.

Long-tailed Sylph

One of my favorites was this Long-tailed Sylph - just look at that tail!

Long-tailed Sylph

And his face glowed in irridescent green. You'd think he'd have trouble flying so fast with such a long tail.

Sword-billed Hummingbird

On the other hand, we wondered how in the world this Sword-billed Hummingbird got anything to drink at all from the feeders, given his long, long bill. The book says this is an uncommon bird. He can't land at the feeder...

Sword-billed Hummingbird

...and after feeding, he back away, then tips his bill up to make sure it all slides down. And, no, we didn't see any of them fighting duels with their bills!

Rio Guango

The Rio Guango rampages down from the heights, and believe it or not, some people kayak on it. The problem is that there aren't any calm places to take a break after paddling for a long time.

Torrent Duck Female

Torent Duck Male

Who would expect to find ducks in a river like this? How about the aptly named Torrent Duck? They actually swam upstream against the torrent! We felt like these ducks the next day, fighting upstream with immigration, customs and security at both the Quito and Houston airports the next day. Although we really thought we would miss our flight in Houston, we made it with seconds to spare, and arrived home safely. So this should be the end of the posts for our big trip. Adios South America!

Galapagos Plants

2011-08-31T18:06:00.000-04:00

Opuntia Cactus Forest on Rabida

You would expect an island on the equator in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to be full of lush tropical vegetation. Yet the Galapagos surprises us in this aspect, just as it does with all the animals. There are only some 600 native species and subspecies of plants in the archipelago, compared to over 20,000 on mainland Ecuador only 600 miles away. 250 of these are endemic to Galapagos, having evolved from an original 110 species which arrived by natural means. The Adaptive Radiation found with finches and tortoises applies to plants as well. If I failed to make a post here about the plants, my friend Tavia (a wildflower expert) would have my hide! Actually, I'm surprised at how many plant photos I have, especially since our guides didn't point out many plants unless we asked about them.

Vegetation Zones

Here's the biggest issue plants have on the Galapagos - lack of water. There are two seasons, the wet warm season, and the cool dry season, also called the garua. Prevailing winds from the southeast blow moisture in, but it only benefits one side of an island, and the higher the island is, the more moisture it receives on that side. The other side is in the "rain shadow" (Hawaii has the same problem.), and vegetation there must adapt to the arid conditions. The coastal areas, of course, require plants that are salt tolerant. Santa Cruz was the only island we visited with enough altitude for several of these vegetation zones. The other smaller lower islands were primarily in the arid zone only. Remember, many islands have no natural source of fresh water other than the rains and garua mists.

Garua Mist

Misted Cactus Needles

Almost every morning when we awoke, we saw heavy mist over the island outside our ship. Sometimes it remained till 10 or so before lifting. Plants have adapted to use whatever moisture is available during these months, until the rains come...if they do.

Palo Santo - ghost trees

Another plant adaptation is to cease making chlorophyll when there is insufficient moisture. These Palo Santo trees are also known as the "ghost forest" with their pale white color in the dry season. Actually, the bark on this tree is a darker color; the pale color comes from lichens growing on them. When it rains they will turn green, sprouting leaves and blossoms. The name "holy stick" comes from its habit of coming into leaf around Christmas time, and from its use as incense.

Sesuvium on South Plaza Island

Sesuvium also preserves its life by going dormant in the dry season, but it turns red and yellow instead of white, so the ground looks as if it's covered by autumn leaves.

Cactus Finch Nest

The Opuntia is a giant prickly pear cactus, and thus easily recognizable. There are six species and 14 varieties of opuntia. In the arid regions, it fills the role of trees and forests, since there isn't enough moisture for trees. On islands where the animals eat cactus, the needles are sharp, as expected, and it grows tall to evade being munched on. Rabida has no tortoises and the opuntia are low and sprawling. On islands with no cactus eaters though, the needles are soft and pliable. Tortoises and iguanas eat the pads, while bird species eat the flowers, fruit, seeds and even extract water from the pads.

Candelabra Cactus - Santa Fe Island

Candelabra cactus can grow up to 24 feet high, with purple flowers and globular edible fruit. When it dies, a hollow woody skeleton is left behind.

Lava Cactus - Bartolome Island

But my favorite is the ultra-hardy and persistent lava cactus. Yes, just as the name indicates, they grow on bare black dry lava, where almost nothing else can exist. The young ends of each cactus are yellow, and they turn as grey-brown as they age.

Mollugo on Bartolome Island

This little mollugo plant grows (albeit slowly, I suppose) on the pahohoe lava fields of Bartolome.

Cutleaf Daisy on Floreana Island

Our guides did note that for some reason, most flowers are yellow, and the Galapagos sulphur butterfly is one of the pollinators. This cutleaf daisy is endemic to Floreana...

Galapagos Cotton

...while the Galapagos cotton is more widely seen. After it blooms, the seed pod actually opens to produce a white lint or cotton used by birds for nest linings!

Muyuyu - Yellow Cordia

The muyuyu, or yellow cordia, produces a white seed which early settlers used to make glue or starch, since it's very sticky.

Galapagos Tomato

Once again, we found a very familiar plant in an unfamiliar location. Yes, what looks like a tomato is really the Galapagos tomato, with small edible red fruit. There are also Galapagos species of passion flower, mistletoe, mesquite, guava, and aster.

Galapagos Lantana

Yes, there are non-native invasive plants, just as you would expect, and invasive insects like this wasp on a native lantana and fire ants.

Tequilia on Bartolome Island

It's easy for plants to grow where there is water. I admire the tough guys like this tequilia that hang on in a dry, rocky, barren, otherwise lifeless lava field like this. Way to go guys!

Galapagos from Downunder

2011-08-28T20:11:00.002-04:00

In the Wetsuits

A normal day in the Galapagos included hiking in the morning, and snorkeling in the afternoon, although one day we swam twice! The water was about 64 degrees Fahrenheit, so these full-body wetsuits (provided by the Queen Beatriz) felt really good once we got wet. Getting into them was a real challenge though! After making sure the thing was right-side-out to begin with, you wiggled into it - one leg at a time, then pull it up far enough for the hips, and then the arms. Only by tugging each spot an inch or so at a time could you get it up far enough for someone else to zip up the back. I think we used an many calories getting them on as we did swimming! Dick and I both brought our own masks, with enough magnification to see things - like getting reading glasses at the drugstore. If we go snorkeling again someplace cool like Key West, I might get a better pair, and I'll definitely get an underwater digital camera! Notice our guide Hanzel, in this photo. He had been a member of the Navy Seals, and when someone dropped a mask, he thought nothing of diving 30 feet down to retrieve it.

Black Striped Salema Fish - Kevin

Our tour leader, Kevin Loughlin, a professional photographer, posted some of his photos, which I borrowed for this post. Sometimes we saw individual fish, and other times just the mass of a school of fish trying to remain anonymous.

Blue-chinned Parrotfish - Kevin

Heiroglyphic Hawkfish - Kevin

Golly, no matter I couldn't find this heiroglyphic fish on my own. It really blends in with the backgound.

Chocolate Chip Star

This is one of my favorites - the chocolate chip star! I thought it looked like a giant cookie covered with chocolate chips!

Galapagos Black Turtle - Kevin

The bigger sea creatures were easier to see, of course, and you always hoped you could swim with sea turtles, sea lions, sharks, or penguins. Some days they came to play, and other days they didn't.

Pelican Feet from the Fish's Perspective - Kevin

White-tipped Reef Shark - Kevin

Curious Sea Lion - Kevin

Spotted Eagle Rays

Rays included sting rays, manta rays, and this eagle spotted ray. They looked like they were flying underwater. When we snorkeled from the beach, we always had to be careful not to step on any of them in the shallows.

Devil's Crown

I confess to wimping out on one trip. Devil's Crown is all that's left of a volcanic caldera sunken into the waves. That day the currents were fierce as we rode the panga out. Just slide over the side, and let the current carry you around, they said.

Rescue by Panga

The pangas always floated nearby when we snorkeled, thank goodness, and if you got tired, they would come when you waved. Of course, getting the fins off, and climbing up that small metal ladder could be a problem when you were tired to begin with. At Devil's Crown I stayed in the panga, and it didn't take long for others to wave us over for a pickup. I didn't feel so bad about being a wimp when they described the power of the current. At Gardner Bay I wasn't sure I could swim all the way out to the rock, but every time I came up, it was a little closer, and I actually made it!

Humpback Whale Breaching - Gardner Bay - Kevin

After a while at the Gardner Bay rock, the pangas came to collect us all. "Get in! They saw a whale!" A whale - a much desired animal which had eluded us so far. The driver revved the engine to full, and we, along with every other panga from all the tour boats in the harbor, sped off. Once in a while someone would say they saw it blow, but it didn't take long to realize this whale had easily outdistanced us. For a while though we felt some of the excitement of the old whalers, only our weapons were digital cameras instead of harpoons!

Darwin's Finches

2011-08-27T20:30:00.000-04:00

Male Medium Ground Finch - Rabida Island

All right, we've been home from the Galapagos for two weeks, and I've posted something here almost every day. But I have not written about the famous finches that inspired Darwin on the theory of evolution. But remember, I have trouble identifying Little Brown Jobs in any event, and they didn't all evolve from one species of birds!

Medium Ground Finch Female

In 1831, Charles Darwin was a 22-year-old who vomited in medical school classes, and began studying at Cambridge to enter the Church of England, when botanist John Henslow introduced him to the natural world. Henslow then introduced him to Captain Robert FitzRoy of HMS Beagle, and he joined on for the five year voyage as a companion and budding naturalist. Henslow also advised young Charles to read Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology, but told him 'on no account accept the views therein advocated.' Lyell described a world where land forms were constantly moving and changing. As Darwin observed volcanoes in various locations, he saw that the land was new in the Galapagos, and life had come later.

Medium Ground Finch Females - Rabida Island

Like all naturalists of the era, Darwin "collected" his samples, birds, lizard, plants, tortoises, amazed at their tameness. He noted, "I have specimens from four of the larger Islands...The specimens from Chatham and Albemarle Isd. appear to be the same; but the other two are different. In each Isd. each kind is exclusively found." It didn't take long for him to notice the changes from island to island for each species.

Click for larger version

In 1836 he and the Beagle returned home, and he gave his collected birds to ornithologist John Gould, who quickly concluded, "...that he was induced to regard them as constituting an entirely new group, containing 13 species, and appearing to be strictly confined to the Galapagos Islands...their principle peculiarity consisted in the bill presenting several distinct modifications of form." Unfortunately, Darwin had failed to mark the island of origin, having identified the different looking birds as other species familiar from home. Well, others in the crew had been more meticulous, so "natural selection" came into being with the help of finches, mockingbirds and tortoises. And the rest, as they say, is history, or evolution!

Male Ground Finch

I learned from Darwin, and carefully saved my photos according to the islands where they were taken. But to me, the finches are just more LBJs. They were not afraid of us, and filled the paths as we walked, blending with the color of the rocks. The males are black and the females brown with strips. So far, so good. I can tell them apart by gender. A flock of little ground finches flew almost between our legs to get the best seeds from the grass.

Female Medium Cactus Finch Santa Cruz

The part I couldn't get a feel for was the sizing. Most finches are called Large, Medium and Small depending on the size of their beaks! We saw this one actually eating cactus on Santa Cruz, and felt comfortable with it being a Cactus Finch. So there are Large, Medium and Small Ground Finches and Tree Finches. Rounding up the total is the Sharp-beaked Ground-Finch (only found on three islands we did not visit), the Vegetarian Finch (again, limited to just two islands), Mangrove Finch (only on Isabela), Woodpecker Finch and Warbler Finch. Just from their names, you get a feel for what they eat.

Male Large Cactus Finch Espanola

But Kevin identified this bird as a Large Cactus Finch. Look at the beaks on each bird, and notice the difference.

Adaptive Radiation is the name for this process. Because the finches were isolated on each island, they had to change to survive in the conditions of that island. For finches, the change involved the size of the beak changing for the food available on the island.

Female Warbler Finch

Did I ever mention how glad I am not to be an ornithologist in charge of determining the species of a newly found bird?

Our Yacht - the Queen B

2011-08-26T22:07:00.000-04:00

Let's pause for a while to review the August posts to this blog. If you joined us in the middle of this "broadcast," Dick and I went to the Galapagos Islands during the first two weeks of August. Since then, I spent a week recovering from a cold caught while traveling (aren't you more likely to catch a cold in an airplane than anywhere else?), and then I spent 6 days on my feet volunteering for Raptor Rehab (it's the KY State Fair and we have a booth with live birds). My feet hurt, and I'm looking forward to a chance to sleep in for a day or two! This is a good time to fondly remember our time on the Queen Beatriz. Before we even made it out of the harbor in Puerto Ayora, the water looked like this. I knew immediately that I would soon be seasick, but the Queen B took care of me.

