Identification Quiz!

I put together some "less than ideal" bird shots that make the identifications a bit tricky! If you think you know what the birds are, leave a comment and in a few days I will post the answers!

Pennsylvania - February

Pennsylvania - August

Pennsylvania - August

Snowy Owl in New Jersey

Earlier today, my mom and I decided to head over to Merrill Creek Reservoir in New Jersey to see the Snowy Owl that has been there for the past few weeks. We weren't exactly sure how to get to the owl location, but we ran into a few other birders who had just gotten directions at the visitor center. Near the owl spot, we hiked up a trail along the side of the dam. About halfway to the top of the hill, one of the other birders spotted the owl across the rock pile on the "downstream" side of the dam. We had great views of this white owl as it sat still on a rock, moving only to preen itself or turn its head when it heard a noise.

This is only the second Snowy Owl I have ever seen. The first was near Route 209 in Brodheadsville, PA back in January 2003. This winter has been outstanding for Snowy Owls in the United States. Many birds have been reported across the country, including birds as far south as Oklahoma. It is thought that this sudden southward movement of this species is due to the population boom that occurred during the last breeding season. Young, inexperienced birds are often the individuals that wander out of the species's usual range, so with an increase of young birds, many more owls have moved south.

Using eBird, it is easy to see the southern invasion of this species compared to other years:

Winter 2011-2012 versus Winter 2010-2011

This is an incredible and beautiful northern bird that rarely shows up in this region. If you can, get out to see a Snowy Owl, as it may be a long time before another one shows up in your area!

Commentary on Winter Birding

If you asked birders when their favorite time of the year to go birding is, they will likely say spring or fall migration, or perhaps the summer season when most birds are in their finest form and singing beautiful warbling songs. Very few birders will answer with "winter." Nevertheless, winter is the time when one of the largest organized bird counts takes place--the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Every year thousands of birders head to their local birding spots to scour the bushes and roadsides for winter birds. What draws all of these birders (especially those in the northern regions) out into the frigid temperatures? Perhaps it is the chance to meet up with other birders, an excuse to go birding in a normally "slow" season, or is it something else entirely?

Over the past several years, I have helped out with two Christmas counts in the area. For me, they each have a unique social aspect. The Lehigh Valley Christmas Bird County is a gathering of birder friends that I have known for many years. My mom has always helped with that count as well, so it is an opportunity to bird with her. At the end of that count, the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society hosts a count-off dinner where teams meet to share their checklists and experiences from the day while socializing and enjoying warm food in a heated building (all of which feel extremely nice after a day of winter birding). The second count I do is the Wild Creek-Little Gap count, which I have done with my dad for the past few years. Although it is only the two of us and not a big group, we always have fun searching for those elusive Horned Larks out in the frozen corn fields (we finally got one this year, but in a wheat field... guess we were looking in the wrong places) or counting ducks and geese gathered at a nearby lake.

In Pennsylvania, winter is a slow time for birding. After being outside several times today, I managed to find 23 species in the yard, but back in May I was able to find 77 species in a few hours in the same area! The scarcity of birds and unpleasant weather during the winter often keep birders indoors; they would rather watch the birds that come to the feeders than go out and search for birds like they would in the warmer months. The Christmas count manages to drag these birders outside; it gives them an reason for enduring the cold, wind, birdlessness, and frozen precipitation. Perhaps the knowledge that other people are out of their minds and are doing the same thing encourages the otherwise lazy birders to step out the door.

Birding may be slow, but maybe this is the factor that draws the birders to a Christmas Bird Count. Instead of finding warblers dripping off the trees, winter birding often requires a bit more searching through brush and walking through fields to get a reasonable percentage of the present bird species checked off the list. Personally, this added challenge is extremely exciting and helps me reassure myself that winter birding is a fun activity as I am putting on my wool socks at some horrid hour of the morning before an owling trek. Most normal people will probably never understand, but there is nothing like the rush that I feel when that emberizid finally responds to my distressed pishing or when I manage to discern the distant white speck as a raptor and not one of the local plastic bags.

