From birder1949 at yahoo - Champaign County Audubon Society

From birder1949 at yahoo.com Thu Dec 1 09:59:40 2005

From: birder1949 at yahoo.com (Roger Digges)

Date: Thu Dec 1 09:59:43 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Great Horned Owl

Message-ID: <20051201155941.84077.qmail@web60121.mail.yahoo.com>

At around 5:45 this morning, overheard a "conversation" between what sounded like a male and female GHO in the area between Grange and

Boudreau near Holmes in Urbana.

Roger Digges

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From bernies at uillinois.edu Thu Dec 1 11:58:15 2005

From: bernies at uillinois.edu (Sloan, Bernie)

Date: Thu Dec 1 11:58:18 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Birding checklists - how do you organize?

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F285644D2C@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I'm starting to transfer the information from my old Peterson field guide into a checklist (Excel spreadsheet) that I downloaded from the

American Ornithological Union.

Anyway, I had a question as to how people organize their checklists.

Specifically, do you track where you have seen various species, and if you do what categories do you use?

Here's an illustration of what I mean. About twenty-five years ago I developed the following scheme:

1. Birds I have seen (anywhere).

2. Birds I have seen in the county I live in.

3. Birds I have seen from my residence (several different homes over the years)

If I had thought it through more carefully at the time I might have added a couple of other categories, but I'll probably stick with what I started out with. It was occasionally tricky as it was...as I enter the data from the checklist in my old Peterson field guide into the AOU spreadsheet I run across obvious coding errors where I confused the meaning of the symbols I use to indicate the various categories. But they were obvious errors and easily corrected.

Thanks!

Bernie Sloan

From h-parker at express.cites.uiuc.edu Thu Dec 1 19:06:41 2005

From: h-parker at express.cites.uiuc.edu (Helen Parker)

Date: Thu Dec 1 19:05:54 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] fox sparrow

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051201190432.01ccd410@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

There was a fox sparrow outside the bird viewing window at the Nature

Center this afternoon. The first one this year that I have gotten a really good look at, as opposed to "there it was". What a beautiful bird, with his rich reddish-brown coloring!

--Helen Parker

From rkanter at uiuc.edu Fri Dec 2 09:17:09 2005

From: rkanter at uiuc.edu (Rob Kanter)

Date: Fri Dec 2 09:17:39 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Red-breasted nuthatches

Message-ID: <22d9165.64674663.82c5600@expms6.cites.uiuc.edu>

There have been a couple of red-breasted nuthatches hanging out near the goldfinches and juncos outside the NSRC building

(on Peabody across from greenhouses) since yesterday.

Are there a lot of r-b nuthatches around now?

Rob Kanter

From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Fri Dec 2 22:29:18 2005

From: jwhoyt at prairienet.org (James Hoyt)

Date: Fri Dec 2 22:29:19 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Deer sightings and safety precautions (no sightings)

In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0511210216020.3463-

100000@bluestem.prairienet.org>

Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0512022214260.17499-


Birders,

There have recently been a few postings which concern deer/human interactions.

Even supposedly gentle herbivores can present a danger to people.

This includes does not just bucks.

In general it is better to keep a safe distance from any wild animal.

I just finished reading my "Outdoor Illinois" magazine which has a good article about deer/human interactions on page 10 of the December issue.

It details some recent research that is taking place in and around urban areas.

This article does a much better job of explaining this situation than I

can.

"Outdoor Illinois" can be found in almost any public library.

The IDNR website is at www.dnr.state.il.us

Take care,

Jim :)

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"

Champaign Co. Audubon

Co-steward Parkland College Prairies.

Monitor Urbana Park District Natural Areas.

Champaign County Master Gardener

Allerton Allies

Prairie Rivers Network

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"The human culture is considered to be a 'geologic force' and with good reason. But if we are at a stage where our actions are to decide the world's future, then surely we have reached a level where we can be held acountable for the world's future." Durward L. Allen "Our Wildlife

Legacy"

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From spendelo at uiuc.edu Sat Dec 3 00:45:19 2005

From: spendelo at uiuc.edu (Jacob Spendelow)

Date: Sat Dec 3 00:45:05 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Illini Forestry Plantation

Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.2.20051203003138.01eafc50@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Hi everyone,

Birds can be scarce this time of year! An hour and a half at Illini

Forestry Plantation this afternoon turned up a whopping eleven species. Still, I was excited to see the Long-eared Owl, my first of the season. According to Rhetta Jack two were present earlier this week, but it took me so long to find the first one that I didn't have time to look for any more. Should be easier to spot them once the snow melts and the white-wash and pellets are easier to find.

Long-eared Owl

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Downy Woodpecker

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Carolina Wren

Golden-crowned Kinglet

American Robin

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Northern Cardinal

Good birding!

Jacob Spendelow

Champaign

From charleneanchor at msn.com Sat Dec 3 08:37:07 2005

From: charleneanchor at msn.com (charlene anchor)

Date: Sat Dec 3 08:31:26 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Fw: A couple of backyard birds

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV16CD5589C3AB11200BA27AC64F0@phx.gbl>

----- Original Message -----

From: charlene anchor

Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 8:36 AM

To: Birdnotes@llists.prairienet.org

Subject: A couple of backyard birds

Friday morning while filling my feeders I was surprised to see 2

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS land on the trunk of my neighbor's Sycamore tree. They only stayed a minute and then flew off. A female RED-

BELLIED WOODPECKER was calling and also a DOWNY. They returned to my feeders a couple of weeks ago, as they do every winter. Three CAROLINA

WRENS were singing from the surrounding yards - 2 males and 1 buzzing female. A BLUE JAY was being noisy as well along with a singing WHITE-

THROATED SPARROW. My winter CARDINALS have also returned. Since I haven't had time lately to go out looking for birds, it is a joy to have them so close to home.

Charlene Anchor

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From lupewinku at lanscape.net Sat Dec 3 09:54:41 2005

From: lupewinku at lanscape.net (Rhetta Jack)

Date: Sat Dec 3 09:54:59 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] U of I Forestry Friday

Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20051203093753.02262008@mail.kspei.com>

Hello all,

Spent a late lunch hour at the Forestry Plantation yesterday afternoon,

1:15-2:00p. Did not see any owls, but a large spread out flock of little birds was quite active and vocal including BLUE JAYS, CARDINALS,

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, WHITE-THROATED SPAROOWS, 2 CAROLINA WRENS,

RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS, DOWNY WOODPECKERS, FLICKERS, GOLDEN-CROWNED

KINGLETS, JUNCOS, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, and a large flock of CEDAR

WAXWINGS. With the WT sparrows feeding on Honeysuckle berries was an

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER that I briefly saw. While I was creeping up to the honeysuckle patch to get closer, the Cedar Waxwings flew in and landed above my head. Right then, a Blue Jay called out aerial predator warning and sure enough, a bullet like Sharp-shinned Hawk dove into the waxwing flock, causing all birds to dive into deep cover. The hawk came up empty handed. Lunch hour was over.

Rhetta Jack, Springfield, IL Sangamon Co. Forestry Plantation is in

Urbana, Champaign Co.

From lupewinku at lanscape.net Sat Dec 3 10:01:02 2005


Date: Sat Dec 3 10:02:36 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Found film at forestry

Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20051203095905.0221c300@mail.kspei.com>

Hi all, found an unused cannister of film yesterday at Forestry in

Urbana on top of snow. Rhetta Jack, Springfield, IL

From rboehmer at mail.millikin.edu Sat Dec 3 12:21:45 2005

From: rboehmer at mail.millikin.edu (Ray F. Boehmer)

Date: Sat Dec 3 12:22:09 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] interesting combo

Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20051203121753.043d3690@mail.millikin.edu>

This morning there was a male grackle and a chickadee on the feeder at the same time.

Guess who stayed longer?

The screech owl had been absent from its favorite hole over Race St. for several weeks. I was beginning to wonder if the small branch that had become lodged in the opening was spooking it from the hole. S/he was back yesterday at noon, soaking up the sun.

Ray

Urbana

From Frank21 at insightbb.com Sat Dec 3 14:10:48 2005

From: Frank21 at insightbb.com (Frank)

Date: Sat Dec 3 14:10:48 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Red tailed hawk

Message-ID: <002e01c5f845$a9702ca0$6801a8c0@BLACKDELL>

I had a red tailed hawk hanging aroung in my yard yesterday perching on the power line and he had a kill under the bushes next door. http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/gentian/birds/hawk3.jpg

Frank Cooper, near Wiley school

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From smithsje at egix.net Sun Dec 4 08:30:45 2005

From: smithsje at egix.net (Jim & Eleanor Smith)

Date: Sun Dec 4 08:30:23 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] (no subject)

Message-ID: <200512041418.jB4EIGRG018336@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

This morning, a male KESTREL caught a small bird (house sparrow ?) under one feeder, and carried it away with blue jays in pursuit.

About an hour later, a COOPER'S HAWK caught a grackle at the same feeder, and carried it away.

Best regards.

Jim & Eleanor Smith smithsje@egix.net

2005-12-04

From charleneanchor at msn.com Sun Dec 4 09:23:49 2005


Date: Sun Dec 4 09:18:10 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV3FEDB68673A2037BCF8C6C64E0@phx.gbl>

About 5-6 years ago I saw a KESTREL catch a HOUSE SPARROW at my feeder.

Have never had one around after that, at least that I'm aware of. But do have the COOPER'S feeding regularly, mainly on MOURNING DOVES and an occasional HOUSE SPARROW. Does anyone know if the COOPER'S presence would keep away the KESTREL? I keep reading that the KESTRELS are in decline and maybe that is the reason instead? I don't see as many

KESTRELS as I used to, especially along country roads but maybe that is just a coincidence of timing. Although, come to think of it, I used to see them at Meadowbrook on occasion and haven't for a long time as well.

Charlene Anchor


From: Jim & Eleanor Smith

Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2005 8:30 AM

To: Bird Notes


Hello, Bird,

This morning, a male KESTREL caught a small bird (house sparrow ?) under one feeder, and carried it away with blue jays in pursuit.


Best regards.


2005-12-04

_______________________________________________

Birdnotes mailing list

Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org https://mail.prairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes

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Date: Sun Dec 4 09:26:44 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV128823B843EA7C89F9BF7EC64E0@phx.gbl>

This year for the first time that I know of, we've had a RED-TAILED visit our yard. Three times, a couple of weeks ago, one either flew through our back yard or landed high in our front yard tree. We have an over abundance of squirrels, some young, and I wondered if they could be attracting it? Does that also mean that the RED-TAILS are expanding their range into our neighborhoods?

Charlene Anchor


From: Frank

Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 2:10 PM

To: Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org


I had a red tailed hawk hanging aroung in my yard yesterday perching on the power line and he had a kill under the bushes next door. http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/gentian/birds/hawk3.jpg


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From bernies at uillinois.edu Sun Dec 4 10:43:23 2005


Date: Sun Dec 4 10:44:34 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2851B4F9F@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I saw a kestrel in Meadowbrook earlier this fall.

________________________________

From: birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org on behalf of charlene anchor

Sent: Sun 12/4/2005 9:23 AM

To: Jim & Eleanor Smith; Bird Notes

Subject: Re: [Birdnotes] (no subject)

About 5-6 years ago I saw a KESTREL catch a HOUSE SPARROW at my feeder.

Have never had one around after that, at least that I'm aware of. But do have the COOPER'S feeding regularly, mainly on MOURNING DOVES and an occasional HOUSE SPARROW. Does anyone know if the COOPER'S presence would keep away the KESTREL? I keep reading that the KESTRELS are in decline and maybe that is the reason instead? I don't see as many

KESTRELS as I used to, especially along country roads but maybe that is just a coincidence of timing. Although, come to think of it, I used to see them at Meadowbrook on occasion and haven't for a long time as well.

Charlene Anchor




To: Bird Notes


Hello, Bird,

This morning, a male KESTREL caught a small bird (house sparrow

?) under one feeder, and carried it away with blue jays in pursuit.


Best regards.


2005-12-04

_______________________________________________



From bpalmore at egix.net Sun Dec 4 11:06:18 2005

From: bpalmore at egix.net (Bland Palmore)

Date: Sun Dec 4 11:06:33 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] House Finches

Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.1.20051204110435.01a562f0@mail.egix.net>

They are back! Had 8 at the feeders this morning.

Vermont and Carle, Urbana

From Frank21 at insightbb.com Sun Dec 4 11:34:37 2005


Date: Sun Dec 4 11:34:37 2005


References: <BAY102-DAV128823B843EA7C89F9BF7EC64E0@phx.gbl>

Message-ID: <003601c5f8f9$00451640$6801a8c0@BLACKDELL>

There are so many Red tailel hawks that I almost see them daily flying over. Epecially crossiing 74 between Lincoln and Prospect. Frequently there will be one on top of a light pole near rabbit land. I don't see many rabbits or ground squirrels anymore probably the coyotes get them.

Windsor Road, High cross road, Washington street, Vive street and several apartment buildings near Philo Road but this is the first time

I have seen one at a single residence home. Maybe that is because dumpsters attract rats and mice and are in the open.. Not many mice or snakes sigle houses. I didn't see any for a couple months in late summer but once the crops were harvested I saw them again. They seem to be so well suited to urban environment and they help keep a balance..

Frank Cooper


From: charlene anchor

To: Frank ; Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org


Subject: Re: [Birdnotes] Red tailed hawk

This year for the first time that I know of, we've had a RED-TAILED visit our yard. Three times, a couple of weeks ago, one either flew through our back yard or landed high in our front yard tree. We have an over abundance of squirrels, some young, and I wondered if they could be attracting it? Does that also mean that the RED-TAILS are expanding their range into our neighborhoods?

Charlene Anchor


From: Frank




I had a red tailed hawk hanging aroung in my yard yesterday perching on the power line and he had a kill under the bushes next door.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/gentian/birds/hawk3.jpg


_______________________________________________


Birdnotes@listsprairienet.org

https://mail.prairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

-------

_______________________________________________


Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

https://mail.prairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes

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From rboehmer at mail.millikin.edu Sun Dec 4 13:43:42 2005


Date: Sun Dec 4 13:45:14 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Sharpy

Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20051204134220.043f0ef0@mail.millikin.edu>

This morning, I had an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk in my yard for 5-10 minutes. The feeding birds scattered, of course. It had an interesting feather pattern on its back - there were large white patches all over its back so that it almost appeared checkerboard. At first I thought it might be due to whitewash from another bird, but when it was sitting with its back to me, I could see that that the white feathers created a very symmetrical pattern across its back.

Blue Jays calling drew my attention to the hawk, otherwise I would not have seen it.

Ray

Urbana

From LewsaderBud at aol.com Sun Dec 4 20:39:12 2005

From: LewsaderBud at aol.com (LewsaderBud@aol.com)

Date: Sun Dec 4 20:39:18 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Harrier Hawk

Message-ID: <238.2e3fd44.30c50250@aol.com>

Today, (Sunday) I was driving through Kennekuk Park (Vermilion

County).

I saw a Northern Harrier Hawk flying over the grass lands west of the maintenance garage.

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Date: Sun Dec 4 23:42:34 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Meadowbrook and Forestry

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV169362D6740AB38D251D9EC6410@phx.gbl>

In spite of the unpleasant weather, in late morning I made a quick birding trip. Walked down the west side of Meadowbrook to the south sidewalk, crossed over and returned north on the east side of the

Forestry.

Meadowbrook's birds were: BLUEJAY, CARDINAL (many), DOWNY, ROBIN, CROW,

GOLDFINCH, TREE SPARROWS, HOUSE FINCH, MOURNING DOVE, JUNCO, RED-TAILED

HAWK, Flock of PIGEONS, SONG SPARROW, CAROLINA WREN. Then as I crossed the road at the bridge, there was a large mixed flock of birds feeding on grit along the road - cardinals, tree sparrows, juncos, house finch, goldfinch and one white-throated sparrow - on the Meadowbrook side.

Additional birds seen at the Forestry were: female PURPLE FINCH,

NORTHERN FLICKER, flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS, RED-BELLIED WOOD. Just before leaving I spotted a COOPER'S HAWK (large female) on the ground under one of the small evergreen trees where the SAW-WHET usually roosts in the winter. It had feathers in her beak and was standing on prey which I couldn't see. I'm sure she was aware of me watching as she was very still - me too! After what seemed to be a long time, but was probably only a minute, she flew off away from me with what looked like a cardinal. I searched the ground and found scattered red-tipped gray feathers, a bird leg, and surprisingly only a little blood. This was the closest I've been to a Cooper's Hawk with their kill. Pretty exciting!

Charlene Anchor

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From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Mon Dec 5 15:29:46 2005

From: jwhoyt at prairienet.org (jwhoyt@prairienet.org)

Date: Mon Dec 5 15:29:48 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Large Accipter in west champaign

In-Reply-To: <238.2e3fd44.30c50250@aol.com>

References: <238.2e3fd44.30c50250@aol.com>

Message-ID:

<3175.192.17.100.117.1133818186.squirrel@mail.prairienet.org>

Birders,

I saw what appeared to be a large acciptor with long pointed wings and a lonnggg tail and a white breast.

This was flying south past Wild Birds Incorporated along Country Fair

Drive.

Jim :)

From limey at uiuc.edu Mon Dec 5 22:58:58 2005

From: limey at uiuc.edu (John Buckmaster)

Date: Mon Dec 5 22:59:04 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] wild turkeys

Message-ID: <71c56c5885570c3aa335f9c3fbe604cc@uiuc.edu>

4 wild turkeys seen walking north on the east sidewalk of Race St, just north of Montclair, in Urbana, at 11.30 am, December 5. A few minutes later they crossed Race St, and went under the trees at the edge of the

Orchard Downs area.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

John Buckmaster

Professional address:

Department of Aerospace Engineering

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

104 S Wright St., Urbana IL 61801

217.333.1803 (ph) 217.244.0720 (fax) cell phone: 217.621.9786

Mailing address (personal and professional):

1717 W Kirby Ave, #212., Champaign IL 61821-5507

Urbana residential address:

2014 Boudreau Dr, Urbana IL 61801-5802

217.344.6103

Oregon residential address:

120 Marlboro Ln, Eugene OR 97405-3599

541.342.3172

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Tue Dec 6 02:13:44 2005


Date: Tue Dec 6 02:14:58 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] wild turkeys (no sightings)

In-Reply-To: <71c56c5885570c3aa335f9c3fbe604cc@uiuc.edu>



Birders,

Saw a neat article in the November 22, Wall Street Journal about "wild"

turkeys that are becoming a nuisance.

It seems that turkeys have a pecking order and if they get too used to people they sometimes attack children etc.

Sorry I don't have a link for this.

The main point is that it is not wise to place feed out in your yard for the turkeys and then turn away and sneak back into the house.

The turkeys see this as a form of submission and become more aggressive.

Take care,

Jim :)

On Mon, 5 Dec 2005, John Buckmaster wrote:

> 4 wild turkeys seen walking north on the east sidewalk of Race St, just

> north of Montclair, in Urbana, at 11.30 am, December 5. A few minutes

> later they crossed Race St, and went under the trees at the edge of the

> Orchard Downs area.

>

>

> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

> John Buckmaster

>

> Professional address:

> Department of Aerospace Engineering

> University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

> 104 S Wright St., Urbana IL 61801

> 217.333.1803 (ph) 217.244.0720 (fax)

>

> cell phone: 217.621.9786

>

> Mailing address (personal and professional):

> 1717 W Kirby Ave, #212., Champaign IL 61821-5507

>

> Urbana residential address:

> 2014 Boudreau Dr, Urbana IL 61801-5802

> 217.344.6103

>

> Oregon residential address:

> 120 Marlboro Ln, Eugene OR 97405-3599

> 541.342.3172

>

> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


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Legacy"

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From charleneanchor at msn.com Tue Dec 6 08:19:51 2005


Date: Tue Dec 6 08:14:12 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] wild turkeys (no sightings)

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV30B768031EB8632352D85C6400@phx.gbl>

Jim and others,

You bring up a VERY GOOD POINT!! Wild turkeys, geese, etc. should not be fed. But trying to convince people otherwise is a problematic. I don't know what is further down the line for the turkeys but feeding them is not the solution. The people whose yards they are in should probably be contacting the proper authorities (DNR, Natural History

Survey) about them to find out what the next steps may be and what they should/could be doing. Right now they are still interesting to have around. In the future that most likely won't be the case.

Thanks for bringing that to our attention.

Charlene Anchor


From: James Hoyt

Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 2:15 AM

Cc: birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

Subject: Re: [Birdnotes] wild turkeys (no sightings)

Birders,

Saw a neat article in the November 22, Wall Street Journal about "wild" turkeys that are becoming a nuisance.

It seems that turkeys have a pecking order and if they get too used to people they sometimes attack children etc.

Sorry I don't have a link for this.

The main point is that it is not wise to place feed out in your yard for the turkeys and then turn away and sneak back into the house.

The turkeys see this as a form of submission and become more aggressive.

Take care,

Jim :)

On Mon, 5 Dec 2005, John Buckmaster wrote:

> 4 wild turkeys seen walking north on the east sidewalk of Race St, just

> north of Montclair, in Urbana, at 11.30 am, December 5. A few minutes

> later they crossed Race St, and went under the trees at the edge of the

> Orchard Downs area.

>

>

> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

> John Buckmaster

>

> Professional address:

> Department of Aerospace Engineering

> University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

> 104 S Wright St., Urbana IL 61801

> 217.333.1803 (ph) 217.244.0720 (fax)

>

> cell phone: 217.621.9786

>

> Mailing address (personal and professional):

> 1717 W Kirby Ave, #212., Champaign IL 61821-5507

>

> Urbana residential address:

> 2014 Boudreau Dr, Urbana IL 61801-5802

> 217.344.6103

>

> Oregon residential address:

> 120 Marlboro Ln, Eugene OR 97405-3599

> 541.342.3172

>

> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********


Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

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********

_______________________________________________



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From limey at uiuc.edu Mon Dec 5 14:00:34 2005


Date: Tue Dec 6 08:55:41 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] wild turkeys

Message-ID: <9118580ca80b85b465da62cc4d7ba709@uiuc.edu>

4 wild turkeys seen walking north on the sidewalk of Race St, Urbana, just north of Montclair, at 11.30am December 5. A few minutes later they crossed Race to the Orchard Downs area.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

John Buckmaster

Professional address:

Department of Aerospace Engineering

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

104 S Wright St., Urbana IL 61801

217.333.1803 (ph) 217.244.0720 (fax) cell phone: 217.621.9786

Mailing address (personal and professional):

1717 W Kirby Ave, #212., Champaign IL 61821-5507

Urbana residential address:

2014 Boudreau Dr, Urbana IL 61801-5802

217.344.6103

Oregon residential address:

120 Marlboro Ln, Eugene OR 97405-3599

541.342.3172

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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From limey at uiuc.edu Tue Dec 6 10:06:23 2005


Date: Tue Dec 6 10:06:32 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] on turkeys, wolves, and eagles

Message-ID: <d25da502d0ca3541685461cce9dbae9b@uiuc.edu>

Hi all, apologies are in order. I just joined the list and so was not aware that you all have been discussing turkey sightings for many weeks; and my first mailing was held up, as I was not recognized, and so I sent it again after enrolling, hence the repeat message. Sorry.

I have a home in Eugene, Oregon in addition to one in Urbana, and wandering turkeys in our part of town in Eugene are common. Not surprising, as it is close to the urban growth boundary and beyond the boundary are miles of Douglas Fir/Hemlock forest. But in Urbana? I found the sight of these lovely birds parading along Race St rewarding and exciting.

And I really don't think we need to get alarmed about their presence.

First of all, there are only 4 and it's pretty early to be concerned that one day there might be hundreds. And what if there are? The folks in Eugene don't appear to fear for the safety of their cats or their children. Heavens, the occasional cougar is seen in towns in Oregon

(including Eugene), and the only time I saw anyone get excited about that - and reasonably, of course - was when one was spotted just outside a school grounds

As for wolves, and the alleged sighting in Urbana (I've been going back over past postings), scepticism is obviously in order, but it is well to bear in mind that in October of 03 a dead wolf (shot) was found in northern Indiana, and it is generally believed that it must have wandered down from Wisconsin. If a wolf can make its way around or through Chicago, one could certainly make its way down to Urbana. My understanding is these kinds of wanderings occur along riparian paths which, as any canoeist or kayaker knows, can be remarkably sheltered from human disturbance, even in the midwest.

Finally, eagles. I often kayak on Lake Vermillion, particularly the northern end and up into the N Fork of the river, and for a few years there was a nesting pair of bald eagles up there. The nest was easily seen from the water, but not from any land observation point as far as

I know, although it was only a few hundred yards from the observation tower. But last year a storm destroyed the nest. I was up there quite

a bit this fall, after spending the summer in Oregon, and I typically saw an eagle, but only one at a time, and no sight of any new nest.

Does anyone know if nesting was reestablished?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

John Buckmaster

From gh4444 at insightbb.com Tue Dec 6 10:46:36 2005

From: gh4444 at insightbb.com (g.huguet)

Date: Tue Dec 6 10:51:25 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] feeder birds

Message-ID: <001501c5fa84$a1310aa0$ac23cb0c@insightbb.com>

Today at my feeders I have seen gold finches, house finches, doves, cardinals, juncos, and lots of house sparrows. They are all fun to watch. What are you seeing at your feeders.

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From bernies at uillinois.edu Tue Dec 6 11:11:10 2005


Date: Tue Dec 6 11:11:15 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F285644F9A@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

John Buckmaster said:

"...in October of 03 a dead wolf (shot) was found in northern Indiana, and it is generally believed that it must have wandered down from

Wisconsin."

Actually, there has been a wolf confirmation in Central Illinois, near

Peoria. The wolf was shot by a coyote hunter in Marshall County, who thought he was shooting a large coyote. Here's an excerpt from the

Summer 2003 issue of the newsletter of the Federal Wildlife Officers

Association:

Wolves in Illinois and Indiana?

In January 2003, Agents responded to routine information that a wolf was possibly shot and killed near Peoria, IL. Since wolves were believed to have been extirpated from Illinois and the last confirmed sighting was more than 100 years ago, Agents were shocked when photos of a large canine surfaced that appeared to be of a wolf that had been shot and

killed by a local coyote hunter in Marshall County, IL.

SA Matthew Bryant conducted the investigation and determined that the canine had been shot on 12/29/02 by a hunter who had been searching for this particular animal, noting that the locals had been reportedly seeing a large coyote in the area. SA Bryant recovered the carcass and skull and forwarded the evidence to the National Fish & Wildlife

Forensics Lab for species identification. The hide was recovered and seized from a tannery.

Lab results confirmed that this canine was a 92 lb. gray wolf that did indeed wander into Central Illinois. According to the lab analysis, this wolf was believed to have originated from the Great Lakes population located in Minnesota, Michigan, or Wisconsin. It is uncertain if more wolves exist in Illinois, however, the Service and the Illinois

Department of Natural Resources are planning to take a proactive approach and advise hunters that wolves may be back in Illinois. To date, no charges have been filed in the investigation.

Bernie Sloan

-----Original Message-----

From: birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org

[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of

Buckmaster,

John D


To: birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org


Hi all, apologies are in order. I just joined the list and so was not aware that you all have been discussing turkey sightings for many weeks; and my first mailing was held up, as I was not recognized, and so I sent it again after enrolling, hence the repeat message. Sorry.

I have a home in Eugene, Oregon in addition to one in Urbana, and wandering turkeys in our part of town in Eugene are common. Not surprising, as it is close to the urban growth boundary and beyond the boundary are miles of Douglas Fir/Hemlock forest. But in Urbana? I found the sight of these lovely birds parading along Race St rewarding and exciting.

And I really don't think we need to get alarmed about their presence.

First of all, there are only 4 and it's pretty early to be concerned that one day there might be hundreds. And what if there are? The folks in Eugene don't appear to fear for the safety of their cats or their children. Heavens, the occasional cougar is seen in towns in Oregon

(including Eugene), and the only time I saw anyone get excited about that - and reasonably, of course - was when one was spotted just outside a school grounds

As for wolves, and the alleged sighting in Urbana (I've been going back over past postings), scepticism is obviously in order, but it is well to bear in mind that in October of 03 a dead wolf (shot) was found in northern Indiana, and it is generally believed that it must have wandered down from Wisconsin. If a wolf can make its way around or through Chicago, one could certainly make its way down to Urbana. My understanding is these kinds of wanderings occur along riparian paths which, as any canoeist or kayaker knows, can be remarkably sheltered from human disturbance, even in the midwest.

Finally, eagles. I often kayak on Lake Vermillion, particularly the northern end and up into the N Fork of the river, and for a few years there was a nesting pair of bald eagles up there. The nest was easily seen from the water, but not from any land observation point as far as

I know, although it was only a few hundred yards from the observation tower. But last year a storm destroyed the nest. I was up there quite a bit this fall, after spending the summer in Oregon, and I typically saw an eagle, but only one at a time, and no sight of any new nest.