Wildside Nature Tours booked us on the Queen Beatriz, with http://www.gapadventures.com/, and it was a marvelous choice! Click on the link for the Queen to see more details about the ship itself. The Queen is a large catamaran, which means the cabins are roomy and luxurious.

Our cabin had more space than the one on the Princess cruise liner going to Alaska. Before we came back from breakfast in the morning, the steward had come in to make the bed and put out fresh towels. A crew of 8 operated the ship, cooked and cleaned for 16 of us and our wonderful park ranger Hanzel.

Pangas are our mode of transport when not on the Queen. We rode around Black Sea Turtle Cove looking for eagle rays and sea turtles of all kinds. "Panga" is simply Spanish for dinghy.

Of course, we were apprehensive at first about getting into and out of the panga without an unexpected swim in the cold ocean, along with camera and binoculars! There are two kinds of expeditions in the islands - one with a "dry" landing and one with a "wet" landing. In the dry landing, the driver revs the motor up to keep the nose firmly against the targeted landing area, or the steps at the back of the ship when returning.

Then Hanzel, or another who is experienced in this, grabs your hand to assist you over the rounded nose of the panga. They didn't lose one of us on the entire trip! In a short time we came to trust the crew and easily moved in and out of the panga several times a day. In a wet landing, you guessed it, we simply step directly into shallow water at the beach over the side of the panga.

The food was gourmet, and served with elegance. Buffets greeted us at breakfast and lunch, with a snack and juice when returning from the morning's adventure. In the evening, we enjoyed linen tablecloths and more silverware than I knew how to use! Despite dessert every day, we didn't put on a pound all week. Boy, wish I could do that at home!

We looked forward to the fruit sculptures created by the galley staff at lunch every day. Not edible, but very imaginative.

When time to motor to a new island, the crew raised the pangas out of the water, securely fastening them at the back of the ship.

Occasionally the crew couldn't resist taking us beneath the boat! I was too busy ducking to take any photos, but Kevin was braver and got this shot.

At the end of the day, we gathered on the middle deck for drinks and to enjoy the beautiful sunset. The captain always kept the ship steady while we ate dinner, and warned us if things would get choppy traveling to the next destination, which it did several times. By then I was an old salt (thanks to my transderm patch) and slept despite the rocking of our bed. In fact, it took about four days back ashore for the ground to stop rocking!

We've been home as long as we were gone now, but I'll always remember this view and our trip on the Queen Beatriz.

Reptile Haven

2011-08-24T20:03:00.000-04:00

Lava Lizard Male

Mammals rule the world, right? Everywhere you go, mammals are the top land beings, and that's the way it's been for a long time, right? Think about the Galapagos islands - 600 miles off the coast of South America and never connected by land to any other place. Everything living there had to arrive by swimming, flying or floating. By and large, mammals can't swim, fly or float 600 miles across the ocean without water or food. Only two species of bat and one species of rat are native to the islands.

Hawksbill Turtle

Reptiles, on the other hand, negotiated long ocean crossings with no fresh water to establish themselves on islands. The Galapagos are one of the rare ecosystems where the top herbivores are reptiles. They rely on external heat sources, so the equatorial sun is ideal, and they use it to control their body heat. There are 23 species of reptiles in the Galapagos, plus some marine visitors and some introduced species. For the most part, they are endemic to the archipelago, and sometimes endemic to only one island.

Galapagos Tortoise - Santa Cruz Island

The most well known reptiles are the giant tortoises. In 1835 when Darwin arrived, the governor said he could tell which island a tortoise came from just by the shape of its shell. Whalers and pirates found little fresh water, but took many of the tortoises as a living meat source, since they didn't need to be fed or watered before slaughter. For lots of facts about them, check out Wikipedia. Most species reach sexual maturity at 20-25 year, and are estimated to live for at least 150 years!

Galapagos Tortoise - Santa Cruz

We saw them on Santa Cruz, where they grazed in the grass like large cattle. When finished dining, they strolled over to the stream, where they look like rocks sitting in the water. If you get too close, they hiss at you! The island of Pinta has only one surviving member of the subspecies there, and Lonesome George now lives at the Darwin Research Center on Santa Cruz. They've brought him other tempting females, but no luck in breeding more of his kind.

Land Iguana Female

Ah, but the iguanas are fascinating! There are two species of land iguanas, the Conolophus subcristatus, the most common, and the Conolophus pallidus, only found on Santa Fe. Of course, I realized none of this while we were there, I just enjoyed the yellow, smiling iguanas! This one is a female...

Land Iguana Male

...while the male has large yellow spines. She can't resist anyone as handsome as this! When Darwin visited in 1835, he had trouble pitching his tent owing to the large number of iguana burrows. Their numbers have been reduced by man and man's introduced animals - dogs, pigs, cats and rats. Studies indicate they live as long as 60 years. They eat the pads and fruit of the Opuntia cactus (a large prickly pear), but will also eat other plants and insects when available.

Marine Iguana Sunbathing

The seven races and subspecies of marine iguana are the only sea-going lizard in the world, and their appearance varies from island to island. This is the classic pose, sprawled out flat on a rock or sand to soak up the sun. When warm enough they swim out to sea to dive up to 30 feet deep eating algae, before returning back to the hot rocks. The grey stuff on their heads is likely to be salt, as they can remove it from their systems and snort it up in the air.

Marine Iguana Cooling

To avoid fatal overheating, they turn to face into the sun, reducing the amount of skin being warmed, or they prop up on a rock so cooler air can reach more skin. This is the Espanola marine iguana, easily identified because of the red skin.

Marine Iguana at Sea

Long strong tails help them swim out to sea, and they can remain submerged for 10 minutes or more. How long can you hold your breath? When El Nino comes and the algae die in the warm water, iguana numbers are sharply reduced.

Lava Lizard Female

The first creatures we saw in the islands were some little lava lizards at the airport on Baltra, and they showed up on every island we visited. The females have red on their face and throat, while the male usually has more patterns on his back. Again, there are seven different species of lava lizards, with those on Floreana and Espanola being endemic to those islands in all the world. Their colors tend to blend in with the rock on whatever island they inhabit.

Lava Lizard Territorial Dispute

On North Seymour, we chanced upon two males along the beach, and as we watch, they whipped their tails around, whapping each other in the face several times. Obviously, some serious territorial dispute was in process.

Lava Lizards - coup de grace

After a minute or two of quiet, we started to walk away, when they both leaped forward, taking a big bite on the other, turning in circles while gnawing away! Not interested in a fight to the death, one finally gave up, let go and ran away.

Striped Galapagos Snake

The field guide lists several species of geckos, which we did not see, but only two species of snakes. We were fortunate enough to find the striped Galapagos snake, which resides on only four of the islands.

Any time we rode in the panga, someone would call, "Sea turtle!", and by the time I looked it had gone back under, but we usually found green turtles while we snorkeled. This green (Galapagos black) turtle explored a mangrove swamp called Black Sea Turtle Cove, where we also tracked the hawksbill turtle pictured earlier in this post. They have beautiful star-burst designs on their shell, making them really easy to identify.

Although reptiles are the most common, there still aren't that many species, many are limited to one island and have endangered status. But reptiles here at home run away when people show up, and these take no interest in you at all. How wonderful!

Sea Lions, not Seals

2011-08-23T20:20:00.001-04:00

As far as I could determine, sea lions have very simple goals in life. If they aren't swimming, they are sleeping. If they aren't sleeping, they are swimming. That's about all we saw them doing, and they do it very well.

The sand must get cold during the night, because they like to roll close to each other when sleeping. One morning we took all our snorkel gear to the beach, and spread a towel, trying to keep the sand out of the gear. But this young sea lion decided we brought the towel just for him to nap while protected from the cold sand. Dick lay on a towel next to him, and the pup sniffed briefly, decided Dick was not a source of food, rolled over and went to sleep himself.

We didn't see any beach masters on our trip, but there were plenty of pups. This one is a newborn, evidenced by his still cloudy eyes and wrinkled skin. We were concerned because normally the mother wouldn't leave one this young to go fishing herself.

Mother and pup know each other by scent and the sound of their voices. When a female returns to the beach, unattended pups rush up to her, sniffing and calling loudly. If it is his mother, he quickly settles to nursing on the fat enriched milk. It's important that they put on fat early in life, since that blubber keeps them warm in the chill water of the islands. If it's not his mother, she moves on quickly, and he returns to the search, sounding more piteous each time he fails to find his mother.

One pair of boisterous young males practiced sparing with each other, preparing for the day when they might compete for their own harem on the beach.

Did I mention that sea lions like to sleep no matter what else is going on?

Actually, a soft sandy beach isn't required for a nap at all. They can even climb up a cliff for a snooze on the rocks.

Sea lions can walk on all four flippers, and we found them in some spots far away from the water, and across uncomfortable territory for walking when your belly is this close to the ground. We were sometimes lax in our conversation, calling them seals for short, but Hanzel corrected us. Seals are a different animal, and we shouldn't get in the habit of using the wrong term. Also sea lions have external ears, and seals do not.

I didn't have an underwater camera, but Kevin Loughlin took some terrific sea lion videos on one of his other trips. The rule is, if the sea lion starts to play with you, he's allowed to do what ever he wants - tug on your flippers, blow bubbles in your face, or just swim circles around you, literally! You, on the other hand, cannot initiate any such play, nor do anything to discourage a sea lion biting on your fins. But it's exciting to be included in the sea lion fun any time!

Familiar or Almost Familiar?

2011-08-22T21:23:00.001-04:00

Yellow Warblers

"One of the most attractive features of birdwatching in the Galapagos Islands," my field guide, Wildlife of the Galapagos, begins, "is that you can identify most species without being expert. There are only about 60 resident species, and 13 of these are the finches!" Well, that's certainly good news! I expected to find only strange and exotic species on our trip, to tell the truth. What the field guide doesn't come right out and say though, is that some of the familiar birds will also count towards your life list, since they are endemic subspecies living only in the Galapagos. Take the Yellow Warblers we saw as soon as we de-planed in Baltra. Its Latin name is Dendroica petechia aureola. I usually pay little or no attention to Latin names, but I'll have to double check them here.

Galapagos Flycatcher

Admittedly, I can't tell any of the Flycatchers apart, but certainly didn't realize this little guy is the Galapagos Flycatcher, Myiarchus magnirostris. Yeah, I know, almost every species there is named Galapagos, or Lava or Darwin, but there is a reason for it after all.

Lava Heron

In most light, the Lava Heron (Butorides striata sundivalli) looks pretty much like a Green Heron, but when the sunset creeps across the black lava along the water's edge, you can see this is a different bird.

Great Blue Heron

I thought this Great Blue Heron would be just a Great Blue Heron like we have in Kentucky, and so it is - Ardea herodias, and the Great Egret is still Ardea alba. The Yellow Heron is the same and the many shore birds - sandpipers, plovers, turnstones, whimbrels, stilts and oyster catchers. Good thing you can count on some things to remain the same.

Great Flamingo

I thought surely this bright Flamingo would be some sort of subspecies, but find that it is in fact, Phoenicopterus ruber, or Greater Flamingo, not one of the subspecies listed by Sibley. But I've never taken a photo of one flying before, and wanted to include it.

Galapagos Dove

There are plenty of doves in Kentucky, but this one is clearly different. Just look at the china blue eye ring! (Remember to click on any photo to enlarge it.) The Galapagos Dove (Zenaida galapagoensis) scratches in the dirt like a quail would here. Charles Darwin was able to kill one for the stewpot by throwing his hat at it! When we arrived in Quito, however, we saw lots of Eared Doves (Zenaida auriculata) which lacked the eye ring of this endemic species.

Galapagos Mockingbird

Kentucky has lots of Northern Mockingbirds, but the Galapagos have four different species of endemic Mockingbirds, just the opposite of what I would have expected, had I thought about it at all. The Galapagos Mockingbird (Nesomimus parvulus) itself has six different subspecies restricted to specific islands. This one was found on Santa Cruz. They eat almost anything and are excellent mimics.

