Bird watching by the numbers

By Bill Eaton

Among the most avid of outdoorsmen are the birdwatchers.

While they may not be outdoor sports people in the usual sense, they do take their outdoor activity very seriously and spend many hours out in the field. They actually hunt birds with great dedication and devotion. However their hunting is done with binoculars and cameras, not firearms or bows.

For most birdwatchers, their other outdoor activities led to the fascination with getting close-up views of various birds. Usually the large predators such as eagles and hawks first caught their eye. For others it was the bright red cardinal or the blue jay in the back yard that got them interested. Then a trip along the coastal areas showed the great variety of wading birds that find a home in Florida. Yes, Florida, because of its mild climate, is a year-round birder’s paradise.

Fortunately, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) published several booklets that will help both novice and advanced birdwatchers in finding new species. Two of these booklets cover the Central Florida area. The East Section covers Jacksonville to Fort Pierce and the West Section covers from Perry/Lake City to Bradenton. According to the West Section booklet, there are three significant clusters of birding activity in Hernando County. They are the (I) Eagle and Osprey Cluster, (K) the Green Swamp Cluster, and the (L) Gulf Migrants Cluster.
Within each of these clusters are several birding sites.

One of the largest sites along the coastal area is at the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area (WMA), part of the Eagle and Osprey Cluster (I) to the west of U.S. 19, about 9½ miles north of Weeki Wachee and S.R. 50. This property includes sandhill, flatwoods, and cypress swamp areas. Here you are likely to find warblers, pileated woodpeckers and floodplain birds as well as eagles and ospreys along the remote coast. You may also see wild turkey as there are many that roam this area.

Map packing

The first thing is a county road map to show you all the infrequently traveled back roads that lead to interesting places.

To tell you what you are looking at, you’ll also need a good bird book. Any of the books put out by the Audubon Society are an excellent place to start. You may also find a good selection of birding books at larger book stores.

More than 470 bird species are found in Florida, so you’ll need a way to tell one from another. One very good book is the Golden Field Guide “Birds of North America”. This guide shows illustrations of birds at rest and in flight. Also the different winter and summer plumage and colorings of adult and young, male and female are shown. Range maps of the species show where you may expect to see it.

While identifying a mature bald eagle or great blue heron is easy, it is far more difficult to select the correct species of warbler or gull. A field guide is a necessity.

Most birders carry a notebook in which to write down what they see, and also where and when they saw it. As each new species is recorded, it is added to their “Life List”. Many people take vacations just to add new birds to their Life List. Some of these people have compiled an impressive list over the span of many years.

The next thing you’ll need is a good pair of 7x50 binoculars or a spotting scope with a tripod. You can pay from $60 to more than $2500 for optics to help you see better. You need to see well in order to make a positive identification. A good starting point would be in the $150 range. Although that may seem expensive, that is about all you need to buy, that you do not already have, for this outdoor activity. You’ll also want a good pair of hiking shoes, because you’ll be spending a lot of time on your feet.

When going out on the trail, be sure to take ample water, sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat. For wary birds such as turkey, you may even want camouflage clothing.

As you get into it, you may want to add a camera with a telephoto lens. Of course that adds to the expense, but you get to show off your birding and photography skills to others. It also leaves no question as to species identity when you have a photo to prove it.

For local bird watching information, contact Audubon of Florida at 797-3545.

Happy birding!

...enjoy your experience bird watching...

Hernando Today - Online Edition

technorati tags:birdwatching, outdoorsmen, Florida, Flish, Wildlife, Conservation, Commission, FFWCC, birders

45 species indentified on bird watching tour

By Arienne Jongbloets.

Consumer hunger for waterfront property has virtually put undeveloped beach front land on the endangered list.

CEEDS member, Rob Diether thinks they’ve come up with something workable with a combination of co-operative ownership and the involvement of The Land Conservancy of British Columbia.

Usually known as TLC, The Land Conservancy is a non-profit, charitable Land Trust working throughout British Columbia. TLC protects important habitat for plants,animals and natural communities as well as properties with historical, cultural, scientific, scenic or compatible recreational value.

