The uncommon crew that came Christmas dinner

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 14 January 2010 12:03

“While in our glassy living room midday on Christmas,” writes Roxane Witke of Woods End Drive in Wilton, “we noticed one, two, then seven vultures soaring above and along Thayer Pond, displaying their wide, silvery wingspread, dipping from view, then perching inconspicuously on branches of a tall white pine. An arresting sight.

The beauty and function of feathers: Amazing, complex

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 07 January 2010 11:26

Feathers are remarkable devices. Ornithologists Allan and Helen Cruickshank called them “the most complex growth of the skin known to be formed by an animal.” They provide the insulation to keep birds warm and dry, and the aerodynamics to fly. They also bear the colors and designs that make a bird distinctive — or “invisible.”

Paleontologists believe feathers evolved from reptilian scales, probably initially to provide insulation from cold. The scales on a bird’s legs grow from buds similar to those that produce the feathers.

The big white bird in South Salem

Written by Jack Sanders
Wednesday, 30 December 2009 11:27

When John and Karen Merritt of South Salem, N.Y., looked out the window Dec. 19, they saw a most unusual bird.

“We had enough time to get the binoculars and take a good look — at first he looked like a humongous hawk,” said Karen.  “He was so white he stood out against the gray afternoon sky!”

Having fun with flocks of birds: Range of ovenbirds, anyone?

Written by Jack Sanders
Wednesday, 23 December 2009 11:11

As many readers know, flocks of different kinds of birds have picked up specialized names. Thus, we have a murder of crows, a skein of geese, a flight of doves, a host of sparrows, a party of jays, and even a parliament of owls.

A group of wordsmithing birders on the BirdChat discussion group has been having some fun, coining new collective nouns for different species of birds. Reader John McGinley of Wilton passed a list along, from which we offer some of the best:

A rare visitor makes friends at Lake Kitchawan

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 17 December 2009 11:02

“The last week in October, a strange, noisy goose arrived on Lake Kitchawan,” Judy Wald wrote recently. “Taken aback by its loud persistent honking, we followed the sounds, complete with bird book and binoculars and sketchbook, to the community beach.

“There it was, together with the resident family of seven swans a-swimming and a-trying to eat the weeds alongside them. The swans were quite annoyed, and kept shooing it away, at times en masse.

“But it wouldn’t give up, that day nor later. The goose swam to them, they swam after it to get rid of it, back and forth. At times, they ignored it and just ate the weeds.”

Two amazing apps for birders

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 10 December 2009 13:28

If you are among the millions who have an iPhone or its phoneless sibling, the iPod Touch, two amazing new “apps,” or applications, can significantly expand your enjoyment of the bird watching. Both make great gifts for birders as well.

The annual feast of the vultures, a post-Thanksgiving rite

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 03 December 2009 11:37

In our family as in many others, turkey leftovers are traditional day-after-Thanksgiving fare. However, among the Sanders clan, there’s another Friday tradition, involving the ultimate turkey leftover — the carcass.

After they’ve been picked of the meat for human consumption, the bones of the bird go out into the back yard to serve as a Friday breakfast for two of nature’s feathered cleanup crews.

Still more on migration: Many different paths

Written by Jack Sanders
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 10:59

In the spring and perhaps more commonly in the fall, we spot flocks of birds flying overhead and think to ourselves, they must be migrating. That may be true, but we never even see most of the birds that migrate through this area. That’s because they fly by night.

More on the miracle of migration; a rare loon visits

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 19 November 2009 16:06

Several people have told me stories about how they have looked out a window in May and seen a hummingbird flying around the very spot where, the year before, a nectar feeder had been hanging. Nothing else drew the bird to that spot — except the memory of a food source it had used many months and thousands of miles before. Clearly, those birds were returning to precisely the same location they had left seven or eight months earlier.

The miracle and mysteries of migration

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 12 November 2009 11:29

The miracle and mysteries of migration

In all of nature, one of the most remarkable phenomena is bird migration, the fall version of which is nearing its end. The concept of a creature, often weighing only an ounce or two, traveling thousands of miles, frequently at night, is astounding. Some insects, such as the Monarch Butterfly, such mammals as caribou, some bats and mice, and fishes like salmon and eels also practice migration. However, no other class of living things uses migration as extensively as do birds, the only group of creatures with the equipment, size, strength, lifespan, and intelligence to travel long distances.