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Welcome to Random Avian Flights of Thought (RAFT)

RAFT is a wondering and wandering blog,er, I mean online journal revolving around my now 5-year obsession, er, I mean daily hobby of birding be it in my adopted hometown of Churintzio, Michoacan or wherever I take flight or bus to pursue those avian gifts of nature.

To give you a brief sampling of the kinds of random entries that may be included in RAFT, please see below:

1.Bird Quotes (More than you may imagine)
"I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven." - Emily Dickinson

2. Birding Trips
You won't believe what quetzals, trogons, motmots and parrots I saw in Panama...!
For that, though, you will have to wait until March, 2014 when I return from that trip 11 day trip.

3.Ten Reasons why I prefer Porro Binoculars to Roof Binoculars.

4. Birding Pet Peeves of the Human Kind

5. Bird Poetry (I will try to spare you the pain of reading my own, but I can't guarantee that)
"So I lost him. But I shall always see
In my mind
The warm, yellow sun, and the ether free;
The vista’s sky, and the white cloud trailing,
Trailing behind,—
And below the young earth’s summer-green arbors,
And on high the eagle, —sailing, sailing
Into far skies and unknown harbors." E.E. Cummings- The Eagle

Bird Trivia By the Dozens
Por Ejemplo, what is the world's smallest hummingbird?

6. Daily Birding Highlights (if not full lists of birds that I saw that day)
"Wow, I was blessed today as I saw the first seasonal occurrences of both a little blue heron and a black phoebe."

7. The Five Birds That I Would Most Not Want to Encounter in a Dark Alley

8. My Favorite City Birds (Rock Pigeons need not apply)

9. Bird "Information" That I Have Problems With
Why in the world would one ever consider putting their scope in a wagon to be bumped, er, I mean pulled along with?

10. Favorite Bird Forums

11. Nine and a Half Reasons Not to Become a Birder

12. Birds I May Have Been in Past Lifetimes

13. If birds could speak, what would they say about humans?

Well, by now, I hope that you can see that RAFT is going to be dedicated to everything bird-wise from the ridiculous to the sublime, with side trips to the whimsical and fanciful.

Fly, er, I mean drop by RAFT often, but please remember that this is a free information and entertainment thread, so please don't look a gift bird in the beak.

My mentee, Edwardd1 will also be a prime contributor to RAFT.
Thanks, LanceB.
________
Les

You have probably heard or even used the expression “if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it must be a duck."

For my sometimes frequent (if it's "not too hot,too humid, too windy, too muddy, too buggy or too smokey") birding companion, my Mexican born, U.S. raised and university educated wife, Maria, who while eschewing the use of binoculars still has uncannily remarkable vision. Yet, for some reason, be it cultural or attributable to some aspect of her being a Cosmic Goddess, she has one major blind spot when it comes to identifying birds.

You see, while birding at one of our local water spots, "Cemetery Pond" or "Double Garbage Lake." whether she views a common moorhen, an American coot, a least grebe or a pied-billed grebe, Maria most predictably (and no matter how many times I have corrected her) to my normally good-natured yet head-shaking bewildered exasperation will call out "duck, duck." Thus, for Maria that old duck adage can be reduced simply to "if it swims in the pond, it must be a duck."

For whatever reasons, for Maria differentiating between different types of swimming, aquatic or diving birds is not as easy as "duck soup."

Alas, I wonder if a migrating American white pelican ventured into "Cemetery Pond" for a brief repast, would Maria upon espying it call
out "gigantic duck, duck!"
________
Les

Great thread! I think this will be fun. A quote:

"No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings."

~William Blake

Thanks Debbie for the soaring quote as every time I go birding,which is twice daily this time of year, my spirits soar.

Lately I have been birding in and around "Cemetery Pond" as that riparian area has not only the pond with a marshy habitat but has nearby agricultural fields, primarily corn, millet and agave, and a grove that are home not only to many resident birds but also many migrants.

In the last few days, I have had some excellent "good looks."

Seven of my most recent GOOD LOOKS:

1. Orioles, Orioles, Orioles!
In Churintzio, we are fortunate to have streak-backed orioles as residents. However, starting in mid-December they are not only joined by an influx of many more members of their same species, other species of orioles join them. Thus, I have had my first sightings of two species whose males colors are in striking contrast to the brilliant orange of the streak-backed, the black and yellow black-vented oriole and the black and maroon orchard oriole.

2. Baby American Coots
Ducks,er, I mean American coots abound in the pond, most of the time the majority of them hidden in the high marshy grasses. Yesterday, I saw three baby coots swimming with their parents. If I had seen the young ones by themselves I would never had identified them as coots as their appearance is so different than their elders, particularly their beaks which are reddish while their parents' are white.

3. Vermilion Flycatchers Galore
A resident, the "vermies" are pretty much a daily sighting. However, this time of year when the pond and its environs are quite buggy, in an hour or so, I am having between 6-10 viewings of different individuals, including the gorgeous bright red males with black "masks" along with the more muted colored females and juveniles. With their different colors, as they like the orioles are highly sexually dimorphic, it's like seeing three different species!

