I did too.  Around the end of January I emailed him saying “You must be away having fun since there’s no news on your blog.”

No, he isn’t away.  He’s alive and well but his blog has a bug.  There’s some kind of software problem that causes it to crash the minute he tries to change anything.  The best he is able to do is post this comment on his last entry.

JANUARY 28, 2010
DEAR READERS:
MY APOLOGIES.  BECAUSE OF A SOFTWARE PROBLEM I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO ACCESS THE NATURE OBSERVER WEBSITE TO ADD OR EDIT FOR THE LAST WEEK.  TECH SUPPORT AT APPLE IS WORKING ON THE PROBLEM.
CHUCK

Meanwhile, Chuck’s been busy birding and taking pictures while he waits for Apple to make the bug go away.  It’s a pesky one and it’s still not solved.

It may be a real bug but it’s not a “true bug” like this brown marmorated stink bug that plagues us indoors.

(photo from Wikimedia Commons, via The Bugwood Network at the University of Georgia.  Click on the photo to see the original at Wikimedia.)

This coming weekend – February 12 to 15 — is the Great Backyard Bird Count.  Participants across North America will spend time counting birds and recording the greatest number of individuals they see per species.  The results show trends in winter bird populations.  It’s a great “citizen science” event for all ages. 

And it’s easy.  You can be as ambitious or laid back as you like.  You can go outdoors looking for birds in cold, windy places, or you can fill your feeders and count birds outside your window while you lounge in your pajamas.  You can count every day for four days, or you can count for as little as 15 minutes in the comfort of your home.  When you’re done, just turn on your computer and report it online at Birdsource. 

Don’t want to count alone?  Do your kids want to learn about birds?  There will be many opportunities to gather and learn at events across North America.   In the Pittsburgh area, Fern Hollow Nature Center will hold children’s workshops and bird-count walks in Sewickley Heights Borough Park.  (NOTE ON FEB 11, 2010:  THE WALKS IN THE PARK ARE CANCELED DUE TO SNOW DEPTH.)

And if you like to take pictures you can enter the Great Backyard Bird Count photo contest. 

So no matter what the weather is – even if it snows two feet – you can safely plan to count birds next weekend.  Click on the photo above for all the details. 

Easy!

(photo linked from The National Audubon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count homepage)

Oh well. 

See Phil’s own website or the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Yes, tomorrow is Groundhog Day and people across North America will pull their groundhogs out of hibernation and ask them what they think of the weather.  If the groundhogs see their shadows they’ll scurry back to their burrows and we’ll have six more weeks of winter.  If dawn is overcast the groundhogs will be happy and predict an early spring.

If you presented me with a sunny or cloudy day and asked me the same question my prediction would be the opposite but I am not Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.

You may be wondering… Why does this festivity happen on February 2nd?  Groundhog Day, which is also Candlemas, is an old celebration of the date that falls exactly halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.  For winter-weary humans it’s just about the only thing we can celebrate at this time of year and it happens to be six weeks away from spring.  Funny how that works into Phil’s prediction.

So don’t delay!  It’s a huge celebration.  The trek to Gobblers Knob begins at 3:00am.  The fireworks start before 7:00am and Phil makes his prediction at daybreak (approximately 7:25am).

If you can’t make it to Punxsy, watch it live online on the VisitPA website.

(photo of Groundhog Day 2005 by Aaron Silvers, from Wikipedia via Creative Commons license)

I watched the preview last weekend and was wowed by these tiny jewels.  Did you know that hummingbirds are the smallest warm-blooded animal on earth?  That they only occur in the Western Hemisphere?  That their wings provide lift from both sides?  That they’re related to swifts?   I learned a lot, and that wasn’t even the best part.

Filmed in high definition, high speed video the producers slowed down the action so you can see the hummingbirds’ wingbeats.  There was slow motion footage of hummingbirds courting, eating and fighting (imagine that!).  The closeups are so close that you can see the claws on the hummingbird’s toes as he grasps the edge of a flower.  They recorded the 60 mph courtship dive of the male Anna’s hummingbird and the waving tail feathers of the rare Marvelous Spatuletail.  Beautiful and amazing!

The producers traveled far and wide to film these gorgeous birds.  You might even recognize the people in the film including hummingbird bander Nancy Newfield of Louisiana.  But the birds themselves are the stars. 

Click on the photo to watch previews of the show.  Then tune in at 8:00pm EST on Sunday, January 10 to see Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air.   In Pittsburgh watch it on WQED or check your local PBS schedule for exact times in your area.

(photo of a Velvet-purple Coronet from Nature: Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air)

I’m taking the day off and hoping for a nice hike in the woods, but the weather doesn’t look promising.

Watch for the bird anatomy lesson tomorrow.

And while you’re waiting, check out the Hooters Calendar whose pictures made me laugh out loud (it’s not what you think).  The link shows the 2009 .pdf calendar which takes a while to download.  Sales of the calendar benefit the “models.”

Happy New Year!

(photo by Dianne Machesney)

What was the best of 2009?  What can we expect in 2010?

