How Well Do You Know--Blue Jay

So, how well do you know your common birds? There are three things "wrong" with this Blue Jay. What are they?

Birdchaser at University of Pennsylvania

My upcoming talk to the Precolumbian Society at the University of Pennsylvaina Museum on October 9

The Woodpecker is a Witch! Birds among the modern and ancient Maya

Birds have played important roles in Mesoamerican cultures for thousands of years. Rob Fergus explores the connections between birds and various Mayan cultures and presents results from his ongoing field work with Kerry Hull among seven different Mayan language groups in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. Bird names and bird lore--including notes about birds as social and environmental prognosticators--shed light on modern Mayan world views as well as scenes involving birds in ancient Mayan art and ethnohistoric accounts of later historic Mayan societies.

Best Bird Guide for Beginners?

So yesterday I spent an hour with my Rowan University students teaching them how to identify birds with a field guide. We did it as a game, with each team having two field guides to use, and each team getting points for how fast they were able to identify each bird slide using their guides. I had the teams switch field guides several time, so the students got to try out different ones.

So the exercise served two purposes--the students learned how to identify birds with a field guide, and I got to see how they did it and which guides they liked and why.

I was surprised on both accounts. These students, who have had just one lecture on SPASTIC bird identification and one half hour bird walk, were remarkably quick at finding the birds in the guides. And it didn't seem to matter which bird book they used. I definitely had prejudices about which guide I thought would be easiest for them to use, but they surprised me. Here's a few comments:

Old Peterson: Most didn't like it, mostly because of the black and white plates.
Little Sibley: They liked it a lot, especially the quick index in the back.
Kaufman: They liked it, especially the onces who figured out how to use the quick index.
Smithsonian: Several students really liked this, and they were able to get on birds as quickly as with the other guides.
NWF Guide: Again, like the Smithsonian Guide, the students seemed to do find with this one too.
Nat Geo: A bit too much for them, not preferred.

Overall, there weren't too many strong feelings expressed one way or the other (they are college students and not always the most forthcoming!). But they had fun, and watching them, they seemed able to use all the guides fairly well, though Nat Geo and Old Peterson were the least preferred and students using them were never the first to ID any bird.

So, not a scientific focus group, but fun and interesting. Makes me want to do more field testing of field guides with absolute beginners. Anyone else out there put field guides head to head in field trials with beginners? What makes a good field guide for beginners? Which ones do you recommend and why?

Global Birding

Birding, more than anything, is characterized by dreaming. While birdwatchers may be satisfied to enjoy the birds they happen to see in their yard or wherever they may be, birders are always seeking and dreaming about birds unseen. If you have birds that you want to see, but haven't--you are a birder.

Global Birding, the latest National Geographic book by Les Beletsky fans the fuel of such dreams. Written primarily for North American birders with dreams of shiny exotic birds, each chapter of its 320 pages introduces the reader to the birds and birding possibilities of a continent, with sections on regions within each continent of special interest to birders--and since this is National Geographic, the requisite gorgeous photographs of birds and landscapes, as well as basic maps for the geographically challenged. Global Birding provides tips on traveling in each region, as well as an overview of the significant bird families and species in each region. This makes Global Birding useful to would be travelers, as well as arm-chair travelers who may never save up the serious coin that it takes to reach some of the more exotic birding destinations. You may never actually get to see a Helmeted Vanga, but after spending some time with Global Birding, you will at least know what it is, where to find it, and what it might take to find one.

In thumbing through Global Birding, I was glad to see that Beletsky provides the names of the local birding and conservation organizations in each region--along with web addresses. Sidebars provide recommendations on the best field guides and site guides for each region. There are also dozens of sidebars with information on birding unique locations or tips on spotting high profile species like Gray-necked Rockfowl or Dwarf Jay.

As a geographer, I really enjoyed the introductory chapter on The Geography of Birds, with its review of bird diversity by country and bioregions. Tables provide information on Endemic Bird Areas within each country, as well as how many restricted-range species occur there. Sidebars also show the reader which countries have the most endemic species, as well as the most globally threatened species. All the while stoking the fire of bird lust with gorgeous photographs of birds you may never even have heard of--like Peruvian Plantcutters, Upland Goose, or the Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo.