Hood Mockingbird

This Hood Mockingbird (Nesomims Macdonaldi) is found only on Espanola, and it has adopted some strange behaviors. Our guide warned us that we would be approached by Hood Mockingbirds on the beach, panhandling for water, since this is one of the islands with no source of fresh water. They have come up with an adaptation for this problem by turning vampire! This bird pecked on the tail of a marine iguana until it bled, then drank its blood! Not exactly fresh water, but probably less salty than the sea water.

They tend to gather in groups, vigorously defending their territories, and Kevin got a video of them fighting a gang war over some beach art they created on a different trip. Ain't travel great!

Endemic Means What?

2011-08-21T18:46:00.002-04:00

Waved Albatros Pair

"Demic" is a Greek root meaning people or populace, so pandemic means something affecting a wide scope of the populace, and endemic means a population restricted to a locality or region. An endemic species is behind the evolutionary eightball, so to speak, since it only lives in one location, such as the Galapagos, and if something happens to that habitat, they are closer to extinction than other more widespread species. The Galapagos, needless to say, is famous for its high number of endemic species. Not only are they endemic to the Galapagos, but often to only one island in the archipelago.

Waved Albatross Wings Spread

Consider the Waved Albatross which breeds only on the island of Espanola, then takes to the air and spends the rest of its time at sea until it's time to return to Espanola and breed again. It is a long-lived bird with a low reproduction rate, breeding in one location, making it a vulnerable species.

Waved Albatross Courtship

They mate for life, greeting each other with beak clacking, raised beaks and a formalized dance. A single egg is laid on bare ground, sometimes right in the middle of the path taken by visitors, between mid-April and late June, and incubation takes 60 days...

Waved Albatross Chick

...resulting in a baby only a mother would love. The are fed with pre-digested oil manufactured by the parents from fish and squid. Young birds don't start breeding until their sixth year!

Galapagos Penguin

Who expects to see Penguins at the equator? Don't they belong in snowy Antarctica? Well, usually, except for the Galapagos Penguin, of course, the smallest Penguin in the world, and the only one which breeds entirely in the tropics. The current population is estimated to be about 1,400 individuals, found mainly on Fernandina, parts of Isabela, and in small numbers on Bartolome, where we found this little guy. They were seriously affected by El Nino in 1982-3 and 1997-8. The warm waters of El Nino affected its food supply and reduced the population by 75% and 65%, respectively. Numbers are recovering, but its a slow breeder, and faces further trouble with cats, rats and dogs on the main islands.

Lava Gull

The Lava Gull is possibly the rarest or least numerous gull in the world, according to my field guide. They are scavengers and nest robbers, nesting on the ground, often near ports such as Puerto Ayora in Santa Cruz, where we saw our first one. The total population is thought to be only about 400 pairs, so they are definitely vulnerable.

Swallow-tail Gull

The Swallow-tailed Gull is the second of only two gull species in the Galapagos. It is the only nocturnal gull in the world, leaving the nest at dusk and fishing well out to sea. Unsurprisingly, little is known about its feeding habits, but it may have special visual and sonar facilities, making use of the bioluminescence of light-emitting animals in the water. They have a distinctive red eye ring.

Swallow-tail Gull Chick

This persistent chick chased his mother around, tapping on a white spot on her beak until she finally gave in and regurgitated a lump of fish and I-don't-know-what-else, which seemed to satisfy him.

Swallow-tail Gull in Flight

The field guide estimates their numbers at 2-3,000 pairs, breeding throughout the year on beaches, rocky ledges and cliffs producing a single egg every nine or ten months. In the non-breeding season they fly off to the coastal waters of Ecuador and Peru. Due to the isolation of the islands, none of these birds apply the old adage about not putting all your eggs in one basket, or one island, and they are at risk. You can understand why the Park Service is so particular about visitors.

A Crabby Day at Galapagos

2011-08-20T14:56:00.000-04:00

As you land on any island from the sea, the first creature you are likely to see is Sally Lightfoot - a crab. Usually we don't think of crabs as beautiful, but this one certainly looks beautiful to me with all those bright colors! Her Latin name is Grapsus grapsus, which my mind read as Graspus graspus, an appropriate name for a crab that hangs on to the rocks when waves come pounding in, I thought.

The mature Sallys are bright red, and immediately visible against the black lava rocks, as they clamber around looking for bits of algae and other edible tidbits.

Youngsters are black as the lava itself, and hard to see until they move, giving them a better chance of survival.

Immature Sallys have spots - no, not crab acne, but a coloration advising other crabs that these aren't yet ready for mating, according to our guide Hanzel.

Hanzel found an unoccupied shell to show us one day. When the crab is ready to moult, it makes a foamy substance to separate its body from the old shell. Then it splits the old shell open, climbs out, and heads for the nearest rock until the new shell can harden. I always thought they would break the old shell into many pieces during this process, but apparently not.

From the right angle, they look like Samurai warriors!

According to seamen's lore, Sally Lightfoot was a night club dancer in the Caribbean. Although wearing hardly anything to cover her divine body, her dress was bright and colorful, red, orange and yellow. By profession, her movements were light and swift. A quick step sideways to avoid the odd hand snatching is her specialty. Easy to find, but hard to catch applies to both dancer and crab!

John Steinbeck said: "These little crabs, with brilliant cloissoné carapaces, walk on their tiptoes, They have remarkable eyes and an extremely fast reaction time. In spite of the fact that they swarm on the rocks at the Cape [Cabo San Lucas, Baja California], and to a lesser degree inside the Gulf, they are exceedingly hard to catch. They seem to be able to run in any one of four directions; but more than this, perhaps because of their rapid reaction time, they appear to read the mind of their hunter. They escape the long-handled net, anticipating from what direction it is coming. If you walk slowly, they move slowly ahead of you in droves. If you hurry, they hurry. When you plunge at them, they seem to disappear in little puffs of smoke – at any rate, they disappear. It is impossible to creep up on them. They are very beautiful, with clear brilliant colors, reds and blues and warm browns. We tried for a long time to catch them.”

When the ghost crabs cruise the beach, they put bits of sand in their mouths with their pincers, roll it around a bit for taste, then spit the inedible parts back out as little sand balls. The sharp tips of their legs leave a distinct trail of little holes in the sand.

Although Sally Lightfoot is the most common crab, we also found a semi-terrestrial hermit crab on Espanola. Poor thing, every time it moved to the edge of the rock trying to escape us, Hanzel moved it back to the top so we could get good photos. This guy's shell is getting small and he needs to start house hunting!

Watching this Sally move, you can understand by Steinbeck said they could move in all four directions!

Frigatebird or Pirate?

2011-08-19T16:49:00.000-04:00

Magnificent Frigatebird

The large black bird soaring overhead, with pointed wings and narrow tail, is a Frigatebird. I've seen them in Florida, but never knew there are two different species, the Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) and the Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor), both of which live in the Galapagos.

Magnificent Frigatebird Male - purple sheen

The Galapagos Magnificent Frigatebird is an endemic subspecies we saw nesting on the islands of: North Seymour and Floreana. The Great Frigatebirds are harder to spot because they tend to fly away much farther out at sea, while the Magnificent tends to fly above the Islands and is thus easier to see. Their wingspan is around 7.5 feet and their deeply forked scissor-like tails afford them ultimate maneuverability, and their overall length is about a meter. It is hard to distinguish the males because they are alike except for the colors of the neck and wing feathers, which can only be seen when they aren't flying.

Magnificent Frigtebird Female

The females are much easier to distinguish. The female Magnificent Frigatebird has a dark throat and blue eyering. The female Great Frigatebird has a white throat and breast and red eye ring.

Magnificent Frigatebird Juvenile

The juveniles can also be easily told apart. The juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird's head is entirely white...

Great Frigatebird Juvenile

...while the Great Frigatebird chick has a rusty head. Easy, right?

In the northern hemisphere, birds breed in the spring, of course. So how can they tell when to breed at the equator, when there really are no seasons? The birds have this problem too, apparently, so you can't actually predict when to find them puffing up to impress a female. I didn't see any doing his song and dance during our trip. The male pumps air into a large bright red throat pouch until it's the size of a party balloon. When a hot babe flies by, he erupts into fits of rapturous head-shaking and vibrating, while uttering a shrill, high-pitched cry.

I borrowed a video from YouTube, and they sound like bagpipes on wings! How could you resist a stud like this?

The nest is a flimsy thing built in a low bush of guano and twigs. Only a single egg is laid, and it sometimes falls through to the ground. Incubation is 42 days (in the hot equatorial sun), but the chick relies on the adults for up to a year or more, even though it can fly about five to six months after hatching. Full sexual maturity is not reached for five year. The male will often leave during this period to mate with another female. She raises a chick once every two years, while he breeds once every year and a half.

So why do people think they are pirates? They are masters of aerial maneuvers, fast flight and in some cases kleptomania! Great Frigate birds steal from other frigates, as well as other species, like Blue-footed Boobies and Tropic birds, forcing them to disgorge their recent catch, which the Frigatebird then seizes in air. They also steal nesting materials as well. It doesn't matter how they feed, what counts is that they survive. This skill in flight allows then to pluck small fish from the very surface of the water, dipping only the bill into the sea or even preying on flying fish in their mid-flight.

Ethics aside, though, they are most wondrous flyers, aren't they?

Galapagos Hawk

2011-08-18T10:49:00.000-04:00

As a dedicated raptorphile, I kept an eye on the sky for the Galapagos Hawk, top of the food chain and endemic to the islands. Two other raptors, the Short-eared Owl and Common Barn Owl, can also be found but only at night, when I was sound asleep in our cabin. I read stories of these hawks landing on people's heads, but had no such luck myself! In a celebrated incident, Darwin found he could push a wild hawk off a tree with the barrel of his gun.

There are only about 150 "pairs" which practice "cooperative polyandry," whereby the alpha female mates with up to four males which all then help her raise up to three chicks. They breed in arid areas and within volcanic calderas, but range across the islands. With no trees, a rock makes a handy perch. These hawks hunt anything from iguanas and snakes to rats and birds. They are also the major scavengers of the islands, feeding on any rotting carcass - their favorite is goat. There is nothing like a vulture on the island, so these hawks step into the empty niche.

As we gathered for coffee and breakfast just off Santa Fe Island, we saw a large dark shape fly into the cacti. Feathers blowing in the wind, it perched on the opunti for a while looking around for its own breakfast.

Spying something on the ground, it hopped down on the rocks, and quickly disappeared from our sight.

On Espanola Island, we stood on the cliffs watching Winged Albatross, Blue-footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies, Frigate Birds and Swallowtail Gulls soaring through the salt spray. But one bird had an entirely different profile. Rather than long slender wings, this bird had the broad rounded wings of a hawk. Sure enough, it was our Galapagos Hawk, easily identifiable among the sea birds.

This raptor is found throughout the archipelago, with the exception of San Cristobal, Floreana and Santa Cruz, where people have hunted it out, and Genovesa, where the Short-eared owl is the dominant predator.

Blue-footed Boobies

2011-08-16T20:28:00.001-04:00

When I told friends about our trip to the Galapagos, I said my target bird was the Blue-footed Booby. "What?" they all exclaimed. Yeah, I know, it's a funny name for a bird. Actually, it comes from the Spanish word bobo, or clown, and once you see them, you understand how they got that name. These Boobies can be found along the Pacific coast from California to Southern Peru, but they are known for nesting in the Galapagos, where they have a protected status.

In Florida, where I am most familiar with sea birds, there will be several species of gulls and terns soaring along the coast for me to learn, diving for fish. Here the Blue-footed and Nazca Boobies are much easier to identify. Yes, there are also Red-footed and Brown Boobies, but we didn't go to the islands where they live. These birds spend the day soaring overhead looking for fish. The bird itself is 32-34 inches long (about the size of a goose), with a long curved neck, and they can live as long as 17 years.

When it spies a likely target, those five foot long wings fold and it dives straight down with with a splash. In a moment, though, it pops back to the surface like a cork.

The blue feet are the most eye catching feature, of course. Males are proud of their bright feet, and dance in a high stepping strut to show them off to a prospective mate. She thinks the color is important too, and tends to choose the brightest blue male.

The eyes are the key to identifying males and females. The male has a small pinpoint iris, while the female's iris is larger and almost star-shaped.

When courtship is hot and heavy, both birds lift their beaks and tails to the sky while dancing about. The male whistles distinctively as the the female grunts back.

Nest building is a simple process. Just choose an empty spot and start laying eggs! The hiker's trail makes a good spot for many Boobies, and you have to watch for them when walking through the nesting area on North Seymour Island. Just in case you aren't sure, the nest is in the middle of a "ring of poop!" As the female sits on the eggs, she simply shoots the poop out around her spot. The Blue-footed Booby lacks "brooding patches" of skin to keep the eggs warm, so instead it uses its feet to incubate them. Despite their blue appearance, the feet have an excellent blood supply.

