From spendelo at uiuc.edu Thu Jun 1 11:54:12 2006
From: spendelo at uiuc.edu (Jacob Spendelow)
Date: Thu Jun 1 11:54:06 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] Yellow Warbler
Message-ID: <>
Hi birders,
A Yellow Warbler has been singing in my front yard all morning. We've
never had any breeding warblers in the area that I know of, so I would
guess that he is a late migrant.
Jacob Spendelow
Champaign
From charleneanchor at msn.com Thu Jun 1 13:34:47 2006
From: charleneanchor at msn.com (charlene anchor)
Date: Thu Jun 1 13:27:15 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] Yellow Warbler
Message-ID: <>
Hi Jacob,
Yellow Warblers breed at Meadowbrook (and Common Yellowthroats). I think there are at least 3 singing Yellow Warbler males there at present. Also at Lake of the Woods, Yellow, Yellow-throated and Parula have bred. Last year a Prothonotary was confirmed breeding. Haven't seen one out there yet this year :-(
Charlene Anchor
----- Original Message -----
From: Jacob Spendelow
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 11:55 AM
To:
Subject: [Birdnotes] Yellow Warbler
Hi birders,
A Yellow Warbler has been singing in my front yard all morning. We've
never had any breeding warblers in the area that I know of, so I would
guess that he is a late migrant.
Jacob Spendelow
Champaign
______
Birdnotes mailing list
https://mail.prairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes
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From spendelo at uiuc.edu Thu Jun 1 13:42:21 2006
From: spendelo at uiuc.edu (Jacob Spendelow)
Date: Thu Jun 1 13:42:14 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] Yellow Warbler
In-Reply-To: <>
References: <>
Message-ID: <>
To clarify, when I said that "we've never had breeding warblers in the
area," I was referring to my neighborhood, the area around Kirby and
Mayfair. I certainly agree that several species of warblers breed in many
other areas in town and in the surrounding parks and preserves.
Jacob Spendelow
Champaign
At 11:54 AM 6-1-2006, Jacob Spendelow wrote:
>Hi birders,
>A Yellow Warbler has been singing in my front yard all morning. We've
>never had any breeding warblers in the area that I know of, so I would
>guess that he is a late migrant.
>Jacob Spendelow
Champaign
>______
>Birdnotes mailing list
>
>https://mail.prairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes
From threlkster at gmail.com Thu Jun 1 17:52:48 2006
From: threlkster at gmail.com (Brian Threlkeld)
Date: Thu Jun 1 17:52:53 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] No sightings -- Bird articles
Message-ID: <>
John Seabrook, "Ruffled Feathers: Uncovering the Biggest Scandal in the Bird
World." *The New Yorker* (29 May 2006), pp. 50-61.
The current issue of The New Yorker magazine has an absorbing article on the
work of the ornithologist Pam Rasmussen, who recently completed (with the
illustrator John Anderton) the exhaustive, two-volume "Birds of South Asia:
The Ripley Guide." In the course of her research for that work (which took
a dozen years or more), she "helped lead to the unravelling of the greatest
ornithological fraud ever committed?a convoluted skein of theft and data
falsification that was perpetrated by the late British ornithologist Colonel
Richard Meinertzhagen." Meinertzhagen (1878-1967) had amassed one of the
world's great collections of bird skins, many of which he had shot and
prepared himself. Unfortunately, it turned out that a great number of the
study skins he claimed to have collected personally were actually collected
by earlier ornithologists and hunters; Meinertzhagen pilfered specimens from
the collections of major British museums -- and perhaps others in Europe and
the United States, as well -- removing the original tags from the birds and
substituting tags on which he fabricated collection data. (There are also
strong suspicions that Meinertzhagen indulged in extensive fraud in other
areas of his life.)
Rasmussen is a professor of zo?logy at Michigan State; the university's web
site has a page on her recent work, on recent news coverage of that work,
and on her ongoing projects:
<http://special.newsroom.msu.edu/rasmussen/index.html>
Although The New Yorker's new article on Rasmussen is not available on the
magazine's site, the Michigan State site has a link to a pdf file of the
article:
<http://special.newsroom.msu.edu/rasmussen/documents/Rasmussen%20New%20Yorker%20article.pdf
The article opens with a vividly colorful photo of ten exotic study skins,
and includes a spectacular 1915 shot of Meinertzhagen (who stood nearly six
and a half feet) holding a huge great bustard (the heaviest living flighted
bird, I believe).
