Birders Rock, version 09.2

From Port Clinton, Ohio, Kenn writes: When we came back from the Antarctic, with a million things to do after a month away, I wasn't that thrilled about the fact that our band had a performance scheduled just over a week later. But as it turned out, our gig last night was a total blast. The band has a new sound system and it inspired us to play our hard-rocking best. Our month without practice seemingly was erased by three intense sessions in the last week, and in fact we were able to add several new songs to the set list. Kim was amazing as always, and no one who heard her soaring vocals would have guessed that she was fighting off the remains of a cold.

Once again, Mango Mama's in Port Clinton was packed for the event. This town provides great support: the mayor was there again, and three county commissioners, and a couple of hundred other people who know how to have a friendly good time.

I was pleased to see that once again, in addition to having a couple of serious birders in the band, there were several out in the crowd -- including long-time friends of ours like Delores, Laura, Hugh, and Judy, and others whom we've just met for the first time, like Linda, Jim, Dave, and Sal. Thanks, fellow birders, for supporting the music. And here's a salute to our friends Julie and Bill, who, with The Swinging Orangutangs, will be rocking the walls off of the Whipple Tavern down in southeastern Ohio on February 13th.

I repeat: Birders Rock!

Antarctica: Day One, Beagle Channel and Magellanic Penguins

From home base in Ohio, Kenn writes: On the afternoon of January 7, after a day of birding around Ushuaia, we boarded the Clipper Adventurer. By about 7 p.m. we were under way, cruising east down the Beagle Channel. That might sound like a specialized offering on cable, but it’s actually a narrow strait of water running through the southern part of Tierra del Fuego. It was named for The Beagle, the ship on which Darwin traveled. Captain FitzRoy of The Beagle was responsible for exploring this waterway at the southern tip of South America during two voyages in the 1820s and 1830s.


During the evening we were mostly admiring the scenery -- just as Darwin did when he arrived here in 1833 -- but of course we were also birding, and people who stayed on deck late enough saw the first penguins of the trip, the first of the eight species that we would encounter. These were distant views of swimming birds, and observers were startled to hear that these mysterious distant "ducks" or "grebes" were really Magellanic Penguins. The photos below were all taken a couple of days later in the Falkland Islands.


The first thing to notice in this close-up portrait is the color of the background: green. The public may think of penguins as birds of the deep-freeze zones, but Magellanic Penguin belongs to the genus Spheniscus, a group of four penguins that are all limited to mild climates. These are Galapagos Penguin on the Equator, Humboldt Penguin in western South America, Jackass Penguin (yeah, that’s one of its official names) in southern Africa, and the Magellanic, which is found all around the southern coasts of South America. The latter has several large colonies in Argentina, and seeing it in the Beagle Channel was no surprise.
The second thing to notice is that the bird has, let’s face it, sort of a slow-witted expression. Penguins aren’t at their best on land anyway, but Magellanics come across as rather dim bulbs.

As we would see on the Falklands a couple of days later, it’s a common thing to see Magellanic Penguins standing around peering at holes in the ground. But they have a good excuse: that’s where they nest. They’ll dig burrows up to six feet deep, laying their eggs in a cavity at the end of the burrow, and tending their young underground until the chicks are large enough to be safe from most predators. Penguins in the Antarctic nest out in the open, but several kinds in the temperate zone are burrow nesters.

Here’s an adult Magellanic Penguin peering out of its burrow. The striking face pattern is a lot less obvious once the bird is in the shadows, and it may serve as disruptive coloration, breaking up the bird’s outline and making it less conspicuous.

Zooming in and overexposing another shot of a penguin in its burrow, we can see a couple of chicks lurking in the background.

And here’s a better look at a slightly larger chick out at the entrance to the nest burrow with one parent bird. The chicks are fed by both parents for at least two months before they molt out of their fluffy down and go out to sea.

This might seem like an odd juxtaposition, but I have to stop writing about baby penguins now because our rock band is performing in a couple of hours. The band has had only three practices in the eight days that Kim and I have been home, and there's a certain adrenaline rush involved in trying get mentally prepared and get back into rock-'n-roll mode. But I'll try to blog more about the Antarctic trip tomorrow.

