A studio for bird study

Tag: video

August 8, 2015

Short-tailed Shearwater

by Bryce W. Robinson

I’ve seen a lot of North America’s birdlife, but there are certain bird groups where my exposure is lacking. One area is birds of the sea, or what we refer to as pelagic species. I haven’t seen many of these birds, particularly those that belong to the order Procellariiformes. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of species from this group that I’ve seen. So understandably I’d be interested in gaining more exposure in any way.

The other day I was birding the western Alaska coastline with my friends Neil Paprocki and Ellen Whittle. We were paying a lot of attention to the sea because we were looking to see puffins and a few loon species. I myself have spent a great deal of time watching the sea from the Alaskan coast, and I’ve never seen anything from the order Procellariiformes. On this day I had a first. We noticed a dark bird floating along the shoreline, maybe 100 m out. After scoping the bird, I knew that it was a Short-tailed Shearwater, a lifer for me and a long awaited bird. I was, to understate it entirely, excited.

The sight raised one thought in my mind, that the bird was obviously ill in some manner. It seemed to be sleepy, unconcerned by our presence, and very near shore (uncommon among these types of birds). So, something was likely wrong with the bird. Still, I took the proper satisfaction from studying the bird and enjoying its subdued behaviors.

I took some video (above) using my Zeiss Victory Diascope 65 F* TL that show the bird at a peak in its activity while we were watching. Notice the bird take a drink at the end of the video. If we drank seawater we’d in effect die of dehydration due to the high salt concentration. But, seabirds can drink saltwater. They excrete the excess salt through their nostrils. Observing this bird drinking the saltwater, and recalling their adaption for surviving life on the ocean was another moment where I saw something in real time that I had read about previously. Such an incredible experience, and behavior birding at its best.

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July 27, 2015

Juvenile Surfbird – Calidris virgata

by Bryce W. Robinson

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June 3, 2015

Singing American Tree Sparrow

by Bryce W. Robinson

I’ve made it a goal to get footage of as many singing birds in western Alaska as possible. I made out one morning in early May to film what was around. Not many birds are in Alaska in early May, but tree sparrows are the early birds in preparing for the breeding season, busy setting up territories. This bird was tirelessly singing, chasing away intruders, and conducting himself in the way any sparrow should in order to be a successful breeder. I took advantage of his focus and took this recording using my Zeiss Diascope.

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April 25, 2015

Short-eared Owl Wing-clap Flight Display

by Bryce W. Robinson

Breeding flight displays in birds are a blend of the bizarre and the fantastic, a show of a birds talent and specialty in communicating it’s unique ability to portray fitness. The Short-eared Owl is no exception, as a low consistent hoot softly settles on the sky, while the bird flies with deep, moth-like wingbeats. Then, as if in suspense, the bird begins to clap its primaries in rapid motion, falling from the sky. After multiple claps and an appreciable loss of altitude the bird spreads its wings and continues its deep wing beats as before. The wing-clap is displayed in seeming desperation, as if the bird is throwing all caution to the wind to produce the most excellent round of claps for onlooking (or listening) females, and intruding males.

I rarely post videos back to back, but I’m making an exception this time because in the same evening I was privy to both Long-billed Curlew and Short-eared Owl flight displays. Both were “on my list” of behaviors to capture on video, and my excitement for capturing both in one evening is too difficult to quell. So I share…

This bird flew tirelessly. For near an hour, the owl flew in the sky performing wing clap after wing clap, all the while letting out a low consistent hooting barely audible to my ears. What a scene, and such a scene that I encourage anyone in the area of breeding Short-eared Owls to search out the chance to observe this behavior in real time. It’s bizarre, but it is at the top of the list for must see in behavior birding, and for good reason.

In the future I’ll be refining my camera skills and upgrading my lens, all in hopes of getting a more clear documentation of this behavior. For better video quality, click through the video link and watch on Vimeo in HD.

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