JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET (08/15/90)
And this will be a bit scatter-brained, I fear.... Strangely, the best bird of the trip we saw the day before we left; as we walked down High Street in Oxford, Ohio, a large plank glided overhead. Perfectly flat wing position. Dark brown, a bit lighter on the head; eagle-sized. LARGE eagle-sized. My second golden eagle. Way out here? How strange...but the weather was pretty freaky, a big front was coming through...it's not surprising that the birding on the trip was only so-so after that. Still, we saw some interesting birds. Along eastern highways through Ohio, New York, and Vermont, perching hawks were abundant, especially Red-Tails and Red-Shoulders, with two Broad-Wings for spice. In Massachusetts we saw a Marsh Hawk about ten miles west of Worcester along the Mass Pike. Turkey Vultures, of course, were abundant darn near everywhere. Great Blue Herons seem to be common along the highways of the area, and also in the numerous little ponds that exist in Vermont. We also saw a lovely Little Blue in Brookfield Pond (Brookfield, VT), about a quarter-mile south of the floating bridge -- we were swimming at the time and were able to get quite close before it stalked off to higher ground; it returned before we were out of the water. Belted Kingfishers also were rattling and chasing each other about at the same pond; barn swallows were common as well as a few tree swallows. Warblers were very disappointing. We saw only a few Yellow-Rumps and a Kentucky. Also spotted were Red-Eyed and Warbling Vireos, and I was fortunate enough to have an excellent sighting of a Philadelphia vireo amid a flock of Black-Capped Chickadees. Goldfinches were noisy and lovely. Eastern Wood-Pewees, Eastern Kingbirds, several Least Flycatchers, and a few obstinately silent Empidonaxes were also seen in the Brookfield area. Wood thrushes seem to be common but were only heard and not seen. One Hermit Thrush was seen but not heard... Flickers, Red Headed and Red Bellied Woodpeckers were commmon, and one very quiet Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker was spotted at Owl's Head. Screech Owls called on two different nights, but no Horned Owls which is mildly surprising as they have been resident near our cabin in years past. Two disappointments (aside from the dearth of warblers): No woodcock, which would be a lifer for Alice, and no Pileated Woodpeckers -- we've both seen them, but they're such impressive birds and have only recently moved into the area. But we're back in Ohio now and getting ready for the flood of little green birds in the fall....good birding, folks! -------- Josh Hayes, Zoology Department, Miami University, Oxford OH 45056 voice: 513-529-1679 fax: 513-529-6900 jahayes@miamiu.bitnet, or jahayes@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu And Welcome, dear friends, to the wonderful world of snails and adventure, as we board the Golden Hind.
grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) (08/15/90)
In article <90226.182022JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET> JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET writes: > And this will be a bit scatter-brained, I fear.... > > Strangely, the best bird of the trip we saw the day before we left; > as we walked down High Street in Oxford, Ohio, a large plank glided > overhead. Perfectly flat wing position. Dark brown, a bit lighter > on the head; eagle-sized. LARGE eagle-sized. My second golden eagle. > Way out here? How strange...but the weather was pretty freaky, a > big front was coming through...it's not surprising that the birding > on the trip was only so-so after that. > > Still, we saw some interesting birds. Along eastern highways through > Ohio, New York, and Vermont, perching hawks were abundant, especially > Red-Tails and Red-Shoulders, with two Broad-Wings for spice. In > Massachusetts we saw a Marsh Hawk about ten miles west of Worcester > along the Mass Pike. Turkey Vultures, of course, were abundant darn > near everywhere. In Massachusetts, there are no Marsh Hawks; they are Moshawks. :-) > > But we're back in Ohio now and getting ready for the flood of little > green birds in the fall....good birding, folks! Can't wait for my first West Coast fall migration. Actually it's already begun! > -------- > Josh Hayes, Zoology Department, Miami University, Oxford OH 45056 -- -Greg Pasquariello grp@unify.com
grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) (08/16/90)
In article <90226.182022JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET> JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET writes: >> In Massachusetts, there are no Marsh Hawks; they are Moshawks. :-) Sigh. That should be Mashawks. No use making a joke if you don't make it correctly. -Greg Pasquariello grp@unify.com -- -Greg Pasquariello grp@unify.com
JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET (08/17/90)
And I forgot to mention this -- we saw a couple of juncos singing from up in the trees. Had to sneak up on this peculiar song, got all scratched up from raspberry bushs (at least there were still a few to eat on the way, yum, yum), and there they were. It seemed odd to see a junco a) singing, and b) not hopping about on a snow- covered lawn or patio, their usual habitat in my experience. How odd to see `winter` birds doing summer things.... Josh Hayes, Zoology Department, Miami University, Oxford OH 45056 voice: 513-529-1679 fax: 513-529-6900 jahayes@miamiu.bitnet, or jahayes@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu And Welcome, dear friends, to the wonderful world of snails and adventure, as we board the Golden Hind.
levine@lia ( Ken Levine) (08/17/90)
Hand-fed 1 year old umbrella Cockatoo for sale: We are going to have to sell our one year old Umbrella Cockatto, due to personal circumstances. She is a domestic, hand fed, extremely tame large bird, who loves to be kissed and hugged, loves to sit quietly with people (even strangers), and will keep you entertained for hours at a time with her antics. We are looking for serious pet owners, preferably ones who would be able to treat her as "queen bird", i.e., who do not have a lot of other birds at this time. We will sell her alone, or with a large cage (2'x2'x5', with playpen on top), along with several toys, etc. We are located in SF. Please contact Ken or Alex at (415) 929-8737.
hanrahan@crg8.sqnt.com (Tom Hanrahan) (08/17/90)
In article <90228.120252JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET> JAHAYES@MIAMIU.BITNET writes: >And I forgot to mention this -- we saw a couple of juncos singing >from up in the trees. Had to sneak up on this peculiar song, got >all scratched up from raspberry bushs (at least there were still a >few to eat on the way, yum, yum), and there they were. It seemed >odd to see a junco a) singing, and b) not hopping about on a snow- >covered lawn or patio, their usual habitat in my experience. How >odd to see `winter` birds doing summer things.... I had my best look at a Junco up high and singing this summer too. It was on a telephone pole, so I got a good long look at it. I was surprised how easy it would be for me to confuse a Junco with a Rufous-sided Towhee. Can anyone describe the difference in song? I have trouble with the two even when I'm listening to them on tape. -- -- Tom Hanrahan