On June 23rd 2009 while birding in West Marin, I encountered a Bobcat. We startled eachother and it loped away and into some dense nettle and blackberry bushes. I could see movement within the brush and was suddenly hit by a very strong smell of mammal. I leaned in and the smell grew stronger but I didn’t see the cat again. About an hour later I returned to the same spot and had my camera ready as I rounded the Alders where I had seen the animal before. Surprised, I found the Bobcat standing at the far end of a grass path and began to film. I simply stood as still as I could and kept filming.

Keith Hansen

Perched right outside our window, this sharply dressed chap sits with his mate in full view on a small wooden nest box and proclaims SPRING HAS ARRIVED! We placed their low-income housing there some five years ago. He announces his triumphant return with all of the exuberance of a thrilled friend returning from a most exciting trip to a far away land. This bird, crisply bi-colored in iridescent bottle-blue feathering above and immaculate cotton-white underparts will delight not only the inquisitive observer but more importantly the female Tree Swallow. He pours forth a song that only she can truly understand. However, I too feel that I have a pretty good idea of where this bird is “coming from”.

Physically, it could be coming from the Caribbean Panama where it may have spent the winter dipping and cavorting amongst the multitude of oceangoing vessels that wait their turn to “stair-step” up and over the locks, crossing the isthmus to the mighty Pacific. Perhaps it may have arrived from the mosquito laden, Flamingo rich wetlands that crown the north coast of the Yucatan peninsula where tens of thousands of these long distance migrants glean for us billions of winged hypodermic needles from the humid sky. Another possibility is that it may have wintered with small numbers of its fellow swallows in the vast wetlands of California’s great central valley, snapping up myriad winged morsels amongst the multitudes of Cranes, Geese and Swans.

Emotionally, it’s coming from a place of demand. To survive and to pass on its DNA, it demands much. An abundant source of food (exclusively flying insects), a proximity to water, a protected nesting site, a place to raise a family, the safety that comes in numbers, the fellow swallows with which it will hawk insects and most importantly, a mate, are all here.

Early in the spring, I have seen a newly returning Tree Swallow pair approaching the Bolinas Lagoon from the south. At the lofty altitude of perhaps a thousand feet, they vocalize and one can almost imagine the sheer excitement they must be feeling as their long, arduous and annual trip is at long last, ending. HOME AT LAST! Passing over Stinson Beach’s Sea Drift they voice their flight plan as they quickly swoop toward me from “migration altitude”. Without a moments hesitation, they drop rapidly over Kent Island calling wildly and smartly landing squarely on their humble abode. It’s as if this lichen encrusted box is not only the precious quest of their far flung journey but seemingly the first thing they had perched on since lifting off from a predawn rest stop somewhere in Sacramento, Los Banos or Monterey. They return year after year to the same nesting spot to raise three or four young.

In addition to the Tree Swallow, West Marin plays host to six other splendid species of swallows, five of which also nest here. Only the Bank Swallow graces our space as a rare migrant but does not breed here. In the western hemisphere they spend the winter as far south as northern Chile and central Argentina. Globally, the Bank Swallow, (known in the “Old World” as the Sand Martin) ranges widely. Small numbers of these small brown and white birds, sporting snappy blackish breast bands nest in communal sand or clay cliff banks in coastal San Mateo county.

California’s other “brown Swallow”, the Northern Rough-winged Swallow nests singularly or in small groups in appropriate habitat. That desired domain can be found on the Bolinas Beach at the end of Wharf Road in the clay cliffs that dominate the sand scape. To find the nests, look for the silver dollar sized holes that look as if they were carefully drilled directly into the vertical face. Snapping up insects not only in the sky but from as little as a few inches off the warm sand, one can hear, if listened for carefully, the actual snap of the birds mandibles as it gathers its nourishment. This species winters as far south as Panama.

Perhaps the most colorful and certainly the most diminutive species is that of the Violet-green Swallow. This is a truly western bird with a range that extends from the west coast, east to the eastern Rockies, north to central Alaska and as far south as Costa Rica. Violet-green’s share the same taste for “home design” as does the Tree Swallow and the Purple Martin. That is, they are a cavity nester, meaning that they raise their young inside, most typically, dead snags where old abandon Woodpecker nests can be used. Alder stumps, and tall fir snags make fine dwellings for this well tailored creature. The snowy white of the birds underparts wrap up and around the birds flanks and face making identification possible even at great distances. The crown is a soft moss green color contrasting with the rich “Robin Hood” green back. Separating the head from the back is a thin crisp necklace of violet that is repeated over the entire rump, making this one of the most exquisite looking birds anywhere!