Now the sad part, where I complain that I wish the book were bigger. I wish there were more info on more birds--but of course, that itch can never be fully scratched. I'm a birder. I always want more. More pages. More birds. But lets not get carried away. There have to be limits. But when it comes to the maps, I think the book could have done more with what it already had. The maps are pretty basic, and could have provided so much more information on birding locations, endemic bird areas, etc. For example, major rivers are often depicted but not labeled. The map of Asia doesn't even have political boundaries. We know National Geographic can make some sweet maps, but the ones here aren't anything to write home about.

Other than that, my only other concern is that this book is dangerous! You can't just show a birder pictures of exotic birds and landscapes without fueling a desire to get out and see those places and birds--which in this case involves considerable expense. So be forewarned. The more time you spend with Global Birding, the more you will want to be a global birder. The book is a call to adventure, the adventure of birding on a global scale. It is not for the faint of heart. Peruse at your own risk!

Disclosure Info

Name that Peep

A nice morning walk around the reservoir at Pine Run this morning.


Not a huge amount of shorebird diversity (see list at end), and didn't get any great digiscope shots. For example, name that peep!


Best birds were two lingering Stilt Sandpipers. Mostly it was just fun to be out and walk in the mud. Brings back memories of shorebirding on the coast of Oregon as a kid before I had a scope and I had to wade out into the estuaries to see my first Semipalmated Sandpiper. Here's where I had to turn around this morning because I sank up to my knees in mud. Fun.



Location: Pine Run--Bucks Co.
Observation date: 9/20/10
Number of species: 29

Canada Goose 25
Mute Swan 2
Mallard 8
Green-winged Teal 4
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 2
Bald Eagle 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Semipalmated Plover 3
Killdeer 4
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 9
Semipalmated Sandpiper 12
Least Sandpiper 74
Stilt Sandpiper 2
Ring-billed Gull 2
Mourning Dove 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 12
American Crow 30
Carolina Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin 6
European Starling 35
Song Sparrow 5
House Finch 6

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Let's Go Birding!

Last night at the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club meeting I was able to hang out with Ted Floyd and pick up a copy of his latest Let's Go Birding! booklet published by the American Birding Association.

While the 32 page booklet was written "with the modern beginner in mind," it is probably more useful for someone who is off to a decent birding start already. For instance, there are no tips about how to choose or use binoculars, or even much about the specifics of identifying birds. What Let's Go Birding! delivers is more of an extended essay on what makes a good birder. And we're not talking Kenn Kaufman's "Birding is something that we do for enjoyment, so if you enjoy it, you’re a good birder" kind of good birder. What we are talking about here is a serious, or maybe better yet, a more detail oriented birder.

What Floyd is urging beginners, and all of us really, is to take up a regimen of more rigorous bird study. Floyd wants us to slow down, spend more time looking at individual birds, and study their every move, feather, habit, and song. He wants us to really know our birds, and he offers plenty of thoughts about how to do that by keeping a notebook, learning bird songs, and regularly birding a local patch.

The booklet features photos by Bill Schmoker. They are mostly decent, but I did wonder why were are given a fuzzy Long-tailed Duck image on page 16. And the printing quality of the copy I got seems dark and muddled--for instance the cover shot looks nowhere near as clear as the image online here.

In the end, I enjoyed the booklet, and it did inspire me to take a look at my own birding. I too frequently fall into the "identify everything that moves" groove, where I dart from looking at one bird to the next, rather than spending much time looking at any individual bird. After reading Let's Go Birding!, I did follow Floyd's instructions to go outside and really look at a robin. Fortunately there was one on the power line along the alley behind my house. It was fun to just watch the robin, and I think I will start sketching birds again--something I've let slide for the past few years (except when I see a rarity). I fully expect my own birding skills will improve as I take Floyd's message and methods to heart.

So while you can be a good birder (ala Kaufman) without following the path of a good birder (ala Floyd), it is nice to read one very dedicated birder's take on how to be a better birder. I also enjoyed musing about Floyd's encouragement to "think of this little book as your personal guide for exploration and self-discovery." Birding as self-help. But in a nice way.

