Woodpecker Released

After the marvel of seeing the bare breast of the woodpecker mother, the volunteer turned the bird over and checked the tops of the wings. The marking pattern is pretty impressive in the treetops, but it is awesome right in front of you. And then he turned the bird over to a girl who was interested in setting it free. A hold, a release, and the woodpecker was on the way to the treetops.

And I was on the way to a track meet, then a visit to a different forest preserve. That evening, a bit of rock and roll. We will look at some rocking musicians and dancers in the next few posts.

From the Nest to the Hand

When the volunteer turned his wrist he touched the breast of the bird and said that she was a mother who had given birth. And he showed the evidence: the coat of feathers covering her breast slips open at the touch of his finger, exposing the underlying skin, if that is the right word.

I was amazed. Just a beginner at birding, I had no idea of the complexity of the process, and if you had asked me, I would have answered that a bird on the nest used its entire body as a sort of cover or blanket to provide the warmth. I had no idea that the body changed in such a spectacular manner, allowing the much warmer core of the mother to be readily available to the babies who will be adults in weeks.

Perhaps everyone else knew all this, but I thought it was a wonderful and clear way to learn something of value. My photographer's instincts would like to thank this female woodpecker for the lesson in the beauty and power of nature.

Back to Banding

Only an hour or so from my first opportunity to see a bird, held in the hand for banding as well as identification and examination, I was back at the table as the volunteer slipped another bird out of its sack. A woodpecker, much like some of the specimens I had seen in the forest moments later. As he fanned the wings, I was proud of myself as I saw the feather spread. Do you see what I saw?

Yes, this too is a second year bird. The deeper brown of the majority of the feathers is this year's mark, while the lighter patch further up the wing is the remnant of the feathers of 2008. Noticing and remembering a lesson learned is always a good feeling. But perhaps not as good as the feeling that your education is quickly advancing to new ground. As the volunteer turned his wrist and the bird over, my education was about to advance, all right. Exponentially.

Next post will take your knowledge to a new level as well.

More Birds in 'Bushes'

Our walk was not quite over but I had a track meet to cover, so I prepared to break off from the group and return to the parking lot. Two more beauties paused in their flights to pose for me and I was of course glad to oblige. The birds were in trees, of course, not 'bushes,' but a little exaggeration among friends should be acceptable.

We had seen a lot of interesting birds, and no doubt I was about to miss out on many more. But I did make a wise choice in the matter. Rather than stay with the group until the very last moment and having to rush to the track meet, I decided to head back a little early in case anything else caught my eye.

Anything else, naturally, was the fact that my route took me back past the banding table and I hoped to see another bird and perhaps learn more about birds and banding and whatever else I could. The birds above, birds in the 'bush,' are balanced at the table by the bird 'in the hand.'

On the next post, we will see that the hope was fulfilled. Lots more to learn as you will see.

Woodpeckers: Not Woody

One of my favorite cartoons growing up, partly for personal reasons, was Woody Woodpecker. How could such a cartoon have a 'personal' reason? My paternal grandfather, Ralph Beato Sr., was a wonderful mimic of Walter Lantz, Woody's cartoonist and voice, doing his patented "ha-ha-ha-HA-ha" laugh. Since Grandpop lived in the Philadelphia area and I am a Chicagoan, we saw each other only on vacations. The sound of the laughter still echoes.

Real woodpeckers do not laugh that way. As expected. But they are interesting and beautiful, and since they tend to perch for a bit on a given tree, they almost seem to pose for us. Smile pretty, Little Woody!

More Willowbrook Wildlife birding photos in the next post.

Other Wildlife to Watch

Everyone thnks, of course, that a wildlife center will feature animals. Willowbrook does so. But does any wildlife center not also feature wildflowers? Willowbrook does that as well. In other words, both subdivisions of biology -- zoology and botany -- are important.

Spring brings out the best of the color palette as well. The bright red of the Columbine catches every eye, but many other flowers fill the scene all spring and most of the summer and fall.

More birds in the next post.

Prepared for the Release

The bird we were checking in the prior post, a Gray-Cheeked Thrush, was in great health and ready to be released. Clearly none the worse for wear, we see a different hand grip by the naturalist, firmly but gently holding the legs as the bird looks around and is readied for release. Then the hand is lifted, the legs are released, and the Thrush flies off into the trees, banded for identification and having helped teach us a wonderful biology lesson.

The banding table was just beyond the Willowbrook building and exhibit area, right near the bridge leading to the trails and lots of opportunities to walk over a mile looking for birds. Next post will see some of the species migrating through Willowbrook in May, 2009.

Holding Migratory Birds

Seen here is a bird being checked for age, injuries, gender and so forth. That same grip we saw in the previous post, with the wrist turned over, allows access to the front of the bird and if you look closely at the bird's right leg in the foreground, you will see the band that has already been attached at the very top of the leg. The naturalist will generally band the bird first, in order to allow the bird to be set free in case the bird becomes agitated. While this bird appeared not to be at all uncomfortable, we were able to look quite closely at things such as the wings.

It was determined that this bird is a second year bird, born in 2008, and the wing photograph is the telling detail. Just above the naturalist's thumb, the strip of darker brown wings is identified as the first year wings, clearly a different color than the second year wings. Only in a situation such as this could an amateur like me learn that and see its effect in full color right before my eyes. And now, thanks to the blog, right before your eyes as well!

Migratory Bird Day at Willowbrook

Just nine days after the St. James Farm visit, I attended another wonderful bird walk, this one back at Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn. Ron Skleney, the Willowbrook naturalist who got me started with birds and who was our St. James guide, welcomed the walkers and turned us over to two other staff members for the day.

International Migratory Bird Day was very interesting and educational. And as you can see in the photo, we did not learn about the 'two in the bush,' but we certainly experienced the proverbial 'bird in the hand.' A feature of the day was watching as several migratory birds were netted, banded, checked for identification and for details, and set free. Fascinating and very appealing to the eye of the watcher and of course the eye of the camera.

The photo shows the approved method of holding a wild bird. It allows a firm grip that will not harm the bird. Using the index and middle fingers of the hand for the neck slot works because due to the size of the knuckles, the fingers do not squeeze all that tightly at their base. As we will note in upcoming posts, it is easy to turn over the hand to have view and access to the body of the bird.

Some of those pictures will be in the next post.