Check out my latest feature article (and two web exclusives) published in the
Autumn 2017 Pacific Horticulture magazine!

Main Article  Bellwethers of a Healthy Environment
Web Exclusives  Avian Dinosaurs
and Resources for the Back Yard Birder

Warning:  Birds are a gateway species and may be habit-forming. While birds themselves are not addictive, learning about them may result in a total redesign of your back yard :^)

An enormous Shout-Out to Peter Pearsall for his incredible eye and all his gorgeous bird images!

After being super-inspired by Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Summer Educator Retreat, I decided to sign up for one of their online courses Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology. I must admit that I have not been a very diligent student, but! I have learned some interesting things. For example, did you know...

Not all birds fly, build nests, or sing, but there is one feature that all modern birds share: they are the only animals in the world with feathers. Paleontologists now agree that there were many feathered dinosaurs and non-avian coelurosaurian theropods. These early birds and beasts sported a diversity of feather types, colors, and plumage, much like birds today. An especially cool fact: the T. Rex is more closely related to a chicken than it is to a Stegosaurus.

Also, feathers, by themselves, are remarkable, as a single feather is composed of more than a million interlocking Velcro-like parts. Feathers did not evolve from the frayed remains of reptilian scales as long believed, but are instead produced by feather follicles, which are miniature tubular developmental organs distributed over the skin of the bird and, based on need, can produce six different types of feathers. All the details of feather growth are novel and have no direct parallels in other animals. Feathers are highly engineered, lightweight, flexible, and strong; they allow birds to fly, swim, and inhabit every continent and habitat in the world.

Bird sex is odd: 97% of bird species have evolved to lose the penis. Instead of external sex organs, both sexes of birds have a cloaca, which is a handy shared vent opening for their digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts. Sex for most birds occurs with a “cloacal kiss” which only lasts a second or two, just long enough for the sperm to make the transfer. The lack of external sex organs has resulted in an immense effort by male birds to woo females, build nests, and out-sing their competition, culminating in the incredible rituals, elaborate dances, and astonishing plumage of the passerines, also known as songbirds or perching birds, which form one of the most diverse terrestrial orders and include many of our backyard birds.

That's it for now.

It's October, and that means it is time to get your backyard ready for winter here in the NW.
I am attaching a pdf of my Urban Birds mandala for you to print and enjoy.
Shine on Harvest Moon!

Birding in the Rio de Plata: Great Kiskadee, Dusky-legged Guan, and the (not-so) Giant Wood Rail.
(images of Kiskadee and Guan from "All About Birds" and "Animalia Life"

Evening hike to the river and birding from the sunny B&B on stilts

Find out more at Cornell Lab of Ornithology Neotropical Birds

This year we expanded our GBBC (from only our backyard) to include a walk around the frog ponds at Magnusen Park. We have recently picked up Siblings Guide to Ducks and "Duck-like" birds; this enabled us to ID some cool-looking duck dudes: Hooded Mergansers, American Wigeons, and Ring-necked ducks. Our total species count over the four days was 33 species.

I have to admit, my favorite bird of the 4-day count was the tiny male Downy Woodpecker, who we first heard, then spotted, in the woods near the frog ponds. I do not have a photo of this little red-capped beauty, but instead have posted two action shots of the Northern Flicker, who came to dine with three of his buddies on the last day of the count.  I love those elegant dappled feathers.

Just about everyone I know has been suffering through this winter's cold and flu season.
My remedy includes hot toddies, as well as sending lovely local bird note cards to friends and family.

Don't forget to top them off with USPS postcard and Forever bird stamps!

This female Yellow-rumped Warbler has been gracing us with her presence this winter. She is hard to capture on camera, as she rarely alights. Today I managed to catch her in action using my "sports" setting, telephoto lens, and a tripod.

Do you like birds?
Do you have curiosity and patience?
Can you tell a duck from a songbird? An owl from a raptor?
Congratulations! You have the basic skills to be a birder!

Backyard Birding  101
You do not have to travel far, nor do you have to invest a lot of time or money to improve your birding skills. Expedite your learning by observing the birds in your backyard and neighborhood and develop a friendly relationship with them.

To enhance your budding bird awareness:
1. put up a bird feeder or two: suet and seeds will attract a greater variety of species
2. invest in a decent pair of binoculars (or borrow from a friend)
3. familiarize yourself with a few different birds guides
4. keep a journal for notes, tallies, and nature drawing

 I suggest that you find a window, hang your feeder(s) outside of it, pull up a comfortable chair, and give the birds a week or two to discover your treats. Then, all you have to do is set yourself down regularly to watch your "bird TV". After a few weeks, you will be amazed at what you have learned.

It is helpful to have a list of the birds that are likely to be visiting your backyard, as this will save you time as you begin to record the numbers and habits of the birds you see. You will notice that you get regulars, and these will be your gateway birds-the ones that you can identify by the way they move, sing, and their flight patterns-in addition to knowing them by their color and size. Once you get three or four solid regulars, you will find that you'll use these birds as your basis to compare and differentiate.

I have several favorite tools for ID, from my Project FeederWatch poster to Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. A good book for novice birders is Birds of Seattle and Puget Sound, which has lovely illustrations of 125 birds and includes ID tips, notes on habitat and food, songs and calls, and similar bird species.

For those of you who partake in urban adventuring, I would like to suggest Sibley's folding guides; I have Backyard Birds of the Pacific Northwest and Backyard Birds of the Pacific Northwest Coast tucked in my birding bag (along with binoculars and camera), which you can purchase at either Seward Park Audubon Center or the Washington Park Arboretum gift shop.

Wondering what to feed the birds in your neighborhood? We provide black sunflower seeds and two suet holders, which attracts 25 different species of urban dinosaur!

Project FeederWatch has a plethora of resources to peruse, with common feeder birds and their preferences, Tricky Bird IDs, and FeederWatch cams. Some of our regulars below: Stellar Jay, Northern Flicker, Black-capped Chickadee, and Spotted Towhee.

Want to know more? Check out these fantastic fact-filled sites:
Audubon Guide to North American Birds
Cornell Lab All About Birds
Yardmap's Habitat Network

It is autumn and time to fill your bird feeders and bird baths; get your camera, binoculars, and field guides ready and then tune into the "Bird Chanel":

This morning we were treated to quite a show, as for over an hour as we watched a small flock of immature robins forage and bath, had a family of five flickers poking about (you can barely see the red eyebrow and mustache on this juvenile male), and enjoyed half a dozen chick-a-dees swooping in for sunflower seeds. We also had a handful of song sparrows, a lone spotted towhee, an Anna's hummingbird, one Bewick's wren, two purple finches, a couple starlings, and  a bossy Stellar's Jay to top off the list!

My citizen science Project FeederWatch backyard bird counts do not start until Nov. 12 (and run through April 7), but we usually begin supplemental feeding in the fall when the temperatures dip into the low 50s and 40s. It takes about two weeks to get on the birds' regular stop-over route.

This is certainly one of my favorite ways to start the day.