Favorite Holiday Recipe

A friend and fellow blogger called Makeover Momma (wonder if I should have a bird makeover in the blog some day) asked for submissions for our favorite Holiday Recipes!  I think she was hoping for fudge and cookies and gingerbread, but of course, mine is a bird food recipe.  It's one many birders may be familiar with but the recipe always bears repeating.  It's the suet dough recipe that I learned from my favorite bird blogger, Julie Zickefoose.  I have adjusted the recipe a bit for the birds in my area and feel free to make adjustments as you see it.  The original recipe can be found at the Bird Watchers Digest site.

  • 1 cup melted lard or beef suet
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 2 cups yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • half cup sunflower hearts (unsalted)
  • half cup crushed pecans (unsalted)
  • half cup peanuts (unsalted)

Melt lard and peanut butter together on a low burner. Take off heat, and add remaining ingredients. Spread on a cookie sheet, and allow to cool in the refrigerator until the mixture is just hard enough to cut into pieces. Store in freezer bags and use as needed.

This is a great suet dough to spread into suet logs, spread on the sides of trees, use in the suet sandwich, a tray feeder or offer on a deck rail and dish like Julie does.

Remember, if you purchase items at my Birdchick's OpenSky Store 20% of the profits are donated to the American Birding Association's birding programs for kids. So you're not only getting products that I personally recommend and own (or have given to family and friends), your support helps grow cool birding opportunities for young birders.

Birds and Beers This Thursday

On the off chance you haven't checked the Birds and Beers tab at the top of the page: The next Birds and Beers is November 19, 2009 at 6:00 pm at Merlin’s Rest.

Birds and Beers is an informal gathering of birders of all abilities–if you’re interested in birds, you’re invited. You can meet other birders–maybe find a carpool buddy, ask about where to find target birds, share cool research projects you might be working on, ask a bird feeding question, share life lists, share some digiscoping tips, promote your blog–the sky is the limit. It’s low key and it’s fun.

There's a Facebook Event Page for it here.

Hummer Helmets & Hummingbird Hats

Oh deary me...just when you thought birder clothing couldn't get any weirder! There's been a video going around of a "hummer helmet" that you can wear to attract hummingbirds. I'm all for birding innovation and trying to get closer to birds, but could we do it without looking like some crazed ax murder or nerd?

It's clever, but man does that mask look a little freakazoid to me. I'm suddenly inspired to write a birder horror flick and have someone sitting there benignly behind the mask, innocently attracting hummingbirds, then BAM start slashing nubile teenagers who insist on running into shadowy attics and dank basements when confronted with potential stabbing. If you would like to purchase this product you can order from the inventor www.hotstick.com...and yes, I promise that a hummer helmet from HotStick.com is safe for work and not something naughty.
This is not the first hummer head gear to come down the pike. Back in 2005, a Minnesota man developed his own hummingbird hat. He was featured on a Twin Cities news program and then made it on to Letterman and Animal Planet. When he was featured on local Twin Cities tv, he was shown in his backyard. Letterman's crew made him film at a Twin Cities nature center (with hardly any hummingbirds) and he was made to look like a crazy old bird watcher (not to say that he wasn't). But here's the original Twin Cities video of his hat (the hummingbird action starts at 0:58):

I don't think this one is for sale, but a result of his own invention. A red helmet with various small hummingbird feeders balanced on different sides...yeah, doesn't look silly at all. However, I was surprised to discover while searching for this video on YouTube that someone out there has taken this idea and tried to create a version of it and sells it on Etsy. You can get a double or a more economical single. Here's the video:

Who knew there were more than one hummingbird helmet hats out there--you have your choice! I suppose the face protection of the first mask would be desirable if you're worried about hummingbirds fighting and one inadvertantly impaling your eyeball. Or if you were worried about bees. If you prefer open air and want to live life on the edge you could try the helmet. Or you could forgo the headgear and just hold a feeder in your hands:

Found An Alexander Wilson In My Laundry Room

alexander wilson ruffed grouse I can't remember if I've blogged this or not, but I have a bit of an update if I have. A few years ago, Non Birding Bill came up from the laundry room of our apartment and said, "I can't believe you didn't snatch up that birding painting in the basement."

Our apartment building is often a stopping ground for young adults preparing to purchase a home. Usually when someone moves, they leave behind the books, posters, and small furniture that only a broke college student could love on the off chance some other transitional will want it. I think many of items are the result of spouses saying, "No, honey, that will not be following us to our new home."