Diether said TLC paid a visit to the property in May and what they saw convinced them to take a serious interest.“

It’s home to a mother badger and four kits,” noted Diether. “There’s a rich riparian area and a multitude of birds and wildlife.”

He said a recent bird watching tour identified 45 different species. In addition, the property is part of a travelling corridor for migratory birds.

...we'll see what will happen to the birdlife and wildlife here...

BCNG Portals Page

technorati tags:bird, watching, birdwatching, Horse, Lake, eastern, shore

Rare ibis tagged in race to save bird of pharaohs

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have tagged three northern bald ibis, among the last survivors of a species of Middle Eastern bird once so revered that it had its own ancient Egyptian hieroglyph, in an effort to save them from extinction.

Only 13 of the birds remain in Syria, Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the conservation agency BirdLife International said in a news release.

The birds, with their distinctive black Mohican-style plumage and long, downward-curved red bills, were once revered by pharaohs and were found throughout the Middle East, northern Africa and the European Alps.

They are now classified as critically endangered, the highest level of threat, by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Until four years ago the species was thought to be extinct in Syria. The only other wild population is in Morocco.

"Without this tracking project, the bird would have been consigned to history and hieroglyphics," Ibrahim Khader, head of BirdLife Middle East, said in the statement.

"We knew they were in Palmyra because of reports from Bedouin nomads and local hunters."

Scientists from BirdLife and the RSPB tagged the three ibis, named Zenobia, Sultan and Salam, in southeast Syria's Palmyra region, hoping to track them when they begin their annual migration this month to discover where they breed.

"Tracking the birds and finding their wintering sites may be the last chance to save them," RSPB scientist Ken Smith said. "We won't be able to help them until we know where they go and the threats and pressures they are facing."

...this rare bird is an amazing find for scientists, and all birders...

Rare ibis tagged in race to save bird of pharaohs | Tech&Sci | Science | Reuters.com

technorati tags:Britains, Royal, Society, Protection, for, Birds, Birdlife, International, Northern, bald, ibis

Birdwatching tourism ready for take-off in Eritrea

By Ed Harris.

ADI KE, Eritrea (Reuters) - High above a rocky cliff top south of Eritrea's capital, Asmara, an Augur Buzzard glides overhead, its broad white wings outstretched.

Down on the ground, Ken Harte, 70, an American tourist and passionate birdwatcher treads past a narrow valley's candelabra trees and prickly pear, hoping for a rare glimpse of a species not yet recorded in the Horn of Africa country.

"The holy grail would be the Blue-Winged Goose," he said, adjusting the cameras hanging from his body. "There are vague reports of it being found in Eritrea, but as far as I know no reliable records."

Eritrea's diversity of forest, desert, mountain, and beach -- lying between 1,396 miles of Red Sea coastline and mountains thousands of feet high -- provide a rich variety for birdlife, experts say.

"Ethiopia-Eritrea are one of Africa's birding hotspots possessing 861 species, including the 30 species endemic (to the two countries)," Jose Luis Vivero Pol wrote in his 2001 book, "A Guide to Endemic Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea."

Of these 30 species found nowhere else, some 13 have been recorded in Eritrea, attracting birdwatchers keen to expand the lists of rare species they have seen.

"(Thirteen) is a tremendous number for a country this small," said Harte, grinning through his thick beard and boasting that in just two weeks, he has seen 10 of the 13 endemic species.

Harte suspects there were another two species not yet recorded -- the Blue-Winged Goose and the Abyssinian Long-Claw -- though their sightings have not been confirmed.

...this is excellent news for all birders and birdwatchers...

Birdwatching tourism ready for take-off in Eritrea | In Depth | Reuters.com

technorati tags:birders, birdwatching, Eritrea, Adi, KE, Asmara, Augur, buzzard

Adopt your favourite feathered friend

"Adopt" one of 10 bird species from the Canadian Museum of Nature. Funds raised support education programmes for the new Bird Gallery opening on October 20, 2006. For info and pledge forms, go to nature

Want to befriend a Blue Jay or a Black-capped Chickadee? How about a Peregrine Falcon or a Great Blue Heron? The Canadian Museum of Nature’s is giving Canadians the chance to take a bird “under their wing” in the new Adopt-a-Bird initiative to support public education about bird diversity and conservation in Canada.

