Nest Box Check - July 19, 2007

We have three nest boxes with Eastern Bluebird clutches remaining out of our 21 box trail.

• Box #1 - 5 eggs
• Box #4 - 4 recently hatched bluebirds with one egg remaining.
• Box #7 - 5 eggs
• Box #9 - nest box found down on the ground with roof destroyed, all 5 eggs gone. All the evidence indicates bear predation.
  

We are winding down cavity nest box trail activity here, but the onset of the monsoon rains are catalyzing our grassland bird species. One of my favorites are the Montezuma quail who can be heard singing to each other every morning, evening and before each storm. The quail are a species of concern due to loss of habitat to overgrazing and excessive hunting. One of our ongoing ranch projects has been reseeding the areas around two wildlife water ponds we established in 2001. The ground was so severely overgrazed during the years it was a working cattle ranch that each summer rainy season we battle to re-establish vegetation for our grassland birds. We have decided to try a technique used to seed steep eroded areas along highways. Straw mixed with seed are rolled into 25ft long sections, which are staked into the ground. This keeps the seed where you want it, not running off the hillside with the first really strong storm. Later this Fall, we plan on submitting a grant proposal for these "seed rolls" of native grass seed and mulch.

MoMs - Day 1

MoMs (Molt Over Migration Stopover Ecology Project) began this morning with Peter Pyle (co-author and field director) and 5 enthusiastic and experienced bird conservationists assisting with setting up mist nets and banding birds. Arriving mid-morning, Tony and I approached the main station set up for weighing, banding and noting feather molt, etc. of the birds to hear that all was going well. "20 birds", Peter exclaimed, "We had only expected 6 or 7!" For all of you just tuning in, please refer to my post on July 1 for a summary of the project. In short, this study is aimed at finding out what a molting migrating bird requires for habitat (food, shelter, etc.) in order to ensure he/she arrives at their winter home base healthy to start the cycle of migration and reproduction for next season. Molt demands a great deal of energy second only to reproduction. Since very little has been documented about these habitat requirements, we are thrilled to be helping in the process of discovering what's needed. A 3 to 4 person team will return to the ranch for a total of 12 or 13 more times to band and document their findings. Please stay tuned!

Nest Box Check - July 13, 85 degrees and cloudy

1. Female Eastern Bluebird on top of box with nest material. Male singing encouragement nearby.
   
2. Ash-throated Flycatcher in oak near nest box, but no new nest material present.
3. No new activity.
4. Mother Eastern Bluebird flushed from nest. 5 eggs present.
5. No new activity.
6. No new activity.
7. 5 Eastern Bluebird eggs present.
8. No new activity.
9. 5 Eastern Bluebird eggs present.
10. No new activity.
    

• Box #11-13 and 15 -21 no new activity.
• Box #14 has one Elf Owl nestling remaining to fledge in next day or so.

Mom, Dad and Monsoon Magic

Summer is always a time of surprises at Birdland Ranch in the high desert region of southeastern Arizona. This summer however, has already been a chart topper. All time high record heat, 6 black-tailed rattlesnakes in the first week and the arrival of my parents! My parents do indeed deserve special recognition for timing their trip to Birdland during the latter days of June. Most locals even flee to far off regions, if possible, to beat the heat. While those of us who stay and bake would like to deny them access upon their return to the county! So what does one do in this kind of heat? Everything relating to any outside physical activity is done as early in the day as possible, relying on reading your favorite books and other low perspiration projects for the midday hours. Oh, I forgot to mention we tough stock mountain desert folk don't rely on air conditioners. Cooling the house is accomplished by keeping all the windows and doors open at night and closing up at first light. By the time the sun has left us, we run to the house to open all the doors and windows and dance in the cool evening air and I mean dance!

But then it rains. With the arrival of the monsoon everything changes, the earth, scaled, feathered and furred join in with the two-leggeds to breathe in the sweet cool air and rejoice. Mom and Dad are witness to a brilliant Double Rainbow. Yes, it requires capitalization. So near and clear, you can actually see where it collides with Mother Earth. The pot of gold being the tears in my mother's eyes at the sight. The feathered clan decides its a good time to start another family, as their first offspring are happily investigating every nook and cranny of our house and garden. Scaled are also on the move looking for mates and taking in the sights. We hold these friends as dear as our avian neighbors and respect their comings and goings on our land. No, snakes do not come after you, they want to stay away from you. We are startled, yes, but when you come upon them, merely step back, call to your children and friends, visiting parents (!) and tell them of there whereabouts. Move to watch respectfully from a distance or inside with your pets. If this doesn't suit you or the situation requires more, call the fire department and they will relocate them quickly and safely a couple of hundred yards away. To watch a rattlesnake move through his or her habitat though is an amazing experience. They move so slowly and deliberately taking everything in, something I need to remind myself to do. You know, take time to smell the roses? Which brings me to what my mother and I planted at probably the absolute wrong time of year...roses! We rescued 7 pretty dehydrated climbers from the clutches of a corporate nursery wrangling with an overworked sales assistant for an additional price reduction. He gave it to us I think, just to get us out of his hair and the heat. At this writing, all are happy and healthy and on their way to clinging to my chain link fence.

