California Condor

California Condor
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Big Sur, California USA
February2016
Member of the Vulture Family
§A Scarcity of Condors§ (a bit on the nose..)
★Largest North American Bird★

~true bird fact~ Truly a creature out of another time, Condors are huge, slow, and long-lived. They thrived 40,000 years ago, when giant mammals roamed the continent. Condors can go weeks without eating, and when they do eat, they can store up to 3 pounds of meat in their crops (bird food-holding organs). Unlike most birds, young Condors stay with their parents for more than a year, and actually take 6-8 to reach full maturity. Overall, one of the longest-lived birds, with a lifespan of up to 60 years. Basically these are bird dinosaurs.

How endangered are they? Very much so. The California Condor is critically endangered. As of 1987, there were only 27 birds left. Dramatic action was necessary, and they were all taken into captivity to attempt a breeding program. It's slow and laborious work, partly because female condors only nest once a year, and sometimes not even that much, and partly because birds take so long to reach maturity. In 1991, Condors began to be released back into the wild. As of today there are 425 birds alive, full stop. Only 219 of them are wild, making them one of the world's rarest birds. This means that I've now seen a little more than 1% of all the wild California Condors.

Heavy emphasis on family life
Superstitious. Uses folk medicine
Like most vultures, has a strong stomach, literally and metaphorically
Insular

2014: A Birding Year in Review

At the beginning of this year, I posted some birding resolutions for the coming year. Well, it's our last blog post of the year, and I think it's a good time to look back at some of those goals and see just how much we accomplished, as well as setting some new ones. Were they mostly amateurnifails or amateurnisuccesses? It's a time for reflection, a time for introspection, it's the amateurnithologist year in review.

1) Take a picture of a Golden Eagle

Status: TOTAL FAILURE
Amateurnithologist should have set this goal as 'take a million pictures of bald eagles' since it was really their year. I saw them probably a dozen times this year, but never even spotted a golden eagle. This goal will have to continue forward, since I still totes wanna see that bird.

2) See a Roseate Spoonbill

Status: Semi-success
Well, I definitely got to see this bird, and I even got a picture of it, so maybe it's a full success. But I just can't get over how disappointing it is that I didn't have my good 'birdin camera' on this very eventful trip to Florida. It broke shortly beforehand and I had to use a backup, hence why there haven't been many pictures from it post to the blog. We're a victim of our commitment to quality here on Bird Blog. Next year maybe I will get a picture of a Spoonbill worth a portraiture entry.


3) Get a good picture of a Vulture

Status: Good Job!
Actually was able to knock the whole North American Vulture Family off the blog list this year, with solid entries for both Black and Turkey Vultures. It was most exciting that I finally got to find some at rest and take intimate portraiture shots that you don't often see of these birds. Condors, my 'reach goal', were not to be had, but they were always unlikely.


4) Blog about more ducks

Status: Duckcess!
We managed to get a few good ducks on the blog in this year, and have several more in the queue. Most importantly, I paid more attention to ducks in my day to day birding, and as a result got quite a few interesting ones, including the inexplicable Lake Merritt Tufted Duck and the Surf Scoter that was my 'duck to look for'.

5)  Track down the elusive Snail Kite

Status: DID NOT DO
Yeah, when I went and visited his home, there were simply no raptors to be seen. I think I'd need to dedicate a lot more energy to finding this guy, and frankly he doesn't seem worth it. If Snail Kite happens, he happens, if not, I'm willing to let this one go. I did get a ton of other raptors this year, many of which will be blogged about in the new year, including the above Merlin.


6) Find a Painted Bunting

Status: Welllllll... 
This Painted Bunting Pic (PBP) was taken by Amateurnithologist's mom at Green Cay Wetlands in Florida. So, since I worded the goal 'find the Painted Bunting', you could call it a success. I now know where he is. However, never one to rest on his laurels, the Amateurnithologist will not be satisfied until he sees one himself and can put a quality picture of it up on the blog. Next year Painted Bunting, next year!

Total Success Rate: 50%
I'd say halfway getting to your new years resolutions is better than most people manage, so I'm going to call this one a success. So, just to recap, what am I going to be trying to do in 2015? I think this year's goals are going to be mostly local, trying to take in the rarer birds that I know are here, but haven't gotten to see yet. It will the year of the California bird.

