Volume 53, Number 1 January, 2011 -Costa Rica Trip - Part 1, Panama by Marion Ulmer “Real Affordable Costa Rica”, the offering in last The canal was completed in 1914 at which time the spring’s OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) brochure first ship went through. There had been great loss of life caught our attention. “Why not?” I asked. “Sign up and in building the canal, mainly due to Yellow Fever and pay early for a discount” sounded even better, and so Malaria which in earlier days had also decimated the we did. We left on November 19th, going from Albany native populations. It was recommended that we have to Newark, to for the pre-trip excursion. shots for Yellow Fever, but Malaria was not considered a This was to be a cultural experience centered around the threat in the areas where we were. history of the We were in Panama at the end of the rainy season so the ’s water level was high. But during an coupled with an extremely dry season, the Panamanians must watch their early morning own water consumption which is from this same lake. transit halfway Without sufficient water, the canal could not operate. through the canal We had little expectation of seeing many birds including the on this pre-trip adventure. Mainly we saw Brown Mira Flores locks Pelicans, Mangrove Swallows, Magnificent Frigate Birds, with breakfast Laughing Gulls, a few terns and many, many Black Panama Canal and lunch aboard Vultures. Our hotel El Panama was located in the heart our small ship. of the business district, a very safe area. There was a large We navigated under the Bridge of the and saw courtyard with lovely plantings and a large swimming the excavation for a wider canal to accommodate today’s pool. Our best birding was actually there - Clay-colored much larger ships. Our group numbered just 13 plus Robins, a Tropical Mockingbird, Great-tailed Grackles, our guide Mimi and bus driver, for OAT is the small and Ruddy Ground Doves. A swim in the pool was in group part of Grand Circle Tours. order. The canal was started by the French in the late When we got off the boat, our driver took us to 1800’s, but the company went bankrupt as it attempted the Chinese a no-locks waterway from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Pavilion which The Continental Divide with its range of mountains overlooked proved their plan to be impractical, and the bankrupt the bridge of attempt was purchased by the US in 1903. Started again the Americas in 1904, the large cut through the mountains and three and was built sets of locks to accommodate the tidal variations on the (I believe) to Pacific side made the new plan a good one. Water from commemorate Lake Alajuela was used to fill the locks on its way to the all the Chinese Pacific Ocean. Large bays on either ends of the canal workers who provided waiting space for the ships ready to enter the had died during waterway. Traffic travels from East to West half the day the construction Chinese Pavilion and the reverse on the other half. of the canal. continued on page 4 “Jurassic” Garden by Mike Birmingham, Forest Entomologist1 Gardens have been peaceful places for me, but stone walls etc. Bird behavior such as silence or absence what about for animals? A Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) from feeders is closely tied to fear of predators. perched on a bicycle handle nervously twitching its tail Armored and predator dinosaurs lived together as in agitated excitement. In an instant, the jay was swept do crows and hawks. The crow and hawk are equal in to the ground in the talons of a hawk. When the hawk size. Hawks seem more finished devouring the jay, all that was left was the gristly formable, but crows make sight of feathers and blood on the snow. It was this up for lack of talons and tremendous event and the fearsome look of the hawk’s curved, sharp bill by eyes that reminded me of the similarity between the aggressiveness, intelligence modern day garden inhabitants and animal life depicted and powerful beaks. Crows in the Jurassic Park 1993 American science fiction aerially challenge hawks thriller film and other such films and documentaries. by aggressive behavior, There were other reminders that modern birds ruining hawk hunts. The descended from dinosaurs. A Cooper’s hawk chased on crow seemed more intent foot a grey squirrel into a woodpile and persisted in its on defending its feeding attempts to reach the terrified squirrel holed up. Another American Crow territory and the hawk on (Corvus brachyrhynchos) looking comparison is that dinosaur and bird raptors hunted at hawk on arbor hunting the birds hiding at times in pairs. Dinosaur raptors and bird raptors are in the brush pile. Fossil characterized by their relentless attacks. One hawk flew records record animals surviving attacks from a distant perch at full speed toward feeders with by large predators. The crow and hawk birds. Another hawk sat near the bird’s escape route knew their limits and avoided combat. to cover. Cooperation among hunters is normal and This may hold true except that either supported by fossil records from the Jurassic era that bird might take the other as food if covered part of the Age of Reptiles. significantly injured. Fossil records show High speed hunts are dangerous to the hunted and armored herbivore dinosaurs surviving Cooper’s Hawk hunter. A Cooper’s hawk died, leaving its imprint on claw and tooth wounds. The powerful (Accipiter cooperil) watching birds in a window pane, chasing a Mourning Dove (Zenaida beak of either bird could inflict a mortal brush macroura). The dove in a desperate attempt to escape was wound on the other. I have observed also killed hitting the glass. In the Jurassic period fossil birds pecking at one another at feeders and found dead records indicate that prey and predators died in the chase birds with eye wounds. by drowning, falls from cliffs and into tar pits. Prey also dies It is not farfetched or unproductive to think of the from predator wounds. The modern gardens are not without modern garden as a Jurassic Park. To think of a garden as their daily violence in winter since hawks need to eat. a killing ground helps explain bird behavior. A shocking Most species of birds have adopted behaviors to example makes clear this notion. A hawk dropped from escape predation. Among the birds taking seed to cover the arbor to the ground where a small bird was feeding. to eat are nuthatches, chickadees and titmice. Finches The bird fled on foot under a juniper bush. The hawk feed in groups in the winter. A flock of birds provides pursued it on foot. It looked reptilian with head jutted more eyes to detect a hawk and bird dispersal confuse forward, wings held to its side, and body horizontal and predators. Birds detecting hawks shy away from feeders. supported by powerful legs sporting claws. The small Blackbirds stay mostly clear of feeders during the winter. bird escaped by crawling through tight cover too dense The woodpeckers avoid feeders when hawks are nearby. for the hawk to pass. Had the dinosaur raptors in the Woodpeckers have prolonged exposure to predation movie been clothe in feathers, as paleontologists say they due to extended periods at suet cakes and peanuts. Birds were, the similarities of modern birds and their ancient including ground feeders such as juncos and mourning ancestors are apparent. The modern garden is a model of doves prefer feeders near the cover of tall grasses, shrubs, “Jurassic Park. “ 1All photos by author.

