BirdManPaul.com

Just not enough time anymore in a typical day. After work I am out working ther boxes. I have been banding young Kestrels for the past two weeks. Some boxes just have two or three young but 5 is the norm. Blue Birds and Tree Swallows, banding them every day at so many different boxes.

On Tuesday June 3rd, the PPL Martins Creek Peregrines were banded. There were four young this year, a first. I enjoyed the time up on the stack taking many pictures of the adults as they flew around as they were banding the young. PA Outdoor Life filmed the entire time we were up there.

The Portland Bald Eagles also had a first! This year they produced TRIPLETS! Any day now they should take wing if they have not already.

I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Very wet today, still I was out checking Kestrels boxes with two writers who were in town. Both enjoyed a tour of the area.

This past week I added many more banded Kestrels from last year and a few from 2006. Some nesting pairs have just arrived back this past week.

I also banded Blue Birds that are sitting eggs.

We now have 8 PPL nestling Peregines in our area. This is awsome!

Portlands Bald Eagles doing well. The two young eagles were sitting in the nest getting wet at noon today. One of the adults was perched on the Osprey tower. Seems just like yesterday that we found this pair nesting in this tower in Feb. of 2006.

Looking forward to this weekend and finding more banded Kestrels in my study area.

More to come.........

Another great day in the field. Banded kestrels are showing up every time I check the boxes. My field data is outstanding.

Blue birds are doing great...enjoy

What a beautiful day in the field today. Checked many Kestrel and Blue Bird boxes. I enjoyed seeing all the BB boxes with either Blue Birds or Tree Swallows.

I ran into two old friends, a female Kestrel I banded on 1-1-2006 and a Tree Swallow I banded last year. Below is pictures of these two birds.

I have also found a Coopers hawk nest that I plan on banding the young.

THIS IS Female 452 that has nested three straight years in the PPL, Martins Creek area. She is very special to me as this was my first Kestrel that I banded in 2006. She is at least 3years old, but could be older.

She is on 5 eggs. I'm not sure if the mated male is banded.

This is a Tree Swallow that is banded and nesting on PPL, Martins Creek

property. I banded many Tree Swallows last year in this area.

This is a Male Blue Bird I banded also yesterday. I'll be banding hundreds of these birds in 2008.

The word for today is Blue Birds, Blue Birds and more Blue Birds.

Oh yea Tree Swallows too!

Started to check all the new BB Boxes we installed and did they take over.

At the Smiths near Kunkletown within 5 days we have a complete BB nest ready for eggs. PPL Power Plant in Martins Creek, all the new boxes have BB's or Tree Swallows! I still have a ton of new boxes to check. GCS Landfill has young already. I'll be banding within a week from now.

Kestrels are on eggs and some have not even laid yet. This crazy weather

has been rough on who is laying and who did not start to do so. If weather comes back to normal everyone will be in the mood.

I have installed a camera on our house finches nesting on our porch. Just to watch them build their nest on wide screen TV is a hoot!

I'll still install new BB Boxes every chance I get.

I'll have more on banding in a few days.

Today at PPL Power Plant's Martins Creek Earth Day, we had a great group of people interested in hearing about the the Kestrel Box Program. I started the Kestrel Box program back in 1978 with just two boxes. I kept adding boxes till it grew to about 80 boxes by the mid 80's. After taking years off to raise my two daughters I returned to helping these beautiful Falcons. I now will concentrate on only my original study area which was East of RT 33 and north of RT 22 to the New Jersey border (Delaware River). Over the past four years I have also installed Blue bird boxes. 2008 has started off with large numbers of returnning kestrels that I have banded in the past three years. As I comparied data from the late 70's through the 80's many of the original boxes were removed or rotted away. Many developments have been built and boxes were lost to this. Looking ahead now to the future of this original Kestrel Box program area, will give us an over all picture just how these birds have surived.

Later this afternoon I installed two new boxes in this original study area where I have seen kestrels lately. I also trapped a banded male Kestrel that I banded a little over a year ago. This will be his second year nesting at this box. When I do trap his mate I hope to find that she is also the one I banded last year at this box. I have found that some of the banded nesting kestrels do jump around from one box to box. Also the nestlings have stayed in this study area to nest also. There is so much to learn from this project that I always find out something new weekly.

As I installed one of the boxes today just before dark, a Shorteared owl

popped up near me to start his hunt for supper. Along with this owl was a pair of Northern Harriers hunting also. What a way to end such a great day in the field.

