A video to give you an idea of what it's like birding in Honduras.

Surprise Roommate In Central America

December 4, 2016

First class on an International Flight doesn't play any games when it comes to food or booze. Thank you, American Airlines.

After a rough autumn, I decided to go through my photos and find things I haven't written about and some of the great things happened in 2016 Turns out, I never wrote on the blog about how much fun I had on my trip to Honduras with Wildside Nature Tours. I also think that I needed some time away from Honduras to digest what I saw. Honduras is heartbreakingly beautiful. Amidst all the rugged wildness, ancient culture and eye searing color, it's also a developing nation and life is very different than it is in the United States. So while there was overwhelming beauty and adventure to be had, there was also immense poverty.

The greeter at Panacam Lodge in Honduras, a blue-diademed motmot (also known as Lesson's motmot on eBird).

The view behind my bungalow when I arrived at Panacam Lodge.

We ended up staying at two different places in Honduras. The first two nights we were at Panacam Lodge which was foggy with mystery when we arrived. You just knew cool-ass wildlife was hidden, tucked away in the greenery.

Hmmmm, evidence that I had a roommate or two sharing my bungalow.

I wanted to do a little unpacking and freshening up before our group met for dinner. As I took things out of my suitcase, I noted a spot where there was some kind of excrement. It was large, almost as large as a mouse but not quite. I looked up from where the pile was and just where the plaster met the wood in the ceiling I saw a crevice and some movement, definitely insect and probably a bit larger than what I'm used to.

When you travel, especially to countries where it's warm and humid--critters in your room are going to happen. Even if you paid for a single occupancy room on your tour, I guarantee you will have had some sort of roommate that's neither bipedal nor necessarily a mammal. I'm generally so tired at the end of the day that I can't care about what is in the room with me. There was a time I inadvertently spent the night with a bat at Canopy Tower in Panama--not the worst thing I've ever woken up next to and those are the sorts of things that add character to your travel stories. I opted to continue unpacking and ignore whatever movement was coming from the crevice in the top of my room.

Then I made the mistake of looking up once more.

Very large ants were now emerging from the crevice. Now when I say large, I mean about the size of a multivitamin that you take in the morning and wash down with a giant swig of juice so it doesn't get lodged in your throat. Even more alarming was that some had wings. I had a queen hatch happening in my room! This wasn't going to be just a few ants. This was going to be an "Antenning." I can put up with a few bugs, but I really didn't want to wake up at 2am and be covered in about 500 winged ants fluttering around looking for any crevice available to start a new colony. I considered the possibility of leaving doors and windows open, but considering that was even more insect life outside that would be more than happy to come in, I ruled that out. Also, a hatch would no doubt attract bats and I don't need to sleep with one again.

I put everything back in my suitcase and closed it up. I took some pictures of the ants and I went to the front desk with my haphazard Spanish to see about getting another room. I showed them the picture of the ants and tried to explain and got reassuring faces smiling and saying, "Sí, hormigas!"

Mercifully, Elmer Escoto our guide was walking by and heard my voice, "Amiga, what's going on?"

I showed him my phone and he said, "Oh no, you are about to have a lot of ants."

I asked about the possibility of switching rooms but the lodge was packed. "Amiga, go to dinner and I will make sure this is taken care of for you, ok," he said and I dutifully obeyed.

Every fish dish I had in Honduras was fresh and tasty and served with plantains.

I'm an adventurous eater, especially when away from home so if there's an entire fish body that's been fried on the menu, I'm going to eat it. Elmer eventually joined our group and assured me the lodge was taking care of things. The fish practically melted in my mouth and paired well with the pickled onions. And any day plantains are involved with a meal is a great day. We dined, we discussed the the following day's itinerary and the bird possibilities ahead.

I went back to my room and heady notes of insecticide punctuated the air to my bungalow. The crevice showed no signs of life. My floor, however, looked like a battlefield out of Game of Thrones with about 500 dead and dying ants. I giggled and decided on a new rule for my room--unless you are laying on the bed, shoes must be worn at all times. I fell asleep safe in the knowledge that I would not be covered in in flying ant queens and let the days travel fatigue carry me away.

