I just thought this was the coolest photo! I went out birding this morning with Katie and an artist named Maren. We found a cutter ant mound and got a photo of one worker carring a piece back to the entrance. These ants weren't really interested in us so it was fun to watch them. Although for me the birding was intense so I didn't focus on them too long.
The Fun Has Begun
Well, barely off the plane and met up with booth buddies Katie and Ben and already have life birds. My new birds are Harris hawks (which I have seen several times but only in a falconry capacity, so this is a lifer) and white ibis.
There are great-tailed grackles everywhere singing into the night--they sound like dolphins in the trees. Katie and I were just settling into our room when Amy from Wild Bird Magazine called and asked, "Does it mean I'm a birder if I'm sitting in a parking lot of the HEB watching black-necked stilts?" The only answer Katie and I could give was to go directly to the HEB and join her. Sure enough a family group of four black-necked stilts were roaming the parking lot near a gas station for bits of food. I tried to take photos (above), but in the dim light they aren't the show quality. This was, hands down the best view of stilts I have ever gotten but incredibly odd at the same time since they were in such an unnatural environment.
I got to meet Bill Clark who co-authored Photographic Guide to North American Raptors with Brian Wheeler. Always nice to have a geek out moment at a bird festival. Bill Thompson did in fact make it in from Ohio and is busy organizing the parties for the rest of the week with Amy. Looks like karaoke Thursday night, general jam session Friday night and someone is kind enough to host a dancing party in their drive way on Saturday night.
Tomorrow Katie and I are up early to do some birding and then to work the booth. Can't wait to see the birds and to get to work talking to people about optics. Woo hoo!
Poor Bill of the Birds
I have landed in Dallas and am waiting for my connecting flight to McAllen. In the down time I just read Bill of the Birds blog and have discovered that he got caught in a massive traffic jam and missed his flight. (on a side note, read the previous post for more about our karaoke adventures). Hopefully he will get to Texas soon.
My fist Texas bird this trip is a rock pigeon--joy of joys.
I'm trying to scope out the rest of the crowd around me to see if any are birders. No vests and no khaki so that leads me to believe I am the only birder present. I'm dreadfully overdressed for Texas. We had one heck of a wind storm kick up last night and the 39 degree weather this morning felt like 29. Of course it's eighty here some I'm regretting pants. I do have a skirt tucked and sandals tucked away in my carry ons so as soon as we land at the final destination, I'm changing.
Oh! I think I just spotted a birder: older guy (not that there's anything wrong with that), khaki pants, a back that looks suspiciously like it could be holding a spotting scope. The only think throwing me is the very shiny penny loafers, birders tend to wear more weather worn shoes.
Another possibility just sat down: older lady, khaki pants and shirt, well worn tennis shoes and furtively looking out the window while she nibbles her sandwich. I don't think she's watching planes, I'm pretty sure she's scanning for potential birds. The only thing that is keeping me from feeling confident in my call that she is a birder is that she isn't wearing a vest. Anyone wearing a many pocketed vest (willingly in public) is usually the dead give away--it's almost as reliable as the flap-flap-glide of an accipiter.
Hot Dog! Just found an official birder: older woman, khaki pants, incredibly sensible shoes--somewhat worn, green shirt, VEST, and to top it all of one of those wide-brimmed naturalist hats with little bird pins adorning the top of the hat. Ladies and gentleman, we have a birder.
Raptor Center Bird Flu Talk
I went to a lecture given by Dr. Pat Redig from the U of M's Raptor Center tonight to learn more about avian influenza (H5N1). Some websites to keep bookmarked for daily updates on Avian Influenza that are just information not sensational stories are:
World Organization for Animal Health
Promed - You can sign up for email updates about avian influenza
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
What was interesting was that Dr. Redig's talk changed my outlook on the spread of the disease. For sometime I thought that it was inevitable for it to reach the United States. Not a pandemic killing people, but something that would hit like West Nile Virus did. A noticeable hit to some bird populations but a disease that birds would have to get accustomed to. Dr. Redig did not feel that the world wide spread was inevitable and that if the disease were spreading as fast as that, it would have already hit North Africa by now.
