There is a long history of raptors in Central Park, but none as famous as Pale Male and his mates. He has sired at least 26 chicks since the early 1990s. Many have produced there own offspring.
It all started in 1992 when Pale Male attracted a beautiful mate that was named First Love by fans. First Love was injured later that year and taken to Raptor Trust wild bird rehabilitation center. In her absence, he took another mate and fledged 3 chicks in 1995. [continue reading…]
Looking Down On The Hawaiian Skies Flying Into Kona
I thought I would take a different perspective for Sky Watch Friday #13. This shot taken from the plane shows the Big Island’s highest peak, Mauna Kea, in the background. I think it’s important to look at everything in life from different points of view and decide which perspective is right for you. Even more important, which perspective is right for the planet!
Ithaca, NY-More than 100 studies have shown that getting closer to nature reduces stress and promotes a feeling of well-being in children and adults. So, filling feeders and counting the birds that visit may be just what the doctor ordered! For more than 20 years, that’s what participants in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch have been doing-benefitting themselves and the birds.
“It is a great winter time activity for the whole family,” says Alaska FeederWatcher Nancy Darnell. “If you have children, they will come to love watching the birds. All of this is fun and a chance to contribute to scientific studies, too!” [continue reading…]
White-Tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) photo by Patrick Cloete
I just returned from a trip to Santa Barbara, California and on the trip back home I drove up Interstate 5, through California’s central valley, which just happens to coincide with the Pacific Flyway. For those of you who don’t know, flyways are generally considered to be the main north-and-south “highways” that birds travel during their migrations. Migration routes are usually considered to be the “lanes” of individual travel from any particular breeding ground to the winter quarters of the birds that use them. No two species follow exactly the same path from beginning to end.
There are four major North American Flyways: the Pacific, the Central, the Mississippi and the Atlantic. These four flyways cover all of North America from the Arctic down through the US and blend or merge together in Central and South America. Some birds travel the full length of these flyways for a trip of over 3000 miles twice a year! Is it any wonder that they need some place to stop and refuel on their long journey?
As I left my Mom’s house in Lincoln Hills (near Sacramento, California) I spotted a White-Tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) hovering near the local golf course looking for lunch. What a beautiful sight! The kite is a falcon-shaped hawk with a body length of 14-17 inches, more than a three foot wingspan and weighs 9-10 1/2 ounces. They favor agricultural areas, grasslands, marshes, savannas, and other open land or sparsely wooded areas from the West Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States into Central America and eastern South America.
Black-Shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris) photo by Tony Brown
The Black-Shouldered Kite is the Australian relative of the White-Tailed Kite in the photo above. These kites prefer a diet of small mammals like mice and voles but will also occasionally hunt birds, reptiles and amphibians.
Kites search for prey from soaring or hovering flight (like the ones in the photos above), then swoop down onto their prey. Their hunting style is very similar to the American Kestrel that we love to see hovering over our fields here in northern California. Their nest is a platform of sticks in the fork of a tree or bush where they will lay 3-5 eggs. The eggs hatch out around 30 days later and the young kites fledge at 5-6 weeks of age.
As I drove further north I was able to see flocks of hundreds of migrating birds in the Sacramento Valley. Hundreds and hundreds of land birds and water fowl refueling for their migrations. Keep your feeders and water supplies full during this most important time of migration. We want our birds to grow and flourish so that they can come back and visit us all next Spring.
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