Review: Birding for Everyone

The good folks at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology sent me a copy of the book "Birding for Everyone" for participating in the Celebrate Urban Birds event earlier this year. Its an inspirational quick-read that I recommend to all people everywhere, birder or not.

John C. Robinson is a black man and he is a birder. He wrote this book to encourage people of color to become birdwatchers and includes some humorously written personal anecdotes. Part of his argument is that as minorities in the United States continue to grow, their political voices or political apathy will have a direct impact on the ecosystem. The book also includes well written basic tips on how to be a birder. In conclusion, John invites non-birders, especially minorities to give birding a chance. By highlighting personal annecdotes of minority birders, he proves his point of the importance of minorities being involved in birding. He also challenges those of us in the birding community to reach out to minorities and invite them into our world.

I have accepted John's challenge. Being able to speak Spanish fairly well, I am finding ways to invite the Spanish-speaking community to the Avimor Bird Walks (Paseo de Aves). I've already added the invite in Spanish to my blog and I've e-mailed the Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce asking them for some guidance. I've even printed off "Principios en la Observacion de Aves" from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to bone up on my Spanish as it relates to birding.

Thanks John for reminding me that birding really is for everyone.

Screech Owl - Kestrel Box

My eight year old son, Kyle, is a Cub Scout. He had a couple of requirements to complete to earn his Wolf badge which included learning about and using some tools and building a bird house. I myself have been itching to make a few bird houses of various types to put up around Avimor to see what would nest in them...simply to satisfy my curiosity.

This last Saturday morning, Kyle and I went over to Grandpa Mortensen's home in Meridian, to get the help of a woodworking pro and the use of his cornucopia of tools. We built a Western Screech Owl / American Kestrel box using plans from this website.

My dad had some left-over hickory wood that he joined to give us enough material. It is only 3/4" rather than the 1-1/2" material the plans called for, but I think the hardwood should be durable enough.Here are photos of three generations of Mortensen's having a great time working together:

Avimor co-worker and friendly neighbor, Shon Parks, joined me in risking life and limb to hang the nest box in the tree. It was far more precarious that I had planned on and my knees are still shaking from doing it, but here are photos of Shon and I installing the box:

We placed it in the tall cottonwoods at the southwest corner of Foothills Heritage Park with the hopes of having a nesting Western Screech Owl. Kestrels prefer to have the box on a pole out in the open. Doesn't it look inviting?

We hope to make several more nest boxes of all types during the winter...again, just to satisfy my curiosity.

Idaho Birder: Cheryl Huizinga

Cheryl Huizinga

South of Caldwell, Idaho

Cheryl on right with Peggy Williams at Chiricahua National Monument, AZ

How and when did you get your start in birding?

I got my official start in birding in May of 2002 by buying “A Day of Birding” with Fred Hill that he donated to our church’s camp auction. The trip was to Leslie Gulch in the Owyhees. When he pointed out a Western Kingbird to me (and I never knew that bird even existed before) I was hooked. Fred paid for my first year in the SIBA club and the rest is history.

How often do you go birding?

Through the years I’ve gotten more and more into birding. At present I’d rather be outside birding (or even doing yard work) than indoors doing more “homemaker” things like cleaning and re-decorating. Suffice to say that I’m out there 2-3 days a week if possible. And no matter where I go or who I’m with, I’m always looking. At the end of my life, I won’t be known for how clean my house is. I go birding in Canyon Co. mostly, but will go wherever I know birds are hanging out.

Where is your favorite place to bird in Idaho? In the U.S.? in the world?

My own back yard is my favorite place. I’ve planted for birds and have bird feeders and water for them. It’s amazing what comes along. The problem is that I spend too much time looking out my back windows!

Anywhere in Canyon Co. (the Deer Flat NWR is just a mile from my house) would be my next favorite place and Owyhee Co. after that. The Owyhees is one place I can get my hubby to go.