Does anyone know if nesting was reestablished?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

John Buckmaster

_______________________________________________



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From jbchato at uiuc.edu Tue Dec 6 11:40:07 2005

From: jbchato at uiuc.edu (John & Beth Chato)

Date: Tue Dec 6 11:40:11 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] geese

Message-ID: <861c927c.66840c33.81d2a00@expms1.cites.uiuc.edu>

Birdnoters,

Audubon had a very interesting speaker last Thursday, on the taxonomy of birds. Sounds dry , but was anything but. He demonstrated that our

Canada geese are genetically more closely related to the Nene geese of

Hawaii than to the similar appearing Cackling geese.

If you want to see some goose variations, visit the flock at Crystal

Lake

Park. Our 20 year old Chinese goose is swimming around with several of the hybrid offspring from his mating with a Canada Goose. There are various differing face patterns and body shapes. I wonder if these hybrids are sterile?

Beth

John C. Chato

714 W. Vermont Ave.

Urbana, IL 61801

217-344-6803

From jane_easterly at hotmail.com Tue Dec 6 15:07:27 2005

From: jane_easterly at hotmail.com (Jane Easterly)

Date: Tue Dec 6 15:07:30 2005


In-Reply-To: <001501c5fa84$a1310aa0$ac23cb0c@insightbb.com>

Message-ID: <BAY105-F29A0898D86C0B5C3320A7A91400@phx.gbl>

I am seeing a few goldfinch, house finch, cardinals, mourning doves, and juncos, and twelve thousand and forty-two house sparrows. (Or so.)

>From: "g.huguet" <gh4444@insightbb.com>

>To: <Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org>

>Subject: [Birdnotes] feeder birds

>Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 10:46:36 -0600

>

>Today at my feeders I have seen gold finches, house finches, doves,

>cardinals, juncos, and lots of house sparrows. They are all fun to watch.

>What are you seeing at your feeders.

>_______________________________________________

>Birdnotes mailing list

>Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

>https://mail.prairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes



Date: Tue Dec 6 16:04:20 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F285644FE5@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I watched my feeders a bit this AM before heading to work and there was nothing but squirrels and house sparrows, plus one cardinal. I heard a couple of blue jays calling but didn't see any. Pretty slim pickings.



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Jane

Easterly

Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:07 PM


Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] feeder birds

I am seeing a few goldfinch, house finch, cardinals, mourning doves, and juncos, and twelve thousand and forty-two house sparrows. (Or so.)

>From: "g.huguet" <gh4444@insightbb.com>


>Subject: [Birdnotes] feeder birds

>Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 10:46:36 -0600

>

>Today at my feeders I have seen gold finches, house finches, doves,

>cardinals, juncos, and lots of house sparrows. They are all fun to watch.

>What are you seeing at your feeders.

>_______________________________________________




_______________________________________________



From n9ds_15 at msn.com Tue Dec 6 16:56:23 2005

From: n9ds_15 at msn.com (Duston Suits)

Date: Tue Dec 6 16:56:27 2005


In-Reply-To:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F285644FE5@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

Message-ID: <BAY106-F247607BDD5F0F87DED7737DE400@phx.gbl>

Gold finches, house finches, chickadees, white breasted nuthatch, juncos and an occasional cardinal and a male downy at our place near Loami.

Haven't even seen any tufted titmouses yet either.

Duston Suits

Loami, IL



Date: Tue Dec 6 17:06:48 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F28564500E@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I've seen plenty of tufted titmouses, but over in southern Indiana.



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Duston

Suits



Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] feeder birds

Gold finches, house finches, chickadees, white breasted nuthatch, juncos and

an occasional cardinal and a male downy at our place near Loami.

Haven't even seen any tufted titmouses yet either.

Duston Suits

Loami, IL

_______________________________________________





Date: Tue Dec 6 17:10:24 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Quick chickadee question

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F285645010@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

Which kind of chickadee are we most likely to see in central Illinois?

Black-capped, or Carolina?

In my field guide the ranges seem to overlap right around central

Illinois, and the Black-capped and Carolina look so darned much alike!

:-)

Bernie Sloan

Senior Information Systems Consultant

Consortium of Academic & Research Libraries in Illinois

616 E. Green Street, Suite 213

Champaign, IL 61820-5752

Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454

E-mail: bernies@uillinois.edu

From h-parker at express.cites.uiuc.edu Tue Dec 6 19:09:54 2005


Date: Tue Dec 6 19:09:25 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Chickadees

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051206185725.01ca4a30@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

In answer to the "Which Chickadee?" from B. Sloan, the answer is

"both." Yes, the Carolina and Black-cap ranges meet here in central

Illinois: Both species are present in Busey Woods. To tell them apart, it's best to have them in your binocular field together :) ! This actually can occur there; there is what appears to be a pair with one of each species.

The old range separation, determined by Kendeigh and his students in the

'50s, was that there were black-caps in the Sangamon drainage and

Carolinas in the Wabash drainage. When I moved here in 1964, the ranges really were

reasonably separate and for practical purposes there were no Chickadees at all in C-U. However, the two seem to have each expanded their range a trifle and we now have the overlap. Personally, I wish some ornithology student would re-do the old range study.

(HINT for Kendeigh grant applicants : ))

Telling them apart: the songs are different, although in winter that doesn't help. The bibs are a bit different and especially in winter the black-cap has a lot more white in the wings. As your friendly

Champaign

County Christmas Count compiler, I ask that counters reporting chickadees note why you assign your bird to one species or the other: If I don't get this information, I report them as "chickadee, sp."

--Helen Parker

From bpalmore at egix.net Tue Dec 6 19:21:01 2005


Date: Tue Dec 6 19:21:02 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] feeders

Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.1.20051206191846.019c88e0@mail.egix.net>

I observe birds for the Cornell "Back Yard Feeder Watch" program. Sat. and

Sun. were my days to watch: 8 House Finces, 2 Cardinals, Doves

Mourning

Doves, 11 Juncos, 7 House Sparrows.

From Birderdlt at aol.com Tue Dec 6 19:56:32 2005

From: Birderdlt at aol.com (Birderdlt@aol.com)

Date: Tue Dec 6 19:56:39 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Large Accipter in west champaign

Message-ID: <1d5.49c8f126.30c79b50@aol.com>

I also saw a large accipiter over south Champaign a few days ago.

I thought it might be a Goshawk, but I was driving and was not able to get a good enough look to be sure. It was definitely bigger than the many

Cooper's hawks we have in the area.

David Thomas

Champaign

In a message dated 12/5/2005 3:30:11 PM Central Standard Time, jwhoyt@prairienet.org writes:

Birders,

I saw what appeared to be a large acciptor with long pointed wings and a lonnggg tail and a white breast.

This was flying south past Wild Birds Incorporated along Country Fair

Drive.

Jim :)

_______________________________________________

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From n9ds_15 at msn.com Tue Dec 6 20:25:18 2005


Date: Tue Dec 6 20:25:21 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Re: [B-BIRDS] Quick chickadee question

In-Reply-To:


Message-ID: <BAY0-LC2-017FA40F91B57B4403D701BDE430@phx.gbl>

I'd have to say here in Loami (near Springfield), it's predominantly black capped, although I'm barely more than an amateur birder. I listened to recordings of the songs and I don't recall hearing the Carolina call at all, and I hear the black-capped two note whistle frequently. I'll look more closely at the feeder tomorrow.

Duston Suits

Loami, IL

From smithsje at egix.net Tue Dec 6 20:51:52 2005


Date: Tue Dec 6 20:51:23 2005


Message-ID: <200512070239.jB72dNhv029806@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

Here are our feeder bird notes for Sunday and Monday this week:

House sparrow, 85, Goldfinch 7, Blue jay 4, Cardinal 6, Carolina

Chickadee 2,

Titmouse 2, House finch 31, Dove 19, Red-bellied Woodpecker 1, Redheaded woodpecker 1, Downy 1, Grackle 3, (only two after the Cooper's got one), Cowbird 9, Starling 2, Junco 12, Kestrel 1, White breasted nuthatch, Red-breasted nuthatch 1, Cooper's Hawk 1, Tree sparrow 1,

Crow 3.

Best regards.

Jim & Eleanor Smith

smithsje@egix.net

2005-12-06



Date: Tue Dec 6 21:00:01 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] coyotes and wolves

Message-ID: <200512070248.jB72m1hv030934@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

We are going to add our observations to the coyote/wolf reports.

Many years ago, we saw a very large coyote/wolf/dog or whatever. It did not run like a dog, but like a coyote or wolf. It left footprints in the dust that I was able to measure, which in size, were larger than a coyote, but smaller than a gray wolf, but did comform to the size of a red wolf. I just thought that since neither gray or red wolves are known to be present in Illinois, I though it was a coyote/dog hybrid.

Somewhere, we still have the photos of those footprints with a ruler.

Best regards.


2005-12-06

From spendelo at uiuc.edu Tue Dec 6 21:33:31 2005


Date: Tue Dec 6 21:33:29 2005


In-Reply-To: <6.0.1.1.2.20051206185725.01ca4a30@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

References: <6.0.1.1.2.20051206185725.01ca4a30@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.2.20051206212251.03117c40@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

There was a very interesting discussion of chickadee range in central

Illinois on IBET a year and a half ago, March 24 - 26 2004, still available on the yahoo groups web page, I believe. I can forward the individual emails to anyone who isn't on IBET. I included a very informative email from Doug Stotz below. Long, but definitely worth reading. I generally find the white wing panel to be a good mark of Black-capped, as Helen said, but it can be difficult to identify some birds. Vocalizations are even less safe, since both species have been shown to sing and give calls of the other species in the area where they overlap.

Jacob Spendelow

Champaign

This from Doug Stotz:

The simple answer to chickadees at Clinton Lake is that they should all be

Black-capped Chickadees, as Michael Retter states. If you look at the

Christmas Bird Count from there, in the last 20 years there has never been a Carolina Chickadee. Carolina Chickadees occupy southern Illinois south and east of a line running from Madison County, Bond, Fayette, Shelby,

Moultrie, Champaign, Ford, and Iroquois County. Clinton Lake is about

20 miles northwest of that line. Note that Bohlen's Birds of Illinois gives the northeastern limit as Kankakee Co., but that appears to be in error. All of Kankakee county's and most of Iroquios County's chickadees are Black-capped. Any Carolina Chickadee north of this line should be documented. Note that Chris, besides reporting Carolina Chickadees at

Clinton Lake, reported Black-capped Chickadees at Homer lake in SE

Champaign County. These should be Carolinas there, I think.

In fact the chickadee situation in Illinois is a bit complicated and pretty cool, I think. The main data on chickadees is from Brewer who did his dissertation on Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees focusing on

Illinois in the 1950s. The most detailed publication generally available is in the 1963 Auk Vol. 80, pages 9-47. In terms of the Clinton Lake birds, what Brewer found is that all the birds in the Illinois River drainage, which includes Clinton Lake, are Black-capped. Brewer argues that Carolina chickadees have, since the Ice Age, invaded southern

Illinois from the south, and have replaced Black-capped Chickadees in the drainages that go into the Mississippi south of St. Louis, and the drainages into the

Ohio River. Along the Kaskaskia drainage, this replacement is incomplete, so once you get north of about Vandalia, Black-capped replace

Carolinas.

But farther east in the Wabash drainage (which includes all the various forks of the Vermilion River) it is basically all Carolinas. There have been historical examples of Carolina Chickadees replacing Black-capped

Chickadees in Illinois. One example is along the Embarras R. south of

Champaign, near Philo, where Black-capped were breeding in 1910 (egg set as evidence, Black-capped have larger eggs). Now only Carolinas breed there.

Brewer found that there is a gap of about 15 miles between the breeding range of Black-capped Chickadees and Carolina Chickadees in eastern

Illinois, and a wider area with very few breeding chickadees. Anybody who has birded Kankakee or Iroquois county knows how hard chickadees are to find there. They are around the gap. In part there is little habitat for chickadees in these areas. Clinton Lake is actually well represented by

Black-capped Chickadees. During the winter, Black-cappeds invade the northern edge of the Carolina range to some degree, so you can find the

species together around Champaign, and some of the country in NW

Champaign

County and SW Ford county which seems pretty chickadee-free in summer will have Black-cappeds. Carolinas are much less likely to invade the range of

Black-capped because it is north of the Carolina range. Bohlen lists only four records of Carolina records within Black-capped country. One is a specimen from the Lake Forest (north of Chicago) at the Field Museum.

I have looked at that specimen and it does really look to be a Carolina.

So

Carolina can invade Black-capped county, but people should recognize that even a few miles out of range to the north for Carolina Chickadee is a significant record.

I have spent more time than I care to admit trying to see the northernmost

Carolina Chickadees in the state. They are pretty common just north of the

Champaign county border in SE Ford County southeast of Paxson. West of

Paxson there are areas which drain south into the Vermilion River, so I would expect to have Carolinas. So far I have had no chickadees there.

In

SE Iroqouis County, the Vermilion River just makes it into the county northeast of Hoopeston. I'd expect Carolina Chickadees there, if there were any trees. So far I have not seen any chickadees there. The one good line of trees is on private property with No Trespassing signs. I have seen Black-cappeds farther west around Lake Iroquois on Spring Creek, which is part of the Illinois River basin.

All of the above is based on the debatable proposition that

Carolina and

Black-capped Chickadees are distinct species that can be distinguished.

In

Illinois, there have not been studies done looking at genetic aspects, but both west of us in Missouri and east of us in Virginia/West

Virginia, there is strong evidence of significant hybridization in contact zones. The gap in Illinois may keep this from occurring here. The morphology and genetics of inidividual birds do not correlate well with the song type the birds sing in the contact zone, and some birds give vocalizations characteristic of both species. Away from the contact zones

(which are about 15 to 25 miles wide) birds are genetically, vocally and morphologically pretty much pure. This might suggest that Roger Digges report of a Carolina singing at Clinton Lake could be a Black-capped singing the wrong song, a hybrid (or intergrade) or really a Carolina.

Finally I was interested in Craig Taylor's comment that 3 range maps he looked at would have Clinton Lake in the Carolina range. I looked at

various field guides and would say that Peterson and National

Geographic have it about right, with the line very close to Clinton Lake. Sibley eastern is fine, but the big Sibley erroneously has nearly all of

Illinois in Black-capped, and a big area of overlap with Carolina. I can't say any of the maps I looked at suggested that Clinton Lake was within the

Carolina range.

Doug Stotz

Douglas Stotz

Conservation Ecologist/Ornithologist

Environmental and Conservation Programs

Field Museum of Natural History

1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.

Chicago, IL 60605

From bprice at pdnt.com Tue Dec 6 23:11:08 2005

From: bprice at pdnt.com (Brock Price)

Date: Tue Dec 6 23:11:14 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Feeder notes

Message-ID: <003b01c5faec$a25b5e90$3641fa3f@YOURCD7BB1D575>

Carolina Wren - 2

Cardinal - 5

Blue Jay - 3

Mourning Dove - 3

House Finch - 17

House Sparrow - 175 to 200

Starling - 37

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1

Downy - 1

Junco - 8

I have up to 350 House Sparrows at times. Kind of takes the enjoyment out of feeding at times - not to mention the quanity they can consume.

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Date: Tue Dec 6 23:19:42 2005


Message-ID:


Recent feeder reports from Brock and others, plus my own observations, make me ask: what can we do to reduce the number of house sparrows at feeders?

Bernie Sloan

________________________________


[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Brock

Price


To: Birdnotes


Carolina Wren - 2

Cardinal - 5

Blue Jay - 3

Mourning Dove - 3

House Finch - 17


Starling - 37


Downy - 1

Junco - 8


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From vaiden at isgs.uiuc.edu Wed Dec 7 09:56:50 2005

From: vaiden at isgs.uiuc.edu (Vaiden, Robert)

Date: Wed Dec 7 09:56:51 2005


Message-ID: <2DBE7AB0488C0443A1E1C20EA692D90718A255@zinc.isgs.uiuc.edu>

Appropriate subject title ("feeder birds"...bad pun?) I had a large

Red

Tailed Hawk sitting right behind my garage this morning. It flew as I got into my truck. Keeping station on it was a much smaller dark bird, but with a light colored belly...What might that had been?

Otherwise, Juncos, House Finches, Cardinals, and Sparrows...sometimes a lone Carolina Wren...at the feeders.

Bob :)

From j.courson at mchsi.com Wed Dec 7 10:11:11 2005

From: j.courson at mchsi.com (Jeffrey A. Courson)

Date: Wed Dec 7 10:11:18 2005

Subject: FW: [Birdnotes] Feeder notes

Message-ID:

<mailman.69.1133971878.30029.birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org>

Jeffrey A. Courson

Voice/FAX: 217-586-5110

"Never become too busy...to watch a sunset...enjoy a rainbow...listen to the sounds of nature."

_____

From: Jeffrey A. Courson [mailto:j.courson@mchsi.com]

Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 10:02 AM

To: 'Sloan, Bernie'

Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] Feeder notes

Hello All,

I have found that "sparrows" have a lot to do with what you are feeding.

I only feed black-oil sunflowers, WHOLE peanuts, and Thistle/Nyger.

This seems to reduce my house sparrow population, while I still have other species of sparrow and junco.

.just a note. I have had several Chickadees and Tufted Titmice since early fall frequenting my feeders.as well as all of the others, including

Sharpies and Coops.

Had a flock of Cedar Waxwings this am too.

Jeff

Jeffrey A. Courson

Voice/FAX: 217-586-5110


_____


[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Sloan,

Bernie


To: Brock Price; Birdnotes



Bernie Sloan

_____



Price


To: Birdnotes


Carolina Wren - 2

Cardinal - 5

Blue Jay - 3

Mourning Dove - 3

House Finch - 17


Starling - 37


Downy - 1

Junco - 8


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From bernies at uillinois.edu Wed Dec 7 10:27:12 2005


Date: Wed Dec 7 10:27:20 2005


Message-ID:


Jeff,

I see your point. I have one feeder that gets mobbed by sparrows, and it has mixed seed, mostly white millet. My other feeders (nyger, black sunflower, suet) never seem to have sparrows on them.

Anyone have any suggestions for something else to put in my mixed seed feeder (it's a Yankee hanging feeder that was labeled "mixed seed").

Thanks!

Bernie

________________________________

From: Jeffrey A. Courson [mailto:j.courson@mchsi.com]


To: Sloan, Bernie


Hello All,

I have found that "sparrows" have a lot to do with what you are feeding.

I only feed black-oil sunflowers, WHOLE peanuts, and Thistle/Nyger.

This seems to reduce my house sparrow population, while I still have other species of sparrow and junco.

...just a note... I have had several Chickadees and Tufted Titmice since early fall frequenting my feeders...as well as all of the others, including Sharpies and Coops.

Had a flock of Cedar Waxwings this am too.

Jeff

Jeffrey A. Courson

Voice/FAX: 217-586-5110


________________________________



Bernie


To: Brock Price; Birdnotes



Bernie Sloan

________________________________



Price


To: Birdnotes


Carolina Wren - 2

Cardinal - 5

Blue Jay - 3

Mourning Dove - 3

House Finch - 17


Starling - 37


Downy - 1

Junco - 8


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From birder1949 at yahoo.com Wed Dec 7 11:01:33 2005


Date: Wed Dec 7 11:01:35 2005


In-Reply-To:

<6.0.0.22.2.20051206212251.03117c40@express.cites.uiuc.edu>


As one who helped precipitate that IBET discussion by reporting a

Carolina calling at the extreme east end of Clinton Lake, I concur with

Jacob Spendelow's assessment of that discussion. It was extremely helpful, and sharpened my skills at identifying chickadees (although apparently not at counting turkeys).

Roger Digges

Jacob Spendelow <spendelo@uiuc.edu> wrote:

There was a very interesting discussion of chickadee range in central

Illinois on IBET a year and a half ago, March 24 - 26 2004, still available on the yahoo groups web page, I believe. I can forward the individual emails to anyone who isn't on IBET. I included a very informative email from Doug Stotz below. Long, but definitely worth reading. I generally find the white wing panel to be a good mark of Black-capped, as Helen said, but it can be difficult to identify some birds. Vocalizations are even less safe, since both species have been shown to sing and give calls of the other species in the area where they overlap.

Jacob Spendelow

Champaign

This from Doug Stotz:

The simple answer to chickadees at Clinton Lake is that they should all be

Black-capped Chickadees, as Michael Retter states. If you look at the

Christmas Bird Count from there, in the last 20 years there has never been a Carolina Chickadee. Carolina Chickadees occupy southern Illinois south and east of a line running from Madison County, Bond, Fayette, Shelby,

Moultrie, Champaign, Ford, and Iroquois County. Clinton Lake is about

20 miles northwest of that line. Note that Bohlen's Birds of Illinois gives the northeastern limit as Kankakee Co., but that appears to be in error. All of Kankakee county's and most of Iroquios County's chickadees are Black-capped. Any Carolina Chickadee north of this line should be documented. Note that Chris, besides reporting Carolina Chickadees at

Clinton Lake, reported Black-capped Chickadees at Homer lake in SE

Champaign County. These should be Carolinas there, I think.

In fact the chickadee situation in Illinois is a bit complicated and pretty cool, I think. The main data on chickadees is from Brewer who did his dissertation on Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees focusing on

Illinois in the 1950s. The most detailed publication generally available is in the 1963 Auk Vol. 80, pages 9-47. In terms of the Clinton Lake birds, what Brewer found is that all the birds in the Illinois River drainage, which includes Clinton Lake, are Black-capped. Brewer argues that Carolina chickadees have, since the Ice Age, invaded southern

Illinois from the south, and have replaced Black-capped Chickadees in the drainages that go into the Mississippi south of St. Louis, and the drainages into the

Ohio River. Along the Kaskaskia drainage, this replacement is incomplete, so once you get north of about Vandalia, Black-capped replace

Carolinas.

But farther east in the Wabash drainage (which includes all the various forks of the Vermilion River) it is basically all Carolinas. There have been historical examples of Carolina Chickadees replacing Black-capped

Chickadees in Illinois. One example is along the Embarras R. south of

Champaign, near Philo, where Black-capped were breeding in 1910 (egg set as evidence, Black-capped have larger eggs). Now only Carolinas breed there.

Brewer found that there is a gap of about 15 miles between the breeding range of Black-capped Chickadees and Carolina Chickadees in eastern

Illinois, and a wider area with very few breeding chickadees. Anybody who has birded Kankakee or Iroquois county knows how hard chickadees are to find there. They are around the gap. In part there is little habitat for chickadees in these areas. Clinton Lake is actually well represented by

Black-capped Chickadees. During the winter, Black-cappeds invade the northern edge of the Carolina range to some degree, so you can find the species together around Champaign, and some of the country in NW

Champaign

County and SW Ford county which seems pretty chickadee-free in summer will have Black-cappeds. Carolinas are much less likely to invade the range of

Black-capped because it is north of the Carolina range. Bohlen lists only four records of Carolina records within Black-capped country. One is a specimen from the Lake Forest (north of Chicago) at the Field Museum. I have looked at that specimen and it does really look to be a Carolina.

So

Carolina can invade Black-capped county, but people should recognize that even a few miles out of range to the north for Carolina Chickadee is a significant record.

I have spent more time than I care to admit trying to see the northernmost

Carolina Chickadees in the state. They are pretty common just north of the

Champaign county border in SE Ford County southeast of Paxson. West of

Paxson there are areas which drain south into the Vermilion River, so I would expect to have Carolinas. So far I have had no chickadees there.

In

SE Iroqouis County, the Vermilion River just makes it into the county northeast of Hoopeston. I'd expect Carolina Chickadees there, if there were any trees. So far I have not seen any chickadees there. The one good line of trees is on private property with No Trespassing signs. I have seen Black-cappeds farther west around Lake Iroquois on Spring Creek, which is part of the Illinois River basin.

All of the above is based on the debatable proposition that Carolina and

Black-capped Chickadees are distinct species that can be distinguished.

In

Illinois, there have not been studies done looking at genetic aspects, but both west of us in Missouri and east of us in Virginia/West

Virginia, there is strong evidence of significant hybridization in contact zones. The gap in Illinois may keep this from occurring here. The morphology and genetics of inidividual birds do not correlate well with the song type the birds sing in the contact zone, and some birds give vocalizations characteristic of both species. Away from the contact zones

(which are about 15 to 25 miles wide) birds are genetically, vocally and morphologically pretty much pure. This might suggest that Roger Digges report of a Carolina singing at Clinton Lake could be a Black-capped singing the wrong song, a hybrid (or intergrade) or really a Carolina.

Finally I was interested in Craig Taylor's comment that 3 range maps he looked at would have Clinton Lake in the Carolina range. I looked at various field guides and would say that Peterson and National

Geographic have it about right, with the line very close to Clinton Lake. Sibley eastern is fine, but the big Sibley erroneously has nearly all of

Illinois in Black-capped, and a big area of overlap with Carolina. I can't say any of the maps I looked at suggested that Clinton Lake was within the

Carolina range.

Doug Stotz

Douglas Stotz

Conservation Ecologist/Ornithologist

Environmental and Conservation Programs

Field Museum of Natural History

1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.

Chicago, IL 60605

_______________________________________________



---------------------------------

Yahoo! Shopping

Find Great Deals on Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping

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08756d/attachment-0001.htm

From n9ds_15 at msn.com Wed Dec 7 17:15:08 2005


Date: Wed Dec 7 17:15:09 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Eastern Bluebird

Message-ID: <BAY0-LC1-004F4F08F42A1D023826EA6DE430@phx.gbl>

I was surprised to see one fly in front of my car into town today, but there he was, a male Eastern Blue Bird. The maps show this as right about the furry northern edge of their winter range, but I don't think I've ever seen one this late in the year...especially when it's 0F outside.

Duston Suits

Loami, IL

From charleneanchor at msn.com Wed Dec 7 20:17:05 2005


Date: Wed Dec 7 20:11:21 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Feeding House Sparrows

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV428F873BFB341B1D2B1C9C6420@phx.gbl>

Maybe Champaign's House Sparrows have evolved into a subspecies that eat everything. I have about 1000 of them too. I stopped feeding seed with millet a couple of years back hoping some would leave. Since then they have adjusted to eating thistle (don't even have trouble eating from an upside-down feeder), peanuts, suet, black-oil sunflower and safflower. Their least favorite seems to be black-oil sunflower. So that may be the best thing to try for discouraging them. But don't be surprised if the discouragement doesn't last long.

Charlene Anchor

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30f175/attachment.htm

From avara at uiuc.edu Wed Dec 7 20:21:34 2005

From: avara at uiuc.edu (avara@uiuc.edu)

Date: Wed Dec 7 20:21:41 2005


Message-ID: <ed1e7194.6737a1c0.ab3f000@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu>

I have a feeder at my apartment, and I did not expect ANY birds to come feed at it as it is not ground floor and it is off of my balcony about fifty feet from the nearest tree

(very little cover). Despite this, I put black oil

sunflower seed in and the very first birds to dine were

HOUSE SPARROWS. Later I had a NORTHERN CARDINAL couple, but the point is, HOUSE SPARROWS apparently like black oil sunflower also.

~Mike Avara

From smithsje at egix.net Wed Dec 7 20:53:21 2005


Date: Wed Dec 7 20:49:32 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] bird feed and house sparrows

Message-ID: <200512080237.jB82bTbE021655@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

Eliminate fine small seed like millet and especially cracked corn does help some to reduce house sparrow numbers. However, those are the seeds that native sparrows also like best. Feeding nothing but sunflower seeds does help, but we will just have to put up with house sparrows, or quit feeding. How come we read about house sparrow numbers decling?

Best regards.


2005-12-07

From smithsje at egix.net Wed Dec 7 20:57:39 2005


Date: Wed Dec 7 20:53:49 2005


Message-ID: <200512080241.jB82flbE022354@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

Does anyone have an up-to-date email address for Myrna Deaton? If so, please send it to me. The Clinton Lake CBC is coming up soon.

Best regards.


2005-12-07

From spendelo at uiuc.edu Wed Dec 7 21:14:03 2005


Date: Wed Dec 7 21:14:00 2005


In-Reply-To: <200512080241.jB82flbE022354@outbound-mta.egix.net>

References: <200512080241.jB82flbE022354@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.2.20051207211028.035407e8@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Hi everyone,

A list of Illinois CBCs and compiler info is available here, courtesy of

Urs Geiser:

http://home.xnet.com/~ugeiser/Birds/BirdCounts.html#christmas

I assume the email address provided for Myrna Deaton

(<mailto:mdeaton13@sbcglobal.net>mdeaton13@sbcglobal.net) is valid.

Good birding!

Jacob Spendelow

Champaign

At 08:57 PM 12-7-2005, Jim & Eleanor Smith wrote:

>Hello, Bird,

>

>Does anyone have an up-to-date email address for Myrna Deaton? If so,

>please send it to me. The Clinton Lake CBC is coming up soon.

