Northern Hawk Owl giving the Trilling Call

Here is a Northern Hawk Owl that digiscoped by hand (holding a point-and-shoot camera behind the spotting scope). This bird is giving the "trilling call."

*you may have to turn the volume adjuster-bar up slightly, in order to hear the owl call

Female Northern Hawk Owl giving a begging call

Here is a female Northern Hawk Owl that I digiscoped by hand. She is giving a begging call, which is a the same call given by young Northern Hawk Owls when they are "hungry." Adult female Northern Hawk Owls give this call during the spring :-)

*you may have to turn the volume adjuster-bar up slightly, in order to hear her call

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Being green, at the 2011 International Festival of Owls

This past weekend was simply wonderful. I drove down to southern Minnesota to attend the 2011 International Festival of Owls! The festival is held in the small town of Houston, MN, located within the beautiful rolling tree-covered hillsides and farm fields (plus tall-grass praires) of far southern Minnesota. The views that I've been lucky to encounter on the drive to and from this wonderful event have been superb and breathtaking... and just like in past years, the festival started on the renowned owl-pancake breakfast. Yes, OWL PANCAKES. They are delicious as they are cute! All of the events and dining opportunities at the festival help raise money and awareness for the Houston Nature Center.

Most of the festivities for International Festival of Owls main are held in the Houston Elementary School. Before the festival takes place, the students elaborately-decorate the school in beautiful owl artwork! Many people know that the feeling about seeing owls, whether it be photos of beautifully-cute owls, seeing an owl fluffed up; while out birdwatching, or hearing the soul-stirring (in a good way) hoot and calls of an owl in the dark. Owls bring mystery and a natural sense of awe to our lives. While attending the owl festival throughout the past two winters, these feelings are always in the air. Whether you're a die-hard owl lover, or are simply interested in learning a little bit here-and-there about owls and the environments which they live in, the owl festival can only amaze you :-)

There are so many ways to experience owls at the festival. The upstairs classrooms are filled with local art vendors and naturalists, that are happy to spread the word about owls, and make their beautiful artwork available. Several friends from the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas attended booths at the festival, as did a wide-variety of artists with their owl-themed booths! Nearly anything owl-related could be found at the festival... from cute little stuffed owls, to owl paperweights, owl book-ends, owl bookmarks, books about owls, owl shirts, owl jewelry, owl hats and much more! There was even a non-stop bake sale going on, to raise money for the Houston Nature Center. All of the baked goods were owl-themed; all of which were delectable!

This past owl festival, I was privileged to host a photography booth (adjacent photo). It was my second photography booth I've ever hosted! I met so many wonderful people this past weekend, and was able to reconnect with some wonderful friends, like Jan Dunlop (author of The Boreal Owl Murder book). Jan hosted a booth next to my booth, and we talked about some wonderful bird experiences and got to catch up on life!
To find out more about her books and what she does, go to: www.jandunlap.com/

Karla Bloem, pictured above, is the director of the Houston Nature Center. She is the amazing woman who started the International Owl Festival, and has kept it going year after year!

Slim, a wood-carver, made an appearance this winter. I remember seeing him at last winter's owl festival. He is an older gentleman, with an amazing ability to cut, form and shape wood into beautiful creations, like a second-nature. He produces these beautiful wooden creations by hand-carving the wood - that's right, hand carving! The owl pictured to the side was carved out of a block of wood, in under 2 minutes (right in front of me)! He loves it when little kids come over to his booth. Slim carves each child an owl to take home with them, and takes their hand, puts the owl in their hand, and while cradling the owl in their hand, says "give a hoot, don't pollute." To find out more about his work, go to: www.slimswoodshed.com


There were two main speakers at the festival; Raju Acharya (left) from Nepal, and Roar Solheim (right) from Norway. Raju is the director of an organization called Friends of Nature, and is also a renowned owl conservationist. Roar is the Senior Curator of Zoology at Agder Museum of Natural History in Kristiansand, Norway). Both of the speeches given were awesome. Raju talked about much of the conservation work that he has initiated and pursued throughout Nepal, to help put a halt to the illegal trade/hunting of owls. Roar's speech was filled with endless amounts of owls photos, taken throughout his studies in Europe. It was a captivating speech; the raised awareness/appreciation of owls is something that embeds itself in how you think, your daily actions, and creates this urge to teach people about owls :-)


