A Blue View: Fall Bird Migration

A Blue View is a weekly perspective on the life aquatic, hosted by National Aquarium CEO John Racanelli.

From the smallest plants and animals invisible to the human eye to entire ecosystems, every living thing depends on and is intricately linked by water.

Tune in to 88.1 WYPR every Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. as John brings to the surface important issues and fascinating discoveries making waves in the world today.

September 20, 2012: Fall Bird Migration

Listen to John discuss Fall bird migration in this week’s A Blue View

Summer is on its way out, and the fall bird migration has already begun. Some species begin to move through Maryland as early as July, heading south where resources are more plentiful in the upcoming months; many more will hang on until November or December. For others, the Chesapeake Bay is their final winter destination.

Whether you are a serious birder or simply enjoy watching the parade of visitors pass by, this is an important time to do your part to support migrating birds. Here’s what you can do to support migratory birds on their journey:

• Plant native plants that provide food and shelter
• Provide a water source year-round
• Limit pesticide and herbicide use
• Keep your cats indoors

For more tips on how to transform your backyard into a haven for these beautiful birds, click here.

Animal Update – August 17

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

New baby screaming piha!

We have a new baby screaming piha in our Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit!

Screaming piha chick

Our screaming piha chick is the first to be born in captivity in North America. After a month of patient waiting by our rain forest aviculturists and exhibit curators, the baby chick hatched at the end of July. Our staff is very excited to be able to share the news of this successful birth!

Very little is known about the biology of the screaming piha when it comes to reproduction, and we hope to learn and share with others in the community as much as we can about these Amazonian birds.

Laying eggs can be difficult for pihas due to their poor nest-building skills. They create tiny nests. Ornithologist (the branch of zoology that studies birds) Alexander Skutch once described a piha nest as being “the most meager arboreal nest that I had seen.” Our female’s nest was about 2 inches by 2 inches and was constructed of curling vines from around our habitat. To help support the structure of the nest, our staff added two additional branches. Soon the female began to sit on her nest and after a couple of days we had our first spotting of a light brown, perfectly camouflaged egg!

In the wild, camouflage is an essential part of the piha’s survival. As a single parent, the female piha often has to leave to gather food while the chick relies completely on camouflage to stay safe in the nest. Through this hatching, we’ve learned that piha chicks lay motionless with their wings at their side while the mother is gone. The chick doesn’t peep or beg (behaviors we traditionally associate with baby birds), so as to not give away its location to any predators.

Screaming piha chick camouflaging itself

In the last month, our baby piha chick has grown tremendously. Thanks to a great mom, the chick has had plenty to eat and is completely feathered. Our new family is currently under the observation of our staff and is not on display yet in our Rain Forest exhibit, but we can’t wait for you to meet our new addition!

Animal Update – August 17

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

Grosbeak back in the Rain Forest

We’ve reintroduced our male grosbeak to our Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit this week. He has joined our female and guests can now see them flying throughout the forest!

Our grosbeaks are hard to miss with their beautiful yellow coloring.

Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!

Thoughtful Thursday: The Lesson of the Osprey

From National Aquarium Visitor Programs Coordinator Marnie Greig

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in osprey banding at the Patuxent River Nature Center with the National Aquarium’s Youth Programs staff and some Aquarium on Wheels students. As a seasoned staff member, I was reluctant at first to take the one empty spot, but I was encouraged by my younger colleagues to go, and so I did.

Why did I hesitate? I had forgotten what a rare gift a “field day” can be, and that when you combine nature and a rowdy bunch of delightful teenagers, life can really be very sweet. I had forgotten that our Aquarium connections are just as unique in the field as they are inside our pyramidal walls.

Aquarium on Wheels is an after-school and summer program for Baltimore-area high school students that combines science, conservation, job training, and the theater arts to promote environmental stewardship. I can now see why it’s an award-winning program. As these teens came nose to beak with a magnificent bird, there was an instant connection to nature.

Holding a creature that exudes beauty, power, and grace is amazing; seeing the bond that ignites a smile on the faces of these kids is even better. What, I wonder, was the osprey telling them?

I could not help but think that soon these teens, like their osprey counterparts, will be leaving their nests and soaring to new heights.

I’m glad for their brief encounter with the osprey, and I hope that the National Aquarium’s legacy to them will be to always understand, protect, and respect their natural world. I want them to succeed; but I also want to offer them one wish… and that is to always keep at least one day a year for a field trip. That’s really a lesson for us all.

Animal Update – July 13

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

Turquoise Tanager Chicks

We have two new turquoise tanager chicks in our Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit. This is the first time these birds have hatched eggs with us!

Turquoise tanager chicks

Turquoise tanagers are found in humid tropical forests throughout northern and central South America, as well as in Trinidad. Our exhibit houses two males and one female. Our turquoise tanagers began building a nest in one of the exhibit Cecropia trees in April 2012. Because the nest was high up in the tree, we were unable to confirm the number of eggs in the nest, but knew the female was sitting on at least one. After a short time, we were able to visually confirm that two chicks had hatched.

It is known that all adults within a turquoise tanager flock assist in feeding the nestlings and we were able to observe all three of our adults attending to the chicks.

Recently, we noticed the young birds’ growth and interest in leaving the nest. We covered both pools near the waterfall with netting to prevent their first tumble from the nest resulting in an accident. Once out of the nest and on the ground, we were able to transfer them to the corner cage where the adults continued to care for them. Our DNA tests have told us that one chick is a male and one is a female.

Turquoise tanagers

Both chicks are on exhibit (and still soliciting food from the adults) and we are very happy to announce that our turquoise tanager flock has grown from three to five!

Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!