"Our basic human nature endows us with the skills, the wisdom, and most of all the mindset to become expert birders. All we need to do is turn off the television and power down the computer. All we need to do is step outside, smell the flowers, and look for robins."

And there you have it. Let's Go Birding! is a guided meditation on birds and how to be with them in a way that you will become more intimately acquainted with them, and hopefully, derive more enjoyment from the deeper acquaintance. The Way of Birding outlined here isn't the only way to bird. But it does represent one path to development as a birder. And maybe even enlightenment and freedom:

"We live in a land of plenty, but our lives can be empty and unsatisfied. We crave beauty, but sometimes we don't know where to look for it. Do yourself a favor. This weekend, head out into the woods or off to the shore. Take a young birder with you. Together, you will rediscover beauty, abundant and free."

What's not to like about that?

I think this would be a great little book to give someone with a casual or growing interest in birds. Backyard birders especially, who regularly watch birds, but are perhaps open to developing a closer connection to the birds in their yard and neighborhood. It might be a good tool to help some of the tens of millions of casual birdwatchers become a more serious or committed birder. I would think wild bird feed stores would be a good place to sell these booklets, and it might be nice to pick one up for your local public or school library.

As Paul Baicich told us Wednesday night in his talk to the Delmarva Ornithological Society meeting (it's been a full week of bird meetings for me!), bird conservation depends on growing the number of people connected to and supportive of birds. Let's Go Birding! is a fun little tool that will surely inspire some folks to take their enjoyment of birds to a deeper level. Again, what's not to like about that!?!

Eagle Grabs Dog

Here's another email I get all the time over at AbsoluteBirdControl.com:

I live in a residential city area. I often have my 2 small dogs, a West highland Terrior and a King Charles Cavalier in the yard. Recently my neighbor noticed a hawk flying over my yard and sitting in a large tree in the back neighbors property. How do I deter this hawk from coming and killing my dogs? Is there a fake wolf or something I can put in the yard? Will it swoop down with me back there with the dogs? The dogs love to romp around in the yard. Thanks for any information you can provide.

Fortunately, eagles (let alone hawks) are not much of a threat for dogs. This is one that lives more in the realm of urban legend than reality. I have to wonder how much this Sandra Bullock film has planted fear in the heart of small dog owners. There have probably been a few dogs snatched by eagles over the years, but it has to be a very rare occurrence and not something most dog owners should worry about. So just for the record, in case you are wondering--your dog is safe!

Stilted Birding

This morning I went out for some stilted birding. The standard definition of stilted is "stiffly or artificially formal; stiff." Well, that doesn't describe my morning at all. I heard there was a good shorebird movement over at Pine Run--where I had been on Friday but hadn't seen too much. So I headed back over there and ran into local bird photographer Howard Eskin. I'm always happy to run into Howard, especially since he survived a scary incident on the jetty at Barnegat. We're lucky to still have him around.

Anyway, I spent a fun morning chasing shorebirds around the edge of Pine Run with Howard as he snapped away with his giganormous telephoto lens and I scanned the roving flocks for a Baird's Sandpiper that was reportedly limping around the lake with a stick and fishing line wrapped around one of its legs.

We eventually did see the Baird's when a flock of Least Sandpipers and Semipalmated Sandpipers flew by, that's when it was easiest to see the bigger bird in their midst. But we spent most of the time chasing around a small group of five Stilted Sandpipers (hence the "stilted" birding). I don't get to see too many of these birds here in Bucks County, so it was fun to have them feeding in the water almost at our feet. Here are some of Howard's shots. I tried to do some digiscoping with my HTC Incredible phone, but had a tough time of it.

Anyway, great to spend an hour at the shorebird flats on a Monday morning. Man I love shorebirds!

Birding & Being

My wife is not a birder. She is a runner. Even when she isn't running, when months or years go by without a good run, there is a core part of her that can only be understood when you take into account what it means to be a runner.