My alarm went off the next morning and there were even more dead and dying ants on the floor. I quickly dressed for our morning breakfast-birding and figured that the staff would sweep up the ant carcasses while I was out and I would return to an ant-free room.

Squirrel cuckoo on the grounds of Panacam Lodge

Ivory-billed woodcreeper hitching up a wooden post at Panacam Lodge in Honduras. The bird was gleaning insects attracted to the lights. Disregard my narration.

The view from the top of the Panacam Lodge tower.

A pair of keel-billed motmots tucked in the darkness of fog and forest viewed from the top of the Panacam Lodge tower.

A simple breakfast to start the day at Panacam Lodge. I swear I could live on nothing but cheese and plantains in Honduras.

We got in some woodcreeper and motmot action then had some breakfast. Everyone was curious about my ant situation and mercifully I was the only one who had an ant hatch. We birded areas off of Panacam grounds and I'll write more about that in another post. But just birding around the trails of the Lodge was very fun. Here's an eBird list of what was around the lodge. The bat falcon above was just outside the lodge grounds and ended up in an eBird incidental report.

When we did come back from birding other areas I was anxious to see what my room was like. Clearly the staff had worked hard to sweep up the ants...but more were still stumbling out of the crevice. I spent the night with fewer dead and dying ants and the next day we headed to Pico Bonito Lodge. When I was escorted to my bungalow at that lodge, I instantly heard a "chirp chirp chirp chirp" sound. Nervous, I looked at the staff and they said, "It's a house gecko, all the rooms have them."

I was ecstatic. If I had a house gecko, they would eat any ants about to hatch. They were a preferable roommate.

Panacam is a lovely lodge and close to many birding locations--including a spot for resplendent quetzals. The ant incident is just part of the joy of nature travel to remote areas. The staff did the best they could to keep me comfortable during the incident. And as I said, it's fun story to whip out at dinner parties when people ask me about my travels.

Ants aside or the "antsident" as Non Birding Bill calls it, if you are ever interested in traveling with me, especially if you're interested in digiscoping, laughing and relaxing as well as birding check out my tours page.

Digibinning with the Renner Technique

November 28, 2016

I teach quite a few workshops on digiscoping throughout the year. My preferred method is using a smartphone with a spotting scope, but I'll also use an SLR and spotting scope too. My friend Renner Anderson has heralded his love of "digibinning" which is using binoculars and his iPhone to take pictures.

Curt Rawn got a shot at a Birds and Beers of Renner Anderson showing his "rubber band" technique for attaching his iPhone to his binoculars (this was before he had a PhoneSkope adapter).

I've always been been dubious of the digibinning technique and advise against it in my workshops. I think there is no easy way to hold the binoculars steady and get a good shot. Renner feels differently. "I always have my iPhone in the field anyway because I am already using it for eBird Mobile, field guides, Merlin and BirdsEye," Renner said. "I like to hike for adventure and exercise and usually don't bring my telescope so it's nice to be able to use my binoculars for getting documentary photos."

At my last digiscoping workshop that I hosted, Renner arrived and was ready to show off his digibinning techinique using his Swarovski ELs, iPhone and PhoneSkope iPhone case and bluetooth shutter release. I grabbed a quick video so you could see the Renner Technique in action and some of the photos he's gotten of birds in the last year.

Renner also add, "Because I attach the PhoneSkope case to just one eyepiece (the right eyepiece) I can use the other eyepiece to look through with my right eye and this puts me on the bird immediately and very easily, even birds in flight. I focus on the bird using the focus adjustment knob of the binoculars with my right index finger and center the bird in the visual field so I don't have to be looking through the iPhone viewing screen.

"Because both of my hands are holding the binoculars and I'm looking through the other eyepiece of the binoculars I don't have any way to trigger the shutter with my hands. For that reason I have developed the idea of holding the PhoneSkope remote shutter between my lips and activating the shutter by squeezing down on the PhoneSkope remote shutter by tightening my jaw. Not a pretty site but it works really well.

