Using the Landmarks

Yesterday was my first official day participating in the hawkwatch research. The fog lifted early and we  were actually able to see pretty clearly. We counted a total of 88 raptors, which in the dataset gets recorded as 22.98 hawks per hour, something I will explain when I have a better understanding of it myself. We identified four different species, the highlight of which were two distant juvenile Northern harriers. My excitement and celebration at spotting and identifying these unique birds was worthy of something the rest of the team deemed "Danny's harrier dance."

Hawkwatchers hawkwatching.

The hawkwatch research is pretty structured, Hawk Hill being divided into four quadrants, each being watched by a group of people. Typically, we rotate each hour so no one tires of staring at the same quadrant for too long. Once a bird is spotted in your quadrant, it is important to notify the other observers, so we can work together to identify the bird's species. Describing the location of the bird can be tricky, and over the years, the hawkwatchers have learned to use the natural landmarks to assist. Some of these landmarks are pretty obvious:

We call this "the bridge" but also often refer to "North tower" or "South tower"

Acatraz is another pretty obvious landmark.

There are some buildings around the Marin Headlands that also make for some good landmarks:

The GGRO office is located in the buildings on the right, called "Fort Cronkhite" because of some military history.

The horse pastures are on the left and rifle range on the right (I walk/bike past these every day on my way to the office). Yesterday, I watched four turkey vultures and bobcat hanging out in the rifle range during an otherwise slower hour in the West quadrant.

Point Bonita lighthouse, located funnily enough on Point Bonita.

Despite these obvious landmarks, most of what surrounds Hawk Hill is, well, other hills. Thus, some creativity has come into play as people have come up for clever names to differentiate all of the hills and vegetation. Here are some of my favorites:

The "Steer's Head" - pretty self-explanatory. 

The "Bunny" - also pretty self-explanatory.

This one is "Elvis. His legs are the two ridges coming towards the photo, the arms are the long ridge going across the middle, and Elvis' head is in profile in the upper center of the photo. See it?

For all the science nerds out there, this little patch of grass is simply called the "Petri dish."

The "lobster." The claws are coming towards the photograph, body pointing back to the upper-right corner.

Apparently, one way to have a true GGRO legacy is to coin a term that gets used as a landmark identification tool for years to come. I have another new goal for my time in California. :)

BONUS: Today, during a rather slow banding day, a group of California quails all ran into one of our nets. Families of these birds are seen running around the Marin Headlands, including in my front yard. They're pretty cute, if perhaps a bit dumb. I enjoyed getting a chance to see them up-close in the hand today.

First Day in the Blind

Yesterday, the GGRO banding-man-in-charge, Chris, took fellow intern Anna and I up for an "intern practice banding day." Given that it's pretty early in the season, we weren't really expecting to band any raptors. However, a randomly sunny day combined with a nice wind led to an exciting first day in the blind.

A hatch-year red-tailed hawk flying over the hills behind Slacker blind. (Photo credit: Chris Briggs)

There are four blinds in operation around the Marin Headlands. We banded at the "Slacker" blind (named after the name of the hill, not the laziness of its users), from which we had a beautiful view of Hawk Hill, Point Bonita, and the Pacific Ocean, as well as much of the rest of the Marin Headlands. Most of our morning was spent repairing nets and making sure everything was in tip-top shape, but by noon, we were inside the blind, waiting for some raptors to appear. Here are some of the highlights that came to follow:

-Prairie Falcon: One of the most elusive birds of the Marin Headlands, the prairie falcon is seen by the hawkwatchers an average of four times per season, and banded an average of twice per season. How amazing would it be if that were the first bird I banded out here? Spoiler alert: it wasn't. However, I got an amazingly up-close look as one stooped right into the trapping area. It was quick, but we identified it as a prairie falcon without question. This might've been my only chance to see this bird all season - amazing!

Not my photo, but this is basically what we saw. (www.nickdunlop.com)

-Red-tailed Hawk: Our first successful catch was a juvenile red-tailed hawk. Even before taking measurements, we could tell that she was a female based on how hefty she was (female raptors are larger than their male counterparts). Even more interesting was the fact that she was a rufous-morph, a rarer version of the typical red-tailed hawk. We came to this conclusion based on the heavy, dark streaking on her upper breast, and the cinnamon hue to her tail.

Cinnamon streaks in the red-tailed tail.

