Sunday, June 29, 2014

Go read a book!

While we haven’t had the brutal summer temperatures and screaming UV indexes of the past few years, I think it’s safe to say we don’t plan a lot of activities outside during summer in Texas. Sure there are still great birds to see- I found this hummingbird nest at Lick Creek Park earlier this week!

Hummingbirds are still on their nests as we turn the calendar to July

There’s also butterflies to count, and dragonflies to enjoy- but I’ll admit, it’s not quite as inviting as say… October. Or November. Or – well you get the idea.

Extra points for whomever can help with this ID!


So what’s there to do?! The philatelists, I’m sure, will have their preferences. Of course there’s hanging out with your pets.
Nom!

Or seeing what cool thing NASA is up to. And some of us already heard suggestions from the Texas Master Naturalists. Of course you could keep up with the high drama of As the General Hospital Guiding Light World Turns. Will Nathan lie under oath for Maxie? Sonny confronts Julian about Ric’s death. Will the truth come out? And who was that mysterious stranger from last week’s funeral finale?

Gasp!

If you’re feeling adventurous, maybe a telenovela instead!

So... what's the story with the reception? Can we still eat?

Yikes! Such drama! Personally, when I’ve had enough of the emotional rollercoaster that is Amor Mío or La Esclava Isaura, I like to settle in with a nice calming book! 

National Audubon recently came out with a nice list of books for their summer reading list. I figured I’d add a couple of my favorites to the pile too.

Now, this list is IN ADDITION TO reading through your field guides and apps this summer! There’s not better time to catch up on the differential characteristics between a Cackling and Canada Goose, sort out the field marks for those vexing fall warblers, or getting ready for the sparrows this winter. Some good field guides for this:


Now I have a couple of favorite authors and/or topics, so I’ll give you the list and try to keep it organized.

Most anything by Bernd Heinrich
He’s has an excellent series of naturalist writings that either touch on birds in the context of a bigger theme, or focus primarily on our feathered friends.

Winter World – Observations on animal survival in the harsh climes of winter in Maine. Includes fascinating stories about Golden-crowned Kinglets.
Summer World – A complement to Winter World, but obviously focused on the critters and crawlers found at the author’s cabin in Maine.
Mind of the Raven – Ever get the feeling corvids were sizing you up? Well, they are. And you should be worried!
Geese of Beaver Bog – Bernd fosters a gosling and spends the summer seeing the forest through the eyes of his young companion.
The Nesting Season – Questions and comments about everyday observations about birds: egg colors, nest types, parenting, displays and more… just why are they the way they are?
Homing Instinct – Scent trails, visual landscape memory, and migration. How do animals accomplish the incredible feat of annual migration!?

Bird Sense: what it’s like to be a bird - Professor of behavior and evolution of birds, he has spent a lifetime birding, twitching, and digging through historic ornithology books to give a true reckoning of the life cycle of birds as we known it, and how birds continue to capture the imagination and attention of people. He’s also recorded an interesting TED Talk on the topic. Amazon Buteo


A Feathered River Across the Sky – Given the centennial of the loss of the last Passenger Pigeon this year, this book is an important work to mention. Tracing the sad story of the loss of one of the most plentiful bird species (estimated at 25 – 40%), Greenberg covers the natural history and historical observations of this species across the continent. Amazon Buteo

Kingbird Highway – An unusual and remarkable story of big year birding by Kenn when he was a teenager. Hitchhiking his was around the US and sometimes living off of cat food, he tallied well over 600 birds while having a ridiculous adventure. A great book to inspire you to get out and bird no matter the conditions! Amazon Buteo

The Big Year – The book-turned-movie recounting of the big year competition from 1998 provides a little more story (and a little less Hollywood glitz) to the epic contest. While we’ve enjoyed the movie, Sarah said the book in more enjoyable (and we don’t have to watch a flock of starlings be called a fall out at High Island!). Amazon Buteo

The Feather Quest – Preeminent ornithologist and skillful birders Pete and Linda Dunne take a year off to go birding around North America. Part birding journal, part birder commentary, they are able to capture the essence of who spends hours walking around outside looking in treetops or bushes, scanning the skies, or studying shorebirds. And they also give us a pretty good tale of birding across the continent! Amazon Buteo


Nests: 50 nests and the birds that build them – A beautiful photography exhibition of exactly what the title describes. But wait! It’s not just pretty pictures! The author adds excellent context and detail to the species she’s describing to give the reader not only an aesthetically pleasing book, but one with plenty of natural history too! Nests used were from the collections at the California Academy of Sciences. Amazon Buteo

Monday, June 2, 2014

Spring Shakedown 2014

Well, the calendar has turned, and we’re officially out of the spring migration season and into the summer breeding season. Of course, setting hard and fast calendar dates to define biology is really just for the fun of organizing things… birds have been on nests for sometime now, and I’m sure there are still migrants passing through the area.

But with the changing of the calendar, we certainly know what we can expect: fewer warblers to crane our necks at, fewer shorebirds to become flummoxed over, and more leaves to peer through something small and backlit singing it’s head off in the canopy. I started thinking about this year’s migration season, and how it might have compared to years past. Particularly last year- as these two migrations couldn’t have felt more different.

Maybe it was the numbers of birds we got to see as a group, maybe it was the excitement of the fall-outs, or maybe it was some other enigmatic or abstruse reason known only to the moon and stars. This year felt thin, like we weren’t seeing the warblers and tanagers we did last year. Certainly last year we were spoiled rotten, but this year seemed very lean, with just a few individuals at Brison or County Club Lake at a time. If they were even there!

Whatever the reason, I wanted to look at some data. Numbers always soothe my mind- or at least confound it. And sometimes I can glean little nuggets of interest for extra perspective. This year continued our recovery from the drought of 2010–11, the rainfall kept the lakes in town pretty full.

Look at the drop in rain in 2010 AND 2011! Bad times.