The least numerous and most sought after species is a giant cloaked in a glossy robe of deep royal purple. Its name is therefor appropriate. The Purple Martin arrives in our area in May after having flown here from its winter haunts in South America where it occurs east of the Andes and south to northern Argentina. Typically, this avian gift draws ones attention by its remarkably loud, rich and liquid calls. This swallow is often encountered hawking larger flying insects over the warm and sunny sands at the tip of Sea Drift spit. Find yourself at the mouth of the Bolinas Lagoon and like natural clockwork, you can almost guarantee a summer time sighting of a Purple Martin. Listen for its strong “bubbling” call between 4:00 and 6:00 PM and look up!

Interestingly, it, (as well as all of the other species of swallows) are not above foraging for insects on foot. This is rather comical to watch as all swallows have very short legs and must run very fast to capture the insects that are at ground level. I have witnessed five species together engaging in this novel act. Martins nest in small colony’s in very lofty, inaccessible Douglas Fir snags high atop Inverness Ridge.

Perhaps the most familiar swallow species is that of the Barn Swallow. This truly cosmopolitan bird occurs over most of the earth including the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia as well as most of the worlds oceanic islands. These long winged and powerful fliers winter from as far south as Tierra del Fuego at the southern-most tip of South America and have even been recorded from the Falkland Islands, Argentina! Best known for their deeply forked “swallow tail” the Barn Swallow make themselves at home, on and around our homes. They create an open “cup” nest, composed of mud and spare bits of grass and straw. Upon completion, they line the interior with a soft comforter of feathers harvested from the sky. In flight, swallows will snag, let go and repeatedly snag again and again, an airborne feather. One wonders whether they simply do it for the nest lining or if there is a playful component to this unique behavior.

Barn Swallows nest singularly and most typically upon a beam that is situated beneath an eve. This nesting habit has endeared them to the countless as it brings an intimate and wonderful nature experience up close and into our world. For others it actually becomes a bit of a nuisance. Some folk are annoyed by the fact that these birds “take over” a site that comes into conflict with their own “site”. With droppings splattered on the walls, the sometime startling activity and the rerouting that some feel obligated to make when the nest is adjacent to a frequently used door, can all add up to “too much to take”. Sadly and all too often, many will blast the nest with a garden hose to discourage this annoying behavior. This clash of cultures leads me to my next and final species.

By far the most abundant swallow that calls West Marin its summer home is the Cliff Swallow. Often referred to as the “Mud Swallow” by some aggrieved home owners, this communal species painstakingly creates the spherical mud dwellings that one often encounters under bridges, freeway over passes or most notoriously under the eves of houses. Each year after having undergone the arduous journey from as far south as northern Argentina and northern Chili, these 22 gram swallows arrive in our area by about the first of April and immediately go to work constructing their “Pueblo style adobe condos”. A great place to witness this firsthand is near the end of Wharf Road in Bolinas. Several of the homes that stand on tall pilings over the mudflat, have these nests both under their eves and or in the beams and struts below their floors. Currently there are about 120 pairs of these voracious insectivores busy as bees laying the yearly foundation for a bustling, yet temporary, community. Scooping up mouth fulls of mud from either the puddles at the side of the road or from the lagoons mud flats, they quickly fly back to their nests and lay down hundreds of mud “beads”. This creates the grapefruit sized orb that will house 3 to 4 chicks.

Some time ago, the local and well known naturalist and author, Jules Evens wrote an article regarding the impact that these swallows, (and all swallows for that matter) have on keeping our flying insect numbers in check. He pointed out a few facts that have “weighty” ramifications. Lets take a look at a few numbers. According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cliff Swallows weigh between 19 and 34 grams. The average weight is at about 22 grams, or as much as what 9 pennies weigh. A Cliff Swallow needs to consume a quarter of its weight per day to sustain itself or 5 1/2 grams of high protein flying insects. Therefor our Wharf Road colony of 120 pairs, (240 individuals) consume 1,320 grams or 2.91 pounds of insects each and every day. Once the Swallows arrive in early April, complete construction on their nests, lay eggs and then brood them around 60 days have elapsed. That means that by the end of May the Wharf Road colony has now consumed some 174.6 pounds of insects. Young start to hatch around June 1st and then fledge or leave the nest, and the care of their parents by around August 1st. The colony has now increased to 720 individuals and so has the consumption. So, our Wharf Road colony, in one breeding season consumes over 523 pounds of flying insects!