Almost immediately, I learned a valuable lesson in large raptor handling. GGRO handles raptors differently than my previous experience at Hawk Ridge, and as I was adjusting my grip, one of her legs came free. The next thing I knew, four sharp, hawk talons were embedded in my arm. Chris was a champ, as he pulled those strong toes apart, but it was certainly more than a sting. In fact, I'm a little disappointed that the scars left behind are so wimpy - they don't reflect the amount of pain a wild raptor's talons are capable of. Obviously, I came out alive and it was a great lesson. I will certainly be considerably more cautious handling raptors from now on.

I then got to experience the processing of the hawk, as I took all of its measurements, applied the band, and recorded all of the data. This took a bit of time, it being my first bird, and I'll be working to increase my efficiency with this stage of the process to decrease the amount of time the wild bird has to hang out with me in the blind. Afterwards, we took her outside for a photo-op and released her into the wind.

Here I am with the first raptor I banded in California. Not a bad start! (Photo credit: Anna Stunkel - also the next one).

I'm attempting to show off this bird's wing, but the wind was making that challenging.

-Four more red-tailed Hawks: While I was processing lady red-tail, we were being taunted by four other red-tailed hawks outside the blind. They circled around, came close to the nets, and then flew back up again, over and over and over. In fact, one actually perched on one of our poles for a record-breaking 18 minutes. Chris said that this is typical kestrel behavior, but you rarely see a buteo act this way. Very interesting.

-American Kestrel: Towards the end of the day, we caught our second bird, a hatch-year, male American Kestrel. The males are distinguished by their silvery-blue wing color, and solid tail with a bold black stripe. We aged it as a juvenile because it had stripes all the way up its back (instead of only partway as we would have seen in the adult).

The girls I work with keep going on and on about how adorable kestrels are. I wonder how cute they'll think it is when they see one attacking its prey.

Male American kestrel tail.

American kestrels are falcons, same family as the peregrines. I find myself partial to falcons, so it was pretty cool to see this bird up close. Anna did the processing this time as I kept an eye on the nets (and another kestrel managed to elude us). When Anna was done, I handled the bird as well. Red-tails and kestrels represent the two size extremes of birds we'll be handling this season, so it was nice to get a feel for both ends of the spectrum. Afterwards, I let him go too.

Kestrel release. (Photo credit: Anna Stunkel)

By the time our kestrel was flying off into the hills, we had to start cleaning up and head back down the hill. Considering we were expecting to see very few birds, I would consider it a very successful day. A great first experience banding at GGRO.

The Hawk Identification Challenge

The GGRO field research season is rapidly approaching. On August 19, the two major research projects (hawkwatch and banding) begin. We've asked the hawks to kindly wait until then to begin migrating. Most of them will cooperate, although a few strays may have missed the memo and might already be on their way south.

A red-tailed hawk hunting in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, a sight to become increasingly more common as migration season arrives.

Meanwhile, one of the main projects of the GGRO interns (aka me) is to "learn." We're learning how to care for lurebirds. We're learning how to set up dho-gaza's, bow-nets, and mist nets for trapping hawks. We're learning how to age buteo hawks based on their molting pattern. We're learning how to fill big holes with rocks. And we're learning how to identify all 19 of the common migratory raptor species, and all of their respective morphs, in flight.

Identifying hawks in flight is a tricky ordeal, but thanks to the fact that a lot of people have been doing it for a long time, there are some tried and true techniques. Through weekly evening ID classes, powerpoint study sessions with each other, and the occasional birding field trip, I feel like I'm slowly gaining confidence in my ability to identify a passing raptor.

It's a daunting ordeal at first - in sum, there are 68 different morphs that we could essentially see (juveniles often look very different from adults in a given species, and some species of dark morphs, light morphs, in between morphs, etc). In the classroom, we focus on learning field marks - what the hawks look like. Words like petagial marks, carpal patches, undersides, uppersides, mottling, barring, and streaking are thrown around a lot.

These are all different morphs of red-tailed hawks.

In the field, however, we get a chance to focus on something birders have termed the GISS: the general impression, size, and shape. In other words, many birders feel that field marks can only get you so far. Once you're in the field, you're going to learn a lot more information by becoming familiar with the relative size, the relative shape, and the typical behavior of a given bird. Last week, we went birding with Steve, a long-time GGRO volunteer who can tell the difference between a juvenile and adult red-tail hawk from miles away, based only on the silhouette.

I'm learning to identify birds like these with no hesitation.

We can study field marks until our brains explode, but once we get outside, that can only give us so much information. The confidence in identification will come from practice in the field. One more week until I'll be putting my hawkwatching skills to the test. Bring on the migration!

