For what it's worth, I write another birding blog for my local newspaper - the CourierPost. This blog is totally bird focused however it's NOT aimed a birders!
The Winged Wonders blog is aimed at (dramatic pause) introducing new people to the diversity, accessibility, and sheer beauty of our local bird life. These posts may not always be so entertaining to experienced birders but they are opening some people's eyes to the birds around them. This is an important component of the Fledging Birders movement, as well as the Bird Education Network, which aims to promote a public bird conservation ethic.
Feel free to visit the Winged Wonders blog at: blogs.couirerpostonline.com/wingedwonders
Thursday, September 10, 2009
(Little League) World Series of Birding
For the 4th year in a row, I was the coach of a WSB Division B Youth Team from my school. We had a lot of fun with Spring Training, strolling the wooded edge for about an hour before school every fair weather day.
I call our effort a Little League World Series of Birding because of our limited field of play AND "morning only" approach. For a slew of reasons, our Big Day is focused solely on our relatively small town of Voorhees, NJ. While this is not a tiny village, Voorhees does not have much in the way of habitat diversity. With our limitations in mind, I projected our first year would yield 50 species.
Well . . .
The first year we hit a pretty nice 60 species.
In 2007, we wanted to set a personal best record - 72 species including many unexpected birds.
I tried to keep my hopes in check for 2008 with just a single 3 year veteran. To our surprise, we found 82 species = )
This year, we went for broke and decided to go for a century run - 100 species. We added a few stops and a couple of hours. While we did not achieve our lofty goal, we did set a new school record with 86 birds.
More importantly, our WSB efforts are not just a game of numbers. My morning birding kids bring their families, and sometimes friends, for a social birding experience. It transcends the Big Day. We talk about bird distribution, habitat needs, conservations concerns, and the stunning beauty of the birds themselves.
Even though many of them have moved on to high school, I still hear from the kids (and their parents!)about birds. They tease me about my "Mississippi Kite run". In my defense, it was the first county record of Mississippi Kite to the best of my knowledge!
I call our effort a Little League World Series of Birding because of our limited field of play AND "morning only" approach. For a slew of reasons, our Big Day is focused solely on our relatively small town of Voorhees, NJ. While this is not a tiny village, Voorhees does not have much in the way of habitat diversity. With our limitations in mind, I projected our first year would yield 50 species.
Well . . .
The first year we hit a pretty nice 60 species.
In 2007, we wanted to set a personal best record - 72 species including many unexpected birds.
I tried to keep my hopes in check for 2008 with just a single 3 year veteran. To our surprise, we found 82 species = )
This year, we went for broke and decided to go for a century run - 100 species. We added a few stops and a couple of hours. While we did not achieve our lofty goal, we did set a new school record with 86 birds.
More importantly, our WSB efforts are not just a game of numbers. My morning birding kids bring their families, and sometimes friends, for a social birding experience. It transcends the Big Day. We talk about bird distribution, habitat needs, conservations concerns, and the stunning beauty of the birds themselves.
Even though many of them have moved on to high school, I still hear from the kids (and their parents!)about birds. They tease me about my "Mississippi Kite run". In my defense, it was the first county record of Mississippi Kite to the best of my knowledge!
BEN - Bird Education Network
One of the exciting endeavors that have chipped away at my "free time" for the past 18 months or so is the Bird Education Network - aka BEN. Hundreds of talented and devoted bird educators are, at some level, involved with this growing network.
If you are a birder that cares about the future of birds and birding, there are several things you can do to learn more about BEN.
1) check out the BEN website: www.birdeducation.org
2) join the BEN listserve. This e-mail service will help you network with bird educators from throughout the Western Hemisphere. Visit the link below to get on the list:
www.birdeducation.org/get-involved.htm
3) peruse and contribute to a developing National Bird Education Strategy at:
www.birdeducation.org/strategy.htm
4) discover some other bird education resources:
www.birdeducation.org/resources.htm
Feel free to ask any questions about the Bird Education Network!
If you are a birder that cares about the future of birds and birding, there are several things you can do to learn more about BEN.
1) check out the BEN website: www.birdeducation.org
2) join the BEN listserve. This e-mail service will help you network with bird educators from throughout the Western Hemisphere. Visit the link below to get on the list:
www.birdeducation.org/get-involved.htm
3) peruse and contribute to a developing National Bird Education Strategy at:
www.birdeducation.org/strategy.htm
4) discover some other bird education resources:
www.birdeducation.org/resources.htm
Feel free to ask any questions about the Bird Education Network!
New Pledge Coming Soon!
Our Fledging Birders movement has been crazy for the past year with a lot of interesting developments and exciting activities. Unfortunately, this has distracted me from the blogosphere.