Because birds can be so hard to find during the winter, when a rarity does show up on the Christmas Bird Count it is cause for celebration. Every year a few rarities show up for the count. A few years ago, during a major winter finch irruption winter, I found a big flock of Common Redpolls. Mixed in with the Commons, an uncommon species in its own right, was a single Hoary Redpoll, a rare visitor from the north that only shows up in the occasional winter season. Sometimes birds that are not even true rarities, but rather simply uncommonly encountered species, are exciting as well.

So why do birders go out and look for birds in the freezing weather? Maybe it's because of the social aspect. Birds of a feather do indeed flock together. Possibly it is a reason to go birding when birders would normally be enjoying the warmth of a heated building but are beginning to feel guilty about those few birds missing from their county year lists. Perhaps we go birding in the winter for that added excitement of finding an unusual species in a time when birds are generally scarce. Maybe it is a combination of all of the above.

Or maybe birders are just crazy.

Trail Camera

Trail cameras are small, motion-activated cameras that are primarily used for hunters looking for the best place to find a good deer population. These cameras are also useful for naturalists who are interested in learning about the wildlife that would normally be scared away by a human presence. Over the past year, I have set up a trail camera on my property in hopes of spotting wildlife that I don't often see. Here are a few of the animals I've captured on the camera:

Wild Turkey

White-tailed Deer at Jacobsburg State Park (for the 2011 BioBlitz)

White-tailed Deer

Red Fox

Young and Future Generations Day

Today, December 1, was Young and Future Generations Day (YoFuGe Day) at COP17, which is a day to create awareness for the youth involvement in the fight against climate change. Throughout the day, youth were involved in several side events, high-level briefings, and actions that focused on the importance of youth constituencies at UNFCCC as well as youth participation in climate action around the globe. Below are a few examples of youth activities at the conference today.

As with every day at COP, the Youth Non-Governmental Organizations (YOUNGO) started off with a meeting to discuss the upcoming events, make decisions, and work on other youth-related activities.

Some of the youth at the morning YOUNGO meeting

The meeting consisted of a lot of discussions and decisions including the addition of three new working groups to the constituency: adaptation, biodiversity, and Rio+20. Adaptation refers to changes people will have to make if climate change does occur and causes alterations in the environment. In terms of climate change and related issues, biodiversity refers to how organisms and ecosystems will respond to ecological changes that occur as a result of climate change. Rio+20 is a meeting that will occur in June 2012 to mark the twenty year anniversary of the Earth Summit in Brazil. This summit developed three conventions, one of which is the UNFCCC. As a result of the major climate change aspect, YOUNGO will be working towards attending and becoming involved with the Rio+20 convention.

Biodiversity is important to solving climate change

Soon after the morning meeting, several young people "actions" took place. At a COP meeting, observer organizations can organize actions that often are designed to highlight a specific topic or idea. Often times, if an important decision is being made in the plenary sessions of the COP, concerned organizations will perform actions to show which side they are on and which decision they support. Other times, actions can simply be intended to reinforce an idea that is important for the organization or the conference as a whole. Many youth organizations (and YOUNGO as a whole) had actions today for YoFuGe Day. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts performed the "cha-cha slide" to express support for taking "one step at a time" towards a maximum temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius. YOUNGO also supported an action involving 1.5 degrees, where youth handed free neck ties to negotiators in an attempt to bring awareness to the 1.5 degree campaign. The ties, which state "I <3 1,5" (for you Americans, the comma is commonly used for the decimal separator in other countries), were a big success. Many negotiators were interested, including the delegates from small-island states that will be the nations most heavily affected by a temperature rise of over 1.5 degrees.

"I <3 1.5" Ties

YOUNGO member with a tie

Later in the day, the chairs of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation and the Subsidiary Body for Science and Technological Advice held a briefing specifically for youth. Each chair gave an overview of key issues being discussed and then opened the floor to questions about the current negotiations.

