Feeling Like a Pincushion

Our daughter desperately wants a dog. For most of my life I have suffered from a variety of allergies - hay fever, pet dander, etc. However as I had never been medically tested for specific allergens, I did not know if I was specifically allergic to dogs.

Wanting to be a good father and make our little girl happy, I began allergy testing today. Thirty-odd pokes, jabs, and injections later, my upper arm looks like a well used, very swollen dart board. I don't even want to talk about the itching.

So far, I have been shown to be highly allergic to cats and grass pollen. Next week, I get to go back and do it all again, except for the cats and grass pollen, but with hypodermic needles rather than the little allergy testing pokers and with stronger dosages of all the possible allergens. Needless to say, as lousy as I feel right now, I'll feel a whole lot worse this time next week.

The things we do as parents...

Peace and good bird watching.

You'd Like What?

Being a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, I have been getting frequent updates on the upcoming annual conference - this year being held in Bismarck, North Dakota. As much as I'd like to attend, it overlaps with the American Birding Association's annual convention this year, which I will be attending, so when it occurs I'll be in Snowbird, Utah instead of Bismarck. Perhaps next year...

All that aside, as I was perusing the most recent OWAA e-mail bulletin on the subject of the upcoming gatheirng in Bismarck, I noted a coincidental sequence of words that struck me as particularly ironic. (One of the side benefits / super powers of having been and English major is the ability to find significance in phrases that might otherwise pass without notice.) In a paragraph explaining the special price that is available to any attending OWAA member wishing to book a room at the conference hotel was found the sentence "Phone XXX-XXX-XXXX and request the Outdoor Writers block."

Outdoor writers block is something I've been struggling against for the past couple of days and hope to be well rid of by June. There's no way I'm about to call anyone and request it.

Peace and good bird watching.

Squirrel Tactics Exposed

A new discovery has been made in the ongoing man versus squirrel battle of wits. For those who might not have been keeping score, the present standings are Douglas Squirrels – 8,342, Grey-bearded human – 3. However this new discovery could very well indicate a turning point in the contest; turning point of course meaning that it might allow me to score another point bringing my total up to 4.

I have in my arsenal one truly squirrel impenetrable feeder for dispensing black-oil sunflower seeds. The rest either dispense things squirrels can’t or won’t eat (for instance, nyjer seeds), or have simply been acknowledged as “squirrel compromised.” The problem is that, as I have previously written, some of the larger birds visiting the property which have no interest in suet cakes, particularly Evening Grosbeaks, don’t care for the squirrel proof feeder nor any of the others save one – the gazebo feeder.

The gazebo feeder is of course the favorite dining and sleeping spot of the local squirrel population. Filling it in the morning guarantees it to be empty by just past noon with a dozing, belching squirrel sprawled out in the feeding tray. Of course, when I look at it out the living room window I’d much prefer to see the brilliant colors of migrating grosbeaks surrounding it than a tell-tale bushy red tail drooping lazily down from its edge.

I’ve tried various strategies. I’ve moved it away from “bridge” branches. I’ve installed a squirrel baffle on the post, which does in fact prevent the little buggers from scaling it. But as the photo I downloaded today from the SD card out of my BirdCam demonstrated to me, I’ve been going about my defenses from the wrong angle.

The squirrels aren’t scaling the post or clambering over bridging limbs near the feeding tray; the furry little blighters are dropping down onto its lid from above. While I haven’t devised the appropriate (non-lethal) counter measure to this aerial attack, I do take pleasure from having discovered their method of approach. I fully realize that so long as I continue to put black-oil sunflower seed into this feeder that the squirrels will find a way to obtain it but I think the squirrels and I would be mutually disappointed with one another if I at least didn’t try to prevent them from doing so.

Peace and good bird watching.

BirdNote Kicks off the Coming Week with a Limerick

There once was a birder from Cape May / Over whom watching birds always held sway… Monday being Limerick Day and all, perhaps BirdNote will have a conclusion to this bit of quickly composed doggerel. Knowing the high editorial standards of their production staff, you can be most assured that it won’t include anything rhyming with “Nantucket.”

For the coming week of May 12, 2008, the subjects of the BirdNote essays will be:

Monday - Limerick Day by Ellen Blackstone

Tuesday - Birds Half Asleep, Half Awake by Bob Sundstrom

Wednesday - The Abundance of the Natural World by Todd Peterson

Thursday - Darwin Meets Penguins by Bob Sundstrom

Friday - The Jackass Penguins of Africa by Bob Sundstrom

KPLU broadcasts BirdNote to all those within their broadcast signal radius at 8:58 AM on each of the above days. For the rest of us, especially those of us busily engaged in writing graduate theses this week, downloads of the podcast can be located on the BirdNote RSS/Podcast link. Of course, for everyone there is more information delving deeper into the topics discussed in the programs to be found on the BirdNote website, including a list of other radio stations that also broadcast BirdNote.

Peace and good bird watching.

Something New Has Been Added

When I first began writing Born Again Bird Watcher, I didn’t have any type of logo; simply a masthead of the name. Eventually, the time came that I wanted something more – a visual image that not only made the site look better but also incorporated something about me into it beyond what I wrote. Now that I am making my writing - my avocation - along with communications consulting for nature-oriented entities into my occupation through Born Again Bird Watcher LLC, I decided that the time had come for another semiotic revision.