Funds raised through the Adopt-a-Bird programme will go towards complementary national educational programming for the Museum’s new Bird Gallery opening on October 20, 2006 at the Victoria Memorial Museum Building in Ottawa, the public exhibition site of the Canadian Museum of Nature. This initiative is part of the Museum’s Natural Partnerships Campaign, a national fundraising project to raise $10 million for new galleries and national public education programmes. To date, the campaign has reached 70 % of its goal.

Close to 500 bird species found in Canada will be handsomely represented in a bright and airy newly-created exhibition space. This tranquil gallery with 380 specimens – one of the largest collections of birds on display in the world – will provide an ideal setting for observation and study. Designed to be interactive, auditory, visual and educational, the exhibition will serve as a life-size bird-watching field guide and is sure to inspire visitors of all interest levels to venture further into the world of birding. There will even be a section on how to care for injured birds, designed to appeal to children.

More details about the new galleries can be found at nature.ca.

...what a great program! adopt a bird...

Adopt your favourite feathered friend | Ottawa Start

technorati tags:birdwatching, bird, species, Adopt-A-Bird, programme, Museum, Bird, Gallery, Ottawa, 500, bird, species

VietNam has 900 species of birds for birdwatchers

VietNamNet - In a country that supports nearly 900 species of birds, the members of the Hanoi Birdwatching Club (HBC) should have no trouble keeping themselves busy.

The recently formed group has plans to organise a birding trip every three months, with the next birding trip planned for the Cuc Phuong National Park in August.

"We hope more and more members will join in our upcoming activities," said Le Manh Hung, the club leader.

The HBC is the brainchild of several young scientists from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and the Hanoi National University. With some technical support from the BirdLife International Vietnam Programme, the initial idea for the HBC emerged in 2000, but only this year has it become a reality.

The club enjoyed successful first birding trips to the Xuan Thuy National Park in Nam Dinh Province and to the Van Long Nature Reserve in Ninh Binh Province, and by the end of April, the HBC had attracted quite a few young enthusiasts. Many bird species were recorded, but the most notable observations were 11 co thia, black-faced spoonbills (Platalea minor), a species considered globally endangered.

According to BirdLife International, bird watchers of all skill levels, areas of interest and ages can find something interesting in observing wild birds. Some birders travel the world just to look for a few rare species that they wish to see once in their lives. Other enthusiasts simply enjoy watching birds at feeders in their gardens.

Bird watching has become a popular hobby in a number of countries, and many foreign bird watchers have begun to visit Vietnam.

Though the concept of bird watching is entirely new to most local people, the country has developed a reputation for its wide range of habitats sheltering a variety of beautiful and rare species.

Vietnam’s emergence as a destination for foreign bird watchers should come as no surprise: the country hosts one of the richest avifaunas of mainland south-east Asia. Among the nearly 900 species of birds recorded in Vietnam, the country supports 73 species of global conservation concern. Of these, 38 are threatened bird species.

To encourage birding ecotourism in the country and promote nature conservation, BirdLife has revised its web page at www.birdlifeindochina.org/birdwatch to provide helpful information about 15 birding sites in Vietnam. This project resulted in part from the support of the Japan Fund for Global Environment, which has helped enhance access to bird watching information in Vietnam.

BirdLife reports that the accessibility of many of the best birding sites in Vietnam is one reason for the country’s popularity with international bird watchers. At some sites, including Cat Tien and Cuc Phuong National Parks, birders can even stay overnight in the heart of the forest.

...For birdwatching destinations I'm putting VietNam on my "to do" list...

VietNamNet Bridge

technorati tags:birdwatchers, VietName, 900, species, bird, Hanoi, Birdwatching, Club, HBC, BirdLife, International, Xuan, Thuy, National, Park, Nam, Dinh, Province, Van, Long, Nature, Reserver, Ninh, Binh, Province, ecotourism, www.birdlifeindochina.org/birdwatch

Venezuela's Merida has some of the world's best bird-watching

Merida  is a land of great contrasts, including vast grasslands, endless Caribbean coastline and -- unbeknown to many -- the 240-mile-long northern terminus of the Andes mountain range.'