And with that you find CD shelves, well used IKEA lamps, Betty Boop posters, various sci fi and fantasy books that most would be afraid to admit were on their shelves no matter how dust covered.  Periodically, NBB will find a treasure in a rare Doctor Who book or old computer part that he swears will not end up in the larder of computer parts in our closet (to be fair, I have a larder of outdoor products in the other closet).

I mentioned to Bill that I glanced at it but it looked a little to inaccurate for my taste.  He replied, "Yeah, but it's a brown bird, you love the brown birds. Plus, it looks like a print from those old bird books you love to collect."

He had a point.  I love early 1900s bird books and I love brown birds. I decided to go down and take a look. In the flourescent glow of the laundry room lights, I noticed it had an Audubon quality to the illustration and I bent down to read the artist's name: Alexander Wilson.  Huh, I had never seen a Wilson print before, but was aware of who he was.

If you are into birds, you may have heard Wilson's name and not realized.  Many birds are named for him like the Wilson's warbler.  As a matter of fact, he has a whole genus named after him (Wilsonia).  There is also the Wilson Ornithological Society named after him.  He was the big cheese in ornithology before Audubon--he was actually an inspiration to John James Audubon and you can see similarities in their painting of North American birds.

Since I knew who Wilson was and it tickled my fancy to find a print...and the frame matched my other frames, I found a place for it on my wall among my turkey vulture paintings and autographed Wheeler sketch...I should do a blog entry on the artwork on the walls of our apartment. It's an odd mix of birding, theater posters, falconry, rabbits, sci-fi, fantasy and just obscure autographs.

I hung it up and never gave it much thought.  I figured that Wilson prints must fall in that category of public domain and everyone had one tucked away.  Once I knew it was a Wilson, it grew on me.  The bird was in a fairly natural position for the time and the detail on for a wild bird painted around the turn of the 19th Century was pretty good. I loved the obscurity of it and only a handful of friends appreciated who it was.

From the dust on the frame and weathered appearance, I imagined that this grouse print belonged to a sensible Minnesota boy who had a grouse hunter grandfather.  When the grandfather died, the painting was bequeathed to the grandson.  Said grandson grew up, moved to Uptown, found a trendy girlfriend with all the right tattoos and piercings (cause that's what girls in my neighborhood do) and they decided to get married and buy a house.  As she shed her piercings and hid her tattoos before the wedding and moving to a quite Woodbury neighborhood, she encouraged him to get rid of the ugly brown chicken painting so it could go to the land of lava lamps and wagon wheel coffee tables.

Then, I stared doing some Wilson research and found places selling Alexander Wilson prints like this one.  At the time, they had my exact grouse print selling for $600.  I continued to scan the Internet from time to time and found it going for anywhere from $300 to $1000.

I thought, "No way, mine has to be a public domain print."

I started searching for public domain prints and could not find any for Wilson.  Huh?  I sent photos to some of the places that sell Wilson prints and sure enough--it's the real deal, a hand painted Alexander Wilson print.  Holy cow!  Who knew that my nerd love for an early ornithologist who documented North American birds who turn into something with a bit of historical value.

Doubled My Birding, Doubled My Pleasure

So, I tell my dear sweet husband, I'm finished with my blog vacation, I have material, I have renewed enthusiasm...and then life hits. We have the best mechanic--we go to Amigo (I chose them because of they had bird houses and a bird calendar in their waiting area--you can trust mechanics who watch birds, plus they have good trusty worthy names like Todd and Pete). Anyway, the boys have been warning NBB and I that we need a new car and once it started making a very loud noise, Pete informed me that it's a repair and it would be better to put that money towards a new car rather than investing in this one. Ah, it was nice not having a car payment while it lasted. Now, I have to look for a new car (blah) and time for blogging goes toward car research and a car broker.

In the meantime, birding has been fabulous. Last time I was at Carpenter Nature Center, we had a great day. Cedar waxwings were still out in force--although the dogwoods that been bursting with berries that were ravenously devoured by bluebirds and lurking native sparrows are now bare and quiet.

The flocks were mix of hatch year and adult birds--the birds with vertical stripes on their belly where hatched this year. They hung out in the trees and periodically flew out for the few insects that were out or down to the pond for sip and a quick bathe. The insects are taking advantage of the rare November warm weather we have going on right now (what a change from the three inches of snow we had a month previous).