He said that what makes this particular incident of flu interesting is that with the global communication we have, we are able to watch the birth of the disease, how it mutates and spreads. In the Spanish Flu of 1918 pandemic, that took everyone by surprise because the communication capabilities were completely different.
Some things I learned at the meeting:
1. One thing that is important to note right now is that when people have gotten the virus it has been from contact with domestic bird fecal material, blood and raw poultry meat. In some cases people have ingested things like raw duck blood. If the people who contracted it had either washed their hands thoroughly after handling their birds or cooked the meat thoroughly they may not have contracted it.
2. None of the people who have been infected directly worked in the poultry industry. It's possible that the particular strain of influenza started with poultry with development and those people developed an immunity.
3. No one has been infected with H5N1 from wild birds, only poultry.
4. Beware of bogus "bird flu" vaccinations. Apparently there are some people out there trying to capitalize on the media information about the flu by offering vaccinations that would have no effect on the H5N1. There currently is no vaccination for people or birds.
5. Just because H5N1 shows up, it does not automatically mean a pandemic. It may never mutate into a strain that could transfer from person to person. One thing is for sure, if H5N1 shows up any domestic birds including turkeys, chickens or ducks could be at risk of culling. It is possible that if you have parrots they could be at risk. Keep in mind that this is speculation on if the virus lands on the North American continent.
6. Species that have been found with H5N1: peregrine falcon, heron, flamingo, gull, parrot. buzzard (European version of a buteo like a red-tailed hawk), magpie, cormorant, dove, swan, goose, sparrowhawk (not like our kestrels, a European version of a sharp-shinned hawk). So far only the whooper swan has been a carrier, other species died from H5N1. It's presumed that the raptor species got it from eating infected bird prey. It is presumed that the parrot got it from eating food made from infected poultry.
7. What can you do besides checking info and waiting? MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR BIRDS COME FROM. If you are getting a pet bird, make sure it is from a breeder and not smuggled in. Do research, do not assume that because someone says, "Yeah sure, it's captive bred, doesn't mean it is." This is also a good practice too when purchasing poultry to eat. Even though H5N1 hasn't shown up in the United States and may or may not, it's always a good idea to make sure that you are in fact cooking your food thoroughly and as always wash your hands after handling raw bird.
Subject Line
ARRRRGH! I have packing to do this afternoon before I go to a lecture on avian influenza at the Raptor Center tonight and I just learned there is a snowy owl down in Rochester (an hour and a half for me). I now have a choice...do I put off packing until after I get home from the lecture and stay up late in the night getting my crap together or pack sensibly this afternoon to get a good night's sleep. I will blog and think about this. I should stay and pack, not only do I have an early flight to catch to Texas, but I have an early interview about bird flu on A Balanced Breakfast with Ian and Margery on fm107 at 5:45am. One thing about those early morning phone interviews, the call wakes you up if your alarm fails! If you are awake you can tune in on the radio in the Twin Cities or online at fm107.fm.
Non Birding Bill pointed out yesterday that I had Books Books Books as the title for yesterday's post and there really wasn't much about books. I had intended to talk about some fun books I found in Madison used book stores and got completely off track talking about Mike and my optics training. Doh. On a side note, I got the biggest thrill seeing my Wisconsin Calendar in a window of a museum shop on State Street.
Anyway, one of the things that I enjoy doing is wandering around used book stores with NBB. We can be in any town anywhere under the worst of circumstances and just have a blast with each other exploring dusty shelves. I'm into hardcore academic bird books and awful, horrible incredibly inaccurate books from the late 1800s to early 1900s. I shouldn't say they are in accurate, just backwards. Birds were regarded in two different categories: good and evil. If a bird destroyed crops and live stock it was bad. If it minded it's own business and was pretty it was okay.
