BRDL 48

 3/12/22 - COHA- Cooper's Hawk

Almost missed this BRDL as well -- went through CORA, COPA, COSA, COGA, before landing on Cooper's Hawk (I figured it would be 'Common' something). 

Cooper's Hawks are accipiters - hawks with long tails and broad round wings. They are often confused and difficult to tell apart from Sharp-shinned hawks. Some of the differences are that sharp-shinned hawks have squared off tails, compared with Cooper's round tails. Cooper's Hawks are also generally bigger, and have a squared off head.

By Mykola Swarnyk - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92517992

BRDL 47

3/11/22 - SEOW- Short-eared Owl

Have never seen one of these, and really the only owl that I have heard/seen regularly are the Barred Owls that frequent our back woods. But these owls are very cool -- pale faces, with yellow eyes that are bordered with black.

By Sumeet Moghe - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56869972

BRDL 46

3/10/22 - REKN- Red Knot

It had to happen some time. Couldn't get the BRDL today in the 6 tries. Actually got the 'RE' on the first try when I tried the Red-eyed Vireo (REVI). But then I failed on Reddish Egret(REEG), Red Warbler(REWA), Red Crossbill(RECR), Red Junglefowl(REJU), and Redhead (REDH). Could have also been a Red Phalarope. Should have known better, but there's always a first time!

Red knots are incredible migrators, but their numbers are in danger due to overharvesting of horseshoe crab eggs. They have very large gizzards, since they swallow mollusks whole and grind up the shells in their gizzard.

By Chuck Homler d/b/a Focus On Wildlife - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69284157

BRDL 45

   3/9/22 - BCCH- Black-capped Chickadee

I have been waiting for this BRDL! It's often the first guess that comes to mind, but never wanted to guess it since there are two C's in the code. Got it today with my daughter on the second try, though! I don't think I ever appreciated the interspecies sociability of chickadees -- their alarm calls can be recognized by other bird species, even if those species don't have alarm calls. The more 'dee' notes that come at the end of their song, the more serious the threat is. And a lot of migrating birds will associate with chickadee flocks -- so it may be good to follow the sounds of the chickadee when out birding. Interestingly enough, chickadees apparently sleep alone, even when it's subzero outside, as opposed to the bluebirds, that sleep right on top of one another to stay warm.

BRDL 44

  3/8/22 - AMAV- American Avocet

These birds are notable for their upturned bills (as opposed to the ibises from a few days ago, that have the opposite curve to their bills). Have never seen one of these waterbirds -- they are more common out west, but can spend winters along the Florida coast. Apparently they sometimes pull the cowbird trick and lay their eggs in other birds nests. But sometimes the trick gets played on them by stilts and terns. According to allaboutbirds, Avocet chicks leave the nest after just 24 hours, and are already swimming and diving by then to escape predators. 

By Dan Pancamo - originally posted to Flickr as Quintana June 2nd 2010, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12182228

BRDL 41-43

 3/5/22 - MADU- Masked Duck

 3/6/22 - BARS- Barn Swallow

 3/7/22 - FOSP- Fox Sparrow

Got a little behind. My daughter and I have started doing the BRDL together before school, instead of my doing it right after I wake up. Which leaves little time for a blog post before heading out to work, but seems to me to be a better way to do the BRDL.

So let's catch up! Masked Duck was a tough one. Have never heard of this bird -- it mainly lives in Mexico, Caribbean, and South America, but occasionally has been sighted a little further north. Black face mask, bright blue bill. 

By Charles J. Sharp - Own work, from Sharp Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38218684

Barn Swallow was tough for another reason -- the banding codes don't follow the rules if more than one bird has them. So BASW isn't a thing since it could mean Barn Swallow or Bank Swallow. So we get BARS and BANS. They have a beautiful blue sheen above and tawny orange on their chest. The chest and the forked tail are what identify this bird for me. I love watching them swoop around fields. They have adapted to human habitation, making most of their nests in barns and eaves of buildings. Legend says that the barn swallow stole fire from the gods to bring to the people, and the gods threw a fireball at the bird, singing its tail and causing the fork. I wonder what Prometheus would have to say about that.

