#irruption

[ostdrossel]

The Common Redpoll

turned out to be a very cooperative little bird, checking out the camera feeders after he took at sip at the bird bath. Someone asked yesterday how to tell House Finches and Redpolls apart, and maybe these photos help a bit. Note that they are smaller than House Finches as well. And they seem to have a temperament similar to that of the Pine Siskins and Goldfinches.

[usgsbiml]

The Bee Lab Goes Crazy...with Cicadas.  The Bee Lab used to be an endangered Whooping Crane production facility and as such had about 100 pens, and to provide cranes with a bit of shade in their pens (we all like shade) in the Maryland summer heat the crane keepers planted a tree in most pens (mostly the Bradford Pear, notorious for spawning baby pears in vast numbers in order to wreck native environments and cause environmentalists to become hooked on herbicides, we are gradually taking them down (I now officially have my chainsaw safety certificate!) but now I am glad that we have been slow about removing them as you will see after I stop this parenthetical business, which has gone on too long), each tree surrounded by open land mown only once or so a year and is the definition of perfect 17-year cicada habitat.  I have NEVER seen so cicadas (and I have been through several cicada events) you literally could walk across the backs of their exuviae throughout the area.  Anyway am stopping now as we will present a series of shots of the players of the drama.  Here, look, this is the mini-species Magiciada cassinii, smaller than the dominant emerging species.  Photo by the prodigal technician Anders Croft.  

[hankwag93]

While on an outing to watch eagles today this common redpoll decided to pose nicely for me.

[occasionallybirds]

This Winter Marks an Incredible 'Superflight' of Hungry Winter Finches

Across the country, birders are being treated to one of the biggest irruption years of boreal birds in recent memory.

I’ve seen red-breasted nuthatches, purple finches, and lots of pine siskins so far from this list.

Thank you @worldmotheringair for posting this article

[brooklynbridgebirds]

Pine Siskin Brooklyn Bridge Park

[crc-rehab-blog]

((Note: We got a SECOND interesting patient this week--a blog entry on him will come soon!)) Lady, you aren’t from around here!

A Snowy Owl Irrupts at Carolina Raptor Center

When we posted an article from Audubon Magazine on our Facebook page about a possible Snowy Owl irruption in 2017, we had no idea that we would be telling this story just a few weeks later. 

On Monday, December 4, 2017, Rehab Associate Lauren Allen took a call from a very excited wildlife officer in Anson County, NC. He had picked up a bird off the side of the road that he was pretty sure was a Snowy Owl. Transport Volunteer Clyde Kiser brought the bird to the Jim Arthur Raptor Medical Center and all he had to say when he got there was, “this is a BIG bird. A beautiful bird.”Senior Medical Coordinator Mathias Engelmann confirmed later that day that this was indeed the first Snowy Owl admitted to the hospital in over 40 years. Certainly a milestone. One that many of us will never forget.

When she was admitted, the staff found that she was severely emaciated: about a skinny as they get. Engelmann recorded a 1 out of 5 keel score. Her initial examination was done quickly to reduce stress; stress can easily kill a bird in her state. She was put on fluids to rehydrate her, vitamin B and iron to help her create new red blood cells and restore her energy, and given liquid calories. When animals are emaciated, immediately giving them solid food can actually cause their bodies to fail, so we always rehydrate them first. She was also started on a preventative anti-fungal, since emaciated birds are very susceptible to contracting aspergillosis, an airborne fungal disease affecting the air sacs of raptors and other birds. After receiving quick and thorough treatment from the team, the Snowy Owl was put away in a warm incubator for the evening.

The next morning, she was perched but still very weak, and her wings were drooping from her weakness—not a good sign. We completed her treatments for the morning quickly and quietly returned her to her incubator. At midday, we did a more thorough exam and discovered some green bruising on one wing, though no bones felt broken. She was still too weak for a radiograph. We also switched her to a medication that treats aspergillosis, since CRC’s Staff Veterinarian Dave Scott suspected that she might already have the disease.At the same time, we drew a small amount of blood. It turned out that she had a packed cell volume of 29%--normal is around 45-50%. More alarming was that her blood albumin was nearly zero. Dr. Scott told the team that she had a 0% chance of survival without a blood transfusion, or a mere 10% chance of survival with a blood transfusion.

We do not have any resident Snowy Owls at CRC. We consider it too warm for them here to live comfortably year-round. Instead, we drew blood from one of our resident display Great Horned Owls, Harmony. We were successfully able to complete our first ever cross-species blood transfusion. Since Snowy Owls (Bubo scandiacus) and Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) share a genus, we had hope that this would work, and we treated the Snowy Owl with a medication to help prevent allergic reactions just in case.Thankfully, she did not have an allergic reaction. She actually seemed to regain a little strength, and she tweezer fed a few bites of food later that evening. 

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse that night. We found her deceased on Wednesday morning.

The Jim Arthur Raptor Medical Center is a teaching hospital as well as a medical center. A group of vet students and their professor were visiting from NC State University and were able to complete a necropsy (autopsy) with an endoscope. We used this less invasive method to help preserve the cadaver for educational purposes—and it had the bonus of giving the students practice with an endoscope. Aspergillosis was confirmed: she had multiple lesions in her air sacs.