This trip I found one book that is so wrong on so many levels from the 1960s called Hand-taming Wild Birds at the Feeder by Alfred G. Martin. The training in the bird feeding industry today is that birds at the feeder are enjoyable, but they are wild and not dependent on us. This book openly refers to birds as "pets" and that if you set a feeder you are responsible for any deaths that happen. This is completely untrue! Studies done by Cornell prove that birds only use a feeder as about 20% of its entire diet even in the worst of circumstances. I did some checking on the internet and I noticed that this book was republished in the early 1990s so I wonder if such glorious quotes as this were reworded:
On hawks visiting feeders:
"Most predators are now protected by state and federal laws. They should be protected, but the laws should also make allowance for the protection of birds at the feeder. Birds of prey as a whole make little difference in the songbird population; it is the individual predator who will locate a well-populated feeder and hang around until the last songster is gone. He is the one that should be destroyed, law or no law...When I see a bird of prey near my feeder, I watch him carefully; if he takes one bird and does not return for more he is safe; if he returns, I shoot him."
Okay, what I want to know is that without banding the birds, how does he know it's the same hawk? This is wrong, wrong, wrong! Did I mention this is wrong? Hawks will not permanently deplete feeder birds! Sure, birds lay low when a hawk is around, but I have had Cooper's hawks nest within 100 feet of a bird feeder and I still had birds all summer.
But wait there's more. Here's his answer on hummingbird migration:
"One evening a friend called at my studio and laid a Canada goose on the table, then took a male ruby-throat hummingbird from his tobacco pouch and placed it on the head of the goose. "Al," he said, "I shot this goose down on the Cape this morning, and when I picked him up, this little fellow rolled out of his feathers. He was still alive but died in my hand." I am just as sure that ruby-throat hummingbirds will ride a goose as I am that aviators ride planes."
I always wondered where that rumor came from. I don't know if this is the exact start but it sure did help perpetuate that myth of hummingbirds riding on geese during migration. The book is full of all sorts of his personal theories stated as fact. One of the worst being that peanut butter causes egg-binding in birds. That was new, I have to give credit for that. I had heard the myth that peanut butter sticks to the roof of birds mouths causing them to suffocate (which as NEVER been proven true or false) but the fact that it causes egg binding in female birds is a new one to me.
I'm going to have to see if I can locate the 1990s edition to see if anything has changed. If you have this book do take some of the info with a grain of salt. His techniques for getting birds to hand feed aren't too far off--basically stand still and be patient...although Alfie does warn against swallowing while birds are on the hand, apparently it makes them edgy. Who knew?
Well, this post went on longer than expected. I guess that makes my decision about going down to look at a stake out snowy owl. Ah well, tomorrow I'll be birding in Texas. I can get a look at a snowy later this winter. Whoo hoo! Texas birds and karaoke, here I come!
Books Books Books Books
Bill and I made it back from our trip to Madison and we are exhausted. Between all the cramming on optics and meeting new people and enjoying friends we have not seen for a while, we feel like cold wet noodles.
Cinnamon got to go around and meet some of the crew at Eagle Optics. Mike was ready for her right away to see if she would disapprove of him. It took a moment, but the inevitable happened and she indeed did disapprove of him. I on the other hand am in awe of him. I'm going to be honest, I always knew a good binocular when I look through it, but I didn't know the scientific reason why an optic is better than others. Being the left brain that I am, I just kind of skimmed bird magazine articles about optics. Of course, working for an optics company, I need to be able to actually know what you are talking about and Mike who has given me my initial training is VERY good. I really appreciated that he walked me though the initial binocular lesson without making me feel like a dingbat. He was patient, humorous and best of all not boring. I'm very excited about this whole process though. Part of me now understands how new part-time people that I trained at the bird store felt when I was walking them through seed mixes and the ins and outs of Droll Yankee bird feeders. I'm sure the glazed eye, information overload look came across my face a few times. This whole learning process really gives me hope. If I can learn all of this, I should one day be able to properly learn how to identify first and second year gulls.
Birdchick always on the Job
Some bunnies just can't hold their scotch.
So Non Birding Bill and I are in Madison, WI killing two birds with one stone. I'm getting some last minute training for the Rio Grande Valley Fest at Eagle Optics and he's here for World Fantasy Con. We have access to the Governor's Club at the Concourse Hotel in the evening which has a very well known bartender named Brian who is a favorite among the ladies for his chocolate martinis. I like him because he's a birder. Non Birding Bill looks at me like I'm nuts but I can find a birder everywhere I go, even if that person doesn't know yet that they are a birder, I can still tell. Hm. I wonder if that would be called "bird-dar"?