According to the experts, they can lay 1-3 eggs, but we only saw one chick with another unhatched egg.

Finally added up the totals of birds seen on this trip. Altogether, both in the islands and mainland Ecuador, we saw 72 species, 54 of which were life birds! Our leader Kevin, saw more, of course, but I didn't include any we didn't actually see ourselves. Pretty good, isn't it?

Everything Begins with Volcanoes

2011-08-15T21:20:00.001-04:00

Spatter Cones and Lava Field

All the books I've read about the Galapagos begin at the beginning. How did these islands come to be in the middle of the ocean? The answer, of course, comes from a molten hot spot in the earth's crust, and tectonic plate movement.

A mid-ocean ridge to the west moves the Nazca plate in an east-southeasterly direction towards the continent of South America. A plume of hot magma seeps up through the crust, and breaks through to create volcanoes. As the Nazca plate continues to move, new volcanic islands are created. When the islands move away from the plume, the ocean begins to erode the rock, and the island may sink entirely below sea becoming a sea mount. At least one island sank and rose again, because we saw a layer of limestone and big chunks of coral on the beach.

River of Lava

Sometimes the rocks are red and rough as a result of being blown out the mouth of the volcano. Iron and sulphur make the reddish color. The black lava flowed from the volcano like a river at a higher temperature, and silica gives it a shiny surface.

Lava Cactus

We saw examples of each at Sullivan Bay, where the last eruption was 100 years ago. We think of volcanic regions creating rich fertile soil, as in Hawaii or Italy, but this area is still very infertile. The only plants we saw were lava cactus and a small grass called carpetweed.

Carpetweed

Fortunately, we went to the lava fields on a cloudy cool day. When the sun shines, the temperature must become unbearable. With little rainfall, only the most tenacious plants can survive, yet we were surprised to see bees and locusts.

Pahoehoe Ropes

At Sullivan Bay, the we see the pahoehoe variety, a Hawaiian term. The lava emerges at high temperatures, and as the top cools and crusts over the lava continues to flow underneath, causing the crust to wrinkle into ropey shapes. Imagine sliding into a throw rug - the top pushes into ridges. Different eruptive events leave their trace with lava rope going in different directions.

Frozen Lava Ocean

As far as the eye can see, there is nothing but an ocean of frozen lava in all directions, reflecting the sun. Occasionally, a bubble of lava would collapse leaving a hole large enough for a person to disappear in. One of our group slipped on the unsteady surface and cut her arm pretty badly.

Spatter Cone

A more explosive eruption creates spatter cones around the main vent. We climbed the 375 steps to view Pinnacle Rock - the most famous view in the Galapagos, with a chance to peek inside these cones on the way. The most recent eruption was at Sierra Negra on the island of Isabela in October 2005. It is the largest volcano in the archipelago, 11 km in diameter, erupting with fountains of lava jetting over 200 m high, and a cloud rising 12 km into the sky, producing well over a million cubic metres of lava per hour on the first day. I told Dick I'd like to see an eruption, and he cautioned me to be careful what I wished for.

Devil's Crown is a volcanic caldera which sank into the ocean, so that only the tips are left surrounding a watery center. The group went snorkeling there, but when I saw the strength of the currents, I wisely declined. I don't like to swim in water that takes me somewhere I don't intend to go. Eventually, the Nazca plate will carry the islands to a trench to be subducted beneath the South American plate. At that point, it may give rise to more volcanoes in Ecuador, as we saw later in the week. I love geology and enjoyed getting a chance to see something other than limestone here in Kentucky. I would dearly have loved to pick up a small piece of Galapagos lava to add to my rock collection, but I didn't want to get into any trouble with customs, so I behaved myself.

Galapagos - Las Encantadas

2011-08-14T19:53:00.003-04:00

Blue Footed Booby

Where to start? We just returned from an 11 day trip to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, where I shot about 6,000 photos, including movies. How can I share with you the wonders we saw there? First, I would like to thank Wildside Nature Tours and Kevin Loughlin for arranging this wonderful experience. Despite the hurry up and wait inherent with international travel, Kevin kept everything moving with great flexibility. Kevin and all our local guides in Ecuador were simply fantastic. Muchas Gracias, amigos!

Click to enlarge map of Galapagos Islands

Let's start with a little geography. The Galapagos Islands are located on the equator, about 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador's mainland. Like Hawaii, they are located over a hot spot in the Nazca tectonic plate, which floats from west to east approximately. All the islands are volcanic, with those in the western end of the archipelago being the newest, and the eastern end being the oldest. The islands have never been connected with the continent of South America, so any plants, animals, insects, etc. on them had to arrive by flying, floating, swimming, or by human intervention. We didn't visit each of the islands, but circled around those in the middle for the most part, including Baltra, North Seymour, Bartolome, Santa Cruz, Rabida, South Plaza, Santa Fe, Floreana, and Espanola. Some islands are just rocks in the ocean, while others are much larger. (My apologies for not accenting them properly, but I don't think Blogger can do that.)

Pinnacle Rock on Bartolome

The landscape is 100% volcanic in origin, so some places have very little vegetation, while others have lush growth, depending on the moisture available. There are only two seasons, the warm and wet, and the dry and cool (called garua). We went during the garua, and were surprised to need warm clothes on several occasions even though we were on the equator. The cold Humboldt current comes up from Antarctica with food for all sorts of marine life, so we were glad to wear wet suits when we snorkeled.

Queen Beatriz

We stayed on a twin-hulled yacht, not just any old boat, and the accommodations, meals and all facilities were just outstanding. The last time we tried a cruise on a small boat, there wasn't enough room for both of us to stand up at the same time in our cabin, but our cabin on the Queen Beatriz was positively luxurious. The food was delicious, with lots of variety for all tastes, served with stemmed glassware and linen tablecloths. I hardly knew which fork and spoon to use some days! Now I have to start cooking for myself every day, sigh... Despite eating dessert everyday, however, we did not put on even a pound! The steward had the bed made every morning before we finished breakfast. (Travel Tip #1 - put your scopolamine patch on before leaving Quito to give it time to work. I waited till we got to the boat, which was a mistake.)

Sally Lightfoot Crab

The Galapagos are most famous as the inspiration for Charles Darwin's discoveries leading to the theory of evolution. The islands are home to species of both plants and animals living no where else in the world. Endemic is always the word of the day. There are 13 different species of finches, which have adapted for survival in the unique conditions of the particular island they now live on. After about 300 years of human intervention by pirates, whalers, and farmers, some of the original species are now extinct. The Darwin Research Station is home to Lonesome George, the last giant turtle from the island of Pinta. They are attempting to remove introduced species such as feral cats, dogs, goats, pigs and rats which threaten the fragile ecology.

Lava Lizard, Rabida Island

The islands lack the biodiversity found on the mainland. There are no amphibians at all, but the reptiles are in good supply. There are iguanas and lizards on every island, but due to the separation from each other, they have evolved into separate species.

Land Iguana, Santa Cruz Island

The land iguanas are vegetarian, while the marine iguanas swim to a depth of 10 meters to each algae. The giant land tortoises are also vegetarians, and you can tell which island each is from by the shape of its shell.

Waved Albatross

While we enjoyed seeing all the animals, we were most interested in the birds, of course. The Blue Footed Booby was my target bird, and they were everywhere. We had to watch our steps because they like to nest in the middle of the path. The Galapagos Penguin is the northernmost penguin in the world. The Waved Albatross nests only on the island of Espanola, then flies over the seas for the rest of the year. I was delighted watching the little Storm-Petrels dance on top of the waves. The finches are another chapter in the LBJ story, that is, another little brown bird hard to distinguish from other little brown birds. The Hood Mockingbirds have gangs that terrorize other gangs of mockingbirds on Espanola. I even saw one peck the tail of a marine iguana till it bled, then drink the blood. Yet we saw familiar birds too. Yellow Warblers are everywhere, along with Great Blue Herons, Cattle Egrets, and Great Egrets. Talk about birder's paradise!

When our cruise was over, we returned to Quito to explore the city. Here we are all at the Mitad del Mundo, or Middle of the World. The next day we traveled to a hummingbird sanctuary on the other side of the Andes Mountains. I thought Kentucky drivers were reckless, but Ecuadorans will pass two trucks going uphill and facing a sharp curve. I got real religious on that trip! The hummingbirds were fantastic, of course.

Sit back and enjoy this short video of the wild, wonderful Galapagos Islands. You'll wish you were there! In the next week or so, I will post in more detail about our adventures.

Summer on the Rocks

2011-07-30T14:52:00.001-04:00

By the end of July, the water levels at the Falls of the Ohio are pretty low. This year's floods created a new sand bar just below the Interpretive Center which is attractive to ducks, geese, and fishermen. The fishermen know to come early and leave when it gets hot, but the tourists haven't quite figured that one out yet, and they tend to arrive around 11:30, just as the heat and humidity become unbearable, not realizing that the fossils beds themselves will be 20 degrees hotter than at the top of the hill.

Local birders have flocked to the Falls during this time hoping to see the American Pelican which has been there for about six weeks now. This is an immature bird, as evidenced by the dusky bill and dark patches on the wings. An adult will have a bill that is taxi cab yellow in color. Oddly enough, this is the third summer in which a single American Pelican has appeared at the Falls, enjoyed the fishing, then disappeared in the autumn. Do you think Pelicans "twitter" to each other about unusual places to vacation? Otherwise, how would three different birds find out about us? This morning, this bird paddled around fishing for a while, then spread his 8 foot long wings to fly for a while, then settled on a rock for some serious preening. The black primaries on his wings were unmistakable. This is definitely not an Egret or some other white bird!

You Know You're a Raptor Person When...

2011-07-17T12:01:00.000-04:00

You start looking like the bird you are presenting.

All the volunteers Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky contributed towards this article in the most recent newsletter. It doesn't take long for new people to really get into the spirit of it!

You wonder why the table next to you at the restaurant is staring at you and your fellow volunteers as you talk about gutting rats over dinner.
You cheer for the hawks when you're watching predator/prey shows on the Nature Channel.
Your nose piercing was made by a Great Horned Owl.
You stop to pick up road kill to reduce the food bill.
You are happy the puncture that talon just put in your arm is bleeding profusely since that means it won't be as inflamed as if it didn't bleed.
You can pick up a mouse and tell what it weighs within 5 grams.
You carry a net, towel, gloves and a box in your car, just in case.
You pull road kill to the side of the road so vultures won't get hit feeding on it.
You leave your office and go outside because you hear a hawk calling, and it's during a sales meeting.
You tell a squirrel to "get a move on before you become owl food."
You plan your vacation around the baby season.
You know what happens when you try to thaw a mouse in the microwave.

Lions and Tigers and Bears...and SNAKES!

2011-07-11T09:09:00.000-04:00

The Cincinnati Zoo is known for its collection of cats of all sizes. They call this one a "white" lion, (although it looks a pale beige to me) but look at its blue eyes! I just finished re-reading the Clan of the Cave Bear series about life in the ice age, and this could certainly be a cave lion, if it were about twice as big that is. The pale color would blend in well with dried grasses on the steppe.

Their tiger was also white, the Siberian Tiger. Zoos always post a sign with information about the normal habitat of each animal, and it's disturbing to see the limited range and numbers for many of these animals in the wild.

We were a bit surprised to see three polar bears in the same enclosure. I didn't know they would get along with each other so well. Two sat and tried to stay cool in the July Fourth heat, while the third (which looked like a male) paced around the entire time we were there. None of them swam in the large pool, which would seem to be the sensible thing to do in hot weather.

As we entered the Reptile House, I recognized the building from childhood visits to the zoo. I was so busy trying to take photos through the glass that I didn't pay much attention to the names of the subjects in my viewfinder though. But sometimes the names aren't as important as the look on the face. I definitely want this one to stay behind glass!

Somehow I don't feel as sorry for the reptiles in captivity as I do for the mammals. They don't pace or look as bored as the mammals, so I don't relate to them as much. Did you notice? Lizards have eyelids and snakes don't. Maybe that constant stare of a snake (since he can't blink) is what makes us all a bit uncomfortable with them.

All Too Human

2011-07-07T13:30:00.001-04:00

The primate area at the zoo always disturbs me, and sometimes I actually refuse to go in and see the chimps and apes there. They are just too human looking, and it makes me feel very uncomfortable to see them locked up for life. They are bored, and everything they do naturally is laughed at by humans who feel superior. Well, I think our ancestors were very much like these apes, and we shouldn't feel so smug. But for the grace of God, there go I and all of you as well.