Merida is also the gateway to spectacular regional destinations. One of the most popular trips is to Los Llanos. These grasslands are the country's main viewing point for wildlife, including the world's largest snakes, anacondas; the world's largest rodents, capybaras; and some of the world's best bird-watching.

...destination to be put on my "to do" list for birdwatching...

VHeadline.com - Venezuela's Merida offers a range of options for travelers of any background

Pennsylvania tries to track elusive barn owls

By Martha Raffaele. Associated Press.

KLEINFELTERSVILLE, Pa. - State game officials are eager to know how six young barn owls will make their way in the world once they take flight from a nesting box inside a 142-year-old stone barn in rural Lebanon County.

On a recent summer day, the nocturnal creatures hissed loudly in protest - literally not giving a hoot - as a state wildlife biologist and some volunteers rousted them to attach metal bands etched with identification numbers to their legs.

The ritual is being repeated around the state as part of a conservation program the Pennsylvania Game Commission began in September. Barn owls are not considered to be threatened or endangered in Pennsylvania, but officials still worry that suburban development and the growth of large-scale farming are thinning their numbers.

"We don't really know anything about these birds and their migration patterns," said Jamie Zambo, a wildlife diversity biologist who is directing the conservation program. "We're just trying to figure out where they go and what they do, and trying to get a better handle on what we need to do for conservation."

Although barn owls are also not considered a nationally endangered or threatened species, other states have tried to boost their barn-owl populations in recent years, with varying degrees of success.

Barn owls are found throughout the world in regions with warm climates, open grassland and places that provide nesting cavities, such as dead trees, barns and church steeples, said Greg Butcher, director of bird conservation for the National Audubon Society in Washington, D.C.

"We do know that there has been a huge decline in grassland birds as a group ... and most of us feel the barn owl is part of that fleet," Butcher said. "These are birds that did really well up until the 1950s, when agricultural fields were small and people were planting a diversity of crops."

Since then, the owl population has generally declined as small, family farms with vast meadows have given way to larger farms that use more land for crops, and farmers have turned to pesticides to kill rodents on which barn owls prey, such as meadow voles, Butcher said.

Pennsylvania's barn-owl population was well-documented in the 1980s, with 250 nesting locations found between 1983 and 1989, said Dan Brauning, a game commission wildlife biologist who supervises the wildlife diversity program.

"After 1989, we got very few reports throughout the bird-watching networks," Brauning said. "It was our assessment that it was declining severely."

Yet officials left open the question of whether barn owls were endangered or threatened because they are so difficult to track, and they are redoubling their efforts through the conservation program, Brauning said.

"We track over 200 species of nesting birds, and the barn owl is one of a very few that we are not very successful at tracking," he said. "It's scattered across the landscape."

In Iowa, barn owls have been listed as an endangered species since 1977, said Bruce Ehresman, a wildlife diversity technician for the state's natural resources department.

Between 1983 and 1987, the state tried stocking more owls through a captive breeding and release program, but officials didn't experience much success with it, Ehresman said. Part of the problem lies with the state's great horned owls, which prey on barn owls.

"They're extremely aggressive," Ehresman said. "They're known to eat every other owl we have in the state."

The owls have been listed as endangered in Wisconsin for at least 20 years.

"This is a bird that probably in the last two decades, we've had fewer than a handful for sightings statewide," said Dave Sample, a grassland community ecologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

At the same time biologists disagree over whether the bird should even be listed because some believe it was rare in the state to begin with, Sample said.

The birds have experienced a recent rebound in Ohio, said Kathy Shipley a state wildlife biologist. They were listed as endangered from 1990 until 2002, when they were moved to the list of threatened species, she said.

The state began monitoring the owls in 1988 through a program to install man-made nest boxes in barns and other structures near grasslands. The number of nests increased from a low of 12 in 1989 to a high of 56 in 2004, Shipley said.

Officials are not entirely sure how to account for the growth of nests and also need to study the extent to which owls are also nesting in natural cavities, such as hollow trees, Shipley said.

"Are we actually increasing the population, or are we pulling birds from natural cavities into the nest boxes?" she said. "We don't really know what the dynamics are."