"Only problem here is that if the bird is close I have to adjust for the fact that although the bird may be centered in the field of view of the barrel I am looking through it will be off center for the barrel that the iPhone is looking through. This doesn't matter for birds at distance such as birds in flight.

"With my current technique with the PhoneSkope case attached to a single eyepiece I haven't figured out a way to secure the iPhone to the binoculars with a rubber band so I am always nervous that the iPhone might fall. Currently I just hold the round piece of the PhoneSkope adapter firmly against the binocular eyepiece with my right thumb

"Of course the Blue Tooth can drain the iPhone battery (not to mention the Gaia tracking app that I am using to document my hiking adventure and BirdsEye and eBird Mobile and Merlin and the field guide apps) so I do bring an extra battery along with me in the field."

Remember, you get a discount when you purchase a PhoneSkope product and use the code Birdchick13 when you check out.

Using iPhone 7 Plus For Digiscoping

November 5, 2016

Here I am contentedly digiscoping with my iPhone 6s when a new iPhone 7 family debuts. Insert Krusty The Klown ugh here. How many new gadgets to I need to get. Fortunately, Non Birding Bill was due for an upgrade and got a 7 Plus so I can see if it's worth my while.

The dual camera lenses that are getting people hot and bothered with an iPhone 7 Plus.

The big deal that has people all a-twitter is the dual camera system with the iPhone 7 Plus. I'm intrigued by the camera, but at the end of the day, I'm not too interested in a smartphone that is bigger than my 6s--I have small hands. The new iPhone 7 comes with a 12 megapixel camera. The larger 7 Plus comes with the same wide-angle camera but also has a 12 megapixel telephoto camera that zooms with the lens, not digital zoom as in other iPhones. There's also "portrait mode" which is supposed to blur your background while focusing on what's up close...something I already get from digiscoping with an iPhone, so not as interesting to me.

I tried portrait mode--it doesn't work with digiscoping. You keep getting an error that says you're too close to the subject or that there's not enough light to make it work. It's interpreting that the iPhone camera lens is too close to the spotting scope eyepiece.

So, I tried regular digiscoping. Now, I don't have an adapter for an iPhone 7plus yet--I know PhoneSkope is working on one and they will be out soon and I'm very curious to see how it works based on some of the problems I was having. I headed out to some bird feeders on an overcast day with my iPhone 6s and Non Birding Bill's new iPhone 7 (you know your marriage is rock solid when your spouse will give you a couple of hours with their brand new smartphone outdoors).

Here is an image taken with my iPhone 6s, PhoneSkope adapter and Swarovski ATX 65mm spotting scope:

White-breasted nuthatch taken with iPhone 6s and Swarovski spotting scope.

I left the image unzoomed so you could see what you're getting without zooming in the scope or camera on the iPhone. It's not the best nuthatch picture ever, but the image is fairly bright for an overcast day.

Here's the same bird but taken with the iPhone 7 Plus, no adapter and Swarovski ATX 65mm spotting scope:

White-breasted nuthatch photo taken with iPhone 7 Plus and Swarovski spotting scope.

This was harder because I have no adapter here, I'm just hand holding the phone. Here are both images cropped and side by side.

So here are the above images cropped. Both digiscoped with a Swarovski ATX 65mm scope. The nuthatch on the left is the iPhone 7 and the nuthatch on the right is the 6s.

Both images aren't bad for a cloudy day. I'm sure if I had some good sun, I could get better photos. Now I wanted to play with using the telephoto zoom on the 7 plus. When digiscoping first started with point and shoot cameras, you wanted to avoid a point and shoot with more than three power zoom, because then it wouldn't work with the spotting scope lens. I felt pretty good about being able to zoom in with two power and still get a good image from the scope and the phone. You can still digitally zoom with the 7 plus by sliding your fingers, but do to the telephoto zoom, you need to tap the phone where it says "1x" and that will switch to the "2x" telephoto. So I tried that on the feeder birds and here's the majority of the photos I got:

The screen would suddenly go black as I hit the shutter button while in "2x" telephoto mode with the iPhone 7 plus.