For my wife, and many other runners, the magazine Runners World is their lifeline and George Sheehan, who wrote a regular column there until his death in 1993, was their inspiration. His Running & Being, a book length collection of his columns and thoughts is a classic. Not just a classic, but THE classic running book. The bible of runners. As one reviewer at Amazon wrote, Sheehan

tells running as it is, as he is. You'll read this book and continually say, "My god, that's it, that's what I feel, that's how I am too." Soon, things you'd suspected about yourself, become clearer. Questions like, "Why do you run?", begin to have meaningful answers.

Running is more than strapping on special shoes and jogging off down the road. There is a spirit to it. Running takes you to mental and spiritual places you can't get to otherwise.

The more I think about it, birding is the same. Birding isn't just strapping on binoculars and heading out to look at birds. It is a journey that takes you to hidden worlds--worlds that only exist for birders.

Like the world of the Golden-crowned Kinglet. Unless you are a birder, that bird doesn't even exist. I know, because I remember when that world opened up for me. In eighth grade, when the birding bug bit me hard and I started birding every day after school, I remember pouring over my Golden Guide and being amazed at the kinglets. Could such creatures really be out there? How could there be something so amazing out there and nobody I knew had even heard about it? Finally, on 7 Oct 1981 the Ruby-crowned Kinglet appeared in my neighbor's oak tree. Two months later, I was ushered into another new world when the Golden-crowned Kinglet showed up.

Every time you go birding, you enter, like a shaman, into worlds unseen by the uninitiated--the non-birders. Then, even when you aren't technically birding, you may pop in and out of those worlds as you drive down the road or walk down the street. You can't ever not be birding. Birds show up, and call you away, to follow them as they soar over freeways or flit across your path. You are a new kind of being. Once the birds show up for you, you are a birder. Like it or not.

In a world full of interwebs, cable television, and online everything, there is a crying need for more birders--people who can see and enter otherwise unseen worlds. Birders, herpers, fisherman, hunters, gardeners, farmers. Without these spiritual sojourners, the worlds of birds, lizards, fish, elk, and trilliums disappear. Vanish. Perish. This planet is a multipurpose earth. Not Google Earth, to be summoned at will on our laptops. But a living vibrant globe filled with overlapping and interwoven worlds of myriad beings that we barely know exist unless we venture out into their realms.

Life is good. There are birds out there. They call to us and we respond. We are birders.

What would you say?

Some people just don't like birds. Here's an actual email I got as part of my work helping people with their bird control issues at Bird-B-Gone.

I am interested in your sonic system to rid my home property of birds. It is less than an acre with trees all around on the block. My little dog is terrified of the birds going off every morning singing and talking outside my bedroom window. It sounds like a symphony is playing on the other side of the wall and it is driving me crazy. The birds I see are the blue jay; a bird with a white body and black wings; and, of course, the black crow that seems to lurk everywhere. I am sure there are other breeds mixed in; but, these are the big culprits.

I think the sonic system will be the easiest and the quickest way for me to solve the problem. What do you think based off of the birds I described? Will it send the neighborhood birds around me to the next block? I look forward to your recommendations.

So...how would you respond to a situation like this? (Be nice!)

ABA Search as a Reality Show

So I've been thinking a lot about the search for a new head of the American Birding Association. I don't have much to say about it at this point, but did have a fun thought: What would it be like if the search were conducted as a reality TV show? What would that look like? What kind of crazy tasks would the contestants be given? How would it all go down, edited for a TV-PG rating of course!?

Birdchaser on the Radio

Back when I was out of town, FM 89.3 in Louisville broadcast a previously taped radio interview I did with them last month. We talked about bird pest control issues and my work with BirdBGone. Lots of fun! Listen here.

Zino's Petrel Disaster

This morning I got an urgent appeal from BirdLife International. A massive forest fire on the island of Madeira recently killed a number of the Endangered Zino's Petrel--including several breeding adults and 65% of this year’s (2010) chicks. BirdLife International and SPEA (Birdlife in Portugal) urgently need funds to carry out emergency conservation work needed before the winter sets in.

For more info and how to help, see the BirdLife International story here.

To donate to the cause, go here.