Pigeon Guillemots

Cormorants! Murres! Grebes! Prior to this month, nearly all of my birding experience came from bird watching in my previous stomping ground of Minnesota. One of the perks of being an intern for the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory is quickly becoming proficient in identifying all of the common (and many less common) North American raptors. However, during my first California birding trip to the Point Bonita lighthouse last month, I learned that I'll have more than just raptors to keep me occupied in the Marin Headlands.

The San Francisco Bay makes for surprisingly great birding.

Although fascinated by all of these new bird species, I was particularly captivated by a flock of funny-looking waders with vivid red feet and white wing patches on their otherwise solid back bodies. They looked an awful lot like penguins, but were actually a species called pigeon guillemots.

My new favorite bird - the pigeon guillemot.

Found just off the West Coast from Alaska to Southern California, these birds are actually members of the Alcidae family, which includes puffins, auklets, and murres. Their habit of spending time closer to the shore than their fellow alcids makes them an easily recognized and identified species. This is mostly due to their preference for feeding in shallow water; pigeon guillemots are capable of diving as deep as 45 meters, but typically find the most success in water 10-20 meters deep.

It's hard to deny the truly strange appearance of these birds. (www.whidbeyaudubon.org)

While pigeon guillemot populations are relatively stable off the California coast, the birds are making news in Alaska. It has been almost 24 years since the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Prince William Sound. In the aftermath of the spill in 1989, somewhere between 2,000 and 6,000 pigeon guillemots died of "acute oiling." Following the spill, Exxon Mobil and the state of Alaska formed a commission to ensure that all wildlife populations affected by the spill would be protected and restored. Two and a half decades later, the pigeon guillemots are the only bird species classified as "not recovering." Whether this is still due to the effects of the oil spill, or some other factor is unclear.

Cepphus columba (www.bird.cornell.edu)

In an effort to restore pigeon guillemot populations to their pre-spill numbers of more than 1,000, the Exxon Valdez Commission has proposed trapping of local minks. For unknown reasons, the mink population exploded in the aftermath of the oil spill, which increased predation on the guillemots, among other local bird species. By removing some of the minks, the pigeon guillemots will hopefully be able to fully recover from their population deficit, while also benefitting many other bird species that are preyed on by the minks.

American mink are natural predators of pigeon guillemots, among many other bird species. (www.arkive.org)

Is it ethical to remove one native species to assist the growth of another? The commission argues that, since the mink population was apparently affected by the oil spill, it is their responsibility to remove it, especially if it will help the pigeon guillemot numbers to increase again.

I can't wait to see many more of these unique birds while in California (www.prbo.org)

This story is a great illustration of the long-term effects of major environmental disasters such as oil spills. A quarter of a century after the spill, people are still investing millions of dollars and countless hours into restoring the ecosystem. Either way, pigeon guillemots make me laugh every time I see them. Their quirky appearance and behavior is part of the personality of the San Francisco Bay bird populations and I am glad to see restoration efforts elsewhere being taken seriously.

June & July Bird Count

I didn't see a ton of birds during my travels in June, but since my arrival in California, I've been introduced to so many new species, and even families, of birds. In fact, if I didn't have experienced California-bird-identifyers with me for many of these excursions, I probably would not have been able to identify half of the birds on this list.

6/2/13
101. Least Flycatcher: Finland, MN, section 13 on the Superior Hiking Trail
102. Black-and-white Warbler: Finland, MN, section 13 on the Superior Hiking Trail

6/5/13: I was lucky enough to be around for one morning of Wolf Ridge MAPS bird banding, and the birds that showed up did not disappoint. In addition to the birds listed, I got to see a robin in the hand, which was pretty interesting.
103. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: Wolf Ridge, MAPS Bird Banding Station
104. Rose-breasted Grosbeak: Wolf Ridge, MAPS Bird Banding Station

105. Veery: Wolf Ridge, MAPS Bird Banding Station

6/8/13

106. Double-creasted Cormorant: Isle Royale National Park, Windigo Harbor

6/10/13

107. Cedar Waxwing: Isle Royale National Park, Washington Creek Campsite

Photo credit: Sara Sloan

6/13/13

108. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: All over the Oklahoma and Texas interstates

6/28/13

109. Black-throated Sparrow (L): Arches National Park, UT, Devil's Garden Trail

7/2/13

110. Steller's Jay: Camp Aranu'tiq, CA

111. Black-throated Gray Warbler (L): Camp Aranu'tiq, CA

7/6/13

112. Yellow-billed Magpie (L): Middle of CA, perched on a fence on the side of the road

113. California Quail (L): Middle of CA, side of the road

And also tons of these guys hang out in my backyard.

