HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ditch@prefect.uucp (26217-ditch)
Subject: Re: Cape May info wanted
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: nj
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 15:08:19 GMT

In article <1992Sep28.175808.12881@cbnewsm.cb.att.com> ka1gt@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (robert.m.atkins) writes:
>I would like to get some info on birding at Cape May. Specifically answers
>to such questions as:
>1 - The best times to visit, during October. Is it better to visit duing
>the week, rather than at weekends to avoid crowds. Dawn vs. Dusk vs daytime
>observations. Are any particular weather conditions likely to increase the
>number of birds present?
>2 - Is "Cape May" just one site, or are there many viewing areas. Are there
>blinds, or is all viewing done out in the open? Is a 500mm lens long enough
>to get respectable photos of at least some of the species present?
>3 - Is there any low cost lodging in the area, or perhaps up around
>Wildwood, in October, or do most of the motels shut down after the summer
>season?
>
>I realise these are somewhat sweeping questions, but I'd like to plan a
>visit to Cape May with friends sometime next month and any info on the area
>would be very welcome. I restricted distribution on this message to NJ, so
>appologies for wasted bandwidth if it gets out further!
>
>===============================================================
>Bob Atkins  AT&T Bell Labs  email (direct)  att!clockwise!rma
>===============================================================


Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: kathe@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (katherine.e.fagan)
Subject: Re: Cleaning a bird bath
Organization: AT&T
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 23:05:31 GMT

Frank O'Donnell writes:
>Is there a particularly good way to clean a bird bath?
>

I only get around to reading this group about once a week, so
sorry for the delayed answer.  I bought a scrub brush at the
hardware store and just scrub away...no chemicals involved.
I've found that the best brush has long bristles that angle
out from the brush's base (that is, they're not perpendicular
to the base).  That way, you can get into the "bends" of the 
birdbath easily.  I've been told that birds like a clean bath,
so I try to give it a scrub at least once a week.  That also keeps
the slime from building up!

Concerning birdbaths : last week I had an unusual (for me) visitor.
I watched a Brown Thrasher (sorry no latin name) for about 15
minutes as it sat and drank from the bath.  It would sit and look
alert for about 5 seconds, then take a drink, then repeat.  I have
no problem with that behavior, but it seemed like 15 minutes was
a long time.  Not only that, but it was back for another drinking
spell at lunch time.  Who knows how often it stopped by while I
was at work? :-)  Was it might thirsty?  Ill?  Normal?  Just
wondering.

Kathy
kef@alux2.att.com
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: drintoul@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (David A Rintoul)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Are you having a late, slow migration?
Date: 1 Oct 1992 21:32:59 -0500
Organization: Kansas State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: matt.ksu.ksu.edu

Here on the eastern edge of the Great Plains I would say that things
are mostly normal, maybe a bit slower than usual, but not remarkably
so.  We still have a few nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) and chimney
swifts (Chaetura pelagica) around; I don't recall seeing them in
October too many times before.  But the warbler migration is about on
time, and sparrow migration has just started (also just about on
time).  Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) are still here, and many
green-winged teal (Anas crecca) and blue-winged teal (Anas discors)
are here, but numbers of both ducks are beginning to diminish right on
schedule.  The most notable bird here right now (in terms of numbers)
is the Franklin's Gull (Larus pipixcan).  Huge flocks of these are
over every field, prairie, parking lot, and following every tractor
in eastern KS.  And not a Sabine's gull (Xema sabini) among 'em
so far.....
-- 
Dave Rintoul            Internet: drintoul@matt.ksu.ksu.edu
Biology Division - KSU     Latitude 39.18, Longitude -96.34
Manhattan KS 66506-4901                         TCN: id2418
(913)-532-5832 or 6663                  FAX: (913)-532-6653
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Cleaning a bird bath
From: bmann@desire.wright.edu
Date: 29 Sep 92 16:57:17 EST
Organization: Wright State University 

My favorite bird bath scrubber is one of those little sponges wrapped in
plastic netting - the ones that are designed for cleaning Teflon-coated
skillets and such.  They are really good at removing slime and gunk, but
don't scratch the surface.  No chemicals.  I've also used sand and/or
dirt in a pinch and it also works pretty well (another poster has already
mentionned this, I think).  