2010 Mayan Birds Research Trip to Mexico

After working with Ch'orti', Mopan, Kekchi, and Tzutujil Mayan speakers in Guatemala and Belize, Kerry Hull and I decided this year to head over to Mexico to work with the Chontal Mayan speakers in the state of Tabasco. We also spent some time up in the Chiapas Highlands to work with some Chol Mayan speakers, and started working with a few Tzeltal Mayan speakers as well.


We talked to dozens of native speakers and spent time in the field looking for birds, as well as reviewing drawings of birds in field guides and recordings of birds on my iPod. This allowed us to determine the identification of dozens of birds in each language. We also routinely asked about the beliefs involved with each bird, and if they bring messages, since in Mayan communities there are always some birds that foretell good or bad events, or even just periods of rain or drought.

So after two weeks in Mexico, we now have bird data from 7 of the 31 Mayan language groups, including the Ch'orti', Chontal, and Chol languages which are the closest to the language used in writing the Classic Mayan glyphic texts. Our research is showing how important birds are within traditional Mayan cultures, as well as illuminating the meaning of birds appearing in the Classic Mayan texts. We are also making friends in Mayan communities and working with them to preserve the language and lore involving birds. It is an ongoing adventure. You can read about our past adventures in 2006 (scroll down) and 2008, as well as our current adventures in the posts below:

Prehispanic Birding at Uxmal
Birding Camellones Chontales
Chontal Mayan Birds in Tucta
Olmecs and Birds at La Venta Museum
Chol Birds
Tzeltal Mayan Hummingbird Remedy
Tecolucta
Granja de Tortugas (Turtle Farm)
Why there aren't more birders in Mexico?
In Search of...the Chontal Crow

In Search of...the Chontal Crow

On our second day of field work in Tucta, Tabasco, one of our Chontal friends told us a tradition about taking cuervo (crow) eggs from a nest for good luck. This was a bit puzzling, since there are no "real" crows in southern Mexico. When we asked about these crows, we were told that they were and black and like grackles, only bigger. What could they be?

Later we heard from others that they often go around in groups, and that they hunt for fish along waterways. They fly up into trees, in groups. Still a puzzle.

Then we heard that they actually swim. What? Swimming crows? By asking more questions, we were finally told that crows were very similar to the "pico fino" which we had already determined to be an Anhinga.

That was the missing piece of the puzzle. By asking a few more questions we confirmed that the cuervo (crow) was the Neotropic Cormorant.

So, how did a cormorant become a crow? If all you knew about crows were that they were big and black and fly around in groups (think Hitchcock), you could easily see how these birds could become crows. Especially when you see them sitting together on a bare tree, with their necks hunched in. They do kind of look like grackles--with longish tails, all black. And grackles can stretch out those necks, so that comparison isn't even all that hard to see, from a certain point of view (see for instance here).

At any rate, another cautionary tale about inter-cultural communication. You can never assume that just because you are using the same word, that you are talking about the same thing. Even within the same culture. Follow up questions are key. Even now, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that there is even more to the story of the Chontal Crow, so be prepared for further story installments!


(photo: wikipedia)

Why there aren't more birders in Mexico?

So you are a young kid in Mexico. You like birds. You've got some cool birds flying around your house. So you go to your local library to look for a book about the birds in your yard. What do you find? Probably nothing.

On my recent trip to Mexico I was doing some research in the big city library in Villahermosa, the biggest city in Tabasco. I looked on the shelf for bird books. All they had was one book...on penguins! In their reference section there were three old Time Life books on birds, but nothing that would help the aspiring kid birder identify the birds in his neighborhood!

In the smaller city library in Nacajuca, we were looking for Chontal Mayan texts and I thought I'd take a look at the bird section there.


Here's what I found.



Not a single bird book. Hardly any animal books at all, and those old black books in the middle of the section jump straight from amphibians (anfibios) to mammals (mamiferos).

Hard to get excited about birds if you can't even find a book about them. On the other hand, maybe this is a huge opportunity for the American Birding Association's Birders' Exchange Program. Do we need to get a Spanish language bird field guide into every public library in Latin America?


