Red-Tails in Love tells the epic tale of birdwatchers in NewYork City

It was a cold January morning in Petersburg, Pennsylvania, abnd I was receivinga crash course in common winter birdfeeder birds. Although it was not until 3 months later that I became enthralled with ornithology and the joys of bird-watching, I will never forget the excitement of watching a white-breasted nuthatch flying back and forth between a feeder and a tree on that bugar-freezing day. At the time, I pondered why the nuthatch ate that way when other birds chose to eat their seeds right at the feeder. Why did the nuthatch use up all that energy going back and forth? Since then I have become a birder, I find the august song of a winter wren or a sneak-in visit by a hermit thrush to be tantamount to or exceed any experience I have had at a zoo or circus. In agreement with me would likely be Marie Winn.

Marie Winn's "Red-Tails in Love" documents multiple years of bird-watching in New York City's Central Park. This story tells the tale of a group of multi-generation birdwatchers whose paths become entangled when two red-tailed hawks begin nesting in the heart of New York City. This book is a fluently written piece that documents bird behavior and diveristy in Central Park. Winn takes us not only through the nesting trials of a pale male red-tailed hawk, she also introduces us to the lives of many other Central Park birds. Winn succeeds where a field guide fails. Red-Tails in Love gives us an opportunity to get to know birds on a more intimate level. Winn doesn't always mention color, family, song, habitat, range, ect.; rather she writes about specific accounts of birds and their behavior.

Other features of this book include detailed maps of Central Park, species lists of birds, butterflies, and dragonflies, and excerpts from the official Central Park bird register. Red-Tails also touches on laws protecting wildlife and the need for citizens to take action if these laws (i.e. the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act) are going to be enforced. As a new birder, I would reccommend this book to anyone with an interest in birds or that is looking for a new hobby. As the summer is coming to a close, I am excited to observe the inflow and outflow of fall migrants through Southern Minnesota. My wishlist bird this winter is a snow bunting, or as I like to call it: thetoasted marshmallow bird.

"Sparrow Girl" shines as a children's book teaching about ecological importance

I was at the Wescott Library searching for children's books last weekend. I was looking at their just arrived shelf, and I was initially attracted to "Sparrow Girl" because of it's august cover. This was Yoko Tanaka's first attempt at illustrating a picture book, and I think she pinned the tail on the donkey with her illustrations in "Sparrow Girl". This book is more than just a treat for the eye.

Author, Sara Pennypacker, takes her reader back to 1958 during the Sparrow War in China. The war shows a classic example of what can happen when humankind attempts to control nature. In 1958, many Chinese farmers believed that the large sparrow population was desiccating their crop production. As such, Chairman Mao Tse-Tung declared war on the sparrows. Over a period of 3 days farmers and school children alike roamed the country to make as much noise as possible in order to scare the birds to death. Their plan worked and most of the sparrows died. Unfortunately for the farmers, the sparrows played an important role in pest control. These birds were one of the main predators of the locust and other insects. As a result of the war, China suffered famine for 3 years killing almost 40 million people. "Sparrow Girl" tells the story of a young girl who tried to save sparrows during the Sparrow War. The book is one of the few children's books I have come across lately that teaches history, food chains, and ecological cycles to kids, but still remains a captivating story.

Caring for an Oil/Grease Covered Duck

Someone brought a pigeon into the nature center today that had accidently flown into a bucket full of used cooking grease that an Uptown resturaunt had left un-covered outside.

(This is the procedure used by the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center to care for ducks that have been coated in grease/oil. The procedure should also work for larger songbirds, but I am not sure about very small birds)

Requires: 4 tubs: fill two tubs with water that is 104 degrees F, fill the other 2 tubs with water that is 104 degrees F and has about 1 percent dawn dish-soap mixed in and is very sudsy (bubbly)

Procedure:
Step 1: Place bird in the first soapy tub and massage in the water
Step 2: Repeat step 1 in the other soapy tub
Step 3: Place bird in the water filled tub and rinse
Step 4: Repeat step 3 with the other water filled tub

Do these steps once per day until the bird is no longer greasy. They say to avoid doing more than one bath a day because this will stress out your bird too much. Also be sure to monitor the health of your bird. Make sure that it is eating and drinking. If you suspect dehydration give your bird pedia-lite. You can feed with a syringe if you feel your bird is not eating, just be sure to put it far enough down the bird’s throat so that it will not choke on the liquid. Also be sure to store the wet bird in a warm, dark, quiet place to avoid hypothermia and further stress.

Take me home, country roads

I have just finished my second Tom Robbin's novel, Still Life With Woodpecker.  Reading this book was like being on a cyclical-emotional and somewhat bipolar journey. Parts of this book elated me, impassioned me, and left me feeling like life had a purpose.  Other parts brought on feelings that were like polar opposites of those feelings.  I appreciate literature that has a demigod-like ability to reach feelings inside me that are beyond the ostensible.  

I would discourage a reader to read the next part of my blog, if the reader has not read the book and desires to read it without the ending being spoiled.

In the end of the book, the main characters end up going home to Seattle and find comfort in the blackberry brambles that have grown an entrapment around their home.  I have recently returned home after being away for a short while.  When I was gone I missed home.  Now that I am home I miss being gone.  Sometimes my thoughts begin to contrive a journey back to Pennsylvania.   Minnesota may be the keeper of my hometown and close family, but I think Pennsylvania is the current keeper of my heart.  

I am not sure where my future will take me, but I will remain cheerful and enjoy the ubiquitous opportunities for joy that surround me in my current home.  Only the future will tell if this itch to return to my heart cannot be cured with calamine lotion and time, so for now I will not spend time analyzing it any further.

The Tempest

I must admit that, prior to this summer, I knew of Shakespeare only through play titles like Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.  However, I have recently discovered a great appreciation for his august plays and sonnets.  Shakespeare does for language what a winter wren does for bird song. Let me take this moment to commit to writing sonnets about the love stories of the animal kingdom.  To begin this process I will first read and research the sonnets of Shakespeare and others.  Then I will attempt to write some of my own to share.

Why sonnets, why love stories, why am I doing this?

I am a whimsical being.  I am a passionate being.  I believe in the importance of love to help humankind bring more meaning to his or her life.  I believe that the link between humans and the natural world has been broken.  By bringing to light the trials and struggles that love has brought to the animal kingdom, perhaps mutual understanding can be accomplished.  And besides this, the love lives of animals can be tragic, shocking, humorous, and/or touching.

But back to the title of this blog.  Tonight I had the great pleasure of attending Caponi Art Park's presentation of The Tempest.  This play was humorous and it touched on the moral f forgiveness.  And, not to mention, it is considered to be one of Shakespeare's late love stories.  I got to view Shakespeare's work as it was meant to be viewed: in an outdoor, round theater in the woods.  It was a beautiful Saturday evening and tall oak trees provided cover from the busy street of Diffley and the fiery heat of the setting sun.  I highly recommend this theater to any who are looking for an authentic experience.