>

>Best regards.

>

>Jim & Eleanor Smith

>smithsje@egix.net

>2005-12-07

>

>

>_______________________________________________




From jane_easterly at hotmail.com Wed Dec 7 21:13:58 2005

From: jane_easterly at hotmail.com (Jane Easterly)

Date: Wed Dec 7 21:14:02 2005


In-Reply-To: <BAY102-DAV428F873BFB341B1D2B1C9C6420@phx.gbl>

Message-ID: <BAY105-F157ACADF027A0C51C0F44C91420@phx.gbl>

Aside from the nyger I put in my goldfinch feeders, all I put out is black-oil sunflower seeds, and this does not discourage my house sparrows at all. I have a feeder that holds five pounds and they do the bulk of the emptying of it.

I have a nonbirder friend who calls them Toys R Us birds because they do so well in the big letters outside stores. They raise young inside malls on stale popcorn, for Pete's sake! I have to admire their adaptability.

It is too bad we can't export some of them to England where they are in decline. And I have to say, if you really stop to look at them, the males can be quite beautiful.

Jane

>From: "charlene anchor" <charleneanchor@msn.com>


>Subject: [Birdnotes] Feeding House Sparrows

>Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 20:17:05 -0600

>

>Maybe Champaign's House Sparrows have evolved into a subspecies that eat

>everything. I have about 1000 of them too. I stopped feeding seed with

>millet a couple of years back hoping some would leave. Since then they

>have adjusted to eating thistle (don't even have trouble eating from an

>upside-down feeder), peanuts, suet, black-oil sunflower and safflower.

>Their least favorite seems to be black-oil sunflower. So that may be the

>best thing to try for discouraging them. But don't be surprised if the

>discouragement doesn't last long.

>

>Charlene Anchor

>_______________________________________________




From spendelo at uiuc.edu Wed Dec 7 22:47:06 2005


Date: Wed Dec 7 22:46:59 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice

Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.2.20051207223843.0353f488@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Hi everyone,

The existence of a "chickadee-free-zone" has been attributed to some effect of the meeting of Black-capped and Carolina Chickadee range in

Champaign-Urbana and other areas to the SW and NE. Why is it, then, that

Tufted Titmice ares so scarce in town? Any ideas? I rarely, if ever, encounter them away from Busey Woods.

Jacob Spendelow

Champaign

From birder1949 at yahoo.com Thu Dec 8 06:57:12 2005


Date: Thu Dec 8 06:57:16 2005


In-Reply-To: <BAY0-LC1-004F4F08F42A1D023826EA6DE430@phx.gbl>


I have seen Eastern Bluebirds at Allerton in 10 below weather in January(although, I have to admit, they didn't look too happy), and they have overwintered in some of the deeper woods around Clinton Lake for two out of the last three years.

Roger Digges

--- Duston Suits <n9ds_15@msn.com> wrote:

> I was surprised to see one fly in front of my car

> into town today, but there

> he was, a male Eastern Blue Bird. The maps show

> this as right about the

> furry northern edge of their winter range, but I

> don't think I've ever seen

> one this late in the year...especially when it's 0F

> outside.

>

> Duston Suits

> Loami, IL

>

>

> _______________________________________________

> Birdnotes mailing list

> Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

> https://mail.prairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes

>

__________________________________________________

Do You Yahoo!?

Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

From lambeth at ad.uiuc.edu Thu Dec 8 08:32:17 2005

From: lambeth at ad.uiuc.edu (Gregory S Lambeth)

Date: Thu Dec 8 08:32:20 2005


Message-ID:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01CD02D7@odosmail.ad.uiuc.edu>

I believe that Chickadees, Titmice and White-breasted Nuthatches are largely absent from Champaign-Urbana because there is no significant river system running through town. A river system brings with it a woodland cooridor with trees for breeding. We have some of that with the Salt Fork and that's where the majority of our small populations exist. If more birds were to come into town, they would need to traverse about 10 miles of open fields to get here from Mahomet or Lake of the Woods. I doubt that happens very often. I suspect that most of our birds wander up the Salt Fork from the Homer Lake area, but that's just a guess.

I'd love to have a stable population of these species in town and I'm not convinced it couldn't happen with a little assistance. I've always wanted to mist net a couple dozen Chickadees, Titmice and Whitebreasted Nuthatches and "introduce" them into Champaign and Urbana.

I'm not saying this is legal -- it's just a wish, not a plan.

Greg Lambeth



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org]On Behalf Of Jacob

Spendelow

Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 10:47 PM

To: birdnotes@prairienet.org


Hi everyone,




Jacob Spendelow

Champaign

_______________________________________________



From n9ds_15 at msn.com Thu Dec 8 08:46:46 2005


Date: Thu Dec 8 08:46:49 2005


In-Reply-To:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01CD02D7@odosmail.ad.uiuc.edu>

Message-ID: <BAY106-F3113A819F52A2ADDB374D5DE420@phx.gbl>

I live out on the prairie 25 miles or more from a river (although there is a small creek with trees around it 1/2 mile away across the road) and all three birds are regulars at my feeders. I would have thought C-U had enough cover for them? Or is what I have more than what you do?

Duston Suits

Loami, IL

>From: "Gregory S Lambeth" <lambeth@ad.uiuc.edu>

>To: "Jacob Spendelow" <spendelo@uiuc.edu>,<birdnotes@prairienet.org>

>Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice

>Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 08:32:17 -0600

>

>I believe that Chickadees, Titmice and White-breasted Nuthatches are

>largely absent from Champaign-Urbana because there is no significant river

>system running through town. A river system brings with it a woodland

>cooridor with trees for breeding. We have some of that with the Salt

Fork

>and that's where the majority of our small populations exist. If more

>birds were to come into town, they would need to traverse about 10 miles of

>open fields to get here from Mahomet or Lake of the Woods. I doubt that

>happens very often. I suspect that most of our birds wander up the

Salt

>Fork from the Homer Lake area, but that's just a guess.

>

>I'd love to have a stable population of these species in town and I'm not

>convinced it couldn't happen with a little assistance. I've always wanted

>to mist net a couple dozen Chickadees, Titmice and White-breasted

>Nuthatches and "introduce" them into Champaign and Urbana. I'm not saying

>this is legal -- it's just a wish, not a plan.

>

>Greg Lambeth

>

>

>-----Original Message-----

>From: birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org

>[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org]On Behalf Of Jacob

>Spendelow

>Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 10:47 PM

>To: birdnotes@prairienet.org

>Subject: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice

>

>

>Hi everyone,

>The existence of a "chickadee-free-zone" has been attributed to some effect

>of the meeting of Black-capped and Carolina Chickadee range in

>Champaign-Urbana and other areas to the SW and NE. Why is it, then, that

>Tufted Titmice ares so scarce in town? Any ideas? I rarely, if ever,

>encounter them away from Busey Woods.

>Jacob Spendelow

>Champaign

>

>_______________________________________________




>_______________________________________________




From vaiden at isgs.uiuc.edu Thu Dec 8 08:46:58 2005


Date: Thu Dec 8 08:46:58 2005



About 15 years ago, around December 10, I conducted a geologic survey along the floodplain of Kickapoo Creek near Lincoln in Logan County. I had a good look at 2 Bluebirds that flew right by me. I don't precisely recall the weather that year, but it had to be relatively mild at the

time (or I wouldn't have been out doing the survey!). I still remember this encounter because of the lateness of the season, because of the striking impression the birds made (everything was brown and cold...they were brilliant blue!), and because it's the closest sighting I've ever had of bluebirds (they were just feet away).

Bob :)

________________________________________________________



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Duston

Suits




I was surprised to see one fly in front of my car into town today, but there he was, a male Eastern Blue Bird. The maps show this as right about the furry northern edge of their winter range, but I don't think I've ever seen one this late in the year...especially when it's 0F outside.

Duston Suits

Loami, IL

_______________________________________________





Date: Thu Dec 8 08:59:16 2005


Message-ID:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01CD02DB@odosmail.ad.uiuc.edu>

Duston:

This is very interesting to me -- thanks for your comments. The mystery thickens.

Greg


From: Duston Suits [mailto:n9ds_15@msn.com]

Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 8:47 AM

To: Gregory S Lambeth; Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice

I live out on the prairie 25 miles or more from a river (although there is a small creek with trees around it 1/2 mile away across the road) and all three birds are regulars at my feeders. I would have thought C-U had enough cover for them? Or is what I have more than what you do?

Duston Suits

Loami, IL

>From: "Gregory S Lambeth" <lambeth@ad.uiuc.edu>

>To: "Jacob Spendelow" <spendelo@uiuc.edu>,<birdnotes@prairienet.org>

>Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice

>Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 08:32:17 -0600

>

>I believe that Chickadees, Titmice and White-breasted Nuthatches are

>largely absent from Champaign-Urbana because there is no significant river

>system running through town. A river system brings with it a woodland

>cooridor with trees for breeding. We have some of that with the Salt

Fork

>and that's where the majority of our small populations exist. If more

>birds were to come into town, they would need to traverse about 10 miles of

>open fields to get here from Mahomet or Lake of the Woods. I doubt that

>happens very often. I suspect that most of our birds wander up the

Salt

>Fork from the Homer Lake area, but that's just a guess.

>

>I'd love to have a stable population of these species in town and I'm not

>convinced it couldn't happen with a little assistance. I've always wanted

>to mist net a couple dozen Chickadees, Titmice and White-breasted

>Nuthatches and "introduce" them into Champaign and Urbana. I'm not saying

>this is legal -- it's just a wish, not a plan.

>

>Greg Lambeth

>

>

>-----Original Message-----

>From: birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org

>[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org]On Behalf Of Jacob

>Spendelow

>Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 10:47 PM


>Subject: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice

>

>

>Hi everyone,

>The existence of a "chickadee-free-zone" has been attributed to some effect

>of the meeting of Black-capped and Carolina Chickadee range in

>Champaign-Urbana and other areas to the SW and NE. Why is it, then, that

>Tufted Titmice ares so scarce in town? Any ideas? I rarely, if ever,

>encounter them away from Busey Woods.

>Jacob Spendelow

>Champaign

>

>_______________________________________________




>_______________________________________________




From charleneanchor at msn.com Thu Dec 8 09:30:49 2005


Date: Thu Dec 8 09:25:05 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] House Sparrows

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV17E636F18656D23C1C0DEDC6420@phx.gbl>

>From what I've read the HOUSE SPARROW is one of our most adaptable birds. As a result it is also one of the most intensely studied. Some things I've learned is that, although we think of them as English birds they are native to Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia, Africa, India and

Burma. They have done well where they have been introduced into South

America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In North America, 50 pair were introduced in 1853 and their numbers increased to 150,000,000 by

1943!! According to the Breeding Bird Survey done between 1966-1987 a decline was seen. This has been attributed to the change in farming practices to larger farms and monoculture crops. But I have not found anything, so far, about current population numbers. Since many large farms are now being sold and developers are taking over in so many areas, maybe their numbers are increasing again as we build more houses? One has to admire their adaptability, but since they take over nesting sites from our native species, I shudder to think that they could be increasing. But maybe they aren't really - it may only seem that way in town. Some studies indicate that they become of breeding age between 4-6 months and they can have 4 broods/yr! When they are taking over native cavities that has to harm our native population numbers. One thing that doesn't help is unmonitored nesting boxes, or boxes which only attract house sparrows. These become House Sparrow reproduction factories.

I suspect that they eat what is available. If all that is around is black-oil, that's what they'll eat even if it's not their favorite.

I've considered not feeding the birds but I haven't quite reached that point yet. If one has reasonable numbers that seems ok. But my numbers are beyond reason.

Charlene Anchor

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Date: Thu Dec 8 09:44:11 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV14816699011384CEDDA795C6420@phx.gbl>

What I saw this summer agrees with Greg's observations about the river corridors. The river winds through Lake of the Woods and that is where

I saw Titmice feeding fledglings, not far from the river. But I only saw that once. Since nesting cavities are necessary, I think that the

House Sparrows, in areas away from woods and rivers, would make it difficult for them. There are fewer House Sparrows in certain areas of the Conservation Area in Mahomet, but they are still there. In 2003 one nest box had a titmouse nest and eggs. The next week it was built over by a House Sparrow. Even if they could "come to town", maybe the

HOSP competition would make it near impossible around here. It would be interesting to know if there are any towns where the titmice nest and what the population correlation is between the HOSP and the titmice.

Charlene Anchor

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91afde/attachment.htm



Date: Thu Dec 8 09:54:52 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F28564511E@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

Greg mentioned "trees for breeding". Champaign-Urbana isn't exactly a treeless prairie. There are parts of Urbana east of the UI campus, for example, that look like nothing but forest if you can get an elevated view.



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Gregory S

Lambeth


To: Jacob Spendelow; birdnotes@prairienet.org


I believe that Chickadees, Titmice and White-breasted Nuthatches are largely absent from Champaign-Urbana because there is no significant river system running through town. A river system brings with it a woodland cooridor with trees for breeding. We have some of that with the Salt Fork and that's where the majority of our small populations exist. If more birds were to come into town, they would need to traverse about 10 miles of open fields to get here from Mahomet or Lake of the Woods. I doubt that happens very often. I suspect that most of

our birds wander up the Salt Fork from the Homer Lake area, but that's just a guess.

I'd love to have a stable population of these species in town and I'm not convinced it couldn't happen with a little assistance. I've always wanted to mist net a couple dozen Chickadees, Titmice and Whitebreasted

Nuthatches and "introduce" them into Champaign and Urbana. I'm not saying this is legal -- it's just a wish, not a plan.

Greg Lambeth




Spendelow




Hi everyone,




Jacob Spendelow

Champaign

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________





Date: Thu Dec 8 10:09:55 2005


Message-ID:


I've read before that the decline of house sparrow populations could also be tied to the rise of the automobile. As time passed, fewer people kept horses in small outbuildings in town (which I guess was good sparrow habitat).

One thing I've noticed is that sparrows don't seem to do well in natural habitats. Once you get away from the buildings you very rarely see house sparrows on the Meadowbrook prairie. I also hike a lot in Southern

Indiana, and you almost never see them once you get away from parking lots, etc.

As for their dietary likes and dislikes, I observed something interesting this AM. I mentioned I have a feeder with a mix that is mostly white millet. Hanging right next to it is a feeder with black oil sunflower. Three or four sparrows were aggressively fighting over perches on the mixed seed feeder. Every once in a while a displaced sparrow would land on the sunflower feeder and eat maybe one seed. As soon as it saw an opening at the other feeder it would zip back over.

You mentioned that your numbers are beyond reason. How many sparrows are you talking about?

________________________________


[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of charlene anchor






America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In North America, 50 pair were introduced in 1853 and their numbers increased to 150,000,000 by

1943!! According to the Breeding Bird Survey done between 1966-1987 a decline was seen. This has been attributed to the change in farming practices to larger farms and monoculture crops. But I have not found anything, so far, about current population numbers. Since many large farms are now being sold and developers are taking over in so many areas, maybe their numbers are increasing again as we build more houses?

One has to admire their adaptability, but since they take over nesting sites from our native species, I shudder to think that they could be increasing. But maybe they aren't really - it may only seem that way in

town. Some studies indicate that they become of breeding age between 4-

6 months and they can have 4 broods/yr! When they are taking over native cavities that has to harm our native population numbers. One thing that doesn't help is unmonitored nesting boxes, or boxes which only attract house sparrows. These become House Sparrow reproduction factories.



Charlene Anchor

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URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051208/bc

3dbc7e/attachment-0001.htm



Date: Thu Dec 8 10:13:06 2005



I've lived out on E. Main for 20 years, and I've only had chickadees once or twice in that entire time (it can't be much more than a mile...as the Chickadee flies...from Busey Woods to my house...is an occasional visit too much to ask?) I don't think I've ever seen a

Titmouse there :(

Today at the yard...Goldfinches, Juncos, White Throated Sparrows,

Carolina Wren, House Finches, M. Doves, Cardinals, and...of course...a few House Sparrows. I don't have enormous numbers of House

Sparrows...maybe all the squirrels eat them :)

Bob

_______________________________________________________________________

_

___




Bernie




Greg mentioned "trees for breeding". Champaign-Urbana isn't exactly a

treeless prairie. There are parts of Urbana east of the UI campus, for example, that look like nothing but forest if you can get an elevated view.




Lambeth







Greg Lambeth




Spendelow




Hi everyone,




Jacob Spendelow

Champaign

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________





Date: Thu Dec 8 10:22:51 2005


Message-ID:


I'll have to admit I've NEVER seen a titmouse in C-U.

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I've never seen one anywhere until just a few months ago. I started spending a lot of time in Bloomington,

IN, and there are a lot of good hiking trails near town. Indiana

University has a huge forestry research plot in a very rugged area

(there's a 120 foot elevation change on one trail in just a very short distance on one trail). I was walking along and heard some agitated small birds looking into a big knothole in a tree. I checked them out with my binoculars. I knew right away they were tufted titmice, and I was pretty sure I'd never seen one before. I checked my old reliable checklist and sure enough I'd never seen one before.



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Vaiden,

Robert




I've lived out on E. Main for 20 years, and I've only had chickadees once or twice in that entire time (it can't be much more than a mile...as the Chickadee flies...from Busey Woods to my house...is an occasional visit too much to ask?) I don't think I've ever seen a

Titmouse there :(

Today at the yard...Goldfinches, Juncos, White Throated Sparrows,

Carolina Wren, House Finches, M. Doves, Cardinals, and...of course...a few House Sparrows. I don't have enormous numbers of House

Sparrows...maybe all the squirrels eat them :)

Bob

_______________________________________________________________________

_

___




Bernie




Greg mentioned "trees for breeding". Champaign-Urbana isn't exactly a treeless prairie. There are parts of Urbana east of the UI campus, for example, that look like nothing but forest if you can get an elevated view.




Lambeth







Greg Lambeth




Spendelow




Hi everyone,




Jacob Spendelow

Champaign

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________



From j.courson at mchsi.com Thu Dec 8 10:25:57 2005

From: j.courson at mchsi.com (j.courson@mchsi.com)

Date: Thu Dec 8 10:26:02 2005

Subject: FW: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice

Message-ID:

<120820051625.29729.43985E95000CEB4100007421219792474102019C9D9A010CD20

6@mchsi.com>

Charlene and Others,

I have had Chickadees and TM nest in boxes within Mahomet.

One in the middle of an open yard, on a post....? Never should have happened.

Jeff

--

Jeffrey A. Courson

"Never become too busy to...watch a sunset...enjoy a rainbow

...listen to the sounds of nature."

---------------------- Forwarded Message: ---------------------

From: "charlene anchor" <charleneanchor@msn.com>

To: <Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org>


Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 15:44:46 +0000

_______________________________________________



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Date: Thu Dec 8 11:07:16 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Ground feeding?

Message-ID:


Just wondering how many people also do ground feeding, i.e., spreading bird feed on the ground?

I've always done it, except for one house where I used the garage roof

(several windows looked right out on it). :-)

I do it for a number of reasons:

1. I have sort of an unofficial pact with the squirrels...I put feed on the ground...they stay away from my feeders.

2. It attracts a number of species that don't come to my feeders...mourning doves, juncos, white throated sparrows, the occasional crow, etc. One year when I lived off of East Washington in

Urbana I even had a couple of pheasants as regular visitors.

3. It attracts rabbits at night. On a cold night with snow cover I can regularly see the profiles of four or five rabbits.

4. It also feeds the occasional carnivorous bird. I've seen quite a few instances of a Cooper's nabbing a dove. One time I saw a very large hawk attempt (unsuccessfully) to nab a small squirrel. And a couple of times

I've watched owls try to grab mice off of the snow (couldn't tell whether they were successful...it was kinda dark). Once (a couple of years ago) my ground feeding provided a meal for a probable coyote. I heard a loud rabbit distress squeal about 3AM. By the time I looked out the window I couldn't see anything. But when I checked out the yard in the AM there were signs of a small struggle, a few tufts of rabbit fur, a few drops of blood on the snow. And what were most probably coyote tracks leading to and from the spot.

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454




Date: Thu Dec 8 11:33:25 2005


Message-ID: <2DBE7AB0488C0443A1E1C20EA692D90718A25A@zinc.isgs.uiuc.edu>

I've always scattered ground seed widely...it does somewhat keep squirrels off the feeders, and Juncos and White Throated Sparrows never come to my feeders...just feed off the ground. It also attracts

'possums and raccoons :)

Predators do stop by...I've had a sharp shinned snatch a House Sparrow, a Coopers grab a squirrel, and a Red Tail try to fly off with a Rabbit

(he dropped it from about 15 feet up!). A Mourning Dove exploded in mid-air (well...that's what it looked like) just over the feeder one

January...Coopers Hawk again. Finding a pile of gray Mourning Dove feathers in my back evergreens (where the Coopers sometimes roost) is not uncommon.

Once (in spring) I was nearly hit by a Robin with a Kestral right on its tail...the birds passed 2 or 3 feet to either side of my head :)

Bob

_______________________________________________________________________

_

___




Bernie












4. It also feeds the occasional carnivorous bird. I've seen quite a few

instances of a Cooper's nabbing a dove. One time I saw a very large hawk attempt (unsuccessfully) to nab a small squirrel. And a couple of times


Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


_______________________________________________





Date: Thu Dec 8 11:40:30 2005


Message-ID:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01CD02E0@odosmail.ad.uiuc.edu>

Bernie:

I have always done ground feeding in addition to hanging feeders, but I only use pure millett on the ground (available at Wild Birds and, I think, through Champaign County Audubon). I like ground feeding because it's attractive to Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Mourning

Doves and Cardinals. When I get more unusual species like Lincoln's or

Tree Sparrows, they are almost always feeding on the ground. I use millett because the squirrels don't really like it so it keeps their numbers down.

Greg



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org]On Behalf Of Sloan,

Bernie












4. It also feeds the occasional carnivorous bird. I've seen quite a few instances of a Cooper's nabbing a dove. One time I saw a very large hawk attempt (unsuccessfully) to nab a small squirrel. And a couple of times


Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


_______________________________________________



From malcolms at life.uiuc.edu Thu Dec 8 13:25:52 2005

From: malcolms at life.uiuc.edu (Malcolm L. Sargent)

Date: Thu Dec 8 13:25:58 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Northern goshawk

Message-ID: <p06210202bfbe385613a0@[10.0.1.30]>

Northern goshawk chasing birds at feeders SE of Kinch-Vermont intersection in Urbana ~1330 - squirrel hassling it in turn.

--

Malcolm L. Sargent

2011 E. Vermont

Urbana IL 61802

217-367-9830 (Home)

217-333-0287 (Office)

From Birderdlt at aol.com Thu Dec 8 17:23:22 2005


Date: Thu Dec 8 17:23:33 2005


Message-ID: <25b.326d681.30ca1a6a@aol.com>

I have seen White-breasted Nuthatches in UI Forestry this fall - I think for about the first time in about 20 years. And I saw my first Tufted

Titmouse in Meadowbrook last spring. So, who knows.

David Thomas

Champaign

In a message dated 12/8/2005 8:32:41 AM Central Standard Time, lambeth@ad.uiuc.edu writes:

I believe that Chickadees, Titmice and White-breasted Nuthatches are largely absent from Champaign-Urbana because there is no significant river system running through town. A river system brings with it a woodland cooridor with trees for breeding. We have some of that with the Salt Fork and that's where the majority of our small populations exist. If more birds were to come into town, they would need to traverse about 10 miles of open fields to get here from

Mahomet or Lake of the Woods. I doubt that happens very often. I suspect that most of our birds wander up the Salt Fork from the Homer Lake area, but that's just a guess.

-------------- next part --------------






Date: Thu Dec 8 17:34:49 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856451A0@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

When my two sons were small (20-25 years ago) I would regularly see

White-breasted Nuthatches along Oregon Street, a couple of blocks east of Vine in Urbana.

Bernie Sloan

________________________________



Birderdlt@aol.com

Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 5:23 PM

To: lambeth@ad.uiuc.edu; spendelo@uiuc.edu; birdnotes@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice

I have seen White-breasted Nuthatches in UI Forestry this fall - I think for about the first time in about 20 years. And I saw my first

Tufted Titmouse in Meadowbrook last spring. So, who knows.

David Thomas

Champaign



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5b06cf/attachment.htm



Date: Thu Dec 8 19:48:00 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] more ground feeding

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV17A83B1E5973D3B6431210C6450@phx.gbl>

After my discussion of not feeding millet, I went out and bought a bag of mixed seed today to spread on the ground for the other sparrows besides the HOUSE. I had gone out to renew the water and saw a YELLOW-

BELLIED SAPSUCKER sitting on the birdbath edge. It stayed for a long time and kept drinking and I thought shivering. But maybe that was my imagination, or maybe it was me shivering. Anyway, I was feeling bad so I bought new suet and seed. With this weather, backyards may be interesting. One bad winter I had mallards land drop by in my city yard a couple of times although I never understood what they were doing there.

Charlene Anchor

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From jbchato at uiuc.edu Thu Dec 8 20:09:37 2005


Date: Thu Dec 8 20:09:41 2005


Message-ID: <df983569.67ba5b8d.81d2900@expms1.cites.uiuc.edu>

Birdnoters.

I haven't read all my e-mail yet but I don't see any mention of the chickadee situation in Urbana's Busey Woods. We have both

Black-capped and Carolina , at least one mixed pair with hybrid offspring.

This has been going on for some years. Some of the vocalizations are very strange, others are typical of each species. The individual birds are very hard to pin down to species. This would be a good study for someone.

Lake of the Woods has Black-capped, Homer and the other County

Preserves have Carolina to the best of my knowledge. The newly published Breeding Bird Atlas for Illinois shows Urbana right at the meeting point of the two species.

Beth

John C. Chato

714 W. Vermont Ave.

Urbana, IL 61801

217-344-6803



Date: Thu Dec 8 20:16:39 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV4BF4FC214FDD03448BD98C6450@phx.gbl>

I would estimate at least, and probably more than, 300+ HOUSE SPARROWS around my house. I have a feeder in front and more in back so they are spread out. I think I could discourage their numbers if I removed all the evergreen shrubs and other shrubs around my house. That's where many roost. It's only a short distance to the feeders and water and

then back to the shrubs. Two years ago I removed a large brush pile from my yard. Then they were even closer to the feeders and water.

Instead of leaving the yard like I hoped, they moved closer to my house. When I first started feeding years ago I had a greater variety of birds in my yard. Now HOSP predominates. Time to quit? Or maybe I should move?

In rethinking the titmouse, it could be that starlings may be a bigger problem for them than the HOSP. The starlings are so aggressive in taking over cavities and we certainly have a few around here. I've seen the starlings ousting woodpeckers.

Charlene Anchor


From: Sloan, Bernie



Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] House Sparrows

I?ve read before that the decline of house sparrow populations could also be tied to the rise of the automobile. As time passed, fewer people kept horses in small outbuildings in town (which I guess was good sparrow habitat).

One thing I?ve noticed is that sparrows don?t seem to do well in natural habitats. Once you get away from the buildings you very rarely see house sparrows on the Meadowbrook prairie. I also hike a lot in

Southern Indiana, and you almost never see them once you get away from parking lots, etc.



From: birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org [mailto:birdnotesbounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of charlene anchor






America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In North America, 50 pair

were introduced in 1853 and their numbers increased to 150,000,000 by

1943!! According to the Breeding Bird Survey done between 1966-1987 a decline was seen. This has been attributed to the change in farming practices to larger farms and monoculture crops. But I have not found anything, so far, about current population numbers. Since many large farms are now being sold and developers are taking over in so many areas, maybe their numbers are increasing again as we build more houses? One has to admire their adaptability, but since they take over nesting sites from our native species, I shudder to think that they could be increasing. But maybe they aren't really - it may only seem that way in town. Some studies indicate that they become of breeding age between 4-6 months and they can have 4 broods/yr! When they are taking over native cavities that has to harm our native population numbers. One thing that doesn't help is unmonitored nesting boxes, or boxes which only attract house sparrows. These become House Sparrow reproduction factories.



Charlene Anchor

_______________________________________________



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URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051208/bf

16aa41/attachment-0001.htm



Date: Thu Dec 8 20:31:47 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856451B5@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

300+? Wow! I think maybe 20 is a lot!!!

I think maybe you also need to check out your neighborhood and see what else might be conducive to house sparrows. I don't think it's entirely based on what you are doing...

________________________________

From: charlene anchor [mailto:charleneanchor@msn.com]


To: Sloan, Bernie; Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

Subject: Re: [Birdnotes] House Sparrows

I would estimate at least, and probably more than, 300+ HOUSE SPARROWS around my house. I have a feeder in front and more in back so they are spread out. I think I could discourage their numbers if I removed all the evergreen shrubs and other shrubs around my house. That's where many roost. It's only a short distance to the feeders and water and then back to the shrubs. Two years ago I removed a large brush pile from my yard. Then they were even closer to the feeders and water. Instead of leaving the yard like I hoped, they moved closer to my house. When

I first started feeding years ago I had a greater variety of birds in my yard. Now HOSP predominates. Time to quit? Or maybe I should move?

