Ten Birds to Respect

This photo by unknowndomain is used courtesy of a Creative Commons license.

People often forget that birds are wild animals, not pets, and will aggressively defend their territories against intruders, even the smallest of them. I well remember the day that I innocently ventured too close to the nest of a Brown Thrasher to check the contents. The bird in attendance delivered a sharp blow to the top of my head that drew blood and left a nasty welt

Top 10 lists seem to be gaining popularity these days. Among those that I’ve stumbled across recently is the Top 10 List of Birds That Could Kick Your Ass (complete with entertaining videos). A few of the birds on this particular list will no doubt surprise you.

If there is a lesson to be learned from all this silliness, it might be this: Birding is not a sport for sissies!

Bird Science News 1

Selected stories about culled from the world's newspapers and other news outlets, particularly as it relates to wild birds, as gathered with the aid of Google news alerts (key words: wildlife, biology, biologist, ornithologist, ornithological, ornithology):

Turkey harvest study going well (Allentown Morning Call, Pa.)—Wild Turkeys are being banded in Pennsylvania to study impacts of hunter harvest on populations.

Hunters target overpopulated geese (WHYY, Ithaca, N.Y.)—Snow Geese in Delaware; slide show and audio interview.

Songbirds killed by salmonella (The Chattanoogan, Tenn.)—In Tennessee.

Twitterpated owls are an amorous lot (The Post-Standard, Syracuse, N.Y.)—Twitterpated is “a perfectly acceptable ornithological term” to describe the springtime courtship of owls and other birds, says Laura Erickson, science editor at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Funny, I don’t recall that particular term being mentioned in any of my college ornithology texts, but it IS in the Urban Dictionary.

How a new theory of bird evolution came about (ScienceDaily, U.S.A.)—Laboratory studies by Ken Dial of the University of Montana suggests that flight in ancestral birds evolved from the ground up through a behavior that Dial has dubbed WAIR, or wing-assisted incline running.

The mathematics of murmuring starlings (Telegraph, U.K.)—Those immense, twisting flocks (known as "murmurations") are all about survival. In 1949, so many birds roosted on the hands of Big Ben that they stopped the clock. In the U.K., the starling population is down 73 percent since 1970. In the U.S., the 60 birds released in Central Park in 1890 have grown to a continent-wide population of 200 million birds.

Fish and Game changes set extremism, hypocrisy loose (Anchorage Daily News, Alas.)—Not about birds, but about scary efforts underway to “privatize widespread predator control” in Alaska under Gov. Sarah Palin.

Odd year for snows (Denver Post, Colo.)—The oddity is that 40,000 to 70,000 Snow Geese have wintered in southeast Colorado rather in traditional zones to the south, likely a function of weather.

Celebrity eagles get too much attention (Sun-Sentinel.com)—Broward County’s first successful Bald Eagle nest since the 1970s. I find that fact alone amazing.

DNR to help ease kestrel housing crunch (Coosa Valley News, Ga.)—In a cooperative effort between the Georgia DNR and Flint Engergies, nest boxes are being erected on power poles to benefit the southeastern subspecies of the American Kestrel.

Nest in Wichita could mean Bald Eagles year-round (The Wichita Eagle, Kan.)—Officials have confirmed a nesting pair along the Arkansas River in Sedgwick County.

How to spy on a black duck (Bethany Beach Wave, Del.)—Black Ducks captured at the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware are being outfitted with satellite transmitters to study their movements.

Biologist recommends longer trail closure for herons (Aspen Daily News, Colo.)—A proposal to extend the closure of a popular hiking trail until May 31st to encourage nesting by Great Blue Herons is meeting with resistance.

Airport uses radar, noise to prevent bird strikes (CNN)—Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

'Not-so' friendly skies (ESPN)—A good public relations piece about efforts underway by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Service's program to eliminate wildlife-plane collisions; making themselves appear invaluable in a time of severe Federal budget cuts.

Interior residents notice an invasion of ptarmigan this winter (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Alas.)—For reasons unknown, Willow Ptarmigan have been exceptionally numerous in and around Fairbanks this winter.

Birdwatching with Conan

I’m not normally a fan of Conan O’Brien, but I found this video of his birding trip to Central Park quite humorous:



Acknowledgment: My thanks to Rob Fergus and Sherrie Duris for bringing this video to my attention.

Birding in the News 2

Selected stories about birders and birding culled from the world's newspapers and other news outlets, as gathered with the aid of Google news alerts:

Popularity of birding looking up (Providence Journal, R.I.)—More bird enthusiasts are visiting national wildlife refuges, Audubon Society refuges, and other areas to observe and photograph birds. California and Hawaii rank at the bottom of the list in term of the percentage of residents who consider themselves birders, while Montana and Vermont are at the top.

A case for capitalization? (Nantucket Independent, Mass.)—Many species of gulls are little, but there is only one Little Gull.

Kingston Field Naturalists release new edition of bird book (Kingston Guide, Can.)—Birds of the Kingston region by Ron Weir, the first update to this comprehensive work in 20 years.

Bridget Butler on changing migratory bird patterns (Vermont Public Radio)—Audio Interview with local birding expert about links to global climate change.

Climate change may have delayed pelican migration (San Jose Mercury News, Cal.)—Brown Pelicans migrating south from Oregon and Washington about two months later than usual encountered harsh winter storms, resulting in disoriented and frostbitten birds.

Birders flock to Jekyll Island event (Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Fla.)—The aim of the Bird Education Network’s 5-day conference—attended by 112 birding educators from across the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Panama—is to "promote bird conservation by supporting people who teach birding." We’re teaching people how to teach birding? Yikes! I’d much rather that they learn how to teach basic bird ecology and conservation.

