Raise Birdfail-itis Awareness

Most birders have heard of and know what a "birdfail," is (If you don't already know what that is, it's a birder who thinks every god dang bird is a first ABA record).

Actually, most of them probably don't, because I just made up that word and am launching a pathetic attempt for it to catch on in the birding community (While I'm on that topic, everyone should use the phrase "Mysterylegs," insetad of Tringa sp. from now on. Courtesy of Seagull Steve).

Anyway, most birders probably have (genuinely) heard of warbler neck, a physical condition where your neck becomes sore after looking up at warblers too much.
Dangerous, yes, but not as dangerous as the mental disease Birdfail-itis, a deadly and crippling disease which results in lots of hypothetical birding pain.

This is clearly a Tricolored Blackbird that fell into a puddle of oil and got its wing stained. 

RAISE BIRDFAILITIS AWARENESS
*This document was verified and approved by the National Birdfail Prevention Society *

What is Birdfaili-itis? Birdfail-itis is a mental disease in which the birder falls into an excessive desire to find rare birds.
What can Birdfail-itis lead to? If Birdfail-itis is untreated, it can result in either becoming a birdfail, a listserv addict, or Neil Hayward.  The first two results are the case 99.999% of the time and therefore Birdfailitis poses a serious hazard to all birding communities worldwide.

Eurasian Magpie (China)

How are we sure this isn't a rare Black-billed Magpie vagrant from the ABA area?

Step 1 Check yourself for Birdfail-itis. Symptoms of Birdfail-itis include:

- Excessive posting of unverified listserv reports

-Studying and excessively photographing Spotted Sandpipers, winter peeps, mysterlegs, wood-pewees, pheobes, catharus thrushes, juvenile robins, first-winter gulls, female ruby-throated hummingbirds, Selasphorus hummers, Yellow-rumped warblers, Pine Warblers, vocalizing Empidonax, immature herons, coots, Song Sparrows, godwits, Red-winged Blackbirds, Long-billed Curlews, House Finches, juvenile Mourning Doves, female/imm. Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, common shearwaters, American Pipits, or Common Terns for for than one hour because that Common Tern might be a Whiskered or some crap, which it turns out not to be 99.9% of the time, leading to the next symptom...

- Experiencing a feeling of heartbreak or disappointment when any bird turns out not to be a first ABA record

-Blaming birds.

-Experiencing the feeling that every birder sees more rare birds than you when the reverse is true or.. maybe not true because you've already become a birdfail and all the listserv posts you make are horrendous mis-IDs

"I know Boat-tailed Grackle is out of range, but you NEVER KNOW." -something someone said sometime

Step 2  Treat yourself. Get the "Birdfailitis Awareness," Treatment Kit for $12345 dollars today! Warning:

- A toy which requires you to tie a knot to use it. Now, stop tying and end toy.

 - An egyptian code and a machete to cut it up with. Now, stop birdfailitis before you rune your knife.

- A shedding, furry, cat with too much hair to clean up. Now fur, let it and forget finding all the rare birds, because there are more important things going on in the birding world like the thousands of birds feral cats are killing.

I think this is a Little Egret with pigment problems. 

End toy your birding,

Chiccadee

Assasins!

Chinese Pond-heron (Photo by my brother!) 

Quite a while ago, I was out on a rowboat in a lake. Not just any lake: a deep, muck-filled, clam-chocked brown-water lake that many people were swimming and fishing in. Personally, I don't like swimming in muddy, murky lakes but apparently those people did.

 As I was rowing out, I spotted some white birds far off wheeling in the air that looked suspiciously like terns. They were hovering and grabbing for fish like a tern would do, except something was very amiss about their behavior.  The white birds lacked the powerful grace of a tern, blundering and flapping down slowly to the water like an elephant with wings would.  And they snatched fish from the surface. 

No self-respecting tern would ever try to catch fish like they did.

They turned out to be Black-crowned  Night-herons.

Initially, I was astonished but after exactly 53 seconds, I thought to myself, "What's new about herons doing that? Ardeidae are SMART and ADAPTABLE! Remember that viral video on YouTube?"

(Ardeidae is a family of clunky adorable ninja birds that includes herons, egrets, and bittern. 

Pronounced AR-DIE-DAY, or maybe AR-DI-A-DA, or whatever. Who knows how to pronounce those names anyway?)


Maybe you remember that viral video on YouTube where a Green Heron used bread to lure and devour unsuspecting little fish.

As it turns out, in their maddening efforts to get enough fishy food to constitute a decent meal, Ardeidae (herons, bitterns, egrets) are surprisingly clever.

This guy sat like this for hours. I'm shocked that he/she doesn't have serious back and neck cramps yet.

Above photo: Sometimes a egret or heron will sit with half of their beak open in the water and close it when it touches something, like a stationary skimmer. Most of the time, they get a minnow or two. The unfortunate ones get serious back problems.


Other methods Ardeidae commonly use:

 1. Dancer

Really impatient Ardeidae, like the Reddish Egret, want to have some fun while working instead of just standing there and watching like a boring egret would.

Ready.... set....

GO!

Snowy Egret in foreground: "What is wrong with this guy?"