In rethinking the titmouse, it could be that starlings may be a bigger problem for them than the HOSP. The starlings are so aggressive in taking over cavities and we certainly have a few around here. I've seen the starlings ousting woodpeckers.

Charlene Anchor


From: Sloan, Bernie



Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] House Sparrows

I've read before that the decline of house sparrow populations could also be tied to the rise of the automobile. As time passed, fewer people kept horses in small outbuildings in town (which I guess was good sparrow habitat).

One thing I've noticed is that sparrows don't seem to do well in natural habitats. Once you get away from the buildings you very rarely see house sparrows on the Meadowbrook prairie. I also hike a lot in

Southern Indiana, and you almost never see them once you get away from parking lots, etc.



________________________________






From what I've read the HOUSE SPARROW is one of our most adaptable birds. As a result it is also one of the most intensely studied. Some things I've learned is that, although we think of them as

English birds they are native to Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia, Africa,

India and Burma. They have done well where they have been introduced into South America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In North

America, 50 pair were introduced in 1853 and their numbers increased to

150,000,000 by 1943!! According to the Breeding Bird Survey done between 1966-1987 a decline was seen. This has been attributed to the change in farming practices to larger farms and monoculture crops. But

I have not found anything, so far, about current population numbers.

Since many large farms are now being sold and developers are taking over in so many areas, maybe their numbers are increasing again as we build more houses? One has to admire their adaptability, but since they take over nesting sites from our native species, I shudder to think that they could be increasing. But maybe they aren't really - it may only seem that way in town. Some studies indicate that they become of breeding age between 4-6 months and they can have 4 broods/yr! When they are taking over native cavities that has to harm our native population numbers.

One thing that doesn't help is unmonitored nesting boxes, or boxes which only attract house sparrows. These become House Sparrow reproduction factories.

I suspect that they eat what is available. If all that is around is black-oil, that's what they'll eat even if it's not their favorite. I've considered not feeding the birds but I haven't quite reached that point yet. If one has reasonable numbers that seems ok.

But my numbers are beyond reason.

Charlene Anchor

_______________________________________________



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From smithsje at egix.net Thu Dec 8 20:49:06 2005


Date: Thu Dec 8 20:48:40 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] ground feeding

Message-ID: <200512090236.jB92aabE028826@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

We don't usually feed on the ground, except when there is snow cover.

Plenty of feed is spilled on the ground under the feeders for ground feeders. We live trap raccoons, opossums and skunks and either eliminate or transport critters elsewhere, except skunks which are released from a safe distance. 'coons will wreck havoc with tube feeders if given a chance. Rabbits, mice, chipmunks and rats are ever present, but provide food for hawks and owls.

Best regards.


2005-12-08



Date: Thu Dec 8 22:03:53 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Re: Busey Woods Chickadees and Titmouse

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV3B8DFEC93B9DCA3D54C51C6450@phx.gbl>

Beth mentioned the unusual situation we have at Busey Woods. It seems like it would be a good study and close to home. Maybe there could be another....

Been sitting here tonight reading about the titmouse. They haven't been studied as much as many other species so some of the questions asked by

Birdnoters don't have a definitive answer and some are potential areas for study. But regarding the chickadees and titmouse.... Titmice are

dominant to the Chickadee so when there are more Titmice there are less

Chickadees. They are both at Busey (and our other forest preserves) I wonder if there are ever population fluctuations between them at Busey.

It would be nice to have a serious study done in our area.

Charlene Anchor


From: John & Beth Chato


To: Birdnotes


Birdnoters.

I haven't read all my e-mail yet but I don't see any mention of the chickadee situation in Urbana's Busey Woods. We have both

Black-capped and Carolina , at least one mixed pair with hybrid offspring.

This has been going on for some years. Some of the vocalizations are very strange, others are typical of each species. The individual birds are very hard to pin down to species. This would be a good study for someone.

Lake of the Woods has Black-capped, Homer and the other County

Preserves have Carolina to the best of my knowledge. The newly published Breeding Bird Atlas for Illinois shows Urbana right at the meeting point of the two species.

Beth

John C. Chato

714 W. Vermont Ave.

Urbana, IL 61801

217-344-6803

_______________________________________________



-------------- next part --------------


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9ef9c4/attachment-0001.htm



Date: Thu Dec 8 22:04:40 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV1B0CCED6D4EA89BF8BFB1C6450@phx.gbl>

Jeff,

And what was the result?

Charlene


From: j.courson@mchsi.com



Subject: FW: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice

Charlene and Others,

I have had Chickadees and TM nest in boxes within Mahomet.

One in the middle of an open yard, on a post....? Never should have happened.

Jeff

--

Jeffrey A. Courson

"Never become too busy to...watch a sunset...enjoy a rainbow

..listen to the sounds of nature."

---------------------- Forwarded Message: ---------------------


To: <Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org>


Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 15:44:46 +0000

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________



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6c8b7e/attachment.htm

From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Fri Dec 9 01:54:03 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 01:54:05 2005


In-Reply-To: <BAY102-DAV14816699011384CEDDA795C6420@phx.gbl>



Birders,

According to Bill Eddleman, of the Missouri DNR, Tufted Titmice have

"nasty dispositions".

I might infer that this may have some bearing on nesting success in the presence of House Sparrows.

Tufted Titmice also like the company of nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, and chickadees.

All of these are fould along river corridors.

Jim :)

On Thu, 8 Dec 2005, charlene anchor wrote:

> What I saw this summer agrees with Greg's observations about the river corridors. The river winds through Lake of the Woods and that is where I saw Titmice feeding fledglings, not far from the river. But I only saw that once. Since nesting cavities are necessary, I think that the House Sparrows, in areas away from woods and rivers, would make it difficult for them. There are fewer House Sparrows in certain areas of the Conservation Area in Mahomet, but they are still there. In 2003 one nest box had a titmouse nest and eggs. The next week it was built over by a House Sparrow. Even if they could "come to town", maybe the


>

> Charlene Anchor

>

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********


Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********

From smithsje at egix.net Fri Dec 9 09:06:15 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 09:05:52 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] bird feeding

Message-ID: <200512091453.jB9ErkbE002160@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

We have been bird feeding for at least 40 years. We have seen changes in which birds are regular. House sparrows have always been the most abundant feeder bird, but we used to have song, swamp, tree, whitecrownd, white-throat, and juncos in almost as many numbers as house sparrows. Now, we rarely have a native sparrow other than juncos.

Sometimes, we now have cowbirds out number house sparrows.

Best regards.


2005-12-09

From birder1949 at yahoo.com Fri Dec 9 09:21:14 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 09:21:21 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Turkey sightings


I saw the four turkeys at the corner of Brighton and Anderson at about

6:30 this morning. They were floundering somewhat in the heavy snow.

Wonder what they'll be eating with this kind of cover.

Roger Digges

---------------------------------

Yahoo! Shopping

Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping

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From vaiden at isgs.uiuc.edu Fri Dec 9 09:53:08 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 09:53:09 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice, nuthatches, etc...

Message-ID: <2DBE7AB0488C0443A1E1C20EA692D90718A25C@zinc.isgs.uiuc.edu>

While I've seen only 1 or 2 Chickadees at my place (and no Titmice), I have seen an occasional W B Nuthatch, and Brown Creepers are rare, but show up several times a year (given how hard they are to see, I kinda' assume that they actually are a little more common than that). So how common are Brown Creepers around town...do y'all out there see them regularly?

Also, R B Nuthatches haven't visited my yard yet (that I'm aware of!), but several years ago they were common out at Parkland College...saw them every day I was out there for 2 or 3 weeks.

Bob :-)

_______________________________________________________________________

_

__________________________




Birderdlt@aol.com






David Thomas

Champaign



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From bernies at uillinois.edu Fri Dec 9 10:06:43 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 10:07:35 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856451D9@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

This is sort of ancient history, from about 20 years ago, but I once lived at the corner of Oregon and Maple in Urbana and I'd see White

Breasted Nuthatches often enough, and Brown Creepers were fairly common.

Even a Red Breasted Nuthatch every now and then.

________________________________


[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Vaiden,

Robert

Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 9:53 AM



While I've seen only 1 or 2 Chickadees at my place (and no Titmice), I have seen an occasional W B Nuthatch, and Brown Creepers are rare, but show up several times a year (given how hard they are to see, I kinda' assume that they actually are a little more common than that). So how common are Brown Creepers around town...do y'all out there see them regularly?

Also, R B Nuthatches haven't visited my yard yet (that I'm aware of!), but several years ago they were common out at Parkland College...saw them every day I was out there for 2 or 3 weeks.

Bob :-)

_______________________________________________________________________

_

__________________________




Birderdlt@aol.com






David Thomas

Champaign



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From charleneanchor at msn.com Fri Dec 9 10:41:45 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 10:36:21 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV123A154FC84DB77EB4BD6FC6450@phx.gbl>

Jim and Birders,

I wonder what Bill Eddleman means by "nasty disposition." I would be interested in knowing more about it. I have read that they are apparently "dominant" birds. They will travel with other species and then chase them away to get their food. (Maybe that is why they like nuthatches, downies, etc :-)) But I don't know how often that happens nor whether that qualifies them as nasty. They aren't going around killing other birds or puncturing their eggs like the "nasty" House

Wren, who I just found out not surprisingly, is a problem for the

Titmouse in competition for nest sites What a tough life they ALL lead

:-)

Charlene Anchor


From: James Hoyt


Cc: Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org


Birders,


"nasty dispositions".

I might infer that this may have some bearing on nesting success in the presence of House Sparrows.



Jim :)


> What I saw this summer agrees with Greg's observations about the river corridors. The river winds through Lake of the Woods and that is where I saw Titmice feeding fledglings, not far from the river. But I only saw that once. Since nesting cavities are necessary, I think that the House Sparrows, in areas away from woods and rivers, would make it difficult for them. There are fewer House Sparrows in certain areas of the Conservation Area in Mahomet, but they are still there. In 2003 one nest box had a titmouse nest and eggs. The next week it was built over by a House Sparrow. Even if they could "come to town", maybe the


>

> Charlene Anchor

>

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


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Legacy"

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Date: Fri Dec 9 10:44:35 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV162F73679554BA2563449BC6450@phx.gbl>

Bob and Birders,

During migration times I usually see a couple of Brown Creepers in my yard for a week or two. But not at other times. I've seen Redbreasted Nuthatches at Parkland also. They like the large evergreens out there.

Charlene Anchor


From: Vaiden, Robert




While I?ve seen only 1 or 2 Chickadees at my place (and no Titmice), I have seen an occasional W B Nuthatch, and Brown Creepers are rare, but show up several times a year (given how hard they are to see, I kinda? assume that they actually are a little more common than that). So how common are Brown Creepers around town?do y?all out there see them regularly?

Also, R B Nuthatches haven?t visited my yard yet (that I?m aware of!), but several years ago they were common out at Parkland College?saw them every day I was out there for 2 or 3 weeks.

Bob J

_______________________________________________________________________

___________________________


From: birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org [mailto:birdnotesbounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Birderdlt@aol.com






David Thomas

Champaign

In a message dated 12/8/2005 8:32:41 AM Central Standard Time, lambeth@aduiuc.edu writes:


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Date: Fri Dec 9 10:51:18 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856451DE@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

When I saw the term "nasty disposition" applied to titmice I thought

"of course". I saw my first titmice only because I heard their highly agitated vocalizations. They seemed to be harassing something in a tree trunk hollow.

By the way, we've been talking about titmice and chickadees and white breasted nuthatches. I have an acquaintance in Bloomington, IN who occasionally runs what he calls a "feeder cam" (a digital video camera).

One day I was looking at it (he had it trained on a suet feeder) and at one point there was a nuthatch, a chickadee and a titmouse all in close proximity and more or less ignoring each other.

Bernie Sloan

________________________________




To: James Hoyt



Jim and Birders,

I wonder what Bill Eddleman means by "nasty disposition." I would be interested in knowing more about it. I have read that they are apparently "dominant" birds. They will travel with other species and then chase them away to get their food. (Maybe that is why they like nuthatches, downies, etc :-)) But I don't know how often that happens nor whether that qualifies them as nasty. They aren't going around killing other birds or puncturing their eggs like the "nasty" House

Wren, who I just found out not surprisingly, is a problem for the

Titmouse in competition for nest sites. What a tough life they ALL lead

:-)

Charlene Anchor


From: James Hoyt




Birders,


"nasty dispositions". in the

I might infer that this may have some bearing on nesting success presence of House Sparrows.



Jim :)


> What I saw this summer agrees with Greg's observations about the river corridors. The river winds through Lake of the Woods and that is where I saw Titmice feeding fledglings, not far from the river. But

I only saw that once. Since nesting cavities are necessary, I think that the House Sparrows, in areas away from woods and rivers, would make it difficult for them. There are fewer House Sparrows in certain areas of the Conservation Area in Mahomet, but they are still there. In 2003 one nest box had a titmouse nest and eggs. The next week it was built over by a House Sparrow. Even if they could "come to town", maybe the


>

> Charlene Anchor

>

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

*

*******

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*

*******

"The human culture is considered to be a 'geologic force' and with good reason. But if we are at a stage where our actions are to decide the world's future, then surely we have reached a level where we can be held acountable for the world's future." Durward L. Allen "Our

Wildlife Legacy"

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Date: Fri Dec 9 10:52:18 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV112BF76EBBCCE20F7A36B1C6450@phx.gbl>

Jim and Birdnoters,

You must have seen a lot of habitat changes over 40 years! There must be a variety of reasons for the bird changes we are seeing. But I wonder if some of the sparrow changes aren't a result of all the logging that has taken place in Canada's Boreal Forests where so many of our native sparrows breed. Kind of discouraging. But that doesn't explain all the cowbirds, starlings, etc.

Charlene Anchor




To: Bird Notes


Hello, Bird,

We have been bird feeding for at least 40 years. We have seen changes in which birds are regular. House sparrows have always been the most abundant feeder bird, but we used to have song, swamp, tree, whitecrownd, white-throat, and juncos in almost as many numbers as house sparrows. Now, we rarely have a native sparrow other than juncos.


Best regards.


2005-12-09

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From avara at uiuc.edu Fri Dec 9 11:31:16 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 11:31:24 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Tufted Titmice, nuthatches,

etc...

Message-ID: <c00f4868.680ebf43.bd8d500@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu>

There are (at least) two RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES present at

U of I Forestry as well as at least one WHITE-BREASTED

NUTHATCH. As for BROWN CREEPERS, during migration in mid-

October, I was seeing them out the ying yang at Busey Woods-- everywhere you looked in the north end they were present.

I'm not sure how many stayed, but when I was there last, they were quite abundant.

~Mike Avara



Date: Fri Dec 9 12:47:01 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856451EE@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

It fascinates me to see the "regional" differences within a relatively small "region" (C-U). I'm probably jinxing myself, but I don't have any real problems with cowbirds, starlings or house sparrows. Maybe I'm just lucky! :-) And my neighborhood apparently is the home of the turkeys, more or less! Most recent sightings seem to be within a six-or-so-block radius.

As far as house sparrows are concerned, I find myself wondering how the age of a neighborhood might influence such populations? Do older neighborhoods have more of a sparrow problem, or vice versa? I've lived in three neighborhoods in southeast Urbana that were built in the

1960s, judging from the architecture, and I've never had much of a problem with house sparrows.

________________________________




To: Jim & Eleanor Smith; Bird Notes

Subject: Re: [Birdnotes] bird feeding

Jim and Birdnoters,

You must have seen a lot of habitat changes over 40 years! There must be a variety of reasons for the bird changes we are seeing. But I wonder if some of the sparrow changes aren't a result of all the logging that has taken place in Canada's Boreal Forests where so many of our native sparrows breed. Kind of discouraging. But that doesn't explain all the cowbirds, starlings, etc.

Charlene Anchor




To: Bird Notes


Hello, Bird,

We have been bird feeding for at least 40 years. We have seen changes in which birds are regular. House sparrows have always been the most abundant feeder bird, but we used to have song, swamp, tree, white-crownd, white-throat, and juncos in almost as many numbers as house sparrows. Now, we rarely have a native sparrow other than juncos.


Best regards.


2005-12-09

_______________________________________________


Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org https://mailprairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes

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Date: Fri Dec 9 12:54:09 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Zero bird action today

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856451F1@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I had expected to see a very busy day at the feeders today, what with the snow and cold. I filled up the feeders this AM, scattered some mixed feed on top of the snow, and waited. Not much so far. Right now there is not even so much as a squirrel out there.

How are others doing?

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454




Date: Fri Dec 9 13:30:11 2005



Today...Juncos & a couple of White Throated S, my lonely Carolina Wren, a few House Sparrows (mostly in the front yard), a few House Finches, a pair of Cardinals, and the usual Mourning Dove gang.

I too have at least moderate to small numbers of House

Sparrows...sometimes up to a dozen or two... A small flock of Pigeons lives on Smith Road by the tracks, but they rarely come by my place...

Starlings show up sometimes, but not at others...usually small numbers...sometimes in Fall I may see a yardfull of Grackles,

Starlings, and friends for a few hours...

House Finches are not common either...right now I have 4 or 5, but often

I go a long time without seeing any...

As for mammals...4-6 squirrels, couple raccoons, occasional opossum...

No Bald Eagles or Ivory Billed Woodpeckers, though... (no Turkeys either! Darn!) Had a pheasant once...

Bob :)

_____________________________________________________________




Bernie

Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 12:54 PM

To: Bird Notes




Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


_______________________________________________



From gh4444 at insightbb.com Fri Dec 9 13:52:59 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 13:57:30 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] feeders today

Message-ID: <009c01c5fcfa$28504560$ac23cb0c@insightbb.com> over 100 sparrows 6 doves 5 juncos 8 goldfinches 2 squirrels feeders located in my yard at far end of Pennsylvania ave. in Urbana new subdivision no trees

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Date: Fri Dec 9 14:01:13 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856451FC@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

Things have picked up a bit. Couple of juncos, maybe 8-10 house sparrows. I've heard a couple of jays, and there was a male cardinal sitting very still in the back hedges for about five minutes. Never did come in to feed. Right now there's a female cardinal sitting in a tree above the feeding area...looking around nervously, very cautious, gradually getting closer to the sunflower seed feeder. She just landed on the feeder support, and then dropped down to the ground where I had spilled some seeds while I was refilling the feeder. One squirrel feeding on the ground...and now they're all gone, quick as a flash!

Bernie


From: Vaiden, Robert [mailto:vaiden@isgs.uiuc.edu]


To: Sloan, Bernie; Bird Notes

Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] Zero bird action today

Today...Juncos & a couple of White Throated S, my lonely Carolina Wren, a few House Sparrows (mostly in the front yard), a few House Finches, a pair of Cardinals, and the usual Mourning Dove gang.

I too have at least moderate to small numbers of House

Sparrows...sometimes up to a dozen or two... A small flock of Pigeons lives on Smith Road by the tracks, but they rarely come by my place...

Starlings show up sometimes, but not at others...usually small numbers...sometimes in Fall I may see a yardfull of Grackles,

Starlings, and friends for a few hours...

House Finches are not common either...right now I have 4 or 5, but often

I go a long time without seeing any...

As for mammals...4-6 squirrels, couple raccoons, occasional opossum...

No Bald Eagles or Ivory Billed Woodpeckers, though... (no Turkeys either! Darn!) Had a pheasant once...

Bob :)

_____________________________________________________________




Bernie


To: Bird Notes




Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


_______________________________________________





Date: Fri Dec 9 14:09:56 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] House finches

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856451FE@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

Just had a quick influx of house finches (6-8 of them). They seemed to split up evenly between the mixed seed feeder and the sunflower feeder.

Most of them left within a few minutes, but a male stuck around. After hanging out eating sunflower seeds for awhile he shifted over to the mixed seed feeder. He actually pushed a few sparrows out of the way, and when they would try to harass them to get him off of the feeder he ignored them.

But then house finches are sort of an invasive species too, aren't they?

Didn't they start out in the northeast and make it to Urbana maybe 20-

25 years ago? (I think it's a western bird, but our populations moved in from the northeast, right?)

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454




Date: Fri Dec 9 14:15:24 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Aha!

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856451FF@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I think I just saw one reason why my yard is so quiet (especially the squirrels).

Just saw a long, rangy, feral-looking cat cross the back of the yard near the hedges. It paused at a 3.5 foot tall chain link fence and hopped to the top in one bound, balancing on the fence for about 30 seconds as it eyed some sparrows.

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


From n9ds_15 at msn.com Fri Dec 9 14:36:12 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 14:36:14 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Feeder activity in Loami

Message-ID: <BAY106-F188497E53DC1A4629C414CDE450@phx.gbl>

Mostly house and gold finches today, some black capped chickadees, a downy, a red bellied and a recent arrival, a hairy woodpecker.

Duston Suits

Loami, IL

From n9ds_15 at msn.com Fri Dec 9 14:54:58 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 14:55:05 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] More birds in Loami

Message-ID: <BAY106-F7BC2FA8E5D2F4AF2A627ADE450@phx.gbl> a couple juncos, a female downy, a white breasted nuthatch and my first tufted titmouse of the season.

DCS



Date: Fri Dec 9 15:11:51 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] House sparrows

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F28564520C@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I've been observing "my" sparrows this afternoon (easy for me to do since I look directly out the window towards my feeding area while I work on my computer).

I've been observing a fair amount of sparrow activity and have started to see a pattern. There are never more than about a dozen sparrows visible at any given time. They tend to leave and come back relatively closely (i.e., between 15-20 seconds for the group). I feel relatively comfortable in saying that my yard has maybe 15 sparrows total, at most.

A few minutes ago the number of squirrels in my yard eclipsed the number of sparrows by 8-3! :-)

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454




Date: Fri Dec 9 16:33:45 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Cardinal

Message-ID:


A bit ago I had a late in the day male cardinal that preferred the mixed seed (mostly millet) to the sunflower seed.

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


From REGEHR5 at aol.com Fri Dec 9 17:04:08 2005

From: REGEHR5 at aol.com (REGEHR5@aol.com)

Date: Fri Dec 9 17:04:13 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Feeder birds

Message-ID: <99.6c39f7dc.30cb6768@aol.com>

During the heavy snowfall, I put millet seed out on the protected side

(under the porch roof) of a raised planter across the front of the house.

There were 11 Juncos and a Mourning Dove, and for a short time, one

White-throated Sparrow.

On the other side of the house I have a hopper feeder with safflower and hulled sunflower seed. Three Cardinals and many House Sparrows frequent this feeder. There was one Goldfinch on the thistle feeder today...hadn't seen any for days.

A male Cardinal found the raised planter millet today along with the

Juncos and one Dove. I also sprinkle millet in a little courtyard in another area of the house. I think keeping the House Sparrows busy at the feeder will keep them from finding the millet for a while.

Watching the Mourning Dove peck,peck,pecking at the millet, I tried to count and believe that it downed at least eight seeds while the

Junco next to it was taking the hull off one millet seed!

Elaine

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From REGEHR5 at aol.com Fri Dec 9 17:15:23 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 17:15:33 2005


Message-ID: <1a3.41b6a134.30cb6a0b@aol.com>

Neglected to say that there was a Carolina Wren at the hopper feeder today, looking far in. I couldn't see whether it was eating seeds and wondered if the bits of seeds and dusty residue was what it was after. Safflower and sunflower seeds seem too big for the wren's type of bill.

I heard a Blue Jay, but haven't seen one at the feeder for a long time and there haven't been many in the neighborhood...West Nile?

I've seen a few House Finches at the feeder lately, also.

Elaine

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Date: Fri Dec 9 17:40:46 2005


Message-ID:


Elaine Regehr said:

"Watching the Mourning Dove peck, peck, pecking at the millet, I tried to count and believe that it downed at least eight seeds while the

Junco next to it was taking the hull off one millet seed!"

Mourning Doves really pack it down! Reminds me of the time (I was maybe eight years old) I was walking down a side street in southern Indiana

(Evansville) and saw what looked to me like smaller birds (probably house sparrows) eating a dove. Being an eight year old, I was immediately intrigued!!! When I got to the dove, I realized it had been most probably hit by a car, and run over by another car. Its crop was split open and was full of undigested grain that the sparrows were eating.

Kind of gross, I know, but still fascinating to the little kid in me!!

:-)

Bernie Sloan

________________________________



REGEHR5@aol.com













Elaine

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Date: Fri Dec 9 17:51:21 2005


Message-ID:


One other Evansville/dove reminiscence...

In about the same time frame as my note below, Evansville (far southwestern Indiana) experimented with being in the Eastern time zone one summer. It felt like the land of the midnight sun to a hyper 8 or 9 year old. I remember being sent to bed (it was bedtime) when it was still light outside. I tried to fall asleep but the Mourning Doves in the backyard pines and catalpa trees kept calling softly "coo coo coo coo". To this day I remember thinking "Crap, how can I be expected to go to sleep, the birds are still awake!!" :-)

Bernie Sloan

________________________________



Bernie



Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] Feeder birds

Elaine Regehr said:




(Evansville) and saw what looked to me like smaller birds (probably house sparrows) eating a dove. Being an eight year old, I was immediately intrigued!!! When I got to the dove, I realized it had been most probably hit by a car, and run over by another car. Its crop was split open and was full of undigested grain that the sparrows were

eating.


:-)

Bernie Sloan

________________________________



REGEHR5@aol.com













Elaine

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Date: Fri Dec 9 18:04:44 2005


Message-ID:


I hope you all will forgive one last childhood bird reminiscence from

this same general time frame. :-)

At the north end of our driveway there was a wooden arch that framed the entrance to the back yard. The arch was thickly covered by some sort of vines with flowers that looked conducive to attracting hummingbirds. At the very top of the arch was a very tiny very old and very rudimentary birdhouse. It was not uncommon for hummingbirds to nest either in the vines or in the bird house (not sure which, I was a little kid)...they were always around.

Anyway, one day I was sitting in the driveway not doing anything in particular and saw a hummingbird alight on either the perch of the birdhouse or on a branch of the vines. I was fascinated! I immediately thought "hummingbirds have legs?". :-) Prior to that point I had only seen them hovering around the blossoms, gathering nectar, and had assumed they were always in flight and didn't have legs! :-)

Bernie

________________________________

From: Sloan, Bernie


To: Sloan, Bernie; birdnotes@prairienet.org


One other Evansville/dove reminiscence...

In about the same time frame as my note below, Evansville (far southwestern Indiana) experimented with being in the Eastern time zone one summer. It felt like the land of the midnight sun to a hyper 8 or 9 year old. I remember being sent to bed (it was bedtime) when it was still light outside. I tried to fall asleep but the Mourning Doves in the backyard pines and catalpa trees kept calling softly "coo coo coo coo". To this day I remember thinking "Crap, how can I be expected to go to sleep, the birds are still awake!!" :-)

Bernie Sloan

________________________________



Bernie




Elaine Regehr said:




(Evansville) and saw what looked to me like smaller birds (probably house sparrows) eating a dove. Being an eight year old, I was immediately intrigued!!! When I got to the dove, I realized it had been most probably hit by a car, and run over by another car. Its crop was split open and was full of undigested grain that the sparrows were eating.


:-)

Bernie Sloan

________________________________



REGEHR5@aol.com








On the other side of the house I have a hopper feeder with safflower and

hulled sunflower seed. Three Cardinals and many House Sparrows frequent this feeder. There was one Goldfinch on the thistle feeder today...hadn't seen any for days.





Elaine

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Date: Fri Dec 9 19:25:24 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV3E78038A9FCBAFB731376C6440@phx.gbl>

My husband reported to me today more than 12 CARDINALS, more than 20

MOURNING DOVES and "some sparrows" :-) I didn't have much chance to check the feeders today but before I left I saw a BLUE JAY feeding on my new suet (no sign of the sapsucker), a sick CARDINAL and STARLINGS fighting in the air over the peanut feeder. Oh, and "some sparrows".

Charlene Anchor

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From h-parker at express.cites.uiuc.edu Fri Dec 9 20:25:51 2005


Date: Fri Dec 9 20:25:23 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] feeder birds??

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051209202013.01c7d7b8@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Why does everyone else have feeder birds? I have about 30 house sparrows

(quick count); I've had 1 mourning dove and one junco yesterday & today and that's it. Thursday I decided they were all at the nature center--when

I was ready to leave there were 8 cardinals and 10 juncos associated with the feeder closest to the front door. This morning there was a bunch* of juncos eating sweet gum seeds in the road on W. Delaware a block from my house--not your usual style of feeder, but -- whatever works!

*bunch meaning at least a dozen--I was walking the dog & couldn't get much

of a count.

--Helen P.

