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Blog Birding #259
The best commentary I’ve seen yet, one that incorporates historical context and contemporary thinking, about the militant occupation at Malheur NWR is by Chris Clarke at ReWild. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
It’s been over a week since a group of armed far-right militiamen started to occupy the headquarters building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon. In that time, hundreds of articles have been published analyzing the actions, the intentions, the history and the character of the gang who’s forced the closure of the 187,757-acre wildlife refuge, first protected by President Theodore Roosevelt in August 1908.
The lingering El Nino and wild weather in Alaska has lead to a influx of stranded alcids, most notably Common Murres. Dave at The Bird Treatment and Learning Center Blog has the access on the efforts to save them.
On the average, Bird TLC would only get a couple common murres a year. So far in 2016 they’ve taken in over 225. Most of these seabirds are being sent to TLC from interior Alaska. Some as far north as Fairbanks. They are starving and looking for food.
There are few better symbols of perseverance than the little Downy Woodpecker, as Jim McCormac at Ohio Birds and Biodiversity explains.
If one stumbled upon downy woodpeckers during their courting, one might think the birds are clownish. An amorous pair hops stiffly about, feathers rigidly ruffled, peeking at one another from behind limbs and making aggressive lunges. They might then engage in the “butterfly flight,” which must be seen to be believed. Usually tree-bound, the birds flutter through forest gaps, wings held high over their bodies and flapping with shallow delicate strokes. The gauzy flight display suggests aerial synchronized swimming.
Laura Erickson has a New Year’s resolution, to be a better user of eBird. She encourages everyone waiting to give it a try to follow suit.
It took a serious adjustment in my mindset to start keeping track of numbers and precise locations again, and even now I’m not nearly as disciplined about this as I used to be—my 2016 New Years resolution is to be far more dedicated to using eBird in the way it was intended.
Fortunately, the more I use eBird, the easier that gets, especially because the eBird team developed and keeps improving a great eBird app for both iPhones and android. Now the moment I arrive at any birding spot, I open the app and press the big start button.
Our own Events Manager George Armistead has a new book out, and Grant McCreary at The Birder’s Library is a fan.
It is not usually necessary, or even advisable, to read a book like this cover to cover. Normally, you would just read the section of whichever groups you are interested in at the time. But to realize the full benefit of what the authors are doing here, you need to put in more effort. Each chapter consists of a short introduction, a list of “Hints and Considerations”, group-wide identification tips, and specific information for each of the species covered. I would recommend reading at least the first three sections of each and every chapter, which would provide not just general identification information for that group, but also a foundation for identifying any bird.
Join the American Birding Association at www.aba.org!
Source: http://blog.aba.org/2016/01/blog-birding-259.html