In US, I’m very fortunate to have a daughter that lives in the Phoenix, AZ. area and visit her and my grandkids several times a year which has given me lots of opportunity to bird there. Also very fortunate to have spent two weeks in May in ’08 and ‘09 in Portal, AZ, birding in the Chiricahua Mtns. Birding in AZ has been very special. (Southeast Arizona Birding Trail info here) Have yet to go beyond the US borders but hopefully someday!

What kids of plant have in put in to attract birds?

I plant a lot for hummingbirds – Agastache, different Salvias, Zinnias, Cannas, and Fuchsia. We also planted Mountain Ash, Washington Hawthorn, and Serviceberry trees for Waxwings, Robins and others.

Any special tips on feed and feeder types that you have found work well for you? And what are your favorite birds to see in your yard?

I buy a ground mix at Bird House & Habitat in Boise called Desert Delight. All the ground feeders love it. I have a hanging tray feeder for Black-oil Sunflowers seeds, a couple of thistle socks for finches, and suet in cages. There are 4 bird baths and three of them are heated for the winter birds. Our yard list stands at 70 species – not too bad for 1/3 acre.

I love to watch the birds change with the seasons – tracking the first sightings of the hummers in spring, the first Juncos in fall and the special surprise birds that come in once in a while. They’re all good except for the large and getting larger flock of House Sparrows that eat up everything in sight. I quit feeding this summer to hopefully get them going somewhere else, but they came back when I started feeding again. Wouldn’t mind a small flock, but this large flock (60+) is too much. But birds draw birds so I put up with them and hopefully the resident Sharpie takes a House Sparrow for its lunch once in a while.

Do you have any secret birding hotspots that may be yet unknown to Idaho birders that you would finally be willing to share with us?

I have a friend who lets me bird her extensive “forest” over in the Sunnyslope area. It has all kinds of different trees – deciduous and evergreen- with a lot of bushes and undergrowth which attracts all sorts of birds. I only take people there when I call and ask permission from her first, but I go often on my own. I saw my first Varied Thrush there several years ago on a Christmas Bird Count and on another CBC, we found Bushtits.

How would you describe yourself as a birder? A “watcher”, a “lister”, both, or something else?

I would say both. I love to watch them, and also like to list them, but don’t want to become a “ticker” about listing. I keep a yard list, a Canyon Co. list, a monthly list, an Idaho list and a year list. I like to collect things so it’s just my way of “collecting” birds.

What kind of birding equipment do you use?

I use 8x42 Kahles binoculars and my super special hubby bought me a Zeiss Victory Diascope Spotting Scope 20-60x85 mm with a lightweight Manfrotto carbon fiber tripod and floating head that will serve as a present for many birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas’s in the future. He’s a smart guy. I also carry an iPod that’s loaded with bird calls to help with ID in the field. When I’m in the car I listen to bird calls on CD’s instead of the radio, which has helped tremendously with ‘birding by ear' instead of just by sight. My grandsons like listening to those when they’re with me and getting good at remembering them!

How do you keep track of your bird observations? And why?

I’m a bit “old school” and do it mostly on paper but do keep some of it on the computer. There’s just something special about coming home and taking out my Birding Journal and writing down a new bird and the story about seeing it. I like going back and adding to my observations and reading about the first time I saw that species.

What is your favorite bird sighting and what is the story behind it?

My favorite sighting has to be the Broad-billed Hummingbird which I saw at my hummingbird feeder on my patio in May 2004. I knew it was different, looked it up in Sibley’s, called Fred Hill (my birding mentor) and he came over and agreed with my ID. I had no idea that it would generate the interest that it did. After calling a few people and posting it on IBLE, I soon had a backyard full of birders and other interested parties. Stacy Peterson, master hummingbird bander, packed up his two kids and came from Mountain Home to band it, and Harry Krueger came to add it to his Big Year list. Cliff Weisse and several other birders came from Eastern Idaho to add it to their Idaho list. Someone told me to keep a list of the people that came and I did. The hummer only stayed for 4 days, but I sure learned a lot about birders and what they will do to add a bird to their Idaho list!! It was the first recorded sighting of one in Idaho. Not sure that one has been recorded since!

Which birding publications, websites, blogs do you read and recommend?