From n9ds_15 at msn.com Sat Dec 10 08:49:55 2005


Date: Sat Dec 10 08:49:59 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Another Loami bird

Message-ID: <BAY0-LC1-003C515DCB4C68FC2EB2EB4DE440@phx.gbl>

A Eurasian tree sparrow just showed up. The book says I'm at the outer edge of its range, are any seen further east?

Duston Suits

Loami, IL

From h-parker at express.cites.uiuc.edu Sat Dec 10 09:10:40 2005


Date: Sat Dec 10 09:10:45 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] waxwings

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051210090443.01cb02f0@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

After staying close to home yesterday, I decided to take the dog down to

Meadowbrook for her morning walk today. The first thing I saw was a tree full of starlings-then when I heard a robin & took a closer look, realized that a few of the "starlings" were robins. Then there was a mass of high-pitched calls--and sure enough, the next tree was full of cedar waxwings. There were probably between 60 & 70, although I stopped counting at 50. Hope they stay around for the Christmas Count a week from today!

One other slightly unusual sighting-a FEMALE pheasant flying over the prairie. Usually the females stay down & I only see the males in flight.

--Helen P.

From vaiden at isgs.uiuc.edu Sat Dec 10 11:15:19 2005


Date: Sat Dec 10 11:15:21 2005



Busy morning at the feeder...one W T Sparrow, one Tree Sparrow, almost

40 juncos (a home record!), Cardinal pair, Mourning Doves, 4 or 5 House

Sparrows, 3 or 4 House Finches...

Flocks of Waxwings and Robins at Meadowbrook ...waxwings looks spectacular just a few feet over my head, silhouetted against a deep, deep blue sky...

Bob :)

From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Sat Dec 10 14:07:33 2005


Date: Sat Dec 10 14:07:35 2005


In-Reply-To: <BAY0-LC1-003C515DCB4C68FC2EB2EB4DE440@phx.gbl>



Dustin,

We usually see these Eurasian Tree Sparrows over on the Illinois River near Havanna Illinois, and sometimes at Sanganois State Park, when doing an Eagle Count.

I was told that they move along the riparian corridors.

Your birds must have branched off from the Illinois River to the

Sangamon.

I haven't heard of any ET's in East Central Illinois but will be looking.

Thanks for the heads up!

Jim Hoyt

Champaign Il.

On Sat, 10 Dec 2005, Duston Suits wrote:

> A Eurasian tree sparrow just showed up. The book says I'm at the outer edge

> of its range, are any seen further east?

>

> Duston Suits

> Loami, IL

>

>

> _______________________________________________




>

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********


Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********



Date: Sat Dec 10 14:39:20 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] waxwings

In-Reply-To: <6.0.1.1.2.20051210090443.01cb02f0@express.cites.uiuc.edu>



Hello birders,

Could we be a bit more precise about where these birds are found.

One thing that I appreciate about Charlene's posts are how much info I can glean from her observations.

This helps me to learn more about the habitat needs of birds...

Thanks,

Jim :)

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********

"The human culture is considered to be a 'geologic force' and with good reason. But if we are at a stage where our actions are to decide the

world's future, then surely we have reached a level where we can be held acountable for the world's future." Durward L. Allen "Our Wildlife

Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********

From jbchato at uiuc.edu Sat Dec 10 18:00:40 2005


Date: Sat Dec 10 18:00:47 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Bird feeding

Message-ID: <4ddc9afd.68b6379e.81cb200@expms1.cites.uiuc.edu>

Birdnoters,

People have been talking about feeders so I will too. I have a hanging feeder with ?black oil sunflower seed, a pole feeder with millet, two tube feeders for ?thistle seed, and a wire basket with suet. All are squirrel proof so far, but I have 6 squirrels that clean up under the sunflower feeder, so lots must get thrown out. I don't try and keep the feeders full but put out a certain amount each morning. My customers this winter are 2 juncos, 6 cardinals, 6 white-throated sparrows, at least 12 goldfinchs, occasionally

2 pine siskins, 6 mourning doves, 2 blue jays,?a pair of downy woodpeckers, a pair of Carolina wrens, and about 25 house sparrows.

Occasionally a Cooper's hawk and a Red Tailed Hawk come by, and I did have that young Red-shouldered Hawk awhile back. I have enough cover tha the Cooper's doesn't find easy pickings. The juncos and whitethroats are also on ?the cleanup squad, being ground feeders. If its really bad, like our recent snow, I occasionally put a little extra millet on the ground in late afternoon when the squirrels have gone to bed. I also have a

"naturalized

" yard with lots of cover including a brush pile, native plants, and things to eat. I leave all my annual plants to set seed which provides extra winter food. I clean things up in late winter, early spring.

Beth Chato

John C. Chato

714 W. Vermont Ave.

Urbana, IL 61801

217-344-6803

From jbchato at uiuc.edu Sat Dec 10 18:16:29 2005


Date: Sat Dec 10 18:16:34 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] birdfeede addition

Message-ID: <866a0dbd.68b7aa3d.8198500@expms1.cites.uiuc.edu>

Dear All,

How could I forget House Finches on my list? i have about 4 regularly.

Beth

John C. Chato

714 W. Vermont Ave.

Urbana, IL 61801

217-344-6803

From birder1949 at yahoo.com Sat Dec 10 19:51:16 2005


Date: Sat Dec 10 19:51:17 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Possible Goshawk


My daughter and I observed what I believe to be a

Goshawk, flying over the cemetery, as we headed east of Fourth Street on Kirby/Florida. It was a very large accipiter, whitish in the underparts and greyish in the upper parts. It flew directly (against a stiff wind) with deep, powerful wingbeats. It appeared too large and too light in coloration to be a Cooper's.

Roger Digges

Urbana

__________________________________________________

Do You Yahoo!?




Date: Sat Dec 10 19:53:12 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Possible Goshawk sighting--time


Forgot to say that my daughter and I observed the possible Northern Goshawk at approximately 3:30 this afternoon (Saturday).

Roger Digges

__________________________________________________

Do You Yahoo!?


From smithsje at egix.net Sat Dec 10 20:51:51 2005


Date: Sat Dec 10 20:51:30 2005


Message-ID: <200512110239.jBB2dLbE004633@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

We woodlands near our home. Observed yesterday, there was a coot on our water supply pond (some open water near the fountain) and today, a

grest-blue heron at the same spot. A hermit thrush scolded as I walked nearby.

The first Christmas Bird Count in our area will be the Middle Fork next

Wednesday, 12/14. Contact Steve Bailey.

Best regards.


2005-12-10



Date: Sun Dec 11 18:45:34 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Yard birds

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2851B4FB2@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

Had to leave town about 10:30AM Saturday. Not a lot of feeder activity at the time, although I did hear a very unfamiliar (to me) bird call while in my garage. looked outside but didn't see anything, but still heard it nearby. Sort of a semi-sweet higher trilling call by what sounded like a small bird, but not as harsh as some wren calls. Any ideas?

As I was getting ready to leave, the crows showed up. I had been cleaning out the fridge and found some leftover turkey scraps from a turkey breast I'd cooked about ten days ago. I tossed them out in my ground feeding area before going to bed Friday night. The crows showed up about 10:30. There was one that was considerably larger than the others...very impressive specimen. It's interesting about the crows. I almost never see or hear them in ordinary circumstances. But when I have some meat scraps and toss them out the night before, I can count on the crows dropping in early to mid-morning the next day.

Bernie Sloan



Date: Sun Dec 11 18:54:32 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Coyote

Message-ID:


We've been talking about coyotes off and on on the list, and I just wanted to pass along a sighting.

On Saturday morning I was headed east on I-74, and was a little west of

St. Joe. I spied a coyote to the north of I-74, trotting in the snow in a field along the edge of a wooded creekbed. It was one of the bigger coyotes I have seen in Champaign County!

Bernie Sloan



Date: Sun Dec 11 19:04:26 2005


Message-ID:


Duston,

Funny you should mention this. I was thinking about Eurasian Tree

Sparrows after the list discussion about the proliferation of house sparrows, and the spread of house finches to Urbana from the northeast.

I think it's funny that Eurasian Tree Sparrows have never spread very far, especially since they are cloesly related to house sparrows. There was a flock (sent from Germany) released in a park in St. Louis in the mid nineteenth century, and their range has barely expanded more than

100-150 miles since then. From what I understand, part of the problem is that Eurasian Tree Sparrow fledlings don't move too far away from their home nest, at least nowhere near as far as house sparrow fledglings. I guess, over the course of many years, this makes a big difference.

Bernie Sloan

________________________________

From: birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org on behalf of Duston Suits

Sent: Sat 12/10/2005 8:49 AM


Subject: [SPAM] [Birdnotes] Another Loami bird

A Eurasian tree sparrow just showed up. The book says I'm at the outer edge of its range, are any seen further east?

Duston Suits

Loami, IL

_______________________________________________



From smithsje at egix.net Sun Dec 11 20:17:15 2005


Date: Sun Dec 11 20:16:57 2005


Message-ID: <200512120204.jBC24ibE007255@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

Found two bluebirds today while hiking in the woodlands. Also, a kingfisher. Two pileated are still going to roast every evening in one of several cavities in tall sycamores. Flickers and starlings use the same trees for roosts. Mink footprints were in several places

bordering the Salt fork. The footprints of a single wild turkey were present.

Best regards.


2005-12-11



Date: Sun Dec 11 20:21:18 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] More coyote sightings

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV539AEA7D84A6CA68DBE57C6460@phx.gbl>

A friend of mine lives out in the country near Sadorus. On Saturday morning about 3AM her dogs woke up her and her husband. The dogs were besides themselves. Outside were 4 coyotes. She said there may have been 5 but she saw 4 for sure. Apparently the previous night they had also been around as they found a rabbit kill.

Charlene Anchor


From: Sloan, Bernie

Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2005 6:54 PM




On Saturday morning I was headed east on I-74, and was a little west of

St. Joe. I spied a coyote to the north of I-74, trotting in the snow in a field along the edge of a wooded creekbed. It was one of the bigger coyotes I have seen in Champaign County!

Bernie Sloan

_______________________________________________



-------------- next part --------------



05347f/attachment.htm

From h-parker at express.cites.uiuc.edu Sun Dec 11 19:49:35 2005


Date: Sun Dec 11 20:41:59 2005


In-Reply-To:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2851B4FB4@pbmail.ui.uillinois .edu>

References:


Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051211194451.0201ac88@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

At 07:04 PM 12/11/2005, you wrote:

>Duston,

>

>Funny you should mention this. I was thinking about Eurasian Tree

Sparrows

>after the list discussion about the proliferation of house sparrows, and

>the spread of house finches to Urbana from the northeast.

>

>I think it's funny that Eurasian Tree Sparrows have never spread very far,

>especially since they are cloesly related to house sparrows. There was a

>flock (sent from Germany) released in a park in St. Louis in the mid

>nineteenth century, and their range has barely expanded more than 100-

150

>miles since then. From what I understand, part of the problem is that

>Eurasian Tree Sparrow fledlings don't move too far away from their home

>nest, at least nowhere near as far as house sparrow fledglings. I guess,

>over the course of many years, this makes a big difference.

>

>Bernie Sloan

For the most part, Eurasian Trees have been coming along river corridors. They have spread up the Illinois and are not rare at places like Anderson Lake and Chautauqua. While they haven't yet really come up the Sangamon, I'd be surprised if they didn't do so in the next few years

(tho I won't venture to define "few" :-) ) We had one on a Champaign

County

Christmas Count a year or two ago.

--Helen Parker



Date: Sun Dec 11 22:25:45 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] RE: More coyote sightings

Message-ID:


My in-laws live on the east edge of Ivesdale (to the west of Sadorus).

A couple of years ago they had a rabbit nest under the deck off of their kitchen. For several nights they had coyotes on their deck, trying to scratch through the wood to get to the rabbits. They would chase the coyotes off, but they would come back later. Eventually the coyotes stoppped, leading my in-laws to believe the rabbits were no longer there, for whatever reason.

Bernie Sloan

________________________________

From: charlene anchor [mailto:charleneanchor@msn.com]

Sent: Sun 12/11/2005 8:27 PM

To: Sloan, Bernie; birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

Subject: More coyote sightings

A friend of mine lives out in the country near Sadorus. On Saturday morning about 3AM her dogs woke up her and her husband. The dogs were besides themselves. Outside were 4 coyotes. She said there may have been 5 but she saw 4 for sure. Apparently the previous night they had also been around as they found a rabbit kill.

Charlene Anchor


From: Sloan, Bernie

Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2005 6:54 PM




On Saturday morning I was headed east on I-74, and was a little west of St. Joe. I spied a coyote to the north of I-74, trotting in the snow in a field along the edge of a wooded creekbed. It was one of the bigger coyotes I have seen in Champaign County!

Bernie Sloan

_______________________________________________



From rboehmer at mail.millikin.edu Mon Dec 12 07:02:53 2005


Date: Mon Dec 12 07:03:12 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] sharpie with lunch

Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20051212070019.04bb63d8@mail.millikin.edu>

We arrived home yesterday afternoon just in time to watch an imm.

Sharp-shinned Hawk dining on a House Sparrow on the sidewalk in front of the neighbor's house. It stayed for a minute and then carried the meal to a nearby conifer where it finished it off in about 15 minutes.

Ray

Urbana on Iowa St.

From charleneanchor at msn.com Mon Dec 12 09:20:23 2005


Date: Mon Dec 12 09:14:39 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Mahomet

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV1FF5215043AC99BCDC3F8C6460@phx.gbl>

Yesterday afternoon around 2:00 my husband and I took a ride out to

Lake of the Woods. Didn't expect to see much at that time of day.

Stopped at Stidham pond since I hadn't been there in a while. First thing I heard was the noisy hammering of all the new construction that is going on. Stidham will soon be enclosed on all sides. I've been saddened to see the removal of so many trees on the east side of the new subdivision that is going up. More habitat being lost!

Anyway, around the pond area I saw: RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, BLUE JAYS,

NORTHERN FLICKERS(3), STARLINGS, CARDINALS, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE

(white on wings, but didn't sing), DARK-EYED JUNCOS, DOWNY, HOUSE

FINCHES, MOURNING DOVES. As I was searching for other birds that were with the chickadees, my husband wanted me to look at the geese overheard which we had heard a bit earlier but couldn't spot. They were flying very high going southwest, about 60 of them. The third one from the lead was VERY small, about 1/2 the size of the others.

Further down the line was another small one. The rest were all the same larger-sized. A little later another flock flew over, about 30, but these were flying low and going north. I assumed locals.

We also saw (I saw 4, my husband said he saw 5) black squirrels. They seemed small to me, about the size of a young gray squirrel. I can't remember them being so small before and I wondered if they were immature.

Seen at the Rotary Hill Pavilion by the golf course were WHITE-BREASTED

NUTHATCHES flying from tree to tree and calling, a pair of EASTERN

BLUEBIRDS, a perched RED-TAILED HAWK, more JUNCOS and another RED-

BELLIED WOODPECKER. Saw another black squirrel but this one looked rather "grayish". Do they interbreed? If so, does that mean that the black squirrel will be on a decline out there? Also seen were 13 or 14 deer walking out from the houses along the golf course and the going out onto the course. Two had antlers.

Charlene Anchor

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URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051212/40 afa3ef/attachment-0001.htm



Date: Mon Dec 12 09:29:02 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Bald Eagle, Turkey and duck sightings

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV8CBC67B9DF9433F0258F6C6460@phx.gbl>

My friends from Sadorus, who had the coyotes in their backyard, often go to Lake Shelbyville. They aren't "birders" but are knowledgeable and enjoy hiking with their dogs. She gave me permission to relate the following They walked around the Bo Woods campground and saw a mature

BALD EAGLE flying close to the shoreline. She said this is an area where they have seen eagles in the past roosting in the trees. Then they ate lunch at the McDonald's down the road near the boat ramp area.

When they opened the dumpster to throw out their sacks they saw about

10-15 dead MALLARDS and CANADA GEESE.

They were also in Tuscola on Sunday. There is a park on the north edge of town where they stopped to walk the dogs. Her dog stopped and stared at one of the houses along the park....her dog was looking at a female TURKEY pecking around the front yard of the house! She said it then went around the side of the house, pecking at the grass. She said this part of town is just east of the railroad tracks and they wondered if the turkey was traveling along the rail lines?

Charlene Anchor

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URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051212/d9 e08656/attachment.htm

From bernies at uillinois.edu Mon Dec 12 13:52:29 2005


Date: Mon Dec 12 13:52:32 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856452AD@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

Re: black squirrels

My parents used to live in Kankakee, along the river, and black squirrels weren't too uncommon there. The Kankakee River Valley Forest

Preserve District even has a picture of one on its web site: http://www.krvfpd.org/Wild%20049.jpg

>From my up close observations (through my mother's kitchen window) the black squirrels I've seen might more properly be called black gray squirrels, since I am pretty certain that they are a color morph of the gray squirrel...which would mean, yes, they interbreed, since the

"black" squirrel and the gray squirrel are the same species.

Bernie Sloan

________________________________



Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 9:20 AM



Yesterday afternoon around 2:00 my husband and I took a ride out to

Lake of the Woods. Didn't expect to see much at that time of day. Stopped at Stidham pond since I hadn't been there in a while. First thing I heard was the noisy hammering of all the new construction that is going on. Stidham will soon be enclosed on all sides. I've been saddened to see the removal of so many trees on the east side of the new subdivision that is going up. More habitat being lost!

Anyway, around the pond area I saw: RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, BLUE JAYS,

NORTHERN FLICKERS(3), STARLINGS, CARDINALS, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE

(white on wings, but didn't sing), DARK-EYED JUNCOS, DOWNY, HOUSE

FINCHES, MOURNING DOVES. As I was searching for other birds that were with the chickadees, my husband wanted me to look at the geese overheard which we had heard a bit earlier but couldn't spot. They were flying very high going southwest, about 60 of them. The third one from the lead was VERY small, about 1/2 the size of the others. Further down the line was another small one. The rest were all the same larger-sized.

A little later another flock flew over, about 30, but these were flying low and going north. I assumed locals.

We also saw (I saw 4, my husband said he saw 5) black squirrels. They seemed small to me, about the size of a young gray squirrel. I can't remember them being so small before and I wondered if they were immature.

Seen at the Rotary Hill Pavilion by the golf course were WHITE-BREASTED

NUTHATCHES flying from tree to tree and calling, a pair of EASTERN

BLUEBIRDS, a perched RED-TAILED HAWK, more JUNCOS and another

RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. Saw another black squirrel but this one looked rather "grayish". Do they interbreed? If so, does that mean that the black squirrel will be on a decline out there? Also seen were 13 or 14 deer walking out from the houses along the golf course and the going out onto the course. Two had antlers.

Charlene Anchor

-------------- next part --------------


URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051212/f3 a4685e/attachment.htm



Date: Mon Dec 12 14:05:55 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] More on black squirrels

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856452B7@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

To follow up on my reply to Charlene Anchor's note from earlier today,

I did a little web searching and found the following from the "Chicago

Wilderness" web site, about black squirrels in the north part of

Chicago and northern suburbs: http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/summer2005/squirrels.html

It also says they are actually gray squirrels...

Bernie Sloan

From lambeth at ad.uiuc.edu Mon Dec 12 15:10:24 2005


Date: Mon Dec 12 15:10:32 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Meadowbrook; Forestry; South Farms

Message-ID:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01CD02ED@odosmail.ad.uiuc.edu>

I did some scouting for the Champaign County CBC on Saturday. I walked on foot through the Arboretum, Meadobrook, Forestry and parts of the

South Farms. It was fairly cold early, but it warmed by noon. The big surprise was 3 Barred Owls in 3 separate locations! I've only had 1

Barred Owl within the C-U city limits in the past 12 years, although I know a few others have been seen in town during that time. I had some other interesting birds, including 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 American

Pipits, 2 Hermit Thrushes, 2 Fox Sparrows, dozens of White-crowneds, 3

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 Common Snipe, Lapland

Longspurs and 1 Hairy Woodpecker. I finished with 39 species.

I did not have the Long-eared Owls in the Forestry. Has anyone seen these birds in the past 2 weeks? The area where the Saw-whet Owl has been in the past few years has deteriorated and may no longer be suitable for a Saw Whet. Many of the pines appear to be dying and have lost most of their needles. There's a few pines that remain alive and it's worth checking them over closely, but I'd be surprised if a Saw

Whet used this area as its primary territory for the winter again.

Greg Lambeth ps. I saw a large falcon on top of the steeple at the church on Green and Goodwin this morning. No binoculars with me, but I suspect

Peregrine.

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URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051212/27 fb3dca/attachment.htm



Date: Mon Dec 12 19:22:59 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Re: [Ecostewards] Champaign Park District's "Adopt a

Park" program

In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0512121908360.29004-




On Mon, 12 Dec 2005, James Hoyt wrote:

> Stewards and birders,

>

> The public has shown a great interest in developing natural areas and

> trails in Champaign.

>

> Here is a volunteer opportunity for nature lovers to "Adopt a Park" in

> Champaign Il.

>

> The more we volunteer the more clout we will have in the planning of our

> neighborhoods!

>

> Activities include fundraising, programming, Park

> maintenance/developement, upkeep of a flower bed, potlucks, and security

> (surveillance).

>

> For more information contact Kristi Bolton, Champaign Park District, at

> 398-2571.

>

> Hope to see you next spring!

>

> Jim Hoyt

> Champaign Il.

>

>

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********

"The human culture is considered to be a 'geologic force' and with good reason. But if we are at a stage where our actions are to decide the

world's future, then surely we have reached a level where we can be held acountable for the world's future." Durward L. Allen "Our Wildlife

Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********

From smithsje at egix.net Mon Dec 12 21:33:28 2005


Date: Mon Dec 12 21:29:20 2005


Message-ID: <200512130317.jBD3H8bE002646@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

Here is a list of our feeder birds for the past two days. Numbers are the most at any one time.

Cowbird 21, blue jay 5, titmouse 2, C. chickadee 2, WB nuthatch 2, RB nuthatch 1, cardinal 17, song sparrow 1, tree sparrow 1, goldfinch 25, junco 18, morning dove 75, house finch 27, crow 5, starling 4, grackle

2, rusty blackbird 1, RB woodpecker 2, RH woodpecker 1, downy 2, house sparrow 150+.

Best regards.


2005-12-12



Date: Mon Dec 12 21:53:17 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Squirrel/feeder question/advice

Message-ID:


I had a squirrel discover my hanging backyard feeders today.

I have two wrought-iron plant stands, with Droll Yankee cylindrical feeders hanging from each.

I watched the squirrel shinny up the wrought-iron base about five feet, position itself on the top support of the feeder, and hang on with its back legs as it lowered itself to the point where it could use its front legs to scoop out food.

I am asking for advice from two perspectives:

1. Is there anything I can do to the wrought iron poles to discourage the squirrel from shinnying up the poles?

2. And if I can't stop that, is there anything I can do to stop the

squirrel from accessing the feeder?

Thanks much!!!!!!!!!!!

Bernie Sloan

From jbchato at uiuc.edu Mon Dec 12 22:31:10 2005


Date: Mon Dec 12 22:31:12 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Meadowbrook birds

Message-ID: <511488b2.69d6a876.8198f00@expms1.cites.uiuc.edu>

Gary Jackson had 6 Whistling Swans (Tundra) heading south low over

Meadowbrook on Saturday. That's a new species for the Park list. He also had a snipe a few days earlier.

I had a probable Goshawk this morning just at the entrance to Yankee

Ridge Subdivision. Unfortunately I had no binoculars in the car to give a better look. It was perched in the open close to the road on the east side.

Uniformly pale underneath, gray on top, right size and shape. It flew off towards the park. I came back later with binocs, but of course couldn't find it.

I did have a variety of the usual winter stuff. 25 high flying canada geese,

1 immature red tail, red-bellied, downy, hairy, flicker, and two sapsuckers. red & white-breasted nuthatches, 50 robins (lots of honeysuckle berries along edge of Yankee Ridge Pond), a brown creeper, 6 blue jays, 50 crows, white throats, juncos, cardinals, house and gold finches. No owls, last sighting I know of was Jacob S. on 12/3.

Beth

John C. Chato

714 W. Vermont Ave.

Urbana, IL 61801

217-344-6803



Date: Mon Dec 12 22:44:43 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F28564530B@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I was driving back from southern Indiana today, and when I was on I-74 between the Wabash River and Kickapoo I spotted a couple of high flying flocks of Canada geese headed north. It seemed odd.



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of John &

Beth

Chato

Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 10:31 PM

To: Birdnotes


Gary Jackson had 6 Whistling Swans (Tundra) heading south low over

Meadowbrook on Saturday. That's a new species for the Park list. He also had a snipe a few days earlier.

I had a probable Goshawk this morning just at the entrance to Yankee

Ridge Subdivision. Unfortunately I had no binoculars in the car to give a better look. It was perched in the open close to the road on the east side.

Uniformly pale underneath, gray on top, right size and shape. It flew off towards the park. I came back later with binocs, but of course couldn't find it.

I did have a variety of the usual winter stuff. 25 high flying canada geese,

1 immature red tail, red-bellied, downy, hairy, flicker, and two sapsuckers. red & white-breasted nuthatches, 50 robins (lots of honeysuckle berries along edge of Yankee Ridge Pond), a brown creeper, 6 blue jays, 50 crows, white throats, juncos, cardinals, house and gold finches. No owls, last sighting I know of was Jacob S. on 12/3.

Beth

John C. Chato

714 W. Vermont Ave.

Urbana, IL 61801

217-344-6803

_______________________________________________



From vaiden at isgs.uiuc.edu Tue Dec 13 08:49:43 2005


Date: Tue Dec 13 08:49:46 2005


Message-ID: <2DBE7AB0488C0443A1E1C20EA692D90718A26D@zinc.isgs.uiuc.edu>

Sunday about noon...about 200 Geese over east Urbana headed south...about 50 Geese near evening...medium altitude (not real high)...local or not?

At the feeder...1 tree Sparrow, 1 Song Sparrow, 10+ Juncos, pair of

Cardinals, 3-4 House Finches, 10-20 House Sparrows, 10-15 Mourning

Doves, 1 Carolina Wren...

At APNC...Sharp Shinned or small Coopers chasing birds all around the feeders Monday noon...

Bob

From birder1949 at yahoo.com Tue Dec 13 08:58:40 2005


Date: Tue Dec 13 08:58:43 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Meadowlarks


While conducting a raptor survey yesterday (Monday), observed at least three Meadowlarks (sp?) near the Clinton power plant, northeast of the intersection of DeWitt County roads 825N and 1675E. I have found this spot a fairly reliable place to see overwintering Meadowlarks.

Roger Digges

---------------------------------

Yahoo! Shopping

Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping

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From h-parker at express.cites.uiuc.edu Tue Dec 13 09:25:20 2005


Date: Tue Dec 13 09:27:46 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] count week

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051213092127.01fe1b20@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

For the CCAS christmas count on Dec. 17, count week runs from Wed.

Dec.

14-Wed Dec. 21. Any species identified in the count circle during this time but NOT on count day itself gets reported as "CW". Keep your eyes

& ears open and chase that goshawk into the circle!

--Helen Parker, compiler



Date: Tue Dec 13 09:30:09 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] cardinals

Message-ID: <200512131517.jBDFHtbE024952@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

Counted 22 cardinals at feeders at 6:45 am. That's 5 more than the 17 yesterday.

Best regards.


2005-12-13

From j.courson at mchsi.com Tue Dec 13 10:13:00 2005

From: j.courson at mchsi.com (Jeffrey A. Courson)

Date: Tue Dec 13 10:13:11 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Belted Kingfisher - Sangamon River near Mahomet

Message-ID:

<mailman.78.1134490390.30029.birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org>

Yesterday I saw a Belted Kingfisher flying over the Sangamon River, just

West of the Rt. 47 bridge on the South of Mahomet.

? mile West of my home and ? from the Lakes at Riverbend Preserve.

Jeff

Jeffrey A. Courson

Voice/FAX: 217-586-5110


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Date: Tue Dec 13 10:41:08 2005


Message-ID:


Greg,

Where did you see the Kingfisher?

Bernie Sloan

________________________________



Lambeth













Peregrine.

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From fairchild.s at insightbb.com Tue Dec 13 15:36:41 2005

From: fairchild.s at insightbb.com (fairchild.s@insightbb.com)

Date: Tue Dec 13 16:01:46 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] report from Homer Lake

Message-ID:

<121320052136.10178.439F3EE9000B85A0000027C221979247419CD20B0407080C9D0

70E00@insightbb.com>

Here's my first time on the list-serve.

Spent the morning at Homer Lake. White-throated sparrows at the north

peninsula. Blue jays and downy woodpeckers in the maple grove. Also saw what was surely a very dark raccoon sleeping in a hollow of a big tree. The bottom of the spillway was patrolled by a kingfisher and a great blue heron.

Downstream from the spillway on the river I did positively ID a pileated woodpecker. It sounded like there were more of them, but I didn't see them.

Numerous flickers here too.