By I, Malene, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20612

Fox Sparrow is the biggest of the sparrows, notable for its reddish hue. I first saw a Fox Sparrow during our first winter in our rental house in Amherst. It was right underneath the feeder, standing out among the other juncos that were milling about. Seems that that is the preferred activity of these sparrows -- hiding out in brush, then kicking around in leaf litter on the ground, looking for food.

By No machine-readable author provided. Factumquintus assumed CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=440313

BRDL 40

 3/4/22 - WFIB- White-faced Ibis

I didn't think that I had seen this one before, but I have, during a visit to Lake Tahoe in 2018. Beautiful glossy bird - not to be confused with the glossy ibis (although they have been known to hybridize where their ranges overlap) This bird has two separate populations. The ones in the Western US congregate around wet marshy areas. Some migrate, from Mexico up to the Canadian border. There is a totally separate population that lives in South America - Brazil and Argentina. And they don't migrate. Which got me to wondering -- how are there two totally separate populations of these birds, which are apparently the same species?

By Alan Vernon - White faced Ibis, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8824384

BRDL 39

3/3/22 - EATO- Eastern Towhee

My favorite thing about this bird is its song -- 'Drink your TEAAAAAA'. It's not terribly common up here in Massachusetts, but seemed to be everywhere during our road trip to bring our daughter to camp in North Carolina last summer. We joked around about its song though, and renamed it -- 'Eat your CHEESE!'

I love their colors too. Black above, with red sides and a white breast. I didn't realize that they are technically sparrows, although bigger than your average sparrow. They are commonly parasitized by cowbirds, who lay their eggs in their nests. Apparently towhees aren't very good at identifying the cowbird eggs.

By Bill Thompson of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region - Photo of the Week - Male eastern towhee at the Quabbin Reservoir (MA)Uploaded by Snowmanradio, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15297291

 

BRDL 38

 3/2/22 - RUBL- Rusty Blackbird

I don't know how the BRDL people decide which bird to pick. I like to think that they just thumb through their Peterson guide and randomly stop on a bird. But then sometimes I wonder -- why would they pick this code today, unless they really wanted to reference the Russian ruble, and the war in Ukraine? Somewhat strange. I'm guessing that there is no banding code with UKR in there.

Regardless - the Rusty Blackbird is one I have never seen. Their numbers have plummeted in the past 40 years, scientists think due to habitat loss. They breed up in northern Canada's boreal forest, but winter down this way.

By No machine-readable author provided. Mdf assumed (based on copyright claims).

No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1264341

BRDL 37

3/1/22 - BAOR- Baltimore Oriole

Love these birds. They are beautiful, as is their song. I can never quite seem to remember their song until I hear a spring bird singing away, and then track down the bright orange at the top of a tree. I didn't know that they were named because their orange and black colors mirror that of the Baltimore family crest (of Lord Baltimore fame) although the crest looks a lot more yellow and black to me, than orange.

I've often thought about putting out oranges to attract them to feeders, although I also learned that they don't frequent deep woods, preferring tall deciduous trees near more open land or forest edges. Not sure if our wooded house would fit the bill, although I have seen them at the reservoir, a half mile away.

By Mdf - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4106444

BRDL 36

 2/28/22 - CLRA- Clapper Rail

This chicken size bird is apparently relatively common in saltwater marshes in the US. But it's very secretive and hard to see since it hangs out in the reeds. It's another bird that can drink saltwater and filter out the salt with special glands. The male and female both take turns watching over the eggs, and once they hatch, the parents split up, dividing the children and each taking half to raise. I have seen a Virginia Rail before, which are smaller and have an orange bill, but never a clapper.

By Rallus_longirostris_3.jpg: Riverbanks Outdoor Store from New Port Richey, FL, United States 

derivative work: Berichard (talk) - Rallus_longirostris_3.jpg, 

CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8990070