Speaking of being more environmentally-conscious, I did some picture-taking and brainstorming during the festival, to think of ways to spark interest in the little things that humans do on a regular basis. I spent Friday night and Saturday night at the Settle Inn, a hotel in La Crosse, WI. The first thing I noticed when I got tot the hotel was a little "save our planet" sign in the bathroom. Although this sign is becoming common in more hotels, it's the little things like this sign that not only make us aware of how to reduce our impact on the environment (while traveling), but might also make for changes made while at home. Minimizing laundry, for example, isn't just an act that saves on water. Less detergent is used when you do fewer loads of laundry (for doing laundry at home, few loads but full loads of laundry is the most efficient way to do laundry). Whenever you do a load of laundry, you are using water to clean your clothes. Even before the water has arrived "at" your house, it has undergone treatment to make sure it is safe to drink and use. There is already a large amount of energy used to prepare and filter the water, prior to using & consuming the water at home. On washing machines, I always stay away from the "white" or hot-water setting on the dial. Yes, hot water will get your clothes ridiculously clean, but will also slowly wick colors out, will break-down prints on shirts, and will increase wear/stress on the fabric. Clothes and colors on clothes will last longer is the clothes are washed in warm or cool-water settings. Washing clothes at a cooler water setting uses less energy to heat up the large amount of water. Always rinse the clothes on the "cold" setting too, as there really isn't a need for heated water to simply rinse the clothes. I've got a few other ideas about reducing the impact on the earth while doing laundry, but will stick to the owl festival topic for this blog entry :)

Recycled toilet paper was the toilet paper offered at the hotel... Recycled toilet paper uses less raw paper to create a nearly-identical product. There is a whole slough of processes which are used when making virgin paper. By using recycled, or even partially-recycled paper, you reduce the need for cutting down new trees, processing the new trees, and converting the pulp into paper. Often times with reducing your impact on the earth, there are many direct/indirect sources of energy which are omitted from the final product. Another thing that I liked about the hotel I stayed at was the toiletries. Yes, we're talking about the tiny toiletries, but here's the deal about the toiletries in this hotel...


The shampoo, conditioner, and bars of soap were all biodegradable (will readily break down into basic/"natural" substances). Many soaps nowadays are created without the certification of being biodegradable. These soaps' residues will often linger longer in the environments which they enter, and are often less-safe for the environment. Another cool tidbit about the soaps in this hotel, was that they were not tested on animals. It makes me cringe just thinking about what all goes into animal-testing on products. These are small and simple things that I've noticed during my stay at the Settle Inn (the hotel in La Crosse, WI, during my festival visit). as a result of their environmental consciousness, I recommend this hotel if you're looking for a descent place to stay which has a few green features within the hotel.

Another green choice which I made during my travels going through the vicinity of the Twin Cities, was to gas up at Holiday gas stations. The holiday stations located in and around the Twin Cities are formulated slightly differently than other gas stations throughout the Midwest. Reformulated gas is often the choice of standard-grades of octane at many gas stations. Some gas stations only carry reformulated gasoline. The term reformulated gas means that a certain percentage of the gasoline is blended with ethanol, a corn-based fuel. Now here's the catch about reformulated gas... it burns cleaner (reduced emissions), however it typically lowers thefuel economy slightly, so there is a trade-off. Also, on some older vehicles, reformulated gas actually causes a bit of hesitation or rough idle, versus using traditional gasoline. Would you rather have slightly better fuel economy and have "standard" emissions, or consume even more gas (lower fuel economy) but have cleaner emissions? Something to think about...