Summer southeastern Arizona time and the living is easy in the land of extremes in beauty and biodiversity.

MoMs Project - July 1, 2007

On a lazy, hot Saturday afternoon, Tony and I met with Peter Pyle of the Institute of Bird Populations and Gabe David, biologist, to hear the outline of Pyle's proposal affectionately titled, 'MoMs'. No, this has nothing to do with my mom or anyone else's for that matter, but roughly translates into the Molt Migration Stopover Ecology Project. The thumbnail sketch of the project is several western North American species of birds leave their breeding grounds and migrate to the 'Mexican monsoon' region of the southwestern deserts to molt before embarking on their winter migration. Molting demands a tremendous amount of energy of the bird and virtually nothing is known of what happens to these birds during this critical time. Peter Pyle and David DeSante, principal investigators of the MoMs project, reason by identifying sites within this specific region of the country and conducting extensive bird surveys will lead to a better understanding of the ecology needs of these birds during molt-migration and development of improved management and conservation strategies.

To date, species known to undergo 'molt migration' include: Bullock's Oriole, Lazuli Bunting, western populations of Warbling Vireo, and Western Tanager (Rohwer et al. 2004), while other species suspected of undergoing molt migration based on museum specimens, migration timing, and/or field work in Arizona include Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Hammond’s Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Gray Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Bell’s Vireo, Gray Vireo, Plumbeous Vireo, Cassin's Vireo, Nashville Warbler, Virginia’s Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, MacGillivray’s Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Hepatic Tanager, Summer Tanager, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, Brewer’s Sparrow, Black-chinned Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Sage Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Grasshopper Sparrow, Dickcissel, Black-headed Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Hooded Oriole, and Lesser Goldfinch.

After hearing the gist of the project and refreshing our guests with cappuccino ice and green tea, we set out to show prospective field sites to Peter. He was pleased with a few and he'll pick out the spot in a few days as Gabe (primary biologist for MoMs) and crew will return in 2 weeks to set up mist nets to band the birds. We look forward to helping Peter and Gabe in every way possible to ensure the success of this project. Stay tuned for more project updates!

Cappuccino Ice

3 cups prepared strong coffee made at least partially with dark-roast espresso coffee
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup granulated sugar

1. Combine ingredients in a sauce pan and set over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture is about to boil and all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Cool to room temperature, pour into a shallow pan (an 8 inch square or round cake pan is ideal), and freeze.
3. The mixture will take 3 to 6 hours to freeze and because of its relatively low sugar content will be very solid. To serve, set in refrigerator for 30 minutes to temper the texture slightly.
1 quart, at least 6 portions

Nest Box Check - 95 degrees, thunder clouds, no wind

1. Elf owls fledged.
2. 4 partially feathered Ash-throated flycatchers.
3. Dusky flycatchers, 5 fledged.
4. Eastern bluebirds, 6 fledged.
5. Dusky-capped flycatcher, 4 fledged, 1 dead nestling.
6. Dusky-capped flycatcher, 5 fledged.
7. Eastern bluebird, 5 fledged. New nest, 3 inches in depth with one bluebird egg.
8. Ash-throated flycatcher, 2 dead nestlings, 3 fledged.
9. New bluebird nest material, 2 inches in depth.
10. Ash-throated flycatcher, 2 dead nestlings, 3 fledged.
11. No activity.
12. Dusky-capped flycatcher, 5 fledged.
13. 5 partially feathered Eastern bluebirds. Mother noted leaving nest box after feeding youngsters.
14. 2 partially feathered Elf owls. Mother looks up sleepy eyed not bothered.

Stations 15 - 21 no activity noted.

Dust Devils and Dive Bombing Bluebirds

After my close encounter with the avian bluebird kind (see #4), I was headed to my next station. Suddenly, without any warning, I heard a banging sound. The sound a hydraulic lift door makes on a truck when lowered to the ground quickly and not too delicately! Turning, I see a whirling dervish of dust, funnel shaped, moving fast and headed straight towards me. Jumping to one side and moving into the forest, the swirling dust devil cleared a path and hit the nest box I was about to check. Moving it considerably from side to side, the box withstood the shaking and the dust dancer continued on into the forest losing its oomph when it hit a few large oak trees. The box happened to be the empty bluebird nest (see # 9), or else I figure the nestlings may have experienced an ear and eyeful of dust. Never a dull moment on this nest box trail!

The curve-billed thrasher and ladder-backed woodpecker pairs have 2 fledglings, each seen learning foraging and flying techniques from their parents. The thrashers have a particular preoccupation with our Arizona gray squirrel pair. If they see the squirrels anywhere close to their prospective nest locations or seed and mealworm feeder sites ,it provokes a response of chasing and pecking at their hind quarters to shoo them away. Quite a comical sight to behold! The squirrels are never too upset or injured by all these antics, nor do they retaliate. In time they merely move on to a less hectic haven.