We had quite the nuthatch day! Earlier in the season when I was at Frank Taylor's blind in northern MN, the trees sounded like they were dripping with red-breasted nuthatches. It was great to see some arriving in big numbers in and around the Twin Cities. We had a fun comparison with a male white-breasted nuthatch and a female red-breasted nuthatch. The male has a dark cap, the female has a lighter cap.

Here's another comparison--this time of two red-breasted nuthatches. A make (again with the dark cap) and a female (again with the light cap).

We also had the joy of two male ruby-crowned kinglets hitting the nets at the same time. Love the double ruby crowns! They will be just about gone here soon. Sigh.

The other thing that has gotten in the way of my blogging this week is that I'm rehearsing a show with NBB's new theater project: Theatre Arlo (they do whatever the Guthrie is doing but on a $50 budget). After over a 5 year hiatus, I'm returning to the stage as an actor! When Bill and his partner Matthew Foster announced that they were going to produce A Christmas Carol in the style of a Golden Girls episode (yes, that Golden Girls), I said, "I'm not traveling much this fall, I'd like to audition."

Next thing I know, Matthew said, "You can be Sophia's sister!"

And there it is, I'm kind of like the "special guest star" or the Nancy Walker of the show (which make me incredibly happy). It's a hilarious show and the cast for the main four leads is hilarious. If you're in the Twin Cities and love the Golden Girls, come see us at the Bryant Lake Bowl. NBB has a part in it too, so you can see us both act. Yes, all my friends who have met NBB and noted how quiet he is...he can be chatty and funny on stage.


Trying My Hand At Hand Feeding


Most of the time when I'm filling the feeders at Mr. Neil's, the birds zip around my head and many land directly on the feeder as I'm hanging it on the pole. I've read how to get birds to feed from your hand but have never really put it into practice before, but think I might this winter. I did some preliminary experiments this morning and considering that most books say to do it when it's cold and all the feeders are empty...I got off to a pretty good start. It was sixty degrees today and all the feeders were full and yet, I got some brave birds landing on the feeder while my hand was on it. I figured they were used to flying in and so would be used to my hand. That tufted titmouse in the above photo, however is suspicious.


I did get a black-capped chickadee to take one nut from my hand. I got the photos by setting up the WingScapes motion sensitive cam in front of the feeder so that way I wouldn't be freaking the birds out while holding a point and shoot. I'm encouraged to see what will happen.

And, I'd like to thank my husband Non Birding Bill for filling in for me for a few days. I'm lucky to be married to such a talented writer who sees when I get stressed over the blog and offers to step in. I love doing the blog, but the way I blog has changed and who knows how it will continue to change with the trends on the Internet.

Everybody needs a vacation from what they do and I'm so grateful to have a husband who can step (or the many readers who have guest blogged during our contests when I have been out of the country).

Early on, there were few bird related sites and blogs. Blogs were a means for birders to share bird news stories, talk about research, share personal birding stories, encourage others to share. Now, there are a TON of great birding blogs out there to choose from. There's no need to feel the pressure of sharing a bird related news story because one--several other bloggers are already on it and two--more blog readers are internet savvy and can set their news readers to find the bird stories for themselves.

And then there is the challenge of fresh material. I'm fortunate in that I get to travel and can share new birds, but when I'm not traveling and I'm reveling in watching basic bird feeding...how many times can I show a photo of a chickadee and have it be interesting? What else can I say about the 180th dark-eyed junco that we've banded (unless it has an interesting injury).

Now, there is Facebook and Twitter to contend with as well. I wasn't sure how I would use Twitter, but I find I use it as often as I blog. I started by using Twitter as a preview area for photos that I might post later in the blog, but I also use it for real time bird banding photos and to answer birding questions, or even share links that I formerly would just post in the blog.

I'm not sure where this blog is going...I don't think any of us do, that's a challenge the media is facing with the internet: how do we make it all work and still earn a living too. As long as I find blogging interesting, I'll keep doing it. And thank you to everyone who stops by (whether you leave a comment or not).

If there's something you'd like to see blogged about--please let me know. I try to take requests when I can.


Rock Dove! Down, down, down...

NBB's Guide to that Bird You Saw: Pigeon

The Finale of our adventures with all the birds you really need to know, is, of course, the humble pigeon, or "Rock Dove" (which was a lesser-known single off Fred Schneider's solo career. He doesn't talk about it much), which is another bird that people hate because they've adapted to human civilization so very well. "Filthy things! Look at them, eating garbage!" as if their food supply, you know, fell off great orchards of invisible Garbage Trees, or simply blew into town like tumbleweeds made of Big Mac wrappers.