Just as I would have the shot lined up, the screen went black--several time. I thought maybe I was having trouble handholding it, but what I suspect was actually happening was that the phone was getting confused about which mode to use, that it would just switch back to the original camera which by the time I have the shot lined up, wouldn't be line up with my scope lens. When I came home, I emailed PhoneSkope and asked if they had experienced anything similar. Here's what I got from Tim Schreckengost, "Yes, that's an issue. Try using the Pro Camera app, which allows you to choose which lens you want to use. Our adapter will allow you to choose the camera you want to use at any given time. It's still being engineered, but should prove to be a very useful digiscoping tool."

I don't have an adapter yet, but I'm very curious to see what happens when I do. I'll also have to check out the Pro Camera app--a $3 third party app.

That's not to say that I didn't get any shots. Here's a junco taken with my iPhone 6s:

Dark-eyed junco taken with iPhone 6s, Swarovski spotting scope and PhoneSkope adapter. Minor zoom with the scope, you can see a tad bit of vignetting in the lower corners of the photo.

Same junco with the iPhone 7 plus with 2x telephoto, handheld up to a Swarovski spotting scope. No cropping.

When I could get the camera to work with my scope--I got some full frame shots of the junco. It wasn't as crisp as I'd hoped, but that could have more to do with the zoom picking up minor shakes from me handholding it and it was overcast.

At this point, there are so many smartphones out there with great cameras, any one of those that was made in the last two years will give you some great images when digiscoping if you practice. I really like the size and camera of my iPhone 6s and I'm not sure that I see the benefit yet to upgrade to the 7plus. I don't want a larger phone, portrait mode doesn't fit with my particular style of photography and I'm not sure I need to be any more zoomed in on birds--zooming can be helpful, but on a humid day, not amount of zoom is going to counteract heat shimmer. It may be a different story when I play with an adapter that properly attaches it to my scope.

And remember if you order an adapter from PhoneSkope and use the code Birdchick13 you get a discount on your purchase.

Birdchick Podcast #214 Levi Wants A Goshawk Tattoo

October 31, 2016

Kabuki back when he would chill on the porch with us.

You may have noticed we went on a bit of a hiatus. For those who didn't see on social media, our 18 year old cockatiel Kabuki went blind in September. At first he seemed to adapt but things got worse and...well we had to make the decision that no one likes to make for their pet. Over this period, it was all I could do to just to meet the bare minimum at work, let alone all the other things I enjoy doing.

When I finally felt ready to return to normal life, I thought it might be fun to revamp the podcast. We're bringing in special guests. Not just birders but people who have an interesting relationship with birds. Our first guest Levi Weinhagen a non-birder who wants a northern goshawk tattoo!

Sponsors this week: Holbrook Travel--want to come with me to Cuba next April?

Things we talk about in the podcast:

Common swifts break the record for nonstop flight.

Sibley has a coloring book!

Who got Murphy Brown pregnant.

Pluggers...I'm sorry. Here's a bird related one.

Things we recommended:

Learn more about Levi at his Pratfalls Podcast and his newest venture the Not About You Podcast. Levi recommended Breaking the Jump a book about the history of Parkour.

Non Birding Bill recommended Civilization 6.

And I recommended Beautiful Anonymous Podcast.

The rocky coast of Acadia National Park.

The Ultimate Goshawk Experience In Maine

October 23, 2016

This June I had the opportunity to go to the Acadia Bird Festival in Maine which is a gorgeous place to get Barry Manilow's Weekend In New England stuck in your head. Maine is a fantastic state to visit and Acadia National Park is one of the coolest federal parks you can check out. Blue and gray seemed to be the overwhelming colors while I was there.

Periwnkle snail shells and what I think are blue mussel shells. Feel free to correct me, I'm not BivalveChick...but what a fun name to say out loud for whomever is.

A pair of black ducks on a pond inside Acadia National Park.

And since we are keeping with a blue theme, one must devour some blueberry pancakes while in Maine. I highly recommend Sips in Southwest Harbor. A delightful restaurant with great coffee and lovely atmosphere.

