"The Love Master"

I discovered this incredible video of the courtship display of the male Australian (or Victoria’s) Riflebird (one of the birds-of-paradise) from Mike’s Birding & Digiscoping Blog via Ivory-bills LiVE!! Thanks, guys!

Rachel Carson Online Book Club

According to this news release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Friends of the National Conservation Training Center is launching the interactive Rachel Carson Online Book Club (a blog) to mark the 100th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s birth. A different Rachel Carson book will be reviewed and discussed each month by guest moderators through November. Participation is open to all, and everyone is free to comment.

This is exciting news. The book club will be an interesting event to follow. Carson’s writings, especially Silent Spring, definitely had an influence on my decision to pursue a degree in wildlife biology, which led to a 37-year career with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

In related news, the Fish and Wildlife Service has posted this tribute to Carson.

Fifth Anniversary Celebration

Birds Etcetera was hatched 5 years ago today with the publication of two modest posts (here and here). The publication history of Birds Etcetera has been a rather spotty one, reflecting (in part) personal and professional demands on my time. The archives show posting activity in 33 of the 60 months that have elapsed since my first post, with long gaps of inactivity from June 2003-April 2004, July 2004-June 2005, and August-December 2005. Birds Etcetera remains a labor of love and an integral part of my life, one that I hope to continue long into the future, time and circumstances allowing.

Birding Festivals in February

How did we ever make it through the cold, snowy, and dark wintery days of February before the advent of birding festivals? This retrospective review of 25 birding festivals that were held in the month of February in 2007 is mainly of historical interest at this juncture—they’ve all come and gone—but most of these are annual events, so mark your calendars for next year!

Eagle Watch Weekend (7th annual)
February 1-4, 2007; Bloomington, Indiana

Reelfoot Lake Eagle Fest (3rd annual)
February 2-4, 2007; Tiptonville, Tennessee

San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival (11th annual)
February 2-4, 2007, Mare Island, California

Cumberland County Winter Eagle Festival (7th annual)
February 3, 2007; Mauricetown, New Jersey

Havana Eagle Days Festival
February 3, 2007; Havana, Illinois

Sparrow Fest
February 3, 2007; Balcones Canyonlands NWR, Texas

Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival (20th annual)
February 3-4, 2007, Concrete, Washington

Utah Bald Eagle Day (13th annual)
February 3 and 10, 2007; Utah (various localities)

San Diego Bird Festival (12th annual)
February 7-11, 2007; Mission Bay, California

Eagle Expo (2nd annual)
February 8-10, 2007; Morgan City, Louisiana

Eagle Fest (12th annual)
February 10-11, 2007; Emory, Texas

Hudson River EagleFest (3rd annual)
February 11, 2007; Teatown, New York

Brownsville International Birding Festival (7th annual)
February 15-17, 2007; Brownsville, Texas

Winter Wings Festival (26th annual)*
February 15-18, 2007; Klamath Falls, Oregon
* Formerly known as the Bald Eagle Conference

Salton Sea International Bird Festival (10th annual)
February 16-19, 2007; Imperial, California

Balde Eagle Festival (6th annual)
February 16-18, 2007; Grand Coulee, Washington

Burrowing Owl Festival (5th annual)
February 17, 2007; Cape Coral, Florida

Merrimack River Eagle Festival (2nd annual)
February 17, 2007; Parker River, Massachusetts

Connecticut River Eagle Festival (8th annual)
February 17-18, 2007; Essex, Connecticut

California Duck Days (13th annual)
February 23-24, 2007; Davis, California

A Celebration of Whooping Cranes (11th annual)
February 23-25, 2007; Port Aransas, Texas

Birding and Blues Festival (4th annual)
February 23-25, 2007; Pacific City, Oregon

Eagles and Agriculture
February 23-25, 2007; Gardnersville, Nevada

High Plains Snow Goose Festival (5th annual)
February 23-25, 2007; Lamar, Colorado

Port Susan Snow Goose & Birding Festival (2nd annual)
February 24-25, Camano Island, Washington

Disclaimer: I make no claims that this is a comprehensive list of all birdng festivals held in February 2007. I did, however, go to great pains to make it as complete as possible.

We Come from Monkeys!

As this song from the band Emerald Rose says, it’s "A fundamental problem, but a scientific fact." This is one of the more entertaining things I’ve seen come out of the ongoing debate on evolution and intelligent design. Lay back and enjoy!

Online Ornithological Newsletters: Issue #7 (California)

The purpose of this weekly series is to provide links to the online newsletters of local, State, Provincial, and national Audubon societies, bird clubs, bird conservation organizations, bird observatories, and ornithological societies of the United States and Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, individual newsletters are in .pdf format. All of the links listed below are in .html format.

California (33 newsletters listed below):

Audubon Imprint (newsletter of the Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society, Pacific Palisades) - Issued 9 times/year. 118 issues currently available online in .html format: earliest: February 1994 (Volume 17, Number 6).

Audubon’s Warbler (newsletter of Kern Audubon Society, Bakersfield) - 5 issues currently available online; earliest: October 2006.

Burrowing Owl (newsletter of the Yolo Audubon Society, Davis) - Issued 9 times/year. 17 issues currently available online; earliest: September 2004 (Volume 34, Number 1). The mast-head features a drawing of a Burrowing Owl.

Chapparal Naturalist (newsletter of the Pomona Valley Audubon Society, Claremont) - Issued 4 times/year. 5 issues currently available online; earliest: January/February 2006 (Volume 45, Number 3). The archives includes selected articles going back to April 1997. The mast-head features an Acorn Woodpecker flanked by a California Quail and an unidentified raptor.

Hummin’ (newsletter of the Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society, Escondido) - Issued 6 times/year. 58 issues currently available online; earliest: February/March 1997.

Lagoon Flyer (publication of the Buena Vista Audubon Society, Oceanside) - Issued 9 times/year. 22 issues currently available online; earliest: September 2004.

Leaves (newsletter of the Madrone Audubon Society, Sonoma County) - Issued 9 times/year. 166 issues currently available online; earliest: September 1996.

Observer Online (journal of PRBO Conservation Sciences, Petaluma) - Issued 4 times/year. 27 issues currently available online; earliest: Number 120 (Winter 2000).

On the Wild Side [scroll to bottom] (newsletter of the Ventana Wildlife Society, Salinas) - 2 issues are currently available online: Annual Issue 2005, and Winter 2005/2006.

