DOCSLIB.ORG

Camp Chiricahua July 16–28, 2019

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Camp Chiricahua July 16–28, 2019 CAMP CHIRICAHUA JULY 16–28, 2019 An adult Spotted Owl watched us as we admired it and its family in the Chiricahuas © Brian Gibbons LEADERS: BRIAN GIBBONS, WILLY HUTCHESON, & ZENA CASTEEL LIST COMPILED BY: BRIAN GIBBONS VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM By Brian Gibbons Gathering in the Sonoran Desert under the baking sun didn’t deter the campers from finding a few life birds in the parking lot at the Tucson Airport. Vermilion Flycatcher, Verdin, and a stunning male Broad-billed Hummingbird were some of the first birds tallied on Camp Chiricahua 2019 Session 2. This was more than thirty years after Willy and I had similar experiences at Camp Chiricahua as teenagers—our enthusiasm for birds and the natural world still vigorous and growing all these years later, as I hope yours will. The summer monsoon, which brings revitalizing rains to the deserts, mountains, and canyons of southeast Arizona, was tardy this year, but we would see it come to life later in our trip. Rufous-winged Sparrow at Arizona Sonora Desert Museum © Brian Gibbons On our first evening we were lucky that a shower passed and cooled down the city from a baking 104 to a tolerable 90 degrees for our outing to Sweetwater Wetlands, a reclaimed wastewater treatment area where birds abound. We found twittering Tropical Kingbirds and a few Abert’s Towhees in the bushes surrounding the ponds. Mexican Duck, Common Gallinule, and American Coot were some of the birds that we could find on the duckweed-choked ponds. The next morning our exploration of the Sonoran Desert began in earnest at the excellent Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. The grounds teem with both captive and free flying birds. The hummingbird house and the aviary Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 Camp Chiricahua, 2019 were hits with us, go figure. Some lucky campers caught up with a handsome male Varied Bunting and a Gilded Flicker, while everybody got the Black-tailed Gnatcatchers, Cactus Wrens, Black-throated Sparrows, and Rufous-winged Sparrows, classic Sonoran residents. After wandering the grounds on a cloudy morning, we made our way across town to ascend the Santa Catalina Mountains for cooler climes and many new birds. Red-faced Warblers were one of our prizes from the Catalinas © Brian Gibbons Over the next couple of days we enjoyed Red-faced Warblers, Painted Redstart, Greater Pewee, Olive Warbler, Red Crossbills, and Cordilleran Flycatchers. Kojo’s spotting of the Common Black Hawk was excellent; even better was the fact that there were two and they must have been nesting nearby, as one carried a morsel off. Kojo did it again a few hours later with our first Zone-tailed Hawks soaring over the ridge from Palisades Visitor Center for the Coronado National Forest. The hummingbird feeder at Palisades provided wonderful photographic opportunities as Broad-tailed Hummingbirds swarmed the feeders with the occasional big boy coming in as Rivoli’s Hummingbird and our first of the newly renamed Blue-throated Mountain-gem stopped briefly. A small nest tucked into the rocky wall along Incinerator Ridge had us puzzled until the parents delivered a bug to the young that were tucked into the cozy nest—Cordilleran Flycatcher! In the evening and through the night we heard a few nocturnals. Whiskered Screech-Owl, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 Camp Chiricahua, 2019 Great Horned Owl, Common Poorwill, and Mexican Whip-poor-will were all heard from the forest. The type 6 Red Crossbills were a fun sighting for everyone, and we had good scope views near the lake one morning. Too quickly our time was over in the Catalinas, and we headed down into a boiling Tucson for a quick resupply at my house and a little birding before moving on to Willcox for some shorebirding at Lake Cochise. We found a good variety of shorebirds before the heat and the stink drove us away. That afternoon, we made it to our home base, Cave Creek Ranch, for the next four nights in the Chiricahuas. In short order most campers found a handsome male Montezuma Quail, always one of the most-wanted birds by campers in Southeast Arizona. It took a couple more days before we would have a Broad-tailed Hummingbird © Brian Gibbons cooperative male roadside for good looks for everyone. The feeder array at the ranch hosted many oak canyon birds and even attracted White-nosed Coatis, White- tailed Deer, and quite a few skunks. Arizona and Acorn woodpeckers, Mexican Jays, White-breasted Nuthatches, and a variety of hummers were all common at the feeders. The biggest surprise was a well-dressed American Goldfinch, out-of-place but well documented. Another good find was the very rare Black Swift that cruised the red rock canyon rims with hundreds of White-throated Swifts. Our explorations of South Fork for Elegant Trogon so far had led to