Scrub Jays 9, Michelle 2

So I finally found my first (and possibly second) nest today! I was watching both sets of breeders on their separate territories for over an hour a piece. All that watching paid off. So that was this morning. This afternoon I headed out again on the ATV to do nest checks and fill some feeders. We are supplementing some territories with food, to see what happens... birds breeding earlier, physiological markers in the blood that change, etc. This is supposed to mimic Scrub Jays living in a suburban habitat. (Removing other variables.)

I've already been here a week and I've settled in nicely. Lynx cabin really is luxury to come back to after working in the field. A hot shower whenever I want it, full kitchen, and AC. And the nearest town is only about 20 minutes drive... all on paved roads.
We even have a kumquat tree growing in our front yard. And the fruits are ripe and taste pretty good.
Living on the station is pretty fun. There's a basketball hoop at the end of the main parking lot and the other night our house and 2 other people played a game of 3 on 3. I'm pretty awful, but it was still fun anyways. There's also a tennis court, and a lake not too far away. I'm going to have to check that out when it warms up. It was 32 degrees last night! The windows next to my bed are not double paned or insulated so it was a little cool. It made for a pleasant day of fieldwork though.

I've also made a new bird friend. His name is GCB-I and he is one of the few hand tamed birds on the station. I was out on his territory a few days ago, looking for him and checking up on who he's hanging out with (2 females... he's a player.)I drove into the territory, stopped my ATV, and whistled for the birds. Then I began scanning with my binoculars to try and see where they would come from (helpful later due to the fact that it might reveal where they're building a nest). All of a sudden I saw a blur out of the corner of my eye, headed straight for my head. It was BCG-I. So apparently besides being hand tamed he also likes to land on heads.
And if you're wearing a baseball hat and put a peanut in your mouth he will stand on the brim, lean over, and pick the peanut from your lips. (I haven't tried that yet.) Needless to say, he made calling in the other females difficult because every time I threw them a peanut to get them closer to read band combos he'd swoop down from his perch on my head and steal them. The humor of the situation made up for any frustration.

BC-OU, where are you?

So today I made my first solo trip out onto the station on my ATV. The goal was to get to 3 territories, and check up on the birds who were supposed to be there. See first of all if they were there, where they were flying in from, and if they had anyone else with them. The first territory was being held by an older female breeder, who is/ was (we don't know at this point) unpaired, and one of her daughters. So I arrived, got off the ATV, checked my census sheet to see the band combo on the birds I would be looking for, and then began to whistle... and pssh... loudly. Nobody showed up. I walked all around, and hung out for a good 20 to 30 minutes. Which is a long time, considering usually when you call the birds show up on about 20 to 30 seconds. So I moved on to the next territory. I had barely gotten off the ATV and whistled when 3 birds swooped in from a pasture abutting the station land. BC-OU, the breeding female, CB-OU, her almost 4 year old daughter, and I-FCL, her younger son. I fed them some peanuts to keep them interested long enough to make sure I had the bands right. It will take a little more practice before I can be sure of the colors quickly. Then while they were there I made good on my promise of Florida Scrub Jay pictures...





Before that trip out this afternoon I spent a while watching a Northern Parula hop around in a huge tree in our front yard. He was joined by a Yellow Throated Warbler for a bit. Then I spotted a HUGE Gopher Tortoise amlbing across our backyard, headed for a nice patch of grass, where he proceeded to graze. Travis, who has had herp experience said he was probably 40 years old. He even had a notch in his shell, made by a hole punch. Someone has some data on him/ her somewhere.

Tomorrow I head out for my first day of nest searching alone!

Apples: Londonderry as Oranges: Venus

So I've left the land of apples for the land of oranges. I have never seen so many orange trees in my life... come to think of it, I never had seen orange trees in my life... But that's besides the point.



I've been on the station now for almost 2 days. I drove the final leg from Sarasota to Archbold on Thursday afternoon. I made it in time to drive right into a rainstorm. But before that I saw my first Crested Caracara! That was one of my goal birds for this trip. He was sitting on a fence post looking over a field on a ranch on the drive out. the 18 wheeler in front of me startled him off the post. I saw a flash of yellow legs and dark wings with white tips, along with that tell tale head and I just knew it was a Crested Caracara. I swore. Then kept driving. Of course with a big grin on my face.