For those who turn the garden hose on these nests, (hence the title of this piece) PLEASE think twice about what you are doing. While these Swallows may splatter your walls and windows with droppings and construct “muddy, unsightly and dirty” nests, there are several things to lessen the mess. You can always wash the walls below them, clean the windows whenever you want and even get rid of the nests after they have successfully fledged their young by about the beginning of August. The mud comes off and they will rebuild next year. If you really can’t deal with the birds, certain folks have successfully kept them away by hanging a fine mesh net across the under surface of the eves. Consider an alternative. When it is summer evening weather and the BBQ is fired up, sizzling with skewers of veggies, and the smell of roasted chicken with rosemary wafts across the neighborhood, wouldn’t you rather be relaxing and laughing with friends instead of swatting hungry mosquito’s? I mean really! Who wants to be spilling Cabernet on their cool new Hawaii shirt while running back and forth between the safety of your kitchen and the “hostile wilds?” On one hand you have carefree warm summer nights, on the other you are a human pin cushion being sucked dry by 523 pounds of blood thirsty insects. To me, the choice is clear.

Keith Hansen,   May 2009

Perched right outside our window, this sharply dressed chap sits with his mate in full view on a small wooden nest box and proclaims SPRING HAS ARRIVED! We placed their low-income housing there some five years ago. He announces his triumphant return with all of the exuberance of a thrilled friend returning from a most exciting trip to a far away land. This bird, crisply bi-colored in iridescent bottle-blue feathering above and immaculate cotton-white underparts will delight not only the inquisitive observer but more importantly the female Tree Swallow. He pours forth a song that only she can truly understand. However, I too feel that I have a pretty good idea of where this bird is “coming from”.

Physically, it could be coming from the Caribbean Panama where it may have spent the winter dipping and cavorting amongst the multitude of oceangoing vessels that wait their turn to “stair-step” up and over the locks, crossing the isthmus to the mighty Pacific. Perhaps it may have arrived from the mosquito laden, Flamingo rich wetlands that crown the north coast of the Yucatan peninsula where tens of thousands of these long distance migrants glean for us billions of winged hypodermic needles from the humid sky. Another possibility is that it may have wintered with small numbers of its fellow swallows in the vast wetlands of California’s great central valley, snapping up myriad winged morsels amongst the multitudes of Cranes, Geese and Swans.

Emotionally, it’s coming from a place of demand. To survive and to pass on its DNA, it demands much. An abundant source of food (exclusively flying insects), a proximity to water, a protected nesting site, a place to raise a family, the safety that comes in numbers, the fellow swallows with which it will hawk insects and most importantly, a mate, are all here.

Early in the spring, I have seen a newly returning Tree Swallow pair approaching the Bolinas Lagoon from the south. At the lofty altitude of perhaps a thousand feet, they vocalize and one can almost imagine the sheer excitement they must be feeling as their long, arduous and annual trip is at long last, ending. HOME AT LAST! Passing over Stinson Beach’s Sea Drift they voice their flight plan as they quickly swoop toward me from “migration altitude”. Without a moments hesitation, they drop rapidly over Kent Island calling wildly and smartly landing squarely on their humble abode. It’s as if this lichen encrusted box is not only the precious quest of their far flung journey but seemingly the first thing they had perched on since lifting off from a predawn rest stop somewhere in Sacramento, Los Banos or Monterey. They return year after year to the same nesting spot to raise three or four young.

In addition to the Tree Swallow, West Marin plays host to six other splendid species of swallows, five of which also nest here. Only the Bank Swallow graces our space as a rare migrant but does not breed here. In the western hemisphere they spend the winter as far south as northern Chile and central Argentina. Globally, the Bank Swallow, (known in the “Old World” as the Sand Martin) ranges widely. Small numbers of these small brown and white birds, sporting snappy blackish breast bands nest in communal sand or clay cliff banks in coastal San Mateo county.

California’s other “brown Swallow”, the Northern Rough-winged Swallow nests singularly or in small groups in appropriate habitat. That desired domain can be found on the Bolinas Beach at the end of Wharf Road in the clay cliffs that dominate the sand scape. To find the nests, look for the silver dollar sized holes that look as if they were carefully drilled directly into the vertical face. Snapping up insects not only in the sky but from as little as a few inches off the warm sand, one can hear, if listened for carefully, the actual snap of the birds mandibles as it gathers its nourishment. This species winters as far south as Panama.

Perhaps the most colorful and certainly the most diminutive species is that of the Violet-green Swallow. This is a truly western bird with a range that extends from the west coast, east to the eastern Rockies, north to central Alaska and as far south as Costa Rica. Violet-green’s share the same taste for “home design” as does the Tree Swallow and the Purple Martin. That is, they are a cavity nester, meaning that they raise their young inside, most typically, dead snags where old abandon Woodpecker nests can be used. Alder stumps, and tall fir snags make fine dwellings for this well tailored creature. The snowy white of the birds underparts wrap up and around the birds flanks and face making identification possible even at great distances. The crown is a soft moss green color contrasting with the rich “Robin Hood” green back. Separating the head from the back is a thin crisp necklace of violet that is repeated over the entire rump, making this one of the most exquisite looking birds anywhere!