I subscribe to several publications: Birder’s World, Wild Bird and Audubon magazines. I check with SWIBA and IBLE on a daily basis and often check into the New Mexico-Arizona list serve (birdingonthe.net) when I’m headed there and also when I want to drive myself a little nuts about what is being seen in the spots I like to visit when I go there. Some of the blogs – like yours! - and others – IBO and such are fun and informative. Really enjoying Birdfellow also.

Which is your favorite field guide and why?

I started with Sibley's – a gift from one of my daughters who didn’t know what her mother was becoming – and it is tattered and beat up from hauling it everywhere, but it’s still the one I use the most. Also have the 5th edition Natl. Geographic and the latest Peterson’s field guide.

What do you have in your home library birding reference set?

I’ve gotten several reference guides: Sparrows, Hawks, Hummingbirds, Shorebirds and other Bird Life books. They are slowly filling up the bookshelves. I got “The Complete Birder” by Jack Connor several years ago and re-read that occasionally. Also have several reference books on Arizona birds. The “Birds of Malheur NWR” By CD Littlefield is a special one because I got to meet him in the Peloncillo Mountains of New Mexico while visiting the Bio-research Ranch and he signed the book for me. A recent buy was “Birds of Idaho” by Thomas Burleigh that someone said I should have. Haven’t had a chance to get into yet, but that stuff never gets dated.

Do you have any formal bird-related education background?

Have none whatsoever unless you can call classes taken in the Valley offered by fellow birders “formal”. Only wish I would have stayed in school at C of I and eventually would have taken an ornithology class while getting a biology degree. But, alas, I fell in love and dropped out of school to get that Mrs. Degree. Not that I regret that decision!!

If a fellow birder had a question about a bird, do you consider yourself an expert (or at least proficient) on any specific family of birds?

No way! I defer to the likes of Jim Holcomb, Fred Hill, and many other experts. I'm still learning every time I go out.

Any other thoughts on the past-time of birding? What do your foresee in the future of birding?

From listening to long-time birders, I realize that I’m not going to see the species or numbers of a certain species like in the “old days”. It’s my desire to see what I can see now and help the environment so that my grandkids will some day get to see what I see now.

Are you involved with any local or national birding organizations? If so, which ones?

I belong to Southwestern Idaho Birders Association – SIBA – and currently hold the title of Field Trip Chairman. Also belong to the Golden Eagle Audubon Society but don’t get a chance to be involved with them as much as I like. I keep the Canyon Co. Bird List for Idahobirds.net which keeps me out there looking for more species to top the last year’s list. I will get more involved with the Deer Flat NWR as time allows.

What is your nemesis bird?

For Idaho it was the Common Poorwill but got it this past summer (eBird map). Right now, it's the Stilt Sandpiper (eBird map). I’ve had several chances to see it, but it’s stayed just out of sight for me. For Arizona, it’s the Montezuma Quail (eBird map). I keep trying and when I finally get it – it will be very much earned and collected! There are so many birds in Idaho that I have yet to see: Sharp-tailed Grouse (eBird map), Pine Grosbeaks (eBird map), Barred Owl (eBird map), Flamulated Owl (eBird map), Mountain Quail (eBird map), Harlequin Duck (eBird map)– the list goes on and on, but really can’t say they are nemesis birds, just haven’t tried that hard to get them yet.

What is/was your career?

I have a wallpapering business that kept me very busy in the 80’s and 90’s and early 00’s, but is slow now. I’ve taught Aerobic Fitness and Strength training classes at Idaho Athletic Club for over 25 years. It’s great to get paid to work out. My motto is “Keep Moving!”

Anything about your family you’d like to share with us?

Hubby Bob is a real treasure in that he lets me go off on birding trips without too much complaining. The scope acquisition just fueled that fire! My two daughters keep saying that they might have to put beaks on their kids so I pay them more attention. I’m trying to get the Gkids into birding. The two older ones – 8 and 6 – show some promise and interest, and the other two could care less at this stage. Gma will keep working on them!

Any tips on birding with children?

