HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: celarier@reed.edu (Stuart Celarier)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Advice sought on Florida birding in February
Date: 22 Dec 92 22:36:30 GMT
Article-I.D.: reed.1992Dec22.223630.8499
Organization: Reed College, Portland, OR


Work is sending me to Orlando (I'll fly in and out of there), and I want to  
spend a week from February 10 to 17 focused on birding in Florida.  I am  
seeking ideas, suggestions advice and tips.  Where are the HOT SPOTS?  Where  
should I spend the most time?  What are the best routes to drive from one to  
the next?

What changes might I expect from the hurricane?  Changes in wildlife?  Any  
areas or facilities that might be still closed?

My ideas so far are to visit Merritt Isalnd NWR, Locahatchee NWR, Corkscrew  
Swamp Sanctuary, Sanibel Island, and "Ding" Darling NWR.  What about Big  
Cypress Swamp...after the hurricane?

I just got Lane's 1989 Birder's Guide to Florida.

THANK YOU!
Anya
--
Anya Averill
c/o Stuart Celarier
celarier@reed.edu
503/331-1877
From: Joe.Morlan@f20.n125.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Joe Morlan)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Status of "Oregon" Junco
Date: Sun, 03 Jan 93 10:31:00 PST
Organization: FidoNet node 1:125/20 - SeaHunt BBS, San Francisco CA

       ***** On 12-31-1992, Ed Matthews wrote to All *****

EM> On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (24 and 25 December)
EM> there was a prototypical female "Oregon" Junco at my feeder
EM> in Virginia.

Great care must be taken to distinguish "pure" Oregon types from
the "cismontanus" race of Slate-colored Junco which is rather
similar (actually a hybrid swarm between Oregon and
Slate-colored).  Even more problematical are the "pink-sided"
junco types which are very hard to tell from the real "Oregon"
juncos, especially the females where both have gray heads.  Did
the gray extend across the breast?

EM> Does anyone know if this is a significant bird?

Sure is.

EM> Does anyone care about tracking subspecies of Juncos?

All unusual sightings should be reported quarterly to your
"American Birds" regional editor.  In your case, this would be
Henry T. Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA 19119.
Rarities should be documented.

BTW I was very intrigued to read your account of seeing Bohemian
Waxwings on your trip to Yosemite.  I sent you email asking for
the exact location and number of birds so we could include this
important record in our database, but never heard from you.  Did
you get my email?

Thanks in advance.

--Joe Morlan, Albany, CA
Joe.Morlan@f20.n125.z1.fidonet.org.

--  
Joe Morlan
UUCP: amdahl.com!kennel!125!20!Joe.Morlan
INTERNET: Joe.Morlan@f20.n125.z1.FIDONET.ORG
"The views expressed above are those of Joe Morlan only."
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: tony@zoo.toronto.edu (Anthony L. Lang)
Subject: Re: Scrub Jays caching.
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 20:03:11 GMT
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology

In article: <BzMv0o.1GM@well.sf.ca.us>
 lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond) writes:
>
>A scrub jay has begun coming and taking peanuts from my hand (!) and then
>flying off and hiding them - I've seen this a number of times - including
>for a hiding place the pile of garden clippings where the jay carefully
>covered the peanut with the clippings.
>
>So. Is this jay a male or female? and why do they do what appears really
>fairly inefficient?
>
>
Both sexes cache food.  In fact it is a very efficient way
to save food resources for hard times.  However, they
only cache abundant food supplies.  Caching wouldn't have
evolved if they weren't making a net gain in energy and 
reproductive success over their life time.  
In fact another corvid, the GRAY JAY
(Perisoreus canidensis) also caches in order to begin
nesting in February in the northern coniferous forests.
Their young are fed primarily cached food.
-- 

Anthony Lang
Dept. of Zoology, 
University of Toronto
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond)
Subject: Re: Ruby Crowned Kinglet vs Hutton's Vireo
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 03:16:40 GMT

In article <5175@equinox.unr.edu> adams@pyramid.unr.edu (Brian Adams) writes:
>The original post specifically mentioned the reddish crown patch. Such
>a bird could not be a Hutton's Vireo, as Hutton's has no such colored
>crown. Also, the fine size distinctions bandied about are highly
>unreliable when dealing with such small, relatively active birds as
>Kinglets and Vireos. I agree with the original poster that it was
>a Ruby Crowned Kinglet.
>
>Incidently, I also made my first Ruby Crowned Kinglet in my backyard
>last April. He was very active, the light was bad, and I had the devil
>of a time glassing him, but for a couple of seconds he sat still and
>raised his scarlet patch. It took my breath away! The patch glowed like
>a road flare!