January 2011 The Warbler alandevoebirdclub.org 2 Reminders & Notices ADBC Field Trips Columbia Land Conservancy Outings Jan. 16, 2011, Sat. - WATERFOWL For Information about CLC events, programs & outings: COUNT (27th Annual) (morning) Visit www.clctrust.org or call 518-392-5252 Meet 9 am at Stuyvesant Landing. Coordinator: Nancy Kern: 518-392-0120. MOH ON A S W udson ohawk ird lub rips K H M B C T D U

H Feb. 5, 2011, Sat. - SHRIKE SEARCH (morning) B & Programs I B R U Meet 9 am at Lindenwald parking lot on route 9H. D CL More info: 518-439-8080 or www.hmbc.net We will look for Northern Shrike on Eichybush Road in Kinderhook. Northern Harrier and Rough- legged Hawk are more likely than Northern Shrike. Coordinator: Drew Hopkins: 518-249-4711.

Note to Field Trip Leaders: Following the field trip for which you are the leader, send a brief summary/write-up of the trip for the Warbler to the editor - Nancy Kern, PO Box 321, Ghent NY 12075. email: [email protected]

ALAN DEVOE BIRD CLUB MEMBERSHIP FORM Membership Annual Renewal Date: January 1st Send check to: Sandra Williams, 1730 Co. Rte 9, Chatham, NY 12037, payable to the Alan Devoe Bird Club, Inc.

