Thor the Angry

About a week ago when Alex and I were gone, the cuckoo team caught a cuckoo who had been knocking (alarm calling) all over the place.  This was an angry bird who did not appreciate our encroachment on its territory.  A softly kocking bird usually means a nest is nearby, but a loud knock can also mean this.  A loud knock more commonly means there are juveniles around, especially when the knocking takes place all over and not in one central area.  We had Thor knocking in a large area, apparently on a territory, for about two weeks now, so it was great that we caught it to figure it out.  Everyone had taken a go at tracking Thor, named for its unpleasant demeanor, but came up with the same conclusion; no conclusion.  If Thor had a nest, it was very hard to find, and she/he was good at leading you away from it. 

So, today, I took a stab at tracking Thor.  I found Thor on roost using radio-telemetry, and was about 15m from its roost tree when another cuckoo contact called nearby, with Thor answering quickly.  So, I had these two great and very direct bearings to look for a nest on, since it seems like all of our other nesting birds contact call from nearby if not on their nests in the early morning.  I began following Thor, and it began its excessive knocking everywhere I went.  Eventually I backed off to let it settle down, and it went to a new area, but still in the area my bearings were pointing.  So I did some nest-searching on both sides of a trail, in cottonwoods and willows, while Thor listened and knocked from time to time to let me know I was still being watched.  I had a few areas where Thor was going crazy knocking, but no nests were evident, and Thor never seemed tied to any of these areas.  I sat quietly and listened for awhile, while Thor contact called to other YBCUs that I apparently couldn't hear.  Apparently she was telling her baby to be quiet, because when I had just about given up on tracking for the day, a few cowbirds flushed a cuckoo near me.  It turned out to be a juvenile!  It still had a larger "cute" baby cuckoo head, more grey on its bill, a slightly yellow eye ring, and small grey feathers around its bill. It sat quietly in a cottonwood, preening and stretching.  Since Thor had just been here, I assumed this was her (or his) chick.  The baby (who we have since called Baby Ellen) sat contently on a branch for about 25 minutes, while I tried not to move.  After a few minutes the baby started preening and stretching, so I don't think it realized or cared that I was there.  I moved in for some photos, and finally I think the baby realized I was a potential threat.  We both seemed to be waiting for Thor to come back.  However Thor knew I was still around, and didn't come in.  She contact called at least 80 meters away, to which Baby Ellen became alert and flew off.  So, Thor had reason to be angry all this time...we've been roaming around in close distance to her fledglings.

After reviewing my pictures when I got home, in the last photo I took as Baby Ellen started jumping away, I could see a white band on one leg, and a metal band on the other!  Only a few nestlings from a few nests were banded this way by us, and the nearest nest was of a cuckoo we called Black Annie.  Black Annie dropped her transmitter early on, but we've resighted her a handful of times, and a few days ago, pretty close to this area.  And we were able to find her nest with fledglings nearby that we then banded, so we know she (or he) was successful.  So it is likely that Thor is Black Annie's mate, and that this baby was actually from Black Annie's nest!  Since we take blood from all of our cuckoos, the mystery will soon be solved.  There is also a chance that it was just a coincidence that I ran into this baby cuckoo, who looked more like an adult and was actually very mobile.  Black Annie and Thor may not be paired, if this is the case.  Thor may also be re-nesting, so it is important that we still keep an eye on it, even though we think we might have it figured out.  So the new conclusion is that Thor has already nested, maybe, and has reason to be angry with us!

juvenile cuckoo sitting on branch

stretching out its wing

sitting on its legs, hiding its bands (white band barely visible)

note gray feathers around bill and slightly yellow eye ring

white band evident from below!

white band and metal band very evident as cuckoo hops away

Knock three times....

When you are doing field work, especially in the heat, it is easy to get a song stuck in your head...

Today Alex and I surveyed one of our sites that isn't always used by cuckoos, and just seems to be used by birds for a few days at a time.  Last week, while cuckoo searching here, our cuckoo broadcast brought in a juvenile Cooper's Hawk who circled around us in hopes to have a cuckoo for breakfast!  Today we found evidence of dove kills all over the place.  I can't blame cuckoos for not using this site!

