Just got back from Bridget Stutchbury's book launch for her second book on birds, this one titled The Bird Detective: Investigating the Secret Life of Birds. Of course, a highlight was getting my copy signed along with Silence of the Songbirds but aside from her celebrity in the birding community, Bridget is a wonderful, passionate woman who is making great contributions to the study of birds, and to bird conservation.
She has once again opened my eyes to bird-friendly coffee, which I need to start making happen in my life. I've quickly fallen into the trend of a coffee a day and I've gotta start being more aware of my choices and how they affect our North American migrants.
After watching her presentation, I hope beyond hope that she soon writes a third book on bird migration. It is unbelievably fascinating how far birds fly in such short time spans, filling the forests and skies as they travel between the north and the south. Bridget has a way of choosing a few perfect examples of how birds seem to defy what is possible for these animals to accomplish and I think it would make for a great read (after further research of course...her research in migration still seems to be in its infancy).
I highly recommend picking up a copy of her book. She's an inspiration. Really. Not only is she passionate about her work but she walks the talk. I can guarantee her ecological footprint is pint-sized. An inspiring night.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
eBird - a few observations
As I increase my use of eBird, I am starting to appreciate what the site has to offer and its importance (I do think there is a bright future for this method of recording bird sightings). Of course, there's nothing like having regional coordinators and Alan Wormington of the Pelee Birding Circle and Roy Smith of the GTA are amazing at keeping records and helping with data collection. This is obviously the best way to submit sightings as it's more personal and you can get a dialogue going around your personal records, often with great feedback like whether the bird you saw was reported around the same time, whether your sighting is record early or of significant note for the number of birds you saw, etc. And, every once in a while, they'll tell you you were probably wrong. That's often a good lesson, too.
However, eBird is a great tool. It can feel pretty impersonal but at the same time, there's just so much potential when more people use the site. Instant graphs, trends, sharing your sightings with members of your group, a place to keep your lists while also contributing to a larger database, and a much faster way of getting your list saved without having to type out every species in a word document (which I've been doing for years). I feel I need to spend a bit more time really experimenting with some of the features to get a better grasp on what the site is capable of.
Another incredible benefit of eBird is that it gets you to pay more attention when you're out there. I'm a bit of a lister at heart so I love the feeling of having not only a list for the day, but a number of lists for each location you've visited in that given day. I notice that I pay more attention to every bird I see now, and make a mental note of which species I've seen where, sometimes how many. Maybe a bit obsessive but it sure keeps me more focused (and often makes me stay out longer).
Eventually, I plan to input every list I have stored away in my records. I have lists from countless trips home in the spring, trips to Florida, to the east coast, Long Point, and countless others. Lists that all exist in hard copy as ticks on a regional checklist booklet. It'll be a long undertaking but I plan to get all of my lists I've ever kept onto the site.
Unfortunately, there are many additional features I wish eBird had. However, the site likely will have them given time and donations. One such feature for example...can I see the total number of species I reported on a given day? If I can, I don't know how to do it easily.
For now, I realized you can download your lists in an excel file, easy for copying and pasting right into Cerulean Sky. Great for posting day lists.
My lists for Sunday, April 18, 2010.
Ashbridges Bay
Species Number reported
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 4
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Ring-necked Duck 2
Lesser Scaup X
Greater/Lesser Scaup X
Long-tailed Duck X
Bufflehead X
Red-breasted Merganser 8
Double-crested CormorantX
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Iceland Gull 4
Common Tern X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove 1
Belted Kingfisher X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Eastern Phoebe 1
American Crow 2
Tree Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Brown Creeper 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Chipping Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow X
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch X
Total: 38
Lakeshore Blvd E & Leslie Street
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern) 1
Ring-billed Gull x
Rock Pigeon x
Leslie Street Spit (Tommy Thompson Park)
Canada Goose X
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Greater/Lesser Scaup X
Long-tailed Duck X
Bufflehead X
Red-breasted Merganser X
Double-crested CormorantX
Killdeer X
Ring-billed Gull X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin X
European Starling X
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
House Sparrow X
Total: 28
Colonel Sam Smith Park
Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 1
Green-winged Teal (American) 1
Bufflehead X
Red-breasted Merganser X
Red-necked Grebe 9
Western Grebe 1
Double-crested CormorantX
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer X
Ring-billed Gull X
Mourning Dove X
Tree Swallow X
Northern Rough-winged Swallow X
Barn Swallow X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Total: 21
While Driving
Canada Goose X
Ring-billed Gull X
Rock Pigeon X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Common Grackle X
House Sparrow X
Total: 7
However, eBird is a great tool. It can feel pretty impersonal but at the same time, there's just so much potential when more people use the site. Instant graphs, trends, sharing your sightings with members of your group, a place to keep your lists while also contributing to a larger database, and a much faster way of getting your list saved without having to type out every species in a word document (which I've been doing for years). I feel I need to spend a bit more time really experimenting with some of the features to get a better grasp on what the site is capable of.