Acadia is especially cool if you're into weird ass water birds like the common eider, Atlantic puffins, black guillemots and warblers like northern parula and black-throated green warblers. Colorful warblers really pop in that somber pallet. If you go to Acadia, either for the festival or on your own, make sure to schedule a boat trip. I didn't do it this time--, but I have before and it's your best bet for seeing puffins and other seabirds. It's also a unique view of this particular national park. Pelagics are fun but they are also exhausting (at least for me) and this trip came at a point when I needed to listen to my body and take things a bit easy.

While I was at the festival I heard a rumor about a northern goshawk nest that had been located thanks to a high school cross country team that was running on the paths in a woods next to the school. They were dive bombed relentlessly by the female. I've worked with goshawks both in captivity and bird banding. I love the northern goshawk, it is my favorite raptor. As an adult it's gorgeous with it's soft gray feathers and maniacal red eyes. It acts before it thinks--something I can relate to. And they take no shit. I once watched a northern goshawk fly through Sax Zim bog and it noticed a red-tailed hawk perched in the top of a tree. The goshawk changed direction, snuck up behind the beefier red-tail and popped it on the head as it kept flying. The red-tail was clearly startled and watched the goshawk power away, seemingly knowing there was no point in chasing it, it would be too fast and not worth the effort.

Most of my northern goshawk experience has been in bird banding. What a beauty to behold and have the honor of holding in your hands...and it is a loud ass bird.

Goshawks are also fierce defenders of their nest and territory. I've heard from more than one wildlife biologist of how the female will dive right at you if she feels you've gotten too close to her nest. I've always wanted to experience that. And it's not like other hawks that might fly at you. This isn't a mere game of chicken, this bird will hit you if need be. I was envious of the cross country team that got the goshawk experience and wanted it as well.

Throughout the festival as I would chill between field trips and workshops at headquarters I noticed certain bird listers sneaking off to see the nest. Those in the know were trying to keep the nest location under wraps but if someone needs a goshawk for their list and had a reputation for being respectful, word would spread. At the end of the festival, I mentioned casually that I'd like to see the nest and maybe digiscope it. Michael J Goode of Down East Nature Tours knew where the nest was and offered to take me in to get a glimpse. It was the end of the last day of the festival, it was cloudy and threatening to rain. We didn't have a lot of time but it seemed worth it. So with another guest we headed over to the school and the surrounding woods.

Oyster mushrooms abound in the woods on the way to goshawk.

We crept into the pine woods. I was glad to have a guide, the trails were meandering and there would have been ample opportunity for me to take a wrong turn and question whether or not I'd find the nest. Also, temptation was everywhere in the woods--so many edible mushrooms like this large patch of oyster mushrooms. If I had means to cook in my bed and breakfast room, that would have been my dinner.

Michael warned me when we were near the general area of the nest. We wanted to be as silent as possible so as not to stress the goshawk and have a chance to see one perched. Oh how naive we were. Before we got to the nest I heard the familiar loud call and a goshawk circled us, periodically landing at the top of the tree, sounding the alarm. We soon found the nest while the bird circled.

The bird finally perched and called incessantly from the top of a pine with branches so thick, there was really only one spot to stand to get a glimpse of him. I got a few hasty documentation shots but that was it. I was so happy to see a goshawk in the wild--any day with a goshawk can NEVER be a bad day. But I did have a pang of disappointment...this was not the goshawk experience I'd heard about--of birds diving at us. I realized this was the male and he would simply call in alarm. The female must have been out on a hunt and I wouldn't get the dive bomb experience.

After I got my shots we decided to turn around and head out. We wouldn't get better photos, we saw the goshawk and we didn't want to stress them out anymore than necessary. Then, something tucked in the woods answered the male's rapid higher pitched cry. This was slower and deeper. The female had arrived. I just happened to have my iPhone out and on slo mo video and held up my phone and pressed play. Before I knew what was happening she was flying right at me! I got the following video within a few seconds of her arrival. The first few seconds are real time. The second half is her coming at us at half speed. WOW. Warning...I swore...justifiably.

This is what happens if you ever find yourself anywhere near a northern goshawk nest...the female will drive you out!