The least numerous and most sought after species is a giant cloaked in a glossy robe of deep royal purple. Its name is therefor appropriate. The Purple Martin arrives in our area in May after having flown here from its winter haunts in South America where it occurs east of the Andes and south to northern Argentina. Typically, this avian gift draws ones attention by its remarkably loud, rich and liquid calls. This swallow is often encountered hawking larger flying insects over the warm and sunny sands at the tip of Sea Drift spit. Find yourself at the mouth of the Bolinas Lagoon and like natural clockwork, you can almost guarantee a summer time sighting of a Purple Martin. Listen for its strong “bubbling” call between 4:00 and 6:00 PM and look up!

Interestingly, it, (as well as all of the other species of swallows) are not above foraging for insects on foot. This is rather comical to watch as all swallows have very short legs and must run very fast to capture the insects that are at ground level. I have witnessed five species together engaging in this novel act. Martins nest in small colony’s in very lofty, inaccessible Douglas Fir snags high atop Inverness Ridge.

Perhaps the most familiar swallow species is that of the Barn Swallow. This truly cosmopolitan bird occurs over most of the earth including the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia as well as most of the worlds oceanic islands. These long winged and powerful fliers winter from as far south as Tierra del Fuego at the southern-most tip of South America and have even been recorded from the Falkland Islands, Argentina! Best known for their deeply forked “swallow tail” the Barn Swallow make themselves at home, on and around our homes. They create an open “cup” nest, composed of mud and spare bits of grass and straw. Upon completion, they line the interior with a soft comforter of feathers harvested from the sky. In flight, swallows will snag, let go and repeatedly snag again and again, an airborne feather. One wonders whether they simply do it for the nest lining or if there is a playful component to this unique behavior.

Barn Swallows nest singularly and most typically upon a beam that is situated beneath an eve. This nesting habit has endeared them to the countless as it brings an intimate and wonderful nature experience up close and into our world. For others it actually becomes a bit of a nuisance. Some folk are annoyed by the fact that these birds “take over” a site that comes into conflict with their own “site”. With droppings splattered on the walls, the sometime startling activity and the rerouting that some feel obligated to make when the nest is adjacent to a frequently used door, can all add up to “too much to take”. Sadly and all too often, many will blast the nest with a garden hose to discourage this annoying behavior. This clash of cultures leads me to my next and final species.

By far the most abundant swallow that calls West Marin its summer home is the Cliff Swallow. Often referred to as the “Mud Swallow” by some aggrieved home owners, this communal species painstakingly creates the spherical mud dwellings that one often encounters under bridges, freeway over passes or most notoriously under the eves of houses. Each year after having undergone the arduous journey from as far south as northern Argentina and northern Chili, these 22 gram swallows arrive in our area by about the first of April and immediately go to work constructing their “Pueblo style adobe condos”. A great place to witness this firsthand is near the end of Wharf Road in Bolinas. Several of the homes that stand on tall pilings over the mudflat, have these nests both under their eves and or in the beams and struts below their floors. Currently there are about 120 pairs of these voracious insectivores busy as bees laying the yearly foundation for a bustling, yet temporary, community. Scooping up mouth fulls of mud from either the puddles at the side of the road or from the lagoons mud flats, they quickly fly back to their nests and lay down hundreds of mud “beads”. This creates the grapefruit sized orb that will house 3 to 4 chicks.

Some time ago, the local and well known naturalist and author, Jules Evens wrote an article regarding the impact that these swallows, (and all swallows for that matter) have on keeping our flying insect numbers in check. He pointed out a few facts that have “weighty” ramifications. Lets take a look at a few numbers. According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cliff Swallows weigh between 19 and 34 grams. The average weight is at about 22 grams, or as much as what 9 pennies weigh. A Cliff Swallow needs to consume a quarter of its weight per day to sustain itself or 5 1/2 grams of high protein flying insects. Therefor our Wharf Road colony of 120 pairs, (240 individuals) consume 1,320 grams or 2.91 pounds of insects each and every day. Once the Swallows arrive in early April, complete construction on their nests, lay eggs and then brood them around 60 days have elapsed. That means that by the end of May the Wharf Road colony has now consumed some 174.6 pounds of insects. Young start to hatch around June 1st and then fledge or leave the nest, and the care of their parents by around August 1st. The colony has now increased to 720 individuals and so has the consumption. So, our Wharf Road colony, in one breeding season consumes over 523 pounds of flying insects!