Pacific Flyway (newsletter of the Morro Coast Audubon Society, Morro Bay) - Issued 10 times/year. 32 issues currently available online; earliest: March 2003. NOTE: Download times may be long.

Phainopepla (newsletter of the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society, Van Nuys) - Issued 10 times/year. 12 issues currently available online, including a special Centennial Edition issued in 2006; earliest: February 2006 (Volume 57, Number 1).

Roadrunner (newsletter of the Canejo Valley Audubon Society, Thousand Oaks) - Issued 10 times/year. 45 issues currently available online; earliest: September 2002.

Sierra Squawker (newsletter of the Central Sierra Audubon Society, Sonora) - Only the current issue is available (January 2007).

Sierra Wave (newsletter of the Eastern Sierra Audubon Society, Bishop) - Issued 5 times/year. 33 issues currently available online; earliest: September/October 2000.

Sequoia Needles [click on Sequoia eNews now available online and scroll to bottom of page] (bulletin of the Sequoia Audubon Society, Woodside) - 3 issues of Sequoia Needles are currently available online; earliest: February-March 2005 (Volume 55, Number 3). Also currently available online are 5 issues of the Sequoia eNews; earliest: October 2005 (Number 10).

Sketches (newsletter of the San Diego Audubon Society, San Diego) - Issued monthly (12 issues/year). 12 issues currently available online; earliest: March 2006 (Volume 57, Number 6). A maximum of 12 issues is posted on the Website at any one time.

Song Sparrow (newsletter of the Napa-Solano Audubon Society, Vallejo) - Issued quarterly. 11 issues currently available online: earliest: September 2004.

The California Condor [click on Newsletter] (newsletter of the Ventura Audubon Society, Ventura) . Only the most recent issue is currently available online: February 2007 (Volume 27, Number 6).

The Chat [click on The Chat] (newsletter of the Kerncrest Audubon Society, Ridgecrest) - Issued monthly except July and August (10 issues/year). Only the current issue is available (May 2006).

The Gull (newsletter of the Golden Gate Audubon Society, Berkeley) - Issued 10 times/year. 50 issues currently available online; earliest: January 2002.

The Kite Call (newsletter of the Ohlone Audubon Society, Hayward) - Issued 8 times/year. 67 issues currently available online; earliest: October 1998.

The Observer (newsletter of Whittier Audubon Society, Whittier) - 6 issues are currently available online. The mast-head features a full-color illustration of a Northern Cardinal.

The Phoebe [click on The Phoebe tab] (newsletter of the Sierra Foothills Audubon Society, Grass Valley) - Issued 6 times/year. 1 issues currently available online: January-February 2007 (Volume 28, Number 1). The mast-head features a drawing of a Black Phoebe.

The Quail (newsletter of the Mt. Diablo Audubon Society, Walnut Creek) - Issued 10 times/year. 42 issues currently available online; earliest: October 2002 (Volume 49, Number 2). The mast-head features a California Quail.

The Sanderling (newsletter of the Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society, Carmel) - Issued 5 times/year. 16 issues currently available online; earliest: January 2004.

The Sandpiper [scroll to Sandpiper Newsletter] (newsletter of the Redwood Region Audubon Society, Eureka) - Issued monthly. 6 issues are currently available online in their entirety; earliest: July 2006. Clicking on Newsletter Articles in the left-hand column will take you to the Archives, from which you can download President’s Columns, Monthly Columns, and Bird of the Month articles dating to September 1996. The mast-head features a drawing of a Western Sandpiper in profile.

The Western Grebe (newsletter of the Redbud Audubon Society, Clearlake) - 1 issue currently available online: February 2007 (Volume 32, Issue 6). The mast-head features a pair of Western Grebes.

The Wrentit (newsletter of the Pasadena Audubon Society, Pasadena) - Issued 5 times/year. 17 issues currently available online; earliest: November-December 2003. The mast-head features a perched Wrentit.

The Yellowbill (newsletter of the Fresno Audubon Society, Fresno) - Issued monthly, September through May (9 issues/year). Only the current issue is available (January 2007). The mast-head features a Yellow-billed Magpie.

Wandering Tattler (newsletter of the Sea & Sage Audubon Society, Irvine) - Issued 9 times/year. 14 issues currently available online; earliest: September 2005 (Volume 55, Number 1). The mast-head features a black-and-white drawing of a Wandering Tattler by John Schmitt.

Western Meadowlark (newsletter of the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, San Bernardino) - Issued 6 times/year. y issues currently available online; earliest: February/March 2006 (Volume 56, Number 5). The mast-head features a Western Meadowlark in full song.

Western Tanager (newsletter of the Los Angeles Audubon Society, Los Angeles) - Issued 6 times/year. 6 issues currently available online: earliest: March/April 2006 (Volume 72, Number 4). The mast-head features a black-and-white drawing of a Western Tanager.

White-tailed Kite (newsletter of the Altacal Audubon Society, Chico) - Issued 7-10 times/year. 81 issues currently available online; earliest: Janauary 1998. The mast-head features a White-tailed Kite in hovering flight.

Links to Previous Issues (with number of newsletters listed):

Alabama (4), Alaska (4), Alberta (6), Arizona (7), Arkansas (2), and British Columbia (9).

100 Recent Referrals

I present here, in alphabetical order, 100 consecutive keyword search requests (with duplicates omitted) that directed people to Birds Etcetera over the course of a couple of days in mid-February 2007.