7/7/13

114. Acorn Woodpecker (L): Pinnacles National Park, CA, side of the road (What a funny looking bird! Wish I'd gotten a photo...)

115. Western Scrub Jay: Pinnacles National Park, CA, Condor Gulch Trail

This little scrub jay was probably only a month or two old...

116. California Condor (L): Pinnacles National Park, CA, Condor Gulch Trail (So...this is a pretty awesome sighting and unfortunately, it was really far away and I got no photo. California condors are kind of a big deal, both in the raptor world and the conservation world. I'll be going on more condor searching adventures during my time west, and probably writing more about these awesome birds in future posts).

7/8/13

117. California Towhee (L): Marin Headlands, Bottoms Road house backyard

7/9/13

118. American White Pelican: Mill Valley, CA, wetlands

7/10/13

The GGRO interns went on a quick birding outing to Point Bonita Lighthouse, not far from our house. This was my first real introduction to how many different types of birds there are out here.

119. White-crowned Sparrow: Marin Headlands, Point Bonita Lighthouse parking lot

120. Common Murre (L): Marin Headlands, Point Bonita Lighthouse, swimming on the water

121. Pigeon Guillemot (L): Marin Headlands, Pont Bonita Lighthouse, swimming on the water (my new favorite bird!)

122. Brant's Cormorant (L): Marin Headlands, Point Bonita Lighthouse, perched on a rock in the water (the following week, I got a very close-up look at a Brant's cormorant nesting colony on Alcatraz, which is where these photos are from).

123. Western Grebe (L): Marin Headlands, Point Bonita Lighthouse, swimming on the water (there were at least 100 of them swimming on the water together)

124. Spotted Towhee: Marin Headlands, Point Bonita Lighthouse, parking lot

125. California Gull: Marin Headlands, Point Bonita Lighthouse, all over

7/15/13

126. Long-billed Dowitcher (L): Burlingame, CA, wetlands outside of Bayshore Hotel

127. Short-billed Dowitcher (L): Burlingame, CA, wetlands outside of Bayshore Hotel (These two species are pretty difficult to differentiate, and often hang out in flocks together. I'm pretty sure I identified both species in the flock on these wetlands).

7/17/13

128. Rufous Hummingbird OR Allen's Hummingbird (L): San Francisco, CA, the Presidio (like the dowitcher, these two species are almost impossible to differentiate unless looking at a couple of specific feathers on the male).

129. Red-shouldered Hawk: San Francisco, CA, the Presidio (this was fun, because we had just learned how to ID this species earlier in the day)

130. Anna's Hummingbird (L): San Francisco, CA, the Presidio

131. Chestnut-backed Chickadee (L): San Francisco, CA, the Presidio

132. Hutton's Vireo (L): San Francisco, CA, the Presidio

7/18/13

133. Brown Pelican: Marin Headlands, Point Bonita Lighthouse, flying together in a flock

134. Surf Scoter (L): Marin Headlands, Point Bonita Lighthouse, on the water

135. Pelagic Cormorant (L): Marin Headlands, Point Bonita Lighthouse, on the rocks (Pretty cool to see a nest of these guys, balanced precariously on the rocks with fledglings cautiously wandering around).

7/24/13

We got a chance to visit Alcatraz with a GGRO extern who is currently doing breeding waterbird surveys. She took us around the island to point out all the nesting colonies (see the Brant's cormorant pictures above) and also into some of the places the general public isn't allowed to go, like the old hospital wing and psych ward. Pretty cool trip.

136. Amazon Parrot (L): San Francisco, Fort Mason parking lot (Apparently, there's a flock of Amazon parrots that just wander around the city).

137. Western Gull: San Francisco, Alcatraz, all over

Gull fledglings are ugly, awkward, and altogether wonderful.

138. Snowy Egret: San Francisco, Alcatraz, all over

7/27/13

139. Great Egret: Suisun, Grizzly Adams Road, CA, all over

140. Gadwall: Suisun, Grizzly Adams Road, CA, on the water (and being banded!)

141. Northern Harrier: Suisun, Grizzly Adams Road, CA, hunting in the fields

142. White-tailed kite: Suisun, Grizzly Adams Road, CA, hunting in the fields (A beautiful California raptor that I'm looking forward to seeing more of during the hawk counts).

143. Common Gallinule: Suisun, Grizzly Adams Road, CA, wandering around in the reeds