For those who turn the garden hose on these nests, (hence the title of this piece) PLEASE think twice about what you are doing. While these Swallows may splatter your walls and windows with droppings and construct “muddy, unsightly and dirty” nests, there are several things to lessen the mess. You can always wash the walls below them, clean the windows whenever you want and even get rid of the nests after they have successfully fledged their young by about the beginning of August. The mud comes off and they will rebuild next year. If you really can’t deal with the birds, certain folks have successfully kept them away by hanging a fine mesh net across the under surface of the eves. Consider an alternative. When it is summer evening weather and the BBQ is fired up, sizzling with skewers of veggies, and the smell of roasted chicken with rosemary wafts across the neighborhood, wouldn’t you rather be relaxing and laughing with friends instead of swatting hungry mosquito’s? I mean really! Who wants to be spilling Cabernet on their cool new Hawaii shirt while running back and forth between the safety of your kitchen and the “hostile wilds?” On one hand you have carefree warm summer nights, on the other you are a human pin cushion being sucked dry by 523 pounds of blood thirsty insects. To me, the choice is clear.

Keith Hansen,   May 2009

What do these movies and TV programs have in common? BAD BIRDS! What’s a bad bird? In popular culture, it’s a bird that is shown or heard, usually on a movie or TV program that simply “couldn’t be”. Beware! Or better yet. BE AWARE! It’s all about bird truth. It’s about the “thrill” (however questionable) of finding avian mistakes! Sound like fun? Join me for just a few of my favorites.
While this is probably not high on any list of your concerns, or something that has ever crossed your mind, it’s something wacky and fun to be aware of. It is for me! We bird nerds will often notice that Hollywood and most media in general is notoriously inaccurate when it comes to birds.
This crossed my mind today when I saw an interview with Leonardo DiCaprio talking about his latest film, Blood Diamond. At one point he mentioned that, and I’m paraphrasing here, “there wasn’t anything depicted in this film that was beyond what actually happened and that the events were very real”. I beg to differ! As much as I like him as an actor and am with him on the thrust and politics of the film, I beg to differ. One thing that never happened, were the BAD BIRDS! If the background bird sounds were actually recorded from that region, country, continent or even hemisphere, then by watching this film, I’d just recorded several new bird species. Let’s see there was Downy Woodpecker, Cactus Wren and what I believe was an Eastern Screech-Owl and the ever-present Red-tailed Hawk “screeeech”! That screech has been on more macho truck commercials, opening shots of sweeping vistas (from any number of countries where Red-tails have never screeched as in “The Syrian Bride”) and any film where the filmmaker wants to instill a touch of danger. I don’t remember hearing a single African bird in Blood Diamond.
I first became aware of “Bad Birds” in the late 60’s. I was a little kid growing up in Maryland. Watching my favorite cartoon, probably dipping Oreo cookies into a big glass of cold milk, I laid sprawled out on the living room floor. “Johnny Quest” was on TV and I really liked it. It always bothered me though that in the opening scenes of the cartoon, they show an Andean Condor stooping down, nailing and carrying off Johnny’s faithful pooch “Bandit”. No problem, except that it is in a Peregrine-esque stoop! Well, Condors eat only carrion, (dead animals) and have no need for “a stoop”! In addition, they can’t carry off their prey with their feet, but hey, it’s a cartoon for Christ’s sake.