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January 2011 The Warbler alandevoebirdclub.org 3 Panama - Costa Rica Trip - Part 1 - Panama continued from page 1 We had a tour of the city, part on foot, part in the black and red van. We saw the presidential palace, talked with some Passerine Tanager. women in beautiful traditional costumes for a dance We were competition, and gazed at the modern day skyscrapers, invited to help including one being completed for Donald Trump. cook our lunch in We visited the old colonial ruins which are now being a little kitchen on stabilized and being preserved in a park. Our guide the side of the main spoke about coming here with her family as a child and building. Plantains climbing about on the ruins. How often we wait too in Panama are very Group in Dugout Canoe long to preserve cultural heritage. large-looking bananas. We peeled them, sliced them about Still in the city, we had a chance to ride on a public an inch thick and put them in a large cauldron of hot oil. bus for a couple of stops. Now that was an experience. We then scooped To begin with, the buses seemed to be privately owned, them out, pressed old converted them flat, and again school buses. put them in the oil. There was no air- They were delicious, conditioning, they rather like small belched exhaust, fritters. Fried tilapia and rattled along. completed the meal. Most all of them Our next had interesting stop was the craft Cooking in Embera scenes painted building (nothing Noriega’s Estate on the back from China) where we had a chance to admire and buy windshield. Panama has been making efforts to become some of their intricate woven baskets and wood carvings. a “green” nation, but this was one area that was definitely Before we left, the young girls danced to the beat not “green”. We were happy to get back into our van. We of the drums played by the men. And at the end, they continued on and stopped at Noriega’s former palatial encouraged us to join them. Such fun. Our guide had estate which was now empty. been there many times before and she was able to converse However, by climbing up on with the Embera people in their own language. Just before a wall we could see what must we left, the girls had been busy weaving crowns for each have been lavish gardens. I was woman and decorating them with lovely flowers. able to catch a glimpse of a Great Panama has come to be more and more a tourist Kiskadee and a Social Flycatcher, destination for North Americans. Although there had been both with similar colors and much resentment over the US presence in Panama until markings, but the former a much the final withdrawal in 1999, the country has benefitted larger bird. greatly from modern power and water systems installed by Our most interesting side trip the military. Almost all dealings are in US currency, another Social Flycatcher and “discovery” was to a remote reason tourists find it an attractive location to visit. We native village on the shore of Lake Alajuela. We reached it by drove by the military base which has become upper-middle motorized dugout canoe, but on the way we had a little detour class homes, well manicured with attractive plantings. to see some of the wildlife along the shore - Ringed Kingfishers, Suddenly our 5-days, 4 four nights were over and we Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, the cormorant-like Anhinga, loaded ourselves and all our baggage into the van and Osprey and the ever present Black Vultures. The people are headed for the airport and our flight to Costa Rica. the Embera who live in much the same way as their ancestors, More about Costa Rica and its wonderful birds and wearing few clothes and living in thatch-roofed huts standing wildlife next month. on pilings. It was here that I had my first glance at the striking

January 2011 The Warbler alandevoebirdclub.org 4 Alan Devoe Bird Club - Board Meeting Held November 4, 2010 by Marion Ulmer, Recording Secretary Meeting was held at the home of Nancy Kern and Ellen Scott. board information on Lynn Cross’s offer to sell 8 or so acres to the bird club to expand the club’s property. This Chair Marcia Anderson called the meeting to order would mainly be the field on the other side of the road at 7 PM. Absent: Mike Birmingham, John Piwowarski. from the pond. After some discussion, Nancy moved A quorum was present. Minutes of the Sept. 16, 2010 and Sandy seconded that we turn down the offer as the board meeting were approved. club would not be able to afford the land even with a fund-raising campaign. It carried. Finance/ Budget: Nancy moved and Ellen seconded that the budget prepared by Marcia Anderson (which was Committee Reports: first discussed on Oct. 21st) be approved. Carried. This Sanctuary: George Grant has brush-hogged the entire budget will be presented to the membership at Members’ field. However, much brush and small trees have grown Night at the Kinderhook Sportsman’s Club. Money from up on the dike and need to be cut down. This will take the club’s reserves will be used to balance the budget. It special equipment because of the steepness of the bank. was decided that we would put money into the 2011 The pump has been working well since it was repaired. It budget to cover the purchase of one substantial bench. was suggested that the pines and large bushes be looked This would be in memory of Kate Dunham. The bench at during the next workday to decide whether or not will be made and installed in the main parking lot area they should be trimmed, or cut down. A list of members by Columbia Land Conservancy for $600. will be sent to Elisabeth Grace to help her contact people for the sanctuary feeding roster. The tree in memory of Correspondence: A letter was read from the Chatham Bill Adriance needs work as it has several damaged limbs. Meeting (Quakers) asking for a donation to their Field Trips/Bird Reports: Bill Cook will be sending out building campaign. The board declined feeling it might Christmas Count letters soon. set a precedent. Upcoming Dates Members’ Night 6 PM at Kinderhook Old Business: Bill Cook moved and Nancy 2nd that the Sportsman’s Club. Due to possible oven problems, please board pays the remaining $200 to Jack Arnold for the bring hot dishes in a crock pot if possible. pole shed roof painting. Carried. Heidi Block from the Columbia Land Conservancy had The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM. attended the October 21st meeting to share with the

