On The Road – Albatrossity – Spring migration begins

Shorebird migration is slow to start, and we are a few weeks away from peak numbers. But one of the earliest shorebird migrants here is the Baird’s Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii), which may look like a small undistinguished (or undistinguishable) peep, but it has a cool story or two, especially if you are interested in energetics. This species nests in the high Arctic of Canada, Alaska, and even Siberia. It winters in South America, from the Ecuadorian Andes to the tip of Tierra del Fuego. So twice a year it expends a LOT of calories on a migration that can be as long as 15,000 kilometers (that’s 9,300 miles in American).

More amazingly, the females arrive in the Arctic with essentially zero body fat. Nevertheless, a few days later, they lay one egg a day for four consecutive days. The eggs total up to 120% of her body biomass. As one author understated “The energetics of this accomplishment remain unstudied.” Looking for a doctoral thesis project? You are welcome! Click here for larger image.

Meanwhile, some of our local birds are already incubating eggs or feeding nestlings. This Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis borealis) seemed to have eggs in that nest, and did not seem to appreciate my presence on the road about 100 yds distant. Click here for larger image.

Migrant ducks are also starting to trickle in, a phenomenon that is much more satisfying than trickle-down economics. This drake Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) was looking pretty fly in his spring finery. Click here for larger image.

This drake Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) may be heading further north, or it may stay for the summer, since this species does breed in appropriate habitat here in Flyover Country.  It helpfully picked a cattail marsh reflection as a background to complement its spring outfit. Click here for larger image.

Another migrant duck, headed to prairie pothole country in the Dakotas and southern Canada, was this Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis). Like all diving ducks, and unlike the two dabbling ducks above, these birds need to have a running start to get airborne. Click here for larger image.

Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna) are abundant here, but hard to catch in flight since their flight paths usually are from one ground-level spot to another. This one was singing its ebullient song from a tree, then from a shrub, and I was able to catch it on one of those transits. Click here for larger image.

And in case you were wondering why the Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) got that name, here is a visual clue. Click here for larger image.

The highlight of the trip, however, awaited me as I was making one last swing through the salt marsh and pondering when I should start the 2.5 hr drive back home. I came around a curve and there, not 150 yds away in the marsh, stood three Whooping Cranes (Grus americana). A family group of Mom, Dad, and last summer’s kid (center, identifiable by the faint rusty color on the head). I stopped immediately and watched them for 10-15 minutes while they fed, preened, and loafed in the marsh, As they moved around, I could see that one of the adult birds was banded with color bands on one leg and a GPS transmitter on the other. So I got lots of pictures, while making sure not to poke part of my camera or binoculars out of the car window in order to not spook them into flight. Click here for larger image.

A bit later, the adult bird without the transmitter (which I learned later was the male) lifted off and headed north, followed by the others. Later, when I got the pictures on a bigger screen, I could see that the youngster was banded and fitted with a transmitter as well. I have some contacts with the USGS biologists who band and monitor these birds (one of them was a student at KSU, and I am in fact a co-author on his very first publication), so I made some inquiries.

I learned that the banded female was trapped near Aransas TX, and fitted with that transmitter in 2021; their youngster who was traveling with them that season was banded later that winter, in 2022. He is still around, moving north and south with the seasons with other subadult birds, but probably won’t find a mate and attempt to nest for a few more years. The young bird in these pics was trapped and banded this in summer 2023 on the nesting grounds. At the time of this writing this trio is in North Dakota, heading to the nesting spot in Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, where the parents will ditch the kid and get busy making a nest, laying eggs, and raising the next generation. While I was learning more about these birds, I also learned that they have a role in a book and digital platform that will be published this fall. I can’t tell you any more about that, as I am sworn to secrecy, but stay tuned! Click here for larger image.

And finally, here is my final shot this season of Harley, the long-time (11 years and counting!) winter resident Harlan’s Hawk near my home in Manhattan KS. He headed north to Alaska or thereabouts two or three days after this shot was taken. I hope to reconnect with him next fall when he returns for his 12^th winter here in Flyover Country. Click here for larger image.