birdspot

tufted titmouse, dying, central park, ny, ny

What is it with me and finding birds in their death throes? First there was the DYING DUCK, and now this. The poor guy was lying in the path in the Ramble, and when I first saw it I thought it would expire within a couple of minutes, as downed birds usually do. But no, it was going through something more horrible than that, and as I watched (and photographed - please don’t think I am heartless or was scaring it, because I truly was not), the bird curled up and started spinning maniacally across the path. A tiny ball of pain and fury. Its neck looked unbroken, but everything else was skewed terribly.

The bird looked as if it had been poisoned or had a neurological problem. And it was suspiciously three feet from the feeders that provide us with amazing views of birds like Pine Siskins, right in Central Park (there were about 30 there yesterday, by the way). The squirrels were not as oblivious to the melodrama as the feeding birds, and periodically came over to investigate it, attracted by the movement. One looked like it was seriously going to eat it. A small crowd of people collected over the next hour, including many knowledgeable birders, who were waiting for it to die (and shooing away squirrels) so they could collect the body for testing. Much speculation ensued, but not one person mentioned the feeders as a potential culprit. What do you think? Could Salmonella or a contagious disease manifest with signs of neurological damage? I will certainly be keeping an eye on those feeders.

dowitcher sp, orange county, ca

In my humble opinion, the top two are Long-billed Dowitchers and the bottom two are Short-billed Dowitchers. Why? Well, for starters, the top two were in a flock that was talking, and the bottom two were in another flock that was not, so I have the field advantage there. It is rather miserable to contruct ID’s from photographs, I know. Between lighting and color variations, the impossibility of size judgement, differences in feather “puffiness” obscuring structure from wind or temperature, well, you know all of this if you are bothering to even look at this post so I won’t go on. One thing I can add is that the bill differences were also observed in the field, and though I am well aware of the trickiness of overlap, it is still really cool to see a whole group of one against another, where things can actually average out. However, I am happy to be wrong, or even to say impossible to tell - please let me know what you think! I’m more interested in the learning process here than in nailing the ID.

This is an older drawing (ink on paper, roughly 22×30″), but I have dug it out because I was reading one of my new favorite blogs, which is featuring the Reddish Egret in its most recent post. Mostly geared to people who have a thing for birds, jeffreyagordon.com has the perfect combination of birding travels, stellar photography and informative writing. The Reddish Egret is one of my all-time favorite species; this is from a vagrant immature bird that spent some time in exotic Rhode Island a few years back.

young gentoo penguin tocks, sleeping, falklands

Part 2 of What I did NOT see while I was NOT in Antarctica. Photo courtesy of Mom. Dad described the penguins as dozing off while standing, then gradually slumping until they flopped onto their bellies. WHERE IS THE VIDEO? I want video.

It’s painting. It’s not painting. It looks a little photographic? It’s not photographic. It is all hand drawn, but it’s not quite a drawing. Ultimately I think I am working on projections, but a static print is looking sorta cool too. This is (remotely) from Trustom Pond Wildlife Refuge, RI, where the native grasses are lovely and every last one of them is humanly-sown. I’m not saying this is a finished piece. And almost nothing about this landscape is real, btw; it is not a scene as you would see it were you standing there today.

stuffed chipmunk, ny, ny

This is the newest addition to my collection of all that is sick and wrong. OK, well, it has set the bar a little higher than the assortment of bones and skulls I already have, and therefore might actually be the FIRST addition to a collection of that which is sick and wrong. It is stultifying how much I love this.

These are a couple of sketches of what I did NOT see while I was NOT in Antarctica. Fortunately, my parents have given me carte blanche with their photos, and I am doing a little vicarious travel. I really have to point out that I am surprised by how much I am liking penguins, and that it has nothing to do with a certain trend of the last couple of years. But, dude, they WALK, and in so doing have incredible muscle structure and make interesting and ridiculous poses. It feels like figure drawing 101 all over again. The top sketch is of a young Gentoo Penguin (with some down still on it), and the bottom is a King Penguin. I am working on more, and perhaps a finished drawing or two, and will post them as I go.