Here's where the Holiday gas stations come into play. Holiday is based out of Minnesota, and around the Twin Cities, they have offered a formulation of gasoline called Blue Planet. Blue Planet is the standard gasoline for all of the "grades" or octane levels of gasoline, within the cities at Holiday stations. The Blue Planet gasoline is a low-sulfur and low-benzene gasoline (typical gasolines have maximum allowed amounts of these substances within the fuel after the filtering process)... and Blue Planet has even-further reduced amounts of both of these toxic substances. Blue Planet gasoline provides benefits even beyond reformulated gas (even lower emissions), however there is no fluctuation in fuel economy or engine performance. The American Lung Association even recognizes Blue Planet gasoline as a "clean air choice"! A little more more information about Blue Planet gasoline can be found at these two links:
www.holidaystationstores.com/products/petroleum.aspx
www.cleanairchoice.org/fuels/

Oh and on a last quick note... I won my first photography contest this past weekend! The photography contest is entirely limited to owls. My "Mama Northern Saw-whet Owl" picture won 3rd place, via the judges vote. The grand prize was awarded to the picture which received the most votes from the owl-festival-participants. I was really excited to hear that the same owl print received the most votes of any other print. If you stop by the Houston Nature Center, my Saw-whet print will be framed on display! The small entry fee for the photography contest helps raise funds for the Houston Nature Center.

More information regarding the International Festival of Owls can be found at this link:
www.festivalofowls.com/


Thanks for reading my blog! Good birdwatching,
Erik

Rechargable Batteries & the Awareness of Little Things

This blog entry is about batteries… yes, it is a bit off-topic regarding birds. I am very excited to share with you handfuls of ideas on how to make more ecologically-sound decisions in your lifestyle, and to become more aware of overall resource consumption (which in turn, can help wildlife in the long run... including cute little Boreal Chickadees mentioned in past blogs)! The first topic I thought I’d write about is a simple, yet thought-out purchase of batteries. Take a look around your house... are there any batteries being used nearby?

I was in need of some batteries today. Due to having a wireless mouse for my computer (it’s a low-energy-consuming mouse)... a small set of batteries was on my list of things to get today. I try to minimize my need for batteries on a regular basis. As with most people nowadays, one of the most regularly used batteries is a heavy and bulky car battery, and my other battery needs are for my camera - for all of the bird photography I do, and for my wireless computer mouse. From the get-go, if you can walk the distance to where you need to go (within reason), why not walk instead of drive? Riding the bike, rollerblading, and many other options are available too, depending on the season of course. I have walked the 20 minute walk to the grocery store from my house many times when the temperatures were just above/below 0F this winter. You bundle up, you experience the refreshing cold, and you get a work out - it's a win-win situation right there :-)

I had a few other things to get done in town today, and while shopping around came across the wide selection of vividly-colored battery packages. Without question, I didn’t even bother to consider some of the standard, non-rechargeable batteries. One brand of non-rechargeable batteries were even on sale, but the thought of disposing batteries after a one-time use is out of the picture. Two brands were left for rechargeable that the store had in stock (the off-brand rechargeable weren’t in stock). Energizer and Duracell. I was unaware of any ecologically-supportive actions/contributions that either of these companies made, and wanted to read some of the fine print on the back of each package, just in case…

As I held each of the 4-pack containers of AA batteries, I noticed that the Duracell package was almost entirely plastic, with a thin strip of paper just dazzled to no end, to get buyer’s attention. Although nearly the same size as the Duracell package, the Energizer package was mainly paper-based, with a small “compartment” of plastic just large enough to contain the batteries within the paper housing. You might be thinking “where in the heck is Erik going with this?? It’s a little bit of easily-disposable packaging, that takes up the same size for each of the batteries he is considering; plus, it's barely anything.”

That’s true; each container was about the same size. Here’s the kicker :) The Duracell packaging is almost entirely plastic… which is derived from crude oil… which increases our need for off-shore oil drilling, “harvesting” the oil sands in Canada, and demanding more oil from other sources located throughout the world. The little bit of paper in this packaging didn’t mention anything about origins of the paper, or harvesting practices that were taken place in order to produce this little piece of paper. As a whole, the Duracell batteries seemed like most other high-tech products nowadays... sealed in thick layers of fused plastic.

The Energizer package, with nearly-identical product size, had significantly less plastic used. There was just enough plastic to contain the batteries, and hold them together within the paper housing. On the backside of was the SFI logo (Sustainable Forestry Initiative, note in the lower right corner on the back of the packaging). This label ensures that the paper/pulp harvested for making this product was done so in a sustainable manner, and was not harvested from “controversial sources.” There is no perfect world for large-scale harvesting of forests; however it is these organizations and certifications that help ensure we will not instantaneously deplete our forests due to the high-demand for paper. Last spring and summer, I worked on the logging roads, doing bird surveys within the mountainous “tree farms,” as they are known as. Although it would be wonderful to see the large sections of land just left alone, it was very reassuring to see how well the long-term use of forested lands were harvested, then planted, grown, and as a whole, protected.