Three goals that carry forward
1. Golden Eagle
2. Califonia Condor
3. Painted Bunting

and three new ones
4. Audubon Society blog (expertly named Audublog) posted recently about Owling California. It seems California is positively lousy with the things. I'm a huge owl fan, as seen in entries about the Barn and Burrowing Owls, and would be excited to get, let's say... Two More Owls this year.
5. Sitting nearly right under your Bird Blogger's nose are the Farrallon Islands one of the great birding destinations. You don't need to travel half way around the world to see Puffins, and this year, I'm hoping to get out there by boat and capture some images of Tufted Puffins.
6. Road Runner. I just want a picture of a road runner. He lives in, like, all of our deserts. Let's make it happen.

Thanks for joining us on this journey, loyal readers. Join us next year for another fantastic year of birding amateurishly.

Turkey Vulture

Mwahahaha! Welcome back to Amateurnithologist's Spooktacular Shocktober Birdstravaganza! We continue our exploration of the spookiest birds with a really prized find. That's right, Turkey Vulture is finally joining the blog as I've had a few lucky occasions lately to finally get a good picture of these guys. These two pictures were taken at Mount Diablo (scarily topical!).

What do you think of when you think of spooky birds? Probably owls first (and for good reason, they are heavily connected to the supernatural after all). Perhaps crows? At some point you start to think about the only bird that you ever hear about eating human flesh, the vulture. The Turkey Vulture is the western hemisphere's archetypal scavenger-bird. You might know him better as a Turkey Buzzard, or simply Buzzard. The bird that outlaws are left to in the desert. That guy.

It might not surprise you that we here at bird blog have a different perspective on vultures to offer you. First and foremost, Vultures serve an important purpose and occupy an otherwise empty rung of the avian food chain. In fact, vultures are so important to the ecosystem that on other continents, there are convergently evolved bird that are almost identical. Furthermore, some cultures see the Vulture as a sacred being because of his role in the intersection between life and death. Zoroastrians in India and Tibetan Buddhists are both known to practice "sky burials", in which the dead are left somewhere high up for Vultures to consume them, thus releasing their souls. Great job vultures!

Turkey Vulture aka. Turkey Buzzard aka. aka. Buzzard aka. John Crow aka. Carrion Crow
Cambria, California, USA
Member of the Vulture Family
§A Committee of Vultures§

~true bird fact~ They really are harbingers of death though. Turkey Vultures have an extremely refined sense of smell, assisted by an unusually large 'smell section' in their brains, which allows them to sniff out a special gas emitted by newly dead corpses. Very few birds use their sense of smell for much of anything, but Turkey Vultures can find their food using smell alone.

Meticulously organized. A real bean counter
Appreciates the chance to 'let loose' with coworkers every once in a while
Never showy, but contributes a lot
Knowledge gained through studying and reading a lot, not through innate talent

Black Vulture

Black Vulture aka. American Black Vulture
Merritt Island, Florida, USA
Member of the Vulture Family
A Wake of Vultures

~true bird fact~ Black Vultures lack a voicebox, so their only vocalizations are rasps and grunts. Poor guys.

Has been wounded by the judgements of others
Deep down, a heart of gold
Works hard and doesn't complain
Looks like he was maybe transformed by a witch's curse

So, I've finally made good on my New Years Resolution to talk about vultures. Like all reviled birds, I find I have an extra fascination for them, and some extra sympathy. Black Vultures have been a symbol of death and an enemy of humans at least since they were appearing depicted that way in 5th Century Mayan Codices. Perhaps a lot longer than that as well. This is a bird species that has changed little since it first appeared 2.5 million years ago. Is their reputation unfairly assigned, just because they tend to hang out around rotting corpses? I think maybe yes.

Black Vultures have a significantly less keen sense of smell than their most obvious competitor, the larger Turkey Vulture. For a scavenger, this is an extremely important sense. However, Black Vultures make up for this shortcoming in a number of clever ways. They soar high above where Turkey Vultures circle and keep a close eye on their relatives. When the Turkey Vulture notices a meal, they follow. They are also smaller birds than other scavengers, and this would usually be a disadvantage when feeding, but they make up for this by working together. Black Vultures are very social birds. They stay in monogamous relationships, feed their family members, and raise chicks for a long time. Like people, they do some things we find repulsive, but also some things we would find really sweet. Perhaps we don't like Vultures because they remind us too much of ourselves. With a perspective, the amateurnithologist.