We interrupt this Antarctic Expedition to bring you an important message

From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kim writes: Just when you thought baby penguin pictures were imminent, I take us off topic to share some really uplifting, inspiring, and hope-inducing news for anyone who cares about the future of birds and birding.

While we haven't talked much about it on the blog (not yet!), Kenn and I devote a large portion of our time to a program called the Ohio Young Birders Club (OYBC). I won't give all the club's nitty gritty here. Just check out the website that's chock-full of information. Ohio Young Birders Club The club is something that Kenn and I helped form about 2 1/2 years ago, with the hope that we could build a community of young birders, and offer them the opportunities and experiences that would foster their interest in birds and nature. The ultimate goal being that some of the students would someday pursue careers in bird and conservation related fields.

Here are a few of my favorite field trip pictures.

Studying Virginia Rails & Soras at the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area, in Holmes & Wayne Counties, Ohio.

This trip was sponsored by Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) and Time & Optics Ltd.

A rainy trip to search for migrants on Kelleys Island, and conduct a service project at the Glacial Grooves, which are totally cool! This trip was sponsored by our partners at Kelleys Island Audubon Club

An intense study of a single Peregrine Falcon spotted at the Funk Bottom Wildlife Area. This trip was sponsored by our partners at Greater Mohican Audubon Society.

I am often searching for ways to evaluate the success of the the program. Grantors always ask for this. Since this is a BSBO program, my Board wants to know. The media wonders. Parents too. The nature of our program makes success somewhat challenging to assess. We can cite membership figures: For example, currently, more than 100 young people are members of the club. But in the last few days, I received some information that offers perhaps the ultimate measure of our success.

I recently received three separate requests from OYBC members to include me and Kenn as references for jobs. Of course we agreed. A few days ago I received an e-mail from a researcher in Barrow, Alaska. He's studying the breeding ecology of shorebirds on the Arctic Tundra this summer, and one of our OYBC members applied for a position on the team. He was impressed by the young man's application and was following up on his references.

Yesterday I received an e-mail from a graduate student at the University of Kentucky studying the role of genetics and male phenotype in mate choice and success in Dickcissels. One of our OYBC members who will graduate from high school this year had applied for a position with her team. Impressed with the application, she was following up with a series of questions about the applicant.

And, finally, in today's mail I received a scholarship recommendation form from a foundation that one of our recently graduated OYBC members had applied to. She is planning to conduct a research project on breeding bird ecology at a large scout camp in Northern Ohio and applied for a scholarship.

I am in no way suggesting that the OYBC is solely responsible for helping to develop this level of interest in these young people. The OYBC is but a single spoke in a very impressive wheel that Ohio spins beautifully. With a thriving birding community that embraces young people, represented by the very supportive and dynamic Ohio Ornithological Society, more than 20 partnering organizations across the state of Ohio that support the OYBC, and, perhaps most importantly, some of the most impressive parents I have ever met, we will continue to encourage, educate, and empower our future conservation leaders.

The OYBC is having a major impact beyond Ohio's borders. To date, we have assisted New York, Illinois, Florida, Connecticut, Georgia, and Oklahoma in forming their own versions of the OYBC. Several other states have inquired about launching clubs too, and many are in the beginning stages of forming clubs for young people based on the success of the OYBC.

I encourage you to visit the OYBC website, and please pay special attention to the fact that adults are encouraged to join as adult supporting members for just $10 a year. For this small donation, you will receive our club's excellent newsletter (filled with articles, trip reports, artwork, and essays..all written by young birders), and help to support this very important program.

Thanks for being patient about penguin photos. I promise to make it up to you with tons of pics SOON!

Maldives Vacation

When I was in Maldives for holidays, I wasn’t shock by those beautiful beaches and ocean but I was shock that there were actually people playing badminton in Maldives.

Elsewhere, I posted that, in the Maldives, the locals don't play badminton. How wrong I was. I should have made it clear that the locals don't play badminton 'in the resorts'... and that's only because the few courts they have are reserved for the guests.

The Maldives has a small but active badminton community. This is centred on Male (maa-lay) - the capital island. There are no resorts on this island - and the resident population is almost fully Maldivian. To play here, you need to sign up for an annual membership. This costs two photographs (keep them handy) and MVR 650 (USD 51). This gets you a laminated photo-identity card but, well, it takes a few days. (Life in the Maldives is slow-paced... and such delays are normal). Meanwhile, you can gain entry by flashing your receipt at the gates.