...here's hoping the barn owl population can increase...

Avid birder drops everything and flies to see a rare variety

By Nat Newell. IndyStar.

Larry Peavler stood up to his neck in the Gulf of Mexico for hours watching for a red-footed booby . . . and barracuda.

Prepared: With a telescope on a tripod, Larry Peavler is ready to check out the birds at Eagle Creek Park. He is one of the nation's top birders, and has seen 872 different species in the United States. - Sam Riche / The Star

His bird-watching tour boat through Florida's Dry Tortugas National Park was preparing to move to the next island, but the red-footed booby had not returned to its nest.

Peavler wasn't leaving.

No one was allowed on the island because it would disturb the birds' habitat, so he plunged into the water, fighting off terns that tried to land on his head and thoughts of carnivorous fish gnawing on the rest of him.

"It's really rare," Peavler said with a shrug when asked why he risked battling barracuda for a glimpse of the bird. "I'd never seen it."

The red-footed booby is one of 872 different species of birds the Northside Indianapolis resident has seen in the United States in the past three decades.

Peavler is one of the country's top birders. His total number of sightings is the sixth-most since the American Birding Association began tracking such statistics in the 1960s.

The hobby has taken Peavler to all 50 states -- including seven trips to Attu, the last in the chain of Aleutian Islands off Alaska, which is now off-limits -- 124 countries and six continents. He's seen 3,413 different birds, including the fourth-highest total in Indiana (349) and Kentucky (306), according to the ABA's 2005 List Report.

"One thing that makes birding exciting is you see something new every day," said Peavler, who also touts the exercise it provides and leads regular hikes at Eagle Creek Park. "A new plumage, a new nest, something they're eating . . . it doesn't matter how long you've been birding or how often you go out, you still see new things.

"You turn the corner, and you don't know what you're going to see."

He got his start when he saw an advertisement for a birding hike at Eagle Creek Park in 1973. Peavler was immediately hooked and began to devote more and more of his free time to the new hobby.

The first bird he chased was a Eurasian curlew in Rhode Island in 1976; Peavler saw it and it hasn't been spotted in North America since.

...this birdwatching hobby keeps him on the go...

Hobby keeps him on go | IndyStar.com

technorati tags:bird, watching, rare, bird, sighted, birder, Larry, Peavler

Bird watching in 130 mullion year old Forest

The Wilds of Belum-Temengor Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) 

The Belum-Temengor Forest Complex is more than 130 million years old and reputed to be one of the world’s oldest. To introduce the public to the wonders of this biodiversity hotspot experienced MNS members will be running several trips there.

Activities include forest treks, photography, night walks, floral observation and bird watching. Participants will also have a chance to interact with the Orang Asli living nearby.

For more information call: Nal Azri at (03) 2287 9422 (MNS HQ) or K.J. Mok at 016-275 8739. 

...some interesting birds would be spotted in this forest

Adventure awaits

technorati tags:bird, watching, Belum-Temengor, Malyasian, Nature, Society, Belum-TemengorForest, worlds, oldest, forest

National Geographic Guide to Birding Hot Spots of the United States

by Mel White with Paul Lehman. All you need to start bird-watching, says Mel White, an Arkansas-based birding expert, is a good pair of binoculars, a notebook and a road map. I'd add a big thermos of hot coffee because they don't call them "early birds" for nothing.

Originally published in two volumes in 1999, one for each side of the Mississippi, this new guidebook combines both eastern and western hot spots under one cover. It includes all the National Geographic expertise you'd expect, along with detailed directions, contact information, best seasons to visit, insider's advice and 150 photographs and illustrations. I'm not a birder , but I found an unexpected benefit from this book in that it brings together many of the major wildlife areas and protected refuges under one roof, so to speak. And it tells you some things you didn't know that could add another dimension to your next trip. Such as this tip: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel "is one of the more unusual birding spots on the Atlantic Coast." (National Geographic Society, $21.95)

...great gift idea for all those birders out there...

Newsday.com - Travel

technorati tags:birdwatching, gift, ideas, birders, bird-watching, birding, hot, spots, map, spots, United, States

Cuts to Wetlands Reserve Program hurts fish, birds and wildlife

How long before federal lawmakers truly appreciate the many ecological functions associated with wetlands and their significance to society at large?