After the survey we headed to our cuckoo hot spot site to investigate an area where Shannon had a coo-ing bird earlier in the day.  We got two cuckoos to respond to our broadcast, showing a pair was in the area.  One knocked three times at us, which was more of a slow, kuk-ing knock.  It was repetive though, but not as urgent sounding as other pairs who have had nests.  We caught a glimpse of a cuckoo low in a coyote willow, but he was out of there when he saw us.  After that, both birds were silent.  Alex and I will return in the morning to see if we can hear a nest exchange early.

California Birding Day 4, August 2: Los Angeles

August 2nd was the last of our four days off.  We headed home to Blythe, with a quick stop in Los Angeles to see Spotted Doves in a location that Wes had suggested.  After a few minutes of searching, we easily found a few.  One was even waiting at our car for us when we returned to it! Although the Spotted Dove is an introduced species (from Asia), it is a countable species, and it is declining.

Spotted Dove

Near a mall where we stopped for lunch, we found this skipper:

Fiery Skipper

This was one of the best birding trips we've been on yet.  I was able to get Spotted Dove, which was the last dove I needed this year to do the dove "sweep."  Thanks again to Wes Fritz for all of his help and birding advice in Santa Barbara and surrounding areas!!!

Ventura County Birding, Day 3 contd., Aug. 1: Ventura Harbor

After the whale watching tour, we headed south towards Ventura.  In Ventura Harbor, we found a variety of birds, starting with this nonbreeding adult Bonaparte's Gull.

Bonaparte's Gull

Near a park, we found an injured first year Heermaan's Gull.  He had a broken foot,

but seemed to be getting around fine for his injury.

first-year Heerman's Gull

Oddly, there were 7 Western and 1 Clark's Grebe hanging out in a small sheltered harbor near the park.  This is the closest to shore I've ever seen grebes, and the most unaffected by people as well.  Unforutunately, all of the Western's were oiled; you could only see it when the birds were preening.  The Clark's had a problem of its own, with fishing line wrapped around its body, causing it to have to float sideways. 

Clark's Grebe

Clark's Grebe with fishing line in bill/on body

Clark's (left) vs. Western (right)

Western Grebe; oiled, but can't see it when floating

oild Western grebe (oil spot on bottom left of bird)

The other Westerns were mainly oiled on their chests, showing that they've recently

floated in an area affected by an oil spill, possibly the Gulf?

We next headed down a jetty were Wes suggested we go to find surfbirds

and other rock-loving shorebirds.  We first found a small group of Western Willets

molting out of breeding plumage.

Western Willets

We then found our target bird, the Surfbird, with a Wandering Tattler.  We found a handful more, hiding on the rocks.  Alex also found a ruddy turnstone here.

Surfbird (bottom left) and Wandering Tattler (top right)

Surfbird

Wandering Tattler in breeding plumage

As we walked back tou our car, we spotted this banded Western Gull.  He was more weary than the other gulls, so it was a challenge to read the metal band.  He must have thought we were going to try to grab him

It took awhile, but with the next combination of photos and a scope,

we got a full band sighting, and Alex reported it to the bird banding lab!

Santa Barbara County Birding Day 3, August 1: Wale Watching/Pelagic Trip

Alex and I had planned on going on a pelagic trip while on the coast, but the one we wanted to go on was over-booked, and we were put on a waiting list.  Instead we decided to go on a whale watching tour, where we knew we'd see at least a few pelagic birds!

We started the trip with over 400 common dolphins!

They surrounded the boat, and rode in its wake while jumping and even swimming upside down!

While the boat sped out to see at what felt like 400 miles an hour, Alex and I stayed out on deck to catch a glimpse of any bird we could see. 

Sooty Shearwaters were the most common bird.

A few Pink-footed Shearwaters were floating on the water when the boat flushed them.

I didn't get any photos since I was hanging on for my life, but we managed to see Red-necked Phalaropes, Pigeon Guillemots, Leaches Storm Petrels, and Alex was able to photograph a Cassin's Auklet!  See his photos here.