Friday I had a "scavenger hunt" like check list of people I needed to meet and things they needed to show/ teach me. I got everybody who was at work on friday, including my ATV training done. So Friday afternoon I was off with Travis and the other Michelle for some preliminary training. We drove out on a fire break for a bit before branching off on a side road. We had driven only a little bit when Travis suddenly stopped... And there was my first Scrub Jay! It was a male. We threw him some peanuts and he called for his mate, who promptly appeared. They "bleaked" at us, which according to Travis and Michelle is a happy call they make when they see people. (They know they'll probably get peanuts)At the bleaking call one of their young from the previous year showed up and checked us out as well. I know corvids are smart, but you can really see it in these birds. I also got to experience some of their tricky ways when I went out nest searching with Travis this morning. One male led us to a nest from the previous year and was pretending to defend it. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of all these characters. I didn't bring my camera last night, and this morning I was too busy wading through armpit deep palmetto at high speeds (or as fast a speed as possible chasing a bird through dense brush) to think about snapping pictures. I'll get on that soon.

On a non-bird related note, the soil here isn't even really soil. It's sand. Beach sand. It is harder to walk across the fire break roads than it is a beach, you sink right in... almost up to your ankles. However, this sand is perfect for lying down in when you want to take a face to face picture of a Gopher Tortoise who happens to be moseying across the road as you almost speed by on your ATV. I had to swerve today to avoid hitting a little guy. He was probably only the size of a medium apple.



And the vegetation... oh, the vegetation. Palmetto and scrub oak abound, as well as thorns and prickly pear cacti, which I am quickly going to hate. I currently have 3 small puncture wounds in the back of my left calve from one that attacked this morning. If it were not for the Carhartts I was wearing it may have been worse. The spines were at least 2.5 inches long.



That's basically all the news from Archbold for now. Well, besides the fact that my sweet farmers tan is already appearing again.

20+ hours later

So driving to Florida has a way of making you realize just how far it really is from New Hampshire. I don’t think Nevada felt this far… even with the time change. The drive was rather uneventful. Only witnessed one near accident with 3 tractor trailers and what would have been a multitude of small cars. Only hit traffic three times, and of course, I was driving every time. My Dad drove down with me and we stopped over in Mohnton PA with the Mannings, then stopped at the Roys in Duluth GA the next day. (A big thank you to all of you guys!)

Here’s a pic crossing the Tappen Zee Bridge from CT to NY…


And here’s a pic of an 18 wheeler stop ramp. This is so if their brakes fail they can hopefully run up one of these ramps and not kill every small car in their path. I was afraid I was going to get eaten a few times on the big hills.

And here’s a giant peach. (GA of course)


And the FL state line at last!


Upon arrival we grilled up some steaks for dinner out by the pool. You’re jealous, I know. While they were cooking I pulled out my binoculars and Sibley and went down to the water to check out what I could see. There were about 8 Brown Pelicans diving and hanging out. A few Double Crested Cormorants were hanging out on the pilings. A Snowy Egret in breeding plumage was wading around. (I even saw him nab a few fish.) I also caught a Yellow-crowned Night-heron. Apparently they prefer to forage in the evenings. So I got lucky when he just flew over and plopped down on the mud near where the Egret was feeding in the water. He stared in my direction for a bit. Then lazily walked around on the mud, searching for something good to eat. He reminded me of a haughty old man, with his hunched up shoulders and fluffed out feathers. Like he was a prim and proper gentleman and I was bothering him while he was trying to eat his dinner.


So now I’m hanging out here in Sarasota for a few days. I think I’m going to do some birding with my Grandmother tomorrow, as well as visit the beach, and do some walking around at St. Armand’s Key in the shops there. Soon enough I will be communing with the Scrub Jays.

Check out the new digs...

So this is where I'll be living on the station. Looks pretty nice.
http://www.archbold-station.org/abs/album/album-cottages/albumCottage3Lynx.htm

So slight change in plans. I'm leaving Sunday morning instead of Saturday. Which is good because I have yet to get serious packing done... Here I am writing in my blog instead of getting started. I think my goal for tonight will be to pack my field gear.

Right. On to that.

geeking out

So my binoculars arrived. I decided on the Nikon Monarch 8x42s. They are pretty sweet.

and my Sibley guides to Eastern & Western birds. I am such a nerd.