4. Finally a black phoebe in the area!
In the five years that I have been birding, I have never seen a black phoebe in the pond area. Then, about a week ago, for three consecutive days, I saw near a path about 75 yards from the pond on I kid you not the same tree about an hour before the sun sets.
Then, three days ago I lucked out and saw that same phoebe on a post at the pond; He would stay on the post for a while then quickly head to the nearby grasses protruding from the water to catch some insects and then return to his post perch over and over again. Thus, I now know where to look in the AM and PM for that long awaited visitor. That whose colors are a contrasting black and white is a delight to behold!

5. Barn Swallows beyond Galore!
Due to the aforementioned insects, including many species of dragonflies, up to three hundred barn swallows are residing at the pond, using the electrical wires above the pond as their primary perching site. Particularly in the late afternoon, when the insects are most abundant, the swallows put on quite a remarkable aerobatic "show" as if they are not nabbing their prey at the pond's marshy island of 8-foot high grasses, they are skimming the surface of the water to grab their insect meals.

6. Mixed species returning to "Oriole Tree."
On the aforementioned path, there is a tall and broad tree that I call "Oriole Tree" because a couple of years ago I witnessed at least 30 orioles (mostly streak-backed but also one or two back-vented and Bullock's) perched on it at one time in the late afternoon. Yet, it is "home: to many other families of birds. Two afternoons ago, at the same time I saw perched on it a social flycatcher, numerous Western kingbirds, a male and female streak-backed oriole, a few male and female house finch, a solitary violet-crowned hummingbird and more than a dozen male and female lesser goldfinch. Quite the light show!

7. Bathing birds au natural
On the road next to the pond, there is a large puddle. Especially around 6pm, I have been seeing loads of birds taking a bath prior to retiring for the evening. Far and away most numerous of these bathers are lesser goldfinch but oftentimes communally they have been joined by other songbirds like blue grosbeaks, house finch and house sparrows. I better enjoy those bathing views when I can because with rainy season pretty much ended , soon that puddle will be no more.

How the heck did all my sightings of my adored "frolicking" cuckoos, groove-billed anis, not make the above list??? Or my first sighting of a little blue heron or...???

You certainly have quite a variety of birds in your area to keep you well entertained.

Blue grosbeaks are beautiful but they unfortunately do not venture into my neck of the woods. That is a bird I would love to see, as I am fascinated by any bird dressed in bright blue. Once in a blue moon I may catch a glimpse of a bluebird around here. The best I get if I want to see blue is the noisy blue jay, which is a very common resident.

Here is a quote that mentions the jay:

“The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing.”

~Eric Berne

Mincing, wanton blue-bird,
Grimace at the hoofs of passing men.
You alone can lose yourself
Within a sky, and rob it of its blue!
From "Advice to a Bluebird" by Maxwell Bodenheim

Blue grosbeaks are very common here, in a special sort of way. It's only the male that exhibits a spectacularly brilliant royal blue in much of its body. The females would much more aptly be called "brown-grey grosbeaks" as most have no or little blue coloring. Often perched readily visible high atop smallish trees or on nopal cactus, the males belt out their lovely songs.

On a more unfortunate note, I often see blue grosbeaks in tiny cages being sold in the market in Zamora as they are highly valued for their singing ability; most that are sold are fated to a horrible nameless existence in tiny cages with probably an inadequate diet and little or no interaction with their "owners" who have them only for their entertainment value.

As for jays, I really wish that our area had some, the closest to them being here are not-so-common common ravens. When I go to the "birders paradise" of San Blas, Nayarit next week, I hope to see and hear, hear, hear the raucous endemic to northwestern Mexico gorgeously crested and tailed black-throated magpie jays who at around 27" I believe are the largest of the jays plus seeing and hearing purplish-backed jays and San Blas jays who are endemic to northwestern Mexico and western Mexico respectively.

Ah, paradise for me is seeing any of the above mentioned jays attacking in flocks fruiting trees like fig for its fruit. The coffee plantations of Tecuitata, hear, er, I mean here I come!!!

Leave it to Emily Dickinson, she of numerous poems about birds, to capture the essence of jays- below is the first and last verse of her poem "The Blue Jay- No brigadier throughout the year."

No brigadier throughout the year
So civic as the jay.
A neighbor and a warrior too,
With shrill felicity

His character a tonic,
His future a dispute;
Unfair an immortality
That leaves this neighbor out.

How sad that blue grosbeaks are caged and sold where you are. I used to have caged birds and I don't care do it again now that they have all passed on. Even though I provided large cages for them, I do believe that it is the intent of the universe for birds to fly free. Too many don't provide caged birds with proper care.

I always liked this quote from the movie, Shawshank Redemption:

"Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure."

Thanks Debbie for your perspective on the controversial issue of keeping birds in captivity versus being in their natural state.

I currently am being kept and trained by a menagerie of nine most sentient birds, all of whom I consider to be "rescued."

Below you will find the introduction and conclusion for the article that I wrote on BellaOnline's Mexico site, "Streak-Backed Orioles a Lovely Mostly Mexican Bird," which pretty much sums up my feeling about birds (and by extension all sentient beings) held in captivity.