"barn owl" "birds of Virginia"
"blue goose" bird information population minnesota
"Flight of the goose"
"ivory-billed septic"
"Long-tufted Screech Owl
"Shaibal Mitra" ornithologist
10000 meter paraglider
alcossebre john british
are birds more important than man [yes, of course!]
Arm Hammer Bird Cards
audubon birds european bullfinch
berrien birding club
big birds with 2 toes
bird blogs
bird crow
bird gestalt
bird indian hen
birds
birds & cartoon characters
birds + mutualism + roosting
birds and mating ritual
birds etcetera
birds in NW Louisiana
birdwatching sex [combining two favorite passions?]
birdwatching trip +sex [yet again?]
bluebirds arrival date
boraxine buffalo [huh?]
brown bird scavengers in illinois
cardinal bird/native american +folklore
caricature of sparrow and pheasant
cereal known as Kellogg's Krumbles
city of birdes
climate change unequivocable
collective noun for grackles
Conservation NASA LVIS
crane, a bird of extreme sacredness
dating birde
derogatory bird name dodo buzzard
does "red-headed" have a hyphen? [duh!]
dove rehabilation
drink sex bird [combining three favorite passions?]
eagle nest watching in West Virginia
eku class syllabus robinson ornithology
elvis birds names
encyclopedia: like now about the northern cardinal
eroticism photograph [oh really?]
etymology pileated
european comparison american bird names
free bird patterns ivory-billed woodpecker
fresno "slate colored junco"
george breiding
Group name for Northern sparrowhawk
Harold Mayfield
humorous bird conservation stories
ibwo septic
identifying West Virginia Backyard birds
indian hen woodpecker
ivory bill septic
ivory billed septic
ivory billed woodpecker
ivorybill septic
ivory-billed septic
ivory-billed woodpecker 2007
ivory-billed woodpecker 2007 blog
ivory-billed woodpecker blog search google
ivory-billed woodpecker fraud
logo de cajones bluebird
middletown ohio wildlife painter
most beautiful birds in the US
most frequently googled words united states
NAME OF MIGRATING BIRDS
National+Geographic+Issue+Mad+Bluebird
native birds west virginia
newsweek cardinal kill
north american woodpeckers identification
nw pa big bird pictures gray brown belly
online jigsaw puzzles,colorado falls
oologist subjects
origin of the name , the lord god bird
paraglider attack by hawks
photos birds and garden Canada
places to watch birds in nj in february
predatory birds kentucky
protection from predators for blue jay aka bird
randolph county wv
raty michigan
Sarah Safir
seahawk australia birds
seahawk birds
slimy sex
slug sex
The Runaway Birde [wasn't that Runaway Bride?]
Vermont bird count February 2007
walda cameron in the news
watching eagles nest in WVA
west virginia bald eagle nesting site
west virginia elk
White faced storm petrel graph
woodpecker id\
words that relate to birds

And the Federal government was interested in getting their hands on this kind of data? Um, why, exactly? To learn that some weirdos are interested in slimy sex and slug sex? So does that make me a weirdo, too, just because I once wrote about slimy slug sex?

"tallying bird species is not the point of birding"

So says Mark Opincariu, an instructor at Colorado Mountain College who will be teaching a 3-day class on Rocky Mountain birds this spring. Although many top-notch birders may beg to differ, that’s a sentiment that I share. Read more about Opincariu’s philosophy of birding here (may require free registration).

E. O. Wilson Praises Birders

Harvard professor E. O. Wilson offers these kind words about birders in his recent book, The Creation:

It is among birders, all of them naturalists and adventurers, that the child can find role models. There are a few eccentric loners in their ranks, but also physicians, ministers, plumbers, business executives, military officers, engineers, and in fact members of virtually every trade and profession. They are united in a common focus. At least while in the field, they are among the most congenial and enthusiastic people I have ever known [emphasis added].

I thank the O’Connell’s at "Eat more cookies" for bringing this quote to my attention here.

Killdeer on Ice

Not quite as exotic as Kiwi on Ice, perhaps, but I was none-the-less taken aback one day last weekend when, while driving down a rural road just west of Martinsburg in Berkeley County, West Virginia, I spotted the distinct flight profile of a Killdeer winging across an open field covered in 2-4 inches of hard-packed snow and ice, then watched as if alighted on the frozen tundra-like surface.

Considering the environmental conditions, a bird could hardly have been more unexpected. Killdeer are hardy birds, and commonly winter at this latitude. All of my previous winter encounters with Killdeer in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, however, have been along the Shenandoah or Potomac rivers. I have seen them along those streams when the banks were snow-covered and the rivers clogged with ice. In those situations, they probably feed along the ice-water interface, where food of some type can be expected to be present.

The “Killdeer on Ice” had flown from the direction of Tuscarora Creek. This is a much smaller stream than either the Shenandoah or Potomac, being, in fact, a secondary tributary of the Potomac. Tuscarora Creek was still flowing on this date, and the creek banks probably provided a source of food for this bird.

Late-Winter Birds of West Virginia—Abundance

In an earlier post, I identified the top-10 most widely distributed late-winter birds in West Virginia based on information from the Great Backyard Bird Count. Today, I look at the top-10 most abundant species, again using GBBC data. As before, this analysis is based on 9 years worth of GBBC data (199802006), during which 2,763 checklists were submitted from West Virginia by volunteer participants.

The following are judged to be the 10 most abundant species in late winter in West Virginia based on the number of individuals reported on the 2,763 checklists:

European Starling 13,506 birds/year (44 birds/checklist)**
American Crow 2,783 (9.1)
American Goldfinch* 2,496 (8.1)
Mourning Dove* 1,580 (5.2)
Dark-eyed Junco* 1,502 (4.9)
Northern Cardinal* 1,368 (4.5)
Canada Goose 972 (3.2)
House Finch* 896 (2.9)
American Robin 873 (2.8)
House Sparrow 682 (2.2)

* Denotes a species that is also one of the top-10 most frequently recorded.

** 82.5 percent (100,283) of the 121,554 starlings recorded on the GBBC were found on a single count. Disregarding the results from this anomalous count, the abundance of European Starlings on West Virginia GBBCs drops to 2,363 birds/year, or 7.7 birds/checklist.

The 2007 GBBC Challenge

On Thursday, 2/15/2007, I submitted the following to the WV-Bird listserv:

"Calling All West Virginia Birders:

Tomorrow, February 16th, marks the start of the 10th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), which will continue through Monday, February 19th.

Let's make the 10th GBBC a record-breaking one in West Virginia. If you have never done a GBBC, join the fun and do one this weekend! Count the birds in your backyard, local park, or other favorite birding area. If you?ve done a GBBC in the past, continue the habit and do at least one count this weekend. If you submitted one checklist last year, submit two this year. Better yet, submit a checklist for each day of the 4-day event.

I challenge the following localities to equal or exceed the record number of checklists submitted from each locality (in parentheses): Barboursville (11), Beckley (11), Bunker Hill (20), Charles Town (11), Charleston (45), Davis (15), Fairmont (10), Harper?s Ferry (25), Hedgesville (13), Huntington (30), Hurricane (16), Keyser (10), Martinsburg (23), Morgantown (29), Parkersburg (22), Saint Albans (18), Scott Depot (12), Shepherdstown (19), Spencer (10), Waverly (12), West Union (10), Wheeling (10).

To learn more about the GBBC, how to participate, and how to submit your results, go to the GBBC Web site at http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/.