Another incredible benefit of eBird is that it gets you to pay more attention when you're out there. I'm a bit of a lister at heart so I love the feeling of having not only a list for the day, but a number of lists for each location you've visited in that given day. I notice that I pay more attention to every bird I see now, and make a mental note of which species I've seen where, sometimes how many. Maybe a bit obsessive but it sure keeps me more focused (and often makes me stay out longer).
Eventually, I plan to input every list I have stored away in my records. I have lists from countless trips home in the spring, trips to Florida, to the east coast, Long Point, and countless others. Lists that all exist in hard copy as ticks on a regional checklist booklet. It'll be a long undertaking but I plan to get all of my lists I've ever kept onto the site.
Unfortunately, there are many additional features I wish eBird had. However, the site likely will have them given time and donations. One such feature for example...can I see the total number of species I reported on a given day? If I can, I don't know how to do it easily.
For now, I realized you can download your lists in an excel file, easy for copying and pasting right into Cerulean Sky. Great for posting day lists.
My lists for Sunday, April 18, 2010.
Ashbridges Bay
Species Number reported
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 4
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Ring-necked Duck 2
Lesser Scaup X
Greater/Lesser Scaup X
Long-tailed Duck X
Bufflehead X
Red-breasted Merganser 8
Double-crested CormorantX
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Iceland Gull 4
Common Tern X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove 1
Belted Kingfisher X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Eastern Phoebe 1
American Crow 2
Tree Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Brown Creeper 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Chipping Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow X
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch X
Total: 38
Lakeshore Blvd E & Leslie Street
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern) 1
Ring-billed Gull x
Rock Pigeon x
Leslie Street Spit (Tommy Thompson Park)
Canada Goose X
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Greater/Lesser Scaup X
Long-tailed Duck X
Bufflehead X
Red-breasted Merganser X
Double-crested CormorantX
Killdeer X
Ring-billed Gull X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin X
European Starling X
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
House Sparrow X
Total: 28
Colonel Sam Smith Park
Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 1
Green-winged Teal (American) 1
Bufflehead X
Red-breasted Merganser X
Red-necked Grebe 9
Western Grebe 1
Double-crested CormorantX
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer X
Ring-billed Gull X
Mourning Dove X
Tree Swallow X
Northern Rough-winged Swallow X
Barn Swallow X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Total: 21
While Driving
Canada Goose X
Ring-billed Gull X
Rock Pigeon X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Common Grackle X
House Sparrow X
Total: 7
Monday, April 19, 2010
Lifer! Western Grebe
With its sinister red eyes, horn-like protrusions on either side of its head, emotionless expression, and razor sharp bill, the Western Grebe is the devil incarnate; an evil creation dredged up from the fiery wastelands of Hell, spreading its malice eastward out of its natural western North American range.
For three years, this malevolent foe has managed to avoid my many searches, each more desperate than the last. Three times in one year I took the hour-long commute to Ash Bridges Bay and the Leslie Street Spit to locate my nemesis, and each time I came back more miserable. Then this year, another bird showed up at Saddington Park, a stone's throw outside of the GTA, too far for transit, too expensive to travel the distance by cab. Every birdwatcher in Toronto had seen this species a billion times by now so asking for a ride was useless. "Immaterial!" they scoffed, "I've seen that species 473 times this year. No better than a Starling. I couldn't stand to look at it again."