Tiny bird 'backpacks' help to track migration habits (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, N.Y.)—These devices are now small enough to affix to songbirds.

Sir Penguin

To be filed under old but still indisputably newsworthy:

From the normally staid BBC comes the incredible news (complete with video clip) of a captive King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) with the improbable name of Nils Olav who received a Knighthood from the Norwegian King’s Guard during a celebration at the Edinburgh Zoo. Sir Olav has been an honorary member and mascot of the Norwegian King’s Guard since the 1980s.

Additional Bird Blogs of Britain and Ireland

Today, I added 93 blogs to the list of known bird blogs of Britain and Ireland, bringing the total number of known active bird blogs from that area to 219. For easy access, the 219 blogs can be found in my comprehensive list of the Bird Blogs of Britain and Ireland. There are some great reads here, folks. Enjoy!

Hot photos of Brett Henrichsen

Brett Henrichsen is an International American DJ with a passion for dance music notably high energy, vocal and progressive dance. Brett has his own independent record label Trax Recording.

Birders and Birding in the News 1

Selected stories about birders and birding culled from the world's newspapers and other news outlets, as gathered with the aid of Google News Alert:

San Francisco is a bird watcher’s paradise (San Franciso Chronicle, Calif.)

Last tip of the wing to a birder and a friend (Corpus Christi Caller Times, Tex.)

Windmill study shows impact on bat populations [but not birds] (Cumberland Times-News, Md.)

Bird convention drawing strong interest (Mohave Valley News, Laughlin, Nev.)

Robins flock by millions to Old Tampa Bay (Tampa Tribune, Fla.)

Birds in the News 160 (Living the Scientific Life)

Birder’s likely to flock to rare cranes (Omaha World-Herald, Nebr.)

FAA testing radar to avoid bird strikes (CBS Evening News, New York)

Reaching a birder’s milestone (Pembroke Daily Observer, Ont.)

Eric Martsolf actor, singer and shirtless male hottie

Eric Martsolf is an actor and singer who starred as Ethan Winthrop in the American soap Passions up until 2008. He is now playing the role of Brady Black on Days Of Our Lives.

Still More North American Bird Blogs

Just four days ago (2/17/09), I added 64 North American bird blogs to my blogroll, bringing the total number to an even 400. Since then, I have added another 30, all of which are listed below. For easy access, all 430 blogs have been assembled in my comprehensive list of North American Bird Blogs. There seems to be no end in sight!

Here are the "new" blog:

A Year of Birds on Stony Lake (ON)

Arctic Refuge Project News—Shorebird Conservation (MA)

At the Water (MN)

Bay Area Bird Blog (CA)

Bird Watching Binoculars

BirdFellow (OR)

Birding and Other Chatter (AK)

Birding News, Sightings, and More

Birds of Bay Area (CA)

Burning Hawk Blog (CA)

Colorado Birding (CO)

Costa Rica Living and Birding (Costa Rica)

Delewaredunlins.com Blog (DE)

Falcon Blog (IN)

Feathered Friends

Heather of the Hills (OH)

Larry McDowell Avian Art (MA)

My "Little Year" in 2008 (CA)

Peeps Online@ABA

Random Musing (WA)

Raven Watcher (ME)

Team Fly or Die (NJ)

The Bird Boy (NY)

The Birding Retailer’s
Merchandising/Marketing Blog

The Endless Wilderness (UT)

The Eyrie—ABA’s Blog for Young Birders

Towheeblog (CA)

Walk With Me (IL)

Wildbirds Broadcasting (NE)

Wingnut (MN)

North American Bird Phenology Program

The North American Bird Phenology Program (NABPP) has been launched by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.

NABPP consists of approximately 6 million 3x5 index cards (known as Migration Observer Cards) containing information on arrival and departure dates of nearly 900 species of birds gathered by 3,000 volunteers over a span of 90 years (1881-1970).

Initiated by Wells W. Cooke (.pdf), who was honored upon his death as America's "foremost student of bird migration," this data set provides an unparalleled opportunity for researchers to investigate what effect, if any, climate change has had on the movements and seasonal status of migratory birds in North America.

The success of the program depends on the recruitment of a cadre of volunteers to transcribe the information from the index cards into an online database. This can be done from the comfort and convenience of your PC or laptop. Here's your chance to take part in history. Help make the information stored all these years on those dusty index cards come to life.

Registration is quick and easy. You’ll be asked to download and watch a 15-minute video that describes the various types of information contained on the cards and how to interpret it. After that, you’ll be ready to start transcribing!

Elsewhere, NABP has been reviewed by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and was the focus of this feature story.

Avian Radar at Sea-Tac

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has become the first airport in the country to install an avian radar system to track bird movements. The three experimental radar systems have been mounted on top of the airport’s office building. The basic tenets of Sea-Tac’s Wildlife Hazard Management Plan can be viewed here.

"A Chick’s Latest Deposits"

This off-beat commercial parodies a David Attenborough natural history documentary.

400 North American Bird Blogs!

Caption: This card is available for purchase from HipsterCards.com.

I now fear that what began innocently enough as a simple quest to compile a list of North American bird blogs has become a never-ending, unhealthy obsession. Today, I added an additional 64 blogs, bringing the total to an even 400! Can 500 be far behind? Click here to see the entire list.

Chris Evans

The actor Christopher Robert Evans was born 13 June 1981. He is best known for his roles in the films Not Another Teen Movie, Cellular, Street Kings and as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films.

Next up for Evans in 2008 is The Night Watchman which co-stars Keanu Reeves he also plays Jimmy in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond which was based on a play by Tennessee Williams.