To whet your appetite for the event, here are some statistics from the previous 9 years:

Highest Number of Species by Locality and Year

1998. Charleston 31
1999. Charleston 49
2000. Martinsburg 42
2001. Charles Town and Spencer 46 (tie)
2002. Spencer 46
2003. Huntington 42
2004. Huntington 51
2005. New Martinsville 45
2006. Huntington 57

Highest Number of Checklists Submitted by Locality and Year

1998. Charleston 20
1999. Charleston 36
2000. Martinsburg 23
2001. Charleston 24
2002. Charleston 31
2003. Charleston 31
2004. Charleston 46
2005. Charleston 37
2006. Morgantown 29

Number of Localities Submitting Checklists Statewide by Year

1998. 23
1999. 40
2000. 64
2001. 62
2002. 74
2003. 74
2004. 103
2005. 93
2006. 117

Number of Checklists Submitted Statewide by Year

1998. 69 (3.0/locality)
1999. 242 (6.0)
2000. 361 (5.6)
2001. 258 (4.2)
2002. 315 (4.3)
2003. 317 (4.3)
2004. 376 (3.6)
2005. 362 (3.9)
2006. 463 (4.1)

Number of Species Reported Statewide by Year

1998. 43
1999. 78
2000. 99
2001. 91
2002. 90
2003. 83
2004. 88
2005. 93
2006. 101

Number of Individuals Reported Statewide by Year

1998. 3,062
1999. 22,688
2000. 24,270
2001. 19,849
2002. 22,349
2003. 21,533
2004. 36,728
2005. 23,688
2006. 133,487

Good luck, and don't forget to submit your results!"

Frigid Baths

By 3:00 PM yesterday afternoon, air temperatures in Martinsburg, West Virginia, had risen to a balmy 35 degrees Fahrenheit, causing roadside puddles to form from melting of the adjacent accumulations of snow and ice. That was enough to signal to the European Starlings and House Sparrows that it was bathing weather. When I encountered one starling happily bathing in a small puddle adjacent to the house I thought the bird was absolutely crazy. Then, at an intersection several blocks away, I encountered 3-5 starlings bathing in one puddle and a house sparrow or two bathing in a puddle across the street. At these temperatures, one has to wonder if this type of behavior is adaptive or suicidal.

Online Ornithological Newsletters: Issue #6 (British Columbia)

The purpose of this weekly series is to provide links to the online newsletters of local, State, Provincial, and national Audubon societies, bird clubs, bird conservation organizations, bird observatories, and ornithological societies of the United States and Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, individual newsletters are in .pdf format. All of the links listed below are in .html format.

British Columbia (9 newsletters listed below):

BC Birding (newsletter of British Columbia Field Ornithologists) - Issued quarterly. 1 example currently available online: September 2006 (Volume 16, Number 3). The masthead features a Varied Thrush.

Central Okanagan Naturalist [scroll to The Newsletter] (newsletter of the Central Okanagan Naturalists Club, Kelowna) - Issued 10 times/year. 10 issues currently available online (all from 2006).

Newsletter (of the Burke Mountain Naturalists, Coquitlam) - Issued monthly (except July). 1 issue currently available online: March 2003 (Number 143).

Newsletter (of the Central Valley Naturalists, Abbotsford) - Issued 6 times/year. 4 issues currently available online, in both .html and .pdf formats: earliest: March 2006. The masthead features a Hooded Merganser.
http://www.centralvalleynaturalists.org/news.html
http://www.centralvalleynaturalists.org/

The Arrowsmith Naturalist (newsletter of the Arrowsmith Naturalists, Parksville) - Issued 3 times/year, in February, June, and October. 1 issue currently available online (February 2006).

The Herald Heron (newsletter of the Chilliwack Field Naturalists Club, Sardis) - Issued 4-5 times/year. 35 issues currently available online: earliest: January 1999 (Volume 4, Issue 1). The masthead features a Great Blue Heron.

The Honker (newsletter of the South Okanagan Naturalists’ Club [SONC], Penticton) - Issued 5 times/year. 15 issues currently available online; earliest: January 2004. The mast-head features a Canada Goose in flight adjacent to a Bewick's Wren, the logo for the SONC.

Sage Whispers (newsletter of the Kamloops Naturalist Club, Kamloops) - Issued monthly, except June and July. 13 issues currently available online; earliest: November 2005.

Vancouver Naturalist [scroll to PUBLICATIONS] (newsletter of the Vancouver Natural History Society, Vancouver) - Issued quarterly. 32 issues currently available online; earliest: March 1999 (Volume 1, Issue 1).

Links to Previous Issues (with number of newsletters listed):

Alabama (4), Alaska (4), Alberta (6), Arizona (7), and Arkansas (2).

Late-Winter Birds of West Virginia—Most Frequent

Ever wonder which of the wintering species of West Virginia birds are most widely distributed or abundant? Well, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) provides a handy index for gauging the relative distribution and abundance of West Virginia’s birds in late winter. This analysis is based on 9 years worth of GBBC data (1998-2006), during which 2,763 checklists were submitted from West Virginia by volunteer participants.

The following are judged to be the 10 most widely distributed species in late winter in West Virginia based on their frequency of occurrence on the 2,763 checklists:

Northern Cardinal 73.6 percent
Mourning Dove 68.4
Tufted Titmouse 67.6
Downy Woodpecker 59.4
Dark-eyed Junco 58.8
American Goldfinch 58.2
White-breasted Nuthatch 55.1
Blue Jay 52.3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 47.1
House Finch 43.8

Note that all of these species commonly frequent backyard bird feeders.

Bird Sketches by Diane Pierce

This is the first I’ve become aware of Diane Pierce and her artwork, but I think her pencil sketches of birds are incredible. The following brief biographical sketch of Ms. Pierce is from the Acknowledgments section of the Florida's Breeding Bird Atlas:

The Florida BBA project was indeed fortunate to secure the artistic talents of Diane Pierce . . . Ms. Pierce's artwork has appeared in many scientific journals and popular magazines, and in numerous books including National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, So Cranes May Dance, An Introduction to Ornithology, Endangered Birds, and the 1996 edition of A Birder's Guide to Florida.

Ranking North American Bird Blogs

Now tracking 66.6 million blogs, Technorati has become the gold standard for documenting the “authority” of individual blogs. The lower the Technorati rank of a blog, the greater its presumed level of “authority” in the blogosphere. And the more blogs that link to your blog, the lower your Technorati rank.