A new "Pledge to Fledge" campaign is coming VERY SOON!
A new "Pledge to Fledge" campaign is coming VERY SOON!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
P2F - Updates
Apologies for no updates to the Pledge to Fledge Blog but things I've been busy working towards getting more kids into birding = )
In the past two months, I have been doing lots to fledge new birders - just have not had the opporuntity to log on and write about them. These include:
- speaking at the International Partners In Flight Conference in McAllen, Texas
(preparing for the conference as well)
- birding with students before school
- celebrating life bnirds with students
- talking about birds every day with students
- bringing my own little ones out
about
In the past two months, I have been doing lots to fledge new birders - just have not had the opporuntity to log on and write about them. These include:
- speaking at the International Partners In Flight Conference in McAllen, Texas
(preparing for the conference as well)
- birding with students before school
- celebrating life bnirds with students
- talking about birds every day with students
- bringing my own little ones out
about
Sunday, January 6, 2008
P2F - Old and Young Alike
Day 72 - Sat Jan 5: installment 3 of 4 on my P2F dept relief
I took a quick mid-afternoon jaunt to a park along the Delaware River to scan for wintering waterfowl. Visions of Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, and Mergansers dove in my head.
Scoping the river for a few minutes yielded all 3 expected gulls, Mallards, Canada Geese, and a few handfuls of Bufflehead. Then a gravely voice punctuated my search effort.
"Excuse me. Would you be able to tell me what kind of hawk I saw in my yard today?"
I welcomed the opportunity to talk birds with a stranger. With both of us eager to get down to business, gratuitous pleasantries were quickly exchanged. His description started "brown streaks here [rubbing his hands vertically along his sky blue coat] - brown on the back - with some white spots"
I cross-examined the witness regarding the overall scene in his backyard. With all the evidence collected, I pulled a field guide out of my pocket and turned to the accipiter page.
My inquisition continued, "did it look like one of these?"
"Almost exactly!"
"Were you able to get an idea of its size?"
"Oh yeah. It was sitting right on my fence. It was only about this big," as his wrinkled hands framed an NFL proportioned football.
"Are you including the tail in that?!"
"Uh-huh"
"Sounds like Sharp-shinned Hawk was looking for one of your feeder birds."
The conversation moved on to his growing interest in birds. We talked about some of the birds he should be on the lookout for near his house. When I mentioned Bald Eagles, his face lit up!
This genial gentleman is getting ready to hike into his seventies with his recently bought first field guide and binoculars!
Just as his bright coat disappeared into the distance, an immature Bald Eagle flew right over me.
Fledging Birders Tip: NEVER let an eagle go by without drawing someone's attention to it.
I noticed a guy coming down the path with two little kids.
"In case you're interested, there is a Bald Eagle flying right above me right now."
His 4 year old daughter came barreling down the little pier. "Where?! Where?!"
She was able to get on it naked eye but her first ever foray with binoculars was far from successful. By the time Dad and Little Brother joined us, the eagle was a just a dark dash over Philadelphia International Airport.
Captive audience at hand, I turned the conversation to wintering waterfowl. The scope wass dropped to toddler level. A male Bufflehead was framed in the circular field of view. After 3 attempts, the Big Sister finally caught a glimpse of the black-and-white duck floating in place.
Her interest, however, was more with the optics! I let her investigate my binoculars. Asking her to put the strap around her neck.
Dad launched into a series of questions about eagles. They were all soft-pitched lob balls. Each one hit with no effort. Yet each answer led to another question.
Reminding the active little girl to keep the strap around her neck.
Dad launched into questions about my birding activities at the park. He seemed intrigued that I was out there just to enjoy looking at the birds.
Praying that she'll keep the strap around her neck!!
Dad investigated some Mallards, Buffleheads, and gulls with the scope. We continued chatting about the birds. Little Brother was grateful for a turn with the bins.
What a relief to get them away from her!
Big Sister starts eyeing up the scope AND tripod.
Oh no! The tripod doesn't even have a strap!
"Your son looks pretty tired. Has it been a long day?"
"Yeah, we've been out for a while. He's ready for a nap. Thanks for everything!"
You're welcome.
Four potential new birders today = )
I took a quick mid-afternoon jaunt to a park along the Delaware River to scan for wintering waterfowl. Visions of Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, and Mergansers dove in my head.
Scoping the river for a few minutes yielded all 3 expected gulls, Mallards, Canada Geese, and a few handfuls of Bufflehead. Then a gravely voice punctuated my search effort.
"Excuse me. Would you be able to tell me what kind of hawk I saw in my yard today?"