The new Born Again Bird Watcher logo was designed in partnership with Green Tangerine Media. The concept was to represent visually the idea of rebirth, new life, and the natural world in a simple and easily recognizable symbol. I have to say that I am very pleased with the result. Not that I didn’t like my “yellow” Purple Finch; it will always remain in my photo collection among my favorites. However as Born Again Bird Watcher continues to grow (and, I hope, expand into new dimensions), something more broadly adaptable was needed.

While I hope it is to everyone’s liking, I would truly be interested to learn the opinions of the readership. Comments may be left publically or sent privately according to your preference.

Peace and good bird watching.

Disapproving Grosbeaks

There are some bird species that simply have facial expressions almost demanding anthropomorphism. After a few days of capturing images with my Wingcapes BirdCam at my number one grosbeak-attracting birdfeeder, I have come to the conclusion that the typical male Evening Grosbeak, Coccothraustes vespertinus, is (with all due deference to the Birdchick) not at all pleased with the world around it.


Peace and good bird watching.

Young Birders Be Jammin

Having recently reviewed Bill Thompson III’s new Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America in the Peterson Field Guides series and being highly impressed by it, I have been following developments surrounding it with great interest. So I was particularly pleased to learn that the good people at birdJam have teamed up with Bill to produce the Young Birder’s birdJam.

Like the Costa Rica: Caribbean Slope birdJam and the SE Arizona and Sonora, Mexico birdJam modules, the Young Birder’s birdJam works on the Apple iPod in combination with one of the three basic birdJam Makers and Apple’s own iTunes to produce a powerful and highly useful bird vocalization learning and reference tool that fits nicely into a shirt pocket. Readers of the new Young Birder’s Guide can quickly and easily supplement the knowledge they gain from reading that work with this new birdJam module and as a result become exceptionally familiar with all the critical visual as well as audible field identification tools that are the hallmark of truly well-rounded bird watchers.

Anyone who has already obtained a copy of the new Young Birder’s Guide, or as it will soon simply be called, “Thompson,” and who uses birdJam should make haste to acquire the new Young Birder’s birdJam. Those who have yet to discover the benefit of birdJam are highly encouraged to do so as soon as possible (use the link in the sidebar – it’s faster than Googling). Those who have not yet purchased their copy of the new Young Birder’s Guide itself… well, what do I need to do – come to your home and drive you to the bookstore myself?

Peace and good bird watching.

Photo Caption Contest

This photo simply begs for a caption. I have some ideas of my own but I thought I'd open the suggestion box to the readers of Born Again Bird Watcher.

Simply leave a comment with your suggested caption. I will choose my favorite from all submitted on May 30, 2008 and award one genuine Born Again Bird Watcher ball cap bearing the brand new and not yet even released to the public logo to the winner. (I haven't even received them back from the manufacturer yet so it will certainly be one of the first available anywhere.) If the commentor's account is "Anonymous," it's going to be difficult to send the cap if that caption is selected, so please leave an e-mail address as well.

Peace and good bird watching.

Greater Auk in New Plumage

The January 2008 issue of The Auk arrived in the post just the other day (yes, I know, it's May...) At first I didn't recognize it as it was quite a bit larger than the last edition I received as well as being a different color. Nevertheless, it was still the same august journal of ornithological knowledge and discovery that I have read (well, tried to read at least; some of the papers published in it can require a great amount of previous knowledge of some very specific subject to be intelligible) for years.

So what is behind this new look? For starters, it is the 125th anniversary of the American Ornithologist's Union, hence a special new look inaugurated at this time is not unexpected. Then there was the transfer of publishers to the University of California Press. Such a move, in my experience, generally produce changes in format.

Some may note that this present edition seems a bit on the thin side. The truth is that, indeed, there are fewer pages. However the larger format size means that more text is fit to each page, so in the end it is essentially "a wash." There are a few editorial changes as well, such as increasing the process of peer review to the regular "Perspectives in Ornithology" feature and a shift of more information to the on-line edition for more up-to-date review by professionals in the field.

I do have to say that I rather liked the older, book-sized publication. It was easy to fit into my field satchel that I tote just about everywhere so that I could pop it out and read it whenever the opportunity arose. However I also know that I am not exactly the target audience for this publication - a scientific, peer reviewed journal of up-to-the-minute research. I will be very interested read in the coming months how these changes are received by the general membership of the AOU.

Peace and good bird watching.

Crime Scene Photos

There was a suspicious death on our property in Scappoose, Oregon today. Initial investigation of the scene puts the time of the incident at between approximately 11:00 AM and 12:30 PM (when my wife and I were away at the grocery store).

Evidence of the crime was strewn all around our back terrace just below one of the feeders.

The victim was an Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus), a recent arrival in the area.

Initial suspects included some of the local raptors but as none have been seen in the area recently and the scene lacks the tell-tale signs of a raptor attack, these were quickly eliminated from the investigation.

A known predator of birds was seen in the immediate area only hours before the remians of the grosbeak were found. Several local jays were witness to the presence of one Felis catus, a domestic cat within ten feet of the scene.

Investigators would like to speak with anyone who might have knowledge of the identity of any domestic cats who may have been in the vicinity during the late morning or early afternoon of Sunday, May 4th, 2008.

Any wishing to help prevent similar suspicious deaths in the future are encouraged to visit Cats Indoors! and help spread the message of that program to all those cohabitating with known free-roaming cats. The reality is that this killing will likely go unsolved but similar future incidents can easily be prevented by one simple action - keep all domestic cats indoors.

Peace and good bird watching.