Lessons from a Birdbrain

The past month has given us third and fourth winter, as we call it, here in Ohio. Relatively speaking, February weather was much warmer and nicer than March. The good news is spring has officially arrived all the same and a few hearty birds have started to arrive. Despite our dips into freezing temperatures, the trees are starting to bloom, the daffodils and hyacinth are up and the hellebores continue to shine through.

Birdwise, breeding season is in full swing for many species. By now, you may have heard the chorus starting up in the morning with Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds and House Finches singing their little hearts out. I am back to my “old job” doing technology work for the time being and therefore find any chance to get out birding all the more precious. Every trip out in the field (or even my neighborhood) gives me a welcome pause for my brain.

Song Sparrow has a song in its heart

Cooper’s Hawk checks out my backyard

Brown Thrashers have started calling from treetops

Eastern Meadowlark sings a jaunty tune

Perhaps you wouldn’t expect late winter to be good for birding and for the most part, you’re so right. When it’s very cold, birds are hiding out, hanging out waiting for spring. But because the light cycles have started to change, perhaps you’ve also noticed some of our hardier birds have started to sing. I’m frequently hearing Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees and even House Finches crooning a lovely tune in the mornings.

Many larger birds, including owls, ducks and eagles are in full breeding mode with the change of day length. Here in Ohio, we’ve had a pretty mild winter all in all which helped me get out and enjoy walks and taking videos of our local residents.

My featured photos this month are from an eagle couple, Annie and Apollo who have been together for a few years now. They moved their nest from last year a few hundred feet down the river and have, apparently, laid at least one egg in February. Please note, I have taken video for the most part of the lovely couple so the photos are not the highest quality. But one thing in life I’ve learned is to strive for progress over perfection. So please enjoy a sneak peek into Annie and Apollo’s life as, hopefully, parents.

“That looks delicious, can I have some?”

Annie knows it’s crucial to get roughage in her diet

Like most couples, Annie and Apollo sometimes bicker

Work on the house continues. Apollo (?) grabs a stick.

In breaking news, the Groundhog may or may not see its shadow on Groundhog Day. And that will mean we may or may not have six more weeks of winter. Did you know there are many groundhogs making predictions about this years’ weather patterns? Therefore, different “answers” to the question are possible. Of course, more than one of these answers can be right / true, depending on where you live. Hmmm, sounds like a lesson. The most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, hails from a small town in Pennsylvania. If you have seen the Groundhog Day movie, Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell cover the breaking news from there. Phil has been right just 39% of the time in the 135 years of this tradition. Since he will probably say 6 more weeks today, I like that stat.

Fun facts about groundhogs to amaze your friends and family include:

• Groundhogs can run 9 miles an hour, can swim and climb trees
• They have 22 teeth
• Groundhogs whistle when alarmed or are courting
• An average ground hog weighs 12-15 pounds and Punxsutawney Phil weighs 20. He probably gets a bit of extra snacks to maintain his plump, round stature which looks good for his big day.

Birding and Book News

Progress on the Belize next edition continues, with the help of my good friends. Renée has expanded her talents to include design work and is in the process of adding new photos and revising the cover to be consistent with other books. I’ve added some of the great content from the Seattle book to round out Belize with respect to the beginning birding and mindfulness topics. Jayne has painted a wonderful toucan picture that will transport you right to the jungle in an instant. Look for that release coming soon!

January birding typically offers fewer birds and bird photo opportunities, especially when it’s cloudy, which is waaaay often. But birds are hearty and still around, especially in the morning and when the sun comes out. January is also a great time to learn bird calls, since fewer of them are around and they can be heard calling singly more than some months. OK, yes, I’m reaching for good birding news but it is true, I heard some great calls when I bundled up and headed out for a brisk, though brief, birdwalk. Check them out and enjoy!

American Tree Sparrow

Fluffy Red-tailed Hawks

Downy Woodpecker (front) White-throated Sparrow (back)

Eastern Bluebird

Well, well, a new year is upon us. For many of us, that means reflections on the past year and new resolutions to tackle. I, like many others, find that I give up on resolutions quickly. The first of January and through the month typically brings out LOTS of new runners and exercisers and by Groundhog Day, the streets and gyms have quieted back down. As I understand it, that’s because resolutions scare our brains into fleeing. That is, we try to tackle something so large and complex, we trigger our ‘fight / flight’ mechanism and soon determine that hiding under the covers will be much safer. So, I go about my attempts to grow and improve on the philosophy that if I improve just a little bit each and every day, week and month, pretty soon I’ve improved a lot.