zero sightings of the most iconic bird of southeast Arizona. The fire-ravaged range still had a few pockets of forest allowing some great montane birds to hold on despite the fire that destroyed more than 200,000 acres in 2011. We found Mexican Chickadees and Bridled Titmice in the pines and Douglas Firs that remained. I think most would agree that spending time with the family of Spotted Owls in Spotted Owl fledgling © Brian Gibbons Pinery Canyon was a camp Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 Camp Chiricahua, 2019 highlight—watching the adults preen in their stupor and the young bob their heads round and round trying to figure out what we were doing below their roost tree. Male Montezuma Quail on the roadside in the Chiricahuas © Brian Gibbons The night drives were very productive at times and eventually netted us Whiskered Screech-Owl and Mexican Whip-poor-will observations. On the roads we found Tarantulas, vinegaroons, scorpions, a beautiful Black-tailed Rattlesnake, and the venomous but docile Sonoran Coral Snake. Certainly, a trip highlight would be when some unknown gentleman thrust a Long-nosed Snake through the window to Zena when we asked what he had, entrusting us to let it go off the road; we obliged after hundreds of photos were taken. Little did we know that another adventure involving a drive-thru window handoff would take place: this time, the fittingly named Glorious Scarab Beetle, a lime-green and gold-encrusted gem of a critter. Our morning exploring the Chihuahuan Desert down towards Rodeo, New Mexico was cloudy again, giving us a little respite in what could be a very hot place. We found most of our targets including the small Bendire’s Thrasher, aka New Mexico Crap Thrasher, Cassin’s Sparrow, and Botteri’s Sparrow. Our time spent in a seemingly abandoned playground yielded a wonderful encounter with a Texas Horned Lizard that posed for our group photo. All the while the empty swing clanged around, keeping us all on edge. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 5 Camp Chiricahua, 2019 Camp Chiricahua admires a Texas Horned Lizard © Brian Gibbons Equally sketchy was the abandoned house, front porch full of defunct cigarette machines, that hosted a family of Barn Owls right in Rodeo. The Chiricahua Desert Museum has an amazing gift shop and an even more amazing collection of North American snakes and lizards. Our final afternoon outing still had us seeking trogons in Cave Creek Canyon. This time our luck would change; we found a very mobile family group. Full-sized juveniles moved and called with their parents as they worked up a side canyon and disappeared; everyone was elated since that is often one of the toughest birds to get this time of year. Some would go back the next morning and find them again before we had to leave the Chiricahuas behind for the Huachucas, our next sky island range. While traversing the grasslands on the southeast side of the Chiricahuas, we found a couple of Pronghorn racing around, their long-extinct predator the North American Cheetah nowhere in sight. Burrowing Owls were also sighted in the dry grasses as a juvenile Swainson’s Hawk sat on a fence post nearby, trying to figure out its new world out of the nest. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 6 Camp Chiricahua, 2019 En route to the Huachucas we stopped for a little birding at the San Pedro House. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-breasted Chat, and a handsome Ornate Box Turtle were some of our trophies from the San Pedro River. Our arrival in Sierra Vista was cloaked in rain; it seemed that the monsoon was getting going and much needed. Our first outing, after dinner, was into Carr Canyon in the dark. We ended up playing some tape for Elf Owl in a dry streambed with sycamores— perfect habitat. Eventually one started singing back to us, and I was sure we would see it tonight, the smallest owl in the world. PSSSHEW! Just as I was about to turn on my light, a deer snorted, seemingly right next to us. Everyone was startled, including the Elf Owl, which didn’t call for ten minutes after that incident. But eventually it called, and we all had amazing looks when it sat on a Elf Owl, smallest owl in the world © Brian Gibbons bare twig for several minutes. We were all thrilled! On the road that night were a few Mexican Spadefoots and Couch’s Spadefoots, relishing in the newly humidified air and soil. These animals live 9–10 months of the year underground in a torpor, encased in a mucous-lined burrow, just waiting on the rain for a brief orgy and then back underground.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Olive Warbler (Peucedramus Taeniatus)
    Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus) NMPIF level: Biodiversity Conservation Concern, Level 2 (BC2) NMPIF assessment score: 14 National PIF status: No special status New Mexico BCRs: 34 Primary breeding habitat(s): Mixed Conifer Forest, Ponderosa Pine Forest, primarily above 7,000 feet (both habitats in BCR 34 only) Summary of Concern Olive Warbler is a coniferous forest species of highland Mexico and Central America. At the northern limit of its distribution in southern New Mexico, it requires open stands of mature pine and mixed conifer forest. Associated Species Greater Pewee (BC2), Hutton's Vireo, Mexican Chickadee (BC2), Pygmy Nuthatch (SC2), Western Bluebird (SC2), Yellow-rumped Warbler, Grace's Warbler (SC1), Red-faced Warbler (SC1), Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red Crossbill Distribution Olive Warbler is a pine-associated species primarily of highland Central America and Mexico. Its breeding range extends north to east-central Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Populations in the United States and northern Mexico are at least partially migratory, although winter records exist in New Mexico and Arizona. In New Mexico, Olive Warblers breed across the southern Mogollon Rim and associated isolated mountains, from the Mogollon, Magdalena, and Black ranges south (Lowther and Nocedal 1997, Parmeter et al. 2002). Ecology and Habitat Requirements Olive Warbler occupies both pine forest and pine-oak woodlands in Mexico and Central America. In the southwest, the species occurs mostly in ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forest which contain a component of oak understory. Nests are located high (30-70 feet) in conifers and far from the trunk, in the terminal needles of pine or fir boughs.
    [Show full text]
  • Implications of Climate Change for Food-Caching Species
    Demographic and Environmental Drivers of Canada Jay Population Dynamics in Algonquin Provincial Park, ON by Alex Odenbach Sutton A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Integrative Biology Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Alex O. Sutton, April 2020 ABSTRACT Demographic and Environmental Drivers of Canada Jay Population Dynamics in Algonquin Provincial Park, ON Alex Sutton Advisor: University of Guelph, 2020 Ryan Norris Knowledge of the demographic and environmental drivers of population growth throughout the annual cycle is essential to understand ongoing population change and forecast future population trends. Resident species have developed a suite of behavioural and physiological adaptations that allow them to persist in seasonal environments. Food-caching is one widespread behavioural mechanism that involves the deferred consumption of a food item and special handling to conserve it for future use. However, once a food item is stored, it can be exposed to environmental conditions that can either degrade or preserve its quality. In this thesis, I combine a novel framework that identifies relevant environmental conditions that could cause cached food to degrade over time with detailed long-term demographic data collected for a food-caching passerine, the Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis), in Algonquin Provincial Park, ON. In my first chapter, I develop a framework proposing that the degree of a caching species’ susceptibility to climate change depends primarily on the duration of storage and the perishability of food stored. I then summarize information from the field of food science to identify relevant climatic variables that could cause cached food to degrade.
    [Show full text]
  • Vascular Plant and Vertebrate Inventory of Chiricahua National Monument
    In Cooperation with the University of Arizona, School of Natural Resources Vascular Plant and Vertebrate Inventory of Chiricahua National Monument Open-File Report 2008-1023 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey National Park Service This page left intentionally blank. In cooperation with the University of Arizona, School of Natural Resources Vascular Plant and Vertebrate Inventory of Chiricahua National Monument By Brian F. Powell, Cecilia A. Schmidt, William L. Halvorson, and Pamela Anning Open-File Report 2008-1023 U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center Sonoran Desert Research Station University of Arizona U.S. Department of the Interior School of Natural Resources U.S. Geological Survey 125 Biological Sciences East National Park Service Tucson, Arizona 85721 U.S. Department of the Interior DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Mark Myers, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2008 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web:http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Suggested Citation Powell, B.F., Schmidt, C.A., Halvorson, W.L., and Anning, Pamela, 2008, Vascular plant and vertebrate inventory of Chiricahua National Monument: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008-1023, 104 p. [http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1023/]. Cover photo: Chiricahua National Monument. Photograph by National Park Service. Note: This report supersedes Schmidt et al. (2005). Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Perplexing Pinyon Jay