Last weekend (February 10-11), I tallied Technorati ranks for 127 of the North American bird blogs listed in my blogroll (i.e., all of the relevant blogs for which I found Technorati ranks). Rankings ranged from 19,251 (highest “authority”) to 2,649,031 (least “authority”), with a distribution that looked like this:


How do bird blogs rate in the greater blogosphere? Well, the top-50 North American bird blogs had a median Technorati rank of 180,749 compared to 16,893 for the top-50 science blogs and 21,591 for the top-50 Malaysian blogs. Similarly, the top-30 North American bird blogs had a median Technorati rank of 109,980 compared to 20,378 for the top-30 education blogs; meanwhile, the top-65 North American bird blogs had a median Technorati rank of 265,704 compared to 28,711 for the top-65 personal finance blogs.

Take-home message: Bird blogs have come a long way, baby, but they still have a long, long way to go.

Fence and Sign Posts a Source of Mortality for Raptors

Metal fence posts of a certain design have been shown to be a source of mortality for raptors, according to this RELEASE from the Fish and Wildlife Service:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has requested help raising awareness of the potential problems with certain sign and fence posts. The small holes drilled at the top of metal fence posts can trap raptor toes.

If these kinds of posts can't be avoided, installing several bolts to fill the top holes would be a simple and relatively cheap fix for the problem. It would be easy to include in project specifications.

This would also be a good project for Boy/Girl Scouts.

Thanks for your consideration of this issue, and please pass the word. See photos attached. Permission to use these photos to inform the public has been granted by Chris Dellith, Acting Assistant Field Supervisor, US Fish & Wildlife Service,
Ventura, CA.

A hawk caught by the foot.

An owl with talons entangled.

Metal post with bolts installed in the two top holes to prevent entanglement.

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers on the Web: A Reader’s Guide

While Ivory-billed Woodpeckers have been elusively difficult to find in real-life, they (or at least discussion of them) abound on the Web. The purpose of this post is to list the Blogs, Web Sites, and Bird Forums where Ivory-bills are known to thrive (i.e., sites that are devoted exclusively or primarily to Ivory-bills). These should provide you with untold hours of vicarious adventures--real or imagined--with the King of the Woodpeckers.

Blogs

Carolina Ivorybills (Christen) - Initiated 3/12/2006; inactive since 9/21/06.

Feathered Ghosts (Mark VanderVen) - Initiated 1/11/2007.

Ivory-bill Skeptic (Tom Nelson) - Initiated 7/26/2005.

Ivory-billed Septic (Anonymous) - Initiated 2/12/2007.

Ivory-bills LiVE!! (cyber thrush) - Initiated 7/24/2005.

Kyle’s Blog (Kyle Gerstner) - Initiated 2/2/2007.

Mobile Search Team Travel Log - IBWO (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) - Initiated 12/5/2006.

News from the 2007 Search - IBWO (Dan Mennill, Windsor) - Initiated 1/13/2007.

Search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Diane Deresienski, Piedmont Wildlife Center) - Initiated 12/14/2006.

The Choctawhatchee Search (Team Nokuse) - Initiated 9/21/06.

Updates from Florida - IBWO (Geoff Hill, Auburn) - Initiated 11/09/2006.

Web Sites

Birding America (Mary Scott)

Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Arkansas Game & Fish Commission)

Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Fish and Wildlife Service)

Ivory-billed Woodpecker (The Nature Conservancy)

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Information (David Luneau)

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in the Florida Panhandle (Geoff Hill, Auburn)

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in the Pearl River Basin (fish crow aka Mike Collins)

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker (John C. Arvin)

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker Foundation (Bobby Harrison)

The Search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

The Search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Dan Mennill, Windsor)

The Search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Van Remsen, LSU)

Forums

BirdForum - As of 2/14/2007, discussions of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker on BirdForum consisted of more than 10,330 posts in 6 threads (threads listed below in reverse chronological order):

Ivory-billed Woodpecker - Total posts: more than 9,720 as of 2/15/2006 (first: 5/18/2000; still active).

Evidence for Survival of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker = Total posts: 407 (first: 8/22/2005; last: 12/22/2005); inactive.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Updates - Total posts: 40 (first: 5/10/2005; last: 10/28/2005); inactive.

I Have Seen An Ivory-billed Woodpecker - Total posts: 246 (first: 4/29/2005; last: 9/21/2006); inactive.

Ivory billed Found!! - Total posts: 41 (first: 4/28/2005; last: 1/17/2006); inactive.

Possible Ivory Billed Woodpecker Sighting in East Texas - Total posts: 67 (first: 4/23/2004; last: 6/16/2004); inactive.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Researchers Forum - Initiated 11/9/2006. As of 2/14/2007, it consisted of more than 850 posts in 27 threads.

Delving into Tree-Cavity Ecology

I want to believe that the principle investigators involved in the various ongoing searches for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker are carefully reviewing the rich scientific literature on tree cavities: their formation, ecology, natural history, and use by a variety of wildlife (not just birds)--and incorporating that body of knowledge into their investigations of tree cavities, one of the pieces of “evidence” being put forth in support of the hypothesis that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker still survives.

Unfortunately, many of the reports that have appeared online suggest that this may not be the case. For example, in all of the discussions about "interesting," "large," and "potential" Ivory-bill cavities there seems to be an unstated belief that only the Ivory-billed Woodpecker could be responsible for such "large" cavities, while conveniently overlooking the reality that woodpeckers are just one of many factors (and possibly one of the least important ones) responsible for the formation of tree cavities, and that other species of wildlife commonly use cavities as large as, or larger than, those excavated by Ivory-bills.

As but one example, raccoons, a common mammal that ranges throughout the known historical range of the Ivory-bill, are said to prefer tree cavities with 5 to 10 inch openings. A study conducted at the Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in south-central Indiana and published in the Journal of Mammalogy found that "Den sites of raccoons did not appear to be a limiting resource in winter because of a large number of unused cavities." I wonder how all those "large" cavities were created?

Online Ornithological Newsletters: Issue #5 (Arkansas)

The purpose of this weekly series is to provide links to the online newsletters of local, State, Provincial, and national Audubon societies, bird clubs, bird conservation organizations, bird observatories, and ornithological societies of the United States and Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, individual newsletters are in .pdf format. All of the links listed below are in .html format.

Arkansas (2 newsletters listed below):

Newsletter (of the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society, Fayetteville) - Issued monthly. 24 issues currently available online; earliest: January 2003.