This coming Saturday I will be at the first ever Earth Day at GCS landfill near Pen Argyl, PA. Over 27 years ago I had three different Kestrel boxes on this land when it was owned by the Perin family. As the Landfill grew the boxes had to be removed. Last year a pair of Kestrels nested in a box on this property again. The box was checked last week and the female was sitting on eggs again. We have come full circle.

Thanks to all that attended PPL's Earth day and gave me permission to install Kestrel/Blue Bird Boxes on their properties. To those that live west of RT 33 I will pass your information on to the guys that take care of this study area.

Till the next time....

Bird ON.................

I have completed the spring netting and banding of north bound Saw-whet Owls. I netted 35 new owls and netted three banded owls. One was from VA another was from MA. The third owl I have not received and data from the bird banding lab.

On to the Kestrels. The past two weeks our Kestrels have returned in numbers. I have been out in the study area of the boxes trapping and banding them. I have trapped many returning K's from '06 and '07. The boxes have K's hanging around them and are getting ready to drop eggs.

I have expanded into Monroe County and have K's already near some of these boxes. This years nesting season will be a wealth of information on these Falcons.

Also the Blue Birds are already building nest. I will have two new study area's that will have mega boxes for these beautiful birds.

As you can see I will be very busy this year. Great Horned Owls will also be banded along with young Redtails.

Till the next time.....

Cheers and good birding....ENJOY

I have been busy with netting saw-whet owls that are returning north as they pass through our area. I have netted 30 Owls so far and three of these carried a band other than my own. One was banded on Nov 6th, 2007 in VA. The other was banded in MA on Oct. 21st,2007 and the third I have not made a contact on where it was banded. I'll continue netting for a few more weeks.

The Kestrels have returned to many of the boxes. This week will really bring them back. I have trapped and banded some this past month. I have also trapped a few of my banded Kestrels from the past three years.

The Ospreys are also returning. I have seen two differnt O's at PPL, M.C. area.

There has been a third Peregrine at PPL also. I am not sure if it has moved on.

Also the Merlin is back in the PPL area. The past three years I have seen this Merlin and then it moves on. It is unbanded but I'm trying to change that.

The picture below is of a Grey Phase Screech Owl in a box on PPL's property. After all the high rains the water just about wiped his home out. Marlene and I replaced this box last week. This owl is now banded and has a new home.

Wing Tagged Kestrel from New Jersey

I'm still looking for the Short eared owls in our area. It looks like they have been on the move. I will continue to hunt for them the next three days while I am out road trapping Kestrels. Great Horned Owls are down on eggs and the Redtails are paired up. The Portland Eagles are enjoying another nesting season. The pair of Balds that have been around Riverton

are still hanging around. I'll be at both Earth days at PPL and Grand Central Landfill. I'll post the entire schedule of places we'll be presenting our Cavity Nesters of Northampton County Display in 2008.

The Delaware Water Gap Peregrines have been seen again on the PA

side on the roost tree. Just where this pair nests is still a secret to only them.

Short eared owls, Long eared owls and singing Great Horned owls, what more could an owl lover want. This is the time of the year that some of us enjoy so much. Of course the GHO's are here all time. If you can out to some of the areas where the other two owls have been hanging around do so now. If you need locations please email me and I'll let you know where these owls have been seen. Please be carefull if these owls are on private property. Do not tresspass. You will be able to enjoy seeing them from the road from your car.

On the Kestrel news, I have been road trapping some of the wintering K's in my study area. I have found some of my banded '06 and '07 Kestrels. I'll continue trapping and banding right into the nesting season.

Update on the Saw-whet owls that I banded this past fall. Not one of the 85 owls that I have banded, have not been retrapped anywhere at all. I'm still waiting for a call from another bander since netting is still under way in the southern states.

Bald Eagles are still along the Delaware River and can be found from Riverton Bridge all the way up river to Port Jervis. The resident pair at Reliant Power plant near portland, Pa. are quite active.

Peregrines are again in the area of the Deleware Water Gap. The pair was spotted just last Saturday in their usual perch area on the PA. side.

I'll have some news on the local Earth Day programs at PPL, Martins Creek and at GCS here in Pen Argyl, PA.

Good luck birding....

Enjoy the Birds and the SUPER BOWL.

There will be more of Birdman Paul along with Kathy Uhler on PA Outdoor

Life program this Sunday at 6:30pm on WNEP-16 Out of Scranton, Pa.

If you do not get this channel go here on MONDAY to view on line

http://www.wnep.com/Global/category.asp?C=21511&nav=menu158_17

You will enjoy this program if you like owls.