Ospreys Welcome! by Elisabeth Grace On and off during the past two years, Marcia Cary of the through the snow and picked out a spot which seemed to meet Columbia Land Conservancy staff and I have day-dreamed with the species’ known requirements. The CLC will obtain together about the possibility of erecting an Osprey nesting the necessary permits from the Department of Environmental platform at Ooms Pond. Ospreys have been regular visitors Conservation, and Marcia is hot on the trail of a telegraph there for years; a long-gone tree was even nicknamed the pole. I already have a pallet, salvaged from another building “Osprey tree”, as it provided a convenient observation perch site, which will serve as the foundation for a nest. for a hungry raptor. ADBC has already committed $100 towards the possible Recently Marcia and I renewed our conversations, and cost of this project which, it is hoped, will entice a pair of early on a chilly December morning I met with her and her these beautiful raptors to nest close to Ooms Pond, and colleague, Nathan Davis, to scope out a couple of possible give welcome publicity to our two conservation-minded sites for a pole. Marcia, who has done quite a bit of research, organizations. As work progresses, more information will be Nate, who has prior experience with Osprey platforms came made available to readers of The Warbler. prepared to take GPS readings, and dog Cole and I tramped January 2011 The Warbler alandevoebirdclub.org 5 BIRD SIGHTINGS

November 2010

Compiled for the Alan Devoe Bird Club by William Cook, Ph.D., Columbia-Greene Community College, 4400 Route 23, Hudson NY 12534 Report for November 2010 A Laughing Gull with an injured wing appeared grass and clods of dirt. Their occurrence in New York at the Hudson Waterfront on the 23rd. It was seen by during migration is erratic varying from uncommon to Nancy Kern and reported by T. O’Connor fide Richard abundant. The first Tree Sparrows of the season were Guthrie. Even though Laughing Gulls are abundant on spotted by Nancy Kern in Austerlitz on the 10th. Long Island they are extremely rare in our area. This American Woodcock is seldom reported in the fall is only the second ADBC record. The other and first but Will Yandik found one near his home in Livingston Laughing Gull in our records was seen by Susan Scheck on the 26th. Furthermore, woodcock migration ends on May 15, 1993 at Stuyvesant during the Century Run. in late November or early December so this is a rather And I’m going to take this opportunity to kid her again late sighting. It is hard to imagine their abundance about this. Being from Long Island, Susan did not know of the mid 19th century when in 1840 Frank Forester what a rarity Laughing Gull was and failed to mention it shot 125 in one day with a muzzle-loading shotgun to other birders that she encountered that day. (Bull’s Birds of New York State 1993). They were Great Cormorant is still an uncommon winter visitor nearly extirpated from the state by 1910 but now their in our area. This bird was spotted in Cheviot on the 13th, population seems to be slowly recovering in wetland also by Susan Scheck and reported by Mimi Brauch. This habitats with adjacent fields. species too is becoming common along the Long Island A report of a Snowy Owl in Austerlitz in late coast. But we have had only five previous records, the first November by a non-birder is suggestive but the being on September 24, 1987 by Bill Cook, also a Region possibility that it was a white Red-tailed Hawk cannot 8 first record, and the most recent on the waterfowl count be discounted as they are often seen in that area. January 13, 2001 led by Kate Dunham. First records for the season include a Rough- A total of 74 species were reported in November. legged Hawk, Merlin, American Pipit, and American Of these 53 are common residents, or fall migrants: Tree Sparrow. Rough-legged Hawks begin their fall Canada Goose, Mute Swan, American Black Duck, migration in late October and it peaks in November so Mallard, Ring-necked Pheasant, Ruffed Grouse, Wild the Specht family sighting on the 11th is at an expected Turkey, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, time. For the last several years Merlins were spotted in Northern Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, May or earlier so this November 29th sighting by Rich American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Ring-billed Gull, Nord gets this species on our annual list in the nick of Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Eastern time. Although I saw one on a Christmas Count many Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Belted Kingfisher, years ago and some winter on Long Island, it would Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, be hard to find a Merlin after November in our area. Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Richard Nord also found a half dozen American Pipits Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, in the Columbia County Highway Dept. field near his Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted house in Claverack. Pipits migrate through our area Titmouse, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted every year from their breeding range in the arctic but Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, Eastern they are usually overlooked as they blend in with the Bluebird, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird,

