Flying Gunk

They say time flies when you are having fun.  This year, I am having more fun than ever working at the World Bird Sanctuary’s Milwaukee County Zoo Bird Show.

Duncan, the Wedge-tailed Eagle executes a beautiful flight (photo: Flannery O'Brien)

However, the birds and time are not the only things that are flying at the bird show.  Blood.  Guts.  Poo.  Slobber.  All of these things are constantly soaring around those of us who work these amazing programs.  Unfortunately, sometimes these soaring pieces of “gunk” find their way onto our arms, face, and even into our mouths.

I like to talk--a lot! (photo: Ian Wright)

I like to talk; a lot.  It’s kind of my thing.  My job sort of requires that I talk constantly and nine times out of ten my sentences seem perfectly timed for my mouth to be open just as the bird is sending a slobber, blood, or meat filled shower my way.  I can talk my way through a lot of unexpected situations, such as a bird deciding it wants to take the scenic route to its perch.  However, when an unwanted bird shower ends up in my mouth, it’s impossible to not be taken aback for a few seconds.

Whiskey Sam Adams, our African Augur Buzzard (photo: Flannery O'Brien)

Earlier this year, our African Augur Buzzard, Whiskey Sam, decided to become a part of the Africa section of the zoo by hanging out in a tree within the Bongo exhibit.  After running out of my long list of “Fun Fowl Facts with Flannery,” I decided to ask the audience for questions.  Of course, the first hand into the air was a little girl in the front row.   She obviously had been itching to ask me the question for a while.  I called on her and she eagerly opened her mouth and asked, “What would happen if a baby was crying and a bird flew over and pooped in that baby’s mouth?”

I love kid questions.  They are so creative.  However this was by far the most creative and unexpected question I have ever been asked.  After hesitating for a moment and rewording the question so everyone could hear, I came up with the only answer I could think of, “Well, the mom would probably run to the bathroom and rinse that baby’s mouth out.”

At the time, that was probably the worst scenario I could have imagined happening with flying bird “gunk.”  Until, that is, a couple of weeks later.  At the end of the show, as I am delivering a particularly delightful conclusion, Clark, our Bald Eagle, decided that the piece of meat he was in the middle of consuming, needed to be shared.  He shook his head and sent a shower of slobbery, disgusting, gooey meat directly towards my face and into my mouth!

All was going well until Clark decided to "share" (photo: Ian Wright)

As mentioned earlier, I can usually pretend the situation never happened and keep talking--but a piece of meat flying into my mouth was not a situation I can handle with much grace.  Instantly, I started sputtering, trying to get the gunk out, but to no avail.  The only thing that resulted was that the speakers were echoing my sputtering into the stands, and that was not professional.  My left hand was in a glove that Clark was seated on top of, and my right was covered in blood and gore from handling food for the rest of the birds.  So I did the only thing I could do.  I took a deep breathe, thought, “Yep, I’m doing this,” swallowed as best I could, and continued with the rest of the conclusion.  The second that show was over, and I had joked with several people about being more patriotic now that the Bald Eagle had given me that deliciously disgusting piece of food, I gracefully put Clark down, and did exactly what I had told the little girl.  I ran to the sink and rinsed my mouth profusely with water.

When you work with animals, you sign up for the fun things like speaking shows and watching a bird problem-solve on its own.  You also sign up for the not so fun stuff, like scrubbing poo and apparently sometimes sharing their dinners.  It was easily the most disgusting experience of my life, but that was the moment I knew that I was hooked on this career and that I found where I belong.  Because if I can suck it up, eat a ball of slobber and gore, and still keep a smile on my face, I can do anything that this job throws at me.  Literally.

Submitted by Flannery O’Brien, World Bird Sanctuary Milwaukee County Zoo Show Naturalist/Trainer

What is a Buzzard?

