Zach Poland is a top Oklahoma birder who was referred to me by recent guest Pete Janzen. In preparing to talk with Zach I read a blog post by another guest Blair Bernson about their day of birding on Blair’s quest to see 50 species of birds in a day in every state with a local birder.
Zach is a relatively young birder who manages to bird daily with a full time day job as a geologist and a young family. I have the greatest respect for birders who manage to balance these aspects of live well, and it looks like we could take counsel from Zach on this challenge.
Zach talks about several top Oklahoma birding sites. Here is a screen shot of a spread sheet Zach sent to me after we talked with tips on finding the 4 Longspur species in Oklahoma in winter.
Oklahoma Longspur Tips
It’s a bit small on the screen but I think might be useful.
He mentioned several eBird Hotspots. Here are some eBird links to these: Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Sooner Lake (note there are several Sooner Lake hotspots in Oklahoma. Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Great Salt Plains State Park
I mention my Colombia birding in the intro. If you want to read more about that trip check out the Ed’s Birding Notes tab on this web site.
I also put out a request for suggestions for guests you’d like to hear from on the podcast. Suggestions with an introduction of some sort are optimal. I’m looking especially for guests from Montana, the Dakotas and Carolinas, and lots of other places. If you have ideas send me message.
Thanks for your support. Good birding and good day!
On this episode I talk about molt, the process by which birds replace their feathers each year. Replacing feathers is mandatory for all birds, and different species have different strategies for accomplishing this essential annual task. All birds undergo a basic molt every year, where they replace all of their feathers. The plumage they attain after this molt is called their “Basic Plumage.” In the most commonly used terminology, the Modified Humphrey-Parkes terminology, the molt by which feathers are changed is named for the plumage attained, so the molt into basic plumage is called the “pre-basic molt.”
Male Gadwall in basic plumage. The alternate plumage of most dabbling ducks is what we think of as their eclipse plumage. That’s why our fresh early winter ducks are so striking.
Some birds have an additional molt each year where they replace some of their feathers to achieve a different appearance. Many birders call this their “breeding plumage” and this plumage is often brighter and more showy than the basic plumage (but not always). This plumage is called the “alternate plumage” and the molt into alternate plumage is called the “pre-alternate molt.”
So birds either have “basic” or an “alternate” molt strategy.
All birds need to grow a first set of feathers that they need to be able to safely get out of the nest, and this is called the “juvenile plumage” so the process of growing these feathers is called the “pre-juvenile molt.” We usually don’t see this first molt except on web-cams or when watching a nest specifically, so it is not commonly thought about, but every bird has to go through a pre-juvenile molt to get their first set of feathers. In some species this first set of feathers, the “juvenile plumage” is retained for a full year or more until the first pre-basic molt into the first basic plumage at a year or more of age. Other birds undergo a special molt in their first year, usually shortly after fledging, into what is called a “formative plumage.” These species are said to have a complex molt strategy. Reasons for evolving this strategy are unclear, but probably allow a quick set of head and body feathers to be grown so that the birds can get out of the next faster than if they needed to grow a strong set of feathers that could last a full year. Then after fledging they replace some of most of these first set of feathers to look more like adults and to have feathers suited to last a full year. Maybe the initial juvenile feathers allow them to be obviously different and easily recognized by their parents to be fed while very young. The real reason may vary and is not completely understood, but most North American songbirds use this complex molt strategy, and are said to have a complex molt strategy.
So now you know that birds can be split into 4 groups of molt strategies:
Simple Basic: these birds grow a set of juvenile feathers that they keep until their first basic molt more or less a year later, and then have one complete basic molt each year after.
Simple Complex: these birds have one additional molt in their first year, from juvenile into a special one-time formative plumage, and then just one pre-basic molt each following year where they replace all of their feathers.
Simple Alternate: These birds retain their juvenile feathers through their first year until a first pre-alternate molt some time later, and then have one full “pre-basic molt” every year into their “Basic plumage” and another “pre-alternate molt” each year into their “alternate plumage.”
Complex Alternate: These birds have a one-time “Pre-alternate molt” after fledging into a “Formative Plumage” and then follow the same molt sequence described in the simple alternate strategy above.
Examples of birds with each strategy are below:
Simple Basic Simple Alternate Complex Basic Complex Alternate
Albatrosses Large White-headed Gulls Spotted Towhee Most common strategy for
Barn Owls our North American passerines
Petrels
Using this concept of thinking about the plumages you see in birds can really help understand what you are seeing. If you see an essentially perfectly feathered Turkey Vulture soaring overhead in July or August you can deduce that it is this year’s first cycle bird, because essentially all of the adults will have some degree of flight feather molt going on. In the winter if you are in a place where Osprey are wintering, only the first cycle juvenile birds will have all of their wing flight feathers intact, whereas all of the adults will have some feathers being replaced.