Brian had been to the website and asked just how big Cinnamon was. I told him that she was in our room and I could bring her down and he could meet her in person. So, on went the leash and Cinnamon bellied up to the bar. I was worried that sneaking a rabbit into the hotel might get is in a little trouble, but when the concierge came by and asked for a photo I knew we were okay. Brian has been in Arizona several times and told me about the all the great birds he sees out there, it's always great to meet a kindred spirit.
Speaking of kindred spirits, I met Peter Straub and got him to prank call my mother. I think she's still not convinced it was really Peter or just Non Birding Bill pretending to be Peter. At any rate, we got her an autographed copy of Ghost Story so in the end she will be happy.
This morning at breakfast we ran into Adam Stemple of the Tim Malloys and he was with his mother Jane Yolen who is married to ornithologist David Stemple who sounds like my kind of guy--he has dedicated his life to the recording of Ring Ouzels! Now that's what I call niche birding. NBB again saw the magic of running into birders anywhere but also bonded with Jane over being a non birding spouse.
Apparently "It's on"
I just read Bill of the Birds blog and discovered that BT3 of Birdwatcher's Digest fame is going to be the emcee at the Rio Grande Valley Bird Festival. In the birding community that means only one thing: karaoke at bird festivals. I contacted Amy Hooper editor of Wild Bird Magazine and asked, "Is it on?" and her reply was, "Oh yeah, karaoke is on. Did an online search, found various
possibilities." Heaven help the ears of Harlingen. Woo Hoo!
Ben at Eagle Optics is going to be training me on doing my first festival for the company. He was showing me that the schedule for next week is basically working the booth from noon until 6pm. That means we have the whole morning to go birding...life is good.
Eeeww
Is it a type of avian pox or a two-headed house finch? I'm not sure but you can decide when you look at the recently seen page on the MOU website.
Flight Club
The first rule about the Cornell Ivory-billed Woodpecker Search is you do not talk about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Search. The second rule about the Cornell Ivory-billed Woodpecker Search is you do not talk about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Search. The third rule about the Cornell Ivory-billed Woodpecker Search is you do not talk about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Search.
Well, I spent the last few weeks trying to determine what I can talk about while I'm down for two weeks in December about the ivory-billed search--nothing. What is going on is a systematic scientific search, releasing information too soon could compromise the gathering of data and worse could potentially be harmful to the overall benefit of any ivory-bills still down there.
However, there is a silver lining to the cloud! I will be able to talk and write (and a few other things) about the looking for the ivory-bill when the official search is complete, most likely in April. I'm so excited! I get to be part of an official scientific search with Cornell and create some exciting stuff that may show up on Cornell's website as well as Eagle Optics and of course birdchick.
I think blogging about my experience while I was down there was a tad unrealistic anyway since it sounds like where I will be has no internet access and my cell phone might work if I stand on top of a levee. So, I'm delighted to announce that I will have a guest blogger while I'm gone for two weeks in December. I couldn't ask for a better (or sassier) guest than Julie Zickefoose! For years she has been one of my favorite writers in Bird Watcher's Digest and many have seen her gorgeous paintings have been featured on the cover. She is who I want to be if and when I ever grow up...mostly because she hasn't quite grown up herself. She should have some fun and interesting things to say, although there is a slight difference between us (besides her massive amount of artistic talent). I am married to a Non Birding Bill and she is married to a Birding Bill. I'm curious how the other half lives.
On a side note Julie offered to design my next tattoo. She offered an ivory-billed woodpecker, but I had never seen one and at the time of the conversation had no plans to go look for one. I wanted a pileated since that was the bird that got me really interested in birding when I was a wee seven year old (who am I kidding, even at 31 I'm still wee). Besides, there are lots of bird tattoos: eagles, swallows, even Woody Woodpecker for cryin' out loud, but I have yet to see an accurate pileated on someone's body. Well, perhaps I will hold off to decide. If I see an ivory-bill, I'll get that for a tattoo. If I don't see it, I'll resort to the original pileated plan.