2 . Every Day They're Shuffling

Ever see herons and egrets scuffling in the mud? They're using this method to try to and lure fish  in with their maddening dance skills. In reality though, most of those birds wouldn't make it on the first couple rounds of Ardeidae's Got Talent! 

Or..... maybe they're just trying to stir up fish and other aquatic animals. I still prefer my theory though. 

3. The Average-John Egret/Heron

"I'm watching for fish. Don't disturb me."

** 3 hours later **

** One day later **

Note

If Great Blue Herons were as large as dinosaurs, I'd be terrified of them. They're deadly in the water and out. Ever seen a heron in a grassy field and think "Hmmm, I wonder why that heron is not by the water. He's probably sniffing the beautiful flowers and having fun in the grass "?

Mr. Heron isn't by the water because he's probably stabbing and swallowing gophers. 

 On rare occasions, herons have been recorded gobbling up other unwary large organisms, like kingfishers. Heck, one was even reported to have ambushed and consumed an entire Little Grebe.

Less qualified assassins, like the Malayan Night-heron, stick to earthworms.

This juvenile Malayan Night-heron forgot to wash his bill again after dinner. 

Looks like his parent forgot too. 

4. Jurassic Park Status

Some conniving, clever, conspiring Ardeidae, including the familiar Green and Great Blue Herons, utilize bread, leaves. and sticks in their hunting efforts.
It's quite simple. They place the bait in the water and wait for the droves of fish to come.
In particular cases they waggle it in a Leaf Dance to hypnotize and stun the fish with the power of Dark Heron Magic.




Happy Birding,

Chiccadee





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(The East Asia trip report is under construction!) 

Backyard Photoshoot #2!

Backyard Photoshoot #2


Quick Update

Over the last couple weeks, I have amassed more than 30 year birds at Starr Ranch, Laguna Niguel, Bolsa Chica, and other birding hotspots, raising my yearlist to 187. Here are a few recent photos:

A beautiful tern gives a cheer for the camera. Or at least, that's what I  want to think it was doing. It was probably just belching happily after eating a fish. 

A Snowy Egret tries to shake feather dandruff off its beak. I made that up, there is no such thing as feather dandruff. OR IS THERE?

A cormorant holds out its beautiful, scaly, wings to dry. Cormorants are ugly at a first glance, but a second look reveals the beauty inside the beast. 

Sometimes, with all the cool birds I can find at my local hot spots, sometimes it's hard to remember that there are just as cool ones at home in the backyard! 

It takes a little closer inspection to truly appreciate the wonder of the hidden jewels in life, whether it's a marauding Coopers's Hawk or a tiny striped fly. (I'm sure that hawk would not be pleased with being called a "hidden jewel!")

But backyard photoshoots aren't just for the birds. Today's 90+ degree heat meant the usual orioles, tanagers and grosbeaks lounged in the shady, thick palm fronds instead of coming up and out.  

You have to admit, flies are pretty cool.  Even if they barf on your food and suck it up with their alienlike tubes. Just look at that iridescence!

A closer look at a fly's eye will reveal thousands of tiny hexagons. My camera is nowhere near the top grade required to get a close-up picture that is intimate enough to show them. 

For those of you who think flies are disgusting: My theory is that you can love any creature when you get to know it! So next time a fly lands on your steak dinner, don't be grossed out! Be excited, because it's another opportunity to better know a fly.

(Okay, I admit, a fly landing on your dinner IS gross)

I like flies, you like flies.  But you know who likes flies even more than I do? Birds! Particularly swallows and swifts. They LOOOOOVVVE flies! 

Monarch butterflies zipped among the dying rose bushes and dead brown sunflower heads covered with mites. Birds hate monarch butterflies! To them, monarchs probably taste like brussel sprouts (if this offended any brussel sprouts lovers I'm sorry).

The only bird in Southern California that is immune to the monarch butterfly's poison is the Black-headed Grosbeak. Interestingly, the grosbeak is patterned similarly. It has black wings with white spots and an orange belly.

My brother took both these photos here with his new camera! I hate to give him the credit. They actually turned out not bad at all! 

A Monarch butterfly chrysalis...

...and a caterpillar. 

If you would like to read more about Monarch Butterflies, click here! 

(CROSS-PROMO! )

Along with the bounty of insects, their were also a couple of curious Lesser Goldfinches who didn't mind the hear. 

"MWAHAHAHA! I will purposely stand right behind a bunch of branches so your camera autofocus will freak out and you will have to use manual focus!"

One of my favorite subjects are House Finches. A frequent sight in my yard in the spring is the male House Finch courting the female House Finch. He will sing vigorously with his head and tail raised high and strut around like a little clockwork bird. Often these advances are unwanted, and the female will viciously attack and peck at the singing, marching male House Finch. It's quite a spectacle! 

The incredibly rare House Finch.

Male: "Look at me! Am I hot or what?"

Female: "GET OUT OF HERE!"

Bewick's Wrens are another favorite photo subject of mine. At this time of the year, the squeaky sound of juvenile wrens is almost constant in my yard. The parents still hang around and supervise the bouncy babies.

A fledgeling Bewick's Wrens will sit in the same place for hours waiting to be fed, even if large dangerous creatures with one giant eye in the middle of their head approach (aka humans. For those sensitive people, I did NOT get close enough to disturb the bird, the above shot was taken through a dirty window)