Additionally, the eye markings are quite different - the kinglet's are
really distinctive. And I believe I did say it was larger than the chickadee
but not as large as a finch.

I was quite lucky to see this for a good little bit *from my bedroom window*
in the tree just outside the window and on a couple of other trees!
From: ka1gt@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (robert.m.atkins)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Owls - where and when to find them? (In NJ)
Keywords: owls
Date: 21 Dec 92 23:28:32 GMT
Distribution: nj
Organization: AT&T

Are there any good sites in NJ where there is a reasonable probability
of seeing owls? I live near the great swamp and visit frequently, but I
have only once seen an owl (in about 4 years!). Are there any better
sites, am I just being unlucky, or am I there at the wrong time (usually
in the late afternoon and just after sunset). The only owls I saw were
a group of three, in the middle of the day, while I was paddling on the
Passaic river near the swamp.

Again I'm restricting this posting to NJ, so appologies if it escapes
further.
===============================================================
Bob Atkins  AT&T Bell Labs  email (direct)  att!clockwise!rma
===============================================================
From: Conrad_Nobili@Harvard.EDU (Conrad C. Nobili)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: "feeder puzzles" or "stupid bird tricks"...?
Date: 29 Dec 92 05:57:54 GMT
Followup-To: rec.birds
Organization: Harvard University Office for Information Technology

In article <Conrad_Nobili-281292192518@nobili.harvard.edu>,
Conrad_Nobili@Harvard.EDU (Conrad C. Nobili) wrote:

[original post deleted]

Wow, thanks to hammy@tektite.mines.colorado.edu (John G. Smith) I already
have most of my answer!  John suggested that the film was titled "Bird
Brain of Britain" and was originally produced for the BBC.  I should now be
able to find it and other documentation about this bird competition!

Thanks John!

Conrad C. Nobili  N1LPM  Conrad_Nobili@Harvard.EDU  Harvard University OIT
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: jfinger@adobe.com (Jeff Finger)
Subject: Request for On-Line Bird List
Organization: Adobe Systems, Inc., Mountain View, CA
Distribution: net
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 18:14:06 GMT

I want to keep my birding records on-line. Does anyone have an on-line
list of all US (at least) species in it, or should I start typing in the
index to my field guide? An ASCII file would be just fine; no need for
fancy applications.

Thanks. Sorry if this is a FAQ.

-- Jeff Finger --

Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: aforsten@aton.abo.fi (Annika Forsten INF)
Subject: Re: Anyone know publisher of Jonsson's Birds of Europe?
Organization: Abo Akademi University, Finland
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 16:03:25 GMT

In article <Bzq9y4.IDH@zoo.toronto.edu> tony@zoo.toronto.edu (Anthony L. Lang) writes:

>   A little while ago there were some posts on Jonsson's
>   new field guide to the birds of Europe. Does
>   anyone have the name of the publisher and an ISBN number
>   for the book.  Also, what is the cost?
 
Christopher Helm
ISBN 0-7136-8096-2
25 pounds sterling

annika forsten, finland
aforsten@aton.abo.fi
Organization: Arizona State University
Date: Wednesday, 23 Dec 1992 17:03:36 MST
From: <ASLXG@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Looking for Mike Braun

I am looking for an old friend of mine - Mike Braun.

We knew each other at Cornell in the late 70's.

If anyone knows him, please ask him to call Larry Gottlob

at 602-964-1587.  Thanks!!
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: rice@mirage.rtp.dg.com (Brian Rice)
Subject: Dawn birding in New Orleans area
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 04:23:24 GMT
Distribution: na
Reply-To: rice@dg-rtp.dg.com (Brian Rice)
Organization: Data General Corporation, RTP, NC.
Followup-To: rec.birds

I will be in New Orleans in mid-January for an IEEE POSIX meeting,
and I'd love to do some dawn birding in the area.  Since each day's
work session starts at 9 a.m., I doubt I'll have time to drive far
(f'rinstance, to Avery Island), so I'd love to know of any nearby
places to go.

I'm interested in seeing passerines as well as the local aquatic
bird life (though, so far as the latter goes, I do hold hopes of 
seeing something more unusual than Great Blue Herons and Snowy 
Egrets).