2009 had many favorite moments:

• January brought thousands of white-winged crossbills to Pittsburgh, a treat to see this northern finch at home.
• Peregrine nesting season, March through June, brought many highs and a couple of lows.  Four successful nests fledged a total of 12 birds from Gulf Tower, Pitt, Monaca and McKees Rocks.  Sadly two of the young peregrines died: one at the airport, the other on a rooftop. 
• In May Budgie taught me a valuable lesson about freedom.
• In September pigeons made me laugh.
• All year long the city’s wildlife amazed me.  I saw a toad, groundhogs, raccoons, a red fox and on December 18th a 10-point buck chasing two does around Carnegie-Mellon’s intramural field at the corner of Forbes and Margaret Morrison. 
• This month Dan Yagusic identified a new peregrine pair at Tarentum.  J commented that if this new male’s identity holds it means Pittsburgh’s peregrines are continuing their dynasty:  Erie at Pitt, his son Louie at Gulf, Louie’s son E2 at Pitt and now E2’s son at Tarentum.
• Tomorrow the year will close with a Blue Moon, a parting gesture to 2009.

What can we expect in 2010?

• January: Snow and cold, snow buntings and horned larks, short-eared owls and maybe a snowy owl.
• February: The least bird-y month in southwestern Pennsylvania.  Fortunately it’s a short month.
• March: Blackbirds and grackles return, coltsfoot blooms, peregrines lay eggs.  Hope for 5 peregrine nests in 2010.
• April and May: Spring flowers and spring migration capped by the arrival of warblers.
• June: Nests everywhere, peregrine nestlings fledge.
• July and August: Hot weather, butterflies and moths, field flowers, fall migration begins.
• September: Chimney swifts leave, thrushes pass through, hawk watches begin.
• October: Fall colors, ducks migrate, the crows arrive.
• November: Overcast skies, first snow, tundra swans pass through.
• December: Winter solstice, huge flocks of robins, starlings and crows, Christmas Bird Counts.

Do you have favorites of 2009?  Expectations for 2010?  Leave a comment with your answers.

And have a happy, healthy new year.

(photo of the moon by Chuck Tague which he retouched to make it blue.)

Merry Christmas and have a safe and happy holiday.  And Happy New Year in 2010.

(photo by Dianne Machesney, taken at Phipps Conservatory’s Winter Flower Show in 2008)

Each count is held in a 7-mile radius circle during a single 24-hour period (night hours are for counting owls!) and though most count circles are in the U.S. there are also counts in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America. 

Volunteers organize the routes so they don’t overlap, then tally the number of birds per species, weather conditions, number of observers, hours spent and miles traveled.  The statistics allow Audubon to compare year to year, correcting for differences in participation and coverage.  It’s the longest running wildlife census in the Western Hemisphere.

Though the count period begins today, most counts are scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays so there’s still plenty of time to sign up.  For instance, the counts near Pittsburgh will be:

• Beaver in Beaver County,  Sat 12/19/09
• Buffalo Creek in Washington County (IBA 80), Sun 12/20/09
• Buffalo Creek Valley in Butler & Armstrong Counties, Sat 12/19/09 (Yes, there are two big creeks named Buffalo in our area. Confusing!)
• Bushy Run park in Westmoreland County, Sat 12/19/09
• Butler in Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties, Sat 12/19/09
• Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Sat 12/26/09
• Pittsburgh South Hills in Allegheny and Washington Counties, Sat 12/19/09
• Rector in Westmoreland County, Sat 1/2/10
• Washington in Washington County, Sat 12/19/09

It’s easy to participate.  You can count in the field with other participants; go with friends or meet new ones assigned by the coordinator.  If you live in the count circle you can count the birds at your feeder.  Just contact the count coordinator and he or she will handle the rest.

For contact information on all the Pennsylvania Christmas Counts, click here and go to pages 6-8 of the Pennsylvania Society of Ornithology newsletter.  (The counts are listed by count name.)  For other locations, check the Audubon Christmas Bird Count website to find a count near you and contact information for the circle coordinator.

I’ll be participating in the Buffalo Creek count in Washington County (IBA 80) organized by Larry Helgerman on Dec 20th. 

Pick a count.  Have fun!

(photo by Z Taylor, taken at a Pitt Sciences outing in 2006)

Interested in learning? Here’s how.

First, get your hands on one or more of the many fine recordings specifically geared toward learning bird sounds. These come in many formats: CDs, iPod files, iPhone apps and web-based recordings. The best learning tools include audio explanations with each bird call.

Then, set aside some time to listen and learn at your own pace. You can learn indoors but you’ll need to practice in the field, too. Winter may seem like a bad time to do this but it’s great for learning the basic sounds of resident birds without the springtime confusion of all the birds singing at once.

The two instructional series I know best are the CDs I use myself: Peterson’s Birding by Ear and Lang Elliott’s Know Your Bird Sounds. Both cover the birds of eastern and central North America and include a booklet with the CD.

The Peterson series is good for spring and summer because it focuses on songs, the sound birds make during the breeding season. Species with similar songs are grouped together with tips to tell them apart so you can compare the sounds and identify them more readily in the field.

In winter like to use Lang Elliott’s Know Your Bird Sounds, pictured here, because it includes all the sounds each species makes, not only their songs but the sounds you’ll hear right now: contact calls, alarm calls and even the whistle of their wings (e.g. mourning doves). The booklet describes the basics of bird song and Lang Elliott’s soothing voice announces the bird, describes the type of call you’re about to hear and explains the situations in which the bird makes the sound.

Want to get started right away?  The Lang Elliott CDs are available on the Shop WQED website. Just click on the picture above and scroll down the page to purchase one or both CDs.

And remember, be patient as you learn. This skill will take years to perfect and even the best birders need to brush up on it. 

…In fact, I think I’ll go listen to my CDs.

(photos from Shop WQED’s Nature category)