That's the $10,000 question that many in the conservation circles continue to ask, particularly in light of the recent actions by the U.S. House of Representatives to cut a bipartisan-supported conservation program yet again.

Despite President Bush's request for full funding, the House has cut the hugely popular and vitally important Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) from 250,000 acres (full annual enrollment) to 144,776 acres — a cut that has many seething, and deservedly so."Decreasing funding to the Wetlands Reserve Program is simply unacceptable to the hunting, fishing and conservation community," said Dave Nomsen, vice president of governmental affairs for Pheasants Forever and a co-chair of the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) working group. "We hope that the Senate hears our concerns."

Truth is, wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Some biologists liken them to rain forests or coral reefs. They also support numerous species from all of the major groups of organisms — from microbes to mammals.

Thanks to the educational efforts of many of our conservation groups, we now realize that wetlands provide many societal benefits. Indeed, wetlands provide fish and wildlife habitat (up to one half of all bird species nest or feed in wetlands), improve water quality by filtering out chemicals, lessen shoreline erosion, store flood water (an acre of wetlands can store 1 to 1.5 million gallons of floodwater) and provide numerous recreational opportunities (hunting, fishing, bird watching and more) at minimal cost.

To echo Dave Nomsen of Pheasants Forever, it is simply unacceptable to the hunting, fishing and conservation community to cut the WRP.

...this program needs funding...

The Pilot-Independent - Walker, Minnesota

technorati tags:bird, watching, bird, species, Wetlands, Reserve, Program, funding, cuts, Bush, Administration, National, Wildlife, Federation

Birdwatching reaches new heights in VietNam

In a country that supports nearly 900 species of birds, the members of the Ha Noi Birdwatching Club (HBC) should have no trouble keeping themselves busy.

The recently formed group has plans to organise a birding trip every three months, with the next birding trip planned for the Cuc Phuong National Park in August.

"We hope more and more members will join in our upcoming activities," said Le Manh Hung, the club leader.

The HBC is the brainchild of several young scientists from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and the Ha Noi National University. With some technical support from the BirdLife International Viet Nam Programme, the initial idea for the HBC emerged in 2000, but only this year has it become a reality.

The club enjoyed successful first birding trips to the Xuan Thuy National Park in Nam Dinh Province and to the Van Long Nature Reserve in Ninh Binh Province, and by the end of April, the HBC had attracted quite a few young enthusiasts. Many bird species were recorded, but the most notable observations were 11 co thia, black-faced spoonbills (Platalea minor), a species considered globally endangered.

According to BirdLife International, bird watchers of all skill levels, areas of interest and ages can find something interesting in observing wild birds. Some birders travel the world just to look for a few rare species that they wish to see once in their lives. Other enthusiasts simply enjoy watching birds at feeders in their gardens.

Bird watching has become a popular hobby in a number of countries, and many foreign bird watchers have begun to visit Viet Nam.

Though the concept of bird watching is entirely new to most local people, the country has developed a reputation for its wide range of habitats sheltering a variety of beautiful and rare species.

Winging it: Black-faced spoonbills in Xuan Thuy National Park, Nam Dinh Province. — Photo by Duc Tu

"BirdLife is now seeking funds from the business sector in Viet Nam with the aim of organising a series of events this October to join the World Bird Festival 2006 – Asia events," said Jonathan C Eames, programme manager of BirdLife International in Indochina.

Eames said that events will be organised for the first weekend of that month, centered around the theme, "Connecting People and Nature." "BirdLife hopes that the fund-raising will be successful and that these events will attract participation from a lot of bird and nature lovers nationwide," Eames said.

...to see beautiful and rare birds is a sight in deed...

Viet Nam News

technorati tags:birdwatching, vietnam, Ha, Noi, Birdwatching, Club, HBC, Birdlife, International, World, Bird, Festival, 2006

Blogged with Flock

Pennsylvania Game Commission: Backyard Bird Oases

by Joe Kosack.

A surefire way to attract songbirds - and often other wildlife - to your backyard is by adding a birdbath or small pond, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission biologists. During the dog days of summer, water has almost magical powers of attraction on many birds, because it's something they use regularly.