Keep it very simple. The first time I led a pre-school trip with my oldest grandson’s class, I wanted to tell them about every bird we saw, but they were at the Magpies, Robins and Geese level. Since then I’ve kept it very simple with lots of action. They make “binoculars” out of 2 toilet paper tubes connected with yarn and hung around their necks. Works great! I think just getting kids outside with nature and help them notice all kind of things along with the birds is good stuff.

Any funny birding stories you can share with us?

My friend and hiking buddy, Bobbi Cross, and I got into birding together and had good times hiking and watching birds. I remember once early on trying to figure out which sparrow this bird was. It sang and sang and we looked and looked and finally decided it was a Song Sparrow. Did the same thing with Nashville Warblers another time. But we never forgot them after that! We saw so many first sightings together – Varied Thrush, Bittern, Pileated Woodpecker, Williamson’s Sapsucker, and on and on. Great times.

Your mission in life as birder?

I certainly can’t say I’m in the league of the expert birders you’ve already had on your blog, but I’m enthusiastic about birding and will talk to anyone about it if I see a glimmer of interest. I’ve gotten to know some very special people in the birding world and it’s added a tremendous amount of joy and fulfillment in my life just when I needed it the most. I can see myself doing it for a very long time. Remember my motto is “Keep Moving” and guess I should add “and seeing birds” to that! Also, birding has gotten me out in places in Idaho that I had never been to before, and there are so many places in Idaho I still want to see – not just for the birds but for the beautiful areas we have here. The activity of birding just gets me up and out and doing no matter I go. Can’t get much better than that!! Thanks for the opportunity to share!

Idaho Gull ID Tips

On one of my first birding trips with my father-in-law, Lynn Davenport, to Mahleur NWR in Oregon, we came upon a mud puddle filled with gulls.

"What do you see out there?" he asked.

"Oh...Just a bunch of seagulls," I replied unenthusiastically recalling all the seagulls at West Park in Nampa that I chased as a kid.

"A gull is not just a gull. Look closer!" he demanded. You know, he sounded disgusted that I didn't yet appreciate the finer joys of challenging bird identification. He busted out the field guide and showed me page after page of gulls.

I started to see. There are both major and subtle differences between varities of gulls. It takes a lot patience to learn what to focus on...patience that I am only just now beginning to develop.

A couple of days ago I had to haul an old broken down freezer to the dump. I've never been so excited to go to a smelly ol' landfill before, knowing I would be attending a self-given seminar on gulls. Class started early as I drove along Hill Road. The Optimist Youth Sports Comple fields and parking lot were covered in gulls. I pulled off, broke out the spotting scope and field guides and started studying. By the time I actually made it to the dump I felt pretty proficient on the three types of gulls shown below.

I also learned that I can quickly narrow down in my field guide which gulls I am seeing with just a couple of steps. These may not be new to you, but I feel like I just discovered them myself:

1. Look at the bill color - Is it solid yellow, solid black, or does it have black or red or both on the tip? Is it pink or reddish?

2. Look at the leg color - yellow? pink? black? greenish?

3. Look at the eye color - pale? dark? reddish? Is there an eye/orbital ring? If so, what color?

4. Look at the wing-tip color - dark? light? spotted? plain?

The combination of these characteristics will help you to successfully and rapidly find your gull in a field guide, or a least substantially narrow down the possibilities. Now you can focus on color pattern of the wings and head to finalize your identification. Color pattern of the feathers varies greatly with the age of the bird, and so does the color of the bill, legs, and even the eyes. Most field guides emphasize these differences very well.

To prove my point, here are some ID tips focusing on bill color, leg color, and eye color for three gulls common to my region of Idaho:

Ring-billed Gull

California Gull

Herring Gull

Okay. Now you're an expert at gull identification. Are you ready for your quiz? Please get out your favorite field guide, use my three steps, and identify this mystery gull:

Feel free to post a comment when you figure it out. Did my steps work for you?

Pete Dunne: Birder at Large

I have an evening part-time job that occasionally affords me some good readin' time. Having forgotten my usual novel or history book, I read all my favorite birding blogs until every recent update had been gleaned. I determined to delve deeper into the Birder's World magazine's online archives.