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Papers in Behavior and Biological Sciences Papers in the Biological Sciences 1998 The Ecology and Evolution of Spatial Memory in Corvids of the Southwestern USA: The Perplexing Pinyon Jay Russell P. Balda Northern Arizona University,, [email protected] Alan Kamil University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/bioscibehavior Part of the Behavior and Ethology Commons Balda, Russell P. and Kamil, Alan, "The Ecology and Evolution of Spatial Memory in Corvids of the Southwestern USA: The Perplexing Pinyon Jay" (1998). Papers in Behavior and Biological Sciences. 17. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/bioscibehavior/17 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Papers in the Biological Sciences at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Papers in Behavior and Biological Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Published (as Chapter 2) in Animal Cognition in Nature: The Convergence of Psychology and Biology in Laboratory and Field, edited by Russell P. Balda, Irene M. Pepperberg, and Alan C. Kamil, San Diego (Academic Press, 1998), pp. 29–64. Copyright © 1998 by Academic Press. Used by permission. The Ecology and Evolution of Spatial Memory in Corvids of the Southwestern USA: The Perplexing Pinyon Jay Russell P. Balda 1 and Alan C. Kamil 2 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Northern
    [Show full text]
  • A Fossil Scrub-Jay Supports a Recent Systematic Decision
    THE CONDOR A JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY Volume 98 Number 4 November 1996 .L The Condor 98~575-680 * +A. 0 The Cooper Omithological Society 1996 g ’ b.1 ;,. ’ ’ “I\), / *rs‘ A FOSSIL SCRUB-JAY SUPPORTS A”kECENT ’ js.< SYSTEMATIC DECISION’ . :. ” , ., f .. STEVEN D. EMSLIE : +, “, ., ! ’ Department of Sciences,Western State College,Gunnison, CO 81231, ._ e-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Nine fossil premaxillae and mandibles of the Florida Scrub-Jay(Aphelocoma coerulescens)are reported from a late Pliocene sinkhole deposit at Inglis 1A, Citrus County, Florida. Vertebrate biochronologyplaces the site within the latestPliocene (2.0 to 1.6 million yearsago, Ma) and more specificallyat 2.0 l-l .87 Ma. The fossilsare similar in morphology to living Florida Scrub-Jaysin showing a relatively shorter and broader bill compared to western species,a presumed derived characterfor the Florida species.The recent elevation of the Florida Scrub-Jayto speciesrank is supported by these fossils by documenting the antiquity of the speciesand its distinct bill morphology in Florida. Key words: Florida; Scrub-Jay;fossil; late Pliocene. INTRODUCTION represent the earliest fossil occurrenceof the ge- nus Aphelocomaand provide additional support Recently, the Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma for the recognition ofA. coerulescensas a distinct, coerulescens) has been elevated to speciesrank endemic specieswith a long fossil history in Flor- with the Island Scrub-Jay(A. insularis) from Santa ida. This record also supports the hypothesis of Cruz Island, California, and the Western Scrub- Pitelka (195 1) that living speciesof Aphefocoma Jay (A. californica) in the western U. S. and Mex- arose in the Pliocene. ico (AOU 1995).
    [Show full text]
  • Occasional Invaders
    This publication is no longer circulated. It is preserved here for archival purposes. Current information is at https://extension.umd.edu/hgic HG 8 2000 Occasional Invaders Centipedes Centipede Millipede doors and screens, and by removal of decaying vegetation, House Centipede leaf litter, and mulch from around the foundations of homes. Vacuum up those that enter the home and dispose of the bag outdoors. If they become intolerable and chemical treatment becomes necessary, residual insecticides may be Centipedes are elongate, flattened animals with one pair of used sparingly. Poisons baits may be used outdoors with legs per body segment. The number of legs may vary from caution, particularly if there are children or pets in the home. 10 to over 100, depending on the species. They also have A residual insecticide spray applied across a door threshold long jointed antennae. The house centipede is about an inch may prevent the millipedes from entering the house. long, gray, with very long legs. It lives outdoors as well as indoors, and may be found in bathrooms, damp basements, Sowbugs and Pillbugs closets, etc. it feeds on insects and spiders. If you see a centipede indoors, and can’t live with it, escort it outdoors. Sowbugs and pillbugs are the only crustaceans that have Centipedes are beneficial by helping controlArchived insect pests and adapted to a life on land. They are oval in shape, convex spiders. above, and flat beneath. They are gray in color, and 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long. Sowbugs have two small tail-like Millipedes appendages at the rear, and pillbugs do not.