The link below will take you to more information regarding SFI:

http://www.sfiprogram.org/

Going back to the Duracell vs. Energizer packaging – I am not implying that Energizer is an incredibly “green” company, however during my purchase today, I feel that I made the most ecologically-minded purchase between these two options. The small, un-numbered pieces of plastic in both battery packages cannot be recycled, however the paper can! These four batteries that I purchased today can be charged up to 250 times! Recyclable batteries pay for themselves, especially for people who happen to use batteries on a more frequent basis. Recycling smaller batteries is quite rare, but is slowly becoming more common, mostly in more heavily-populated areas of where we live. If you can reuse/recharge goods, you'll minimize your impact on how much waste is created in the long run!

Sometimes it’s the small things, and the food-for-thought moments, that can lead to a life of raised awareness about what we consume, what we need, and even when considering money; which companies we choose to support via our purchases. Just something to think about until next time! Speaking of which, can you find the deep-in-thought Boreal Chickadee in this photo?

Good birdwatching, and thanks for reading!

Erik

Tail-propping Chickadees in the Winter

It was a brisk, February morning here in Duluth, MN... about 3 days ago actually. I decided to go birdwatching over in Wisconsin and see what winter-dwelling gulls were around. While I was at Wisconsin Point, right along Lake Superior, a group of high-strung Black-capped Chickadees made an appearance, flitting about from seed cluster to seed cluster, just inches above the ground. The wind-chill that morning was dipping down to the -25F to -30F range with the occasional gusts. To say it was humbling to see these little troopers out in the cold was an understatement! They manage to survive these harsh elements, staying warm only by eating, creating warmth as a by-product, and having a fluffy layer of insulation surrounding the outermost entirety.

Upon further viewing of this little flock of 8 chickadees, I noticed that many of them were feeding with the support of their tails touching the ground, almost in a woodpecker-like fashion. The chickadees would cling to the stems/stalks of the grass, pull their legs in (likely to retain heat), and use their tails as a crutch, or brace, to keep them upright as they picked through the bent-over seed pods. This is a behavior that I have never heard of with chickadees, or any birds for that matter. Woodpeckers regularly exhibit a behavior very similar to this, where the birds use the tail as a brace, or support, to keep themselves pressed up against the trees. When they move up the trees, they actually open their feet up to let go of the tree for a split-second, and then pump themselves up the tree with the stiff-shafted tail feathers. Going back to the chickadees, it was sure neat to see these little birds behave in such a manner! Just before writing this, I did a little bit of research to find out if there were any other documented sightings/recorded observations of chickadees tail-propping themselves, and was unable to find any accounts. Have any of you ever seen this?

It is so incredible to see birds coping with the harsh conditions, especially this time of year. Their insulating capabilities are amazing. Especially up here in the Northwoods; having temperatures dip down to the -20's and even -30's some winter nights is expected. On some brisk days in February, the temperature might not peak above -10ºF during the middle of the day! These birds, both big and small, do not have an option, but use their bodies and physiological adaptations to bear through these cold times of the year.Some people may think it's odd when I mention "humbling" as a way of describing my feelings towards birds. The more I learn about birds, the more I am humbled by the lives they lead, and the difficulties they regularly face on a daily basis, and the feats they regularly complete. They don't have groceries stores to shop for a well-balanced diet, they don't have furnaces that create artificial sources of heat, and the idea of having health insurance is not a consideration (nor do I have health insurance either) :-)

It's not just a "something" about birds, its the everything about birds that is amazing, and I'm looking forward to sharing these humbling experiences with you, fellow blog readers!

Thanks for reading my blog!

Good birdwatching,

Erik

Photos of birds in Sax-Zim Bog

Here are a few non-owl photos from the past week while visiting the bog. I hope you enjoy the photos, and in a few moments will share a blog post on the life of a Northern Hawk Owl.

Cheers!
Erik





Hairy Woodpecker











Ruffed Grouse









Sharp-tailed Grouse (very first bird-in-the-bog seen on Saturday's tour! Two were seen together in a large field!)











Boreal Chickadee