I welcomed the opportunity to talk birds with a stranger. With both of us eager to get down to business, gratuitous pleasantries were quickly exchanged. His description started "brown streaks here [rubbing his hands vertically along his sky blue coat] - brown on the back - with some white spots"
I cross-examined the witness regarding the overall scene in his backyard. With all the evidence collected, I pulled a field guide out of my pocket and turned to the accipiter page.
My inquisition continued, "did it look like one of these?"
"Almost exactly!"
"Were you able to get an idea of its size?"
"Oh yeah. It was sitting right on my fence. It was only about this big," as his wrinkled hands framed an NFL proportioned football.
"Are you including the tail in that?!"
"Uh-huh"
"Sounds like Sharp-shinned Hawk was looking for one of your feeder birds."
The conversation moved on to his growing interest in birds. We talked about some of the birds he should be on the lookout for near his house. When I mentioned Bald Eagles, his face lit up!
This genial gentleman is getting ready to hike into his seventies with his recently bought first field guide and binoculars!
Just as his bright coat disappeared into the distance, an immature Bald Eagle flew right over me.
Fledging Birders Tip: NEVER let an eagle go by without drawing someone's attention to it.
I noticed a guy coming down the path with two little kids.
"In case you're interested, there is a Bald Eagle flying right above me right now."
His 4 year old daughter came barreling down the little pier. "Where?! Where?!"
She was able to get on it naked eye but her first ever foray with binoculars was far from successful. By the time Dad and Little Brother joined us, the eagle was a just a dark dash over Philadelphia International Airport.
Captive audience at hand, I turned the conversation to wintering waterfowl. The scope wass dropped to toddler level. A male Bufflehead was framed in the circular field of view. After 3 attempts, the Big Sister finally caught a glimpse of the black-and-white duck floating in place.
Her interest, however, was more with the optics! I let her investigate my binoculars. Asking her to put the strap around her neck.
Dad launched into a series of questions about eagles. They were all soft-pitched lob balls. Each one hit with no effort. Yet each answer led to another question.
Reminding the active little girl to keep the strap around her neck.
Dad launched into questions about my birding activities at the park. He seemed intrigued that I was out there just to enjoy looking at the birds.
Praying that she'll keep the strap around her neck!!
Dad investigated some Mallards, Buffleheads, and gulls with the scope. We continued chatting about the birds. Little Brother was grateful for a turn with the bins.
What a relief to get them away from her!
Big Sister starts eyeing up the scope AND tripod.
Oh no! The tripod doesn't even have a strap!
"Your son looks pretty tired. Has it been a long day?"
"Yeah, we've been out for a while. He's ready for a nap. Thanks for everything!"
You're welcome.
Four potential new birders today = )
Saturday, January 5, 2008
P2F - Popping the Cork
Day 71 - Tues Jan 1: Here is another installment on my P2F debt from late November. Let's flash back to New Year's Day.
The kids christened their new bikes with a ride to the local park. Once there, they did a few laps aropund the walking track before descending upon the playground equipment. I chaperoned the excursion - with bins strapped around my neck of course!
I was guietly delighting in several year birds - House Sparrows, Canada Goose, Rock Doves. Keep in mind - it was January 1st!
Another family ventured down to the park for some quality time. Moments after their arrival, the familliar flap-flap-glide is registered over the adjacent neighborhood.
"Here comes a Sharp-shinned Hawk!" I pretended to announce this for the benefit of my own little cherubs. My true objective was to pique the curiosity of either dad, daughet, or grandma of the newly arrived party.
Sure enough the father turned my way and inquired, "where's the hawk?!"
I was able to get him on the small accipiter that was actively patrolling the area. We talked for a few minutes about our local raptors. As expected, he was quite surprised to hear that hawks, falcons and eagles can be found flying over our neighborhood throughout the year.
As they were leaving, he thanked me for geting his year off to an interesting start.
The kids christened their new bikes with a ride to the local park. Once there, they did a few laps aropund the walking track before descending upon the playground equipment. I chaperoned the excursion - with bins strapped around my neck of course!
I was guietly delighting in several year birds - House Sparrows, Canada Goose, Rock Doves. Keep in mind - it was January 1st!
Another family ventured down to the park for some quality time. Moments after their arrival, the familliar flap-flap-glide is registered over the adjacent neighborhood.
"Here comes a Sharp-shinned Hawk!" I pretended to announce this for the benefit of my own little cherubs. My true objective was to pique the curiosity of either dad, daughet, or grandma of the newly arrived party.
Sure enough the father turned my way and inquired, "where's the hawk?!"
I was able to get him on the small accipiter that was actively patrolling the area. We talked for a few minutes about our local raptors. As expected, he was quite surprised to hear that hawks, falcons and eagles can be found flying over our neighborhood throughout the year.
As they were leaving, he thanked me for geting his year off to an interesting start.
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