From bprice at pdnt.com Tue Dec 13 16:08:05 2005

From: bprice at pdnt.com (Brock Price)

Date: Tue Dec 13 16:08:12 2005


Message-ID: <003401c60031$b1e37830$ed41fa3f@YOURCD7BB1D575>

Cardinals - 11

Juncos - 9

House Finch - 13

Downy - 2

R.B. Woodpecker - 1

Mourning Dove - 5

Starlings - 10+

Blue Jay - 3

Carolina Wren - 1

House Sparrow - 40 to 50 ( My wife hung a red Christmas

bow on one of my bigger feeders - House

sparrows apparently didn't care for it - I

imagine they will get used to it.

Still getting the Great Horned Owl calling repeatedly at night a few houses down from mine. Can't find it in daytime.

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Date: Tue Dec 13 16:15:48 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV16FCB6F47585381A728C23C6390@phx.gbl>

Greg,

You don't report seeing any Great Horned. This year their nest failed.

I also don't remember anyone else reporting them recently. Does that mean that they may be gone and the Barred have taken their places? It is my understanding that the GHOW will not tolerate any other owls in their territories....although that reference may be in regards to breeding territories only. I have never seen a Barred Owl in town although in the past GHOW have called in our large trees. One year, several years ago, I had a pair calling back and forth.

Where did you see the pipits and longspurs? Thanks.

Charlene Anchor


From: Gregory S Lambeth













Peregrine.

_______________________________________________



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Date: Tue Dec 13 16:38:09 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Meadowbrook and Forestry

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV2F82B87E33C489ACDCD57C6390@phx.gbl>

After seeing the birds reported from Meadowbrook and the Forestry I went out this morning for about 1 1/2 hours. Didn't see anything new except 1 FIELD SPARROW at the bridge by the "Marker".

At the "Rabbit" bridge I was counting the birds (Robins-6, Doves-16,

Downy-1, House Finch 4). I started walking away and a Blue Jay (which

I had missed) called, or maybe I should say screamed loudly.

Everything exploded away. I looked up and an adult SHARP-SHINNED was sitting in the top of a tree. It's both exciting and amazing how well the warning systems work.

Charlene Anchor

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From avara at uiuc.edu Tue Dec 13 16:47:57 2005


Date: Tue Dec 13 16:49:24 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Strigidae

Message-ID: <a40a6f5b.6a3b15f9.990ea00@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu>

I think there is more owl activity and coexistance

(particularly in south Urbana than many realize.) To begin with, there are at least three EASTERN SCREECH OWLS in the

Meadowbrook/Forestry area that it is my job to monitor (1 rufous and 2 gray of the ones we know of). As Greg reported earlier this week, there is at least one BARRED OWL in this area as well. I heard and most probably saw it calling earlier last week in Forestry around dusk. As Bryan will probably confirm, there is at least one LONG-EARED OWL in

Forestry--I just saw this today for the first time with

Bryan. Lastly, there are at least (maybe only) two GREAT-

HORNED OWLS in this area as I heard, just like someone else mentioned a week or two ago a conversation between two of them near dusk near Forestry. Perhaps the epitomy of the strangely close proximity these owls keep was demonstrated today, when the long-eared owl that I saw today with Bryan was perched only a few FEET from a Great Horned Owl, and were it not for Bryan mentioning that it was not another

Long-Eared Owl, I would have glanced and assumed it was. I only wish that that Saw Whet Owl that was present last year was here to enjoy the party...!

~Mike Avara

From lambeth at ad.uiuc.edu Tue Dec 13 16:56:26 2005


Date: Tue Dec 13 16:56:27 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] RE: Strigidae

Message-ID:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01CD02F6@odosmail.ad.uiuc.edu>

Thanks for your post, Michael. I, too, saw a Great-horned Owl sitting within a foot or two of the Long-eared Owl last year and posted the observation on this list. I was very surprised to witness this "coexistence". As for Charlene's question about Great-horneds and

Barreds, I don't know much about their co-existence. I've always though they didn't get along very well, but that different habitat preferences kept them somewhat apart from one another. I didn't see any Great-horneds on Saturday, nor did I have the Long-eared, but I've long suspected that the Long-eareds have more than one roost, I just don't know where the other one(s) is/are.

Greg


From: Michael R Avara


To: charlene anchor; Gregory S Lambeth; Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

Subject: Strigidae








~Mike Avara



Date: Tue Dec 13 17:16:30 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV17B4FDBED743EB021BD363C6390@phx.gbl>

Yes, I remember Greg's post last year and the Long-eared and the Greathorned seem to be co-existing ok at the Forestry. (Too bad I didn't remember the posts of a couple of weeks ago :-)) Maybe they have enough food, and maybe since it's winter, it's not a problem. I have no idea.

Birds do act different in response to their territories during breeding time. I guess the answer to any questions will be found in the future if the Barred Owls stay around or not. I am happy to be "re-informed" that the Great-horned are still present.

Charlene Anchor


From: Gregory S Lambeth




Thanks for your post, Michael. I, too, saw a Great-horned Owl sitting within a foot or two of the Long-eared Owl last year and posted the observation on this list. I was very surprised to witness this "coexistence". As for Charlene's question about Great-horneds and

Barreds, I don't know much about their co-existence. I've always though they didn't get along very well, but that different habitat preferences kept them somewhat apart from one another. I didn't see any Great-horneds on Saturday, nor did I have the Long-eared, but I've long suspected that the Long-eareds have more than one roost, I just don't know where the other one(s) is/are.

Greg


From: Michael R Avara


To: charlene anchor; Gregory S Lambeth; Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

Subject: Strigidae








~Mike Avara

_______________________________________________



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From spendelo at uiuc.edu Tue Dec 13 18:51:32 2005


Date: Tue Dec 13 18:49:52 2005


In-Reply-To:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01CD02F6@odosmail.ad.uiuc. edu>

References:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01CD02F6@odosmail.ad.uiuc.edu>


The number of Long-eared Owls visible at the forestry plantation has varied on a day to day basis the past few years. There are some trees that the owls favor, and they return to these trees over and over through the course of a winter, but then sometimes they are mysteriously absent. There have been times when two or three have been visible roosting together one day, but a few days later none could be found. I also am curious as to where they go when they aren't in the cedar grove that they seem to favor.

Jacob

>I've long suspected that the Long-eareds have more than one roost, I just

>don't know where the other one(s) is/are.

From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Tue Dec 13 21:58:24 2005


Date: Tue Dec 13 21:58:26 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Buteo sighting on Prospect Ave,

In-Reply-To:

<121320052136.10178.439F3EE9000B85A0000027C221979247419CD20B0407080C9D0

70E00@insightbb.com>



Birders,

Saw a large buteo at Prospect Ave. and Vine street in Champaign while driving.

Saw lots of house sparrows and doves in the trees around Country Fair

Apartments.

One of my neighbors has a ground feeding station under the junipers.

Jim :)

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********


Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********



Date: Wed Dec 14 23:20:03 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Birding book suggestions?

Message-ID:


Do any of you have any suggestions as far as new birding related books for gifts?

Thanks much!

Bernie Sloan

From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Wed Dec 14 23:50:09 2005


Date: Wed Dec 14 23:51:33 2005


In-Reply-To:




Bernie,

I would suggest that you visit the bookstore at the Anita Purvis Nature

Center on North Broadway Avenue in Urbana Illinois.

Call 384-4062 if you get lost.

My favorites are good picture books that contain CD audio of bird and wildlife related calls.

There are also some neat CD and VHS tapes for bird ID which will warm the coldest midwinter heart.

Hope this helps.

Jim :)

PS. Among other nice things the profits from these go to the ongoing efforts of the local Auduban soiciety and the Urbana Park

District!

You can find these at the APNC Gift shop.

On Wed, 14 Dec 2005, Sloan, Bernie wrote:

> Do any of you have any suggestions as far as new birding related books

> for gifts?

>

> Thanks much!

>

> Bernie Sloan

>

> _______________________________________________




>

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********


Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********



Date: Thu Dec 15 00:11:35 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Nighttime feeder animals

Message-ID:


On snow-covered nights like tonight I usually see a number of mammals feeding in my ground feeding area. Mostly rabbits. And much smaller unidentified rodents (which I think of as owl bait). Occasionally something larger.

I looked out into the yard just now (about midnight) and saw the biggest opossum I have ever seen in my life!!! It literally looked prehistoric, it was so big and ancient looking!!

Bernie Sloan



Date: Thu Dec 15 11:24:44 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Mt. Hope Cemetery

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV51E1E3275E0A91D7C0F41C63B0@phx.gbl>

Because of the mention of where the Goshawk had been sited, as well as the question of where the Long-eareds may be, and my previous experience at Mt. Hope Cemetery (between Kirby and Pennsylvania off

Fourth), and its supply of ground squirrels, rabbits, etc., I decided to check it out this morning. Unfortunately the fog obliterated about everything except my feet and I stayed less than 1/2 hour.

There were multiple NORTHERN FLICKERS, RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS, BLUE

JAYS, and other small species which I couldn't see. Then I heard and saw CROWS harassing something in a tall evergreen. I couldn't see and was about to give up when I spotted an indistinct form. Turned out to be an owl which finally flew off to another tree. The crows were unrelenting and the owl would go from tree to tree with the crows in pursuit. This continued the entire time I was there. The owl was noticeably larger than the crows and I so I assumed it to be a GREAT-

HORNED. But I wondered why the owl didn't sit still, as I usually have seen in the past, with the crows then finally giving up. Then I wondered if it couldn't be a BARRED since I think there could be an overlap in size. Maybe an owl not in it's usual territory would be more apt to be uncertain or restless and keep flying around? Anyway, I never got a look at it's face or breast for I.D. because I would approach the tree and it would take off again in another direction.

As I was leaving a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH dropped out of a cedar about

10 feet from my feet (thankfully!) and foraged a bit and went to the next cedar and did the same.

I decided to return to the cemetery when viewing conditions would be better.

Charlene Anchor

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From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Thu Dec 15 15:23:24 2005

From: jwhoyt at prairienet.org (jwhoyt@prairienet.org)

Date: Thu Dec 15 15:23:28 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] [Fwd: rare bird alert] (Eurasian Tree Sparrow)

Message-ID:

<1528.192.17.100.117.1134681804.squirrel@mail.prairienet.org>

Birders,

Someone mentioned seeing a ETS just west of Springfield.

One has been observed at Funks Grove Nature Center near McClean

Illinois.

Jim :)

---------------------------- Original Message -------------------------

---

Subject: rare bird alert

From: "Sugar Grove" <sugargrovenc@earthlink.net>

Date: Thu, December 15, 2005 1:59 pm

To:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

---

Eurasian Tree Sparrow at Sugar Grove Nature Center's Feeding Station

In the late 1800s, 20 Eurasian Tree Sparrows were brought from Germany and released onto farms near St. Louis, Missouri. Over the last 135 years, this species has slowly spread across the State of Illinois. Similar in appearance to the common English House Sparrow, this species often goes unrecognized by casual bird watchers. They seem to be more sensitive to development than House Sparrows and move from areas that are too developed. Eurasian Tree Sparrows usually feed on the ground, eating millet, cracked corn, and other small seeds. Although a non-native species, because of their rarity, bird watchers are interested in local sightings.

You are invited to Sugar Grove Nature Center to see if you can spot the single Eurasian Tree Sparrow among the Fox Sparrows, White-crowned

Sparrows, and House Sparrows feeding at our observation station. Other birds common at our feeders include Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted

Titmice, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Cardinals, and Dark-eyed

Juncos. The nature center is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-3pm.

If a friend forwarded this newsletter, to receive our e-newsletter yourself, click on this link subscribe to e-newsletter. To receive paper newsletters, click on this link subscribe to paper newsletter. If you do not want to receive our e-newsletters, click on this link unsubscribe from e-newsletter.

-------------- next part --------------


URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051215/83 f67a37/untitled-2.htm



Date: Thu Dec 15 16:37:24 2005


Message-ID:


Interesting. The announcement that Jim forwarded says: "In the late

1800s, 20 Eurasian Tree Sparrows were brought from Germany and released onto farms near St. Louis, Missouri." Actually, they were released in

Lafayette Park in St. Louis (on April 25th, 1870) according to the

Missouri Department of Conservation. Another interesting slant is that a number of other European species were released at the same time

(European Goldfinches, Eurasian Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, and Linnets), but only the ETS was successful in establishing a breeding population.

Speaking of "Eurasian" birds, has anyone ever seen any Eurasian

Collared-Doves around C-U?? Just as Eurasian Tree Sparrows strongly resemble House Sparrows, Eurasian Collared-Doves sort of look like

Mourning Doves. I was asked this question a couple of months ago by a birder from Indiana who had visited his mother (she lived south of

Decatur somewhere) and had seen Eurasian Collared-Doves mixed in with the Mourning Doves in his mother's rural yard.

Bernie Sloan



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of jwhoyt@prairienet.org




Birders,

Someone mentioned seeing a ETS just west of Springfield.

One has been observed at Funks Grove Nature Center near McClean

Illinois.

Jim :)

---------------------------- Original Message

----------------------------

Subject: rare bird alert

From: "Sugar Grove" <sugargrovenc@earthlink.net>

Date: Thu, December 15, 2005 1:59 pm

To:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

-

--

Eurasian Tree Sparrow at Sugar Grove Nature Center's Feeding Station

In the late 1800s, 20 Eurasian Tree Sparrows were brought from Germany and released onto farms near St. Louis, Missouri. Over the last 135 years, this species has slowly spread across the State of Illinois. Similar in appearance to the common English House Sparrow, this species often goes unrecognized by casual bird watchers. They seem to be more sensitive to development than House Sparrows and move from areas that are too developed. Eurasian Tree Sparrows usually feed on the ground, eating millet, cracked corn, and other small seeds. Although a non-native species, because of their rarity, bird watchers are interested in local sightings.

You are invited to Sugar Grove Nature Center to see if you can spot the single Eurasian Tree Sparrow among the Fox Sparrows, White-crowned

Sparrows, and House Sparrows feeding at our observation station. Other birds common at our feeders include Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted

Titmice, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Cardinals, and Dark-eyed

Juncos. The nature center is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-3pm.

If a friend forwarded this newsletter, to receive our e-newsletter yourself, click on this link subscribe to e-newsletter. To receive paper newsletters, click on this link subscribe to paper newsletter. If you do not want to receive our e-newsletters, click on this link unsubscribe from e-newsletter.

From matthewthorum at sisna.com Thu Dec 15 17:21:12 2005

From: matthewthorum at sisna.com (Matthew Thorum)

Date: Thu Dec 15 17:21:42 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Forestry Owls and Woodpecker Behavior

Message-ID: <43A1FA68.1010202@sisna.com>

I took a short walk through the U of I Forestry late this afternoon. A pair of birders I met in the cedars was kind ehough to point out a

*Great Horned Owl *they had located. I later saw a *Barred Owl* in a stand of 4-5 tall conifers (sorry I don't know my IL trees yet) where two paths cross at about the center of the forestry. I wasn't able to spot a Long-Eared.

There were quite a few woodpeckers, including: Red-bellied, Hairy,

Downy, YB Sapsucker. I was surprised to watch a female Hairy fly down to the ground and sit in one place on the snow for about 5 min. It probed the snow periodically with its bill and I imagine that is was eating the snow for water, but otherwise it didn't move. It appeared to be laying on its belly in the snow (simmilar to the way it would look on top of a horizontal branch), but it looked very bizzare like this on the ground. Does anyone know if woodpeckers are able to stand upright on the ground (like a junco or a robin), or are their legs adapted

exclusively for gripping tree branches etc.? I have seen woodpeckers light on the ground briefly while foraging (especially Downy), but I don't recall ever seeing one just sit in one place like this (except for

N. Flicker). But, that may just mean that I should get out more.

Matt Thorum

Chemistry Grad. Student, UIUC



Date: Fri Dec 16 08:44:20 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Owl


I was at Pennsylvania and 6th last night about 5:10 when I heard an Owl hooting (Great Horned?) in the cemetery. The call was faint...the bird probably was a fair distance away near Florida Ave.

Bob

_______________________________________________________________________

_

__

From rkanter at uiuc.edu Fri Dec 16 10:28:36 2005


Date: Fri Dec 16 10:28:41 2005


Message-ID: <a131de2d.6ba37603.879a100@expms6.cites.uiuc.edu>

I'm not sure how new you mean, and you may well already know these, but the three bird books I picked up this year were

*The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-Billed

Woodpecker* by Tim Gallagher

*Birding Illinois* by Sheryl De Vore (specific directions for places to go birding)

*Birds of Illinois* by De Vore, Steve Bailey, and Gregory

Kennedy (more specific range maps than broader field guides, concise, informative descriptions of behavior, etc.)

Other books not specifically about birds but that might be of interest to birders

*The Nature Handbook: A Guide to Observing the Great

Outdoors* by Ernest H. Williams, Jr. (A really nicely written collection of page-length entries on all manner of natural phenomena, and a great gift for birding types. My wife discovered it and gave it to me.)

*Creating Habitats and Homes for Illinois Wildlife* by Phil

Mankin, Richard Warner and others. (Although it's pitched to landowners [including those of use who just have small yards in town :) ] this book provides a nice overview of ecology and a streamlined natural history of the state, in addition

to the chapters describing various habitats and how to create/maintain them.)

*Native Plants in the Home Landscape for the Upper Midwest* by Keith Nowakowski (Great species descriptions, guidelines for garden layout etc.)

Happy shopping!

Rob Kanter rkanter@uiuc.edu

---- Original message ----

>Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 23:12:47 -0600

>From: "Sloan, Bernie" <bernies@uillinois.edu>

>Subject: [Birdnotes] Birding book suggestions?


>

>Do any of you have any suggestions as far as new birding related books

>for gifts?

>

>Thanks much!

>

>Bernie Sloan

>

>_______________________________________________






Date: Mon Dec 19 08:11:15 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Cemetery owl

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV8EAD6A41159564828CE81C63F0@phx.gbl>

Been "rethinking" my cemetery owl sighting and I think I asked the wrong question regarding the owl's I.D. I wouldn't have considered it to be a BARRED except for the recent sightings of them. So my question should have been, would there have been something I should have noticed while the owl was in flight that would have identified it as a GREAT-

HORNED as opposed to a BARRED, that is if they were of similar sizes?

Due to the fog I could only make out an outline. In the past, I've observed them in flight only a few times during the day and I knew what they were before they flew off, most likely affecting how I was observing them. Thanks for any clarifications.

Charlene Anchor

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Date: Mon Dec 19 09:17:12 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Gift bird books

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV10D1BB55C2534F424BF0DBC63F0@phx.gbl>

I recently bought a book that I'm really enthusiastic about - "Secret

Lives of Common Birds" subtitled "Enjoying Bird Behavior Through the

Seasons" by Marie Read. Marie is a famous wildlife photographer. She used to work for the Cornell Lab and she recently quit to go on her own. John Fitzpatrick (director of Cornell) reviews it saying "A dazzling and delightful masterpiece! Marie Read's exquisite photographs always reveal deep appreciation for the intimate details of bird behavior, and now her eye for beauty and behavior are combined with her firm understanding of bird biology."

I love books on common birds because it is what I see most and this gives an intimate and beautiful view of them. It also presents factual information in a casual manner. This could be a gift for anyone, birders and non-birders. It could easily introduce non-birders to the world of birds in a seductive as well as informative way without being heavy-handed. More advanced birders would probably know all the facts but the photos make it worth the investment of only $15.00!

Charlene Anchor

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855f9d/attachment.htm

From abthrelkel at aol.com Sun Dec 18 13:10:51 2005

From: abthrelkel at aol.com (abthrelkel@aol.com)

Date: Mon Dec 19 10:53:07 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Raptor sighting

In-Reply-To: <8C7CFEFFC498546-16F8-3533@FWM-M20.sysops.aol.com>

References: <1c2.36ca0f08.30d31f03@aol.com>

<8C7CFEFFC498546-16F8-3533@FWM-M20.sysops.aol.com>

Message-ID: <8C7D21DE5AA1337-170-30531@FWM-D03.sysops.aol.com>

Just now (1:05 p.m.), from our back window, couple hundred yards south of 107 E Michigan Ave -- probably over Blair Park. 5 or 6 crows mobbing large hawk -- couldn't ID, but had striking pale underbody and wings.

_____________________

Brian Threlkeld

107 East Michigan Avenue

Urbana IL 61801-5027

217-384-5164 abt5@columbia.edu

Federal Public Defender's Office

Central District of Illinois

300 West Main Street

Urbana IL 61801-2624

217-373-0666

217-373-0667 (fax)

Brian_Threlkeld@fd.org



Date: Mon Dec 19 14:09:00 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Sandhills, turkeys, Coopers

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F28564564D@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I've had a relatively uneventful several weeks when it comes to birds, but this morning was interesting.

(Note: this all took place in Indiana this AM, as I was heading from

Bloomington, IN to Urbana. Thought I'd share it with you, though. I particularly enjoyed seeing the sandhills..............)

Sometime after 9AM I came relatively close to being smacked in the side of the head by a Coopers. :-) I was walking to my car and walked past the corner of a building, when a junco sped by just in front of me. I sensed something to my right and looked to see a Coopers veer off to the right to avoid a collision. It was maybe five feet away. I think the

Coopers was as startled as I was. I remember hearing a lot of agitated bird calls right before I got to the corner of the building.

Then, at 9:55AM I was on SR37, headed north a few miles out of

Martinsville. I saw maybe 200 Sandhill Cranes. There were several groups in the process of taking off from some bottomland farm fields near the

White River, so I got a pretty close view. Looked like they were headed southeast.

Later on I saw a flock of maybe 20 wild turkeys in the bottomlands of the Wabash River, just north of I-74.

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


From armine at uiuc.edu Mon Dec 19 13:24:43 2005

From: armine at uiuc.edu (Armine Kotin Mortimer)

Date: Tue Dec 20 00:25:12 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Wild turkeys

Message-ID: <43A708FB.8020507@uiuc.edu>


URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051219/b1

39161e/attachment.htm



Date: Tue Dec 20 08:40:43 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Christmas Bird Count?

Message-ID:


How did the CBC go on Saturday?

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


From lupewinku at lanscape.net Tue Dec 20 12:44:29 2005


Date: Tue Dec 20 12:44:38 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Clinton Lake CBC

Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20051220124350.02657448@mail.kspei.com>

Hello all, The Clinton Lake CBC has been rescheduled for Mon Jan 2,

2006. If anyone I have not contacted is interested, please let me know. Thank you, Rhetta Jack <lupewinku@lanscape.net>

From lupewinku at lanscape.net Tue Dec 20 12:44:59 2005


Date: Tue Dec 20 12:45:08 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Clinton Lake CBC

Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20051220124454.02696d58@mail.kspei.com>

Hello all, The Clinton Lake CBC has been rescheduled for Mon Jan 2,

2006. If anyone I have not contacted is interested, please let me know. Thank you, Rhetta Jack <lupewinku@lanscape.net>

From lambeth at ad.uiuc.edu Tue Dec 20 13:02:33 2005


Date: Tue Dec 20 13:02:37 2005


Message-ID:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01CD0346@odosmail.ad.uiuc.edu>

Bernie:

I missed the count tally on Sunday evening so I don't know how the count went as a whole, but I'll comment on my day. Steve Bailey, Rob

Kanter and I spent the morning at the Forestry, Meadowbrook and South

Farms and then Steve and I continued on during the afternoon in the

Arb, 1st street pond, etc. We ended with 53 species, including 4 species of owl (Barred, Great-horned, Screech and Long-eared), 6 species of hawk, including all 3 accipters (Cooper's, Sharp-shinned and Goshawk) and Peregrine Falcon. Other highlights include Rubycrowned Kinglet, Blue Goose, Wood Duck, Belted Kingfisher, 3 Snipe

(including 1 being chased by a Cooper's Hawks), ridiculously high numbers of White-crowned Sparrows, E. Meadowlark and Yellow-rumped

Warbler. I also had a Bald Eagle fly over town on Sunday for a count period specie (assuming nobody had one on the count day).

Greg Lambeth



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org]On Behalf Of Sloan,

Bernie




How did the CBC go on Saturday?

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


_______________________________________________



From rboehmer at mail.millikin.edu Tue Dec 20 13:28:17 2005


Date: Tue Dec 20 13:28:35 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] sharpie

Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20051220132619.02d3fea0@mail.millikin.edu>

I watched an adult sharpie lunching on a cardinal on the roadside near

Lodge Park this morning. S/he tolerated me just 30 feet away until a big truck came along and forced the lunch to be taken elsewhere.

Ray

From h-parker at uiuc.edu Tue Dec 20 14:46:53 2005

From: h-parker at uiuc.edu (Helen Parker)

Date: Tue Dec 20 14:45:06 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] feeder-watchers???


Did ANYBODY who was not also a field observer count birds at their feeder

Saturday? If so, I need your data! Thanks!

--Helen Parker, CBC compiler

From REGEHR5 at aol.com Tue Dec 20 19:20:01 2005


Date: Tue Dec 20 19:20:14 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Pheasants

Message-ID: <20a.f94ddbc.30da07c1@aol.com>

On Sunday afternoon, driving along Old Church Road east of

Race St. I saw a gathering of 56 pheasants in a field that had been turned over....no cover. As I approached there were a few flying from the field on the south side of the road. They did not seem to be eating, just standing, walking, or flying short distances. and staying pretty close together, near the road. I was very surprised to see that large number of birds.

Elaine Regehr

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02cc25/attachment.htm

From bpalmore at egix.net Tue Dec 20 20:37:15 2005


Date: Tue Dec 20 20:37:33 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Wild turkeys

In-Reply-To: <43A708FB.8020507@uiuc.edu>

References: <43A708FB.8020507@uiuc.edu>

Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.1.20051220203558.01a76b20@mail.egix.net>

They are getting closer to West Vermont, started near Sunnycrest.

Maybe we'll be seeing them soon. Bland

At 01:24 PM 12/19/2005, Armine Kotin Mortimer wrote:

>Hello,

>Four wild turkeys are walking along Florida Court in Urbana (I assume that

>is what they are). There were tracks for a couple of days in our back yard

>on Florida Court; today we saw the birds at the end of our driveway.

> Armine

>

>--

>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>Armine Kotin Mortimer, Professor and Head

>Department of French

>University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

>707 S. Mathews Ave.

>Urbana, IL 61801 USA

>Tel 217-244-2727 Home Tel 217-367-4705 Fax 217-384-5424

><mailto:armine@uiuc.edu>armine@uiuc.edu

>http://www.french.uiuc.edu/People/faculty/Mortimer.htm

>_______________________________________________




From ebaughjason at yahoo.com Tue Dec 20 21:30:47 2005

From: ebaughjason at yahoo.com (Jason Ebaugh)

Date: Tue Dec 20 21:30:50 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Good year for red tails?

Message-ID: <20051221033047.77998.qmail@web36108.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

It seems it may be a good year for Red Tail Hawks.

On a drive up to Chicago today, I saw a disproportionate number of hawks roadside.

I'm wondering if they are at the high point of a popoulation cycle.

Jason

Jason Ebaugh ebaughjason@yahoo.com

Urbana, Champaign County

__________________________________________________

Do You Yahoo!?




Date: Tue Dec 20 23:14:29 2005


Message-ID:


I saw the same sort of thing once northwest of Race Street and Curtis

Road a couple of years ago. Maybe not 56 pheasants, but at least 30.

Bernie Sloan

________________________________



REGEHR5@aol.com




On Sunday afternoon, driving along Old Church Road east of

Race St. I saw a gathering of 56 pheasants in a field that had been turned over....no cover. As I approached there were a few flying from the field on the south side of the road. They did not seem to be eating, just standing, walking, or flying short distances. and staying pretty close together, near the road. I was very surprised to see that large number of birds.

Elaine Regehr

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URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051220/ce fd01e5/attachment.htm

From rkanter at uiuc.edu Wed Dec 21 08:59:26 2005


Date: Wed Dec 21 08:59:34 2005


Message-ID: <f6ba7576.6e2e7500.8262500@expms6.cites.uiuc.edu>

I saw those birds the week before. I'd guess they are raised by the people who keep that one field in tall grass, and released to be hunted for a fee.

Does anyone know for sure?

Rob Kanter


>Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 20:20:01 EST

>From: REGEHR5@aol.com

>Subject: [Birdnotes] Pheasants


>

> On Sunday afternoon, driving along Old Church

> Road east of

> Race St. I saw a gathering of 56 pheasants in a

> field that had been

> turned over....no cover. As I approached there

> were a few flying

> from the field on the south side of the road. They

> did not seem to

> be eating, just standing, walking, or flying short

> distances. and

> staying pretty close together, near the road. I was

> very surprised

> to see that large number of birds.

> Elaine Regehr

>________________

>_______________________________________________






Date: Wed Dec 21 09:29:19 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Short-eared owl

Message-ID:


I'm pretty certain I heard a short-eared owl last night, about 11PM. It was on the move from east to west and then back again from west to east a few minutes later, passing through the back of my backyard (near the intersection of Anderson and Colorado in Urbana).