Right afterwards, the executive secretary of the UNFCCC held an "Intergenerational Inquiry," where youth and negotiators discussed the role of the youth constituency at the COP. Christiana Figueres, the UNFCCC Executive Secretary, spoke about the importance of youth becoming involved now, so that in the future, when the "hot potato," as she put it, is entirely in the hands of today's youth, it will not come as an unexpected and unfamiliar burden.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary UNFCCC

 The next speaker was a teenage girl from South Africa. She shared a story of how she traveled to the city with her father when she was younger, and loved to see the farm animals along the way. It became her dream to one day show her own kids these animals and see the expressions on their faces when the witnessed the beauty of these creatures. Unfortunately, the stream that provided drinking water to these animals dried up as a result of anthropogenic environmental changes. Her dream was destroyed. She then turned to the negotiators and begged that they develop steps forward that do not crush the dreams and hopes of today's younger generation. This inspiring message finished the day of youth celebration with a feeling of hope for the youth, who are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but the leaders of today.

Reading a poem to start the Intergenerational Inquiry

The girl on the left gave a tremendous speech that moved everyone in the room

This photo highlights the importance of using social media to spread messages from the youth. Within minutes, the video of the side event was online and shared with the world.

UNFCCC Day 1

Today marked the beginning of the UNFCCC COP17/CMP7, which stands for the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP7) to the Kyoto Protocol. The convention is being held in a convention center and exhibition hall in downtown Durban, South Africa.

Bikes available free-of-charge for delegates

After riding the conference shuttle to downtown Durban this morning, I headed to the meeting of the Youth Non-Governmental Organizations (YOUNGO). YOUNGO's governing body is a "spokescouncil" that meets at these morning meetings. A spokescouncil meeting consists of the attending youth organizations each of which is represented by a single spokesperson or "spoke." The spokes sit in a circle and the rest of the organization sits directly behind this front person. The spokes are the representatives of each group or organization who suggest ideas, ask questions, and vote throughout the meeting. During the meeting, the various youth groups discussed briefings to the negotiators as well as various actions and programs throughout the day. At this particular meeting, about 15 organizations with a total of close to 100 youth were present.

YOUNGO Spokescouncil meeting

 

"Spokes" discussing a vote with their groups

After the meeting, the youth involvement continued. At a side event discussing the politics of the parties negotiating at Durban was well attended by the youth constituency. Later on, the Canadian youth climate delegation held a press conference to present their new jackets (in the style of NASCAR) sporting the logos of oil and gas companies to the Canadian negotiators. None of the invited negotiators were in attendance. Although this press conference was mostly a joke, the youth highlighted an important issue slowing the climate negotiations: nations like Canada are working to do what is best for the oil industry and other powerful and rich corporations rather than working to protect the people and environment.

The press conference held by the Canadian youth delegation was poking fun at the Canadian negotiators, but was treated as a legitimate press conference at the UNFCCC

The "big oil" jackets

As a result of Canada's work against the climate negotiations, this country was awarded both first and second place in the Fossil of the Day award, a prize given to the countries that have had the greatest negative impact on the progress of the climate talks. Although Canada received the award, other countries such as the United States and Japan also made statements that they will not agree to a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol (which expires in 2012). Unless these countries can realize that they should be focusing on what is best for the people they represent rather than the large, profitable industries, the climate negotiations in Durban will not develop agreements necessary to effectively continue international discussions on climate change.

First Days in South Africa

I am currently in Durban, South Africa for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. My mother and I are attending with the Moravian College delegation, but I am also representing the Inconvenient Youth. The conference begins tomorrow (November 28) in downtown Durban. For the past few days, I was in the Cape Town area, where my mom and I were hosted by the former president of the Moravian Church of South Africa and her husband, both of whom showed us around the city and local attractions within the Western Cape region.