Most of you who watched Hawkeye Pierce and Radar O’Reilly on the TV show M.A.S.H., probably weren’t annoyed by the Western Scrub-Jays, Ash-throated Flycatchers, California Quail and Wrentits that were “filling the skies of Korea with sound”, but I was! The microphones actually recorded the natural sounds of the bird species; it’s just that they are the birds that one finds in the hills around Hollywood California.
Sometimes they get the birds name correct but the actual bird is WAY off. Case in point, the movie Charlie’s Angels. At one point in the film one of the Angels mentions that a Pygmy Nuthatch comes to visit her at her windowsill at her home in Monterey. So far so good as Pygmy Nuthatches are very common there. However, when the bird actually comes into view and lands there for all to see, they have used a bird called a Troupial, a gaudy and well-patterned type of Oriole that I’ve seen in the upper Amazon of Ecuador! My first thought is “WOW, first record of a Troupial for California” or “Wow, the San Diego Zoo is missing its Troupial”!
How about the new Mel Gibson film “Apocalypto”.  Meant to have taken place in pre-Spanish Yucatan, Veracruz or Chiapas, I found it strange that the rulers at the beheading ceremony were all wearing Pheasant feathers from Asia. Perhaps there was a bird feather trade route from tropical Asia over the Bering Straits through Alaska and down to Central America, but, probably not. Did the non-migratory American Crows, calling in the jungle, actually fly all that way down to the land of the pyramids? Probably not. Or, my personal favorite was the moment where the main character was laying on a stream bank, exhausted after a long chase, and a Cattle Egret walked by. NOT! You have all seen the white Cattle Egrets in life or on nature programs standing around on the backs of Elephants in Africa. Well, they were blown across the Atlantic Ocean and were first recorded in northeastern South America in 1877 and then in North America in 1941. OOPS!
I mentioned before how different birds are used to instill various emotions, “macho truck, add screeching Red-tailed Hawk”. Here are some classics. You have a weird demented, kinda warped, psycho killer scene in the middle of nowhere, insert Cactus Wrens low-pitched monotone “jer jer jer jer jer…”. Any film with nighttime or late evening “lost in the woods” scene, insert Common Loon’s haunting cry (no matter how far they are from Canadian breeding lakes).  Hoss, from Bonanza says, “Sure is quiet out here Lil’ Joe… yeah… too quiet”. Insert “eerie yodel” of Loon here! From the land down under comes the Kookaburra, a non-migratory Kingfisher whose loud, deranged, hysterical and human-like laughter echoes in “Hollywood tropical jungles” worldwide. Want a jungle? Insert Kookaburra here!
Sometimes we will find mistakes even in “real live” nature programs. Take “Winged Migration” for example. They mistakenly call a Clark’s Grebe a Western Grebe (easy to do) but when they show immature plumage Snow Geese flying north on their harrowing journey to the arctic, NOT! Snow Geese would have already molted into their adult plumage as they head north.
So, the next time you sit down with your hot bowl of popcorn, ready to watch a movie, keep in mind the birds. As a naturalist I love hearing and seeing the accurate species in their true home, but a little part of me also enjoys finding the mistakes, then I laugh at the bad birds!
Beware, and be aware!

Keith Hansen
Jan. 27th 2007

What do these movies and TV programs have in common? BAD BIRDS! What’s a bad bird? In popular culture, it’s a bird that is shown or heard, usually on a movie or TV program that simply “couldn’t be”. Beware! Or better yet. BE AWARE! It’s all about bird truth. It’s about the “thrill” (however questionable) of finding avian mistakes! Sound like fun? Join me for just a few of my favorites.
While this is probably not high on any list of your concerns, or something that has ever crossed your mind, it’s something wacky and fun to be aware of. It is for me! We bird nerds will often notice that Hollywood and most media in general is notoriously inaccurate when it comes to birds.
This crossed my mind today when I saw an interview with Leonardo DiCaprio talking about his latest film, Blood Diamond. At one point he mentioned that, and I’m paraphrasing here, “there wasn’t anything depicted in this film that was beyond what actually happened and that the events were very real”. I beg to differ! As much as I like him as an actor and am with him on the thrust and politics of the film, I beg to differ. One thing that never happened, were the BAD BIRDS! If the background bird sounds were actually recorded from that region, country, continent or even hemisphere, then by watching this film, I’d just recorded several new bird species. Let’s see there was Downy Woodpecker, Cactus Wren and what I believe was an Eastern Screech-Owl and the ever-present Red-tailed Hawk “screeeech”! That screech has been on more macho truck commercials, opening shots of sweeping vistas (from any number of countries where Red-tails have never screeched as in “The Syrian Bride”) and any film where the filmmaker wants to instill a touch of danger. I don’t remember hearing a single African bird in Blood Diamond.
I first became aware of “Bad Birds” in the late 60’s. I was a little kid growing up in Maryland. Watching my favorite cartoon, probably dipping Oreo cookies into a big glass of cold milk, I laid sprawled out on the living room floor. “Johnny Quest” was on TV and I really liked it. It always bothered me though that in the opening scenes of the cartoon, they show an Andean Condor stooping down, nailing and carrying off Johnny’s faithful pooch “Bandit”. No problem, except that it is in a Peregrine-esque stoop! Well, Condors eat only carrion, (dead animals) and have no need for “a stoop”! In addition, they can’t carry off their prey with their feet, but hey, it’s a cartoon for Christ’s sake.

