Raptor Census (from February 9th)

I woke up before dawn to meet a bunch of folks after dawn about an hour south of here. I participated in the annual Raptor Census, during which regular people with some interest in birds meet and count what species they see. Truth be told it is organized by region and team leaders are not slouches; some of these folks are leading biologists and raptor researchers. But I am just a thirty-something with a bird addiction... specifically a raptor one!

I worked with Gerry and we walked around the Port Susan Bay reserve looking for raptors. We counted a Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus), dozens of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), some Northern Harriers aka Marsh Hawks (Circus cyaneas), a female American Kestrel (Falco sparverius). We heard a tremendous commotion from a nearby flock of Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens) too. Some Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) also made a cameo during our two-hour excursion.

We reported the data to the team leader and we all high-tailed (:)) it to Padilla Bay for a discussion about birds with beak deformities. Mostly this involves a disorder in which birds' beaks grow (like a cancer, really) and eventually prevent the bird from using its beak for anything. They can't eat or function properly because their beaks are inefficient and of course this leads to mortality.

Caroline Van Hemert spoke to us for a while about her work with Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) in Alaska who suffer from this problem. Research didn't quite have any concrete conclusions but I will make a personal venture to say that perhaps cellular radiation or other environmental pollution is the culprit... HUMAN-created, so I must take some personal responsibility in contributing to the cause even though I do not yet know how. More info here!

It seems to me like a "beak cancer" as they simply grow out of control... I wonder if there is a gene in birds that tells the beak when to stop growing. All cancer research is related to humans, but perhaps there is work to be done with birds too.... maybe we can learn something from our flying friends.

It was nice to get out in the tidal flats early in the morning and contribute to a 23+ year project. I got to see my friend who is in charge of the whole program. You can find out more information about the Falcon Research Group here!

Sit Spot reflection

This morning was interesting. I left the house and it was warmer than yesterday. So I wore a lighter array of clothing: wool sweater, two thin synthetic tops, long underwear and wool pants. Not my heavy jacket and not heavy gloves either.

Got to the spot and found that the birds were super loud. I spent the first ten minutes figuring out that they were so loud because of ME. It was my directional and focused intent that must have scared them into alarm for a lot longer than the norm… which is me sulking into the space, slowly and in a cumbersome fashion. Not so much like a predator.

After ten minutes it was nearly silent in the forest… the chorus of alarm from Pacific Wrens, Black-capped Chickadees, and even a lone Northern Flicker petered out. It was back to calm.

I am curious how long my disturbances last in the forest. Do walkers and mountain bikers get the same reactions from the birds? What about if there is a dog with them? Does my style of walking make a difference?

A Pacific Wren visited AGAIN today. I was dead still. It hopped within FIVE feet of me, which was awesome. It's almost like it didn't see me. And then it circumnavigated me as it hopped about under the downed sword ferns and through the barrage of grounded sticks which must have fallen from the western red cedar.

It must have noticed me there because it kept a five foot radius, for about 225 degrees around me. I kept so still. Used my Owl Eyes to listen and watch subtle movements. Then it disappeared- out of sight and out of sound range. I waited a couple of moments and then shifted my body around to a more comfortable position. BAD IDEA. It was there watching me and it started to alarm! I felt like I was being chided for my impatience. Just another reminder that I have a lot of work to do in practicing my stillness in the forest.

Back to minding my own business after I was berated by the smallest bird I've ever met. Suddenly I heard a light whisper of wings and then raindrops rushed onto my head as the cedar branch not five feet above my head delicately jiggled. I couldn't help myself. I knew it was a bird, but I so wanted to know if it was the Wren back for more observations of me.

Turned out to be a Chickadee and it immediately saw my head look up at it. Let's face it: No one likes to be stared at; not even birds. It too began to alarm and it flitted to another branch, dumping water on my head again! It was double punishment on me by these two little residents of the forest who want me to be more patient. My curiosity is a courageous trait and one for which I am super grateful. But boy, do I have some work to do on the patience front...

I wasn't sure about the loud "laughing sound" but I had the hint it was a Flicker. So, I left my spot and went to look for the sound- after all it had been making noise for nearly 20 minutes. But fate would have it that the open space where I had tracked the original sound was now silent. So I turned and headed for home.

Then I saw a black plastic bag on the ground. If there is one thing that irritates me it is dog owners who bag up their dog's feces and LEAVE IT THERE?! Why bother? It's almost worse, in my opinion to discard a plastic bag into the natural world instead of letting that stuff decompose. But Bellingham's dogs have more rights than its citizens (also SUPER irritating) and mountain bikers and hikers have an easy time looking the other way. Self-righteously, I picked up the bag and put it right into the middle of a thin wooden bridge that the mountain-bikers use to cross a small creek there.

Excuse the diatribe. My favorite part of the day was when I reached for the black bag and found scat ON TOP of the bag! It was delivered by, none other than, my friend Coyote. Stringy feces with hair and small bone fragments. ON TOP of another canine's poop. That's one way to mark the territory. Coyote makes me laugh because he is a dog indeed, but a clever one who is both pragmatic and artistic at the same time. What a GREAT place to leave a turd.. on top of an out-of-place plastic bag with a turd inside it!

It was such a great morning to be outdoors. Thirty-eight degrees and moist in the air. Not quite raining but thinking about it. I am pretty excited about that area. Every day I understand more and more about it.