The warm start to November has made for some surprising nature sightings. I’ve seen and heard many insects that are usually silent by this time of year. A recent walk in the woods behind my house yielded several eft sightings underfoot. Efts are the terrestrial stage of a newt, a common aquatic salamander. By November, eft sightings are usually a thing of the past – or the future, depending on how you look at it.

As a birdwatcher, I sometimes struggle with how to carry my gear. Thankfully, Wunderbird makes it easier. For me, it goes beyond binoculars around my neck and a field guide in my back pocket. Throw in a camera with a bulky 100-400 lens, an extra lens or two, a spotting scope with tripod, and a surprisingly awkward adapter for digiscoping, and I’ve got my hands full. Typically, what I would have done is throw all of the equipment into a backpack and start my walk. It keeps the equipment in one place, which is nice, but it has several disadvantages. When I need something, I have to stop, take the backpack off and fish for the item to be used. In birding, of course, that means my subject is usually long gone by the time I do all that. But now there is a better way. It’s called Wunderbird, a line of high-tech apparel designed and engineered for the birdwatcher. The line includes a short-sleeved T-shirt (Kestrel), long-sleeved T-shirt (Peregrine) and hooded sweatshirt (Gyrfalcon). Each version comes with several spacious pockets, pouches and padding located for comfort and easy access to your birding equipment. The products are also made of “smart fabrics” that offer ventilation, quick drying and mosquito repellent. I got the hoodie several months ago, but the sweltering summer we had kept the Gyrfalcon tucked away in the closet. I was excited to try it out in fall-like conditions. I instantly liked it. My walk to the nearby pond was more comfortable and efficient. I put the camera around my neck with the strap going behind the hood. The camera and lens combination make for the heaviest piece of equipment and, given the padding around the shoulders, I hardly noticed the weight. The binoculars went into the bottom pouch. I thought the camera lens dangling down would make it clunky to fish out the binoculars, but that wasn’t the case. At one point during the walk in the woods, a bird came into view and perched on a nearby fallen log. I quickly grabbed the binoculars and was able to focus on the hermit thrush seconds before it flew back into the deep woods. The spacious pouch allowed for the binoculars to come out effortlessly without the corners getting stuck on the edge of a pocket. Trying to wrestle binoculars out of tight pockets has cost me valuable seconds in the field before Wunderbird. The top pouch on the hoodie may make it even easier to access binoculars; I’ll try that next time. (Note from author: I’ve tried it. It does make it easier. Way easier.)  Most birdwatchers will have their binoculars strapped around their necks, which would make for even easier access and storage in the pouches. The bottom pouch has two compartments. I used the outside compartment for the binoculars and inside compartment for lens caps and that awkward digiscoping adapter. Talk about corners getting stuck on pockets; the adapter has all sorts of protrusions and odd edges that make it a nightmare to carry in a pocket. Wunderbird solves that problem, too. The inner layer of the pocket also serves as a hand-warmer. The scope and tripod obviously do not fit into any of the pockets, but the heavy padding on the shoulders of Wunderbird make lugging the scope around more comfortable. I don’t normally get too excited about clothes, but a shirt designed for birdwatching was something I had to try. I’ve been impressed with the hoodie and look forward to using it more. Also, the Gyrfalcon looks like a normal sweatshirt when bulky birding equipment is not stuffed into the pockets. There is also an interesting backstory to the creation of Wunderbird and its founder, Gil Gutglick. I’ll leave that for you to check out at the Wunderbird website: www.wunderbirdworld.com. In the meantime, get out, find some late fall migrants, and let me know what you’re seeing out there.

Here’s the Gyrfalcon hoodie in action.

Refer to my last post for more information about Wunderbird and how the company makes life easier for birders. 

https://birdsofnewengland.com/2018/10/30/wunderbird-makes-the-trek-easier-more-efficient/



Here is the latest For the Birds column, which runs in several New England newspapers.

..

A lot of birdwatcherslook forward to the spring warbler migration. Not only do our woods fill with colorful, vocal birds, but the timing is such that it follows winter and several months of gloomy weather.

From late April through early June, the birding world is abuzz and excited with what warblers are being seen and where.

Their fall migration, conversely, creates almost no buzz. Even the warblers themselves are mostly quiet. Instead of heralding their arrival from the tree tops like they do in spring, they lay low silent.

For many species, the blazing colors they sport in May are replaced by drab browns and grays – again, drawing as little attention to themselves as possible. Because they are Continue reading →

Here is the latest For the Birds column, which runs in several New England newspapers.

I turned the corner at the four-way stop and noticed a big, dark clump on the left-hand side of the road.

It’s either a bag or a turkey I thought, as I approached the object in question. Of those two choices, obviously I was hoping for a turkey.

It turned out I was wrong on both counts, but I was close with the turkey guess. It was a turkey vulture and it was standing on and picking apart a dead squirrel. Not knowing exactly what it was when I turned the corner, I drove past the vulture on the way to my destination. As I passed the bird, however, it didn’t even look up from its meal, so I figured it was comfortable enough that I could circle around and grab a photo or two.

I didn’t want to back up because, first of all, it’s dangerous; and second, from my experience, wildlife usually flee from cars backing up. I think the animal in question feels threatened about the object coming back toward it. Also, cars tend to make more noise in reverse.

The road I was on continues in a circular route that winds up back at the four-corner intersection. So I kept on going and hoped the bird would still be there when I got back. In my rearview mirror, I noticed another big, dark bird in a branch perched above the vulture. I assumed, of course, it was another vulture and told myself I would check it out when I circled back.

I got back to the intersection in a few minutes and, sure enough, the vulture was still on the side of the road picking at the squirrel. I pulled off to the right-hand side of the road, put down the driver’s-side window, and snapped a few photos of the impressive, opportunistic bird.

I started to pull away when I remembered the bird perched above the action. I pulled forward a few more feet so I could get a look at it from the back window and noticed that the bird was still there. It was not, however, a vulture, but rather a very anxious-looking red-tailed hawk.

Clearly the hawk wished it were the one perched on the squirrel enjoying the meal, but the size of the vulture prevented it from taking measures in that direction.

I didn’t see how the scene unfolded prior to my arrival. I don’t know if the hawk had caught and killed the squirrel and the vulture somehow wrestled it away, or if the squirrel had been sitting there for a while and the two birds happened upon it at approximately the same time.

My guess is that the squirrel was already dead and the hawk found it first and started eating it. Then the vulture came around and its menacing 6-foot wingspan chased the hawk off the squirrel and onto a perch safely above the mammoth bird.

Not wanting to interfere with whatever was going to happen next, I pulled ahead and continued to my original destination. I’m inclined to think that, given the size of the vulture, the hawk eventually gave up and flew off to fine food elsewhere.

Looking back, I was surprised that there was only one vulture. I typically see vultures in groups — sometimes small, sometimes big. It’s not often that I see them alone.

The other thing that surprised me is that I actually had my camera with me. I have been lax about keeping it with me lately. There have been many times over the years that I have stumbled upon interesting wildlife scenes and did not have my camera with me. You’d think I would have learned my lesson and always had the camera with me, but that is often not the case. This time, thankfully, it was a lesson learned in a positive way.