Most of you who watched Hawkeye Pierce and Radar O’Reilly on the TV show M.A.S.H., probably weren’t annoyed by the Western Scrub-Jays, Ash-throated Flycatchers, California Quail and Wrentits that were “filling the skies of Korea with sound”, but I was! The microphones actually recorded the natural sounds of the bird species; it’s just that they are the birds that one finds in the hills around Hollywood California.
Sometimes they get the birds name correct but the actual bird is WAY off. Case in point, the movie Charlie’s Angels. At one point in the film one of the Angels mentions that a Pygmy Nuthatch comes to visit her at her windowsill at her home in Monterey. So far so good as Pygmy Nuthatches are very common there. However, when the bird actually comes into view and lands there for all to see, they have used a bird called a Troupial, a gaudy and well-patterned type of Oriole that I’ve seen in the upper Amazon of Ecuador! My first thought is “WOW, first record of a Troupial for California” or “Wow, the San Diego Zoo is missing its Troupial”!
How about the new Mel Gibson film “Apocalypto”.  Meant to have taken place in pre-Spanish Yucatan, Veracruz or Chiapas, I found it strange that the rulers at the beheading ceremony were all wearing Pheasant feathers from Asia. Perhaps there was a bird feather trade route from tropical Asia over the Bering Straits through Alaska and down to Central America, but, probably not. Did the non-migratory American Crows, calling in the jungle, actually fly all that way down to the land of the pyramids? Probably not. Or, my personal favorite was the moment where the main character was laying on a stream bank, exhausted after a long chase, and a Cattle Egret walked by. NOT! You have all seen the white Cattle Egrets in life or on nature programs standing around on the backs of Elephants in Africa. Well, they were blown across the Atlantic Ocean and were first recorded in northeastern South America in 1877 and then in North America in 1941. OOPS!
I mentioned before how different birds are used to instill various emotions, “macho truck, add screeching Red-tailed Hawk”. Here are some classics. You have a weird demented, kinda warped, psycho killer scene in the middle of nowhere, insert Cactus Wrens low-pitched monotone “jer jer jer jer jer…”. Any film with nighttime or late evening “lost in the woods” scene, insert Common Loon’s haunting cry (no matter how far they are from Canadian breeding lakes).  Hoss, from Bonanza says, “Sure is quiet out here Lil’ Joe… yeah… too quiet”. Insert “eerie yodel” of Loon here! From the land down under comes the Kookaburra, a non-migratory Kingfisher whose loud, deranged, hysterical and human-like laughter echoes in “Hollywood tropical jungles” worldwide. Want a jungle? Insert Kookaburra here!
Sometimes we will find mistakes even in “real live” nature programs. Take “Winged Migration” for example. They mistakenly call a Clark’s Grebe a Western Grebe (easy to do) but when they show immature plumage Snow Geese flying north on their harrowing journey to the arctic, NOT! Snow Geese would have already molted into their adult plumage as they head north.
So, the next time you sit down with your hot bowl of popcorn, ready to watch a movie, keep in mind the birds. As a naturalist I love hearing and seeing the accurate species in their true home, but a little part of me also enjoys finding the mistakes, then I laugh at the bad birds!
Beware, and be aware!

Keith Hansen
Jan. 27th 2007

Later I headed home, south down Hwy. 1, where I stopped to see if the Yellow-billed Loon was still floating around at Nick’s Cove.  (6 miles north of the town of Marshall)  and sure enough, there it was in all of its glory. This bird was originally discovered by David Wimpheimer back in Jan. and was actually joined by a second Yellow-billed Loon, (found by Rich Stallcup) a few weeks ago! I think that these are the 3rd and 4th records for this wonderful bird in Marin County. It was nice as there were also a few Common Loons there as well as a single Red-throated Loon for comparison.

After that, as I tooled down the Hwy. it struck me odd that, within a matter of hours, one could actually see these two rare birds that originate from very different neighborhoods. The Hawk ranges from no closer than south east Arizona and the Loon from Alaska.

Keith Hansen

Western Kingbird, Dec. 25 th 2008, Oxkutzcab, Yucatan, aprox, 100 kms. south east of Merida, Yucatan. While birding the dump located aprox. 6km south of the town, Oxkutzcab, I located this Western Kingbird. The bird was in view for about 15 minutes from as close as 40 feet. It foraged actively hawking for insects from exposed perches. In this photo one can see the contrastingly black tail with the bold, crisp and completely white outer tail feather.

This photo also shows the above mentioned marks.

This photo of the Western Kingbird shows the smaller bill and the longer primary extension,compared to either a Tropical or Couch’s Kingbird.

This image shows the Western Kingbirds unforked black tail that contrasts sharply with the grey upper rump and lower back.

This image shows the white outer tail feather on a black unforked tail.

Although blurry, this image shows the white outer tail feather.

This image shows both white outer tail feathers.

Description of Western Kingbird, from notes after the sighting.