When you hear or see the word “buzzard”, what do you think of?  Does a picture of a vulture pop into your mind?  I am going to tell you what buzzard really means in this blog.  Also I will focus on a very special bird and her personal history, species’ natural history, and some wonderful and quirky facts about this specific bird.

Keeoo, World Bird Sanctuary’s dark morph Augur Buzzard (photo: Lisbeth Hodges) 

The special bird I would like to introduce is an Augur Buzzard (Buteo augur) and her name is Keeoo.  She is one of my favorite birds that I work with at the World Bird Sanctuary.  She was hatched in our propagation department at the sanctuary in 1992, so this year she is celebrating her 22nd year at WBS.  She has a great personality.  She is patient with new handlers, curious about her surroundings, and will vocalize when she recognizes people she knows, like me. 

Augur Buzzard in Flight_Uganda (photo: by Tom Tarrant from the Wikipdia files) 

Augur Buzzards are native to central Africa, more specifically south Sudan, eastern Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Somalia.  The type of habitat they thrive in varies from plains to grasslands to forests in Africa.  Like many other Birds of Prey, these beautiful birds are monogamous (one single mate) during breeding season.  Some of these birds will even stay together after the breeding season is over.  They build their stick nests on cliffs or in large strong trees.  The female will lay from one to three eggs per clutch (group of eggs or chicks) and will start to incubate the first egg immediately after it is laid.  Because of this, usually only one chick will survive if all the eggs hatch.  The first chick to hatch will be older and stronger, therefore fight for more food.  The females will stay at the nest with the clutch most of the time, except when she needs to feed herself.  As with all Birds of Prey, they are carnivores (meat eaters).  An Augur Buzzard’s diet consists of eating small mammals, reptiles, other birds, and large insects. 

A light morph Augur Buzzard_Lake Manyara, Tanzania (photo: by D. Gordon E. Robertson from the Wikipedia files) 

Now let’s define what buzzard really means.  Most Americans see a vulture and immediately think buzzard.  In Europe, Asia, and Africa buzzards are what people from the U.S. call hawks.  When European settlers came over to North America, they noticed the vultures and mistook them for the buzzards they would commonly see in Europe. Unfortunately the buzzard name stuck with our American vultures.   Augur Buzzards are the most common “hawks” in Africa just like their closely related relative in the United States.  If you were thinking the Red-tailed Hawk as the closely related relative, then you’re right! 

A view of Keeoo’s tail feathers_note the similarity to a Red-tailed Hawk (photo: Gay Schroer)

View of Keeoo with wings raised_note the similarity to a Red-tailed Hawk (photo: Gay Schroer 

The lifespan for animals in captivity and in the wild can be vastly different.  Wild animals will almost always have a shorter lifespan then captive ones.  Augur Buzzards range from 20-25 years in the wild while captive Augurs have been known to live 35-40 years. 

These beautiful birds also weigh less than you may think.  They only weigh about 2 – 3 ½ lbs (1000g-1500g) with females being larger than the males.  It’s also pretty amazing that these birds can be two different color morphs; a light morph or a dark morph.  Keeoo is a dark morph while one of the others pictured in this blog is a light morph.

Keeoo is available for adoption in our Adopt a Bird program.  To find out more information, call 636-861-3225 or visit the Adopt A Bird section of our website HERE.(LINK)  All adoption donations are tax deductible. 

This season Keeoo can be seen at the Monsanto Environmental Education Center (also known as the visitor’s center) at the World Bird Sanctuary, which is open daily from 8am-5pm.  Keeoo is a very beautiful bird.  You should stop on by and visit her! 

Submitted by Lisbeth Hodges, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist 

Sunbathing -- Avian Style

My first blog entry as a relatively new employee for the World Bird Sanctuary gave me a bit of trouble. 

I was not sure what would be a great topic for my first entry. Obviously, it has to be interesting.  It has to be captivating and it has to make you want to read my entries.  I thought I could talk about my favorite bird; discuss fun facts and the importance of the species.  I could discuss my animal occupations and how I came to the Sanctuary or tell you about my first day on the job.  Maybe, in the future I will use those topics.  But for the first entry, I am currently being inspired by the snow falling down and how I wish I could be in the sun, soaking it in like so many of our birds do when the weather is warm.