Remember to bring (or buy) shuttles and your choice of drink.There are no vending machines around - and you'd have to walk some distance to get soft drinks or bottled water. The locals use 77 speed RSL shuttles - they are cheap and bad. It's very difficult to persuade them to use Yonex or ProAce or other brands. Just remember to hit your clears more gently - else, it's out every time!The national team trains here (they are now away at the ABC) and all the ex-national players who haven't yet migrated elsewhere play here in the evenings (except on Friday, which is the weekly holiday). A few of them are very very good - fast, sharp and powerful - and Moosa, their best player, is quite an exceptional player.

Around a dozen women too turn up regularly - although they usually play among themselves, a few are good enough to play a good game of mixed doubles

The Maldives has now in place a programme that aims to build quality teams in football, basketball (yes, they do have quite a few very tall players) and badminton. In fact, they beat India in the South Asian Federation Games recently. (Although Indian football is no big deal in global terms, it is big in the region.)

Antarctica: Day One, Pre-trip Birding in Ushuaia

From home base in Ohio, Kim and Kenn write: In terms of overall bird diversity, there tend to be fewer species as you go from the Equator toward the poles, and fewer species on islands than on equivalent mainland areas. Because of these basic trends, a trip to islands of the Antarctic region won't produce a huge list of bird species ... huge numbers of individuals, yes, and fascinating creatures to watch, but not a huge amount of variety. So birders headed for the Antarctic usually take advantage of South American stopovers to add more birds to their total trip lists.

We've already written about some of the birds we saw around Buenos Aires, and we saw more on the official pre-trip to Otamendi on January 5, but things really got underway on January 7th in Ushuaia. This city, located on the Beagle Channel in southernmost Argentina, prides itself on being at the "end of the Earth" -- or "Fin Del Mundo," as the signs say on the edge of town. Ushuaia has become a major stopover point for tourists, as almost all the cruises going to Antarctica make their turnarounds here.

Here's a distant view of the harbor at Ushuaia with a few of the cruise ships tied up at the dock. But on this day we took most of the group (from Victor Emanuel Nature Tours) out to the Tierra Del Fuego National Park to see some of the specialty birds of South America's southern tip.

Here's part of our group birding the edge of the marsh in

Tierra Del Fuego National Park.

Our friend, your friend, heck, it's everybody's friend, the Rufous-collared Sparrow.

We've seen these birds all over South America, but the ones here in the extreme south are slightly different, with a plainer gray look to the head. Plainer, yes. But, still kinda cute.

The local American Robin look alike--the Austral Thrush. Kim loves the name of this bird. This is obviously a juvenile, all decked out and bedazzled with spots galore.

One of many species of caracara (which is a really fun word to type, btw) the Chimango Caracara was the first life bird for Kim in Argentina, spotted from the plane as we landed in Buenos Aires back on January 1st.

The act is getting classier. This beautiful bird is the Patagonian Sierra-Finch. It was all over the National Park, frequenting camp sites, looking for scraps left behind by campers. It reminded Kim of a Mourning Warbler at first glance.

This bird was, without a doubt, a highlight for everyone in the group! The Magellanic Woodpecker is a glorious looking bird. In the genus Campephilus (yes, the same genus as the Ivory-billed) one thing that's particularly fun about this species is that the female is the really gorgeous one in the pair. She sports this amazing top-knot with a forward-curving crest of slightly curled feathers. The photo is of the male, but we had stunning looks at the female too. A hell of a time for one's camera battery to go dead. Wouldn't you say?! [Kim's screams of frustration echo through the night...]

On the way back into town we stopped the bus in the middle of the street to enjoy watching a small group of Austral Parakeets. Clambering about and performing impressive acrobatic manuevers among the branches of the Southern Beech Trees, they were a blast to watch. Even if we had to perform our own acrobatic manuevers in the bus seats to get in position to take this photo.

Back into Ushuaia, we birded a series of ponds and coastal lagoons on the edge of the city. This Crested Duck was one of several species of waterfowl that we saw.

The lovely Dolphin Gulls were a nice change of pace from looking at Ohio's rather drab and homely Ring-bills and Herring Gulls. [Kim's thought...Kenn asks for a disclaimer here.] Not quite as sharp as Heermann's Gulls, but close.