Weather is the big news at this time. The real cold weather brought into our area alot of great birdwatching. The northern Bald Eagles returned to the wintering grounds along the Delaware River. Eagle watchers were having alot to enjoy from New York all the way to our area. If you want to get your fill of seeing bald eagles, take the trip north along the river to Port Jervis and then into the wintering grounds along RT 97. Check out this link to see some beautiful pictures just taken the past weekend. http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/605483

Remember to stay in your cars to enjoy them. Pictures like these will be there for you to take.

On a sad note check what happened in Alaska with our National Bird....

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080114/NEWS/80114004&emailAFriend=1

I have set the Saw-whet owl nets a few times but no owls yet. I would like to net and band a few wintering in our area.

Good birding to all........

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

This past sunday my family took a trip into New York City for the day. We had a blast. Of course I wanted to go birding in Central Park and look for Palemale and Lola. Luck was with us and we found Palemale around 3:15pm on the west side. He was perched and then took off for the east side of the park. I did get a few pictures of him before he was gone.

I was so pleased to see him as quickly as we did.

PPL Power Plant in MC had their Bird count also on sunday. They had a great day. Interesting was the fact they had six Short-eared owls. I have been waiting to trap and band one of these guys for years.This could be my year to do this.

Good luck to all and look for the first Snowy Owl of the winter.

We are at 85 Saw-whet owls for the season. We have not set the nets for quiet some time now. If we get some warmer temps we might try for them again.

Last Friday night I gave my Cavity Nesters of Northampton County Presentation in Reading, PA. I use a Power Point Program that starts in 1978 when my Kestrel Box program started and ends with up to date

information on just where our nesting Kestrels stand today. I also use live Kestrels now for educational purpose's along with a 10x10 display of Kestrel information. The entire group that was present friday night went away with a new outlook on these beautiful falcons. I also have Presentations on Migration Banding and Saw-whet owl banding as well.

Look for more locations in 2008 where I'll be showcasing my studies.

On the wintering birds in our area, look for alot of new and different birds arriving from the north. Go to WWW.PABIRDS.ORG and follow links to

exciting birds that are in our area.

The weather has changed so we are not setting our owl nets. We'll be back at it as we get some warmer nights. The Past Saturday night, Marlene and I enjoyed a night out with Dr. Pieter Knibbe and his wife Karla. It was five years ago that they were married. We enjoyed the night with his son James and some of Pieter's friends. We released a Saw-whet that I netted.

Rose, was thrilled to see these owls let alone release one!

Saw-whets are still coming through.

This guy was our first visitor last night. He was on his way south after we banded him.

Our Saw-Whet Owl netting program is winding down. We netted 81 OWLS

to date. This was an exciting Owl program to say the least. A few weeks ago we introduced to a room full of interested people at PPL power plant just what we have been doing every night to net and band all these beautiful owls from the far north. We also released 5 Saw-whets for all to enjoy. One sat on a low tree for quite some time to give all a wonderful view.

This now is an exciting time for all bird watchers as winter starts to cool us down. Many reports coming in that there are now Northern Shrikes in the area. Keep an eye out for these exciting hunters of mice.

Our Ridge Migration Banding has come to a close. We did not net a single Golden Eagle this year. We did have some very close encounters. Roger Jones in VA did trap/band two and also Jerry Lehr of Little Gap managed to net one a few weeks ago.

This years very warm season was not perfect for our banding projects on the ridge. Goshawks were netted and banded in the past two weeks.

I'll be posting some links to learn more about the Saw-whet Owls as they make their way south for the winter.

Till the next time...

The Saw-whet Owls are still coming though our area. James, Ashley and I have netted 71 so far. We are enjoying a banner year. We have not netted a single banded owl from someone else. Just 22 miles north of us, Darryl

Speicher has netted/banded 74 owls so far and we have netted not one of his owls! We also netted two Eastern Scheech owls last Sunday morning.

Both were Grey Phase owls. Both were netted at the 5am net check. With the weather changing to colder nights with some north winds we should have more owls to net.

Bald eagles have moved into the Delaware Gap Area.

Get out and bird now.....

I have banded 37 Saw-whets so far. This is 7 times the number I netted in 2005. I'll be netting all this month. I have not netted one banded bird from all the 1000's that were banded in the past month north of me. My banded owls should be in MD and VA soon so I hope one of them will be renetted.

Last night James my helper, and I netted two Thrushes on the first net check. This is a first for me.

The past weekend Marlene and I were in VA to attend the Roger Jones

wedding. I owe alot to Roger for helping me start my Kestrel Box Program in 1978. We enjoyed the entire weekend at his Seven Island Wildlife Refuge. I'll post some great pictures of this place and the birds we enjoyed. Thank You Roger and Kathy for a wonderful experience.