THAT was the ultimate goshawk experience I always wanted to have! After she bombed us a second time, she passed a third, this time so low, she almost kneecapped Michael. She perched above us, daring us to go any direction but out. I wanted to digiscope her, but I knew as soon as my objective lens was aimed at her she would dive right for it. And I'm not sure the Swarovski warranty covers talon lens damage.

We hightailed it out of the woods with her in close pursuit and the male circling us above the tree tops. All in all I think we were there less than five minutes but what an exhilarating five minutes of life that was! One of many nature related dreams checked off my list this year.

Here are few highlights from the Acadia Bird Festival. This is definitely one to check out...if for the fresh lobster alone. Make sure to get either a National Park Pass or a weekly pass at Acadia. Some of the field trip locations require meeting in the park without going through a gate and if a ranger catches your car without a pass you could potentially get a ticket.

What a delight to come upon fields of wild lupine as I drove around.

Below is a red-breasted nuthatch nest we found right on a trail. Another really cool nest that we found was a junco nest. I knew they nested on the ground, but I'd never seen that. Alas, it was so well hidden that there was no way to get a photo, but how cool to watch a female junco with a beak-ful of food disappear into a clump of vegetation on the ground!

Red-breasted nuthatch nest seen during a field trip at the Acadia Bird Festival in Maine. Male brings in a spider to feed the young and the female takes away a fecal sack (bird diaper). What goes in must come out. Birds digiscoped with Swarovski ATX 65mm scope, iPhone 6s and PhoneSkope adapter.

Pink lady slipper or as I like to call it: testicle flower.

Acadia where you can hear wood thrushes, hermit thrushes, black-throated green warblers, northern parulas echoing through the trees. I found a log tucked in there where I just laid down, turned off my phone and absorbed the world around me.

Black guillemot. Alas, I was not able to get a good shot of a puffin.

I don't know my geology that well but the patterns in the rocks along the Maine coast are fascinating.

This could be you at next year's Acadia Bird Festival.

Would you like to travel with me? Check out my trip to Cuba in 2017 through Holbrook Travel!

Storm approaches on the Kazakh Steppes. One of the many places I've been thanks to my college degree.

Ode to Dr. Strange

September 12, 2016

I just found out Dr. Paul Strange died this week. He was a close friend of my mother’s as well as the man for whom she worked for several years.

My mother is a Christian Scientist who worked as a nurse for Dr. Strange. We can unpack that dichotomy at another time, but when I asked her about how someone who doesn’t believe in medicine could work as a nurse, she simply said, “Lots of people have jobs they don’t believe in.”

My parents both worked hard at full time jobs that they didn’t love. My dad was clearly miserable and I remember thinking that I had to do whatever I could to avoid spending 40 hours of my week doing something I hated. My mother could make any job fun, she blooms wherever she’s planted. I never thought we were poor, but I knew that we didn’t have money like some of the other girls at school who had tanning beds in their homes or routinely went to Florida or Mexico during school vacations. Though my family didn’t have that kind of money, we sometimes went out to eat, had a VCR, a house with a big yard and many of the other comforts of middle class.

It was expected that I’d go to college and get a job I enjoy. I had absolutely no clue about money as a kid, other than my dad poured over spreadsheets and bills on weekends and played the lottery a lot. All my other friends had parents paying for college or scholarships. I figured that’s what would happen to me.

When I started applying to colleges, I got a rude awakening for how much tuition was going to cost. And as much as the travel but bug inside me wanted to go several states away, out of state tuition was out of the question. Indiana State University had reasonable prices and was far enough away that I’d have to stay there and not live at home. I’d been part of a summer theater program at ISU as a high school student so had a reasonable chance of getting some scholarship money.

I applied, I got in.

I figured finances would figure themselves out, either with scholarships, a part time job or this mythical thing called financial aid. My family didn’t qualify for financial aid. I got scholarships but not nearly enough. I didn’t realize at the time how much credit card debt my parents were in—a situation that would come to a head at the end of my college years and subsequently end their marriage.