You are one day closer to BABY PENGUIN PICTURES!

Antarctica: Outline of the trip

From home base in Ohio, Kenn writes: We traveled to the Antarctic on board the Clipper Adventurer from January 7 to 25, 2009, on a birding and wildlife expedition sponsored by Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. Before and after the voyage we were in Argentina, starting in the capital city of Buenos Aires and joining the ship in the southern outpost city of Ushuaia. The map below will help to put these points in a world perspective.

Points for reference: 1. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2. Ushuaia, Argentina. 3. Antarctic Peninsula.

The vast majority of expedition cruises to Antarctica go from South America to the Antarctic Peninsula, and the map shows why. South America extends much farther south than Africa or Australia, and the Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost point of the white continent, so the crossing is feasible for many kinds of ships. There are also some expedition cruises that go south from New Zealand and take in the subantarctic islands of that country, and a few cruises that go south through the bird-rich waters of South Africa to the continent's edge, and we would like to try those routes eventually. But so far, all five of my trips have originated in South America.

Most world maps (like the one above) show Antarctica as an ill-defined mass along the lower edge, so it's hard for most people to get an idea of the continent's size. Antarctica is huge -- near the size of Australia and Europe combined. It is roughly centered on the South Pole, and the interior of the continent is the coldest region on earth. We confess that, as naturalists, we're not very interested in visiting the South Pole; nothing lives there except a few dedicated scientists. Remarkably, the South Polar Skua has occurred there as a stray, having flown many hundreds of miles across lifeless ice and rock, but we'd rather watch birds like this out at the Antarctic coastline where they belong.

The majority of expedition cruises from Ushuia go straight across the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula and back. But our trip was focused on birds and wildlife, so we took the longer route northeast to the Falkland Islands, farther east to remote South Georgia Island, then southwest to the Antarctic Peninsula and back north across the Drake Passage. On the voyage we spent eight full days at sea (enjoying fabulous seabirds, whales, and dolphins), and during the other ten days we made landings at no fewer than 18 sites. This was Kim's first trip to the region and I can say without hesitation that it was my best trip ever. In subsequent posts we'll be describing the experiences of the voyage in detail.

UMN0 stops Pork in Sabah

Recently I found that it’s very hard to get pork in Labuan and my cousin who lives in Labuan told me it has been 2 months since they ban the selling of pork in Labuan open market.

Everyone in labuan are feeling the pain without pork and pork seller has to sell their meat like network marketing and later it might be sell like drugs.

Why did UMN0 want to change a rule that has been going on for long time without problem? Pork use to be sold side by side with other poultry and fish at wet market.

Now, Food stall licenses are only issue to Muslim entrepreneurs and most school canteen is Muslim operated now.

For me, this is part of divide and rule tactic by the evil UMNO.

In Sabah, non Muslim and Muslim can eat and drink in any kedai kopi but after evil UMNO came in, you hardly see the Muslim eat and drink in non Muslim shop except got the HALAL certificate.

Please don't easily fell into evil UMNO trap. Sabahan must unit to kick the evil UMNO out from Sabah.

Why do the governments need to classify Bumiputra into Muslim Bumiputra and Non-Muslim bumiputra. Soon I think they will start classifying Malaysian into two categories.

Pork eating races
No pork eating races

UMNO is really a pariah party they will politicize everything, even pork. Sabahan Muslim doesn’t really care about pig farming and pork selling before the arrival of UMNO.

If the Sabah moslem population increased (illegal muslim immigrants obtained MYCARD, Pakistan, Bugis, Pinoy Suluk, Pinoy Bajau, Java, Mamak, Palestine), the evil UMNO will implement other stupid Islamic law again for example the Christian cannot use BAHASA MALAYSIA bible in church or ALLAH word in Christian bible. MAZU case in kudat is another very good example where you cannot build a MAZU close to their mosque. It is totally DISRESPECTFUL to other religion.

The more I wrote, the more I hate this evil UMNO. We just pray that GOD is so merciful to Sabahan and cast the evil UMNO out from our land.

What ever they say, Sinalau bakas, Sasau, Tonsom Babi, Pau Babi are the best food in the world.

The only way to slove the pork problem in Sabah is to make Pork HALAL! Everybody can eat pork!