The Birders Report

Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) photos by Larry Jordan

Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) are a small diving duck that feed exclusively in water. They eat moist-soil and aquatic plant seeds and tubers as well as aquatic invertebrates. The drake shown above is, in my humble opinion, is one of the most handsome diving ducks in North America (click on photos for full sized images).

A few weeks ago, while at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, I saw some behavior I had never witnessed before. A group of three Ring-necked Ducks, one drake and two females, were diving as they usually do when foraging, while a couple of American Coots (Fulica americana) waited at the surface for tidbits that floated up!

It was the funniest thing to watch. The coots looked so intense as they waited…

and the female Ring-necked Duck appeared to be enjoying herself…

as she bobbed up from below, ignoring the Coot.

Sometimes she still had vegetation in her beak…

But even though it seemed they sometimes nearly collided during the feeding…

there was never any aggression from either the ducks or the coots.

Maybe we should take a lesson from these amiable waterfowl and try to get along with our neighbors?

To see more great bird photos from around the world check out World Bird Wednesday!

Dan Richards Posing with Dead Mountain Lion in Idaho

Daniel W. Richards, President of the California Fish and Game Commission, thought it was a good idea to book himself a hunt on Idaho’s Flying B Ranch to kill a Mountain Lion (illegal to hunt in California). For a mere $6,800 you too can bag one of these beautiful lions. Here is the ranch’s spiel:

“The sound a hound dog makes when running on the scent of a Lion is an experience that cannot be put into words. For those who desire a unique and fun-filled hunting experience, we offer fully-guided (2 guides per hunter) Mountain Lion hunts out of our luxurious 14,000 sq ft lodge during the months of December through March.”

“Nothing in the outdoors compares to the superior disdain in the eyes of a Mountain Lion as his gaze catches yours. Every discerning outdoorsman should meet that look, and we are the best in the business at providing you with that opportunity. Using hound dogs, snowmobiles and snowshoes, we guide you into elk and deer wintering grounds in search of a fresh kill or lion track. From here is when the chase begins and we all hope it ends at the tree!”

“The superior disdain in the eyes of a Mountain Lion!” Are you kidding me?? This is something to strive for?

This is the guy in charge of the Fish and Game Commission in our state? As president, Richards can set the commission’s agenda on a range of issues including endangered species protections, ocean fishing rules and all types of hunting regulations from rabbits to black bears. If he were to bring the dead mountain lion back to California from Idaho, he would be in violation of state law. I hope someone is checking his trophy room!

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, Richards has been hostile to protecting endangered species and has opposed marine reserves in California.

From the California Fish and Game Commission web page on Daniel Richards:

“President Daniel W. Richards, of Upland, was appointed to the Fish and Game Commission on February 14, 2008. Daniel is a graduate of West Virginia University. For the past 30 years, he has dealt in commercial real estate and real estate development. Currently he owns Coldwell Banker Commercial Inland Empire and has been one of the top 50 Coldwell Banker Commercial Brokers, worldwide.”

From the story in the Silicon Valley Mercury News:

“Meanwhile, Richards is facing more political fallout. In 2010, his former business partner was indicted, along with three other men, on charges of bribery, conflict of interest, tax fraud, tax evasion, perjury and forgery. San Bernardino County prosecutors said the indicted men worked to corrupt public officials in connection with a $102 million settlement in a land development deal.”

Why do we have a big land developer and lifelong member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in charge of managing our wildlife resources?

The Center for Biological Diversity is asking our help in getting Daniel Richards off our Fish and Game Commission.  This incident simply shows him for what he is, a wealthy land developer who enjoys killing wildlife and has very poor judgement. Is that who we want managing California’s wildlife resources?

The governor cannot remove any member of the Fish and Game Commission. However, the state Legislature can, with a simple majority vote. If this concerns you, please urge your state representative to remove Daniel W. Richards from this important post and replace him with someone who more appropriately represents the people of this state.

You can address your letter to your state representative right here. Please pass this on to anyone you know living in California that is concerned with sustaining our wildlife populations before March 1st. This commissioner does not represent my views! I hope he doesn’t represent yours!

You can read more about the California Fish and Game Commission here.

UPDATE: 3/5/2012

This is the letter from the California State Assembly members to Daniel Richards (click on photo for full sized images of these documents);

And this is Dan’s response to that letter:

Thanks Ingrid for the heads up on the letters and Mia for the link to the latest info on Richard’s “gift” of the hunt which he didn’t pay for.

Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna) photos by Larry Jordan

I missed the first day of the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) because I had to work on Friday 🙁 But I had Monday off for President’s Day 😀

Guess where my Great Backyard Bird Count took place? That’s right, in my backyard. I had a total of 21 species including two female Anna’s Hummingbirds collecting nesting material (click on photos for full sized images) and one male perched at the top of an oak tree looking out over his domain.

There were Western Scrub-Jays a plenty, I counted seven at one time.

Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)

Acorn Woodpeckers abound in my area though my high count in my yard this weekend was only four.

Acorn Woodpecker Male (Melanerpes formicivourus)

The second highest count was for Lesser Goldfinches at 26.

Lesser Goldfinch Male (Carduelis psaltria)

I had probably more Purple Finches in my yard this weekend than ever before. I took this shot of the female, that doesn’t get as much glory as the more brightly colored male of the species, as she came out into the open.

Purple Finch Female (Carpodacus purpureus)

This Nuttall’s Woodpecker was being very cagey and I never got a good photo of him but I was just glad to have him on my count!

Nuttall’s Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii)

Of course this time of year, the Dark-eyed Juncos, also known as snow birds to some, travel in large flocks. I had only 36 as a high in my back yard when I did my count. There were a lot more out of my sight!

Dark-eyed Junco Male (Junco hyemalis)

Here’s my list for the three days I was able to count:

1. Turkey Vulture
2. Red-shouldered Hawk
3. Eurasian Collared-Dove
4. Mourning Dove
5. Anna’s Hummingbird
6. Acorn Woodpecker
7. Nuttall’s Woodpecker
8. Northern Flicker
9. Western Scrub-Jay
10. Oak Titmouse
11. White-breasted Nuthatch
12. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
13. American Robin
14. Hermit Thrush
15. Yellow-rumped Warbler
16. Spotted Towhee
17. Dark-eyed Junco
18. Purple Finch
19. House Finch
20. Pine Siskin
21. Lesser Goldfinch

Good birding! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. If you want to see more birds form around the world, check out World Bird Wednesday!