You know that many of our migratory song birds have spring and early summer plumages that are quite different from how we see them in the fall. In fall they are in their basic plumage, all new feathers. In the spring they have undergone their alternate molt and have some head and body feathers that are replaced and their appearance is noticeably changed.
There is a lot more to know about molt, but here I just want to touch on the basics. For lots more see either Howell’s book or this article he wrote on molt.
Here is the ABCBirding post I put up after one of Ken’s classes.
As I mentioned in the podcast episode, I’ll be travelling for a few weeks, and may not get another episode published until I’m home again. Until then, good birding and good day!
I enjoyed talking about birding Kansas with Pete Janzen this episode. Pete was really informative, and I learned a lot about a place I know little about prior to talking. The Kansas eBird list includes 458 species, and Pete has listed 437 of these. He talks about Kansas hotspots Quivira NWR and Cheyenne Bottoms, both fairly near his home in Wichita.
I did not know that Kansas has the largest remaining population of Lesser Prairie Chickens or that it was possible to see both species of prairie chicken on the same lek. If you need these species check out the tours Pete recommends on this website. You’ll not only see the birds, but support their conservation efforts.
As I mentioned I’m on the lookout for good birding guests from every state. If you know good candidates, help me reach out to them. Send me an email on the Contact page here. Here is the article I mentioned in the WFO newsletter about megafires and the history of western U.S. wildfires.
Thanks for listening. Until next time; Good birding and good day!
On The Bird Banter Podcast #111 I talk in the introduction about a recent pelagic birding trip on Westport Seabirds, the WA pelagic trip company. The fog was difficult in the morning, but by afternoon it has cleared and things picked up nicely. See my birding notes post for photos and details.
Mason Maron is my guest on this episode, and we talk about his birding story, his planned research into Gray-crowned Rosy Finch diet changes in the last 60 years, and about birding near WSU in Whitman County, WA.
Follow Mason on Instagram or see his photogarphy on his web site.
Peter Wimberger, a past guest on episode #30, has been doing research into ice worms. You can hear about this on this really cool article and audio link. It seems that ice worms are an important part of the diet of rosy finches on Mt. Rainier at least.
Mason talks about the Seattle Young Birders group. It is run through Seattle Audubon Society and you can see about this group here.
I’ll be sure to get back to listeners in a year or more after the research on Gray-crowned Rosy Finches is underway and give an update.
Until next time: Good birding and good day!
On the Bird Banter Podcast #110 with Andy Stepniewski we delve into the shrub-steppe habitat that Andy is so intimate with, as well as his work on the fabulous Birder’s Guide to Washington that is available free online. This book has been a great resource in both the first and second editions, and Andy talks about the genesis of his interest in site guides that go back to having Jim Lane as a mentor in his early birding years. Birders have likely used the “Lane Guides” now published as the ABA Bird Finding Guides series of which the Birder’s Guide to Washington is a part.
I remember when Andy came to Tacoma to talk with our ABC Birding Club about the shrub-steppe habitat. It was a great presentation, here is a link to the blog post about the presentation. Here is a link to the trip report from the field trip the following spring that I lament missing. Andy talks also about the issues with weeds in the habitat, leading to wildfires that are devastating, especially given the many decades that it takes to grow mature sagebrush, and the carpet of cheat grass that has replaced the native bunchgrass in many areas. The carpet of invasive weeds leads to carpet fires that cover gigantic areas.
I enjoyed the podcast on Bird Notes about the challenges to Greater Sage Grouse that talk at length about habitat issues. Check out the 8-part series here.
Andy also wrote the Birds of Yakima County that is still available on Amazon and elsewhere. If you just read the introduction part you get a real feel for how intimate Andy is with the intricacies of this habitat, the birds and other critters that rely on it. I said on the podcast episode that I’d give a link to the findings of the Audubon study of shrub steppe in WA. The best I can provide is a good article on the Audubon site by Kim Thornburn and a video.
One thing we did not talk about on the podcast is Andy’s time in Alaska and his early life threatening experiences. You can read about these here. Do you know anyone else who has survived a grizzly bear attack and a fall through an ice bridge over a mountain crevasse? Not me!
For listeners for outside WA who don’t know where Yakima County is located, here is a county map of WA. Yakima County is on the north shore of the Columbia River and includes lots of habitat in the Columbia basin as well as neighboring ridges and valleys.
Here are links to some of the episodes I mentioned in this episode with Will Brooks Peter Wimberger
Thanks again for listening.
Good birding and good day!
On The Bird Banter Podcast #109 Jason Vassallo and I talk about his 2021 Continental ABA Big Year, his birding story, and more.
For me hearing and talking about places I’ve been birding as well as places I hope to go birding that Jason has visited during his year made for terrific fun.