Thanks for y'all's help.
Brian Rice   rice@dg-rtp.dg.com   +1 919 248 6328
DG/UX Software Quality Engineering
Data General Corp., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina    
"If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!" --William Strunk
Newsgroups: rec.birds,rec.pets.birds
From: christ@sci.ccny.cuny.edu (Chris Thompson)
Subject: Re: Pigeon bands
Organization: City College of New York - Science Computing Facility
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 13:13:03 GMT

In article <1992Dec19.232511.3084@cactus.org> ortega@cactus.org (Paul Ortega) writes:
>
>I found a band on one of the pigeons in the park.
>It had the following stamped on it:
>
>NPA 84 RC 113
>
>There was also a second band on the other leg, a green plastic one
>with the number "1".
>
>Just for curiosity's sake, what does the above
>mean?
>-- 
>Paul Ortega 

Having spent the last few years banding birds, I can tell you that
the band you describe is almost certainly a private band (as opposed
to something like US Fish & Wildlife).  At a guess, it probably
stands for National Pigeon Association, or some such thing.  The rest
of it is simply a code that uniquely identifies individual birds.

I'm surprised it didn't have an address or phone number to contact
in the event of the bird being found.  That implies to me that the
bird you found was the homing pigeon who couldn't.

Chris Thompson

-- 
(Help!  I've fallen and I can't reach my beer!)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: hammond@tellabs.com (Mark Hammond)
Subject: Binoculars/Monoculars
Keywords: I'm looking to buy some . . . .
Organization: Tellabs, Inc.
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 23:51:16 GMT


Hi, as a relatively new bird watcher I am interested in getting
a pair of binoculars or a monocular. I would like to get advise
in this arena and a list of stores and/or mail order places that
I can purchase these items. Please e-mail me your responses.

			Thanks in advance,
				Mark Hammond.
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond)
Subject: Re: A New Bird!!!
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 03:13:06 GMT

In article <jclarke.725958941@teal> jclarke@teal.csn.org (J Christopher Clarke) writes:
>grp@Unify.com (Greg Pasquariello) writes:
>
>>In article <C04yEv.34y@well.sf.ca.us>, lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond) writes:
>
>>> 
>>> What an exciting moment! I saw a new (to me, of course) bird - one that
>>> though the book says it's common I've never seen or even heard of before!
>>> 
>>> A Ruby-Crowned Kinglet!
>>> 
>
>>If you have a field guide, look up Hutton's Vireo.  They are quite common
>>in California, and can often be mistaken for ruby crowned kinglet.  Notice
>>especially the differences in bill and head size.  Also, the vireo tends to
>>be less active than the kinglet.
>
>And note that the bird was LARGER than a chickadee.  A kinglet should be about
>the same size or even a bit SMALLER than a chickadee.  Since I'm new to the
>west, I looked up a Hutton's Vireo, and sure enought, it looks just like a
>kinglet an is slighly larger than a chickadee.  So look for it again with 
>this stuff in mind.  Back east, kinglets, chickadee, nuthatches and woodpeckers
>all loosely flock together. If this is true in CA, them perhaps you can also
>find nearby chickadees to compare it to in size.
>
>Have fun and Happy New Year.
>
>J. Christopher Clarke
>jclarke@teal.csn.org
>


I assure you - it's a kinglet. I see the difference. I have the field
guides. There are very clear differences. My guide even puts them aside
eachother for the comparison. I assure you it's a kinglet. What? Are they so
rare you don't believe it?
From: Joe.Morlan@f20.n125.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Joe Morlan)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Dull birds here....
Date: Sun, 03 Jan 93 11:01:06 PST
Organization: FidoNet node 1:125/20 - SeaHunt BBS, San Francisco CA

       ***** On 12-31-1992, Tony Zugates wrote to All *****

TZ> It seems that if birds use brilliant colors for mating etc
TZ> that we would find them here also since there are large
TZ> areas of forest etc..  Or is it just that they are lacking in
TZ> the large uban areas...

Sometimes perceptions differ from reality.  E.g. there is a
perception that tropical birds are more colorful than temperate
birds and a variety of theories have been advanced to explain
this "fact."

But a friend of mine did a statistical analysis of colorfulness
in temperate/tropical birds by measuring the number of bright
spectral colors on each species of passerines and found there was
no significant difference in the number of bright colors on
songbirds in the tropics than in temperate climate.

This article was published in "The Condor" a few years back.  You
might be interested in the techniques used and do a similar
objective assessment of colorfulness in birds on your own.

--Joe Morlan, Albany, CA
Joe.Morlan@f28.n125.z1.fidonet.org.