My mom, not knowing what else to do, did the only thing she could. She prayed. Part of being a Christian Scientist is your daily “lesson” where you read assigned texts of The Bible and also Science and Health by the founder, Mary Baker Eddy. This is done as a daily meditation, you read the assigned passages from the two books and think about how they apply to your life and whatever healing you may need. My mom didn’t just read in the morning, but she took to going to a nearby Christian Science Reading Room on her lunch breaks.

Before she retired, my mom was the office cut up. She was a fun pal to make you laugh with over lunches and cigarette breaks. She was a prankster. She was not above wearing glasses with a penis nose at the office. When she started disappearing over lunch and being evasive about where she was going, it was assumed that my mother was probably having an affair until one day a coworker noticed mom’s car in the parking lot of the Christian Science Reading Room. The car was distinctive, a rusting Mercury Cougar that had gone from dark blue to purple from constant exposure to the sun.

Not long after that, Dr. Strange sat mom down and asked why was she spending her lunches at her church. Mom spilled everything. She confessed her stress about how to send me to college and that she was praying for a miracle.

The next day the doctor called her into his office again and said that he and his wife Judy thought that I could do a lot with a college degree and that I’d be something special. He said that they’d pay the difference in tuition that I didn’t get covered with scholarships. The one stipulation was that I could never be told that the Stranges were behind it.

Of course I was told after I graduated that the full ride scholarship I’d received was actually from the Stranges and I was overwhelmed with gratitude and the idea that two people who mostly knew me through stories from my mother believed in me so much, they’d make it possible for me to go to college. I didn’t have to pay them back other than to live a happy and productive life.

My friends Amy and Jody went with me to Terre Haute for a professor's retirement and we stood on the old New Theatre state where we honed our performance, directing and writing skills.

There’s so much I wouldn’t have had it not been for them. I’m sure I would have found another way to get a degree, it may have been at a much slower pace and with huge amounts of debt. Who knows where I’d be living and if I would have gotten the same tremendous job opportunities I’ve had here. Thanks to them, I got my degree in four years, I met many life long friends I still see today, I met my husband of 18 years and that’s also where I met the person who encouraged me to move to Minnesota. Though my degree is in theater, my performance and writing skills are a large part of my career as a interpretive naturalist and writer.

I’m forever grateful to Dr. and Mrs. Paul and Judy Strange. I wouldn’t have the weird little life that I cherish so much if they hadn’t stepped in. I sent them a letter after college. I acknowledge them in every book I get published. I try to be helpful to other people when they ask. But how can you ever repay people who step in at a crucial time in your life and open a world of possibilities so selflessly?

Dr. Strange is gone today. And the world for me is a little less than it was before.

"I will beak your car when you turn your back."--Black Vulture.

Florida Is For Vulture Lovers

September 2, 2016

I spent some time in southern Florida this year. I was there for work, but one of the upsides of Florida is that there is a large supply of lovely birds to practice your photography on. If you are someone who really digs vultures, then Florida should be your vacation destination. You have ample opportunity to soak them in.

My work was at Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park. I stayed in Homestead, FL and when I woke up my first morning there, I found dozens of turkey vultures already in the air, kiting on the breezes. It was one of the eeriest albeit coolest things I'd seen in awhile. The birds hung in the sky, which seemed weird to me to see large soaring birds at it so early in the morning. Where I live, they don't get thermals until about 10am so you really don't see soaring at dawn, but when you're along the coast, oceans change things. But so many birds in the air, so silent, while wind rustled leaves and palms contrasting with the watercolor pallet of dawn make for a fantastic site.

I soon discovered why there were so many vultures passing Biscayne at all hours--there was a landfill nearby. Here's some video I got with my scope and iPhone:

Those aren't just vultures, the birds swirling closed to the machinery are gulls, but man oh man that's a big ass pile of biomass in the air.

If you haven't been, Everglades is a gigantic beast of a national park. There are many units and varieties of habitat to check out. I was warned by a colleague that since I was driving a government vehicle, it was imperative while visiting Royal Palm that I should do everything I can to protect the car. The vultures are such an issue, the park has a page dedicated just to them.

Vehicle displaying proper vulture damage prevention technique at Royal Palm in Everglades National Park. Note the black vulture soaring overhead.