January 2011 The Warbler alandevoebirdclub.org 6 November 2010 Report Species Date Location Observer Key to Locations: Snow Goose * 19 20 HL P AC Ancram AS Austerlitz Wood Duck last 6 CM Z CL Clermont Green-winged Teal 14 HR P CM Chatham Ring-necked Duck 5-27 CO CM P Z CN Canaan Bufflehead 18 AS G CO Copake Hooded Merganser 5-28 CO CM RN P G Z CV Claverack DT N. Dutchess Common Merganser 25 HD Z GH Ghent Ruddy Duck 3-28 CO P GL Gallatin Double-crested Cormorant last 7 HR GM B GM Germantown Great Cormorant * 13 HR B GP Greenport Black Vulture 8-21 HD H S HD Hudson HL Hillsdale Rough-legged Hawk 11 GH S HR Hudson River Merlin * 29 GP N KH Kinderhook Killdeer 1 RN G LV Livingston American Woodcock 26 LV Y MC Mill Creek Laughing Gull * 23 HD Z, Guthrie NL New Lebanon RN S. Rensselaer American Pipit * 4 CV N SC Powell Sanct. American Tree Sparrow 10-30 AS HL CM Z P G SP Stockport Fox Sparrow 3-15 AS HL LV L Z P Y SV Stuyvesant White-crowned Sparrow 5 TG S TG Taghkanic Pine Siskin 3-30 AS HD HL L Z P Observers A=Alan, Phyllis & Betsy Wirth, B=Mimi Brauch, November 2010 Summaries C=Bill Cook, D=Tim Dormady, E=Elle Dietemann, 1981 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 G=Elisabeth Grace, H=Drew Total Species 74 76 76 73 71 75 79 71 76 74 Hopkins, I=Cris Winters, Year to Date 188 199 195 183 185 184 195 183 185 179 J=George Rodenhausen, K=Kathryn Schneider, L=Mitzi Lobdell, N=Richard Nord, O=Chad Witko, P=John Piwowarski, Q=Susan Scheck, S=Carl, Helen & Report for November 2010 (con’t. from page 6) Stephanie Specht, T=Scotti Tomson, U=Marion & Bill European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Ulmer, W=Owen & Carol Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Whitby, Y=Will Yandik and Brown-headed Cowbird, Purple Finch, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Z=Nancy Kern House Sparrow. The remaining 21 species are uncommon residents, departing migrants or winter visitors. They are detailed below. Five new species (*) were added to the annual total this November.

January 2011 The Warbler alandevoebirdclub.org 7 Alan Devoe Bird Club Board of Directors Others Susan Scheck - Education Chair - 325-4537 Marcia Anderson - Chair & Budget, Finance, Archives & Website Owen Whitby - Treasurer - 392-4898 Chair - 758-6433 Nancy Kern - Vice-Chair, Publications Chair, Sanctuary Chair & The Warbler Warbler Editor - 392-0120 Sandy Williams - Membership Chair & Corresponding Secretary Editor Nancy Kern - 392-3234 Layout Brenda Haynor Marion Ulmer - Secretary - 392-4022 Mailing Carl, Helen & Stephanie Ellen Scott - Publications - 392-0120 Specht, Susan & Henry William Cook, Ph.D. - Bird Reports & Field Trip Chair - 851-2678 Scheck Mike Birmingham - Conservation Chair - 758-2621 John Piwowarski - Public Relations Chair

Notable Dates Jan. 16, 2011, Sunday 9:00 am - Waterfowl Count (27th Annual). Coordinator: Nancy Kern: 518-392-0120. For more information, see page 3.

Feb. 5, 2011, Saturday 9:00 am - Shrike Search. Coordinator: Drew Hopkins: 518- 249-4711. For more information, see page 3.

Feb. 17, 2011, Thursday 7:00 pm - Board Meeting at Marcia Anderson’s. Meeting at 2383 County Route 21, Valatie, NY. Please phone Marcia at

518-758-6433 if you plan to attend.

alandevoebirdclub.org

12037 NY Chatham,

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