Listening

When I went out in search of the Golden-Crowned Kinglet yesterday I prepared a bit since this would be a new species for me and I wanted to maximize my chances of finding it. Naturally I consulted all my field guides and some online resources to get an idea of what the little chirper looks like. I also hunted up some sound recordings of its vocalizations. I forget exactly when or under what circumstances, but it occurred to me some time last year that there is a breed of birder who is so skilled in identifying birds solely by sound that they count as "found" the ones they hear as well as the ones they see. I do alright with the easy, common ones like Black-capped Chickadees and Northern Cardinals. But if my life depended on standing in the middle of a springtime woodland naming every bird I heard I'd be a goner.

Still, I appreciate the value of hearing as well as seeing in bird identification and hope to keep increasing my own skill. Last summer I saw a Marsh Wren for the first time. On first sighting I wasn't sure that's what it was. But since it kept vocalizing I listened to it carefully and jotted down a description of it's song. Once home, I found some audio clips online that confirmed what I thought. In that process and since then I've found several bird song resources on the Internet that are fun and informative to explore. Sites like the Patuxent Bird Identificaion InfoCenter, Whatbird and the Bird Guide section of Cornell's All About Birds include audio samples in their species description pages. Mangoverde has some audio files from around the world in its World Bird Guide and The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library has an enormous collection of animal sound and video files.

And if you're interested in just ambient recordings from nature, many can be found at The Freesound Project. Here audio recordists from around the world upload sound files of anything and everything for free use with proper credit. It was this site that got me kicking myself for not taking any audio recording equipment with me to Ecuador. I would love to be able to relive the mornings in the cloud forest or on the islands through sound. I may go ahead and get some basic equipment to take with me on this summer's camping trips just to try making some recordings of my own.

Wearing a Golden Crown

This morning I set out to find a specific bird and was almost a little disappointed in how quickly it happened. There have been reports on the local list serve that people are seeing Golden-crowned Kinglets (Regulus satrapa) in the area so I took a very short drive to one of the spots mentioned. I hadn't walked for two minutes down the trail when I caught some motion in a spruce. Moving closer I could see black markings on the head and wing bars that reminded me of the images I'd looked at. Yes, I studied up before I went out. By this point I was 90% sure it was the bird I was seeking. Moving closer it was very actively working its way around the branches of the spruce when suddenly it bowed over straight toward me displaying its bright golden crown. Now I was 100% sure!



Even though the light wasn't great--there is a snowstorm on the way--I took a camera along to practice shooting small, active birds. I want to try to sharpen my currently pathetic picture taking (I wouldn't even call it photography at this point) before the warbler wave hits in a few weeks. Over the remainder of my walk I saw more Golden-crowned Kinglets, several Pine Siskins including a couple sharing food, American Coots and Buffleheads in the lake.

The Drama Builds

As I mentioned back on the 14th, my Amorphophallus konjac has decided it't going to bloom before I can stick it and all it's putrid beauty outdoors. As of this moment it's gotten 20" inches taller, four of those inches in the last day. I'm scared.

The Calendar Says It's Spring

And the garden agrees. At least a few Crocus and Helleborus do.

Blue Skies/Blue Birds

Today I FINALLY got out to do some hiking and birding. It seems like the last few weekends have been either too cold or too wet or both to get out. I went to three different locations and purposely let it just be an enjoyable outing without any counting or listing taking over as the focus. I did, however, swear that I would get at least one picture of a bird, however common, however bad. As I was thinking about leaving my last location I decided I could settle for one of the Mallards sitting in the lake or even the American Robin I found in a playground. Then, as is almost always the case, I get a satisfying sighting just as I'm ready to go home. Walking back to the parking lot I caught a bit of burbling chirping behind me. There, up in the top of a tree was the source of the sound.

Soon it took off and flew toward me along the edge of the prairie.

It was soon joined by another as they were making an inspection of a nesting box.

My first Eastern Bluebirds of the year! I'm taking this as an official declaration that Spring is here.

What Was I Thinking?

A few weeks ago I purchased a nice, blooming-size Amorphophallus konjac tuber at a garden expo. I've grown this species for years and while my plants enjoy reproducing vegetatively with offsets they don't seem particularly interested in growing big tubers that will flower. This one is obviously going to flower because when I got it the bud was already a few inches above the tuber. Now, I know full well that as a fly-pollinated species A. konjac attracts it little winged matchmakers by smelling like carrion. Of the species I have, A. dunnii is the only one that has flowered with any regularity and it actually smells OK--a little closer to what we think of as "floral." It also has always flowered in late spring or summer. I didn't follow the thought to the logical conclusion until my friend, Matt pointed it out to me: this puppy is going to flower before the weather is warm enough to put it outside. A week ago it seemed to perk up and resume its flower formation. Today it's 10.5" and growing. Will I find a suitable place for it when the bloom opens and fills the air with a rotten stench? Will it catch me off guard making our home smell like roadkill? (This once happened with a Typhonium. Not recommended.) Stay tuned for further floral developments.

Which Wren? Not a Wren! It's a Brown Creeper

UPDATE: We have a winner! It's not me. The bird is a Brown Creeper, one possibility that briefly crossed my mind but I immediately dismissed because I thought they were bigger. Thanks so much to all the helpful people who responded to my inquiry!

It's wet and dreary out so I decided to try to photograph a Black-capped Chickadee perching photogenically in the climbing hydrangea. Seeing a small bird hopping up the side of the oak tree I first assumed it was a White-breasted Nuthatch. But it was brown! It's some kind of wren but I don't know which. According to eBird I can expect Carolina Wrens this time of year and it may be too early for House, Sedge or Marsh Wrens--probably the wrong habitat for some of those, too. It doesn't look like a Winter Wren to me which is another possibility. Sorry for the quality of the photos. It's not very sunny today and I was shooting from inside the house so it wouldn't be spooked.