Babies babies babies

It was all about baby birds this week. We banded ~160 young Tree Swallows in 2 days. They poop. A lot. Other than that though, we didn't catch or band very much. Now that all the migrating birds are gone, there are a lot less around.

Natalka and Casey came out for a day. So fun.


Natalka with a female Brown-headed Cowbird.


This might be the first ever male Yellow-headed Blackbird caught at the BBO (we also caught a female).


A porcupine awoken from his nap up in a tree. He's waving at me! And showing his big teeth.


I guess he wasn't that impressed with being woken up. This is his butt and tail with the spines all raised up.


Not-so-young swallows. These are ready to leave the nest.


Some flew for the first time right out of our hands. For the ones that couldn't fly well, we would chase them and put them back in their nest once they hit the ground. But others were off, landing on branches on nearby trees - we weren't catching them, so I guess they're ok. One of the most endearing things about these swallows is how the whole community of adults swarm to a fledgling in order to bump it up and keep it in the air, helping it to fly.


The grass is a lot taller now! It shelters many a mosquito.


Some younger swallows using their little legs and learning how to perch.



We noticed some young Clay-coloured Sparrows fluttering in the grass. They would fly for only a couple feet. We were able to corner and catch them, but we weren't able to band them since we didn't have the right size bands. It's like a bander's disease - this obsession to band every bird we see!


Look at his goofy long legs!

Birds are great but people make for more interesting conversation

I've had some visitors stay with me so far this summer, and its been a blast. More are welcome!

Brent came and checked Tree Swallow nests.



Mom and Dad checking out the ducks at the weir - pretty much the only place there's water left in the lake, its been drying up for years.


Chillin on the porch, in the sweet sweet hammock chair.



Mom with a Least Flycatcher.


We caught a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, but my camera wouldn't focus!


Putting up some more nest boxes along the road.


We checked out the Great Horned Owl nest too - here's Mom with the adult owl in the tree in the background.


Come visit! I love my job and love to show people all the great things out here. But beware of gianormous mosquitos in vast numbers!

Bluebird banding time!

Bird nests are popping up everywhere and the Mountain Bluebirds have already hatched and grown. Last Wednesday we banded the first young from the nest boxes around the area and were even able to catch some adults in the process. We wait for mom or dad to go into the nest box with food for the babies, then we run over there like mad fools and cover the entrance. Then we can remove the lid and grab em!

These ones were too young to band, but not hold and take pictures with!


Allicia with a juvenile who just pooped on her hand! Their poop is called fecal sacs; they're contained in a mucous casing so mom or dad can clean up the nest easily. Yum yum!




A slightly older nest - we banded these little guys. Birds are amazing in that their feet and legs grow really fast. The bands we place on these young who can't even fly yet will last their whole lives.




Note the large amount of excess beak on the sides; this creates the gape that signals to the parents that they are hungry. It will shrink and disappear when they leave the nest - all that will be left is the dark bill in the center.


Mom and dad watching us closely:


A female we nabbed:


All the young from a nest:


The brightly colored flight feathers growing in:


We got a male! This was my goal for the day.




For those of you who have been out chasing Tree Swallows (Mom and Dad), some of the eggs have hatched. Here's the first of the young. Note all the feathers in the nest!

My, what big eyes you have...

I'm very behind but instead of trying to catch up, I will write a quick entry about a cute new resident at the BBO. We have a wood box that holds the thermometer outside of the lab (what we call the building we work in - its not really a laboratory).

The temperature box:


We've noticed that nest material has been building up inside the box since the beginning of May, which makes sense; it provides shelter from the weather, is in a nice shadey spot, and the slats may be small enough to prevent some predators from getting in, kind of like a tree cavity which many species use for nests.

The nest material in the box:


We were unsure what animal was building the nest, until Allicia poked it and out popped the head of a flying squirrel. These nocturnal animals usually sleep during the day in their nest and then steal food from our bird feeder at night.



He or she was bothered enough by the wake-up to leave the nest and eventually the temperature box, allowing me to get some great pictures!

Out of the nest and in the corner of the box:


On his/her way up a tree:


Obviously not that upset! It stopped to clean its face on a branch and afterwards, returned to the box. We've bothered it a few times since then to show visitors but it must really like the bird feeder because it's still around.

Owl Banding

About a week ago (May 10), Allicia and I had an amazing opportunity to band Great Horned Owl chicks with 2 seasoned raptor banders - Al and Hardy. Here's a photo journal of that experience.


The first nest of the day (there were 3 total).


Al climbing the tree.


Retrieving the owlets from the nest.


Lowering the owlets from the nest in a canvas sack to where we banded them on the ground.


Aw, they're so....cute?


Hardy banding the first one of the day.


These chicks are around 16-18 days old.




I'm attempting to close the band - very tough.


Owl parents can be very aggressive in defense of their young - their large talons are the part to watch out for. None attacked that day, but look how close this one got to Allicia's head.


28-30 day old chicks. Al says that they have already fledged (left the nest) since we banded them.




Al and Hardy instructing Allicia.


Allicia wearing all the climbing gear (spikes, belt to wrap around the tree). She climbed two of the trees.


30 day old chicks doing a threat display to make themselves look bigger. They also make quite a racket by clacking their bills to express their displeasure at the whole situation. It sounds like hitting two sticks together.


One of the parents.


Mom and Dad owl watching over the proceedings.


Allicia from the top of the last tree after she returned the owlets to the nest.