My desire to see the Western Grebe sent me into a spiral of demented decision-making. Every Ontbirds post reported that the bird was impossible to see without a scope. So what did I do? I went to every location without a scope, once in a heavy downpour to Ash Bridges Bay for what felt like the 26th time. As I stood in the pounding deluge, tears streaming down my pathetic facade, I could sense the bird-demon's presence, sneering at me from the exact distance I couldn't identify it, bobbing behind the waves, its head thrown back in a wild cackle, knowingly driving me to the edge of reason.
I contemplated a solemn walk into the crashing waves, never to be seen again but a single thought kept me going that day. I dreamed a glorious dream of smashing my binoculars into the grebe's head, hearing its skull crush on the pavement, white fragments of chipped bone flying, the blunt object splattering its brains open on the rough ground, the rest of its body writhing and twitching in agony, its lobate-webbed feet scrabbling across the stones as I pick it up and sink my teeth into its flesh, steaming hot blood spurting wildly from my mouth, down my chin, and across my tongue, reveling in the coppery taste as I rip out its feathers and throw them over my head, a grisly confetti falling down on my nihilistic celebration.
Well, I have likely lost a few readers at this point. For those who were brave enough to continue on, I will simply end anti-climatically. I saw my first Western Grebe today at 1p.m. at Colonel Samuel Smith Park, ending a three year battle. I truly believe it was the same bird every time, tormenting my every waking hour.
And as much as I'd like to leave this post with a sappy ending describing the excited drive with Mark across the city after seeing the posting on Ontbirds, a description of how beautiful the bird was, and how it was only 50 metres away and actively feeding amongst Red-necked Grebes, and that the sun beamed down and birds sang and dropped rose petals in front of our steps as we left the park, I just don't have the energy. All that matters is that it's over. Three years of agonizing pain I put up with searching for my nemesis. Now I can put a tick next to this awful bird in my field guide and move on.
I won. End of story. Who's next?
For three years, this malevolent foe has managed to avoid my many searches, each more desperate than the last. Three times in one year I took the hour-long commute to Ash Bridges Bay and the Leslie Street Spit to locate my nemesis, and each time I came back more miserable. Then this year, another bird showed up at Saddington Park, a stone's throw outside of the GTA, too far for transit, too expensive to travel the distance by cab. Every birdwatcher in Toronto had seen this species a billion times by now so asking for a ride was useless. "Immaterial!" they scoffed, "I've seen that species 473 times this year. No better than a Starling. I couldn't stand to look at it again."
My desire to see the Western Grebe sent me into a spiral of demented decision-making. Every Ontbirds post reported that the bird was impossible to see without a scope. So what did I do? I went to every location without a scope, once in a heavy downpour to Ash Bridges Bay for what felt like the 26th time. As I stood in the pounding deluge, tears streaming down my pathetic facade, I could sense the bird-demon's presence, sneering at me from the exact distance I couldn't identify it, bobbing behind the waves, its head thrown back in a wild cackle, knowingly driving me to the edge of reason.
I contemplated a solemn walk into the crashing waves, never to be seen again but a single thought kept me going that day. I dreamed a glorious dream of smashing my binoculars into the grebe's head, hearing its skull crush on the pavement, white fragments of chipped bone flying, the blunt object splattering its brains open on the rough ground, the rest of its body writhing and twitching in agony, its lobate-webbed feet scrabbling across the stones as I pick it up and sink my teeth into its flesh, steaming hot blood spurting wildly from my mouth, down my chin, and across my tongue, reveling in the coppery taste as I rip out its feathers and throw them over my head, a grisly confetti falling down on my nihilistic celebration.
Well, I have likely lost a few readers at this point. For those who were brave enough to continue on, I will simply end anti-climatically. I saw my first Western Grebe today at 1p.m. at Colonel Samuel Smith Park, ending a three year battle. I truly believe it was the same bird every time, tormenting my every waking hour.
And as much as I'd like to leave this post with a sappy ending describing the excited drive with Mark across the city after seeing the posting on Ontbirds, a description of how beautiful the bird was, and how it was only 50 metres away and actively feeding amongst Red-necked Grebes, and that the sun beamed down and birds sang and dropped rose petals in front of our steps as we left the park, I just don't have the energy. All that matters is that it's over. Three years of agonizing pain I put up with searching for my nemesis. Now I can put a tick next to this awful bird in my field guide and move on.
I won. End of story. Who's next?
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