With timing that never fails to amaze me, NOVA had a program just last night about Ape Genius, which addresses the question bothering me. Since apes share 98-99% of our DNA, why did we develop into humans, and they did not? What makes us human? Recent research shows that apes may be more developed than we imagined before, with behavior and emotions very much like our own. The study included bonobos, an ape species living only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the last great ape species to be discovered. Bonobos look more like humans than other apes, and display many behavioral similarities as well.

Different researchers studied mechanical aptitude, imitation, cooperation, social emotions, math/symbol skills, and communication in chimps and bonobos. When a peanut was placed at the bottom of a clear tube, I didn't come up with the answer, but the chimp filled the tube with water to float the peanut to the top. The chimps would watch as another chimp worked out the answer to a puzzle box, then imitate it to get the same reward. Teamwork and cooperation with each other didn't come naturally to the chimps, but they would cooperate with humans in the same situation.

The chimps in the study could gauge who is responsible for something done, determining intentions, as when another chimp stole the food. Bonobos helped each other at risk to themselves in defense of a dead bonobo which humans were trying to remove. A mother carried the body of her dead infant around for days. Grief? Sounds like it to me. Impulse control seemed to be a recurring theme. The tests also studied human children's ability to control the desire for instant gratification. Greed and self interest is high on the chimp priorities when it comes to a dish of candy at least. But using symbols helped distance the ape from its impulses. One bonobo, in particular, performed a number of tasks based only on verbal requests from the human, understanding a sequence of actions to be performed in order, while displaying a large vocabulary.

Communication is a primary human trait however, which the apes did not do as well. Pointing to things, and the ability to almost mind read to understand which object is being pointed to is vital to human development, allowing us to use cooperative tools in ways other species do not. Mothers and babies pay full attention to each other with shared goals and commitment, allowing them to learn. In fact, one of the conclusions I made is that human desire to teach and learn is a big factor in making us human. So hurray for the teachers! All parents say they have a civilizing effect, and now we can see they have a humanizing effect a well.

Super Zoobirds

2011-07-05T20:38:00.000-04:00

Andean Condors

The Zoological Society of Cincinnati was founded in 1873 and officially opened its doors in 1875, making the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden the second oldest Zoo in the United States. The Zoo’s original animal collection was very small, originally consisting of just eight monkeys, two grizzly bears, three deer, six raccoons, two elk, a buffalo, a hyena, a tiger, an alligator, a circus elephant, and over four hundred birds, including a talking crow. The Zoo was founded on 65 acres in the middle of the city, and since then has acquired some of the surrounding blocks and several reserves in Cincinnati’s suburbs. In the birding world, the Cincinnati Zoo is known as the last home of the now-extinct Passenger Pigeon. The last Passenger Pigeon, named Martha, died alone at the Cincinnati Zoo at about 1:00 pm on September 1, 1914. Now they have a great collection of cats- large and small, along with reptiles, insects and (my favorites of course) birds. Our trip to the Cincinnati Zoo over the holiday weekend was the first in more years than I can actually recall, and the place has changed a lot.

Andean Condors

The Andean Condor is the biggest bird in the world, with a wingspan up to 10.5 feet, and males weighing in at 24 - 33 pounds! In a zoo, they may live up to 70 years. Reproduction is an issue, since they only lay one egg every other year. With a wingspan so large, they do not favor forested areas, but you notice that the zoo has many trees in their net-covered enclosure. As always, click any photo for a larger version. In particular, take a look at the size of their feet.

Female Andean Condor

It's easy to see that these birds are related to our local vultures. I have another photo where you can see through their large nostril hole, just like our Turkey Vultures. Isn't her white collar pretty?

Male Andean Condor

The male Condor must have some special attraction for the female though. I wonder if he has a hard time seeing around those extra skin flaps on his face.

Eurasian Eagle Owl

Many exhibits were inside buildings, so photos taken of animals behind glass may be a bit blurry. This Eurasian Eagle Owl was the star of a Night Hunters exhibit along with several species of small cats. Our Binx would have related to all those cats, which so greatly resemble domestic cats. I wondered if the animals could see through the glass, and guessed that it was one-way at first. As I tried to focus on this owl in the dark though, I saw a red focusing light reflecting on the bird, and watched it turn to face me. Apparently he could see that light from my side at least. The Eagle Owl is native to North Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East and the female may weigh in at up to 10 pounds, larger than the Snowy Owl. It resembles the Great Horned Owl, but I don't think the facial disc is as pronounced.

Not all the birds are in cages though, and this Peacock had staked out one of the restaurants as his panhandling territory. He was polite about it though, not making any noise or threatening anyone. If you ignored him, he'd just walk away to the next table.

He was quite willing to pose, and stood still for longer than any other bird I tried to photograph all day. It's not too often you can get this much detail from a bird's feathers.

Like all fashion models, he gave me the eye until I came up with his fee - half a potato chip! I doubt that Christie Brinkley ever worked for so little! Eventually, he flew to the top of the building and decided that pickings might be better elsewhere. It took a lot of effort to lift that long tail to the roof.

Crowned Crane

Reviewing these photos, I realize that most of the birds we saw are variations on birds found in North America - owls, vultures, eagles, and cranes for example. Seeing the variation in color and plumage makes me wonder what the survival advantage is for each of them. For example, how would the "crown" on this crane help it to survive in its African home?

Stellar's Sea Eagle

The Stellar's Sea Eagle is native to northeastern Asia, north of Japan, and of course it eats primarily fish. Does that huge beak give it some survival advantage? How about a wingspan of 77 - 91 inches? (That's 8.25 feet) Whew! It must take a LOT of fish to keep a bird that size aloft.

Pink Billed Pelican

I've seen Brown Pelicans and White Pelicans, but this is a Pink-billed Pelican, about the size of the Brown, looking rather anemic with that pink bill.

Puffin

As we watched the polar bears pacing in their enclosure, I noticed white vertical markings on the wall. Hmm, looks like bird droppings. A closer look revealed a crevasse in the fake stone, and a small Puffin hiding within. Do you think Marcel Marceau (the mime) was inspired by this bird when he came up with the white face makeup he used for his silent character? It's a possibility!

What is Time?

2011-07-03T13:28:00.000-04:00

Happy Declaration of Independence Day everyone! We attended a concert by the Louisville Chorus Friday evening, along with all the other senior citizens in St. Matthews, and I started thinking. (A dangerous pastime, I know.) My thoughts have been led along by a new television show I enjoy on the Science Channel called Through the Wormhole. Morgan Freeman is the narrator, and that's certainly reason enough to watch it- I love listening to his voice. After all, it is the voice of God, right? Given all the "reality" shows that have absolutely nothing to do with reality in my opinion, it's refreshing to watch a show dedicated to physics and cosmology, where even scientists with opposing theories about the universe can be respectful or even friends with each other.

Anyway, recent episodes have discussed whether the universe is infinite or not, and if time really exists. See why I love this? Why waste your time thinking about doing laundry, when you can contemplate really big things? I've been a science fiction lover since college, so some of these theories about multiverses and parallel universes actually sound familiar to me. I admire fiction writers who learn about science and incorporate it in their stories.

I see the scientists on the show writing long equations on a board, using symbols and math that are way beyond my comprehension. Heck, I had trouble with geometry and algebra in high school. That's why I didn't major in science. Although it always fascinated me I couldn't hack the math.

Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist, works with the science of black holes, despite having ALS which has decreased his ability to move his body over the years. When diagnosed at age 21, this genius was given two years to live, yet he overcame all odds, and is still alive today. He manages to communicate with the aid of a computer which vocalizes for him, and even gives speeches at scientific conferences.

But let's return to the discussion of time. Even my 27-year-old son notices that time seems to go faster now than it did when he was a child. At the concert (finally, she's getting back to the beginning of this blog...) we were entertained by a slide show of historic pictures to accompany the music. Many were patriotic, of course, showing the development of our country, wars, and people influential in America. I couldn't help but think about the ideals people have and how they can be deflected from the original intention. All men are created equal...except for slaves, even after emancipation, and women, of course, and child laborers, or immigrants who just arrived. And how about religious freedom? As long as you agree with our religion, of course. How did anyone have the courage to leave everything familiar and move to a new country? How did those women cross the nation in covered wagons, knowing if they got into trouble, they had to get out of it themselves or die. I don't think I would have made a very good pioneer. Sigh, things have gotten better, I hope, but there are still so many problems left to solve. Over the thousands of years people have existed as human beings, have we managed to make a positive effect in the world?

http://www.timephysics.com/ discusses time in a thought provoking manner. Only "now" exists, yet "now" passes into the past, which only exists in memory while future only exists in imagination. Actually, time may be simply a way to measure motion.

The problem of time may be easy to solve if we go back to the original concept of sun moving across the sky. When we measure the speed of a car, we are just comparing its motion to the motion of the hands of the clock and also indirectly to the fractional motion of sun across the sky.We are not measuring speed with something abstract called time we are just comparing a known motion (of the sun) with an unknown motion of the car.

Time becomes evident through motion and is measured by comparison with other motions. Sunrise, sunsets, night and day, the changing seasons, the movement of the celestial bodies are all indicative of continuous change. The aging process is a reminder that molecular motion and interactions are also at work and are a part of time.

The best part of such thinking is that I don't have to do it very often. It doesn't wake me up a night like some things do. And it doesn't really affect my day to day life at all. But it's nice to know that I can occasionally set my mind on something deep and esoteric. Just remember, the only constant in life is change.

Fledging Wrens

2011-06-27T18:52:00.008-04:00

Carolina Wren are wonderful little birds. They sing loudly and aren't afraid of anything. As posted earlier, a pair of Wrens took up residence in the gourd hanging outside our kitchen door this year.

During the last few weeks, they flew back and forth to the gourd, using the patio chairs as convenient perches.

Saturday evening we ate on the patio and noticed small chirps coming from the gourd. The next day, the parents made more noise than usual, with chirrs and scoldings, jumping from the chair to the table to the fence and back again. Obviously, something was going on. Then I looked at the gourd from the shelter of our kitchen door, and saw two babies trying to decide if they should leave the nest. I hadn't expected to actually see the fledging, and boy was I excited! I ran from kitchen to porch with camera in hand, trying to get photos that weren't too blurred by the dirty windows! With a tree nest, the chicks can "branch" or walk along the branches while they strengthen their wings by flapping. When they do try to fly, they can go short distances first. Cavity nesters don't have this option. Once they jump out, that's it. Their wings can't take them back up to the cavity, so you can understand the look of indecision on this little one's face.

Before I could press the shutter on my camera, he jumped down to the ground, looking around as if to say, "Well, I did it. What next?" His sibling jumped too, but I didn't get any good photos of him.

For a little guy who just took a long fall, he seems in good condition, and soon hopped back up to the step. Note the short, almost non-existent tail feathers. "Oops! Did I do that?"

Then he flew/hopped to the top of the stepladder...

...back to the lawn chair...

...and finally out to the top of the swing in the yard, the last time I saw him. Dick said he found them near the log pile in the back of the yard. They quickly knew to go to shelter.

One of the parents came to the gourd with a bug for the babies, and seemed surprised to find no one there!

But they continued to call encouragement to their brave children, while warning us big creatures to stay out of the way. We carefully used the front door when we needed to go into the yard, so we wouldn't accidentally step on one of the chicks, or get attacked by the parents.

Who else was watching this important step in a Wren's life? Our cat Binx, of course. Normally he's more interested in the chipmunks, but all this activity caught his eye. He's the main reason we went out the front door, of course, since he's faster than anything if the porch door is open.

The parents continued to entice the chicks into the bushes at the back of the yard, calling and hopping from place to place. Since the chicks reached their place of concealment and safety though, I haven't heard the parents nearly as much as in the last few weeks. Maybe silence is safety for them too.

I turned a lot of individual photos into a Flash file. Let's see if I can get it to work!

Saturday at the Falls of the Ohio

2011-06-25T16:28:00.002-04:00

On a beautiful, non-humid Saturday, where else would I go but the Falls of the Ohio? The river is finally down enough that we can go on the upper fossil beds. The long awaited renovation of exhibits inside the Interpretive Center is under way. We find the stuffed birds and animals from the lobby scattered through the rest of the building. Only the mastodon remains in its location, looking lonely without its friend the bison.

The mastodon will have to be moved too eventually, and how they got him lifted onto wheeled dollies is beyond me. He's a reproduction, not an actual bone skeleton, so I suppose his joints are firmly fastened together. But they certainly won't be able to move him through any doorways!