After having walked for about 6 km’s from the town of Oxkutzcab, (pronounced OSH COOTS COB) I had finally arrived at the town dump. A few days before, my wife and I had driven past the dump where I noticed a rather large flock of “Rough-winged Swallows” perched on the power lines that ran next to the road. I wanted to go back, video tape them and determine as to weather they were Northern or Ridgeway’s Rough-winged Swallows. Once there, I was glad to see them still hanging out and in fact their black tipped undertail coverts clued me in that they were in fact Ridgeway’s. After getting some footage I then ventured into the dump where I was greeted by far too many feral dogs. There must have literally been over 100 dogs there and their sad state of health was breathtaking. Some pathetic ones fled quickly, some starving ones did nothing and some of the puppies came over for a visit. I began to film the swallows, trying to get shots in flight when a Kingbird got my attention. Upon looking at it I immediately recognized it as a Western Kingbird, a bird that I am intimately familiar with. Not knowing the status of it in the Yucatan but knowing that it was a new bird for me on the peninsula, I began to film it. After I got home (to Patricias folks house in Oxkutzcab), I looked at Barbara MacKinnon’s checklist to the birds of the Yucatan and was shocked to see that it had never been recorded. I then took notes while the bird was fresh in my mind.

The description; Western Kingbird, Dec 25th 2008, Oxkutzcab Dump, on road to Lol Tun Caverns approximately 6 km’s south of town. The bird was an obvious Kingbird being a large Flycatcher showing grayish upper parts and yellow under parts. Immediately upon looking at the bird I noted that it had bold, crisp and bright white outer webs to the outer tail feathers set on a black unforked tail that contrasted strongly with the grayish back. At times when the perched bird had its tail closed, it was difficult to see the white of the outer tail feathers. I noticed that the bill seemed far too small for that of a Tropical/Couch’s Kingbird. This feature gave it a rather “cute look”, something that I never feel when I see a Tropical/Couch’s Kingbirds “swollen” bill . The chin and throat were white and didn’t contrast greatly with the pale yellow underparts. The color of the belly seemed to be a lighter, cleaner yellow than the rich deeper yellow of the Tropical. The back was grayish with a very faint and subtle cast of olive green seen only in the best viewing conditions. The head was gray and contrasted ever so slightly with the “gray blushed” green of the back.  The wings were grayish and showed a rather long primary extension. The Kingbird was in view for about 15 minutes where it foraged for flying insects from exposed perches. It moved off to the far side of the dump where it was seen near two Tropical Kingbirds.

Note; Patricia and I returned later that afternoon at about 4:30 PM but had no luck re-finding it.

Song Sparrow, 12/31/09, On the road to the “Ol’ Garbage Dump” located 7 km’s east and south of Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico.

This Song Sparrow was located ESE of the city of Progreso, Yucatan Mexico, aprox. 7 km's south on the road that runs from the main east-west hwy, through and past a large garbage dump. It was seen twice that day about 3 km's south of the dump. Although these are poor "video grabs" they do show some important marks. This image shows a dark, long tailed Sparrow with a white throat and malar mark that is seperated by a thin crisp dark whisker. The face is grey with a dark trans ocular line. The back is heavely streaked and contrasts with the unmarked greyish-brown rump. The tail is long.

This shot shows the long tail, the dark trans ocular line, the dark crown and bill as well as the pale legs.

This image shows the long tail and pale legs.

This image shows the face pattern once again as well as the grey brown rump and the pale legs.

This image shows the long tail and the rump-back contrast.

This image shows the white throat and dark whisker mark.

Description of the Song Sparrow, from notes taken immediately taken after the sighting of the bird.

Found in thorn forest habitat on west side of dirt road, aprox. 3 km’s south of garbage dump, located east of the city of Progreso, Yucatan. While “pishing” into the thorn forest this bird immediately popped up in to full view and faced me. I identified it as a Song Sparrow the moment I looked at it. Rather stunned, I grabbed my video camera and that sudden motion made the bird turn away from me. I began to film the bird from the back. It then turned to its right and gave me a brief profile. It was in view for about 30 seconds whereby it flew off. Description; I recognised the species right off as a Song Sparrow. Overall the bird was an intricately patterned bird in the head and breast. It was a long tailed Melospiza that was brown above and light below. The back was medium brown with 4 or 5 darker brown bold streaks. The underparts were white with heavy blackish-brown streaks across the breast and then down the flanks. The streaks grouped up together to form a bold dark cluster located in the center of the breast. The face was a combination of grey, black and dark brown with a bold white malar patch that broadened near the rear. This mark stood out boldly from afar. The cheek was greyish and was outlined by the darker brown lines through the eye and the border between the malar and the cheek. The throat was white and was set off by a bold black whisker line. The crown was greyish brown. The bill was dark, conical and typical of a Sparrow. The wings were brownish and didn’t contrast with the back. However the inner tertials had black bold centers. The rump was unmarked and contrasted with the stripes on the back. The long tail was brownish. I located the bird again about two hours later on my return walk back toward the garbage dump. At that time the bird was perched against the bright sky and so I did not film it. It was in view for about 20 seconds and again flew off, this time not to be seen again.

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