The Blue Bird

The lake lay blue below the hill.
O'er it, as I looked, there flew
Across the waters, cold and still,
A bird whose wings were palest blue.

The sky above was blue at last,
The sky beneath me blue in blue.
A moment, ere the bird had passed,
It caught his image as he flew.

--- Mary E. Coleridge

Arboretum Walk

Yesterday morning I met with a friend for a walk in the National Arboretum. It was a quiet morning, with less human activity than usual until the day warmed significantly. The birds were out, though, in good numbers. We covered my usual circuit to the Anacostia and back, with a detour through the Azalea Gardens.

The biggest surprise of the day was an eastern meadowlark near the Capitol columns. I had heard of meadowlark sightings there before, but I had never actually seen one at the Arboretum. It rose up out of the grass and flew to perch in a shrub as we walked a path through the meadow. It had its back to us, so the yellow and black breast was not visible, but the shape and white tail feathers gave away its identity.

At the river we had several common mergansers and a gadwall, plus some of the usual suspects. A belted kingfisher cruised along the river. One red-tailed hawk flushed from the trees in the meadow at the south end of the trail.

Eastern phoebes were still around - and still finding insect food - despite last week's cold snap. A hermit thrush foraged in the underbrush on one of the Azalea Garden trails.

SPECIES SEEN: 32

Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Common Merganser
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Carolina Wren
Northern Mockingbird
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
European Starling
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Meadowlark
American Goldfinch

Loose Feathers #83

News and links about birds, birding, and the environment

• At least 600 birds have died and many more have been contaminated as the result of an oil spill from a ship that was run ashore near Devon, UK. The ship was grounded deliberately following damage from a storm. Wildlife agencies are still looking for birds affected by the spill.
  
• A study by Wetlands International showed that waterbirds continue to decline. Of 878 species studied, 44% has significant reductions in population since 2002. The major area of concern right now is Asia, where economic growth has led to increased urban sprawl and reclamation of wetlands. In other cases, Asian wetlands are threatened by pollution.
  
• Over the past year, 71,000 waterbirds have been tested for highly pathogenic avian influenza in North America, but so far no positive cases have been identified.
• Cuyahoga County in Ohio plans to build 4-10 wind turbines about three miles from the shore. The plan is raising questions regarding whether these turbines will be safe for birds. One issue will be whether deaths at an open-water site can be monitored.
• The Pennsylvania Game Commission is studying migration routes of golden eagles through the state to determine the best way to avoid collisions between those birds and wind turbines.
  
• Here are some tips for feeding birds in winter. It covers different types of food and feeders.
• Eagles at Blackwater NWR have laid an egg and are incubating it. Here is the live webcam.
  
• BirdLife and Nature Iraq collaborated to produce a field guide for the birds of Iraq. The guide features 387 species and is the first comprehensive field guide in Arabic. (Via Wildbird)
• A hunter in Florida shot a duck, but somehow it survived both the shooting and two days in the refrigerator. Now it is recovering in an animal hospital.
  
• Ski trails, especially in forested areas, tend to reduce bird diversity.
  
• A Houston homeowner was caught raising about 100 birds for cockfighting.
• Bats fly more efficiently than birds because their wings are flexible and produce more lift and maneuverability.
  

Carnivals

• Friday Ark #123
  

Tunnel Graffito

It is not a boxcar, but Aydin ought to appreciate this.

Noted on the west end of the Paw Paw Tunnel.

I and the Bird #41

I and the Bird has gone Down Under again to be hosted by A Snail's Eye View. Snail introduces us to an early guide to Australian birds, What Bird Is That? by Neville Cayley. Go visit I and the Bird #41 for the best in recent bird-blogging.