We arrived in South Africa at the Johannesburg International Airport. As the plane landed, my mom and I spotted our first bird of the trip, the unmistakable Long-tailed Widowbird. As we sat in the airport waiting for our flight to Cape Town, we watched through the windows for any new birds. Despite the fact that we were overlooking a sea of concrete, we saw a tremendous number of "life birds." Flocks of twenty or more African Sacred Ibises and several Hadeda Ibises flew overhead. Little Swifts and Rock Martins flew around, while Cape Sparrows and Common Mynas hopped on the ground.

When we arrived in Cape Town, the weather was gorgeous. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze that cooled that warm air. As soon as we left the airport, we headed to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Swart, but soon headed out for a walk through a canal park in the nearby town of Pinelands. This was my first time to do some birding in a fairly "natural" place on the trip. The park is a small open area with houses on both sides that has a small canal running through the middle. This park gave excellent views of the mountains that lie in the distance. Many of the trees held the tiny Cape White-eyes, while the canal edge was home for small groups of Egyptian Geese and Cape Wagtails. Pied Crows played along the water's edge and flocks of Laughing Doves and Speckled Pigeons wandered through the weeds. Later in the evening, we went to the walkway along the ocean, where we watched the sun set over the water. I managed to find a few new birds here as well, including Cape Cormorant, African Oystercatcher, and Hartlaub's Gull.

Cape Town

The park in Pinelands

Cape Town after sunset

The next morning, we headed to the Cape Town seaboard, where we boarded a ferry to Robben Island. This island was home to a high security prison that is most famous for holding apartheid opposition leaders like Nelson Mandela. For many years, the South African government banished people to this island who hoped to end the strong discrimination against the non-white population of the country. Fortunately, in the 1990s, much of the violence ended and the prisoners were released from the island, ending what was termed the "white regime" of South Africa. Today, the island is a museum that shares the story of the apartheid struggles and the discrimination. The guides, one of whom was a former political prisoner on the island, made a clear message that the museum is not meant to place blame on the white leaders who caused the suffering, but rather to share a message of peace and the importance of treating others with love and respect regardless of skin color and culture.

View of the mainland from Robben Island

The island is also an excellent place for birding, and the ferry ride to the island also produced a good number of exciting bird species. As we pulled out of Cape Town on the boat, Hartlaub's and Kelp Gulls were all over the water's edge and several White-throated Swallows glided low over the water. Soon after pulling into the open water, we began seeing Cape Cormorants flying in long lines low over the water. About 15 minutes into the windy boat ride, I spotted a group of small, white birds flying towards the boat. My first guess with only a quick glimpse without binoculars as that they were terns, but when I finally good a look, I realized that this was a flock of 20 Sabine's Gulls! This is an unusual species near home, so it was treat to see so many of these birds.

Sabine's Gulls

As we approached the jetty near the dock on Robben Island, the overwhelming smell of bird droppings filled the air. Thousands of cormorants (many of which were nesting) lined the jetty. Scanning the flock, I picked out three species. The majority of the birds were Cape Cormorants, with several Bank Cormorants, and a few, scattered Crested Cormorants. As we walked along the dock, I spotted an African Penguin swimming along the beach. Having never seen a wild penguin before, this was pretty exciting! Other birds included Greater Crested Tern, Common Fiscal, and Chukar (there is an established breeding population on the island). 

Cape Cormorants and the globally endangered Bank Comorants

African Penguin

After a few hours on the island, we headed back to the mainland for lunch. As with any outdoor restaurant that I have been to, pigeons, starlings, and sparrows wandered around the ground in search of food scraps. However, these were Speckled Pigeons, Red-winged Starlings, and Cape Sparrows, which made the dining experience a bit more exciting.

After the meal, we made our way to Table Mountain, which was recently named one of the "New Seven Wonders of Nature." This beautiful mountain is covered with a habitat known as fynbos, a fire-dependent shrubland unique to southern Africa. This park is an extremely popular destination, so the area was loaded with people in line to take the cable car to the very top of the mountain. When we parked the car, we immediately heard birds around us. We spotted a Karoo Prinia building a nest near where we parked the car. We also saw a beautiful Cape Canary singing in the pine tree over the road.

