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Text of the page (random words):
the birders report menu home about birdlife international species champion egg and nest identification nest box birdhouse plans nest box monitoring guide nest watch manual resources videos my kowa tsn 883 prominar digiscoping set up birding guides books and media my 2013 year bird list blogging tips the birders report a bird s eye view of the world the harris s sparrow a new lifer for me by larry jordan on march 6 2021 the harris s sparrow zonotrichia querula is usually only found in the south central plains of the united states in the winter and during migration this bird has been very rare in shasta county having only been recorded here 16 times according to cornell s birds of the world the harris s sparrow is listed as near threatened nt due to degradation of breeding habitat luckily for me a friend invited me over to his house where this bird has been visiting his feeders 0 comments my trip to costa rica part 2 by larry jordan on march 21 2019 before leaving olguita s on the second day in costa rica i spotted this migrant male baltimore oriole icterus galbula pictured above but i also enjoyed a resident black cowled oriole icterus prosthemelas both lifers since the weather was not favorable for snorkeling i decided to kayak up the local quebrada ernesto inlet climbing into the kayak i noticed a three toed sloth hanging in an overhanging tree the sloths are a big draw in costa rica whenever we saw large groups of folks looking up into the trees they were usually watching sloths heading up the inlet were several black river turtles but the coolest thing seen was a common black hawk buteogallus anthracinus feeding on its prey back at the hotel the ever present scarlet rumped tanagers ramphocelus passerinii were frolicking the female trying to hide in the foliage and the male found at a feeding station a streak headed woodcreeper lepidocolaptes souleyetti was spotted occupied in its normal behavior of climbing a tree in the yard both a tropical kingbird tyannus melancholicus and a pale vented pigeon patagioenas cayennensis were in plain view that last night at one of the beach side restaurants in punta uva we were treated to several beautiful blue land crabs as we were leaving olguita s for our next destination in sarapiqui we got great looks at probably the most common hawk seen in costa rica the roadside hawk rupornis magnirostris the cool thing was we also got great looks at a juvenile common blackhawk 0 comments my trip to costa rica part 1 by larry jordan on march 7 2019 i recently returned from a twelve day birding tour of costa rica with lifer tours guided by an incredible birder david rodriquez i began the trip with a rather long drive from the airport hotel in san jose to punta uva on the southern caribbean coast for a couple of free days before joining the actual tour one of the obvious sights on the way down were large pendulous nests hanging from several tall trees you can see the bright yellow tail feathers of the occupants montezuma oropendola psarocolius montezuma to give you an idea of the size of those nests the oropendola is a 20 inch bird continuing down highway 32 before reaching the caribbean coast we were stuck in traffic caused by several big rigs approaching the container yards just short of the port in limon of course my main objective for this entire trip was to locate and photograph the birds of costa rica to my surprise and delight a species i had been trying to get decent photos of for quite awhile was hovering right above the car as we were stopped in traffic i was able to snap some decent shots of this white tailed kite elanus leucurus before continuing south i spent the first couple of days in the upper room of a quaint country hotel with individual bungalows called olguita s place in punta uva this is the view from my deck the next morning i woke to birds singing in the trees and a whole new world of lifers starting with the a bananaquit coereba flaveola twittering in the tree next to the deck there are many warblers that migrate through costa rica olguita s property showed me a migrating chestnut sided warbler setophaga pensylvanica on my first day in costa rica of course we have the little brown creeper here in the us but in costa rica they have several woodcreepers most are twice the size of our brown creeper this northern barred woodcreeper dendrocolaptes sanctithomae was climbing a nearby tree gleaning insects as it went of course we all know that costa rica is loaded with hummingbirds a bit of drizzle on the second morning allowed a rufous tailed hummingbird amazilia tzacatl to perch and preen for several minutes in the trees the uncommon hummer at the top of this post is a male black crested coquette lophornis helenae unfortunately i accidentally deleted the good close ups i took of this bird however our excellent guide and master digiscoper took this incredible shot of this gem stay tuned for future posts from costa rica we did spot 220 species 0 comments it s time to clean out your nest boxes by larry jordan on december 13 2018 birds can be attracted to your home simply by offering food water and shelter trees and shrubs that yield fruit berries seeds nuts and cones will provide food birdbaths or pools can be built to supply water and feeders strategically placed around the yard will furnish supplementary food for the birds when natural sources diminish tangles of wild plants and dense undergrowth left to thrive in chosen areas of your property will provide shelter protection and natural nesting and roosting sites some 84 species of north american birds excavate nesting holes use cavities resulting from decay natural cavities or use holes created by other species in dead or deteriorating trees for nesting many species of these cavity nesting birds have declined because of habitat reduction but you can help several of the birds that nest in cavities tend to be resident non migrating species and thus more amenable to local habitat management practices than migratory species bird houses have been readily accepted by many natural cavity nesters and increases in breeding density have resulted from providing such structures there are probably as many birdhouse plans as there are cavity nesting birds the important thing is to choose a nest box plan for the species you want to attract that can be opened and cleaned out when necessary the photo above shows my favorite style birdhouse with a 1 1 2 inch entrance hole it has been home to oak titmouse western bluebird violet green swallow tree swallow white breasted nuthatch house wren and ash throated flycatcher where i live i have made one improvement to this design by altering the side door to open from the top rather than the bottom this allows you to check on the nestlings from the top without opening the door all the way here is a nest box specifications chart and several nest box plans i cannot emphasize the importance of monitoring any nest box you may place in your yard or anywhere else for that matter there are three prime objectives for monitoring nestboxes first and foremost with regular frequent visits to each nestbox you may be able to spot problems threatening your tenants you may be able to intervene so as to protect the adults and increase the nestlings chances for survival second you can develop a body of knowledge about the habits of cavity nesters lastly you will build a dated record of each visit to the nestbox that will remind you of the age of the nestlings in the box you are approaching and what s been going on at the box during the previous weeks this record will help you understand and interpret the present visit and the best reason to monitor your nest box it s fun one of the most important aspects of nest box monitoring is cleaning out the box after each nesting before nesting season begins all nest boxes should be checked to make sure they are clean and ready for occupancy your nest boxes should have been cleaned out back in august after the last completed nesting of whatever species used them since then it is likely that those nest boxes have been used as places to roost during cold weather accumulating bird droppings below is a typical dirty box that has been used as a roost this is an american kestrel box that has never been used i recently checked it and found a wasp nest inside they are usually attached to the roof on the inside of the box birds won t use a box with wasps inside if you find a wasp nest in your nest box use a thin spatula and crush the wasp nest against the roof of the box if you don t kill the adult wasp she will soon return and rebuild keep checking to make sure the wasps don t return this is a nest box that was used by tree swallows on a new bluebird trail i helped a girl scout troop build last summer unfortunately the carr fire that burned 229 651 acres in northern california burned through the area where these boxes were placed and the girls weren t able to get back into the area to check on them fortunately several of the boxes survived the fire this one apparently had two successful nestings but wasn t cleaned out between them you can see the two distinct flattened nests stacked on top of each other bringing any new nesting attempt closer to the entrance hole and therefore easier for a predator to reach eggs or nestlings this is a great time to check and clean any birdhouses you have it s also the perfect time to repair any damaged boxes and get them ready for the new season before the birds arrive believe it or not birds like a clean house just like you and i you can see my extended post on cavity nesting birds and their babies here 0 comments previous posts categories categories select category asides bird baths and fountains bird books and guides bird feeders bird houses bird photography weekly bird sightings birding supplies birdlife international birds in the news birds of prey blogging bluebirds burrowing owl camera critters cavity nesting 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