Apparently it's a thing that black vultures like to chew a car and do thousands of dollars worth of damage. When I pulled into the parking lot for Royal Palm I could see that something was a afoot. Many vehicles were covered in tarps, or at least all the chewy parts were like tires, windshield wipers and the parts around windows. And if you passed all the cars and thought people were just being weird, there was this right outside the visitor center:

Signage at Royal Palm explains the whys and the hows of vulture protection in the parking lot.

No one seems to know why vultures like to chew on all the rubbery pieces on a car. Is it because they're prone to ripping putrid flesh and they need to keep in shape for when that big road kill deer appears? Or is there some flavor or nutrient that attracts them? No one has the definite answer yet, but one thing is clear, black vultures seem to be the main culprit. Turkey vultures seem content to keep their distance from cars and trucks.

As I meandered the trails around Royal Palm I could see that they had a huge population of black vultures and those vultures gave no fucks about people. Before I took the above black vulture selfie, a group of about 20 people on a tour had walked past. Some paused to take photos and the vultures eyed them, but they were in no hurry to get away. We don't have black vultures where I live in Minnesota, but when I've encountered them in other states they prefer to keep a healthy distance between themselves and the average human. Not so in Florida.

I'm relieved to say that the tarps kept my government vehicle safe from the prying beaks of black vultures and mental note to you, don't trust your vehicle to vultures in south Florida. I'd love to see how rental car companies handle that kind of damage.

Turkey vulture with daisies, they practically pose for you at Everglades.

Meanwhile, the much more well behaved turkey vultures are a delight to experience at Everglades. Not only do they have less of an interest in chewing on your car than black vultures, they'll obligingly pose for you in good light when not soaring around looking for food.

You can see right through this turkey vulture's nose.

This guy was part of a small group of turkey vultures hanging out near Flamingo at Everglades. I was out there because high tide had brought in a bunch of shorebirds and I was delightedly sitting at a picnic table loving the chance to study dunlins and western sandpipers in non-breeding plumage when a few turkey vultures landed and posed in front some daisies. I know they're not traditionally pretty, but I love the texture of the wrinkles and warts. I love that their nostrils are essentially a hole through their head, layered with sensitive tissue that can detect delicious carrion from a distance and in an appetizing way I'll never comprehend. I love the contrast of the off-white beak, the bright red head and slightly iridescent feathers. And just when I thought this bird couldn't make me love it more, it gave me this:

And then this:

So if vultures are your jam, make South Florida a priority to visit.

Birdchick Podcast #213 Duck Stamp Documentary and ABA Contest

August 15, 2016

The American Birding Association is having several contests this year in an effort to get new members and get former members to renew. We are also having a contest for people to join the American Birding Association. If you join the ABA and in the comments on the application say you joined because of Birdchick or Non Birding Bill, then send us the confirmation with your mailing address you could win one of three prizes:

An Advanced Guide to Birding autographed by Kenn Kaufmann (we'll put in a personal message too if you want).

An autographed postcard from Neil Gaiman thanking you for joining the ABA.

An autographed copy of Disapproving Rabbits (Sharon's first book).

Send confirmations to sharon@birdchick.com with your preferred prize and mailing address.

Autographs from Kenn Kaufman, Neil Gaiman and us are prizes.

Other things we talked about include the documentary about the Duck Stamp art contest called Million Dollar Duck. We highly recommend it.

PokemonGo players help injured pelican.

Some jerk got a worthwhile fine for killing hawks that were hunting the quail he wanted to kill.

Birdchick Podcast #212 Poaching, Parrots and Pokemon

July 28, 2016

I love that not only have I received official federal guidance about Pokemon for my job but that a hook and bullet publication put my post about Pokemon Go out there. If you think Pokemon Go is the beginning of the end of society...read this.

JOIN THE AMERICAN BIRDING ASSOCIATION Send us proof that you joined or renewed and you could win one of the Kaufman field guide. Specify which one you want to sharon@birdchick.com. First come, first serve.

You won't believe how high some birds can fly.

Weird, it's legal to release rehabbed starlings and house sparrows in the United States but not parrots...