    [Show full text]
  • The Best of Costa Rica March 19–31, 2019
    THE BEST OF COSTA RICA MARCH 19–31, 2019 Buffy-crowned Wood-Partridge © David Ascanio LEADERS: DAVID ASCANIO & MAURICIO CHINCHILLA LIST COMPILED BY: DAVID ASCANIO VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM THE BEST OF COSTA RICA March 19–31, 2019 By David Ascanio Photo album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidascanio/albums/72157706650233041 It’s about 02:00 AM in San José, and we are listening to the widespread and ubiquitous Clay-colored Robin singing outside our hotel windows. Yet, it was still too early to experience the real explosion of bird song, which usually happens after dawn. Then, after 05:30 AM, the chorus started when a vocal Great Kiskadee broke the morning silence, followed by the scratchy notes of two Hoffmann´s Woodpeckers, a nesting pair of Inca Doves, the ascending and monotonous song of the Yellow-bellied Elaenia, and the cacophony of an (apparently!) engaged pair of Rufous-naped Wrens. This was indeed a warm welcome to magical Costa Rica! To complement the first morning of birding, two boreal migrants, Baltimore Orioles and a Tennessee Warbler, joined the bird feast just outside the hotel area. Broad-billed Motmot . Photo: D. Ascanio © Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 The Best of Costa Rica, 2019 After breakfast, we drove towards the volcanic ring of Costa Rica. Circling the slope of Poas volcano, we eventually reached the inspiring Bosque de Paz. With its hummingbird feeders and trails transecting a beautiful moss-covered forest, this lodge offered us the opportunity to see one of Costa Rica´s most difficult-to-see Grallaridae, the Scaled Antpitta.
    [Show full text]
  • House Centipedes: Lots of Legs, but Not a Hundred House Centipedes Are Predatory Arthropods That Can Be Found Both Indoors and Outdoors
    http://hdl.handle.net/1813/43838 2015 Community House Centipedes: Lots of Legs, but not a Hundred House centipedes are predatory arthropods that can be found both indoors and outdoors. They prefer damp places, including basements, bathrooms and even pots of over-watered plants, where they feed on insects and spiders. As predators of other arthropods, they can be considered a beneficial organism, but are most often considered a nuisance pest when present in the home. Did you know … ? • By the Numbers: There are approximately 8,000 species of Common House Centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata Linnaeus). Photo: G. Alpert. centipedes. • Form-ally Speaking: Centipedes come in a variety of forms and sizes. Depending on the species they can be red, brown, black, white, orange, or yellow. Some species are shorter than an inch, while tropical species can be up to a foot in length! • Preying on the Predators: Larger centipedes can feed on mice, toads, and even birds. • Preference or Requirement? Centipedes prefer moist areas because they lack a waxy exoskeleton. In dry areas, centipedes can die from desiccation or drying out. Identification Common House Centipede close-up. Photo: G. Alpert. Adult house centipedes measure one to two inches in length, but may appear larger because of their 15 pair of long legs. House centipedes are yellow-gray in color, with three black stripes that span the length of the body, and black bands on their legs. The last pair of legs is very long and is modified to hold onto prey items. These and other legs can be detached defensively if grasped by a predator.
    [Show full text]
  • Landbird Monitoring in the Sonoran Desert Network 2012 Annual Report
    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Landbird Monitoring in the Sonoran Desert Network 2012 Annual Report Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SODN/NRTR—2013/744 ON THE COVER Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus). Photo by Moez Ali. Landbird Monitoring in the Sonoran Desert Network 2012 Annual Report Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SODN/NRTR—2013/744 Authors Moez Ali Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory 230 Cherry Street, Suite 150 Fort Collins, Colorado 80521 Kristen Beaupré National Park Service Sonoran Desert Network 7660 E. Broadway Blvd, Suite 303 Tucson, Arizona 85710 Patricia Valentine-Darby University of West Florida Department of Biology 11000 University Parkway Pensacola, Florida 32514 Chris White Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory 230 Cherry Street, Suite 150 Fort Collins, Colorado 80521 Project Contact Robert E. Bennetts National Park Service Southern Plains Network Capulin Volcano National Monument PO Box 40 Des Moines, New Mexico 88418 May 2013 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colora- do, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource manage- ment, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Technical Report Series is used to disseminate results of scientific studies in the physical, biological, and social sciences for both the advancement of science and the achievement of the National Park Service mission.