Hmmm, wonder how my new 24x zoom lens will do at the Falls? It's about half a mile from the Interpretive Center to the wall of the dam, and of course, the birds I want to photograph are as far away as they can get. Here is a fisherman in the middle of the river at full zoom...

Here I've backed off a bit...

...and here you can see how far away things reallllly are! Yes, I know I should be digiscoping to get the shots I want, but I'll see how this zoom does for the birds any way.

Fish swimming upstream run into the dam, so the vultures take advantage of the feast. Both Black and Turkey Vultures hang around on the rocks until warm air thermals are strong enough to soar into the air.

Great Blue Herons have a rookery just downstream a bit, so they fish here at the Falls all the time. Today they are joined by Black Crowned Night Herons and several Great Egrets. If you watch through the scope, you can actually see the fish struggling through the rapids, just to be caught by one of these patient fisherbirds. I don't think the human fishers have as much luck! (Click the picture for an enlargement. Looks pretty good considering how far away it is!)

But one of the white birds is much larger than the others, and has black tips to its wings. The Kentucky bird list has reported an American Pelican at the Falls for the last several days, and I got to show him to our visitors. Yes, that's him on the left with the great big beak. This is the third year now that we've had a solitary Pelican show up here for a while. Don't know if it's the same bird who decided he likes it here, or just a different young bird getting lost each time.

The bees are doing their job pollinating all the flowers, and the beds look much better since a bunch of us volunteers pulled most of the weeds. No one has seen many butterflies this year though, and we wonder what's going on.

The river levels were higher than usual this spring, but some of my favorite trees are still hanging on. I know that one year I will walk down the bank to find them gone, but not this year apparently. Some of the dead trees used by Pileated Woodpeckers have disappeared though.

In grade school, I remember studying about the Nile River, and how it deposits silt each year to enrich the soil. Well, the Ohio River deposited much more silt this year than I recall seeing before. The silt looks like mud lava up to 6 or 8 inches deep, encroaching on our gravel paths.

Several visitors made remarks about the driftwood blocking walkways and paths. Here's the problem: wood floats. Plastic floats. Every time we clear some of it away in the spring, the river rises and brings more. We can't burn it, or push it back into the river. All we can do it try to cut through for the sidewalks, and push as much aside as we can. Next year, it will all float down to someone else's shore, and we'll get new driftwood. By the way, you can't collect rocks or fossils at the Falls of the Ohio, but you are welcome to take home as much driftwood as you can carry away!

Meet the Bluebirds

2011-06-23T09:56:00.002-04:00

Meet Ann and Ben Bluebird, who live at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve in Goshen, KY, where I volunteer. This week, I taught a group of campers about bird nests. We examined empty nests of a Robin, Tree Swallow and Chickadee, looking at the different materials used in each. But the good part was looking into live nests of Ann and Ben, and some neighboring House Wrens so the kids could actually see the chicks. They were thrilled with this new experience, and so was I.

While waiting for the children to finish their early morning activities, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit in the shade and watch Ann and Ben for a while going about their normal Bluebird activities. The task of the day is feeding the babies. We counted six hatchlings which were probably about two days old, since their eyes were still shut.

New chicks are all yellow beak and big eyes. When they think someone is bringing food, those mouths open right up, even if it's just some curious people. By the way, these boxes were donated by the Louisville Audubon Society for a Bluebird Trail at the Nature Preserve. People sponsored them as a Valentine's gift to their sweethearts, so we painted the names or initials of the sponsor on the box. After all, Bluebirds are very loving and devoted to their mates. Real lovebirds!

Bluebirds are wonderful parents, raising two or even three clutches in the summer if the food supply is good. Ben would fly towards the hole in the nest box...

...then wait his turn if Ann was there first. They are pretty tolerant of people, and don't attack my campers when we peek inside the box, unlike the Tree Swallows.

OK, my turn now. Which chick gets the bug next?

He seems to say, "Are you looking at me? Don't you have anything useful to do?" I was impressed by the variety of different worms and bugs they brought to the nest.

It was too dark in Ann and Ben's box to take a picture of their chicks, but this nest only has one freshly hatched and exhausted little chick. By the end of the day, I expect that most of his siblings hatched out too.

While Ann and Ben were out hunting, their Chipping Sparrow neighbor perched on the wall by the nest box and sang joyously. I don't know if the Bluebird chicks appreciated his song, but I certainly did! By the way, I just noticed that I have been posting to the blog for FIVE years now. Wow, it sure went by fast, but it's great fun to go back and remember all the great experiences and birds that I've posted here, along with the wonderful blogger buddies I've met. Happy Anniversary to me!

Back to Bernheim Forest

2011-06-11T22:04:00.001-04:00

Wait a minute...didn't I just do a post on Bernheim Forest last week? Today I met members of the Daviess County Audubon Society who drove up from Owensboro, KY, for the day. Last autumn they visited the Falls of the Ohio, so I was glad to show them around another of my favorite birding spots. Temps were warm, but nowhere near the high 90's we've had all week. The Barn Swallows are nesting under the porch at the Garden Pavilion, and we got a great look at the mothers and babies in their mud nests. Then we saw something really odd. An adult Swallow sat on the hot pavement, panting and looking ill. Is it sick? we asked. In a minute it was joined by a second bird, then a third, fourth and fifth sat on the hot, hot sidewalk. I looked online, and saw one reference to this behavior speculating that they were trying to eliminate insects with the heat. I dunno...anyone out there have any ideas?

Everyone was interested in Bernheim's LEEDS Platinum certified Visitor's Center with the green roof. Yes, this photo doesn't look green, because it was taken during another time of year. Sorry 'bout that. But now, the roof has grass and all sorts of green plants. The Bernheim horticulturists continue to develop green roofing, testing it in plots on the property as well as on actual office buildings in downtown Louisville.

They work with different heat and drought tolerant plants, including many varieties of sedum, cactus and grasses, as well as combinations of "soil". A Living Roof is built in layers, including the structural roof of the building, a rubber membrane to keep water from reaching that roof, a root barrier and drainage mat, filter fabric, growing medium and plants.

The benefits of a Living Roof include improved air quality, slowing down the run off into city drainage systems after a rain, improving water quality, and creating inspiring landscapes. They didn't mention a potential for wildlife habitat. We found this Killdeer egg on one of the test roof platforms. It was dead, but it showed that at least one kind of bird viewed this as a potential nesting site.

The target bird of the day was the Northern Quail, which I found easily last Saturday morning. However, we started looking later in the afternoon, and had to search around the edges of the Big Prairie for them. Finally, someone spotted the pair of small birds, and we followed them around like paparazzi after royalty! Someone mentioned that these must be the most photographed birds at Bernheim - certainly a very true statement - but the Quail showed no stress and just went about their business as usual.

Up around the Education Building, we enjoyed a rest in the shade, and tried to find the Catbird taunting us from the low branches. This Eastern Pond Hawk dragonfly was much more cooperative, as were several of his cousins of other species.

The final highlight of our day was the Purple Martins. Larry Melcher is a volunteer who is obsessed with these birds (no offense intended, Larry) He maintains several colonies of gourds and other housing for these gregarious birds which rely on humans for nesting locations. Larry has appeared on both local and national television (the Martha Stewart Show) talking about them. If you look carefully at this bird's mouth, it is holding a piece of green leaf in it.

We expected the Martins to swoop around chasing and catching insects in the air, which they did. Several of them seemed to be after the same large green insect, or so we thought. One would catch it, then it wiggled away, to be captured by the next bird. Imagine our surprise when this green insect finally fluttered to the ground and we discovered it to be merely a piece of green leaf! The birds were playing catch with a leaf!! Look at this photo and you can see the pass off. Wren Smith says that if you take a nice fluffy feather and toss it in the air, the Martins love to play with it. I know Larry flings crickets in the air for them to catch, but I didn't know they liked to play with anything not edible!

I like listening to the Purple Martins gossip as they sit on their perches and porches. By the end of the afternoon, they all agreed that it was too hot to fly around just so I could have a movie. Just listen and they'll tell you all about it!

From the Chipper's Point of View

2011-06-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

Chip! Hello there and welcome to my world. My relatives and I live in the Garden of Eatin', although the tall two-legged creatures who share our world like to pretend it is their backyard. Sure it is.... We keep them around as gardeners, but chipmunks are the dominant life species here. Chip!

We chipmunks are energetic beings, always on the hunt for something good to eat, and we eat many different things such as peanuts, insects, different types of grains, the eggs of certain birds, various types of fungi and even worms as well. Sometimes chipmunks also love bird seeds, dried or even fresh bananas, apples, peas, tomatoes, grapes, sweet corn, grass, cucumber, dried apricots, sunflower seeds etc. My gardeners have strict orders to keep sunflower seeds out for us all the time. They put them in bird feeders we can't reach, but it's OK. The birds are glad to toss some to the ground to share with us. Sometimes we climb up on the sunflower plants and help ourselves to the seeds. Yummy! They are always better when they are fresh! When autumn comes, we stuff them in our cheek pouches to stash away in underground storage bins for the winter.

We share our Garden of Eatin' with the neighbors, and we all get along pretty well. The squirrel tribe keeps to the trees for the most part, coming down to share the bounty of sunflower seeds. We invite the squirrels to our fence races sometimes, but they don't want to participate. The wooden fence around our Garden makes a great race track for us speedy chipmunks.

We chipmunks are intelligent creatures, and our spiritual needs are met by Brother Brown, a Chip Monk. We tithe our seeds to the Church of Chiptymonk, and he prays for us. Like other idyllic places, we have to watch constantly for the evil Cat demon. The Cat demon hides and spies on us. Sometimes our teenage chipmunks dare each other to taunt this demon, calling him names. This enrages the evil Cat, and when it gets loose in our Garden, none of us are safe. I've heard tales about rash chipmunks who have been captured by the Cat demon. But they kept their wits about them, and when the Cat started to torture them, they were able to escape. I love listening to tales of great heroes and their mighty deeds during the cold winter nights.

The Raging Torrent is both a blessing and a curse in the Garden of Eatin'. The steep rock cliffs make it risky to climb down to the life-giving water for a drink on a hot summer day. We have to be careful or we will be swept away by the rapids.

Our Garden has a variety of habitats. We can dart into the forests and jungles if we need to hide or just cool off. There are brush piles and rock condos that some of us like. I prefer my hole under the flower bed wall. Did you know that there are more of my relatives living in a human cemetery than there are humans buried there? Yes, it's true!

Another of my favorite spots is the giant flowers. They smell good and are tasty too. The tall grasslands are easy to cross while traveling from one side of our world to the other. I understand that there are other worlds like mine all over, but I'm sure this Garden of Eatin' is the best. I doubt those chipmunk tribes even speak the same language I do, so I'm happy to stay home.

Chip! Chip! Chip! Well, that's my mother calling me home for dinner. I'll see you later!

There be QUAIL!

2011-06-04T17:06:00.001-04:00

Bobwhite photo by Dick Dennis

When I was a girl, growing up in a small rural community in southwest Ohio, the pert bob-bob-white of this bird could be heard any time you left the town limits. As a birder, however, it is a stellar day when I find Bobwhites now. If you look for them online, be prepared for ads about rising quail, but there is good information on these sites as well. Apparently there is money to be had in these small birds.

They are the number 1 game bird in many states, but the main cause of their decline must certainly be habitat loss. A quail range is a delicate balance of cropland, nesting cover, woodlands and fence rows or waterways which serve as travel lanes. Early explorers found quail only in prairie openings or around Indian clearings. Quail closely followed the ax and plow of early settlers, probably reaching their peak abundance about the time of the Civil War. Improvements in farm machinery resulted in larger fields, fewer fence rows and odd areas, and less living space for quail. Oddly, the Bobwhite range in some areas has been hurt because too much land has gone back to timber or has been converted to grasslands which do not support quail.

Bernheim Forest restored a large grassy area several years ago from mowed recreational fields to natives grasses and wildflowers. Controlled burns keep weeds and trees under control. In the last year or so, someone had a great idea of raising quail to be reintroduced here. Eggs are in an incubator in the Education Building, then moved to a protected fenced-in "coop" when they hatch. Several releases have been made, but I haven't heard any guesses about the survival rates.