Barbara Mann, Dept. of Math & Stat, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
bmann@desire.wright.edu
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: toby@milton.u.washington.edu (Toby Bradshaw)
Subject: Re: Trapping wild birds  Was: Re: raptor trapping season...
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 20:50:17 GMT

In article <3718@eastman.UUCP> lrxi00@icts01.Kodak.COM (James Nonnemacher) writes:
>Pardon my ignorance on this subject, but I thought you needed a license
>from the FEDS and your state to trap wild, especially migratory birds. I
>also thought any birds of prey used in falconing came from
>captive bred stock.

Lots of falconry birds are captive bred.  All species listed as endangered,
like peregrines, must be captive bred to be possessed by falconers.
For species with healthy wild populations, trapping of wild hawks
or taking young from the nest is permitted, regulated at the state
and federal levels.  In Washigton State, for example, we can't take
wild Ferruginous Hawks (B. regalis, if I remember right), but can get 
a permit from Wyoming to trap or take one there.

It's interesting that captive breeding of peregrines has become
so successful and widespread that hardly anybody hunts with
prairie falcons (F. mexicanus), despite the fact that they
are common in much of western N.A.  Most falconers wanting
to hunt with the big falcons are flying peregrines, gyrs,
or some kind of hybrid.  Captive-bred peregrines cost about
the same as a Harris' Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), in the
$500 range and up.

Toby Bradshaw
Department of Biochemistry and College of Forest Resources
University of Washington, Seattle
toby@u.washington.edu

Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: andrewt@watson.ibm.com (Andrew Taylor)
Subject: Peregrines
Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1992 15:03:52 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <1992Sep28.144732.17017@u.washington.edu> toby@milton.u.washington.edu (Toby Bradshaw) writes:
>The highest density of breeding peregrines is supposed to
>be in the British Isles, but I don't know how the absolute
>numbers of peregrines are distributed by country.

I've seen estimates suggesting 40+% of the world's Peregrines are in Australia.
I can't remember the actual number and even if the Australian estimate
is sound, given peregrines range, a global estimate must be dubious.
I'm back home for a visit next week, I'll try to find details of
the ground-nesting records and population estimates.

I think it is more likely that the Peregrines on the Pallisades happened to
consume prey less-affected by DDT than that had some genetic resistance to it 
as Joe Morlan suggests. I believe the Peregrines on the Tappan Zee bridge,
not far from the Pallisades, take mainly Flickers and Blue Jays.

Although the number of Peregrines living in cities is growing the US,
I'm not convinced that these city populations are sustainable. It seems
a hostile environment with a variety of poisons and pollutants (some
cumulative) and many dangerous obstacles for young birds such as power lines.

Are city populations supplied from other areas or will eventually every
city have dozens of Peregrine pairs?

Andrew Taylor
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: ditch@prefect.uucp (26217-ditch)
Subject: Re: Eurasian Widgeon in Bay Area?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: ba
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 92 13:10:01 GMT

In article <1actn0INNj1c@early-bird.think.com> sandee@Think.COM (Daan Sandee) writes:
>In article <1992Sep30.181532.11560@adobe.com>, jfinger@adobe.com (Jeff Finger) writes:
>
>|> Around sunset I was walking in Shoreline Park (Mountain View) next to
>|> the water by the pumphouse near the entrance at San Antonio Road and
>|> Terminal. Along with American Widgeons, I saw what I believe to be
>|> several Eurasian Widgeons --- the only duck in my bird book (Golden
>|> Nature Guide) whose color scheme seemed to match. Particularly
>|> distinctive was the yellow stripe extending over the top of its head
>|> from its bluish bill.
>|> 
>|> Is this reasonable?
>
>Yes. Eurasian Wigeon is rare but regular, the most likely place in the lower
>48 states to see it is in the Bay Area in fall. (The yellow crown stripe is
>not diagnostic. Am. Wigeon may also have a yellow crown, and a blueish bill.
>But if you see them side by side, they are obviously different - E.W. has
>brown cheeks, gray flanks ; A.W. had gray cheeks, brown flanks. Also, A.W.
>is obviously bigger.) Congratulations.
>
>Daan Sandee                                           sandee@think.com
>Thinking Machines Corporation
>Cambridge, Mass 02142                                 (617) 234-5044

I don't know how common it is to see Eurasian wigeon in the SF Bay Area,
but I'd be surprised to find it in numbers at any one spot in the lower
48 states.  It is regular in coastal NJ; I can count on at least one
bird somewhere in Monmouth County each winter.  They also occur at
Brigantine refuge, Cape May, and other scattered locations.  The most
I've ever seen at one time is 4 drakes near the Manasquan River in NJ.

