Hey Birders! This is Bird Blogger MT!
  Today is a very special issue all about Team Sapsucker! Get prepared to know more about extreme birding than you ever thought possible! First, I'll send you the link for Team Sapsucker's results! Go to http://blog.allaboutbirds.org/2014/05/06/big-day-birding-275-species-california-arizona/  for all the results, details, and some great pictures! 275 species were identified, over 24 complete hours of nonstop birding! They had one flat tire, and 3 encounters with border patrol, but still managed to get some awesome results! Team Sapsucker is Marshall Lliff, Andrew Farnsworth, Jessie Berry, Chris Wood, Tim Lenz, and Brian Sullivan.
All this was partly to support conservation, and they raised more money this year than any other!
Instead of fun facts this week, instead I'll show you tons of pictures! Make sure to use the link posted!

 

Team Sapsucker

  Hey Birders!
  I procrastinated for the last two weeks, but there's some exciting news today! Team Sapsucker is on their Big Day tomorrow! 2 states, 24 hours, and a goal of 300 birds! They'll be taking a route nicknamed El Gigante, covering some of the biggest birding spots in North America! I'll post the news as soon as I can!
Well, that's all for now, but I'll give you that fun fact before I go!
Did you know there are more waterfowl species in the Aleutian Islands than anywhere else in North America.
Also, did you there are 318 bird species in Yellowstone National Park, 256 of those being songbird species? Or that there are 260 bird species in Glacier National Park?
See you next time, from bird blogger MT!

Hey birders! Happy Easter! Sorry I'm late with this post... Welcome to bird blogger MT, your latest in bird news and activities!
Not much to say, except that Galveston is fine, and Team Sapsucker won this year's birding competition, sponsored by the New Jersey Audubon. They identified 296 bird species last year, and this year's date is May 3! They will go to Arizona and California.
Here's this week's fun fact! I'll give you two, actually, since I was late! First off, did you know that shrikes, being about the size of a starling, will actually eat other songbirds that are larger than them? Or that a great horned owl will actually kill and eat a small deer? I guess that's already two, but here's a third one! Did you know that Allen's Hummingbird, a very miniscule bird, is extremely aggressive? In fact, it's been known to even scare off Osprey!
Well, so long from Bird Blogger MT, and I won't have any interesting news until most likely May 3. 

Galveston Bay Barge

Hey birders! And welcome to Bird Blogger MT, your latest in bird news and activities!
Sorry I forgot about the fun fact thing last week, but now I know I will post a fun fact every Sunday from now on!
Exciting news! You can now comment on my posts by clicking on the post you want to comment on, and after a couple seconds at the bottom of the page there will be a box that says Enter Comment!
You probably haven't heard about this, but there's a fantastic app out called Merlin Bird ID. You give it your time of year, location, the main colors of the bird, and what it was doing at that current moment, and Cornell Merlin Bird ID does the rest! It's free, and for all Apple devices. It will tell you the bird you most likely saw, whether it is rare or common where you live, and it will give you a full background on it and what it sounds like as well. It's terrific and works extremely fast.
The situation in Galveston (info courtesy of Houston Audubon) is hard to explain due to outdated posts, but I did find out they have more than enough personnel to take care of the situation, although the timing and placement of the spill is very unfortunate. The oil is nearing the Bolivar Flats, which is home to tens of thousands of birds. More birds are down by the Texas coast this time of year more than any other. This leaves a huge potential for harm, but none has been done yet. The spilling has been stopped, but the cleanup has just begun. The oil being released is a thick, gooey, tarlike substance, and again, around 170,000 gallons have been spilled. But again, the situation is quite under control, and in this day in age we have more help for situations like these than ever before. In fact, there are thousands of people volunteering, but are being turned away because there are already plenty of trained personnel on hand. Good luck, Galveston!
Some more exciting news: an elite group of birders (Team Sapsucker) strait out of Cornell are conducting their annual Big Day birding activity son down in the southwest. 24 strait hours of birding, from the Arizona desert, to the California coast. Cornell is also trying to raise $400,000 towards conservation efforts. You can donate to Galveston at www.audubon.org and Cornell by subscribing to their e-mails and receiving the page extreme birding for an extremely good cause.
Ah, well. I guess it's that time. Time for our WEEKLY BIRD FUN FACT!!!
Bluebirds are one of the most spectacular colored birds you can see. They were plentiful, but are becoming near-endangered by Starling and Chickadee populations. The interesting thing, though, is there are actually nesting colonies that have been made for Bluebirds! they are checked every day for Starlings, Chickadees, and anything else that would take a Bluebird's rightful home. Also, did you know birds can have twins? Just last weekend, the first ever Bluebird twins were discovered! This happens when one egg hatches two birds.
Well, that's all this week, from Bird Blogger MT: your latest in bird news and activities!

HEY BIRDERS! Just wanted to say happy spring! The black-capped chickadees are out and about, and the robins, red-winged blackbirds, and pretty much everything else should be out soon! Don't have any bird photos yet, and I most likely will not until after June 6th! Sorry!
Lots of precipitation, and surprisingly not a lot of birds. Oh, well. I did find a TERRIFIC  web site on birds sounds of North America, and it's absolutely FREE! I've posted the link:  http://www.enature.com/birding/audio.asp this link should work, but if it doesn't, I'll find a way to get it up and running as fast as I can! Thanks!
A couple weeks ago an oil spill occurred in Galveston, Texas, releasing 170,000 gallons of oil. This may seem large, but really it's nothing compared to the BP Gulf of Mexico spill, which released around 12,000,000 gallons of oil. It's Nothing to be too concerned about, and I'm sure it will be taken care of. If you feel the need, though, you can donate to efforts on the Audubon Society's website.
I've decided that I'm going to give a fun fact every week from now on, so here goes! Did you know that some owls' eyes have been recorded to be almost as last large as humans? Or that their uncanny eyesight is caused by an extremely large quantity of rods in their eyes, which are what allow light to come in? Or that scientists have tested their hunting skills in pitch black, and owls have succeeded? This could hypothetically lead you to the prediction that owls have echolocation, but then again, if they can see in dark so much better than us, what is pitch black for us might not be pitch black for them!
Happy spring, and of course, happy birding! So long from Bird Blogger MT!