The migration of Saw-whet owls has hit my area. I have netted and banded 14 in two nights. This is three times the owls I netted in '05 and in just two nights at that. This is going to be a record year following the amount the Canada banders are reporting.

Raptor migration is now getting the BIG guys. Golden Eagles are showing up at the hawk watch locations now.

This is a pair of Saw-whets from Monday. Well we do not know where they came from but now that they are banded we'll know if someone else nets

them and how far south they are.

A Bald eagle stopped in at the Pen Argyl GCS Landfill for lunch.

Kevin Kelly was in the right place to capture this awsome picture. I called him just after I received his email with this and other pictures he took of this Eagle as he flew around the landfill. Kevin and I have been banding many birds on the GCS property and we'll be looking forward to openning up the wildlife center on the property in the near future. He has been banding with me for the past two years.

Great Job Kevin......

The big news is the weather....HOT and DRY....

Migration is at a snail pace. Weatherman says late next week the change will come.

The news from the north is the Saw-whet are on the way in big #'s.

My staff and I will be setting up the nets in few days. We are netting in some real dense cover near wetlands.

Raptor Research Conference was really enjoyable. I met up with some old friends from around the country and caught up on alot of raptor work being done.

The days go by so fast now. Very busy with writting the Kestrel Data and enjoying the start of the migration.Looks like the Bangor Ospreys are on their way south. I have not seen them for over a week now.

My brother Dave and I enjoyed a day in the field together checking Rattle Snake dens a few days ago.We were led by a good friend of mine that has been watching these dens for years now.Dave was in his glory as he sat within arms length of a beautiful female with at least 5 young.We took many pictures of this female as she sunned and guarded her prize offspring.The other dens were also active with alot of young in blue berry patches.It seems that all these young rattlers were ready to shed and go under for the winter.I will always remember this day and especially sharing it with my brother.Dave was always the guy to call when someone found a snake.

To all, enjoy this really exciting time now as the daylight gets shorter each day.

Wow Sept and migration of raptors is on the way. I'll be checking on rattlesnakes tomorrow with my brother and a close friend.We will have some really neat photo's to share with you guys.Look for these in a few days.

Lots of birds are on the move with a record 26 Bald eagles this past Sunday at Bake Oven Knob lookout!This will be a year for records of Bald Eagles on the move.We will be waiting for them and all the rest of the migrating birds as they pass our areas.

Rain, Rain Rain, well all they said is we needed rain!Banded 4 young Blue Birds a few days ago.I have 4 more to band and then my 2007 nesting season is over.I'll have a total report posted soon.

Cavity Nesters of Northampton County, PA. This is the name of my project and I'll have hats and tee-shirts with a logo soon.2008 will be a very busy time with new study areas.

First off I would like to thank all that emailed me about the POL show and sent questions on my project and birds in general.I'm getting back to all of you as time allows me.Thanks so much.

For the birds,Kestrels are all over the place now.I have seen some with bands and also the wingtagged N.J. birds.Blue Birds still with eggs and I'm banding them.Migration is starting already as daylight gets shorter.Ospreys still here in Bangor. PPL's are still around also.

Tomorrow on PA Outdoor Life, WNEP-16 at 6:30PM, a program about the Cavity Nesters of Northampton County will air.It will be a two part program with the second part on next weeks show at same time.Jake from POL spent a day with me in late June working the Kestrel Boxes.We banded young kestrels and also some Tree Swallows.Along with Brian the cameraman we enjoyed a beautiful day in the field.I do hope all will enjoy this 2 part program.

Long Weekend for me, Mrs Birdman had a medical issue and is now home from the hospital and recovering.Thanks to all of you for your support thoughout this time.

I'll post a few pictures for you to enjoy.

Hello all and a Happy 4th of July.Yes it was a little wet but we still had fun.I hope it was a safe one for all.We banded Kestrels today and here is our newest Kestrel Karetaker on our team.You can not beat this smile!We have another month of banding Kestrels.Some of the nesting pairs were late getting on eggs.I'll be banding into early August for sure.

The Blue Bird/Tree Swallow banding program was really great for my first time try.Kevin and I have banded many of the pairs besides their young.Look for our boxes along roads near PPL area.Kevins program at GCS is second to none.There will be alot to see in the coming years at this site.PPL's area also has some great things instore for all of us to enjoy.Just take a ride out to the plant to see the Ospreys up close and personal.All five Peregines are now hunting the property along with the Kestrels we banded a few weeks ago.