Skinner, a Turkey Vulture, sunning (photo by Gay Schroer)

All birds adapt their own posture for sun bathing.  Some stand and open their wings while others may lay flat on the ground.  In both cases, body feathers are often fluffed up and the feathers along the wings are spread out.  Besides just soaking in the sun, these postures serve other important purposes.

For one, the preening oil along the feathers is allowed to spread.  This is the same oil that keeps the feather integrity, has a waterproofing effect, and an antiparasitic effect.

Dewey, a Bateleur Eagle enjoying the sun

Secondly, it also forces parasites out from within the plumage.  At the Sanctuary, we do routine checks on our birds to eliminate the possibility of parasites.  For birds in the wild, this is a helpful technique to help rid them of the nasty vermin.

Besides the healthy benefits that go with sunbathing, it is also hard not to admit that the behavior just looks awesome.  It is not everyday that you get to see these birds sitting still with wings stretched. 

Keeoo, an African Augur Buzzard (photo by Gay Schroer)

The snow may seem endless at times, but when the sun starts to peak through, make a visit out to the World Bird Sanctuary and you may get a glimpse of a sunbathing bird.

Submitted by Dawn Kernrich, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

Working The Kinks Out

Along with three other staff members, I spent the past summer in Boston, MA presenting World Bird Sanctuary’s Masters of Flight bird of prey show at Stone Zoo.  This show is a free flight demonstration as well as a demonstration of the birds’ natural behaviors.

Oracle--an Augur Buzzard

As part of our team we had nineteen birds, and of those nineteen we had two rookies-birds that had never been in WBS education programs.  We had Oracle, a one-year-old African Augur Buzzard and Peabody, a European Tawny Owl who is about three.

Peabody--a Tawny Owl

At first there can be many challenges when young birds are learning to fly in shows.  For one thing, they are uncoordinated in some respects.  From what I had seen and heard they often have a hard time landing on the glove.  Sometimes, when they come in to land, the momentum they’ve built keeps them going right off the other side of the glove.  Oracle didn’t have too rough of a time with that, but it was a bigger problem for Peabody. Eventually, with practice and experience, they got the hang of it.

Another challenge we ran into is that very often the birds are afraid of things they didn’t experience as they grew up at WBS.  Of course, this makes sense because these things are unnatural to them and they don’t know what the object will do.  Wheeled objects like strollers, and wheelchairs, are particularly scary.  They don’t know that the stroller isn’t going to eat them; they just know that it’s strange and scary and they want to get away from it. 

Peabody making his St. Louis debut at Open House

Throughout the season we learn more about each bird and what makes that individual bird frightened or uncomfortable.  Then we do our best to slowly acclimate each bird to these scary things, especially the ones we know they will see a lot.  This allows for the birds to be as comfortable as possible and for us to present the best show possible.  It’s kind of a learning experience for both the birds and the trainers.

With time and patience the kinks get worked out and the show is great.  All in all I would say that we--humans and birds--had a great season.  We learned a lot and had a great time doing it.

Submitted by Jaimie Sansoucie, World Bird Sanctuary, Seasonal Staff Member

Melanistic or Dark Morph?

One day while at the World Bird Sanctuary I was looking at the beautiful coloration of one of our dark morph Augur Buzzards, and it got me to wondering. 

 Keeoo - Our beautiful dark morph Augur Buzzard

Normal Augur Buzzards are a slate grey on their backs with some speckling, and have white chests and bellies.  The dark morphs have a more overall black plumage.  While standing there I found myself wondering what the difference is between true melanism and a dark morph.