When we arrived at the Education Building this morning, prepared to teach a Birding Basics class to some of the volunteers, the first sound to greet me was bob-white! bob-white! What a great way to start the day! While I set up the laptop and projector, Dick got photos of them, which I quickly added to the presentation. Next week, an Audubon Society group from Owensboro, KY, is coming to Bernheim for an outing, and now I know where to look for these delightful little birds. They've decided that the bottlebrush buckeye trees, which grow branches completely down to the ground, provide wonderful shelter. No hawk is going to get them here!

Carolina Wrens in Kentucky

2011-05-23T17:28:00.001-04:00

Carolina Wrens are the loudest little bird in our backyard. They sing back and forth to each other at all hours of the day. When they chatter and scold, you know you are in trouble! I have been noticing much more activity than usual, and here is the reason... they are starting to nest in the hollow gourd hanging outside the back door!

Wrens have nested several times before in our garage. Once in an upturned bicycle helmet belonging to one of the kids (you can't ask for a more perfect nesting site), and once in a fruit basket hanging on the wall. As long as we leave the window open a crack they can get in without any trouble. The one time we actually closed that window, the loud calls alerted us to the problem.

The book says Carolina Wrens eat insects, and I hope they do, because we get plenty of bugs in the yard. But I notice them chowing down on the suet and peanut feeders more often. In fact, when I refilled the peanut feeder yesterday, the Wrens and Nuthatches were quite excited!

Some House Wrens built in the gourd the first year it was up, but I'm glad to see my favorite little birds moving in now. And, no, we don't have any snow. I just pulled this one out of my collection.

Flying Through a Tight Spot

2011-05-16T20:41:00.003-04:00

Loving raptors as I do, I was fascinated by this video of a Goshawk flying through various small places. This is how they can fly through dense brush as well as soaring in clear air. And all without losing air speed. This is too cool!

FloraQuest Flora

2011-05-10T22:01:00.000-04:00

Orchids always amaze me. I don't find them in my normal wildflower haunts, but only see them when I am with an expert who knows where to find them. In Indiana last year, we saw Yellow Lady's Slippers in some well-mulched forest, about as I expected.

In Ohio at the FloraQuest, we found more of them in poor conditions - on steep hillsides along the roads, for example. But they are beautiful no matter where they grow.

I think Pink Lady's Slippers must grow somewhere in Kentucky, but I haven't found any yet.

Showy Orchis grew at the Pine Mountain Settlement School in Kentucky, but we didn't get to see it blooming that year.

I expect orchids to be shaped like the ones you always hoped to have in a corsage in high school, and the reality blows me away. Take these Whorled Pogonias, for example. They look like the giant wind mills you see on some wind farms! The ones we found were all clustered around the foot of a tree.

At first, I thought he said we were going to look for begonias....

Tiny Bluets clustered around the base of many trees. Someone said ants carried their seeds but couldn't get them any farther up the tree.

Dwarf Crested Iris have little, well, crests when you look at them closely.

Fire Pink showed up in only a few spots, in the worst soil conditions we found...

...as did the Pinkster, a wild Azalea we found above the mow mark on the roadside.

Indian Paintbrush has teeny, tiny little flowers. The large orange parts are really bracts, much like the red bracts on a Poinsettia at Christmas. It almost looks as if the bracts have been dipped in orange paint when you look closely. These grew in a cemetery.

When we first saw the Spotted Mandarin (a member of the lily family), I thought it was Solomon's Seal in full bloom. Shawnee is the northern-most tip of this Appalachian plant. I don't have an official "lifer" list for wildflowers yet, but maybe I should start one with the Lifers found on this weekend!

After the Flood

2011-05-06T12:20:00.002-04:00

The Ohio River crested Wednesday night at 31.1 feet, below what was forecast. It is slowly falling, but still well above flood stage, which is 23 feet. Flood levels downstream from Louisville are among the highest in many years. At Cairo, IL, where the Ohio flows into the Mississippi River, the levels are higher than the great flood of 1937. For most Louisvillians, the flood has been a minor inconvenience, except for those folks who have homes on the river itself. A few roads have been closed, but most people were unaffected. They have postponed the annual Steamboat Race which normally would have been run on Wednesday (yes, this is Derby Week). With the river this high and full of debris, it just wouldn't be safe.

Here are more views taken from the Falls of the Ohio State Park.

The gates on McAlpine Dam are completely open, lifted up and away from the water. I've seen a photo of a towboat and barges going right over this dam once, rather than using the locks on the other side. The water was high enough to go over the dam, but he took a chance of running into the railroad trestle.

The willows growing just beneath the dam are completely covered.

Here is the same area under normal conditions. You can see the gates on the dam are in a closed position, letting out only a small amount of water, and willow trees are growing in the sand.

These are the two sycamore trees growing on the Upper Fossil Beds at the Falls.

Debris is the big problem after flooding like this. You can easily see the high water mark, a combination of logs, plastic bottles and Styrofoam left on the banks after the water started to recede.

We don't usually do anything about the logs after a flood. If we cut them up and throw them back in the river, people downstream complain about it. They will float away next year when the river rises. The real problem is all the plastic, car tires, Styrofoam, coolers, and refrigerators which now clutter the recreational and native habitat areas. The River Sweep won't be until June 18th, but the call has gone out for volunteers to come now and get a start on this mess. Just try counting the plastic bottles in this photo of perhaps 4 feet of shoreline, then do the math for 1,000 miles of Ohio River, and double that to include both shores.

Wildlife is affected by the debris as well. A pair of Canada Geese honked forlornly, looking for a calm place in which to swim. The current is swift and the shores are full of logs. They eventually flew up to the railroad trestle to reconnoiter - a place I have have seen geese before. The debris must attract large numbers of insects though, because the swallows were have a feast.

But this Song Sparrow didn't seem dismayed. He found a high and dry spot to sing his song, no matter what. I must admit it cheered me up too.

FloraQuest

2011-05-01T19:10:00.000-04:00

Blue -headed Vireo Building Nest

You would expect a weekend called "Floraquest" to concentrate on flowers, and we did see many beautiful wildflowers at Shawnee State Park in Southeastern Ohio this weekend, but Floraquest is much more. After early morning bird watching, and a filling breakfast at the Lodge, participants set out on ten Quests, looking for butterflies, trees, rocks, Appalachia in Ohio, as well as the flowers. One group of hardy souls even rode off on bicycles, although I don't see how they survived if they used the same roads we did! After a solid week of rain, and basement floods twice in two weeks, we were overjoyed to have a little sunshine on Saturday. Even showers on Sunday morning didn't stop us.

Blue-headed Vireo

Southeastern Ohio is known as the Little Smokies, sharing many characteristics of the Appalachians with West Virginia and Kentucky. We all know that the Ice Age glaciers flattened most of Ohio several times. However, the southeastern third of the state manage to escape this fate, retaining a connection with the Appalachian Mountains, which were much much larger at that time. The two mile high glaciers blocked the ancient Teays River, draining north through the current New and Kanawha Valleys, then north through the center of Ohio, and west towards the Mississippi (they think). The glaciers put an end to this by burying the river in ice, so all northward flowing water had to look for a new outlet. At one point, they backed up to from Lake Tight, almost as large as Lake Erie is today, while tips of the mountains, and what is now Adams County and Shawnee Forest, turned into islands. After about 6,500 years, the blockage burst, and the lake drained. Given all the time I've spent studying geology at the Falls of the Ohio, this fascinated me, although some may have taken an after-dinner nap during the presentation.

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Over the entire weekend, Dick and I saw/heard a total of 79 species of birds, including all the woodpeckers except the Sapsucker! Since the leaves are coming out, birding by ear was the method used by everyone, and we really got to practice up on our song ID's, especially for warblers - always a challenge for us, since they like to feed so high up in the canopy and are difficult to see at all. If I didn't know their song, I'd have no idea at all what was up there. Each year we listen to the cd, trying to add two or three more birds to our repertoire. This year, I think I've nailed down the Yellow Throated Warbler and the Cerulean Warbler. (I hope!)

My quest leader was Ohio's own Jim McCormac, author and knowledgeable about everything! His blog on Ohio Birds and Biodiversity is right on the target for his knowledge base. The Quest folks gave us not only a Birds of Ohio checklist, but a plant list for the area, with both common and Latin names for each plant. Jim just rattled off the Latin like he speaks it at home every day, which he very well may do. But I really appreciated his dedication to us birders. Not only can he hear warblers through a closed van window, he made sure we recognized the song as well using a program on his phone. But he was very careful not to overuse the technology and freak out the little guys up in the treetops. One of the hardest things about birding is finding the bird someone else has discovered. Where is it? In that tree... goes that standard answer. Sigh! Jim carries a small laser pointer to trace the path to the correct three, and he can hold it steady on the appropriate branch. I was so impressed! Our birding was a big success because he patiently made sure that everyone saw the bird. Just follow the green dot in this photo, and look to the right for the Blue-winged Warbler we found.

Prairie Warbler

The forest terrain only goes in two directions, straight UP and straight DOWN. We took that large Ford van up and down the switchbacks, and across ridges barely wide enough for a one lane gravel road, then squeezed to the side without falling off when traffic came at us from the other direction. Thank goodness I didn't have to do the driving! Sometimes this topology works to your benefit, because the upper levels of the trees are right at your eye level from the road. Other times, I would lean backward to find the top of the tree with the bird, and the tree is also at the top of the slope above, making me doubly dizzy. With persistence, however, I got some good shots of several warblers, while finding others in the binoculars (including a LIFER Kentucky Warbler), and honing up on my warbler songs, calls and birding tips. For example, although I know that eastern tent caterpillars are found in black cherry trees, I never knew that Baltimore Orioles and Cuckoos eat them, while other birds don't, so I can look for those birds where I see the tent caterpillars. Cerulean Warblers and Red Headed Woodpeckers like areas where the trees have been disturbed, and we saw both where the ice storms made clearings in the forest. And have you ever heard the Kentucky Warbler's song described as sounding like a galloping horse? Well, that may be a bit of a stretch...

Fence Lizard

Jim knew all the butterflies too, but we really enjoyed this fence lizard that rustled through the leaves and up the side of a tree. "Go look at his side, and try to spot his blue belly," Jim suggested, "that shows it's a male. But the male Tiger Swallowtails don't have much blue, while the females do." Would you ever think to look at the belly of a lizard on a tree? I will from now on.

Eastern Bluebird

More on the flora part of the weekend tomorrow....

Up and Down, and All Around

2011-04-17T22:08:00.000-04:00

Shivering in the 40 degree temperature on our final morning at Carter Caves State Park, we joined Evelyn Morgan on a bird hike. Only a few of the roads along the ridge tops are even close to flat, so we hiked down to the stream, then up again to another ridge. It's strenuous, but beautiful. All the streams emerge from caves, or another small opening in the sandstone cliffs, then run down the hillside eroding smooth paths from layer to layer in the rocks, growing larger as they are joined by smaller streamlets on the way down. The high muddy levels from yesterday had all gone down, so we enjoyed clear water again.

After you follow the stream bed for a while, enjoying the splashing sound as it leaps from one rock to another, suddenly the splashing grows louder, as the water swirls around and dives underground! Sometime it seems to sink right down, but in one spot, the water circled around like bathwater in a tub before disappearing! We climbed a steep ridge, then down the other side, and guess what -- the same stream emerged again. The water has an easier time, I suppose, since it only has to go down, and never climb up again!

When you get out of breath from climbing those hills, you can always stop for a little bird watching, and no one will notice the huffing and puffing as everyone scans the trees for that elusive warbler singing just above you! Today, we focused on the woodpeckers. Loud drumming on a nearby tree sounded like Pileated, but when we saw one fly across the trail, calling "wacka-wacka," our guess was confirmed. We saw the pair of Pileated inspect the nest hole in a tree, then climb right in.

The Red Headed Woodpeckers chased each other all through the woods, calling loudly. I've always wondered why most of the woodpeckers are colored black, red and white in some combination. Think about it...

As we entered the steep valley on the Horn Hollow Trail, it reminded me of our trip to the Pacific Northwest. It seemed to be a mature forest, with lots of dead trees laying on the ground, slowly decaying. Moss and ferns covered the trees, and other plants got a start in the moss, just like the nursery trees in Olympic National Park.

The moss was ready to produce spores, just as the flowering plants are reproducing, but moss grows its own little forest on top of a log!

Then the trail turned up the hill for the longest, steepest climb of the day. Moisture stayed in the valley, and sandstone sparkled in the sun, but very few flowers bloomed in the dry upland conditions. Signs at every sinkhole advised visitors that special permits were required to enter these caves. In fact, many caves in Kentucky will be closing soon because the White-nose Bat disease is now officially found in Kentucky, along with all the other states nearby. This fungus infects hibernating bats, and some caves have had almost 100 percent fatalities, so everyone is very concerned. On the uplands, the sandstone is worn to this lattice like appearance, but I couldn't guess if it was done solely by wind, or if water used to flow here. Can you picture little bats peering through these windows in bat condos?