I'll be updating some real neat pictures very soon.Kestrel Box Program is in full swing and some boxes must be checked and young K's Banded. I'll have some exciting news to get out on this very important program.I have also banded Blue Birds/Tree Swallows that you'll be seeing soon also.Have a great 4th of July.

Hello everyone.I have been really busy at this time.Kestrels are taking up every spare minute I have now.I have been banding young kestrels for the past two weeks.The data coming in from banded birds returning is starting to help out just where they are nesting in their second year.More to report after the nesting season is over.

The Bald Eagles at Portland are still in the nest.I watched them yesterday for about 30 minutes.Mom brought in a nice size fish and the young had a ball.They were see out of the nest a few days ago.I have not seen the Peregrines at DWG for three weeks now. If anyone does see this pair email me.The Peregrines were banded last thursday at PPL Plant.Again what a thrill to be up in the stack with these beautiful falcons.There were three young as last year.

I have also been banding Blue Birds and Tree Swallows and any other cavity nesters in my boxes.

Rich, my email to you will not go through.

Picture below is the Female Peregrine flying around the stack as we banded the young at PPL PLant in martins Creek, PA. Stack three is in the background.

Hello everyone.Everything is going well.Peregines on eggs,two young eaglets at Portland.I have Great Horned Owls almost ready to band. Redtails are all down on eggs.The Kestrels are moving into the boxes and laying eggs.No Barn Owls to be found.I have been installing Blue Bird Boxes everywhere I have permission to do so.Also farmers ponds now have Tree Swallow boxes installed.I'll be banding all the youngsters from all these boxes this year.The male Osprey nesting on the main road into their plant is a banded bird. I am working on finding out just where it was banded.I'll have alot of pictures to post for all to enjoy.Turkey season opens this Saturday so I'll be out enjoying the HUNT! Camera for sure.I have located two different "silver backs"They are beautiful to see.Seth Benz from Maine enjoyed last friday afternoon working in the study area.We saw a ton of good birds.MORE TO COME!Paul

They say a big storm is on it's way for our area.I checked a few Kestrel boxes today and the K's were hunting very near their boxes.Redtails were sitting tight.The Great honed Owls will really have to cover their young and wait it out.The warmer weather is only 4 or 5 days away.

PPL Peregines at the Martins Creek Plant are on four eggs.The PPL downtown Allentow do not have eggs as of a few days ago.I have not seen the Delaware Water gap P's in three weeks.The good news is that the Bangor Ospreys have returned. Thye were two weeks behind the other O's at PPL and Reliant's plant.I guess they took the long way home!

I was cleaning the boxes on the west side yesterday and watched as thousands of Snow Geese were coming down to feed. I was glassing them for Blue or mabe even a Ross goose when something caught my eye.

Yes one of the Snow geese had a neck collar. Since I am a Bander it was a thrill to see this goose and to get photo's of it. I have contacted the banding lab and already received a email tonight that the fellow that banded this goose will call me soon. I can't wait to hear just where he banded this bird in the far north! I'll post the location as soon as I get it.

Enjoy the great warm weather and the longer daylight we have now.

Yes Feb. is out of here. The warm sun during the day is melting away the snow cover. Past weekend was a busy one. Enjoyed being out checking on the local Raptors. One of the Peregrines is back at the PPL tower nesting box. Another one is back in the Delaware Water Gap area and still another one is on the PPL downtown Allentown building. Could this be the year we have 3 pairs of nesting Peregrines? The Portland Bald Eagles are down on eggs. I have found some Great Horned Owls down on eggs as well. Within three weeks the Kestrels should be returning. Last year they returned around the 26th.

This past Monday I road trapped and banded this Male Kestrel near a new box I installed late last year.

Will he nest in this box this season? I'll have to wait and see.

All I can say is it is cold outside, but not much snow. At my friends snow lodge in upstate NY he has over 80 inches of snow on the ground and more on the way! Chubby you wanted your snow and now you have it.

Alot of Bald eagles are moving south now as the rivers ice up. Two Golden Eagles have been reported in the DWG area also.

So lets hope the groundhog was right and this cold weather moves out soon.

Check out this Blue Heron fishing near Shawnee Ski Area last Saturday!

He is not cold one bit.

Happy New Year to all

What a winter so far. I have been out a few times birding and not much

to look at. This Wed is the Bald Eagle count for the state of NY. It will be interesting to see just how many they find. I have seen a few BE's around the river but sightings are more inland now. The Kestrels are here also. The Xmas bird counts have turned in some good spots to road trap/band.