The Birders Report

Photo courtesy of USFWS

Conservation officials are offering a reward for information about the person who shot and killed the whooping crane in Jackson County. Officials determined the male bird died from a shotgun wound.

Whooping Cranes reached a low of only sixteen birds in North America in the winter of 1941-1942, and numbered under 35 birds over the next two decades. With extensive efforts of concerned people and organizations since the 1970’s, their numbers have grown to only around 500 individuals.

With Sandhill Crane hunting legal in ten states in the Central Flyway, and a hunting season just opened in Kentucky that runs until January 15th, or until 400 birds are killed, the chance of killing endangered Whooping Cranes seems to be more and more likely.

But don’t worry, where Sandhill Cranes are hunted in the Central Flyway like Kansas, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism gives hunters a link to the US Fish and Wildlife Service stating  “The purpose of this web site is to provide waterfowl and sandhill crane hunters with information that will reduce the likelihood of shooting illegally at migratory birds that may look like sandhill cranes, but for which there is no open season and are protected by Federal law.”

The US Fish and Wildlife Service site then states “Some of these protected species have been designated as threatened or endangered (e.g., whooping crane) and are further protected by the Endangered Species Act. Sandhill crane hunters in the Central Flyway need to be particularly cautious about the presence of whooping cranes during sandhill crane hunting seasons. The penalty for the unlawful take of an endangered species is a fine of up to $100,000 and/or up to 1 year in jail. If you see anyone shoot a whooping crane, you may be eligible for a reward up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of that person.”

I wish I knew who shot that endangered Whooping Crane!

Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Patriot and Liberty at Turtle Bay

Patriot and Liberty have been nesting successfully at Turtle Bay since 2006, fledging a dozen healthy eaglets from the same nest. They are a bit unusual, having twice fledged three healthy eaglets! Click on photos for full sized images.

This autumn they returned to Turtle Bay where they began building a new nest. For the past three years we were able to view their nesting activity on the Turtle Bay Eaglecam. Unfortunately, since they have begun building a new nest, only yards from the old one, the nest cam will not be available this season.

It is very interesting watching them build their new nest. Both partners are involved with constructing a nest which is among the largest of all birds. Patriot and Liberty’s previous nest was 5 1/2 feet wide and 5 feet deep during the 2010 nesting season¹.

The nests are made of rather large sticks, interwoven into a pattern to fit the tree in which it is built.

I shot this video of Patriot and Liberty as they built their new nest in a large Cottonwood tree very close to their previous nest.

Interesting things I saw in the video were: at the 1:50 mark, the two eagles have a ritualistic tug of war over a small sick in the nest; at the 2:20 mark Patriot takes off from a lower perch and flies erratically as he searches for a stick to break off and bring back to the nest; at the 3:37 mark, as Patriot is working diligently trying to place a stick, Liberty is seen (seemingly) playfully grabbing Patriots tail,  but he appears to be all business.

Many times they seem to look down from their perch before taking off, apparently looking for appropriate sized sticks for the nest.

This beautiful pair of Bald Eagles should begin laying their eggs in February if past history is any judge, with eaglets coming in March.

One more look at the much smaller male, Patriot, waiting in the nest.

To see more great bird photos from all over the world, you gotta go check out World Bird Wednesday!

References: ¹Turtle Bay Eagle Cam

Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) and Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) at the Suet Feeder, photos by Larry Jordan

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and an extremely healthy and prosperous New Year! I hope you are participating in at least one Christmas Bird Count this year end.