I've always enjoyed the articles by Pete Dunne in the section entitled "Birder at Large". Pete Dunne is not only one of the greatest birders of our time, he is a great writer. I hold him at the same level as I do David McCullough, James Michener, Patrick McManus, Ken Blanchard, and Jane Austen...just a different subject matter. There's just something about his story-telling style that appeals to me. Although a "celebrity birder", Pete's perpetual-new-birder-enthusiasm is contagious. He has a reverence for the history of birdwatching, both for the birds as well as the people that have lead us to where we are at today. You feel this when you read. He has a guileless passion for birding that inspires me and a hope for the future that gives me hope.

Kick back with me and relax into Pete Dunne's world for a few hours. You can read his Birder at Large articles here. Many of his columns are only available to subscribers of Birder's World, but I won't apologize for that, because his articles alone are worth the subscription price.

Birding Laughs #4

Going back to my Saturday morning adventures at the Granite Reef Recreation Area near Mesa, Arizona when I was first getting into birding...

As I walked along the Salt River enjoying the Vermilion Flycatchers in the tops of the trees, the Northern Cardinals, and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, with binoculars glued to my eyes; I unknowing walked right into a herd of javelinas (wild boars sometimes called peccaries). The javelinas had been nestled down in the shade under the low bushes and taller grasses. I stood there paralyzed as the females and their young rushed off to a safe distance to turn and stare back at me.

The leader of the harem however, stood his ground and bared his terrible teeth and stamped his terrible feet and flashed his terrible eyes, and growled his terrible growl. Then he charged at me! I sprung with superhuman agility to the nearest tree and shimmied up as high as the puny branches would support me. I was really only a about four feet up, but it was high enough. Then the boar and I had a waiting game. He circled below me for a few minutes and finally trotted off to join his herd. I slipped back down the tree and still running high on adrenaline I booked it out of there.

You know, that incident was pretty scary, but imagining myself running up a tree like a scaredy-cat is kind of funny...isn't it.

Hearing birds

Black-billed Magpie.

Song Sparrow.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Downy Woodpecker.

American Goldfinch.

House Finch.

Dark-eyed Junco.

Black-capped Chickadee.

All birds I heard this morning, before I saw them.

A couple of them I never even saw, but I am 100% certain they there because I heard them and I recognize their voices. I realized this morning that for the birds seen regularly in my neighborhood, I depend more on my hearing them than I do in seeing them.

Now, I'm not a master bird listener who has spent hours studying my Stokes CD's of bird songs. Having gone birding almost everyday for the last five years, I have simply grown accustomed to what the common birds sound like. I have also come to recognize when I hear something different, which really perks my interest.

Ask the Avimor Bird Guy...hummingbirds in Nampa?

From JoAnn in Boise:

A friend of ours in Nampa put up a hummingbird feeder this last year, but never had a single hummingbird come to it. Are there no hummingbirds in Nampa?

Avimor Bird Guy:

That is really strange. There must be some simple explanation.

First off, I know Nampa has hummingbirds as I grew up there. My in-laws also live there and regularly get Black-chins at their feeders; not as many as I get at my home in the foothills, but they still get a steady flow of them from Spring to Fall.

Let's ask your friend what color his/her feeder is. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color of the feeder spout; the little flower shaped part where the bird sticks in its bill. My wife, with a lot more concern for appearance and taste than I have, gave me a very attractive green glass hummingbird feeder for Father's Day to replace the all-to-conspicuous normal red ones that hummers actually like. It had all kinds of decorative ornaments hanging off of it and was very pretty. I put it up, but never once did I see a hummingbird approach it. I think it was simply the wrong color.

Other things that may impede hummers from coming could be:

* the nectar recipe - it may not be what they want. Check out a simple and proven recipe here.

* proximity to cover and perching place - As a kid I thought hummers spent their entire life flying except when they sat on their nests at night. Wrong! Hummers actually spend 80% of their time perched. I watch them feed for a couple minutes and then fly to my tree and perch on the branches for extended periods. A suitable place to perch nearby might be more inviting to the hummingbird.