"Every two weeks when I go from my home in Churintzio,Michoacan to Zamora, I often see streak-backed orioles. Yet, rather than being thrilled to view them as these gorgeous and behaviorally fascinating birds are one of my local favorites, I am quite saddened and dismayed. Rather than being in their natural habitat, they are “for sale” in Zamora’s expansive open-marketplace being pedaled and peddled by pajareros/roving bird sellers as they are “displayed” in tiny cages. Unlike the active, vibrant and healthy songbirds that I almost daily see in nature, those held in barbaric captivity appear relatively lethargic, unkempt and frail-looking and somehow, although they really aren’t, seem close-up to me to be smaller than their definitely ought-to-be out-in-nature relatives."

"So, I hope you can see why I prefer by an exponentially compelling factor, and so should you, to view those gorgeous streak-backed orioles out in nature rather than in some cage. Even though conservation-wise, they are of “least concern” as their population is abundant, THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW! Alas, you see, unfortunately there is not as in Mexico it is legal to sell all species of songbirds as mascotas/“pets.” Que lastima”/what a pity!"

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."- Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockinbird
Perhaps Harper Lee could have said "that's why it should be a capital crime to cage a mockingbird!"

“You can cage the singer but not the song.”- Harry Belafonte

“Much talking is the cause of danger. Silence is the means of avoiding misfortune. The talkative parrot is shut up in a cage. Other birds, without speech, fly freely about.”- Saskya Pandita

Every year that have been observing birds in Churintzio, a wondrous event occurs. As was mentioned the other day, large amounts of barn swallows were congregating by "Cemetery Pond" and gorging upon insects. Two days ago, I noticed that except for a few stragglers, all of the barn swallows have left the area, migrating elsewhere despite the fact that their primary food source will remain abundant here. That migration, like all migrations, is wondrous enough.

Yet, what makes it even more wondrous is that on the same day that the barn swallows "disappear," they are replaced in somewhat smaller numbers, by another species of swallows, tree swallows.

Amazingly, as if Churintzio is not big or hospitable enough for two species of swallows at the same time, when one leaves the other appears.
Isn't nature wondrous?

Yesterday, I noticed that the new swallows on the block, were joined by the arrival of the strikingly lovely lark sparrows who in small flocks were feasting at the nearby fields of millet.

Sadly for me, as I always look forward to their arrival, the pair of green kingfishers that I have seen for the last four years around the middle of September are nowhere to be seen. The probable reason for that is because both of the bodies of water that I had seen them at, the pond and the double lake do not this year have the aquatic population that they need to survive on as both had totally dried out, thus killing all of the fish in them. As for their eggs??? That is why other shore birds either are not here at all or their numbers are greatly reduced as is the case for snowy and great egrets. That is also why the couple or dozen or so black-crowned night herons that had lived year round at the lake had departed a few months ago, hopefully to a fishier locale.

As a side note, the pond had totally dried out three years ago but the fish population had some how replenished in time to support the bird population as it had done in the past. This year is the first time that any of the residents here remember that happening at the double lake. After this years "normal" rainy season which has just ended, the pond's water has been replenished to its normal level while the much larger pond has shrunk in size by about 40% to what it had been in the recent past.

Nature is indeed mysterious!

As a side-side note, the lake dried out for two reasons. One was that the last two years the area received much less rain than "normally." Despite that lack of rainfall, a tremendous amount of the water there was unfortunately legally diverted for the sake of cattle.

This morning myself and my erstwhile enthusiastic canine companion, Little Shu-Shu who always accompanies me on my birding/hiking adventures, journeyed off to "double lake." Overall, I saw 28 species of birds today including 14 at the lake.

As soon as we got to the lake, I saw a wonderful sight, 27 snowy egrets perched on the same tree that were probably going to just spend a short time there and would soon be seeking a more permanent site. Other shore birds seen there were 2 great egrets, one curlew, 13 black-necked stilts also probably just visiting as well as was one unidentified tern.

Noisily doing their own thing were eight killdeer who enjoy the marshy environment that the lake offers.

Also seen there were year round regulars vermillion flycatchers, violet-crowned hummingbirds, curve-billed thrashers, Western kingbirds, golden-fronted woodpeckers, loggerhead shrikes and seasonal/migratory American Kestrels and black vultures.

Not included in the count at the lake was literally one dead duck, a blue-winged teal (I think), that Little Shu-Shu was kind enough to call to my attention as she has noticed it first.

In walking across the strip of land which divides the lake that is about a 1/3rd of a mile in length, I had to walk through at least thirty cobwebs some of which had as many as eight spiders on them; I tried to do as little damage as possible to their painstakingly made habitats but that was not easy to do as this time of year the trail disappears in all of the over growth.

As mentioned in a previous post the volume of water at the lake is no more than 60% (probably less) of previous years with little fish life there to support shore birds in any quantity.

Birding Trivia of the Day: Killdeer are large frenetic plovers that get their name from one of the extremely vocal and repetitive sounds that they make, kil-deeah, kil-deeah, kil-deeah...