    

I found, through researching many books and websites, that true melanism is actually very, very rare.  It is a genetic mutation that causes the bird to have excess amounts of melanin in its feathers, which causes them to be very dark.  Melanism is generally accepted to be hereditary, but there is not enough scientific evidence to determine if it is or is not hereditary. 

When a species of bird has a regular color morph that has a slight degree of melanism it is not considered true melanism, but just a dark morph.  Eyes, feet, legs and beak color are not altered by melanism, which can assist in identifying a bird that has true melanism. 

According to some studies it is thought that melanistic animals may eventually one day be more common than non-melanistic animals.  Studies in cats and other animals have shown that melanistic animals have stronger immune systems and are much more resilient to disease than their normally colored counterparts.  It is believed that this trait is true in birds also.

 

In cold climate environments dark morphed and melanistic birds have an easier time absorbing some of the sun’s solar energy to help them regulate their body temperature, so they don’t have to use as much of their own energy.  Excess amounts of melanin in feathers, however, has also proven to make the feathers slightly weaker, making them more prone to breaking, and also renders feathers less flexible than they should be.

 

In the wild, dark morph Augur Buzzards are believed to account for about ten percent of Augur Buzzards.  In some areas this increases to about fifty percent of the population.  In the eastern part of the Augur Buzzard range there seems to be a much higher population of dark morphs.

The next time you visit the World Bird Sanctuary be sure to look for our dark morph Augur Buzzard, Keeoo, in the weathering area behind the Environmental Education Center (EEC).  Unless she is performing in an educational program with members of our staff, this is where she spends most days.  

If you do not live in the St. Louis area, we have two other Augur Buzzards—Sam, a dark morph, who will be flying in our Milwaukee Zoo show starting May 26, and Oracle, a normal morph, who will be flying at Stone Zoo in Boston beginning May 1. 

If you live or are vacationing in the Milwaukee or Boston area this summer come out and visit us at these two popular venues and be sure to look for Sam or Oracle

Submitted by Mike Cerutti, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer

Hatch alert! Augur buzzards are out of the egg...

Tyler and Arusha’s first chick hatched on Saturday. This is the chick who was pipping in the earlier video. As you can see, she or he is quite vocal and doing well. The second chick is on its way out of the egg in this video.

Notice that when Arusha comes to brood, she balls up her talons in order not to harm her chicks. She’s a very good mother! See below the video for more information on Augur Buzzards.


The Augur Buzzard (family Accipitridae, Buteo rufofuscus) is the highest flying hawk in Africa and can reach heights of more than 10,000 feet. They stand 21 inches tall and have a wingspan over four feet wide. They are larger cousins of the red tailed hawk of North America and have a brick red tail, just like the red tailed hawk. Their nickname "the jackal" comes from their loud laughing call.

Augur Buzzards are one of the more common birds of prey in Africa and are found in the East African countries of Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and central Namibia. They diet primarily on reptiles like lizards and snakes, but they also eat small mammals and carrion when need be.

Female Augur Buzzards are around 10% larger than males. Here is a picture of one of our Augur Buzzards used for education, Kee-oo. Kee-oo is a dark phase female. She hatched in 1992.

Hatch alert! Augur Buzzard pipping

As you can see from the video below, new augur buzzards are on the way! The augur buzzard chick has started to pip, or break, out of the egg. As Arusha switches with Tyler, you can see one of the eggs has a hole in it. She was chirping to the egg and it was chirping back.

"What is the hatch process?" you may ask. First, the chick breaks through the membrane that surrounds it into the air cell at the larger end of the egg. When that happens, you can hear the baby cheeping and the egg starts rocking and rolling. As the CO2 builds up, the chick's neck muscles start to contract and it breaks the egg shell (see hole in egg below). Breaking into the air cell is called an internal pip, while breaking through the shell is called an external pip.

The hatching takes anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. We don't generally intervene because it takes time for all of the blood vessels in the membrane to shut down. If you tear the membrane before they shut down, the resulting blood can kill the chick.

This baby will be raised by the parents in order to avoid imprinting.