A Bird’s Eye View -
2014 and 2015 Columns
December, 2014 The Varied Thrush
In this part of the world, the Varied Thrush has most certainly irrupted. This thrush breeds in damp, heavily forested areas of western Canada, up through Alaska, and winters down the west coast to Ventura county. In "normal" years, there are a few scattered sightings of this bird in our county, usually found in the moreheavily wooded inland canyons and at higher elevations
October, 2014 Coastal Migrant Traps
In the Fall, and more specifically mid-
September, 2014 Southeast Arizona
In the far southeast corner of Arizona, the Chiricahua Mountains rise out of the desert floor to 10,000 feet elevation and then flow south into Mexico. This provides a natural corridor for mammals and birds and insects and reptiles to travel over the border to the United States.
August, 2014 Moonbird
Mid to late summer is shorebird season. As you read this, birders are scouring estuaries,
creek mouths, and all small bodies of water along both coasts for shorebirds. In
late July of this year, birders have found New Jersey's first ever European Golden
Plover and Florida's first ever Red-
July, 2014 Birding in the "Good" Old Days
I recently came across a birding term I had never heard of before — stringing. A stringer is one who finds and reports many "good" birds, often while birding alone, has no photos (or very bad photos), is wrong most of the time, and — pun intended — sends other birders on a wild goose chase. Every birding community has one.
June, 2014 Stringing
I recently came across a birding term I had never heard of before — stringing. A stringer is one who finds and reports many "good" birds, often while birding alone, has no photos (or very bad photos), is wrong most of the time, and — pun intended — sends other birders on a wild goose chase. Every birding community has one.
May, 2014 Birding Ethics
April is the month when many of our local birds start proclaiming territories, choosing mates, and building nests. Avian battles for territory are raging, and the weapon of choice is song. While researching an upcoming field trip dedicated to this topic, I came upon some interesting tidbits for some of our more common nesting birds I would like to pass on.
April, 2014 Nesting Strategies
April is the month when many of our local birds start proclaiming territories, choosing mates, and building nests. Avian battles for territory are raging, and the weapon of choice is song. While researching an upcoming field trip dedicated to this topic, I came upon some interesting tidbits for some of our more common nesting birds I would like to pass on.
March 2014 The Drought and Birds by Mike Stiles
As I write this at the end of February, California is in the midst of a major drought. I have had just 2.7 inches of rain so far this season. Compounded on the fact that I had only 8 inches last year, and less than 10 inches the year before puts us in serious water debt. In contrast, the 2011 rainy season, October through April, produced almost 26 inches in my backyard.
February, 2014 Feathers –Part 2
Most birds have many thousands of feathers. Most of the visible feathers are called contour feathers and are organized like overlapping roof shingles providing insulation and waterproofing.
January, 2014 Feathers — Part 1
I recently was introduced to the book "A Guide to North American Bird Feathers" by Scott and McFarland. Much of the information in this article is from that book, and I can heartily recommend it.