The Snipe [click on Latest printed version of our newsletter] (newsletter of the Audubon Society of Central Arkansas, Little Rock) - Issued quarterly. 2 issues currently available online: the current issue (December 2006-February 2007: Volume 41, Issue 1) and a historical issue (April 1978: Volume 12, Number 2). The masthead features a full-color image of a Wilson’s Snipe.

Arctic Visitor

I had good looks at a light- or intermediate-phase Rough-legged Hawk yesterday afternoon immediately south of Martinsburg as it crossed West Virginia Route 11 in direct, gliding flight to the southwest. The white on the tail made me think Bald Eagle at first, but then I noted the overall paleness of the underbody and, finally, white mirrors in the primaries directly behind a dark wrist patch. A winter rarity this far south, the sighting of this species seemed very appropriate given the “deep freeze” temperatures that have enveloped the Eastern Panhandle for past two weeks. It’s probably a stretch, but is it possible that this bird was driven southward by the incredible amounts of lake-effect snow that have fallen in areas to the north of us?

The Birds and the Bees—and Cupid Too

The folks at Audubon have put together a cute Valentine’s Day tribute about love birds—human and avian. The first describes the bird-related events that brought five birder couples together, the second relates stories about five bird species noted for their elaborate courtship rituals.

Slimy Slug Sex

It’s probably safe to say that few people have given much thought to the mating rituals of the lowly slug. And that's really too bad, because hermaphroditic land slugs exhibit a quite extraordinary copulatory behavior, which is described and illustrated in delicious detail here. Most interesting of all, they sometimes engage in a post-mating ritual called apophallation, which you can see on video here (scroll to bottom). Ouch! If you still have an appetite for even more slug sex, I encourage you to view this wondrous video of the mating ritual. Isn’t nature incredible?

Credit: The above image of banana slugs is from Squid Rosenberg, courtesy of Flickr.com.

The Siege of Cardinalis: Real Life Imitating Fantasy?

Birdchick and A DC Birding Blog have both commented on a "My Turn" letter in Newsweek in which Walda Cameron, a self-confessed gun-hating woman from New York claims she shot a cardinal because the bird’s incessant attacks on her windows were driving her crazy.

The following excerpt from her letter is eerily reminiscent of a scene and accompanying dialogue from Failure to Launch, the zany comedy starring Matthew McConaughy and Sarah Jessica Parker:

After living for 36 months under the siege of Cardinalis, I cracked. My sleep patterns had altered, my ability to concentrate (already declining with age) was spiraling down to about 30-second intervals. My hands were shaky, my head ached, my vision blurred. I had morphed from a cookie-baking granny to a crazed zombie. I turned away from my bleeding-heart pals toward those who enjoy a more pragmatic turn of mind—those who honor the way of the warrior.

"I want to kill a cardinal," I announced to the middle-aged man behind the gun counter.

He glanced up from the weapon he was dismantling or cleaning or appraising and said, "It's against the law to shoot a cardinal."

"This is self-defense." I explained my predicament.

I commented here on one of the subplots of the movie, in which one of the characters "is plagued by an incessently singing mockingbird that is keeping her awake at night and generally driving her crazy."

Is this an example of reality imitating fantasy (i.e., a copycat crime), or a parody on the evil of guns? There are just too many parallels between the movie and Cameron’s confession for there not to be some connection between the two. Is Wanda Cameron guilty of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, or merely plagiarizing dialogue from a movie?

Addendum: Other bloggers who have written about this event, other than Birdchick and A DC Birding Blog, include Backyard Birder, Birder Blog (with follow-ups here and here), Liz of the cosmos, Mike’s Birding and Digiscoping Blog, The Bird Chaser, The Hawk-Owl’s Nest, O’DonnelWeb, and WoodSong.

“a garden full of birds tends to be a healthy place”

Even though the "Sustainable Gardening" column (requires registration) by Ann Lovejoy in today's Kitsap Sun has a decidedly Pacific Northwest flavor, it contains many helpful hints of a more general nature on how to make your garden and backyard more attractive to birds, such as:

Before ripping out natives of any kind, find out whether they nourish and house birds. You may learn to find great beauty in our handsome, healthy natives, just as the wild things do.

Great Backyard Bird Count in West Virginia

Mark your calendars for February 16-19, the dates of the 2007 Great Backyard Bird Count.

Following spotty coverage in West Virginia in the first few years of the GBBC (it was initiated in 1998), the State’s birders seem to have finally warmed up to the idea of participating in a multi-day mid-February bird count to document the status of common birds across the country.

Results were reported from 9 Eastern Panhandle localities in 2006, with a total of 3,550 individuals of species tallied on 63 checklists. Will this be the year that a Rufous Hummingbird is reported on a West Virginia GBBC for the first time?

Politicizing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Randall Luthi, a cattle rancher, attorney, and ex-politician from Wyoming, has been appointed as Deputy Directory of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As Deputy Director, he replaces career Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Marshall P. Jones Jr., who retired from that position in January

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #14: Other

The results obtained from each of 16 Other key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared here.

God [Bird] 152,000
Lord [God Bird’ 110,000
Behavior 107,000
Pintail 103,000
Ecology 90,600
“Wood Duck” 70,200
Integrity 63,600
Alleged 59,600
Deception 38,900
Hoax 24,000
Deceptive 21,500
Purported 18,600
Fiasco 16,800

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #13: Status

The results obtained from each of 9 key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared here as they relate to Status.

Status 195,000
Lives 180,000
Extinct 172,000
Endangered 144,000
Survives 23,300
Persists 19,200
Extant 18,200
Extirpated 16,500
Precarious 15,000

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #12: Public Reaction

The results obtained from each of 23 key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared hereas they relate to Public Reaction.

Belief outnumbers Disbelief 6:1, but Believers and Skeptics are 50:50.

Hope 212,000
Religious 142,000
Belief 99,400
Joy 90,700
Excitement 65,400
Disappointed 64,600
Emotional 62,000
Tears 53,200
Disappointment 46,600
Shocked 44,900
Skeptical 33,900
Overwhelmed 32,500
Puzzling 28,800
Stunned 27,200
Puzzled 26,800
Skepticism 25,900
Believer 23,500
Skeptic 23,900
Disbelief 16,500
Joyful 15,600
Ecstatic 15,200
Joyous 14,900
Elated 9,300

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #11: Principals Involved

The results obtained from each of 32 key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared hereas they relate to the Principals Involved.

Considering the uproar over the Arkansas "rediscovery," John Fitzpatrick has apparently been able to keep a relatively low profile. And how can I possibly be garnering more "hits" than Fishcrow, Mennill, Lammertink, and Rolek?