A Little Rain...

2011-04-16T22:27:00.000-04:00

We've all heard the phrase..."Into each life, a little rain must fall." Well, I must say that we've certainly had our share of rain or more lately. Last Monday, it rained all day and all night. An stream runs under our house, and when it rains without stopping, the creek rises and floods our basement. Tuesday we found 4 inches of water in the basement. Sigh... So the carpet is gone, and the blowers were still blowing when we headed off for the spring meeting of the Kentucky Society of Natural History on Friday morning. And...you guessed it, more severe weather in the South, including another inch + of rain. But what's an inch of rain to dedicated Naturalists in a wonderful place like Carter Caves State Park in Kentucky!

John Tierney, park naturalist for many years, leads us to Box Canyon. Water drops from the branches, and hangs from the leaf tips as rainclouds finally blow away and the sun breaks through. After a short but steep climb, we turn the corner to find Box Canyon with a waterfall leaping over the edge, something which would not have happened without all the rain of the last 24 hours. There, we found some good from all the rain after all! Water dripped, dropped, and slid over every rock face, so I was glad to have my rain coat to keep the camera dry.

As we drove up the hill into the park, I had to stop the car and jump out to see all the wonderful white Trillium growing under the cliff faces! Since we only have Sessile Trillium at home, I was excited to see these. Although the petals are white, look at the maroon center - characteristic of Erect Trillium, John says - but Tavia's book says they are Sweet White Trillium. Hmmm, I'll have to double check with her.

As an added treat for having survived all the rain, we also see hillsides full of the Large-Flowered Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, where the white flowers turn pink as they age and are about to fall off. I asked John why we never see these white trillium at home. Could elevation have something to do with it? Olive Hill is about 1060 feet in elevation, and I bet many spots in the park are much higher. He says they have to have a particular pH level in the soil, and here it is just right.

Oddly enough, we saw some very early bloomers still in bloom, while other flowers which I would expect to see in another month (such as Dwarf Iris, Wood Betony and Hoary Puccoon) were starting to bloom too.

Limestone is the favorite habitat for many flowers, including this small Stonecrop, which seems to grow in solid stone. Moss and lichen are the first to grow on the limestone cliff faces, or on boulders fallen to the ground. Then Stonecrop, Bishop's Cap, Ginger and ferns root in the moss.

Quick, there's a Newt dashing between the wet leaves. For a little guy, he runs really fast. The 3 inch long slug we find on a damp log waves his eye stalks, but is in no hurry to go anywhere.

Bird song echoes off the rocks- an Ovenbird down in the creek bed, Cardinals in the trees, a Towhee in the brush. This Chipping Sparrow perched on a fence at the lodge, singing back and forth to another Chippie at the other end of the building. Isn't he a beautiful little guy! Tomorrow, we will brave cold temperatures for a bird hike. With this group, there is always on expert on hand for anything you find! I just hope the smell from the basement isn't too bad when we get home.

Wildflowers in Charlestown State Park

2011-04-11T11:16:00.000-04:00

Charlestown State Park, near Charlestown, IN, recently merged with the Falls of the Ohio State Park, so many of our volunteer activities are now extended to this other facility. Opened in 1996, it occupies part of a 15,000 acre site formerly run by the US Army as an ammunition plant. Many of the old rusty, collapsing buildings are still there since the plant shut down after the end of WWII. Another Army testing ground near Madisonville, IN, has been turned into a National Wildlife Refuge. CSP sits on the banks of the Ohio River, though, at the former Charlestown Landing and Rose Island Park locations. Saturday's Raptor Day Event at the park was cut short due to severe weather that roared through - high wind, hail, thunder, and darkness accompanied by driving rain. I know because I tried to drive home through the middle of it!

Our friend and fellow volunteer, Richard Lyons, led the wildflower hike along Trail 6, described as a rugged 2.3 mile trail. We started down a flat wooded path along the river, where the Dwarf Larkspur, Wood Poppy, and Wood Anemone bloomed in profusion. This isn't so bad, I thought to myself. Why is it described as rugged?

In spots along the trail we saw limestone bluffs above our heads through the trees. Downstream, where the city of Louisville sits, the valley is broad and flat, although the Interstate cuts through solid limestone to get there. At this point, we saw the outcropping of that limestone on the Indiana side of the river.

Then we started to climb, up and up and up. After the heavy rain the day before, the trail got a little slippery in spots, but the creek flowed without silt on its 200 foot downward journey to the river. My yoga and exercise at the YMCA is paying off. I climbed the hill without having to stop and catch my breath on the way up!

Bright green ferns sprouted from cracks in the solid rock, sheltered by moss. Wood Anemone bloomed in the moss atop limestone boulders.

Pawpaw trees sported little purple umbrellas...

...and one group of boulders hosted a colony of native Columbines, noted for preferring to grow in the limestone. These may need another day or two to actually bloom, but the spider didn't seem to care as she spun her small web in the buds.

When we returned to the lower level, I admired the red bud trees. Tree blossoms always intrigue me.

Their flowers are just as intricate as any growing closer to the earth.

Golden Girl

2011-04-02T14:07:00.001-04:00

When we talk about Eagles in Kentucky, we usually mean the Bald Eagle, which has a white head and tail. With a wingspread of almost 7 feet, the Golden Eagle is larger than the Bald Eagle, and has a wash of gold feathers on the back of its neck. Golden Eagles are more often found in the mountainous regions of the western states, except, of course, for the Golden Eagle which has come to live at Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky.

Eileen Wicker received a phone call from U.S. Fish and Wildlife, asking if she would like to have a Golden Eagle for our education program. A raptor center in Tennessee would be closing due to the illness of the director, and all the birds needed new homes. This eagle is a full amputee, that is, the entire left wing is gone. She had been in a cage for 18 years without being handled or used for education programs. We were warned that she was aggressive, but this was the chance of a lifetime, so John and Eileen drove to TN to get her in September 2010. Under current law, a bird that must have a wing amputated is required be euthanized; however, this bird had been grandfathered in and allowed to live despite this condition making it difficult for her to keep her balance.

Once at the RROKI center, John kept her in a roomy cage where she could have quiet while adjusting to her new surroundings. He started sitting in her cage, reading a book, so she could become accustomed to people. After a while, he put jesses on her legs for a short time. Eventually, he worked to teach her how to sit on his gloved hand for short periods. This is the hardest part for her, since she has a long wing on one side, but none on the other, and has a hard time keeping her balance when not on her motionless perch. By March, 2011, he started taking her to programs where we could set up a perch for her, to familiarize her with groups of people talking and standing nearby. She has become a new star at RROKI!

She does not like wearing jesses (leather straps) around her legs. They flatten her leg feathers down – not attractive at all. She easily learned how to loosen them and pull her foot out, so she's quite an escape artist. When she is at a program we have to keep an eye on her so she doesn’t remove the jesses and walk off!

LG&E is sponsoring our Golden Eagle, as they have supported us in other endeavors for many years. Our eagle was called Charlemagne at her previous home, and everyone agreed that she needs a better name, so the employees at LG&E held a contest to name the Golden Eagle. The winning entry is (ta-DAA) Aurelia, which is Latin for Golden. So welcome to Kentucky, Aurelia, our golden girl!

Next Generation of Birders

2011-04-01T16:11:00.000-04:00

Birders and nature interpreters always worry about where we are going to find the next generation of birders, and how to get children outdoors. Today I had a wonderful opportunity to introduce about 200 1st and 3rd graders to birding, and enjoyed it immensely! To be honest, I was surprised at how eager the children were. Spotting scopes always generate interest though. Frost covered the grass as I drove down a dirt lane on Ashbourne Farm.

About 100 yards away from Harrod's Creek, I spotted a large sycamore tree with four blobby looking nests. Gazing around the valley, many other trees had nests as well, probably 10-12 in total. Some had Great Blue Herons on the nest, while others looked empty, for now at least.

While I waited for the children to arrive, Herons flew around the trees, and called their rough squawk from a distance. In other words, there was plenty of action. When the children arrived we talked about what Herons eat, how they catch fish, and how they feed them to their babies.

When the moment arrived to actually look at the birds through the scope I asked the first child, "Do you see the big blob of sticks?" "Yes," she replied. "Do you see the white head and yellow beak of the bird?" "No..." You guessed it. While we were talking the birds had flown away. Well, as the morning progressed, some groups of children actually got to see the Herons in flight, some saw them sitting on the nest, and others only got to see the nest. That's the way birding goes though, right? One little girl already knew all about Herons, though I didn't get a chance to find out how she came to be so interested and knowledgeable. The best part was the reactions of the children at the scope. "Awesome!" "Fantastic!" "Cool!" "I SEE IT!" I think we made an impression on most of them.

On the way home, I decided to do a little birding of my own and stopped at a favorite small park. It has a "Managed Meadow," a small vernal pond which will dry up and disappear by July. In the spring, however, there are always some ducks to be found. Today the Blue Winged Teals were peeping along the shore, sounding more like baby chickens than ducks!

Many people walk their dogs in this park, and ducks are more temptation than a Labrador Retriever can resist, no matter how much his owner yells. I now understand why Blue Winged Teals have that name.

The Teals were joined by a solitary Bufflehead female...

...and several pairs of Shovelers. Do you realize how many shots I took trying to get both of them with their bills out of the water?

The guy behind me probably thought I had car trouble when I pulled off US 42 directly into the grass. I couldn't resist jumping out for photos of some darling foals grazing in the grass with their mothers.

Congratulations to this Milkweed pod that survived the winter. Now it's time to open and let the wind blow all the seeds to a location where they can grow and become feed for this summer's butterflies. I'm ready for some warm weather again!

A Drive in the Country

2011-03-28T21:01:00.000-04:00

What a busy week is coming up! I have classes to teach Cub Scouts to Leave No Trace, a raptor program, and another for 200 school children about nature. I will man a station at a Great Blue Heron rookery on a farm in Oldham County. The directions to the farm seemed a little unclear, so I decided to drive on out there today, and make sure I knew how to find the place. Since I eventually had to call someone else to verify the location, this was a wise move on my part!

I usually don't drive any farther out into Oldham County than Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve, but there is a lot of beautiful countryside if you go on out US 42. It changes from subdivisions of large expensive houses to horse farms on both sides of the road. I wanted to go slowly and rubber-neck, but cars behind me wanted to go fast. I spotted a Kestrel on one phone line, then a Redtailed Hawk on another. This time I found a driveway to park in temporarily while I dashed back for a photo. The birds are unconcerned about cars that keep moving, but they get anxious when I walk in their direction, even though I'm on the ground and they are up on a phone line.

I have no idea how large Ashbourne Farm actually is, but it looked pretty big as I pulled in. The view of hills and valleys is breathtaking. It's an actual working farm, with people planting a large garden, burros and cattle in the field, and a collection of chickens where I parked my car. In fact, these hens seemed quite attracted to my Prius. I don't know if they'd never seen a Japanese hybrid before, or if they thought I might have stirred up some bugs to eat, but about eight of them rushed over to walk around it as soon as I got out. I didn't see them kicking the tires, but couldn't really understand any of their quiet clucking comments.

One little red hen in particular gave me the once over. When I was a little girl, my grandparents had chickens, and I was supposed to collect the eggs when I visited their farm. I must have been about six years old at the time, and those hens absolutely terrified me! I wasn't about to go into the coop by myself and put my hands under those birds sitting on a nest. No Way! So look what I do now...I pick up hawks and owl to hold and think it's fun. There's no predicting, is there...

These looked by Guinea Fowl to me, and they all ran around the yard in groups, chirping and singing, and making whatever noise Guinea Fowl make.

I've gone to the Kentucky State Fair for years, and we always like to see the cattle, so I know their breeds pretty well, but we just stroll through the chicken exhibits and I don't really know many of their names. It's amazing what the breeders have done with them.

We are all familiar with the phrase about "ruling the roost," and this guy is pretty confident of his role in farmyard life. After giving me the evil eye, he took a big breath,...

...threw his head back and let go with a loud series of crows, just to let me know who is the boss around there! Early morning has nothing to do with crowing, because this was at 3 in the afternoon. I think it's a territorial thing.

This poor little hen must listen to him all the time, and she doesn't look happy about it. When he finally stopped, she pulled her head out of the straw, and looked at me as if to say, "See what I have to put up with every day?"