Bird Notes
Bird Notes 2/7/08
Feb 8, 2008

Mike Mottolese of New Canaan, who noticed last week%u2019s column on leucistic birds (those missing pigments), sends along this shot of two leucistic Canada Geese, almost all white below the neck. Mixed in with normal birds, they hang out near Richards Avenue in Norwalk. %u201CI have seen them on numerous occasions and only just got a picture of them,%u201D Mike says. %u201CThis day they were in the Jewish cemetery near Norwalk Community College.%u201D

It’s time to get ready for the 11th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, which will take place Presidents Weekend, Feb. 15 to 18.

Anyone can count birds wherever they are — including looking out the living room window — and enter their tallies online at www.birdcount.org .

“These reports contribute valuable information for science and conservation, spotlighting changes in bird population and distribution from year to year,” says Pat Leonard at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The count is sponsored by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, with help from Wild Birds Unlimited (which has stores in Brookfield and Bedford Hills). Participation is free and no registration is required.

Last year, North American bird watchers submitted a record-breaking 80,000 checklists during the four-day event — reporting 11-million birds and 613 species!

“Count results over the years show how species such as Eurasian Collared-Dove and Red-bellied Woodpecker are spreading into new areas,” Pat said. “They also show declines in some species, such as the American Crow and Northern Pintails.”

Taking part in the count is easy. “You don’t even have to know a lot about birds and you can find helpful identification tips on the Web site at www.birdcount.org ,” she said.

Participants watch birds for as few as 15 minutes on one or more days of the event, counting in their yards, town parks, nature centers, or at the beach — anywhere they like. They enter the highest number of each species seen at one time on the count site.

That Web site allows participants to explore maps and charts showing what others are reporting in their neighborhoods or across the continent.

Visitors to the Web site can also see winning photos from the 2007 photo contest and send in their own digital images during the 2008 count. Videos of birds — and bird watchers — shot during the 2008 count are also accepted. Upload your video to YouTube and tag it “Great Backyard Bird Count.” Some of the best clips will be posted on the count’s Web site.

For more information, visit www.birdcount.org or stop by the special program at Audubon Greenwich on Saturday, Feb. 16 (see “Coming Up”).

Saturday walk
Speaking of bird counts, Richard Montesanto of the Wild Bird Center in Norwalk had his monthly group bird walk Saturday, and here’s a list of what they saw:  Pileated Woodpecker, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, American Goldfinch, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Yellow-shafted Flicker, White-throated Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, and Tufted Titmouse.

The monthly walks are listed at the end of the column.
 
Whet reader
Last week in explaining the name, Saw-whet Owl, we pointed out that the name came from the bird’s voice sounding like the noise of a saw being sharpened. We goofed, though, and said the sharpening tool was a whetstone.  “Edge tools, like knives, plane blades, swords and the like are sharpened with stones, and there are some faint associated sounds,” notes Richard Stein of Redding. “I listened online to the call, and it is similar to that made by a saw being filed — very similar.”

Indeed, saws are sharpened — or whetted — with metal files, not stones.

Coming Up
Great Hudson River Excursion, waterfowl, birds of prey, etc., all day, with John Askildsen, Saturday, Feb. 9, 9 a.m., bring lunch, Croton River Landing (beyond Croton station), or carpool from Katonah, register with jebecker@bedfordaudubon.org, 914-232-4806.

Great Backyard Bird Count, counting, hot chocolate, and a talk on submitting data, Saturday, Feb. 16, 1 to 2, Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, Greenwich, 203-869-5272 x 221 to register.

Eagle Festival, Feb. 16 and 17, Connecticut Audubon, Essex, 860-767-0660, ctaudubon.org.

World of the Red-tailed Hawk, natural history of this raptor, Saturday, Feb.  23, 2 to 3:30 p.m., Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, Greenwich, 203-869-5272 x221 to register.

Eagle Viewing Boats Tours, Feb. 9 to March 16, Tuesdays/Thursdays, 10 a.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 9 and 11, Connecticut Audubon Society, 860-767-0660, pwood@ctaudubon.org 

Birding the Bay State, all-day trip to Cape Cod and to Massachusetts Audubon, Wednesday, March 5, $65/$75, Connecticut Audubon, pwood@ctaudubon.org, 860-767-0660.

Hammonasett Hike, looking for spring birds, Saturday, March 8, 8 to 11, free, Connecticut Audubon, pwood@ctaudubon.org, 860-767-0660.

Bird walks with Luke Tiller, Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. $5 each; to register, www.sunrisebirding.com/walks.htm;  203-981-9924, luke.tiller@gmail.com.

First Sundays, birding at Greenwich Point with Meredith Sampson of Wild Wings, and other guides, March 2, April 6, May 4, 9 a.m., meet at the second concession stand, 203-637-9822.

Bird walks, first Saturday at 7:30 a.m., free, meet at Wild Bird Center of Norwalk, 335 Westport Avenue (Route 1), www.wildbird.com/Norwalk, 203-846-BIRD.