Out near San Miguel Island, we finally made it to where the blue wales were surfacing.  We saw 6 total, 2 of which were calves!  They were all HUGE!

blue wale spout

the back of a blue wale

This wale surfaced right next to the boat!  Look how enormous its blow hole is!

A few times, the blue wales showed us their tails, which is uncommon for blues to

do.  We were also looking for humpback wales, but didn't see any.

One of the wales had two calves!  One took interest in the boat and floated

on its back, showing us its tail a few times, while the other stayed close to mom.

When we were about to leave, Alex and I spotted this bird off the bow of the boat.  It

was a dark moprh Northern Fulmar!  I've seen these birds on Skomer Island in Wales,

but only the light morphs, which are more common.

On our way back, Alex and I rode on the top deck of the boat for a different view.  We saw a dark bird approaching, and got our cameras ready, thinking we were about to photograph some kind of dark gull.  Instead, this Parasitic Jaeger cruised right by us, only about 20 feet above us!

Parasitic Jaeger as seen from the Condor Express

Even though we missed the official pelagic trip, we managed to see some great pelagic birds!  The official trip had a great bird list!  Hopefully we can do it next time we are in the area.

Santa Barbara County Birding Day 2, July 31

After spending the night near Santa Barbara, we woke up and hit a few beaches along the coast.  Brewer's blackbirds were pretty common on the beaches, and weren't bothered by beach-goers.  This is a bird we rarely get to see so it was awesome to get an up-close look!

male Brewer's Blackbird

Nearby, a flock of gulls was relaxing on shore.

First Year Western Gull

First Year Ring-billed Gull

Adult Western Gull (has only one eye)

 

Our next stop was Santa Barbara Harbor.  This was an excellent stop!  A jetty with a walkway on it protects the marina and harbor, and the ocean-facing side is lined with huge algae-covered rocks.  About half-way down the jetty, we started seeing Wandering Tattlers and Black Turnstones!  All the people walking on the jetty had no idea they were there because of a big cement wall that acts as a wave-breaker.  A few people peeked over the wall to see what we were photographing and got a glimpse of them!

Black Turnstone, the Ruddy Turnstone's evil twin, balancing on slanted rocks

At a few beaches in the area, hungry Black Turstones were running around after waves, picking up and eating small mussels and sand crabs.  They seem famished, and are recent arrivals on the Santa Barbara coast right now.   We also saw a Surfbird fly over, but didn't get a good look at it.

Black Turnstone on the beach

This Black Turnstone were so preoccupied with eating

that a huge wave plowed right into him! (and me)

This one has a small mussell

These Wandering Tattlers (lifer) were on the ocean side of the jetty in groups of 3 to 4. 

This tattler perched on a rock as I hid nearby.

Afew Tattlers narrowly escaped incoming waves.

The tattlers would run to shore after every wave, and would be chased back up again by it.

The Wandering Tattlers were also frantically eating, and this one caught a huge sand crab!

While I was photographing shorebirds, Alex found this Common Merganser fishing

 in the marina.The water was so clear you could see him hunting underwater!

Butterflies were far and few, but we did find this

small Western Pygmy Blue fighting the wind.

Next we took a trip to the nearby Museum of Natural History, where they had an excellent

 collection of bird taxidermies. In the museum gardens, Oregon Juncos were hopping around.

We decided to go back to Santa Barbara Harbor since the birds were cooperative and the lighting was great.  We found a flew small flocks of Western Whimbrel on shore, and throughout the evening, more flew by, likely migrating down the coast. 

Western Whimbrel in Santa Barbara Harbor

Double-crested Cormorant, a common bird of the harbor

As the sun started setting, the turstones and tattlers settled in to dark rocky crevasses.  Alex and I took a walk down a small sandy beach, and found this Long-billed Curlew foraging along the shoreline.  He knew we were watching him, but didn't seem to care as we inched forward for some great photos.

 Long-billed Curlew foraging on beach

The curlew eventually flew towards Alex, but was flushed back towards me by some people.

When he landed he showed a quick glimpse of his bright rufous and cinnamon underwing,

which seemed dramatically red in the setting sun. We spent the night again in Santa Barbara.