It's not that birds are big drinkers, or hygiene extremists. A belly full of water and wet feathers definitely are not conducive to flight, a bird's chief mode of transportation and first line of defense. Drinking and wading in water can help birds manage their body temperature when the sun is baking backyards and suburban settings. In fact, water can be as or more important than food to some birds when the heat is on.

Birds typically do just fine regulating their body temperatures through breathing; they do not sweat. As cooler, fresh air circulates through a bird's respiratory system, it shuttles away the warm, moist air that radiates from its overheated body tissues. As a general rule, the smaller a bird, the greater its body's loss of water via breathing - and need to replenish what it has expelled. This can be accomplished through eating juicy fruits and berries, or bugs, or at a puddle or backyard birdbath.

"Adding a water source to your backyard will almost always draw birds and provide countless hours of bird-watching pleasure," said biologist Doug Gross, an endangered bird specialist for the Pennsylvania Game Commission. "Water will pull in everything from bluebirds and American goldfinches to ruby- throated hummingbirds and robins.

A water source can be made more attractive to birds by adding a water dripper, mist sprayer or a cascading trickle. Birds seem to key on moving water and the sound of it, particularly when it's found or heard in an area where water is hard to come by. Once located by birds, a properly maintained water source rarely sits idle. Birds usually wait in nearby trees for their turn to access the water for drinking or bathing.

Created in 1895 as an independent state agency, the Game Commission is responsible for conserving and managing all wild birds and mammals in the Commonwealth, establishing hunting seasons and bag limits, enforcing hunting and trapping laws, and managing habitat on the 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands it has purchased over the years with hunting and furtaking license dollars to safeguard wildlife habitat. The agency also conducts numerous wildlife conservation programs for schools, civic organizations and sportsmen's clubs.

...thats a great bird  program...

Pennsylvania Game Commission: Backyard Bird Oases: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

technorati tags:birdwatching, birdbath, Pennysylvania, Game, Commission, wild, birds

Blogged with Flock

Birds of the Mid-Atlantic #16: Indigo Bunting

As the summer enters its peak season, bird-watching becomes a matter of endurance. The temperatures are high (close to 100°F in Washington this week), humidity is high, and cool breezes are rare events. Biting insects and ticks are a constant nuisance. Most birds have reduced their singing and hunker down out of the heat. It is enough to make a birder want to stay indoors and long for late September.

Even so, there are a few birds that stay active through the middle of summer. These species help keep our parks lively and our birding interesting during the typical midsummer lull. One such bird is the lovely indigo bunting.

Indigo Bunting / Photo by Dave Menke (USFWS)

... great article from a fellower birder John and can be found on his bird blog "A DC Birding Blog"...

A DC Birding Blog: Birds of the Mid-Atlantic #16: Indigo Bunting

technorati tags:bird-watching, mid-alantic, birds, indigo, bunting

Bird watching helps anglers

By Steve Waters.South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Big fish have been in short supply for offshore anglers, but every now and then, someone catches a whopper.

Kenny Harris, Will Klima and Chris Soccol picked a perfect time to get their biggest-ever dolphin, a 55.33-pound bull that earned them first place in the recent Hobe Sound Chamber of Commerce Summer Sizzler dolphin tournament.Click here to find out more!LocalLinks"

We've caught 30-pounders before, but not a 55-pounder," Soccol said.

The three Davie Fire Department firefighters were fishing on Harris's 23-foot open fisherman No Chiefs. They ran around off Jupiter looking for birds. Early in the day, some birds tipped them off to a bunch of small dolphin about 12 miles offshore."We were in a school of about 100 schoolies, but they weren't keepers," Soccol said.

They kept looking and around noon they saw a frigate bird about 14-15 miles offshore. They trolled by the bird and the big bull grabbed a pink-and-blue Ilander lure with a ballyhoo."

He just slammed it," Soccol said.

...I kinda like that idea, one hobby helping another hobby. fishing and birdwatching  :-)

Bird watching helps anglers: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

technorati tags:bird, watching, helps, anglers, looking, for, birds, frigate, bird, swordlords, fishing, tournament, Fort, Lauderdale