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ENLARGE
Recently, I was out phishing for Hermit Thrushes. Unfortunately, they weren’t singing. They have one of the most beautiful songs of any bird I know. This song has been called “hauntingly flute-like” but it is given primarily around sunup and sundown. They were doing their “chup” calls right under my nose all the while maintaining their invisibility.
Phishing is the only word that I can think of which has made the transition from the birders exclusive lexicon to the internet. Birders use the term specifically as an onomatopoetic term meant to elicit a birds appearance in response to the sound. Generally it refers to any of a variety of sounds made for the same purpose of causing the curious bird to reveal itself and includes among other things smacking, chuping and tooting.
Tooting is generally an attempt to imitate the call of the Northern Pygmy Owl. Ed Pandolfino carries a clay ocarina, which he toots to arouse quiet birds. The Pygmy Owl is a predator of many smaller and some larger birds and their toots raise a general alarm and much commotion in many species.
Phishing is the only word that I can think of which has made the transition from the birders exclusive lexicon to the internet. Birders use the term specifically as an onomatopoetic term meant to elicit a birds appearance in response to the sound. Generally it refers to any of a variety of sounds made for the same purpose of causing the curious bird to reveal itself and includes among other things smacking, chuping and tooting.
Tooting is generally an attempt to imitate the call of the Northern Pygmy Owl. Ed Pandolfino carries a clay ocarina, which he toots to arouse quiet birds. The Pygmy Owl is a predator of many smaller and some larger birds and their toots raise a general alarm and much commotion in many species.
The “fight or flight response” is fundamental to many animals and we all probably inherited it from some common ancestor. Either response is fine as long as we are talking about birds and birders.
The Northern Pygmy Owl one of our smallest owls about 2.5 inches long with an approximate weight of 2 ounces is a fierce and bold hunter. They have been observed to kill and carry off quail twice their weight according to Birds of North America.
The species is a resident of slightly higher altitudes of around 3700 to 6.800 feet nesting in black oaks, firs, ponderosa pines and incense cedars. Little is known about its migration but it does slip down to the lower altitudes during winter bringing individuals into habitats and locations where they do not often breed.
Relative size is no guarantor of the outcome of a confrontation between different species of birds. I have enjoyed watching blackbirds chasing Red-tailed Hawks. Even tiny and unusually agile Anna’s Hummingbirds with their rapier like bills will chase away a jay that gets too close to their nest.
The Northern Pygmy Owl one of our smallest owls about 2.5 inches long with an approximate weight of 2 ounces is a fierce and bold hunter. They have been observed to kill and carry off quail twice their weight according to Birds of North America.
The species is a resident of slightly higher altitudes of around 3700 to 6.800 feet nesting in black oaks, firs, ponderosa pines and incense cedars. Little is known about its migration but it does slip down to the lower altitudes during winter bringing individuals into habitats and locations where they do not often breed.
Relative size is no guarantor of the outcome of a confrontation between different species of birds. I have enjoyed watching blackbirds chasing Red-tailed Hawks. Even tiny and unusually agile Anna’s Hummingbirds with their rapier like bills will chase away a jay that gets too close to their nest.
My limited musical skills demand that my phishing is performed with the aid of an external speaker, which in this day and age is connected to an mp3 player. Thus, I was playing the Pygmy Owl’s call and trying to photograph the Hermit Thrushes and Red-breasted nuthatches who were looking around for the source of these toots. There appears to be a lot of hermit thrushes in the woods these days.
Pausing the playback, I realized that there was another tooter in the area, a real Northern Pygmy Owl. My player tooted then the bird answered and we went back and forth for a few minutes until it flew to a nearby branch where I could see it. Another Pygmy Owl joined it on the branch sitting very close to the first. They appeared to be mates. After a few movements, one of the owls seated itself directly in front of me trying to figure out what kind of owl this was.
Pausing the playback, I realized that there was another tooter in the area, a real Northern Pygmy Owl. My player tooted then the bird answered and we went back and forth for a few minutes until it flew to a nearby branch where I could see it. Another Pygmy Owl joined it on the branch sitting very close to the first. They appeared to be mates. After a few movements, one of the owls seated itself directly in front of me trying to figure out what kind of owl this was.
He was right in the sun and my camera was focused on him and firing away. I had only heard a few Pygmy Owls and never before had a chance to see one up close.
After a while the owl flew right toward me passing within a few feet before heading off into another thicket of trees. Silently, I thanked it for its time and attention then headed off to see what pictures I had captured on my computer screen.
After a while the owl flew right toward me passing within a few feet before heading off into another thicket of trees. Silently, I thanked it for its time and attention then headed off to see what pictures I had captured on my computer screen.