Scott [Mary] 151,000
Jackson [Jerome] 125,000
Audubon [John James] 124,000
Dennis [John] 121,000
Nelson [Tom] 108,000
Sibley [David] 76,900
Russell [Bob] 66,000
Collins [Mike] 57,100
Harrison [Bobby] 54,800
Norton [Secretary] 38,100
Roosevelt [Theodore] 37,500
Gallagher [Tim] 34,700
Tanner [James] 33,500
Fitzpatrick [John] 30,600
Tate [James] 22,700
Erickson [Laura] 22,200
Luneau [David] 20,900
Hicks [Tyler] 19,100
Rosenberg [Ken] 18,800
Zickefoose [Julie] 17,300
Birdchick [aka Sharon Stiteler] 12,600
Remsen [Van] 10,600
Hoose [Phillip] 10,300
Prum [Richard] 1,220
“Geoffrey Hill” 982
Trapp [John] 954
Fishcrow [aka Mike Collins] 938
Mennill [Dan] 842
Lammertink [Martjan] 685
Bevier [Louis] 643
Catesby [Mark] 580
Rolek [Brian] 571

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #10: News Outlets

The results obtained from each of 7 key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared here as they relate to News Outlets.

CNN [Cable News Network] 42,000
CBS 37,700
NBC [National Broadcasting Corporation] 28,600
NPR [National Public Radio] 25,400
FOXnews 22,300
ABCnews [American Broadcasting Corporation] 14,700
ENN [Environmental News Network] 1,040

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #9: Methods & Equipment

The results obtained from each of 16 key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared here as they relate to Methods & Equipment.

Cameras 153,000
Recordings 112,000
Volunteers 104,000
Recording [units] 90,500
Blind 89,300
Binocular 59,800
Cams [cameras] 50,200
Canoe 46,200
Waders 16,500
Kayak 14,900
Decoy 13,700
Reconnaissance 13,500
Bioacoustic [analysis] 940
ARU [Acoustic Recording Units] 716
Transect 700
Calipers 564

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #8: Marketing

The results obtained from each of 17 key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared here as they relate to Marketing.

Entrepreneurs were quick to start marketing objects with images of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, with prints and hats apparently being particularly popular.

Book 265,000
Print 171,000
Foundation 148,000
Hat 135,000
Marketing 98,600
Cap 97,300
Stamp 93,500
Festival 90,500
Shirt 79,300
Birders 77,400
Tourists 70,700
Celebration 64,000
Tourism 63,300
T-shirt 37,600
Burger 25,600
Mug 24,000
Haircut 16,300

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #7: Localities

The results obtained from each of 15 key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared here as they relate to Localities.

Texas 199,000
Florida 198,000
Carolina [North and South] 183,000
Louisiana 156,000
Arkansas 147,000
Cuba 143,000
Pearl [River, Louisiana] 67,500
"National Wildlife Refuge" [Cache & White rivers] 60,800
Cache [River, Arkansas] 45,900
"White River" [Arkansas] 33,600
Brinkley [Arkansas] 18,300
Choctawhatchee [River, Florida] 9,080
Congaree [Swamp and National Park] 1,400
"Bayou de View" [Arkansas] 709
"Big Thicket" [Texas] 595

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #6: Evidence

The results obtained from 25 different key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared here as they relate to the Evidence.

Calls 354,000
Photograph 349,000
Photo 324,000
Video 219,000
Scaled [bark] 159,000
Stripped bark 149,000
Scaling [of bark] 147,000
Sightings 120,000
Observations 127,000
Observed 116,000
Taps 84,100
Kents [calls] 54,900
Detections 53,300
Sketch 49,500
Cavities 49,900
Raps [calls] 47,000
Cavity 39,700
Glimpses 31,200
Fuzzy [video] 29,600
Blurry [video] 26,400
Stripping [of bark] 18,600
Vocalizations 14,100
Adhesion [bark] 717
Double-knocks 542
Toots 498

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #5: Assessment of Findings

The results obtained from each of 6 key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared here as they relate to the Assessment of Findings.

"Interesting" and "promising" lead the pack by a considerable margin, and "conclusive" leads "inconclusive" by a margin of 3 to 1.

Interesting - 176,000
Promising - 64,300
Intriguing - 35,000
Conclusive - 32,600
Disappointing - 29,400
Inconclusive - 11,700

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #4: Agencies & Organizations

The results obtained from each of 11 key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared here as they relate to Agencies & Organizations.

The relative scarcity of hits from Auburn and Windsor compared to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology seems surprising given the recent activities of those universities in the Choctawhatchee River of Florida.

Interior [Department of the] 110,000
Ornithology [Cornell Lab of] 101,000
Cornell [Lab of Ornithology] 95,200
NASA 47,700
AOU [American Ornithologists’ Union] 28,300
ABA [American Birding Association] 25,600
Auburn [University] 25,300
Windsor [University of] 23,600
FWS [Fish and Wildlife Service] 19,900
TNC [The Nature Conservancy] 13,300
CLO [Cornell Lab of Ornithology] 10,100

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #3: Activities

The results obtained from each of 24 key words Googled in combination with Ivory bill are compared here as they relate to Activities.

Search 480,000
Review 294,000
Science 270,000
Manage 269,000
Research 249,000
Management 189,000
Conservation 186,000
Analyze 174,000
Analysis 169,000
Activities 168,000
Survey 152,000
Monitoring 131,000
Discovery 130,000
Identification 120,000
Assess 111,000
Recovery 104,000
Funding 101,000
Assessment 94,400
Monitor 91,300
Preservation 82,800
Expedition 75,300
Restoration 67,500
Acquisition [habitat] 59,700
Rediscovery 40,200

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #2: Name Variants

The results obtained from each of 9 variants of Ivory-billed Woodpecker are compared here.

Ivory bill 1,650,000 "hits"
Ivory billed 754,000
Ivory-billed 399,000
"Ivory-billed" 394,000
"Ivory billed" 394,000
Ivory-billed Woodpecker 364,000
"Ivory-billed Woodpecker" 331,000
IBWO 29,800
IBWP 804

A comparison of the top-10 search results obtained from each of the 9 name variants yielded a total of 27 Web sites. The 12 Web sites that appeared in the top-10 search results for two or more of the name variants are listed below in decreasing rank order:

The Search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (CLO) – 70/7

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers Recovery Starts Here (FWS) – 50/7

Birding America (Scott) – 49/7

Big Woods Conservation Partnership – 48/7

All About Birds—IBWO (CLO) – 45/5

Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Wikipedia) – 31/7

Ivory-billed Woodpecker (TNC) – 28/6

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Information (Luneau) – 20/7

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Information (Sibley) – 17/3

Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Audubon Watch List) – 16/6

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Rediscovered in Arkansas (NPR) – 13/6

Ivory-bill Skeptic (Nelson) – 7/2

As expected, searches on IBWO and IBWP produced results that were at variance with those produced by the other 7 name variants, yielding 15 top-10 Web sites not produced by any of the other searches.