Daan, what is your basis for stating that the SF Bay Area is the best
place in the lower 48 states for this bird in fall?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| Richard Ditch, in the New Jersey "Wilderness"    Voice: 908-758-2284  |
| Bellcore, Room 1F416, 331 Newman Springs Rd, Red Bank, NJ 07701-7050  |
|=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|
| Unix: prefect!ditch     |     INTERNET: ditch@prefect.cc.bellcore.com |
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: toby@carson.u.washington.edu (Toby Bradshaw)
Subject: Re: Peregrine Diet
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 15:02:56 GMT

In article <718096044.1@wyrm.rbbs-net.ORG> Joe.Morlan@f501.n914.z8.rbbs-net.ORG (Joe Morlan) writes:
>
>      ***** On 09-28-1992, Toby Bradshaw wrote to All *****
>
>TB> I doubt there are any breeding records for NJ peregrines.
>
>Formerly one of the largest concentrations of breeding Peregrines
>was along the Palisades of the Hudson River, mostly in the New
>Jersey section.

Interesting.  I stand corrected.

>These populations were wiped out in the 1950's primarily by
>falconers who continually took the young from nests that were
>productive despite DDT contamination.  If it were not for
>unscrupulous falconers, we might have had a healthy wild
>population that would have been resistant to DDT.

Anything's possible, but "DDT-resistant population"?  I
don't think so.  The heritability of "resistance" to
DDT is unknown, and the selection intensity is unknown,
too.  Both these factors must be known to calculate the
genetic gain in "resistance".  I'd like to see a 
citation for any evidence that there is even genetic
variation among peregrines for "resistance".  Can
you provide one?

>For further information see:
>
>Hicky, J. J., ed. 1969 _Peregrine falcon populations: Their
>biology and decline._  Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin
>Press.

Isn't it Hickey?  It's been awhile since I read it.

Re: a discussion on ground-nesting peregrines with Andrew
Taylor:  I saw a coffee-table book on peregrines in the
bookstore the other day and it mentioned bog-nesting
peregrines in Finland.

Toby Bradshaw
Department of Biochemistry and College of Forest Resources
University of Washington, Seattle
toby@u.washington.edu



Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: andrewt@watson.ibm.com (Andrew Taylor)
Subject: Re: Peregrine Diet
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 03:45:15 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <1992Sep27.202910.4380@u.washington.edu>
toby@milton.u.washington.edu (Toby Bradshaw) writes:
>I'll bet there is no record of ground-nesting in peregrines south
>of the high arctic, and very few from there.  Provide some reference
>for your statement, please.

The records I've seen come from inland Australia where cliffs can be scarce and
a significant fraction of the world's Peregrines live. My library is at
home in Australia, so I can't provide a specific reference.  If Peregrines
did formerly breed near Brigantine I would expect they used abandoned nests,
perhaps of Ospreys.

>Ask U.S. posters how many peregrines were working the marshes
>at Brigantine in summer prior to peregrine reintroductions.

Actually I was hoping knowledgeable rec.birder would post the historical
Peregrine breeding records (if any) for New Jersey. While I'm asking
maybe someone can answer two more questions. Did the decline of Peregrine's
in the NE US begin with DDT in the 40s or did it start earlier. Also which
subspecies were used in the captive breeding program?

Andrew Taylor
Newsgroups: rec.birds,alt.activism,sci.bio
From: rglaeser@sparc5.cs.uiuc.edu (Russ Glaeser)
Subject: Re: Ban on Tropical Parrot, Other Wild Bird Imports Passes Congress
Reply-To: rglaeser@uiuc.edu
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 17:44:57 GMT

So where can we get a copy of the final bill?

-- 
Russ Glaeser
rglaeser@uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: rice@dg-rtp.dg.com (Brian Rice)
Subject: Some vintage bird names
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 23:41:27 GMT
Reply-To: rice@dg-rtp.dg.com (Brian Rice)
Organization: Data General Corporation, RTP, NC.
Followup-To: rec.birds

I came across an old dictionary (The Winston Dictionary, 1952 ed.)
with a color plate showing several North American birds and their 
common names.  The names given for several birds were interestingly 
different from their current names.  This inspired me to look at some 
old bird books the next time I was at the library; I found another few
interesting now-disused names.

