The Birders Report

The Northern Harrier AKA Marsh Hawk

by Larry Jordan on December 4, 2012

Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) Female photos by Larry Jordan

The Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) was also known as the Marsh Hawk in the United States and is known as the Hen Hawk in Eurasia (click on photos for full sized images).

It breeds in the northern part of the northern hemisphere. On this Wikipedia commons map, the light green denotes breeding summer visitor, the dark green breeding resident, and the blue winter visitor.

This raptor forages on the wing, capturing a wide range of prey, mainly small and medium-sized mammals and birds, while coursing low and buoyantly over the ground¹. They have also been known to subdue larger prey by drowning them under water.

This is an adult female Northern Harrier which, as you can see, is brown above and buffy with brown streaks below.

The male and female are strongly sexually dimorphic but both have a distinctive white rump patch which is their most prominent field mark.

I took these photos of this female Marsh Hawk at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge where there are many to be found.

If you live in an area where this raptor lives, you may wonder why you seem to see so many more females than you do the gray and white male with black wing tips shown in this John James Audubon drawing of the Marsh Hawk from Wikipedia Commons. This drawing shows a juvenile (with the rufous belly) at the top, the adult male in the middle and the adult female at the bottom.

The reason we seem to see so many more females than males is that both the male and female juveniles look like the adult female. The rufous breasted juveniles can be differentiated by the male having pale greenish-yellow eyes and the female dark chocolate eyes. The adults both have lemon yellow eyes.

If you are not familiar with this beautiful raptor, I found an excellent video showing many aspects of the Northern Harrier’s flight and prey habits. It also has great video of the male, not shown here, dropping off food for the female at the nest site.

To see more great bird photos, check out The Bird D’pot and Wild Bird Wednesday!

References: ¹Birds of North America Online

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The 113th Audubon Annual Christmas Bird Count Begins December 14th

by Larry Jordan on December 1, 2012

The 113th Audubon Christmas Bird Count begins December 14th and runs through January 5th. The Audubon Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running citizen science wildlife survey in the world. The count will undergo several significant changes beginning this year as Audubon builds on the program’s success to entice birdwatchers to lend their eyes and ears year round.

Fees to participate in the count will be dropped to encourage greater participation, and the annual published report, American Birds, will go digital in 2013 saving more trees for the birds. Christmas Bird Count information will be available online in Spanish for the first time and in 2013, Audubon will begin to extend conservation-focused observation efforts throughout the seasons.

Birders of all skill levels are urged to participate in the Christmas Bird Count.

If you love birds, especially if you are a beginning bird watcher and want to learn about the birds where you live, you will want to participate in at least one Christmas Bird Count. You see, there is always at least one experienced birder in each field party, and each field party needs a recorder, someone to record the birds as they are counted.

While participating in my first Christmas Bird Count, not only did I learn which birds lived in my neighborhood in the winter, I learned where to find them on an American Ornithologists Union arranged bird check list, the same arrangement used by most bird guide books. If you are the group recorder, by the end of the day I guarantee you will have learned how to use a field guide to birds.

If you are an experienced birder you may be asked to lead a field party that covers a specific area within the 15 mile radius of your local count circle. Not only is this an excellent way to support bird conservation but you can also influence younger or less experienced birders by helping them identify birds and build their confidence in bird identification.

Getting involved in the Christmas Bird Count is easy!

All you have to do is go to Audubon’s get involved page to find a count circle near you and sign up! Don’t delay though, the counting starts in less than two weeks.

If you live in a designated Christmas Bird Count circle and are unable to go out into the field, you may still be able to participate by counting the birds in your own backyard. For more information on the 113th Audubon Annual Christmas Bird Count go to their FAQ page. Above all, whatever you do, have fun birding!

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Mallard Drake Standing Guard

by Larry Jordan on November 27, 2012

Mallards (Anas platyrhynochos) photo by Larry Jordan

A simple photo of a pair of Mallards (Anas platyrhynochos) taken near dusk at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. I wanted to see how my recently purchased Nikkor 200 – 400mm f/4G ED VR lens would handle the low light shots. This image was taken at f4, 1/50 and ISO 320 while mounted on my Groofwin Pod. The birds were in total shade, in the late afternoon, as they rested near the auto tour route at the refuge (click on photo for full sized image).

Even though Mallards are the most abundant duck species in North America they are beautiful and I usually can’t help but take a shot of them if they appear in a photogenic habitat.

Inspired by the incredible images taken by my friend Mia McPherson over at On The Wing Photography, and psychologically pushed by my experience with this lens when I rented it from BorrowLenses.com, along with a 1.7 teleconverter last February, I decided to take the step up.

I have blind #2 reserved at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge this week so wish me luck. I look forward to some great images from this lens. My last trip to this blind I photographed some Black-necked Stilts!

While we’re on the subject of wildlife refuges, please take this time, if you haven’t already done so, to sign the petition for a new Wildlife Conservation Stamp to help out our national refuges. You might also want to read the previous post on the “Fiscal Cliff Dwellers” of the refuge system.

For more great bird photos, check out The Bird D’pot and Wild Bird Wednesday!

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CARE Calls Upon Congress to Abandon Sequestration and Fully Fund the National Wildlife Refuge System

by Larry Jordan on November 21, 2012

The Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) urges Congress to ensure a future for America’s wildlife heritage and fully fund our National Wildlife Refuge System.

Sequestration could cut the Refuge System’s budget by nearly 10%, but coupled with an additional annual appropriation cut, the overall impact could be as much as 20%.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the 150-million-acre System on a shoestring budget of only $3.24 per acre. Further, refuges rely on the support of their Friends groups and volunteers, who perform 20% of all work done throughout the Refuge System.

Protecting and adequately funding the lands, waters, and wildlife of our 560 national wildlife refuges should be a bipartisan priority. Now, more than ever, the National Wildlife Refuge System is a worthwhile investment in America’s economic recovery and future.

The top ten fiscal impacts to the National Wildlife Refuge System:

Closed Refuges and Visitor Centers
Lost Hunting and Fishing Opportunities
Volunteers Turned Away
Lost Revenue in Local Economies
Increased Poaching, Vandalism and Drug Smuggling
Lost Opportunities for Birding and Wildlife Watching
Spread of Invasive Species
Halted Habitat Restoration and Fire Management
Delayed Response to Hurricane and Natural Disaster Devastation
Termination of the Inventory and Monitoring Program

CARE is a national coalition of 22 wildlife, sporting, conservation, and scientific organizations formed in 1995. Together, these organizations represent a national constituency numbering more than 15 million Americans. Working together, and with the support of more than 200 volunteer refuge Friends groups, CARE educates Congress, the Administration and the public about America’s magnificent National Wildlife Refuge System¹.

I summarized this report from CARE. You can download the full report from Defenders of Wildlife here. If you haven’t done so already, please take the time to sign the petition for a new Federal Wildlife Conservation Stamp to help fund our National Wildlife Refuge System.

References: ¹Defenders of Wildlife

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