--  
Joe Morlan
UUCP: amdahl.com!kennel!125!20!Joe.Morlan
INTERNET: Joe.Morlan@f20.n125.z1.FIDONET.ORG
"The views expressed above are those of Joe Morlan only."
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond)
Subject: scrub jays
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 23:38:48 GMT


A scrub jay has begun coming and taking peanuts from my hand (!) and then
flying off and hiding them - I've seen this a number of times - including
for a hiding place the pile of garden clippings where the jay carefully
covered the peanut with the clippings.

So. Is this jay a male or female? and why do they do what appears really
fairly inefficient?
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: jclarke@teal.csn.org (J Christopher Clarke)
Subject: Re: A New Bird!!!
Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc.
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1993 07:15:41 GMT

grp@Unify.com (Greg Pasquariello) writes:

>In article <C04yEv.34y@well.sf.ca.us>, lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond) writes:

>> 
>> What an exciting moment! I saw a new (to me, of course) bird - one that
>> though the book says it's common I've never seen or even heard of before!
>> 
>> A Ruby-Crowned Kinglet!
>> 

>If you have a field guide, look up Hutton's Vireo.  They are quite common
>in California, and can often be mistaken for ruby crowned kinglet.  Notice
>especially the differences in bill and head size.  Also, the vireo tends to
>be less active than the kinglet.

And note that the bird was LARGER than a chickadee.  A kinglet should be about
the same size or even a bit SMALLER than a chickadee.  Since I'm new to the
west, I looked up a Hutton's Vireo, and sure enought, it looks just like a
kinglet an is slighly larger than a chickadee.  So look for it again with 
this stuff in mind.  Back east, kinglets, chickadee, nuthatches and woodpeckers
all loosely flock together. If this is true in CA, them perhaps you can also
find nearby chickadees to compare it to in size.

Have fun and Happy New Year.

J. Christopher Clarke
jclarke@teal.csn.org

Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: tony@zoo.toronto.edu (Anthony L. Lang)
Subject: Anyone know publisher of Jonsson's Birds of Europe?
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 19:53:59 GMT
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology

A little while ago there were some posts on Jonsson's
new field guide to the birds of Europe. Does
anyone have the name of the publisher and an ISBN number
for the book.  Also, what is the cost?
-- 

Anthony Lang
Dept. of Zoology, 
University of Toronto
Newsgroups: rec.birds,rec.pets.birds
From: pholland@iastate.edu (Paul J Hollander)
Subject: Re: Pigeon bands
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 16:47:52 GMT

In article <1992Dec23.131303.7469@sci.ccny.cuny.edu> christ@sci.ccny.cuny.edu (Chris Thompson) writes:
>In article <1992Dec19.232511.3084@cactus.org> ortega@cactus.org (Paul Ortega) writes:
>>
>>I found a band on one of the pigeons in the park.
>>It had the following stamped on it:
>>
>>NPA 84 RC 113
>>
>>There was also a second band on the other leg, a green plastic one
>>with the number "1".
>>
>>Just for curiosity's sake, what does the above
>>mean?
>>-- 
>>Paul Ortega 
>
>Having spent the last few years banding birds, I can tell you that
>the band you describe is almost certainly a private band (as opposed
>to something like US Fish & Wildlife).  At a guess, it probably
>stands for National Pigeon Association, or some such thing.  The rest
>of it is simply a code that uniquely identifies individual birds.

My father is a pigeon nut.  NPA does stand for National Pigeon Association.
84 stands for 1984, the year the band was issued and presumably put on the
bird.  Those seamless bands can be slipped over the foot only if the pigeon
is <10 days old.  The rest of the code is a unique identifier.  I'm less
sure of the green band.  Possibly it identifies a mated pair.

>I'm surprised it didn't have an address or phone number to contact
>in the event of the bird being found.  That implies to me that the
>bird you found was the homing pigeon who couldn't.

I also think its a homer that didn't.  Serious racing homer people consider
that if it doesn't return, then it isn't a very good bird.  If returned to
the original owner, it would probably be killed.  So I'd leave it in the
park to upgrade to quality of the park pigeons.

Paul Hollander    pholland@iastate.edu
Behold the tortoise: he makes no progress unless he sticks his neck out.
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: tjo@siemens.com. (Tom Ostrand)
Subject: Everglades recovery?
Keywords: hurricane, damage
Organization: Siemens Corporate Research, Princeton (Plainsboro), NJ
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 15:23:26 GMT

Has anyone been to the Everglades since the hurricane came through
last summer?   The only information I've heard is that the area was
completely devastated; there was one report that total silence greeted 
visitors to areas like the Anhinga Trail, Royal Palm, etc.  