Bernie Sloan

From leslienoa at gmail.com Wed Dec 21 10:57:52 2005

From: leslienoa at gmail.com (Leslie Noa)

Date: Wed Dec 21 10:57:57 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Monticello and Allerton birds (older) and a U of I

Kingfisher (today)

Message-ID:

<a4f8d1430512210857x2fea51can955064fa0a5ce875@mail.gmail.com>

After not posting for several months and not really spending much time birding...

This morning I saw a Kingfisher near the corner of Wright and Healy at the U of I. There is a small stream in that area. It was calling and perched on some utility wires in the area.

I've been seeing the following species fairly regularly in the

Monticello area:

Brown creepers (several out at Allerton and an occasional one at my house)

Barred Owls (mostly at Allerton at all times of the day; I heard one in my yard calling (a few feet from me) one evening not too long ago.

Great-horned Owl (one seems to frequent my neighborhood; I've heard it calling several times in my backyard around 4 am)

These are perhaps the most notable birds I've seen over the last couple of weeks.

I also saw a Screech Owl at Lake Charleston recently.

Would love to see a Long-eared owl and have yet to go out to the

Forestry in

Champaign. Any suggestions on how to find them? I'm hoping to check out

Allerton soon.

Leslie Noa

Monticello

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3123cb/attachment.htm



Date: Wed Dec 21 11:24:52 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Personal birding highlights for 2005?

Message-ID:


Seems like newspapers and magazines are always filled with "best of the year" stories this time of year. I'm interested in hearing about people's personal birding highlights for 2005.

I can start off by listing my top five, all within the final quarter of the year:

1. My personal species count hit the 200 mark in early October. I flushed two American Black Ducks from an old landfill seepage pond while on a walk in Bloomington, Indiana. Not a particularly exotic sighting, but it was #200. I know hitting the 200-species mark might not seem too exciting to some more veteran birders, but I consider myself as sort of an "incidental birder". I don't intentionally go birding, I just look for birds while I am doing other things...walking, driving, looking out the windows at home, etc.

2. My Rufous Hummingbird sighting. Looking out the sliding glass door, out on my patio, at 9:30AM, October 24. Let's just say that a few people have been a little skeptical and have tried to convince me that it was probably a Ruby-throated. But I got a clear few from just a few feet away and it definitely had a bronze back. The more pictures I see of male Rufous, the more certain I become. My 203rd species.

3. Seeing a couple hundred Sandhill Cranes taking off from a bottomland farm field north of Martinsville, Indiana, 9:55AM (Eastern Time),

December 19. That was my first Sandhill sighting. My 206th species.

4. Hearing a hen turkey yelp in Meadowbrook Park. Approximately 7:00AM,

October 18. I've heard/seen turkeys quite a few times before, but never in Champaign County, let alone in Urbana! Now if I could just happen to

SEE them one of these days!!

5. Hearing a Short-eared Owl last night at about 11:00PM. My 207th species.

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454




Date: Wed Dec 21 12:19:01 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV10DBF0C74F2A3AEFF7660AC6310@phx.gbl>

Rob, now that you mention special fields being kept for them.....I wonder if there is a connection with "Pheasants Forever"? Don't know how you would find out.

Charlene Anchor


From: Rob Kanter


To: REGEHR5@aol.com; birdnotes@prairienet.org

Subject: Re: [Birdnotes] Pheasants

I saw those birds the week before. I'd guess they are raised by the people who keep that one field in tall grass, and released to be hunted for a fee.

Does anyone know for sure?

Rob Kanter


>Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 20:20:01 EST

>From: REGEHR5@aol.com

>Subject: [Birdnotes] Pheasants


>

> On Sunday afternoon, driving along Old Church

> Road east of

> Race St. I saw a gathering of 56 pheasants in a

> field that had been

> turned over....no cover. As I approached there

> were a few flying

> from the field on the south side of the road. They

> did not seem to

> be eating, just standing, walking, or flying short

> distances. and

> staying pretty close together, near the road. I was

> very surprised

> to see that large number of birds.

> Elaine Regehr

>________________

>_______________________________________________




_______________________________________________



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3cc88d/attachment.htm

From lambeth at ad.uiuc.edu Wed Dec 21 14:30:33 2005


Date: Wed Dec 21 14:30:36 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Peregrine Falcon

Message-ID:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01CD034E@odosmail.ad.uiuc.edu>

I just had the Peregrine Falcon again at 2:20pm on campus. It was sitting at the very top of a pole which sits on top of the bookstore on the corner of Green and Wright street. It flew off a few minutes after

I first saw it. I had the Peregrine on Saturday flying over the South

Farms and I had it last week on top of the steeple at the corner of

Matthews and Green. I know of several other reports prior to these.

It's probably safe to say that this bird is hanging around. Steve

Bailey and I were guessing that it's feeding on Rock Pigeons. These birds have been unusually skittish the past few weeks, spending a fair amount of time circling high up. I'm also wondering if the Peregrine may have a preference for high perches, perhaps the poles on top of high buildings around campus, so it's worth keeping an eye out.

Greg Lambeth



Date: Wed Dec 21 17:08:35 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Birdnotes e-mail delays/problems?

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856457BC@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

Has anyone noticed that postings to the Birdnotes list seem to get hung up somewhere for a couple of hours before they are sent out through the list, or is it just me?

It hasn't been happening for very long (24 hours or less?) but I have consistently been receiving e-mails today about 2 to 2.5 hours after the sender has sent them to the list.

For example, I've posted several notes recently and they have taken a couple of hours to come though the list. And Greg Lambeth's recent posting about the peregrine says it was sent at 2:31PM, but I didn't get it until 4:55PM.

Bernie Sloan

From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Thu Dec 22 01:53:55 2005


Date: Thu Dec 22 01:53:58 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Re; U of Kingfisher

In-Reply-To:

<a4f8d1430512210857x2fea51can955064fa0a5ce875@mail.gmail.com>



Leslie,

Good ears!

There are few birds that I love more than a Belted Kingfisher.

After checking the book "Birds of Lake, Pond, and Marsh" by John

Eastman I think your adventurous little Cerylidae must be hunting some small minnow like fish.

The water quality of the Boneyard Ditch has improved markedly in the last few years and is heated just enough that it should appeal to macroinvertebrates and thus small fish.

I doubt that it will nest here unless it can find a sandy or silty undercut bank.

But then again it might find such a spot just a few blocks downstream

(east of Lincoln Avenue).

If there are any Prairie Rivers people out there who are knowledgable about this stretch of the Boneyard please chime in!

Jim Hoyt :)

On Wed, 21 Dec 2005, Leslie Noa wrote:

> After not posting for several months and not really spending much time

> birding...

>

> This morning I saw a Kingfisher near the corner of Wright and Healy at the U

> of I. There is a small stream in that area. It was calling and perched on

> some utility wires in the area.

>

> I've been seeing the following species fairly regularly in the

Monticello

> area:

>

> Brown creepers (several out at Allerton and an occasional one at my house)

> Barred Owls (mostly at Allerton at all times of the day; I heard one in my

> yard calling (a few feet from me) one evening not too long ago.

> Great-horned Owl (one seems to frequent my neighborhood; I've heard it

> calling several times in my backyard around 4 am)

>

> These are perhaps the most notable birds I've seen over the last couple of

> weeks.

>

> I also saw a Screech Owl at Lake Charleston recently.

>

> Would love to see a Long-eared owl and have yet to go out to the

Forestry in

> Champaign. Any suggestions on how to find them? I'm hoping to check out

> Allerton soon.

>

>

> Leslie Noa

> Monticello

>

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********


Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********



Date: Thu Dec 22 07:40:03 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Turkeys

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856457C4@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I saw the turkeys this morning (FINALLY!). About 7:20AM on Silver

Street in Urbana, just east of the intersection with Anderson. As usual, there were four of them. They were slowly heading east, eating as they went.

I stood and observed them for 5+ minutes. They were completely oblivious of me.

A few minutes earlier I had seen turkey tracks in the snow along the west sidewalk on Anderson, so I was on the lookout.

Exciting...I've been waiting quite a while!

Bernie Sloan



Date: Thu Dec 22 09:17:37 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856457D0@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

Years ago I used to hang out in Crystal Lake Park in Urbana with my kids. We would fairly often see a Belted Kingfisher in the trees above the Saline Branch. There's one area where a wooden bridge crosses the

Saline, and you could stand there and watch it fishing, perching in the trees and then making a sudden dive into the creek and coming up with a small fish.

Bernie Sloan



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of James Hoyt


Cc: birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org


Leslie,

Good ears!

There are few birds that I love more than a Belted Kingfisher.

After checking the book "Birds of Lake, Pond, and Marsh" by John

Eastman

I think your adventurous little Cerylidae must be hunting some small minnow like fish.

The water quality of the Boneyard Ditch has improved markedly in the last few years and is heated just enough that it should appeal to macroinvertebrates and thus small fish.

I doubt that it will nest here unless it can find a sandy or silty undercut bank.

But then again it might find such a spot just a few blocks downstream

(east of Lincoln Avenue).

If there are any Prairie Rivers people out there who are knowledgable about this stretch of the Boneyard please chime in!

Jim Hoyt :)

On Wed, 21 Dec 2005, Leslie Noa wrote:

> After not posting for several months and not really spending much time

> birding...

>

> This morning I saw a Kingfisher near the corner of Wright and Healy at the U

> of I. There is a small stream in that area. It was calling and perched on

> some utility wires in the area.

>

> I've been seeing the following species fairly regularly in the

Monticello

> area:

>

> Brown creepers (several out at Allerton and an occasional one at my house)

> Barred Owls (mostly at Allerton at all times of the day; I heard one in my

> yard calling (a few feet from me) one evening not too long ago.

> Great-horned Owl (one seems to frequent my neighborhood; I've heard it

> calling several times in my backyard around 4 am)

>

> These are perhaps the most notable birds I've seen over the last couple of

> weeks.

>

> I also saw a Screech Owl at Lake Charleston recently.

>

> Would love to see a Long-eared owl and have yet to go out to the

Forestry in

> Champaign. Any suggestions on how to find them? I'm hoping to check out

> Allerton soon.

>

>

> Leslie Noa

> Monticello

>

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

*

*******

***********************************************************************

*

*******


Legacy"

***********************************************************************

*

*******

***********************************************************************

*

*******

_______________________________________________



From h-parker at uiuc.edu Thu Dec 22 09:39:41 2005


Date: Thu Dec 22 09:40:18 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] winter wren at meadowbrook

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051222093626.02021278@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Walking the dog this morning at Meadowbrook, I saw almost no birds other than starlings until I got to the southwest corner, not far from the rabbit bridge. There in the grass was a tiny brown bird with an upturned tail trying to pretend he was a mouse (foolish, given the raptors in the area!). It looks as though my winter wren jinx may have been broken!

--Helen Parker

From gh4444 at insightbb.com Thu Dec 22 10:05:48 2005


Date: Thu Dec 22 10:10:24 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] red tailed tailed hawks

Message-ID: <000c01c60711$92baec40$ac23cb0c@insightbb.com>

I just returned from a visit with friends 100 miles south of here along the Wabash River where i saw 2 red tailed hawks sitting by a highway and one was watching the other one eat a road killed rabbit. Do hawks make a practice of doing this?

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URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051222/7f d7c55a/attachment.htm



Date: Thu Dec 22 10:32:45 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Some turkey notes

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F2856457EC@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

A few notes from my observation this morning (I was perhaps 30 feet away at one point):

1. Turkeys can move very slowly and deliberately...almost a leisurely pace. It took them a full three minutes to cross Silver Street.

2. Turkey tracks are HUGE! I saw some large tracks in the snow in my next door neighbor's front yard. I thought "I wonder if those could be turkey tracks?" I remember thinking maybe they could be crow tracks. I went about a block and a half down Anderson and saw some tracks in the snow that dwarfed the large tracks I'd seen earlier.

3. I got the feeling the turkeys were aware of my presence, but that they weren't concerned. They would look at me occasionally in a disinterested way. Some people have speculated this "tameness" might indicate that they had been pen-raised and released. I could see where someone might get that impression. But at one point while I was observing them a blue jay loudly raised an alarm call a couple of blocks away. The turkeys raised up to their full height and froze for almost a minute, moving only their heads as they surveyed the scene. That seemed like the reaction of a wild bird.

4. Previous observers have indicated that the four turkeys are a hen and her three poults. Sure enough, one turkey always seemed to be in the lead, and I figured that was the hen. But one of the other three seemed larger than the other two (and the hen). A couple of times it stopped to fan its tail...not the spectacular upright fanned tail you see in pictures...but it definitely fanned its tail in a more subtle way.

Makes me wonder if the group isn't the hen, two female poults, and one male poult.

Bernie Sloan

From Frank21 at insightbb.com Thu Dec 22 13:54:34 2005


Date: Thu Dec 22 13:54:37 2005


References: <6.0.1.1.2.20051222093626.02021278@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Message-ID: <003801c60731$888ef520$6801a8c0@BLACKDELL>

In ealy spring I had a winter wren in my back yard. running around the

trough area. Behind it is a patch of Sasa pygmaea. It is about 1 ft tall and so dencse that a cat could hide it it but it would be difficult for hime walk through it. I'll start looking for him this year.

Frank Cooper


From: "Helen Parker" <h-parker@uiuc.edu>

To: <birdnotes@prairienet.org>



> Walking the dog this morning at Meadowbrook, I saw almost no birds other

> than starlings until I got to the southwest corner, not far from the

> rabbit bridge. There in the grass was a tiny brown bird with an upturned

> tail trying to pretend he was a mouse (foolish, given the raptors in the

> area!). It looks as though my winter wren jinx may have been broken!

> --Helen Parker

>

>

> _______________________________________________




>

>

From Frank21 at insightbb.com Thu Dec 22 14:17:50 2005


Date: Thu Dec 22 14:32:05 2005


References: <6.0.1.1.2.20051222093626.02021278@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Message-ID: <004f01c60734$c8789f80$6801a8c0@BLACKDELL>

Behind the Sasa is the bog with big clumps of pitcher plants and blueberries behind that so maybe he felt right at home there..

Frank Cooper


From: "Helen Parker" <h-parker@uiuc.edu>

To: <birdnotes@prairienet.org>



> Walking the dog this morning at Meadowbrook, I saw almost no birds other

> than starlings until I got to the southwest corner, not far from the

> rabbit bridge. There in the grass was a tiny brown bird with an upturned

> tail trying to pretend he was a mouse (foolish, given the raptors in the

> area!). It looks as though my winter wren jinx may have been broken!

> --Helen Parker

>

>

> _______________________________________________




>

>

From smithsje at egix.net Thu Dec 22 15:08:25 2005


Date: Thu Dec 22 15:08:20 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Rusty Blackbirds

Message-ID: <200512222055.jBMKtpLg021445@outbound-mta.egix.net>

Hello, Bird,

This am, 11 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS came to our feeders.

Best regards.


2005-12-22

From CatheC at hkusa.com Thu Dec 22 16:49:47 2005

From: CatheC at hkusa.com (Cathe Capel)

Date: Thu Dec 22 16:49:51 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Belted Kingfisher

Message-ID: <344267DC4D790B41BA09C521F0E8861567B225@exchange.hkusa.com>

Twice this week I've seen a belted kingfisher just west of the sewage treatment plant on Windsor Road (Champaign). The kingfisher is usually perched on the wires over the canal along the north side of the road.

Tuesday the bird swooped down into the canal and disappeared from view.

Today he turned to look at me as my car passed.

Cathe Capel

Mahomet leaper@capel.com

From gh4444 at insightbb.com Thu Dec 22 16:53:35 2005


Date: Thu Dec 22 16:58:17 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Christmas greetings

Message-ID: <007501c6074a$8c96b860$ac23cb0c@insightbb.com>

To all birdwatchers: I hope that you all see 7 swans a swimming, 6 geese a laying, 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. Merry CHRISTMAS

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88ef1c/attachment.htm



Date: Fri Dec 23 08:18:08 2005



What! No Juncos??? Merry Christmas! :-)



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of g.huguet




To all birdwatchers: I hope that you all see 7 swans a swimming, 6 geese a laying, 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. Merry CHRISTMAS

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Date: Sat Dec 24 12:43:43 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Wild Turkey closeups


The four turkeys just left our patio (607 E. Evergreen

Court) looking for food. (Arrgghh! My ground feeder was empty!). They literally were pecking at the sliding glass door about three feet away from me (and inches away from a quivering dog!). There are definitely two different "sets" of birds. There seemed to me to be significant amounts of red on the heads of two of the birds (and both had small red waddles). The other two birds were much plainer, somewhat smaller. Is it possible that we are dealing with two (adult?) males and two (adult?) females? The view we got seemed to suggest two of each gender (or a male and female with two poults< but do females have so much red in the face and a waddle?).

I wish I had gotten a picture but between not wanting to move and spook them, and restraining the dog, it wasn't possible.

Roger Digges

Urbana

__________________________________________

Yahoo! DSL ? Something to write home about.

Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com

From bernies at uillinois.edu Sat Dec 24 13:05:43 2005


Date: Sat Dec 24 13:05:48 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Another turkey sighting!

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F28564588A@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

502 E. Colorado, Urbana (south side of the street). 11:55AM.

Four turkeys, three of them sitting on a decorative split rail fence.

One on the sidewalk. Colorado is a fairly busy street, and they were sitting there, plain as day at high noon, out in the open, with one of them not more than 10 feet from the curb.

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


From bernies at uillinois.edu Sat Dec 24 13:19:26 2005


Date: Sat Dec 24 13:19:29 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Meadowbrook Christmas Eve

Message-ID:


About 11-11:30AM...

Very quiet the first half of the walk...a pheasant flew up from the prairie in the southeast corner. A few unidentifiable sparrows in the prairie grass.

Saw three deer bedded down about 30 feet off the sidewalk on the south side of the park.

Male and female downy woodpeckers and several cardinals (male and female) on the Hickman Wildflower Walk.

Couple of Mourning Doves in a Cottonwood tree near the Windsor Road parking lot.

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454


From REGEHR5 at aol.com Sat Dec 24 16:33:10 2005


Date: Sat Dec 24 16:33:22 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Turkey sighting

Message-ID: <105.6ef59c92.30df26a6@aol.com>

At last I was in the right place to see the turkeys. They were crossing Colorado between Vine and Anderson just before noon Saturday. One turkey was calling and the others were agitated, perhaps because of traffic, which was stopping for them. I saw them land on the split-rail fence.

When I returned about 10 minutes later, they had moved a couple of addresses east and were calmly pecking away.

Elaine R.

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URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051224/ea dd5208/attachment.htm



Date: Sat Dec 24 16:51:07 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV8BABD89D2CAC3B6CFAB9EC6320@phx.gbl>

When these turkeys were first seen there were a hen and 3 poults. I tried to find some info about their appearance but didn't find anything to answer Roger's question. I did learn that males at this stage should be bigger than females, which would be noticeable. So maybe there are 2 male poults (if they are big enough) and 1 female poult along with the hen? Also learned that the males, at this time of year, would separate from the hen. But I don't know if that applies to domestic turkeys. So, if the size differences are not big enough maybe they are 3 females? No mention was made (at least in the sources that I looked into) about the difference in face colors at this stage other than they could be red to bluish. But there are also 6 subspecies of wild turkeys in NA with different appearances which, from what I understood, differ somewhat again from the appearance of the domestic turkey.

Earlier someone mentioned that there is no reason to be concerned about these turkeys - they are not going to hurt anyone and are not causing trouble. That may be true and people are enjoying their presence. But what happens, if they are different sexes, when breeding time arrives?

How will that affect their behavior? Where would they be breeding?

Will they survive the winter? I'm sure there are other things we aren't taking into consideration at present, as well as what may happen in the future.

I live in Champaign. But if I lived in Urbana where the turkeys were on my street, in my neighborhood, or in my yard, I would want to know more and find out if something should or could be done about them or for them. Kevin Johnson, a scientist from the Natural History Survey, was one of the persons interviewed by the News-Gazette. I looked him

up in the staff directory hoping to find an email address for him but none was given. But if anyone wants to call him, his office phone is

244-9267 and his home phone is 373-8680. I would think he could answer some questions and give some advice.

Charlene Anchor


From: Roger Digges


To: Birdnotes


The four turkeys just left our patio (607 E. Evergreen

Court) looking for food. (Arrgghh! My ground feeder was empty!). They literally were pecking at the sliding glass door about three feet away from me (and inches away from a quivering dog!). There are definitely two different "sets" of birds. There seemed to me to be significant amounts of red on the heads of two of the birds (and both had small red waddles). The other two birds were much plainer, somewhat smaller. Is it possible that we are dealing with two (adult?) males and two (adult?) females? The view we got seemed to suggest two of each gender (or a male and female with two poults< but do females have so much red in the face and a waddle?).

I wish I had gotten a picture but between not wanting to move and spook them, and restraining the dog, it wasn't possible.

Roger Digges

Urbana

__________________________________________



_______________________________________________



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9469b2/attachment.htm



Date: Mon Dec 26 12:13:08 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Meadowbrook Christmas

Message-ID:


Kinda quiet yesterday a little before noon.

Two pheasants gliding into the park from the east, over the row of tall evergreens.

Coyote scat by the south-southeast sidewalk.

Large Buteo flying high above the south border of the park, probable

Rough-Legged.

Male Red-bellied Woodpecker in dead trees by bridge in southwest corner.

Couple of crows flying over the west end, towards Forestry.

Male and female Downy Woodpeckers and several Cardinals, Hickman

Wildflower Walk.

Bernie Sloan



Date: Mon Dec 26 19:40:38 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Christmas + 1, Dec.26, 2005

In-Reply-To:




Birders,

Walked around Meadowbrook Park in Urbana this after noon.

Saw about 4 dozen cedar waxwings in their usual place (just before you get to the Y fork) at the Hickman Wildflower Walk.

Sorry no Bohemian Waxwings yet!

Also saw 4 Mourning doves.

1 first year fawn and 2 Cottontail Rabbits near SW corner near stream.

Couple of Nature friends along bike path.

1 Great Horned Owl in Forestry.

Checked for but did not see any Long Eared Owls. (My eyes may be going bad)

All in all not a bad afternoon stroll.

Wishing you all a good bird or two!!!!!

Jim :)

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********


Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********



Date: Mon Dec 26 19:57:17 2005


In-Reply-To: <004f01c60734$c8789f80$6801a8c0@BLACKDELL>



Birders,

Didn't find the picher plants but did find a hermit thrush.

Forgot about him in my previous post.

Cheers,

Jim :)

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005, Frank wrote:

> Behind the Sasa is the bog with big clumps of pitcher plants and blueberries

> behind that so maybe he felt right at home there..

> Frank Cooper

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: "Helen Parker" <h-parker@uiuc.edu>

> To: <birdnotes@prairienet.org>

> Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 9:39 AM

> Subject: [Birdnotes] winter wren at meadowbrook

>

>

> > Walking the dog this morning at Meadowbrook, I saw almost no birds other

> > than starlings until I got to the southwest corner, not far from the

> > rabbit bridge. There in the grass was a tiny brown bird with an upturned

> > tail trying to pretend he was a mouse (foolish, given the raptors in the

> > area!). It looks as though my winter wren jinx may have been broken!

> > --Helen Parker

> >

> >

> > _______________________________________________

> > Birdnotes mailing list

> > Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

> > https://mail.prairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes

> >

> >

>

>

> _______________________________________________




>

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********


Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********

From h-parker at uiuc.edu Tue Dec 27 09:45:32 2005


Date: Tue Dec 27 09:47:34 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] turkeys

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051227094305.0205cd70@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Finally! Yesterday I got a call from Beth to the effect that the turkeys were on her block (West Vermont). So I grabbed a camera and went turkey hunting. The birds were there as advertised. I took half a dozen pictures; I have sent 2 to Pam for posting on the CCAS website if she chooses to do so, but I can't say if or when that will occur.

--Helen



Date: Tue Dec 27 12:33:22 2005



I finally saw the fabled turkeys...and I'm beginning to worry about them. I went looking for them on Friday afternoon. I found them for the first time...on Cureton...where they attacked! Ok...not really...but when they spotted my truck they came after me, and blocked my truck for several minutes. That was fine...I was there to see them, but has someone been feeding them from CARS???!!! Make sure you don't do that! They will soon be roadkill! They obviously expected something from me...2 of them even chased the truck when I drove off (for almost half a block!).

Back yard feeding is fine, but if they learn to expect something from vehicles, they're in trouble...

Bob :)

___________________________________



Date: Tue Dec 27 12:41:30 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Raptors!


I just drove from my place past Weaver Park, around to Meadowbrook, and then into campus on Pennsylvania...

A Red Tail at Weaver...

2 Kestrals right by the road on South Lincoln near the barns...

2 Raptors circling over Florida (roughly over the U of I's President's house)...white rump patches...didn't quite look like Red Tails...Rough

Legged?

Then just ABOVE them...also circling for several minutes...a white raptor? with black/dark wingtips, white/light tail (whole bird was light colored)..thought it was a seagull at first...Any ideas? It drifted off northeast (probably right over Chatos house :)...

Bob Vaiden

From ej2akind at sbcglobal.net Tue Dec 27 15:36:44 2005

From: ej2akind at sbcglobal.net (Erin Glynn)

Date: Tue Dec 27 15:36:46 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] link to turkey photos

Message-ID: <20051227213644.8025.qmail@web81605.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Hi,

I moved the turkey pictures that I have to a public folder. Anyone can view them at the following page: http://photos.yahoo.com/ej2akind@sbcglobal.net

There are some from the summer and a couple from

November.

Erin

From LewsaderBud at aol.com Tue Dec 27 15:59:38 2005


Date: Tue Dec 27 15:59:48 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Middle Fork

Message-ID: <127.6a629a9f.30e3134a@aol.com>

Today I took a drive up to the Middle Fork Forrest Preserve. Not much going on up there. I did see a Buck and three Does going across the wetlands, and a Kestrel flying by. On the way up there I did see 3 Redtails.

I left there and came back to Lake Vermilion. Where I saw both adult

Bald Eagles. One on the ice and the other one flying overhead.

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URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051227/ce




Date: Tue Dec 27 21:11:48 2005


Message-ID:


I was impressed by how much the poults have grown between summer and when I saw them this past Thursday and Saturday!!

Bernie Sloan



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Erin Glynn




Hi,

I moved the turkey pictures that I have to a public folder. Anyone can view them at the following page: http://photos.yahoo.com/ej2akind@sbcglobal.net

There are some from the summer and a couple from

November.

Erin

_______________________________________________





Date: Tue Dec 27 22:13:17 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Interesting item about bird control specialist

Message-ID:


The article I originally read was on page A-5 of today's News-Gazette print edition, but I couldn't find it on the N-G Web site. Here it is from online Pantagraph:

Bird-control specialist keeps secrets close to the vest. http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2005/12/27/news/102031.txt

Interesting story....

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454




Date: Wed Dec 28 08:27:45 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV175E280CE50887F791697AC6360@phx.gbl>

Bob and others,

People are probably getting tired of hearing me express my concern over these turkeys. But here I go again.....How do we know that it is ok to be feeding them? When they get into breeding mode, assuming one or more are males, their behavior will change. How territorial will they become? Also, they could cause accidents even without feeding them from cars. There are other people seeing them besides those of us on this list. How can they be advised as to not to feed them from cars?

Is it possible for them to be trapped and removed? Or do we just have

to wait and see what happens? Has anyone tried to check into this? I could check into it but it makes more sense, it would seem, if those who see them would do it. They could answer questions about their appearance, what they are doing, and where they are better than me. It seems to me like a novelty at the expense of the turkeys.

Ok - I'm through.

Charlene Anchor


From: Vaiden, Robert


To: Birdnotes

Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] Wild Turkey closeups

I finally saw the fabled turkeys...and I'm beginning to worry about them. I went looking for them on Friday afternoon. I found them for the first time...on Cureton...where they attacked! Ok...not really...but when they spotted my truck they came after me, and blocked my truck for several minutes. That was fine...I was there to see them, but has someone been feeding them from CARS???!!! Make sure you don't do that! They will soon be roadkill! They obviously expected something from me...2 of them even chased the truck when I drove off (for almost half a block!).

Back yard feeding is fine, but if they learn to expect something from vehicles, they're in trouble...

Bob :)

___________________________________

_______________________________________________



-------------- next part --------------



80ca04/attachment.htm

From limey at uiuc.edu Wed Dec 28 11:02:21 2005

From: limey at uiuc.edu (John David Buckmaster)

Date: Wed Dec 28 11:02:25 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] turkey feeding

Message-ID: <ae09f9e8e414d63714e1bc7145db9572@uiuc.edu>

I have now seen the turkeys three times over the past few weeks, and their behavior has always been the same - indifference or slight nervousness if people or cars get too close. The last time was on

Colorado on Saturday. They were in the middle of the road with cars lined up to the west and 2 cars to the east, mine included. When the car in front of me squeezed by them I got out, crossed to the south sidewalk (as they appeared to be interested in crossing to the north), and shooed them across. They did this promptly but without panic and then commenced pecking at things on the nearest lawn. At no time did

they seem interested in the cars apart from the fact that they interfered with their "crossing the road" mental circuit.