Googling the Ivory-billed Woodpecker #1: Introduction

What is being discussed online about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and what topics or key words are being mentioned most frequently? The "popularity" of a particular topic or key word can be evaluated only by comparison with the results obtained for other key word searches.

In this series of posts, I first look at variability in the number of results obtained for 9 different name variants of Ivory-billed Woodpecker. In subsequent posts, I report the results obtained for searches of 198 different key words in combination with Ivory bill. The number of results obtained for any particular key word search is not static, but can vary slightly from hour to hour. The results reported here were obtained on 02/04/07. The 198 key word searches are divided into the 12 categories listed below:

Activities
Agencies & Organizations
Assessment of Findings
Evidence
Localities
Marketing
Methods & Equipment
News Outlets
Principals Involved
Public Reactions
Status
Other

Online Ornithological Newsletters: Issue #4 (Arizona)

The purpose of this weekly series is to provide links to the online newsletters of local, State, Provincial, and national Audubon societies, bird clubs, bird conservation organizations, bird observatories, and ornithological societies of the United States and Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, individual newsletters are in .pdf format. All of the links listed below are in .html format.

Arizona (7 newsletters listed below):

BlackHawk Watch (newsletter of the Northern Arizona Audubon Society, Flagstaff) - Issued 5 times/year. 21 issues are currently available online; earliest: March/April 2003 (Volume 32, Number 4). The masthead features a Black Hawk in flight.

Gambel’s Tales (newsletter of the Sonoran Audubon Society, Glendale) - Issued 9 times/year. 46 issues currently available online; earliest: January 2002 (Volume 3, Issue 5). The masthead features a Gambel’s Quail flanked by a Phainopepla and a Gila Woodpecker.

Osprey Overlook [.pdf] (newsletter of the White Mountain Audubon Society, Pinetop) - 1 issue currently available online: January-February 2007. The masthead features an Osprey in flight with a fish in its talons.

The Cactus Wren-dition (newsletter of the Maricopa Audubon Society, Phoenix) - Issued 4-6 times/year. 31 issues currently available online; earliest: January-February 2000. The masthead features a silhouetted profile of a Cactus Wren.

The Trogon News (newsletter of the Huachuca Audubon Society, Sierra Vista) - Issued 8 times/year. 32 issues currently available online; earliest: September 2003 (Volume 31, Number 7). The masthead features an Elegant Trogon.

Vermilion Flycatcher (newsletter of the Tucson Audubon Society, Tucson) - Issued 9 times/year. 21 issues currently available online; earliest: November 2004 (Volume 49, Number 3). The masthead features a Vermilion Flycatcher.

Wingtips (newsletter of the Prescott Audubon Society, Prescott) - Issued quarterly. 10 issues currently available online: earliest: January/February 2005. The masthead features a stylized silhouette of 3 birds of prey in flight.

Paraglider Attacked by Eagles

Nicky Moss, Great Briain's top professional paraglider, was attacked by a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles (Australia’ss largest bird of prey) while competing in Australia.

Wilson's Ivory-bill

Here’s an interesting operatic rendition of Alexander Wilson’s account of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, which is taken from the text of his American Ornithology (1810-1814). Composed by Lee Hyla, the performance features baritone Mark McSweeney, accompanied by Judith Gordon on piano.

Sapsuckers Are Methodical "Neat Feaks"

An interesting response to a letter from a "weird" Vermont woman inquiring about the perfectly aligned holes she found in a log in her cord of firewood.

United Nations Weighs in on Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finds "unequivocable" evidence of anthropogenic (i.e., human-caused) global warming (see here, here, here, and here).

I can’t believe that U.S. Energy Secretary responded to the report by claiming that the U.S. is but "a small contributor to the problem," so presumably is willing to offer little in support of solving the problem (see here).

The Birds and Climate Change blog tracks the purported impacts of climate change on birds around the world.

Ode to the Classic Crane Urinal

Men worldwide are undoubtedly familiar with this universal symbol of Crane Plumbing, manufacturer of plumbing fixtures and accessories of all kinds.

My frequent interaction with one of their products inspired me to pen this poem (and as you will soon learn, I am no poet):

While I stand here urinating
I can’t help but contemplating

The graceful allure of the stately crane
Whose image graces this humble vessel

And wondering how it came to be
That we treat this bird with such disdain

I just think there must be a hidden message somewhere in this corporate symbol.

Other Bird Articles Featured on Wikipedia

In addition to the previously mentioned article on seabirds, the following have also been Featured articles in Wikipedia (only about 1 in 1,310 articles is so-honored):

Albatross
Arctic Tern
Elfin-woods Warbler
Kakapo
Procellariidae

And while far outside the realm of birds, the following article also caught my attention:

U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program

Seabirds on Wikipedia

Seabirds are today's "Featured article" on Wikipedia. Featured articles are those that Wikipedia editors "believe are the best articles in Wikipedia."

Harold Mayfield: Amateur Ornithologist Extraordinaire

This obituary pays tribute to the life of the
renowned Harold Mayfield, who died recently at the
age of 95. Mayfield’s influence on me began at an
early age when, as a teenager in Michigan, I eagerly
devoured the pages of his 1960 monograph on the
Kirtland’s Warbler. It’s not too much of an
exaggeration to say that this book helped cement my
interest in birds and my desire to devote my life to
the study of birds.

Though not an ornithologist, or even biologist, by
formal training, Mayfield holds the distinction of
being the only person to have been president of each
of North America’s three major ornithological
organizations: American Ornithologists’ Union, Cooper
Ornithological Society, and Wilson Ornithological
Society.

The life of Harold Mayfield is a shining example of
the kinds of contributions that an amateur can still
make to the field of ornithology.

Add This to Your Life List

An excerpt from this article in the San Francisco Chronicle:

Birding has surged in recent years. U.S. Government studies consistently place it among the top five outdoor recreational activities, in terms of growth.

The article includes some nice quotes from local birders.