One for the birds

[altivo]

We were sitting at the dining room table talking at about 4:30 pm today when Gary asked me "Is there such a thing as a black woodpecker?" I told him I didn't think there were any such species in our area. He said "Well there's one on the seed block right now."

I looked and of course, there was one. About the size of a large downy woodpecker, similar proportions, but much too black. It stayed there long enough for me to get a careful look and know I'd never seen one like it. It flew away and I went to get Sibley. When I got back, it was back also. It left and returned an additional time, and by then I had the binoculars in hand. The seed block is hanging just a foot from the window, so I got to look at it from six feet away, with binoculars. I conclude that it was an American Three-toed woodpecker. I was even able to count the toes (most of our woodpeckers have four toes, two back and two front) and it definitely had only one backward-pointing toe on each foot. Sibley has a green dot for the species in northern Illinois, meaning that it has been reported but isn't a regular resident or migrant. The year-round range starts up around Lake Superior and extends north.

I thought it was so interesting that I made a full count for the next 30 minutes. The only other unusual observation was four brown-headed cowbirds. We usually don't see them until May, after the snow and the juncos are gone. There were juncos (and snow) here yesterday, and the forecast calls for snow again tonight, though I'm not holding my breath on it.

I dutifully filled out my form on ebird.org, mostly to get the cowbirds and the woodpecker into my life list there. I was surprised when the website handed my report back to me with the woodpecker highlighted in red and a "Please confirm sighting" checkbox. I checked the box and resubmitted. The list went through without further comment.

After we'd finished dinner, the phone rang and Gary said someone wanted to talk to "the birdwatcher." (My name and address is on ebird.org, the number is listed.) It turned out to be the Illinois monitor for the site, who was very excited. He grilled me about the sighting and checked what records he had. According to what he told me, that species hasn't been seen in Illinois since the 19th century. However, there are occasional reports in southern Wisconsin, which is less than 20 miles from here, so I'm not quite so astonished myself.

I had to promise to send him as detailed a written description as I could (I did that) and keep a camera by that window for a few days in case it comes back. I will do that as well, but don't really expect to see it again. These things rarely show up when you're expecting them.

Oh, and I had to tell him he could come by here tomorrow afternoon to look for it. I doubt he'll see it either. ;p Had I known it would create such a fuss, I probably wouldn't have reported the sighting. I'm not interested in "15 seconds of fame" nor in having my house overrun with eager birders looking to see something exotic.

Comments

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

That woodpecker, how cool is that? Congrats on the sighting. Here's hoping your fame does not disrupt your life for very long. I wonder if this goofy cold weather we're having played a part in this woodpecker's movements.

[altivo]

It did snow, or rather slush, last night. Things are very sloppy outside.

The weather could well have played a role in this sighting. We had strong, gusty N to NE winds all day on Friday and Saturday, and there were winter storm warnings up around Superior. Saturday afternoon we had intense snow and a NE wind for at least 45 minutes, though the snow melted even as it fell.

I had provided ebird.org with precise latitude and longitude of my location some time ago, and they had it on file. I had not given them my address or phone, but in the interest of good scientific data an accurate location seemed appropriate. This morning I find that a "Rare bird alert" with a Google map pointing right to my house and barn was automatically placed on the web. I'm not amused.

While most birders are pretty respectful of privacy and will not invade private land without permission, there are always some jerks in any crowd. I went and changed the location pointer to a nearby road intersection instead, which did instantly alter the map in the news report. I also warned the monitor that my neighbors are likely to respond aggressively to trespassing, which is true. (Never mind the fact that they themselves have no respect for the privacy of others.)

[hrrunka]

My father and sister had a similar moment of fame many years ago when they spotted a frigate bird, a species not generally seen anywhere far from an ocean, several hundred miles inland at Lake Nakuru...

[altivo]

See my remarks to songdogmi above. I'm not finding this very amusing at the moment. I've been providing data for scientific records of populations over time, not for the amusement of sightseers. My animals, particularly the dogs and horses, will not be happy with a stampede of birdwatchers. I've seen such gawkers' gatherings in the past, and swore I'd never be a part of one. They destroy habitat and frighten away everything in the vicinity.

[hrrunka]

I think the frigate bird incident occurred during a bird count, and it was years before net alerts anyway, so the only folk who got a chance to spot the bird were other bird counters.

This morning I find that a "Rare bird alert" with a Google map pointing right to my house and barn was automatically placed on the web. I'm not amused.

I wouldn't be, either. At the very least I'd have expected the site to have required you to opt-in to that sort of thing. Occasionally twitcher swarms make the news here, usually when some poor bird has been blown half a continent off course. Net alerts like that make it even more likely for a swarm to happen, too.

[altivo]

I remember years ago when a snowy owl parked itself on the roof of a building at Michigan State University. I was working in the library there at the time, and it attracted large crowds of people who stood in the street staring at it through binoculars. They were both a traffic disruption and a cause of damage to flowerbeds and shrubbery. It was early spring and the bird was undoubtedly displaced by storms over the prior couple of days. I never went to see it because of the reports of rather unruly crowds.

This would not be a dissimilar incident, if I've correctly identified the bird we saw. There is a melanistic form of the downy woodpecker, considered extremely rare, and it might have been one of those though I'm pretty confident of my observation on the feet which seems to eliminate the possibility. There are at least four species in the genus Picoides that can potentially be seen here, and two of them are common. The other two are not really "rare" except in the sense that in this location they are accidental or misplaced.

[hrrunka]

I've observed similar bahavious on the ham bands, when some unusual callsign or location is spotted, and an unruly pile-up develops. It only takes a few inconsiderate individuals to make a real mess of things.

[altivo]

Yes, it can get ugly on the hambands too. I've especially noted that with voice contacts, though it happens in morse as well. When I've successfully worked a DXpedition or two, it has usually been on RTTY, where there is less competition and a low power signal has a better chance of being heard.

With respect to the woodpecker, the first guy who called is apparently sitting in our driveway now in his car, playing recordings of the bird's call. Additional phone calls are on the answering machine asking for permission (at least they're asking) to come look for it. I'm seriously inclined to erase everything I've reported to that site. My address and phone were not supposed to be public information, but my name does appear. It's a fairly common name, but the number is listed in the phone book and I guess they're willing to call every possibility to try to locate me.

I thought science and conservation were important to me, but I guess my privacy is more important.

[hrrunka]

Yeah, it's really rather too easy to draw information together on the Net. I'm glad they're asking rather than just turning up, but even that could get tedious really quite quickly.