Pigeons

You gonna eat the rest of that?

But enough with the social commentary, let us consider the pigeon in and of itself.

The pigeon has two things going for it: one is their coloration. Pigeons have a remarkable color ranges: you see it a lot in our neighborhood, where I think the wild population has been cross-breading with racing birds. But even the normal, garden variety pidge has that remarkable iridescent ring around their neck and the blue-gray coloring.

It's in flight that pigeons are really fantastic, that ungainly body swooping in large circles, great flocks of them covering the sky. Did you know that pigeons can out fly Peregrine Falcons? It's true. And the reason why they're so slow to get out of the way of cars is that they see things much faster than we do: it's like you're moving in slow motion—that's right, it doesn't occur to a pigeon that you might be a threat to it.

But I'll grant you that the Pidge may not have the most well-thought-out shape in the avian world. It lacks the sleek sharpness of a Blue Jay or the petite uber-cuteness of a Titmouse. It seems to be made up large of bumps, like a stack of bowling balls in a burlap sack, jostling over each other. Walking, a pigeon's body can't quite seem to agree which direction it's going: chest forward, tail back, head in a complete panic of falling over. And then there are the feet, with all the design elegance of a Soviet automobile.

So, you should give a bit of credit to the common Rock Dove. It's bird you should know. But just make sure you never, ever let anyone know you admire it. They'll give you dirty looks out of the side of their eyes, and walk quickly away, muttering... much like a pigeon.

Ducks! Aaah-ahh! Savior of the universe!

NBB's Guide to that Bird you saw: Ducks

Ducks!

Just say it over and over again! Ducks ducks ducks ducks ducks! Even the name is infused with joy, and that is because for sheer happiness, no animal bests the duck.

Perhaps Animal Reviews said it best:

Personality wise, the duck is unsurpassed. They do their best to get along with absolutely everyone, and always swim over to say hello. They even get on with swans, who are well known for their mood swings and prima donna behaviour.

Perhaps their greatest achievement however is the hilarious way in which they move around. On land, ducks stagger and lurch like a drunk with a gammy leg. Flying is little better - they look likely to crash land at any given moment. Watching them swim is fascinating. Ducks never seem to actually go anywhere at all, preferring to spend their time instead pretending to be mini hovercrafts. They turn in 360 degree circles all the time. Why? Just because they can. Fantastic.

Ducks have been clinically proven to be an antidote for mild depression. Feeling a little blue? Head down to your local pond and like a herd of miniature concierges, the ducks will surround you, attempting to wow you with their comic antics and general good outlook on life. All they ask in return is a little food (Please, do not try to fool them by pulling blades of grass—you're only embarrassing yourself further. If you don't have any feed for them, that's okay, they'll wander off, no ill feeling, no harm done guv'nor, these things happen. Should you return later, you'll get the exact same treatment. Ducks hold no grudges.

ducks2-749124Hey Human! Look at my butt!

Me, I could while away a whole afternoon with your garden variety pond duck (pondus duckus). Identification is dead simple, you listen for the distinctive "quack" or simply watch for a spot where two year olds are running after them: ducks are genetically engineered to be slightly faster than a toddler running at top speed. Or perhaps they're merely humoring the kid. That'd be just like them. Good ol' ducks.

I don't think that I'm going too far out on a ledge to say that ducks are the best bird ever, and are a truly remarkable story, adapting perfectly to human society and filling an ecological niche wherever gumball machines filled with dry dog food (which I think reproduce in a mushroom-like way, via spores) happen to spring up.

My wife has asked me to point out here that I am more precisely talking about Mallards, and that there are many kinds of ducks, some of whom are extremely skittish around people. This, to me, points out the central insanity of the birdwatcher: they don't like ducks.

Library - 2845Birders would call this a "duck." Not even close.

Or rather, they do like ducks, ducks can be very exciting and they will drive hours and hours away to see one: provided it is a) rare and b) does not want to be seen. In other words, isn't a proper duck at all, but might as well be a swan. And nobody likes swans. Not even birders.

The Shaz has asked me to mention that one of her favorite sites, Mike's Digiscoping Blog is shutting down. Let's hope it's only a haitus, as his images are pretty remarkable. Check it out, yo.