To whet readers' interest in the new article, The New Yorker's site has
posted Geoffrey T. Hellman's colorful profile of a "grand old man" of
American ornithology in the 20th century, Dillon Ripley:
<http://www.newyorker.com/printables/archive/060529fr_archive01>
The profile was first published in the magazine's 26 Aug. 1950 issue, when
Ripley was only 36, but already immensely accomplished. Ripley, of course,
gave his name to the South Asia guide; Rasmussen was initially hired as his
assistant on the project, and took over in the early 1990s when Ripley
became too ill to continue working. (He died in 2001.)
______
Brian Threlkeld
107 E Michigan Ave
Urbana IL 61801-5027
217-384-5164
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From LewsaderBud at aol.com Thu Jun 1 19:00:05 2006
From: LewsaderBud at aol.com ()
Date: Thu Jun 1 19:00:14 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] Directions toHeronpark from Champaign (no sihgtings)
Message-ID: <>
Directions To Heron Park from Champaign-Urbana.
I-74 to Exit 210, continue East on Route 150 to stop light (approximately 3/4
of mile), Turn north (Henning Rd), Go to first road past Kennekuk County Park
Entrance, Turn right on County Rd. 2300N, Go East approximately 1 mile to
Denmark Rd. turn left (North) to West Newell Rd. Turn right (East), Park will be
on your right approxmiately 1 1/2 mile.
Bud Lewsader
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From spendelo at uiuc.edu Thu Jun 1 22:04:47 2006
From: spendelo at uiuc.edu (Jacob Spendelow)
Date: Thu Jun 1 22:04:44 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] Swine Ponds
Message-ID: <>
I stopped by a few spots in the south farms this evening, but didn't find
much until I got to the swine ponds. While approaching the entrance to the
swine ponds I was surprised to see 4 Wood Ducks perched on the power
lines. I've seen them in trees plenty of times, but never on a power
line. I took a few pictures and would be happy to send one to anyone that
wants to see such a strange sight. The abundant Wood Ducks and Mallards on
the largest pond were also joined by a pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL and 2 male
NORTHERN SHOVELERS. A few migrant shorebirds were still present, including
SOLITARY SANDPIPER, at least one and perhaps two WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS,
and two smaller peeps that I couldn't identify under the viewing conditions
(dark and rainy with no scope). The rest of my list is pasted below.
Good birding!
Jacob Spendelow
Champaign
Killdeer
Ring-necked Pheasant
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Eastern Kingbird
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
American Robin
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Dickcissel - lots, singing everywhere!
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
House Sparrow
American Goldfinch
House Finch
From rboehmer at mail.millikin.edu Fri Jun 2 06:15:24 2006
From: rboehmer at mail.millikin.edu (Ray F. Boehmer)
Date: Fri Jun 2 06:16:02 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] Swine Ponds
In-Reply-To: <>
Message-ID: <>
I saw the same 4 Woodies last evening - one male walking around on the roof
of one of the buildings, another male on the wire and the two females
perched together on top of a nearby utility pole. Strange sight.
At 10:04 PM 6/1/2006 -0500, Jacob Spendelow wrote:
>I stopped by a few spots in the south farms this evening, but didn't find
>much until I got to the swine ponds. While approaching the entrance to
>the swine ponds I was surprised to see 4 Wood Ducks perched on the power
>lines. I've seen them in trees plenty of times, but never on a power
>line. I took a few pictures and would be happy to send one to anyone that
>wants to see such a strange sight. The abundant Wood Ducks and Mallards
>on the largest pond were also joined by a pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL and 2
>male NORTHERN SHOVELERS. A few migrant shorebirds were still present,
>including SOLITARY SANDPIPER, at least one and perhaps two WHITE-RUMPED
>SANDPIPERS, and two smaller peeps that I couldn't identify under the
>viewing conditions (dark and rainy with no scope). The rest of my list is
>pasted below.
>Good birding!
>Jacob Spendelow
>Champaign
>Killdeer
>Ring-necked Pheasant
>Rock Dove
>Mourning Dove
>Chimney Swift
>Eastern Kingbird
>Northern Rough-winged Swallow
>Barn Swallow
>American Robin
>European Starling
>Common Yellowthroat
>Northern Cardinal
>Indigo Bunting
>Song Sparrow
>Chipping Sparrow
>Dickcissel - lots, singing everywhere!
>Red-winged Blackbird
>Brown-headed Cowbird
>Common Grackle
>House Sparrow
>American Goldfinch
>House Finch
>______
>Birdnotes mailing list
>
>https://mail.prairienet.org/mailman/listinfo/birdnotes
From bernies at uillinois.edu Fri Jun 2 10:12:10 2006
From: bernies at uillinois.edu (Sloan, Bernie)
Date: Fri Jun 2 10:12:14 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] Digital camera/binocular combo (no sighting)
Message-ID: <>
A couple of times this week at Meadowbrook I found myself viewing a bird
briefly through my binoculars and thinking "I wish I could just press a
button and snap a picture of what I'm seeing".