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More Information on Snowy Owls

Snowy Owls typically live way up north, in the Arctic tundra. They do migrate in the winter, though typically not all the way into North Carolina. Experts predicted an “irruption” of Snowy Owls this year throughout the United States, and our Snowy Owl was certainly one of those. This is not the first Snowy Owl to be seen in North Carolina, nor is it even the furthest south they’ve gone; sightings of them as far south as Florida have been reported in previous irruption years. Most of these birds are very hardy and do quite well despite the change in landscape. Some do not make the journey so well and find hunting more difficult in the unfamiliar environment of the south—such may have been the case with our Snowy Owl. It is also possible that whatever caused the bruising on her wing also damaged her ability to hunt, thereby causing her to become even weaker and more stressed, leading to her develop aspergillosis.

So why are Snowy Owls moving so far south for the winter? This is not a new phenomenon. Over 30 years ago, a Snowy Owl was seen in Columbia, SC on the day one of our staff members was born! In fact, a very large irruption was reported in the 1920s, and irruptions have been reported even before then, and as far south as Florida. Irruptions do not tend to correlate with a lack of food up north, but with an abundance of food up north. Lemmings, the Snowy Owl’s main prey source, have a population boom every four years or so. In response, the Snowy Owls lay many more eggs, leading to a population boom of their own. When this happens, we see small irruptions, with “mega” irruptions once or twice a century.

To follow this year’s irruption, click on this link.

[frakyeahfrenchmusic2]

On sort en trombe, en nombre, on se déverse en plaine En centaines, en millions, en milliards ou en millièmes De quelques simples gouttes à des marées humaines Des jaillissements d'aurore pour éclairer des emblèmes Des lanternes dans la tête, si l'on plonge dans les ténèbres On nous appelle "PD", "blancos", "bougnoules" ou bien "nègres" On vit dans la riposte, on réfléchit après-coup On vit extra-muros donc on arrive par vos égouts Nous sommes des cargaisons de femmes voilées, des youyous stridents Des rastas, des casquettes tournées, des voyous prudents Des espoirs accrochés, des paradis assassinés Des parents épuisés enfantant des gosses méprisés De la marmaille bruyante, des petits morveux frisés Engraissés d'allocations qui donnent des prétextes à voter Trouver des bouc-émissaires, les égorger pour l'Aïd Mourir dans une clairière sans treillis pour ce pays L'affiche est couleur sang, et Manouchian vient pas d'Auvergne Le tirailleur t'emmerde, il a fécondé ta grand-mère On investit Brongniart, le dos au mur comme Jean-Pierre Thorn On s'en fout du grand soir parce que la nuit, c'est bien trop morne On veut même pas de soleil et des éclipses pour faire l'amour Pour que l'instant soit bref, intense comme un fruit qu'on savoure Aux armes miraculeuses on a lu Césaire et Prévert On viendra vous faire la guerre avec la parole poudrière  On n'désigne plus l'ennemi, parce qu'il est partout même en nous On va mourir debout parce qu'on a vécu à genoux On est sourds aux slogans élimés par trop de manifs On devient arrogants on veut rimer comme des canifs On n'a plus 20 ans mais on n'aura jamais 60 Car on bouffe du bisphénol à l'heure d'une planète suffocante On fait de nous des enfants pour nous interdire des luttes Donc non, pan Peter-Pan on va redevenir adultes On a coincé nos rages entre le mérite et l'héritage Et les puissants confisquent ce que les pauvres se partagent À leurs chaises musicales, personne ne joue, personne s’assoit On occupe du terrain, être indigné ça va de soi Angela ké fend'tchou aw pendant que ton papa est pas là On va ouvrir les portes de Soledad ou Attica Pharmaco-dépendants des OGM pour nous doper J'ai recraché l'assiette, monté le cheval et galopé Braqué un RER-dilligence ; l'Apache de Belleville Viendra crier vengeance comme Balavoine arrive en ville Ils veulent nous assigner des places, et nous faire saigner Les amoureux aux bancs publics n'arrêteront jamais de s'aimer Depuis que nos checks ressemblent à des poignées de main de Montoire On ne laissera personne parler au nom de nos espoirs On n'est pas des victimes, encore moins des condamnés On arrivera de l'aube en irruption spontanée...

Artist: Gaël Faye Song: Irruption Album: Rythmes et Botanique - EP [2017] facebook | youtube 

[brownhillsbob]

January 14th - We’ve had some foreign visitors in Brownhills. They’ve come before, in other winters when it’s been cold on the continent, and they’re here again. It’s good to seem these somewhat rare, colourful fellows.

Waxwings have come to strip the trees by Silver Court of berries before - working their way west from Eastern Europe, when their traditional feeding grounds aren’t bountiful they venture further afield. 

I don’t know if they remember Brownhills somehow, or it’s just chance, but the businesses in Brownhills are getting added trade from twitchers and it’s giving the town something to talk about.

I just adore these birds. Such pretty things.