Check out and follow Jason on his Instagram feed Jason2021BigYear
Jason started his big year with the Snowy Owl that spent much of the winter roosting on the rooftops of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. That bird was the first Snowy Owl that my girlfriend Marian had seen. Last year we was a SNOW that was maybe 1.5 miles away through a scope near Atkin’s Lake in eastern WA. This bird was much more obliging. The Queen Anne Snowy Owl
We talk about the Red-billed Tropicbird that has spent it’s summers on Vinylhaven Island off the coast of Maine. This is a remarkable bird. I think this may be the 17th consecutive summer it’s been seen there. The Red-billed Tropicbird I saw at Vinylhaven with my brother Bill and his wife Carol 6-20-2018.
We also talk about his hike to see the Himalayan Snowcock in the Ruby Mountains. This photo is pretty much how the bird looks to most ABA birders who get to see it high on the mountain ridges. This is digiscoped on our visit in This is how the Himalayan Snowcock looks at great distance.
Many of you may share the feeling that the memories, experiences, and people that bless our lives doing the things we love to do are really what it’s all about.
Here are links to some of the episodes I talk about in the introduction to this episode
I hope you enjoyed hearing from Sophie Wickham, the warden at the Holme Bird Observatory, who is my guest of The Bird Banter Podcast #108. Enjoy her British accent as we talk about her job there, her career path to get to her current position, and the Bird Observatory system in general. We also touch on how Brexit has impacted the support of wildlife conservation in England so far, and the concerns of conservationists in Great Britain about this issue.
Here is a map of the Bird Observatories in England.
Here is The Norfolk Ornithologists Association website.
Here is a link to the British Trust for Ornithology website. It is a really comprehensive resource, maybe more so than our ABA website.
Here is an article addressing conservation and habitat issues post Brexit on the Bat Conservation Trust website.
I mentioned the Science article about the decline in bird populations over the last half century, so here is a link to that article.
Sophie talks about Willow Warblers on the episode. Old world warblers are a bit different from our New World Wood Warblers. Here is a link to Birds of the World for Willow Warbler. In my limited experience warbler ID in Europe, Asia and Africa is not easy.
Thanks for listening. Until next time, good birding and good day.
When I met David Waters at his home in 2014 with my wife Kay, we had a great time hearing his stories about crazy trips to China to get Great Bustard eggs from nests disturbed by agriculture, the waiting, the chases to collective farms to get the eggs, the negotiations and issues dealing with both Russian and English governmental agencies, and about dressing up in silly costumes to feed and care for the chicks. It was also fun to see the captive birds in his yard.
Talking with him on the podcast was a great chance to reminisce and catch up, as well as to learn about the project in a more intentional way.
Check out the Great Bustard Reintroduction Project page to find out lots more about these birds. They are large birds, with males as tall as 3’-5” and the heaviest recorded specimen is a male from Manchuria at 21kg, making it the heaviest flying bird in the world.
I saw Kori Bustards while visiting Kenya a few years ago as well as Buff-crested and Black-bellied Bustards. The Kori is also a very large bird.
If you get a chance visit the Salisbury Plain check out the Great Bustards there.
Until next time, good birding and good day!
The Birder’s Show is a high quality nature show specifically but not exclusively for and by birders. It is produced by a company called Where Next who produced a previous show called The Birders featuring Diego Calderón and a videographer on the Northern Colombia Birding Trail. Diego and co-host of the show Chris Bell are my guests on this episode, and were fabulously fun to talk with for the episode.
Here is a tiny segment of one of their shows, that they break out and call “Chirps” on their You Tube Channel
I love the relaxed style, interactive banter, and beautifully mixed video of the hosts and guest with bird video footage, maps, and explanatory visuals all combined very adeptly. Red-headed Barbet that I saw on a recent trip to Costa Rica.
I cannot wait to get out birding with Diego in Colombia. I learned that it is only a 1-hour flight from Costa Rica to Medellin, Colombia where he is based, so on a visit to see Jean soon I hope to add on a visit there with his tour group Birding Colombia.
Diego and Chris are relaxed, having fun, and very entertaining on their show. I think that joy of birding and friendship comes through really well on their show, and also on our podcast episode. Birding friends and fellowship are a big part of the hobby, and Diego and Chris are a great example.
Please leave comments or contact me with suggestions for future guests or people you’d like to hear from. Thanks again.
Until next time. Good birding and good day!
On this episode I talk with Melissa Hafting, a terrific young Canadian birder from near Vancouver, B.C. We talk about her excellent work with young birders in B.C., her birding experiences and her work with the B.C. rare bird alert.
Melissa was featured on the ABA Podcast’s “All Canada” episode recently and represented the western part of Canada very nicely. Check it out and I suspect you’ll enjoy hearing more about the great birding found across Canada. Many of the birds that we U.S. birders enjoy seeing in migration depend on the boreal forests, Arctic tundra and vast grasslands for their breeding areas.