First time was a sparrow I wasn't sure about.
Second bird looked like some sort of flycatcher.
I did a little web searching and, lo and behold, there is such a thing
as a combination digital camera and binoculars:
http://www.optics4birding.com/digital-camera-binoculars.aspx
Anyone have any experience with such a thing?
I know they most likely aren't the same quality as the equipment some of
the more sophisticated photographers on the list might use, but they
might come in handy in a pinch when something takes you by surprise...
Bernie Sloan
From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Fri Jun 2 11:18:00 2006
From: jwhoyt at prairienet.org (James Hoyt)
Date: Fri Jun 2 11:18:01 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] Swine Ponds Wood Ducks
In-Reply-To: <>
Message-ID: <>
Birders,
The weather certainly was ducky yesterday evening.
Maybe the birding community could get permission to place a nest box
there... (Ha!)
Back to reality.
Homer Lake area had a GB heron on private land in the upper reaches of the
NE lake.
Lots of Cliff Swallows around the dam.
A bluebird over by the parking lot on the west side.
A pair of Candad Geese floating in the rain.
One mother Raccoon, and 3 half grown babies, climbing in a large oak near
the 0hill picnic shelter east of Dam.
Over on the west side.
Burning logs spit and sizzle as the glowing ashes slowly die out in the
rain near Collin's Pond where GeoBoys had cleared Autumn Olive.
Some Honeysuckle popping up again.
Wish I could remember my bird calls.
Something was in the brush making a very melodious call.
At a friends prairie restoration I saw 2 Meadowlarks, 1
Bluebird, a couple of Kingbirds, and a pair of deer.
Later over NE of Homer I saw a large Red Tailed Hawk on a telephone pole.
Strange that I didn't see any ducks.
Till next time,
Jim :)
--
James Hoyt
"The Prairie Ant"
Champaign Co. Audubon
Co-steward Parkland College Prairies.
Monitor Urbana Park District Natural Areas.
Champaign County Master Gardener
Allerton Allies
Prairie Rivers Network
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
"The human culture is considered to be a 'geologic force' and with good
reason. But if we are at a stage where our actions are to decide the
world's future, then surely we have reached a level where we can be held
acountable for the world's future." Durward L. Allen "Our Wildlife Legacy"
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
From rboehmer at mail.millikin.edu Fri Jun 2 11:26:05 2006
From: rboehmer at mail.millikin.edu (Ray F. Boehmer)
Date: Fri Jun 2 11:26:16 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] Upland Sandpipers
Message-ID: <>
I had a memorable experience with Upland Sandpipers this morning.
I went to the Monticello Road Field Station (directions below) with hopes
of hearing and seeing an Upland S. I drove east about 100 yards on the
gravel road that borders the north edge of the station and parked. I got
out of the car because I thought I heard an Upland along with the many
Dickcissels. As I stood next to the car a bird came out of the weeds about
50 feet from the car and flew towards me and nearly landed on the car
before it veered off to the east. It was an Upland. Their flapping is
very stiff and shallow. It landed in the road about 50 yards east of me
and was soon joined by another Upland, which I assume was its mate. They
walked up and down the gravel road feeding on seeds (?) or insects that
they were plucking off of the plants that are growing next to the
road. While I watched them for at least 15 minutes, another pair of Upland
S emerged from the vegetation and flew in tandem all around the area
calling and displaying.
That was by far my best opportunity to observe this species in 35 years of
birdwatching.
The Monticello Road Field Station is located a mile south of the
intersection of Monticello Road (the road that borders Willard Airport on
the south) and Champaign Co Road 700 East.
Ray, Urbana
From jwhoyt at prairienet.org Fri Jun 2 11:28:58 2006
From: jwhoyt at prairienet.org (James Hoyt)
Date: Fri Jun 2 11:29:00 2006
Subject: [Birdnotes] Homer Lake (Yesterday)
In-Reply-To: <>
Message-ID: <>
Birders,
Sorry I forgot about the green heron near the Dam at Homer Lake last
night.
Jim :)
--
James Hoyt
"The Prairie Ant"
Champaign Co. Audubon
Co-steward Parkland College Prairies.
Monitor Urbana Park District Natural Areas.
Champaign County Master Gardener
Allerton Allies
Prairie Rivers Network
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
"The human culture is considered to be a 'geologic force' and with good