* Are there flowers nearby that hummers like? Maybe your friends do actually live in a hummingbird dead-zone where there are not enough food sources for them to even venture into the area. I wonder if there are geographic reasons that make hummers go around that area. I kind of doubt this though. I've read the hummingbirds will often fly over areas from a fairly high altitude and will drop down if they spot a feeding source. Perhaps planting some native columbine or agastache around the yard will create a hummingbird frenzy! http://www.hummingbirds.net/attract.html

Maybe other readers know why hummingbirds aren't coming to visit your friend...Thoughts?

Red-winged Blackbirds in late Fall

Yesterday morning on my bird walk into work I heard the familiar Spring singing and calling of Red-Winged Blackbirds. "This is the wrong time of year to be hearing this!" I said to myself. I didn't see any of their familiar black silhouettes on the cattails or bulrushes. Whipping my head all around I couldn't tell right away were their sounds were coming from. Finally, I spotted them high up on the power lines singing their hearts out in the morning sun. They all appeared to be males with good looking feathers in bold colors.

Now I know Red-wings flock together in winter and will even spend the winter in nearby areas. I'm just wondering about the behavior I saw. Do males flock together exclusively? Was I seeing a group of young males just coming into their manly plumage and migrating/flocking a little late? Any experts on Red-wings out there that can enlighten me?

Review: Peterson Field Guide

The Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America is the the 100 year birthday edition celebrating the late Roger Tory Peterson. It combines the Eastern and Western field guides into one larger version. While it does Mr. Peterson's legacy justice, it is also very progressive in its approach; this is the first field guide I have seen that embraces the worldwide web as it provides website address info for video podcasts and other fun birding stuff.

The list price for this field guide is $26. I bought it for an embarrassingly low $4.19 online from an online book dealer that must buy and sale books in bulk like Fannie Mae buys and sales home mortgages. I just got a treasure for cheap!

I like the beautiful and durable vinyl cover. I really love the "One-Page Index" on card-stalk as the very first page of the book. They must have been spying on how I use my field guides to give it such importance. The quick indices feature of field guides get used more than any other page. Another handy quick look-up feature is the color coded bottom of the pages that lumps similar species together. The colors are visible from the edge of the book too.

The introductory pages of this Peterson guide is one of the most interesting and readable of all the field guides I have seen. I actually enjoyed reading it and I learned a few pointers that will help me be a better birder.

The plates of species paintings have been enhanced, updated, and sometimes replaced based on newer and better information. The artistic style has remained true to the Peterson genre and deserves to carry on his name. Roger's son wrote part of the intro and explained that his dad made every effort to capture the "perfect" bird for each species. This artwork is indeed

fabulous and extremely helpful in identification.

In comparison with my trusty Sibley's guide, I still prefer the overall layout of Sibley's over the plates with multiple species shown. Peterson was apparently the innovator of the little arrows pointing to the most relevant identification characteristics. I think Sibley took it another step forward in evolution by adding a snippet of text explaining what the arrows are for. Peterson's arrows almost seem funny and out of place in comparison, but they are still helpful. This Peterson guide, like Nat-Geo's, does show more plumage varieties than does Sibley's. The taxonomic order and descriptive paragraphs are pretty standard, but the relative rarity index is prominently noted on the upper right of each entry.

Other really cool features of the new Peterson guide include:

* Several pages of silhouettes. Every avid birder knows how often you only see silhouettes and a guide like this will be helpful.

* In the back are more detailed range maps in taxonomic order with additional species information. I love maps!

* The life list checklist in the back has enough space to write in the date the bird was seen, which is better than Nat-Geo's checkbox. But again, this is a throw-back to the days when life lists were kept in your field guide, which seems irrelevant in my world where I keep my lists and reports on eBird. I'm sure that long-time Peterson users appreciate it though.

My recommendation: This is a must-have guidebook. It may be too large to use as a guide in the field, but definitely a primary go-to reference book for bird identification.