I'm especially interested in the Shark Valley area on the north side
of the Everglades; this has always been a favorite spot. 

Any recent information would be appreciated, as I plan to be in Florida 
late next month.

--
Tom Ostrand			E-mail:  tjo@siemens.siemens.com
Siemens Corporate Research	Phone:   609-734-6569
755 College Road East		FAX:     609-734-6565
Princeton, NJ  08540-6668
From: birchall@pilot.njin.net (Shag)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Woodpecker social structure
Keywords: pairs?
Date: 24 Dec 92 18:17:57 GMT
Organization: Screaming in Digital, the Queensryche Digest

Since the beginning of this month, I have seen 4 woodpeckers within a 1000'
radius of my home - 2 downies (1 m, 1 f) and 2 red-bellied's (1 m, 1 f).
I live in NJ, with an oak/holly woods in my back yard, and other mixed forest
all around, with a creek nearby.

Should I expect the woodpeckers to spend the winter in this area, given the
ecosystem?

Is there a good chance the woodpeckers are actual pairs?  Do woodpeckers
maintain pairings through the winter?

Is there anything I can do to _attract_ woodpeckers and nuthatches?  (There
are many semi-dead and dead trees in the area, and I have watched a nuthatch
and the female red-bellied on an oak within about 8 meters of the house :)

[I think I should get film for my camera... and a photo scanner :)]

-Shag

-- 
Shag                    | Operator, ShagNET | Editor of "Screaming in Digital" 
birchall@pilot.njin.net |  Rutgers / NJIN   |  The Queensryche E-mail Digest 
birchall@njin.bitnet    | dialup access for | queensryche-owner@pilot.njin.net
shag@most.other.places  | Burlington County | Anything Queensryche, every week
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: lucien@watson.ibm.com (Lucien Van Elsen)
Subject: Birding software for IBM PC?
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 20:44:01 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J Watson Research Center

Is anyone familiar with any programs for the IBM PC to keep track of bird
listings?  I've got a xeroxed list out of a magazine from several years ago,
but I'm sure some of the information on the software is out of date by now.

	-Lucien
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lucien Van Elsen                                          IBM  Research
lucien@watson.ibm.com                                     Project Agora
From: tonyz@hpwrce.mayfield.hp.com (Tony Zugates)
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 23:23:15 GMT
Subject: Cockatiel from HELL
Organization: the HP Mtn.View Resp. Cntr.
Newsgroups: rec.birds

Anyone with experience with a Cockatiel?  I bought one for my 
finacee when it was a baby and the little bird would make little 
sounds like it was overjoyed to have a real mom and pop.. it was 
the sweetest little thing... then over a period of time, it would
not want any attention from my fiancee. Now, it just gets severely
pissed-off just seeing or knowing that my fiancee is wanting to 
hold it!  What gives?  It just loves me, and we both gave it just
as much attention and love.  

Is this normal i.e. they pick one person to deal with etc?

Or is my bird MENTALLY RETARDED as my fiancee claims?

Now I have to buy another one since my fiancee feels left out.

Sheesh..

Thanks, bird people.
From: Greg.Phillips@p2.f503.n635.z3.fidonet.org (Greg Phillips)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Birding at Byron Bay
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 13:07:20

I suggest that you call the local Fishiers and Wildlife department they should
be able to tell you the best locations

Regards Greg Phillips


 * Origin: Halcyon's BBS: Melb Australia - 61-3-563-7853 (3:635/503.2)
From: br105@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey A. Del Col)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Telling Jakes from Hens
Date: 2 Jan 1993 23:15:44 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: br105@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey A. Del Col)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


For the past several days I've had a flock of wild turkeys, sometimes
as many as 21, parading through a field about fifty yards from my house.
I can identify only one gobbler in the flock, but it would seem that there
ought to be more than one male in the group.  I've noticed some wing
flapping displays and threatening behavior among the other birds, but does
anyone know a reliable method for telling the hens from the jakes(beardless
males)?  BTW, when they take wing it's a magnificent sight, huge birds
powering their way through the trees, dead leaves and twigs raining down
as they head for another feeding ground.

J. Del Col

P.S. saw an Eastern Bluebird this afternoon while searching for old roses
at nearby cemeteries.  I didn't know they stayed around  during the winter
in central WV.
-- 
Jeff Del Col      *   DECONSTRUCTION--- the critical method invented      
A-B College       *                      by Procrustes  
Philippi, WV      *                             
                  *         
Newsgroups: rec.birds