Here's the list of old names I found (the list with new names follows):

Old name
------------------
Carolina cuckoo
Cedar bird
Pearl's egret heron
Blue yellow-backed warbler
Carolina turtle dove
Bull-bat

Here's the list with the current and Linnaean names added:


Old name                   Present name            Linnaean name
------------------         ----------------------  -------------------
Carolina cuckoo            Yellow-billed cuckoo    Coccyzus americanus
Cedar bird                 Cedar waxwing           Bombycilla cedrorum
Pearl's egret heron        Great blue heron        Ardea herodias
                              ("Great White Heron" subspecies)
Blue yellow-backed warbler Northern parula         Parula americana
Carolina turtle dove       Mourning dove           Zenaida macroura
Bull-bat                   Common nighthawk        Chordeiles minor

(Of course, there was also the following, which I include just for
the sake of completeness.

Baltimore oriole           Northern oriole         Icterus galbula)

I'd be interested in knowing of other old bird names.

--
Brian Rice   rice@dg-rtp.dg.com   +1 919 248-6328
DG/UX Software Quality Assurance
Data General Corp., Research Triangle Park, N.C.    
"Do not dispose of me in the sink."  --Matt Welsh
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: klapper@krypton.cs.umanitoba.ca (Andrew Klapper)
Subject: Request for info on Australian birding sites
Organization: Computer Science Dept., University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 15:38:29 GMT

I am hoping to make a trip to Australia this winter (if a paper gets into
a conference) and would like info on prime birding locations.  This will
be my first trip to Australia.  The conference is at Somerset College,
Mudgeeraba, "situated in the Gold Coast hinterland," so I'd like to know
about prime spots nearby.  Dates of the conference are Dec. 13 to Dec. 16, 
and I plan to spend a week or so afterward birding.  Thanks for any info.

Andy Klapper
Dept. of Computer Science
University of Manitoba
klapper@cs.umanitoba.ca

PS I was delighted to see my first Sora last week - on a pond in a city
park in Winnipeg.  Very shy!

Xref: sparky rec.birds:1656 rec.photo:17078
From: andrewt@watson.ibm.com (Andrew Taylor)
Subject: Re: Should I keep feeding birds?
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 15:51:47 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <1992Sep26.153118.20705@fid.morgan.com> joec@fid.morgan.com
(Joe Collins) writes:
>I have been told that its too late and they will not leave and that
>I must continue feeding all winter or they will starve.

In the last few weeks ago I saw a research on Chickadees mentioned.
Researchers examined the effects of withdrawal of feeding on a population
which had been fed for several years. They fared as well through the
winter as a group which had never been fed.

I can't recall where I saw this, maybe someone else can report the research
more accurately. Obviously the results may not apply to other species fed.

Andrew
From: riutto@ee.tut.fi (Ari Riutto)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: program for bird sightings
Keywords: Program, Birds
Date: 1 Oct 92 17:34:28 GMT
Distribution: eunet
Organization: Tampere University of Technology
Originator: riutto@uikku.ee.tut.fi


Hi,
Could anyone tell, if there are any public domain programs for bird
sightings. If so; could it be ppossible to get them via anonymous ftb?

grateful:  Ari Riutto
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: tony@zoo.toronto.edu (Anthony L. Lang)
Subject: Old bird names
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 18:28:27 GMT
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology

>I came across an old dictionary (The Winston Dictionary, 1952 ed.)
>with a color plate showing several North American birds and their 
>common names.  The names given for several birds were interestingly 
>different from their current names.  This inspired me to look at some 
>old bird books the next time I was at the library; I found another few
>interesting now-disused names...
>
>I'd be interested in knowing of other old bird names.
>
>--
>Brian Rice   rice@dg-rtp.dg.com   +1 919 248-6328
>DG/UX Software Quality Assurance
>Data General Corp., Research Triangle Park, N.C.    
>"Do not dispose of me in the sink."  --Matt Welsh
>
A good source of old bird names is:

Banks, R.C., 1988. Obsolete English names of North American birds
	and their modern equilavents. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
	Resource Publ. 174.