8 Tips to Take your Amateur Birding Game to the Next Level that They Don't Want you to Know. You Won't Believe Number 6!

Today it is our second anniversary on amateurnithologist dot blogspot dot com. While we proudly maintain our amateur status, after two years of looking at birds, it is safe to say we've learned a lot. Are you an armchair birder too? Here are some of the things we've learned along the way. Maybe you'll find something helpful here too.


1. We are all Time's Subjects
By this I mean get to know what different times of the day mean for birding. Most people probably know already that close to dawn is when birds are most easily observed. "The early bird gets the early bird", as the old saying goes. However, late afternoon can be just as rewarding of a time to go birding, and a much less annoying one to be awake during. I recommend the last hour and a half or so before sunset. Your mileage may vary for different birds. Try going on the same hike a few times during different times of the day and making observations about what you see.

2. Become a Seasoned Birding Expert
I also recommend that you start paying attention to seasons. You might think you've seen all the birds a local spot has to offer, but if you just went in fall, you're going to miss out on all the spring birds. Little know fact: birds fly around, and live in different places, you know? There should be a word for this behavior. Another assumption is that birding is most profitable during the Spring, but because birds migrate in lots of different directions it's really worth it to look year round. Your chilly lake may be just the right temperature for a bird who summers in the arctic.

3. Learn the Hot Birding Spots in your Area, but Don't Ignore Everywhere Else
Where do birds live? The answer is basically everywhere. Birding starts in your own neighborhood, on your city streets, in the drainage pool behind the mall. Some of the rarest bird's I've seen have just been spotted wandering around residential neighborhoods or college campuses. While ebird.com's got a great database of birding hotspots that I can't recommend enough, it's also important to do some looking on your own. One general tip about birds: bodies of water are always a great place to start.

4. Hurry Up and Do Nothing
Our most exciting sounding tip yet! While the hobbies of birding and hiking intersect, there is a key difference in goal and generally in pace. When you walk through a park looking for birds, make it a leisurely stroll. Observing your environment carefully, rather than giving it the casual once-over, will increase the number of birds you see dramatically. Found a nice spot where you can hear some birdsong? Stop and sit a while. Relax. Birds will appreciate you more if you're a chill dude or lady.
5. Go by Yourself (or with Very Laid-Back People)
Let's face it, birding is not an inherently social activity. Maybe a group of birders can pull this one off, but if you plan on going someplace mainly to look at birds, and you're inviting some of the uninitiated, you'd better give some fair warning. Either your friends are going to get super bored while you stare at some bird and take a million pictures of it, or the bird is going to fly away and you will secretly resent them for breathing too loud. Anyway, one of the greatest pleasures of this hobby (to me at least) is peace and space to think that you can get from a little bit of solitude.

6. Think Like a Bird
Does a bird want you to point at it and shout? Probably not, right? My frequent walking partner, N, can always tell I've spotted a really neat bird because I go completely quiet. If a bird is flying away from you, don't pursue it. It can be hard to ignore this impulse, but you have to be willing to let the birds come to you. When a bird really wants to be photographed, he'll come by and pose for you. You just have to wait for the right moment. Another part of this tip is to be logical in where you are looking for birds. Birds of prey often hang out on the unobstructed branches of tall trees or telephone poles because those are the best places to spot prey from. If you never look up there, you'll never see one.

7. Preparation is 9/10ths of the Bird
This is probably a tip only for people as dumb as your amateurnithologist, but don't forget all your stuff at home. A shameful number of times I've brought my camera with me, but accidentally left the memory card at home, or neglected to charge the batteries. It can also be a good idea to take your birding stuff with you even when you aren't planning on spotting a bird, because sometimes they just show up. Lately I've noticed a family of Orioles at my work and started bringing my camera with me, just in case I get a good opportunity to take a picture. Ancillary tip: Don't leave expensive looking birding equipment in your car. Ever.


8. Be Patient with Yourself
This tip won't necessarily help you bird better, but it'll prevent you from birding burnout (or birdout, as it's known in the community). I can still remember the first time I successfully identified a bird without the use of a guide. That was less than 3 years ago, and just this past weekend I was walking along the bay shore and was impressed by just how many of the birds I recognized immediately. You have to be willing to give yourself time to grow and improve, and be aware that you're going to make a lot of mistakes at the beginning. Unless you really cram and study (and who wants to do that) you're going to remain an amateur for some time. And that's great. Remember, we are all on this amateurnithological journey together. And you know what they say about the journey and the destination. For the bird blog, this is A., signing off.