Is that a vision you can get excited about? Future generations of Latin American birders--and the birds they will save--are at stake!

Granja de Tortugas (Turtle Farm)

We spent several hours one morning at the Granja de Tortugas, a turtle rearing facility near Nacajuca. Think fish hatchery but for turtles. Since so many people still eat turtles in coastal Tabasco, many have become endangered, and so the state government raises them for release into protected areas. We had a great tour of the ponds, incubation room, and baby rearing facilities.



These baby turtles were unique in that when they are little they have a Virgin of Guadalupe on their plastron (lower shell). It gets more blurry and less distinct they get older.







Of course since this was a protected area, there were lots of birds at the ponds as well--including nesting Linneated Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and both Ruddy Ground Dove and Plain Ground Dove. Here's a ground dove nest right at waist height in a hedge along a walkway!


We also had several Aztec Parakeets flying around, as well as Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Chontal: mixix). The trees were also filled with iguanas.

Tecoluta

After working up in the Chiapas Highlands, we dropped back down to Tabasco for more field work with Chontal speakers near Nacajuca. We got some really great info from some brothers living up near the end of the road in Tecoluta. Then we walked around and watched Snail Kites (Local Spanish: Caracolero) catching snails and flying overhead (close enough to snap this photo with a point and shoot!).


Interestingly, when we had asked several Chontal speakers if there were different kinds of hawks (Chontal: a'i') they said yes, but they didn't have any names for them. They never brought up the Snail Kite once, until we got that local Spanish name and then they all knew the Chontal name for it. Doing ethnoornithological field work, you have to always be on your toes because you don't really know at first how the people you are working with are classifying or seeing the birds. While a Snail Kite might clearly seem like a kind of hawk to us, that apparently wasn't clear initially to our Chontal Mayan friends.

Also, just because birds are colorful and nearby doesn't mean everyone takes notice of them. We had Blue-gray Tanagers hanging out on TV antennas and must be there every day but people hadn't noticed them. And Tropical Kingbirds are literally everywhere, hanging out on wires and in city centers all over the place, but they don't merit much attention or even have their own name in most Mayan languages, including Chontal. On the other hand, if there is some inconspicuous bird with a unique call, it just might turn out to play in important role in their world. You just never know. That's why you have to get out there and spend the time to find out!




BTW, did you notice the dead pigeon hanging from the cheap netting used to try and keep them out of the church tower in the photo at the top of the post? Amazing what we don't notice until it is pointed out to us :-)

Tzeltal Mayan Hummingbird Remedy

While we went to Ocosingo and Tila to work with Chol Mayan speakers, we ran into quite a few local Tzeltal Mayan speakers as well, and spent some time collecting Tzeltal Mayan stories and bird names as well. One of my favorites was an old guy in Ocosingo who told us that drinking hummingbird blood is an effective remedy for warding off heart attacks!

Here we are spending an hour with one Tzeltal Mayan man in our hotel foyer in Tila. Not everyone has a great knowledge of birds--some folks only know maybe 20 common birds or so. In this case, we didn't get a lot of names, but everyone has some story or other that they've picked up along the way, so we always get something good from everyone!

Chol Birds

After a five hour bus ride from Villahermosa to Ocosingo, we took a small van and then road in the back of a truck for three more hours up to a Chol Mayan town of Tila in the Chiapas Highlands. Chol is a sister language to Chontal and Ch'orti', which we have worked with before, so we wanted to get bird names and traditional bird stories from this area as well.

We didn't have any contacts in the area, so we started by approaching people in the street and playing bird songs on my iPod and showing them pictures from field guides. At one point we had over 30 Chol speakers gathered around giving us names and info. Luis, a local forest biologist, saw the commotion and came over. Once he figured out what we were up to he was excited and invited us up to that afternoon to the small communities where he works.



We ended up hiking and birding near a little place called Kokija'. Birding highlights included Slate-colored Solitaire, Crimson-collared Tanager, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Striped Cuckoo, Yellow-bellied Eleania, and Red-lored Parrot. We spent two days in the area and got dozens of great stories and Chol bird names.