    [Show full text]
  • Costa Rica: the Introtour | July 2017
    Tropical Birding Trip Report Costa Rica: The Introtour | July 2017 A Tropical Birding SET DEPARTURE tour Costa Rica: The Introtour July 15 – 25, 2017 Tour Leader: Scott Olmstead INTRODUCTION This year’s July departure of the Costa Rica Introtour had great luck with many of the most spectacular, emblematic birds of Central America like Resplendent Quetzal (photo right), Three-wattled Bellbird, Great Green and Scarlet Macaws, and Keel-billed Toucan, as well as some excellent rarities like Black Hawk- Eagle, Ochraceous Pewee and Azure-hooded Jay. We enjoyed great weather for birding, with almost no morning rain throughout the trip, and just a few delightful afternoon and evening showers. Comfortable accommodations, iconic landscapes, abundant, delicious meals, and our charismatic driver Luís enhanced our time in the field. Our group, made up of a mix of first- timers to the tropics and more seasoned tropical birders, got along wonderfully, with some spying their first-ever toucans, motmots, puffbirds, etc. on this trip, and others ticking off regional endemics and hard-to-get species. We were fortunate to have several high-quality mammal sightings, including three monkey species, Derby’s Wooly Opossum, Northern Tamandua, and Tayra. Then there were many www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Page Tropical Birding Trip Report Costa Rica: The Introtour | July 2017 superb reptiles and amphibians, among them Emerald Basilisk, Helmeted Iguana, Green-and- black and Strawberry Poison Frogs, and Red-eyed Leaf Frog. And on a daily basis we saw many other fantastic and odd tropical treasures like glorious Blue Morpho butterflies, enormous tree ferns, and giant stick insects! TOP FIVE BIRDS OF THE TOUR (as voted by the group) 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Millipedes and Centipedes
    MILLIPEDES AND CENTIPEDES Integrated Pest Management In and Around the Home sprouting seeds, seedlings, or straw- berries and other ripening fruits in contact with the ground. Sometimes individual millipedes wander from their moist living places into homes, but they usually die quickly because of the dry conditions and lack of food. Occasionally, large (size varies) (size varies) numbers of millipedes migrate, often uphill, as their food supply dwindles or their living places become either Figure 1. Millipede (left); Centipede (right). too wet or too dry. They may fall into swimming pools and drown. Millipedes and centipedes (Fig. 1) are pedes curl up. The three species When disturbed they do not bite, but often seen in and around gardens and found in California are the common some species exude a defensive liquid may be found wandering into homes. millipede, the bulb millipede, and the that can irritate skin or burn the eyes. Unlike insects, which have three greenhouse millipede. clearly defined body sections and Life Cycle three pairs of legs, they have numer- Millipedes may be confused with Adult millipedes overwinter in the ous body segments and numerous wireworms because of their similar soil. Eggs are laid in clutches beneath legs. Like insects, they belong to the shapes. Wireworms, however, are the soil surface. The young grow largest group in the animal kingdom, click beetle larvae, have only three gradually in size, adding segments the arthropods, which have jointed pairs of legs, and stay underneath the and legs as they mature. They mature bodies and legs and no backbone. soil surface.
    [Show full text]
  • Schiffornis Turdi- Na)
    (2020) 31: 42–46 NESTING INFORMATION FOR THE BROWN-WINGED SCHIFFORNIS (SCHIFFORNIS TURDI- NA) Margarita María Cantero Guerrero1* · Jenny Muñoz1,2 · Gustavo Adolfo Londoño1 1 Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Icesi. Calle 18 No. 122-135, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colom- bia. 2 Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, British Columbia, Canada. E-mail: Margarita María Cantero Guerrero1· [email protected] Abstract ∙ We present a description of the nest, eggs and limited incubation behavior for the Brown-winged Schiffornis (Schiffornis turdina), a member of the taxonomically challenging Schiffornis taxon, currently included in the family Tityridae. The nest was an open cup, located in a natural crevice between tree roots, and made up largely of dead leaves and dark rootlets. The nest contained two pale cream-colored eggs with black and dark purple blotches. An adult spent 66.45% of the daytime incubating the eggs. The incubation was interrupted by the preda- tion of the incubating adult by a mouse opossum (Marmosa sp.). Overall, the nest and egg characteristics, clutch size and incubation patterns resembled the available nesting information for other Schiffornis species. However, more detailed information about the natural history is needed to understand the nesting biology for the genus Schiffornis and therein lies the importance of long-term studies. Resumen ∙ Información de incubación del llorón turdino (Schiffornis turdina) Se presenta la descripción del nido, los huevos y limitada información del comportamiento de incubación para el llorón turdino (Schiffornis turdina), un miembro del grupo Schiffornis, de posición taxonómica poco clara, actualmente incluido en la familia Tityridae.
    [Show full text]