This (and other USFWS publications) is available free from:

Publications Unit,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
1849 C St., N.W., 
Mail Stop 130 - ARLSQ,
Washington, D.C.
U.S.A.
20240

Some old names and their current names (from this publication)
are as follows:

bog-pumper            American Bittern     Botaurus lentiginosus
bogsucker             American Woodcock    Scolopax minor
bullbat               Common Nighthawk     Chordeiles minor
scolopaceous courlan  Limpkin              Aramus guarana
fly-up-the-creek      Green-backed Heron   Butorides striatus
log-cock              Pileated Woodpecker  Dryocopus pileatus
bee martin            Eastern Kingbird     Tyrannus tyrannus
nonpariel             Painted Bunting      Passerina ciris
ortolan               Sora                 Porzana carolina
oxeye                 Least or             Calidris minutilla
                      Semipalmated         C. pusillus
                        Sandpiper      
purre                 Dunlin               C. alpina
rain crow             Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
       (still in colloquial use)
south-southerly       Oldsquaw             Clangula hyemalis
tell-tale             Greater Yellowlegs   Tringa melanoeuca
thistle-bird          American Goldfinch   Carduelis tristis
twixt-hell-and-the-white-oak  Chuck-will's Widow  Caprimulgis 
                                                   carolinensis

A lot of the names included in the publication are names
of birds that are now considered subspecies or morphs of
other species.
Incidentally, I wouldn't be surprised if the name Oldsquaw
soon becomes obselete, as the term squaw is offensive to
people from first nations.
-- 
Anthony Lang
Dept. of Zoology, Univ. of Toronto
tony@zoo.utoronto.ca
From: toby@milton.u.washington.edu (Toby Bradshaw)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Peregrine Diet
Date: 27 Sep 92 20:29:10 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Sep27.202910.4380
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

In article <1992Sep26.152911.41759@watson.ibm.com> andrewt@watson.ibm.com (Andrew Taylor) writes:
>In article <1992Sep26.002147.8859@u.washington.edu>
>toby@milton.u.washington.edu (Toby Bradshaw) writes:
>>Marsh nesting birds are generally not preyed upon by wild
>>peregrines in natural habitats.  Certainly Brigantine's
>>avifauna never had such a predator in summer.
>
>The first statements is nonsense. An old name for Peregrines was Duck Huck.

Nice assonance.  Duck Hawk, right?
I meant that North american peregrines don't always nest near
marshes.  Of course they eat marsh-dwelling birds in winter,
and some have such prey available in summer.  Not all peregrines
eat ducks, and not all ducks nest in marshes.  Here in NA, the anatum
race of peregrines often nest on cliffs far from marshes.  The Peale's
peregrine lives on seabirds.  The tundrius race, as might be
surmised, nests in the high arctic, and eat lots of passerines.
Peregrines, being widely distributed and opportunistic, eat
what they can catch wherever they are.  Often, prey items
are marsh nesters.  More often, at least at the peregrine eyries
I've seen, the prey are not marsh nesters. In winter, of course,
cliffs (or manmade surrogates) are not required elements of the
habitat and the prey items may be more diverse.

>Some Australian Peregrines take almost exclusively marsh birds such as Coots
>and Grebes. I know little of US birds but my National Geo. field guide says
>"Peregrines inhabit open wetlands near cliffs; prey chiefly on ducks,
>shorebirds, seabirds". The illustration shows a Peregrine sitting on a
>Green-Winged Teal (which I've seen a Peregrine attempt to take).

I've seen peregrines catch anything from blue jays to sage grouse
to willets to mallards.  They're not fussy when they're hungry.
Ask U.S. posters how many peregrines were working the marshes
at Brigantine in summer prior to peregrine reintroductions.

>Peregrines much prefer to nest on cliffs (which, from memory, Brigantine
>doesn't have nearby) but they will use other sites, even nesting on the ground.

I'll bet there is no record of ground-nesting in peregrines south
of the high arctic, and very few from there.  Provide some reference
for your statement, please.

>An area as rich in prey as Brigantine is where I would expect to find
>Peregrines adopting less-favoured nest sites. Why wouldn't non-breeding birds
>formerly have spent summer at Brigantine?

Peregrines, and other hawks, don't choose nest sites based only
on prey density, else every major city in North America would have
them feeding on pigeons.  Prior to peregrine reintroductions into
cities, only a few cities had them as nesting birds.  Why don't
peregrines breed in south Louisiana?  Why don't merlins breed in
Florida?

Toby Bradshaw
Department of Biochemistry and College of Forest Resources
University of Washington, Seattle
toby@u.washington.edu
Newsgroups: rec.birds