It's possible that people have been feeding them from cars but, I would have thought, quite unlikely. I don't think, for the most part, that people are driving around town with readily accessible food that they might think of giving turkeys. And why would anyone feed them from the car, rather than get out to get closer to them? It would be good if we didn't turn a speculation by one of us into a "fact".

Could they become roadkill? Clearly yes, for they do cross roads. But I have not seen any squirrel-like dashes, they are highly visible, and the reaction of every driver I have seen is to stop or slow to a crawl.

Finally, if there are people who are concerned that something should be done, let them do it. I dont see why it necessarily has to be done by someone who has seen them. They exist, they are in Urbana. We even have pictures now to prove it.

John Buckmaster

2014 Boudreau

Urbana IL 61801

217.621.9786 limey@uiuc.edu

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From h-parker at uiuc.edu Wed Dec 28 12:31:36 2005


Date: Wed Dec 28 12:34:09 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] turkey feeding???

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051228122525.01c28c20@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

When I saw the turkeys Monday, they totally ignored my little white car, but seemed to expect something from the red SUV that came by. Bob, your truck is red--maybe they associate red with food or something??? I agree that people should not feed them--except maybe to put corn out on the ground.

--Helen Parker

P.S. Has anybody asked the guy at the Natural History Survey--Patrick

Hubert, I think his name is--who has been studying wild turkeys his opinions on this group?

From bpalmore at egix.net Wed Dec 28 13:38:27 2005


Date: Wed Dec 28 13:38:26 2005


In-Reply-To: <BAY102-DAV175E280CE50887F791697AC6360@phx.gbl>

References: <BAY102-DAV175E280CE50887F791697AC6360@phx.gbl>

Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.1.20051228133726.01a8bc80@mail.egix.net>

Perhaps the listserve of WUNA and SUNA should be informed. A lot of people belong to this web-site in west/south Urbana. Bland

At 08:26 AM 12/28/2005, charlene anchor wrote:

>Bob and others,

>

>People are probably getting tired of hearing me express my concern over

>these turkeys. But here I go again....How do we know that it is ok to be

>feeding them? When they get into breeding mode, assuming one or more are

>males, their behavior will change. How territorial will they

>become? Also, they could cause accidents even without feeding them from

>cars. There are other people seeing them besides those of us on this

>list. How can they be advised as to not to feed them from cars? Is it

>possible for them to be trapped and removed? Or do we just have to wait

>and see what happens? Has anyone tried to check into this? I could check

>into it but it makes more sense, it would seem, if those who see them

>would do it. They could answer questions about their appearance, what they

>are doing, and where they are better than me. It seems to me like a

>novelty at the expense of the turkeys.

>

>Ok - I'm through.

>Charlene Anchor

>

>----- Original Message -----

>From: Vaiden, Robert

>Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 12:33 PM

>To: Birdnotes

>Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] Wild Turkey closeups

>

>I finally saw the fabled turkeys...and I'm beginning to worry about

>them. I went looking for them on Friday afternoon. I found them for

>the first time...on Cureton...where they attacked! Ok...not

>really...but when they spotted my truck they came after me, and blocked

>my truck for several minutes. That was fine...I was there to see them,

>but has someone been feeding them from CARS???!!! Make sure you don't

>do that! They will soon be roadkill! They obviously expected something

>from me...2 of them even chased the truck when I drove off (for almost

>half a block!).

>

>Back yard feeding is fine, but if they learn to expect something from

>vehicles, they're in trouble...

>

>Bob :)

>___________________________________

>

>

>_______________________________________________




>

>_______________________________________________






Date: Wed Dec 28 14:15:20 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV4C87ED13844FC9A3FE68EC6360@phx.gbl>

Helen and others,

It was suggested that those concerned about the turkeys do something.

I've been concerned since they showed up and I did two things. First, I talked to someone I know at the News-Gazette suggesting that an interview take place with the ornithologists at the Natural History

Survey. This could have resulted in a longer article being reported in the Gazette. It was before Thanksgiving and I thought it could tie in nicely with the holiday and possibly be educational for everyone. I was hoping we could learn more about what to do. I was told that since a "short" article and interview had just been done, the Gazette would not want to do another immediately.

Second, I communicated with Patrick Hubert. He was the turkey expert at the Natural History Survey but has since left for a position in

Canada. He told me the following:

"....not much could be done until folks in the area where the turkeys are roaming want them removed......If turkeys start reproducing they will certainly become a problem. ......they are a little too dirty/destructive, and can be a little too aggressive..."

(Jim Hoyt also referred us to an article about their aggressiveness in the Wall Street Journal) These are the words of an expert who knows more than any of us. Since Patrick is no longer here, Kevin Johnson who was quoted in the article, seems to be the next logical contact.

I'm speaking from a distance. The turkeys are not in my neighborhood and are not going to be causing me problems. They are now approaching

cars- even if they are just red cars!! I would feel bad if any accidents happened and I'm also concerned about the turkeys. As a result, in spite of my being a Champaign resident, I feel I have already tried to do something about it. I made an error by not quoting

Patrick immediately.

Charlene Anchor


From: Helen Parker





--Helen Parker



_______________________________________________



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URL: https://mail.prairienet.org/pipermail/birdnotes/attachments/20051228/f7 c3e853/attachment.htm

From limey at uiuc.edu Wed Dec 28 15:44:42 2005


Date: Wed Dec 28 15:45:03 2005


In-Reply-To: <BAY102-DAV4C87ED13844FC9A3FE68EC6360@phx.gbl>

References: <BAY102-DAV4C87ED13844FC9A3FE68EC6360@phx.gbl>

Message-ID: <6ba8d28883ec5221ddcc0a21b4786ecf@uiuc.edu>

Hi all, now I'm a touch confused about Charlene's position. She claims to be concerned about the turkeys, in which case it's her business no matter where she lives. And she claims that she is concerned about their impact on the residents of Urbana but, at the same time, grants that to be our business. My belief is that we should leave them alone until and if they become a public nuisance. This might well occur - experts have been invoked. But as I wrote long ago, turkeys in the back yards of Eugene Oregon don't appear to be of concern to anyone, so why don't we wait and see? The absence of echos to Charlene's mail suggests

that could be the consensus position over here. John.

On Dec 28, 2005, at 2:21 PM, charlene anchor wrote:

> Helen and others,

> ?

> It was suggested that those concerned about the turkeys do something.?

> I've been concerned since they showed up and?I did two things. First,

> I talked to someone I know at the News-Gazette suggesting that an

> interview take place with the ornithologists at the Natural History

> Survey.?This could have resulted in?a longer article being reported in

> the Gazette.? It was before?Thanksgiving and I thought it could tie in

> nicely with the holiday and possibly?be educational for everyone.? I

> was hoping we could learn more about what to do. ?I was told that

> since a "short" article and interview had just been done, the Gazette

> would not want to do another immediately.?

> ?

> Second,?I communicated with Patrick Hubert.? He was the turkey expert

> at the Natural History Survey but has since left for a position in

> Canada.??He told me the following:

> "....not much could be done until folks in the area where the turkeys

> are roaming want them removed......If turkeys start reproducing they

> will certainly become a problem.? ......they are a little too

> dirty/destructive, and can be a little too aggressive.."

> (Jim Hoyt also referred us to an article about their aggressiveness in

> the Wall Street Journal) These are the words of an expert who knows

> more than any of us.? Since Patrick is no longer here, Kevin Johnson

> who was quoted in the article, seems to be the next logical contact.

> ?

> I'm speaking from a distance. The turkeys are not in my neighborhood

> and are not going to be causing me problems.??They are?now approaching

> cars- even if they are just red cars!! I would feel bad if any

> accidents?happened and I'm also?concerned about the turkeys.? As a

> result, in spite of my being a Champaign resident, I feel I have

> already tried to do something about it.? I made an error by not

> quoting Patrick immediately.

> ?

> Charlene Anchor

> ?

> ?

> ?

>> ----- Original Message -----

>> From: Helen Parker

>> Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 12:35 PM

>> To: birdnotes@prairienet.org

>> Subject: [Birdnotes] turkey feeding???

>> ?

>> When I saw the turkeys Monday, they totally ignored my little white

>> car,

>> but seemed to expect something from the red SUV that came by.? Bob,

>> your

>> truck is red--maybe they associate red with food or something???? I

>> agree

>> that people should not feed them--except maybe to put corn out on the

>> ground.

>> --Helen Parker

>>

>> P.S.? Has anybody asked the guy at the Natural History Survey--

Patrick

>> Hubert, I think his name is--who has been studying wild turkeys his

>> opinions on this group?

>>

>>

>> _______________________________________________

>> Birdnotes mailing list

>> Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

>> https://mail.prairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes

> _______________________________________________




>

John Buckmaster

2014 Boudreau

Urbana IL 61801


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From LewsaderBud at aol.com Thu Dec 29 19:09:42 2005


Date: Thu Dec 29 19:19:51 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Common Goldeneye

Message-ID: <19e.42bf3742.30e5e2d6@aol.com>

I went out to Lake Mingo (Vermilion County) today. There was lots of

Canada Geese and Mallards, There was also 4 Common Goldeneye"s. Plus others that

I could not idenify. I am going back tomorrow to see if I can idenify those.

Here is a list of the other birds that I saw.

Red-tail Hawk 2

Bluebirds 4

Redhead Woodpecker 2

Titmouse 1

White Brested Nuthatch

4

Coppers Hawk 1

Starlings 30

Bluebirds 4

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Date: Fri Dec 30 08:46:48 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Kevin Johnson and turkeys

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV2886EC337B7369C0B1D91C6280@phx.gbl>

I stopped by the Natural History Survey to look up Kevin Johnson. He is on vacation until after the holidays. I will in in touch with him after he returns. I will report back anything useful or interesting that he may have to say about the turkeys.

Charlene Anchor

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From h-parker at uiuc.edu Fri Dec 30 09:38:32 2005


Date: Fri Dec 30 11:53:30 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] documentation

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051230091854.01bea2d8@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

WARNING: THIS IS A RANT. If you have always properly documented your sightings, you can skip it.

I am compiler on the Champaign County Christmas Bird Count. As such, I must turn in the birds sighted on the count to both National Audubon and

IOS. This is straightforward for most birds, but there are some that are designated "unusual" by one or the other of these places. The designation in some cases is arbitrary and capricious but if I don't give them details, they may not accept the sighting. So when people see a bird that isn't one

they see every week at this time of year, WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU SAW,

WHEN

AND WHERE as soon as you, paper, and a writing implement get together. (Photos are best but as I well know, it takes more time to get a camera on the bird than the bird will sit still for.)

There is a formal documentation form that people are supposed to fill out; it is a major pain. However, if you have written down field notes (see above) at the time it isn't too bad and just the field notes will in most cases be all that is actually needed. So why won't people give me their documentations, at least enough that I can send in the stuff??? On the

Dec. 17 count there were 3 species that Illinois has listed as requiring documentation. How many documentations have I gotten? ZERO! People, I can't do my job unless you do yours

I will admit that there may be some species that you didn't know need to be documented--although every party should have been supplied with the official list from Illinois, which makes it clear. National, is, as I said, arbitrary and capricious; in this case I may be able to make do with very little.

However, I really, really need documentation on the goshawk and the peregrine--just because they have been hanging around for a month and have been seen by many people does not excuse you from documenting what was seen on count day, Steve and Greg! (Sorry to point you out in a public forum, but you aren't answering your personal e-mail.)

--Helen Parker, your frustrated CBC compiler

From h-parker at uiuc.edu Fri Dec 30 09:48:26 2005


Date: Fri Dec 30 11:53:32 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Goshawk?

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051230093837.01c33680@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

I saw a hawk that I couldn't identify while walking the dog yesterday morning. This morning it dawned on me that it may have been the goshawk--it was about the right size and shape. It was an immature bird, with white feathers in with the brown ones on its back. Front I didn't see too well. It did not have a strong eyestripe and the tail was only weakly banded; this would correspond to a juvenile. Is this what others have been seeing??

--Helen P.

From birder1949 at yahoo.com Fri Dec 30 11:16:44 2005


Date: Fri Dec 30 12:51:50 2005


In-Reply-To: <BAY102-DAV2886EC337B7369C0B1D91C6280@phx.gbl>


Thanks, Charlene. I appreciate your concern about the wellbeing of the turkeys. I would be interested in what Kevin has to say about the long-term prognosis for either leaving the birds alone or relocating them.

I've observed them nearly a dozen times at this point, and while they have appeared once or twice to be at risk from traffic, vehicles have either slowed or stopped or the turkeys have run or flown from danger.

I've been relatively close to them on foot five or six times, and they have never been aggressive. That, of course, may change as the males mature and breeding season draws near.

So let us know what you find out. If relocation offers the best future for these birds, I would miss the excitement of sighting them from time to time, but would be happy to know that their future was more assured. (Assuming, of course, that they were shot their first season out!)

Roger Digges

--- charlene anchor <charleneanchor@msn.com> wrote:

> I stopped by the Natural History Survey to look up

> Kevin Johnson. He is on vacation until after the

> holidays. I will in in touch with him after he

> returns. I will report back anything useful or

> interesting that he may have to say about the

> turkeys.

>

> Charlene Anchor

> > _______________________________________________




>

__________________________________________





Date: Fri Dec 30 14:13:49 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Very quiet Meadowbrook

Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F28582BFF8@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

11AM, Friday, 12/30/05

I don't think I've ever seen Meadowbrook so quiet in terms of bird activity...

One robin flying west to east from Forestry.

One goldfinch flying north to south by the wooden bridge in the south central part of the park.

Bernie Sloan





Phone: (217) 333-4895

Fax: (217) 265-0454




Date: Fri Dec 30 15:00:53 2005


Message-ID:

<E55062D772EBD348B31AC9C98106F28582BFFB@pbmail.ui.uillinois.edu>

I don't have a lot of time for a response to this, but I wanted to quickly throw something out regarding possible relocation of the turkeys.

Erin Glynn's pictures of the very small, very young poults are from

June. That would lead me to believe that they've grown up in an urban/suburban environment, and are acclimated to letting people come close, not particularly experienced with the type of predators and food sources they'd face in the wild, etc.

Would someone be putting them in even more danger by relocating them after they'd grown up in southeast Urbana?

I might feel different about relocation if country birds had migrated into Urbana and were causing trouble. But I see the poults as urban birds used to urban ways...

More later then I have a few more minutes...

Bernie Sloan



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Roger

Digges


To: charlene anchor; Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

Subject: Re: [Birdnotes] Kevin Johnson and turkeys





Roger Digges







> turkeys.

>

> Charlene Anchor

> > _______________________________________________




>

__________________________________________

Yahoo! DSL - Something to write home about.


_______________________________________________



From limey at uiuc.edu Fri Dec 30 15:39:59 2005


Date: Fri Dec 30 16:17:53 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] rounding up turkeys

Message-ID: <d1b222666d3a7f6fe833f4c850c80b71@uiuc.edu>

It has been my observation that whenever humans interfere with wild animals there are likely to be unanticipated consequences that are not good for the animals, and such interference should always be a last resort, when it is quite clear that not interfering will lead to unacceptable misfortune. We are, I think, by our nature as nature lovers, inclined to interfere. We should remember that with full frontal lobe intensity.

John

John Buckmaster

2014 Boudreau

Urbana IL 61801


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From lambeth at ad.uiuc.edu Fri Dec 30 18:32:43 2005


Date: Fri Dec 30 18:34:29 2005


References: <6.0.1.1.2.20051230091854.01bea2d8@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Message-ID:

<1343607D07FABB4B9E0806679E555A6B01844CF1@odosmail.ad.uiuc.edu>

Helen:

I've been out of town and returned last night at 1:00am which is why you don't have documentation from me. There's no need to call me out on a private email I sent to you inquiring about documenting regularly occuring species. I've always filled out documentation when required and will do so here.

Greg


From: birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org on behalf of Helen M

Parker

Sent: Fri 12/30/2005 9:38 AM



WARNING: THIS IS A RANT. If you have always properly documented your

sightings, you can skip it.

I am compiler on the Champaign County Christmas Bird Count. As such, I must turn in the birds sighted on the count to both National Audubon and

IOS. This is straightforward for most birds, but there are some that are designated "unusual" by one or the other of these places. The designation in some cases is arbitrary and capricious but if I don't give them details, they may not accept the sighting. So when people see a bird that isn't one they see every week at this time of year, WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU SAW,

WHEN

AND WHERE as soon as you, paper, and a writing implement get together. (Photos are best but as I well know, it takes more time to get a camera on the bird than the bird will sit still for.)

There is a formal documentation form that people are supposed to fill out; it is a major pain. However, if you have written down field notes (see above) at the time it isn't too bad and just the field notes will in most cases be all that is actually needed. So why won't people give me their documentations, at least enough that I can send in the stuff??? On the

Dec. 17 count there were 3 species that Illinois has listed as requiring documentation. How many documentations have I gotten? ZERO! People, I can't do my job unless you do yours

I will admit that there may be some species that you didn't know need to be documented--although every party should have been supplied with the official list from Illinois, which makes it clear. National, is, as I said, arbitrary and capricious; in this case I may be able to make do with very little.

However, I really, really need documentation on the goshawk and the peregrine--just because they have been hanging around for a month and have been seen by many people does not excuse you from documenting what was seen on count day, Steve and Greg! (Sorry to point you out in a public forum, but you aren't answering your personal e-mail.)

--Helen Parker, your frustrated CBC compiler

_______________________________________________



From LewsaderBud at aol.com Fri Dec 30 18:35:12 2005


Date: Fri Dec 30 18:35:17 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Lake Mingo

Message-ID: <13f.22686b24.30e72c40@aol.com>

I went back to Lake Mingo today. One of the species of birds that was there, was two Ross's Geese. There was also 14 ducks there that I cannot find in my book. I guess I will have to go to a bookstore and look it up. I didn't see any of the "Common Goldeneyes" today.

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Date: Fri Dec 30 19:55:41 2005


Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV3C4B6B050D04ED13FF144C62B0@phx.gbl>

I don't think any of us know what is possible or not possible regarding the turkeys. The ornithologists weren't even sure if they were wild, domestic, or maybe there could be a possibility of them being a wild/domestic mix. Relocation may, or may not, be a good idea. There may not even be anyone willing to trap them if it was a good idea.

They are young now. As adults they may not be so charming especially when they come of breeding age. Right now they are quiet (that will change) and not misbehaving (that could change). Would someone like to give them a home? That may be a possibility. Even though they are used to wandering the streets of Urbana, that doesn't mean that that's in their best interest. But maybe that's what will end up happening.

Talking to Kevin would answer some questions. Everything else right now is speculation.

Charlene Anchor


From: Sloan, Bernie


To: Roger Digges; charlene anchor; Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

Subject: RE: [Birdnotes] Kevin Johnson and turkeys

I don't have a lot of time for a response to this, but I wanted to quickly throw something out regarding possible relocation of the turkeys.

Erin Glynn's pictures of the very small, very young poults are from

June. That would lead me to believe that they've grown up in an urban/suburban environment, and are acclimated to letting people come close, not particularly experienced with the type of predators and food sources they'd face in the wild, etc.

Would someone be putting them in even more danger by relocating them after they'd grown up in southeast Urbana?

I might feel different about relocation if country birds had migrated into Urbana and were causing trouble. But I see the poults as urban birds used to urban ways...

More later then I have a few more minutes...

Bernie Sloan



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Roger

Digges


To: charlene anchor; Birdnotes@lists.prairienet.org

Subject: Re: [Birdnotes] Kevin Johnson and turkeys





Roger Digges







> turkeys.

>

> Charlene Anchor

> > _______________________________________________




>

__________________________________________

Yahoo! DSL - Something to write home about.


_______________________________________________



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Date: Fri Dec 30 21:01:27 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Meadowbrook, Forestry and woodpeckers

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV8260C124E7E549A97D72AC62B0@phx.gbl>

As Bernie noted, it was quiet this morning at Meadowbrook. I probably took a different route along the creek and south border, but only saw a few more species: CARDINALS, DOWNY, TREE SPARROWS, BLUE JAY, PHEASANT

(only 1 quiet female) and MOURNING DOVES.

At the Forestry it was a little more interesting: RED-TAILED HAWK,

CARDINALS, RED-BELLIED, DOWNY & HAIRY WOODPECKERS, BROWN CREEPER,

WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, and GOLDFINCH AND PURPLE FINCH eating honeysuckle berries together. West of the Forestry in the unplowed fields were an estimated 150 CROWS on the ground. They flew up and circled numerous times making noisy crow sounds and then all flew north over the beekeeping-area trees and disappeared. NO OWLS!

A while back Matthew Thorum questioned whether woodpeckers are capable of standing upright. At that time, I thought the woodpeckers' toe formation of, 2 toes in front and 2 in back, Zygodactyl) may have had something to do with their posture. But in checking further I learned some things.

Other birds also have Zygodactyl toes, including cuckoos and parrots, birds which climb around branches a lot. That toe formation provides a strong grip. For the woodpeckers (all except the Three-toed) their toe formation, extra-long, decurved claws and stiff tails keep them from falling out of the trees while doing all that hammering! Also somewhere, someone at sometime, has observed all the woodpeckers that I looked up (Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied, Red-headed) on the ground hopping, and to my surprise anting - but rarely occurring. Then several sources commented on woodpeckers' strong, short legs. Maybe that is the clue? They may be actually standing but appear to be sitting due to their short legs? This morning while looking at the woodpeckers I tried to observe their legs. I couldn't see them because they "were on their bellies." A bird bander or someone who has seen specimens has probably noted their particular leg structure.

I've never given woodpeckers a whole lot of thought or consideration.

But the more I read about them and their various adaptations, the more remarkable they became.

Charlene Anchor

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Date: Fri Dec 30 23:39:03 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Turkeys

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV8E26779485BEA0CB79F33C62B0@phx.gbl>

I need to make a correction....in my previous statement....the ornithologists would know if the turkeys are domestic or not.

Recalling more accurately, they questioned whether they could be part domestic or not. (I definitely need to get off this subject :-))

Charlene Anchor

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Date: Sat Dec 31 00:05:46 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Lake Mingo

In-Reply-To: <13f.22686b24.30e72c40@aol.com>



Lew,

Nice to hear that they are in Central Illinois!

There were several Ross'es Geese at Union County and Horseshoe Lake

CBC's.

Next year call up Verne Kleen!

He can always use some extra help from intrepid birders.

Jim Hoyt :)

On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 LewsaderBud@aol.com wrote:

> I went back to Lake Mingo today. One of the species of birds that was there,

> was two Ross's Geese. There was also 14 ducks there that I cannot find in my

> book. I guess I will have to go to a bookstore and look it up. I didn't see

> any of the "Common Goldeneyes" today.

>

--

James Hoyt

"The Prairie Ant"





Allerton Allies


***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********


Legacy"

***********************************************************************

********

***********************************************************************

********



Date: Sat Dec 31 08:22:48 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Questions for Kevin Johnson

Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV9C32FC67E0D24091BD0AAC62B0@phx.gbl>

Birdnoters,

There are different feelings being expressed about the turkeys and so different questions need to be asked besides mine. If anyone has questions they want to know about except the few I raised, I would appreciate it if you would send them to me so that I can make a list for Kevin. Thanks.

Now I am going to flush my obsessive mind of "turkey thoughts" until next year sometime.

Happy New Year's.

Charlene Anchor

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From h-parker at uiuc.edu Sat Dec 31 10:47:40 2005


Date: Sat Dec 31 10:47:39 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] count week eagle

Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.2.20051231104409.01c4c4e0@express.cites.uiuc.edu>

Somebody posted a note about a bald eagle seen Tuesday, 12/20. The information has vanished from my computer, so I don't remember who saw it--but I (and Audubon) would like to know if it was an adult or immature. Thanks.

--Helen Parker



Date: Sat Dec 31 18:19:14 2005


Message-ID: <2DBE7AB0488C0443A1E1C20EA692D90718A28A@zinc.isgs.uiuc.edu>

Actually, their behavior was so striking, that my wife thought they must have been fed from another red pickup...they really did run out to meet me, stopped me, stood in front and alongside the truck for several minutes waiting, and then chased me down the street! Bob :)

______________________________________________________________



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of Helen

Parker





--Helen Parker



_______________________________________________





Date: Sat Dec 31 18:21:07 2005


Message-ID: <2DBE7AB0488C0443A1E1C20EA692D90718A28B@zinc.isgs.uiuc.edu>

I'm glad to have turkeys running around...they can visit my part of town anytime... Bob :-)

_______________________________________________________________________

_

______



[mailto:birdnotes-bounces@lists.prairienet.org] On Behalf Of John David

Buckmaster



Subject: Re: [Birdnotes] turkey feeding???

Hi all, now I'm a touch confused about Charlene's position. She claims to be concerned about the turkeys, in which case it's her business no matter where she lives. And she claims that she is concerned about their impact on the residents of Urbana but, at the same time, grants that to be our business. My belief is that we should leave them alone until and if they become a public nuisance. This might well occur - experts have been invoked. But as I wrote long ago, turkeys in the back yards of

Eugene Oregon don't appear to be of concern to anyone, so why don't we wait and see? The absence of echos to Charlene's mail suggests that could be the consensus position over here. John.

On Dec 28, 2005, at 2:21 PM, charlene anchor wrote:

Helen and others,

It was suggested that those concerned about the turkeys do something. I've been concerned since they showed up and I did two things. First, I talked to someone I know at the News-Gazette suggesting that an interview take place with the ornithologists at the Natural

History Survey. This could have resulted in a longer article being reported in the Gazette. It was before Thanksgiving and I thought it could tie in nicely with the holiday and possibly be educational for everyone. I was hoping we could learn more about what to do. I was told that since a "short" article and interview had just been done, the

Gazette would not want to do another immediately.

Second, I communicated with Patrick Hubert. He was the turkey expert at the Natural History Survey but has since left for a position in Canada. He told me the following:

"....not much could be done until folks in the area where the turkeys are roaming want them removed......If turkeys start reproducing they will certainly become a problem. ......they are a little too dirty/destructive, and can be a little too aggressive.."

(Jim Hoyt also referred us to an article about their aggressiveness in the Wall Street Journal) These are the words of an expert who knows more than any of us. Since Patrick is no longer here,

Kevin Johnson who was quoted in the article, seems to be the next logical contact.

I'm speaking from a distance. The turkeys are not in my neighborhood and are not going to be causing me problems. They are now approaching cars- even if they are just red cars!! I would feel bad if any accidents happened and I'm also concerned about the turkeys. As a result, in spite of my being a Champaign resident, I feel I have already tried to do something about it. I made an error by not quoting Patrick immediately.

Charlene Anchor


From: Helen Parker





--Helen Parker

P.S. Has anybody asked the guy at the Natural History

Survey--Patrick

turkeys his

Hubert, I think his name is--who has been studying wild opinions on this group?

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________



John Buckmaster

2014 Boudreau

Urbana IL 61801


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Date: Sat Dec 31 18:24:15 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Crab Orchard

Message-ID: <2DBE7AB0488C0443A1E1C20EA692D90718A28C@zinc.isgs.uiuc.edu>

Stopped by Crab Orchard viewing stand today...1 million Canada Geese...

:-)

Scaups, Bufflehead, Canvassback, Pintails, Mallards, Coots...1 Bald

Eagle...

Another Bald Eagle right over I-57 about 30 minutes north of

Marion...large (1000?) flocks of Snow Geese headed SW, Red tails and

Kestrals all along the road...

Bob :-)

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From Birderdlt at aol.com Sat Dec 31 19:01:04 2005


Date: Sat Dec 31 19:04:33 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] Kickapoo - Dec. 31

Message-ID: <1c1.37853140.30e883d0@aol.com>

Will just mention a couple of birds that a group of us saw today near

Kickapoo State Park. Had one flyover SANDHILL CRANE, three GADWALL, a

CATBIRD, one white headed CANADA GOOSE, and one NORTHERN CARDINAL that had a white head and white blotches on the back.

David Thomas

Champaign, IL

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From limey at uiuc.edu Sat Dec 31 20:04:35 2005


Date: Sat Dec 31 20:05:01 2005

Subject: [Birdnotes] red

Message-ID: <384e76e6657072e57a6951ddaa24994c@uiuc.edu>

Turkeys were on G Huff this afternoon, near Race. I was driving my wife's car - red. No interaction different from the previous ones. Now

I don't know Bob, but clearly it must be he that attracted them! And like him, I think they are neat.

John

John Buckmaster

2014 Boudreau

Urbana IL 61801


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From birder1949 at yahoo - Champaign County Audubon Society

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