In book news, I have not released a new book, yet, however have started work on a second edition of Belize. I am planning a birding tour of Belize in late fall and this book will be a companion to the tour. Once again, you may say “Laura, you have no knowledge of or experience in running a tour”. And to you I say, yes, my friend, that is true. But I didn’t know how to…buy a house, build a technology solution, or write a book…until I jumped in and did it. So I’m breaking it down, learning the ropes and taking it small. The first tour will be a pilot with people I know who will give me honest feedback and not strangle me if it’s not perfect. Then the second tour will be better etc.

And in birding news, December did not bring a TON of new birds…ok almost none…but it gives me the chance to go through the memories of the year and find some favorites. Some of the birds I will share here are literally from my back yard and some are from my camera roll from the year gone by (sniff). So on a day when, in Ohio, we have gray skies, spitty mist and thirty something degrees, I will jump in my time machine and go back to better weather days.

Enjoy!

Merlin says Eastern-wood Peewee or Willow Flycatcher. These are tricky to id…feedback welcome, this is from central Ohio in May

A Palm Warbler sporting its lovely chestnut colored cap in spring

An Osprey with a particularly intense expression and cool lighting on its tail feathers

Green Heron on a summer morning, oh how I miss you!

On the heels of the release of Mindful Birding: A Beginner’s Guide, you may be asking yourself “why, Laura, would I need a book about birds of Seattle if I live in (INSERT CITY and STATE HERE)?” This month’s blog features some of the cool stuff in the new book that may just pique your interest. And besides, birding this time of year is chilly business so I have way fewer new photos to share…just bein’ real.

Birding Learning Curve

Have you considered getting started with birdwatching but got overwhelmed by the sheer volume of birds? The United States is home to in the neighborhood of 1000 birds in our, um, neighborhoods so who could blame you? In the new book, I explain how birding, like pretty much anything new, will have a learning curve that starts out slow but eventually takes off. And I offer an approach to get past our mind’s tendency to put on the brakes when we get overwhelmed.

Keys to Identification

As I wrote this book, I went back to the basics to think through how I learned to identify birds way back when. Similar to explaining to someone how to back out of the driveway when we’ve gotten to the point of doing that from “muscle memory,” that task was harder than I realized. But in the interest of sharing my knowledge, write it down I did. I then included a chapter on visual ID, a chapter on audio ID, and each featured bird includes a table of quick identifiers. Here’s an example along with one of my favorite up close and personal experiences with the MYSTERY BIRD.

BIRD IDENTIFIERS	SANDHILL CRANE
Color	Overall gray with red around eyes
Shape & size	Tall, heavy body with long neck; 47 inches
Distinguishing characteristics	Gather in large flocks, dance
Audio characteristics	Loud, bugling call
Typical location	Around marshy areas, bogs

And finally, recent bird sightings

Mindful Birding: A Beginner’s Guide, my new book, features the amazing work of a team of friends, family, neighbors and fellow birding enthusiasts from Seattle and Ohio. The focus is on teaching my friend and college roommate, Renée, how to get started with birding and mindfulness. And get started she did with gusto. She took nearly all of the photos featured in the book, improved her health through regular walking and is now a card carrying, birding nerd like me. This month’s blog features Renée’s photography in the hopes of inspiring you to also join the club.

BIRDING RULES!!!

“Birding goes hand in hand with mindfulness, and this book is a great resource to get you started doing both! Laura’s enthusiasm, humor, and birding knowledge make this an enjoyable and insightful read.” –Seymore Gulls, Portland, OR birdwatcher/guide, author of Neighborhood Birding 101

Birds of Seattle

In prep to release Mindful Birding: A Beginner’s Guide, my new book featuring birds of Seattle, I visited my friend Renée in Seattle in September. We had a birding marathon. For real, we walked over 26.2 miles in 4 days, visited the locations highlighted in the new book and saw over 60 species of birds. Not bad for a pretty quick trip.

Late summer birding can be quiet as many birds are hiding out as they molt in prep for migration. Getting out anyway offers me the chance to connect with and appreciate the beauty of nature, birds or no.

Sunrise on Lake Erie

Black Swallowtail

European Robin

Common Chaffinch

August is the middle of summer and many birds have started preparations to migrate. Adults are in the process of teaching “youngins” where and how to find and catch food. Some birds will molt before migration and will keep a low profile as their new plumage grows. Check out recent photos from around Ohio.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo; Kelleys Island

Indigo Bunting; Meadowbrook Marsh

House Wren; Scioto Audubon Columbus

Little Blue Heron; Hilliard

Bird calls tell primitive areas of our brains there are no predators nearby. I always find Wood Thrush calls relaxing.