As we traveled up the cable car, we had incredible views of Cape Town and the surrounding landscape. The view from the top was unbelievable in every direction. We decided to hike out to explore the top of the mountain. As with many parks in the United States, very few people venture outside the sight of the visitor center, so we had the trails more or less to ourselves. The farther we got from the building, the windier it became. Before long, it was impossible to wear a hat without it soon blowing off. The wind brought in the infamous "tablecloth," a thick layer of fog, that often covers the top of Table Mountain. The weather conditions kept many of the birds away, but we spotted several Orange-breasted Sunbirds fluttering in the shrubs, although they stayed sheltered and hidden for most of the time. Before we went back down the mountain, we spotted an African Rock Hyrax (also known as a Cape Dassie) on the cliff edge. We soon found several more of these small mammals lounging on the rock ledges

One of many spectacular views from the top of Table Mountain

African Rock Hyrax

On Saturday morning, we got an early start and headed east to the village of Genadendal, a former Moravian Church mission in the mountains of the Western Cape. The small town holds many old buildings that were built by the Moravians in the 1730s. The site now holds a Moravian museum that holds many pieces of history from the village as well as information about the Moravian Church as a whole. Much of this information was very interesting to learn, as I attend a school that was founded by the Moravian Church. We also had a small amount of time to bird around the Genadendal gardens, where birds seemed to be everywhere. Showy birds like the African Paradise-Flycatchers and Yellow Bishops were common, as were smaller, drabber species like the Spotted Flycatcher. Malachite and Greater Double-collared Sunbirds visited the flowers in the gardens and were constantly flying through the dense rose bushes and other vines.

The church in Genadendal

The drive to and from Genadendal was beautiful. Close to Cape Town, the landscape looks very green, as the natural areas are mostly covered with fynbos. Once we crossed the mountains, the hills were covered with apple orchards and vineyards. A bit farther down the road, the primary crop is wheat, so the landscape was covered with various shades of brown. Southern Red Bishops lined the fence wires and several Steppe Buzzards patrolled from the utility poles along the highway. My favorite sightings along this route were the small groups of Blue Cranes feeding in the wheat fields. This beautiful bird is the national bird of South Africa, so it had particular importance for me as well as the South African residents in the car. 

After Genadendal, we headed to the coast along the town of Hermanus, a famous location where whales congregate to breed. Along the windy coast, Kelp Gulls were flying around, while the Hartlaub's Gulls, Greater Crested Terns, and a single Grey-headed Gull were perched on the rocks. While I was taking photos of the landscape, my mom spotted a seabird headed towards the coast. I got on the bird and watched it as it approached the point on which we were standing. As the dark bird came close, I got a good look, then quickly switched lenses and photographed the bird as it turned back around and headed back towards the ocean. Based on the views that I did get, I am pretty sure that this bird was a Northern Giant Petrel.

As we started to leave without having seen a whale, my mom wanted to check the bay on last time. Several Greater Striped Swallows circled over the parking lot while we scanned the water. Within a minute, I spotted the tail of a whale on the other side of the bay! For several minutes, the whale (or whales) were visible above the surface of the water. This area is well-known for the breeding population of Southern Right Whales that breed in the sheltered bay east of Hermanus.

Southern Right Whale at Hermanus

After Hermanus, we headed back to Cape Town along the ocean route, where we were greeted with fantastic views over the ocean. We stopped at a few places along the way to take pictures, and we also managed to see a few birds. The highlight was a small group of Cape Sugarbirds that were perched on the shrubs in a roadside fynbos habitat.

The endemic Cape Sugarbird

Today, we flew from Cape Town to Durban, where we will spend the next week at the UNFCCC COP17. So far, the weather has been hot, humid, and rainy. Hopefully the rest of the week will bring nicer weather!