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Birds For Beginners: They gotta stay still and be big enough to shoot

by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal
written by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal

The Great Blue is the largest heron in North America.

We loved this comment and question from Candy Krewer of Montana:

“I am a beginner birder and love to try to photograph birds. The Great Blue Heron is a current favorite since it’s a large target, often standing still! I also have a LBB (little brown bird) as a regular on my list. Please tell me more about what birds you are following.”

If you’re learning to take pictures of birds, you can’t go wrong with a Great Blue Heron. Big shorebirds were also among our favorites when Anders and I  got hooked on birding five years ago, and we love them still. The herons and egrets often fish in the same spot for long stretches, and when they take to the sky, it’s a sight to behold.

A nesting pair of Roseate Spoonbills.

We’re currently in Florida for a few weeks, and so we’re surrounded by shorebirds. As to Candy’s query about what we’re following right now, the Roseate Spoonbill is my hands-down favorite. It’s pink and fluffy, funny and frilly — and it just makes me gasp every time we see one.

Spoonbill or a photographer’s sitting duck?

Did I mention photogenic? Anders heard about the Stick Marsh Critical Wildlife Area near Melbourne, Fla., where there are two protected islands stuffed with nesting Spoonbills. So last week we set out to find them. Even shooting in the “wrong” afternoon light, I think the photos Anders got were stunning. We’ll definitely go back at dawn. (The Stick Marsh site is adjacent to the T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area. Click here for more information.)

As for other “Beginner Birds” that keep still and are big enough to shoot, woodpeckers are tough to beat. It’s hard to know if we’re following them or they’re following us. Woodpeckers make a lot of noise (so you can find them), and some species, like the Red-bellied, are common. Once alight on a suitable tree, they tend to stay put and peck away.

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Chasing the Kingfisher — five years and one lucky day

by Anders Gyllenhaal
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Every birder has a favorite species or two. Mine has always been the Belted Kingfisher, partly because this elegant speed demon is so elusive.

For five years I’ve been trying to get a photo in mid-flight, but it’s been like catching a shadow. The Belted Kingfisher is so skittish and moves with such unpredictable twists and turns, he comes up mostly as a blur.

That is, until the other day.

My fascination with the Kingfisher goes back to my first encounter in Huntley Meadows Park in Northern Virginia, where I found one patrolling a swampy lake. I caught just a glimpse of him zipping about, but that’s all it took.

I managed this slightly fuzzy photo in the Alligator Preserve in North Carolina.

Kingfishers prefer shallow water where they can spot fish from the air. They like to fly along the banks, and then perch in a tree on the water’s edge. It’s as if to taunt a birder into thinking you might get a clear shot if you can just get a little closer. Half the time these sightings occur in swamp-like areas, so this can be a murky and muddy pursuit. 

The Kingfisher’s Elvis look

Part of the Kingfisher’s appeal for me is its striking appearance. The Kingfisher looks like a cross between a military officer in a crisp uniform and a surly teenager with spiked hair. When it spreads its wings the Kingfisher looks like Elvis in his most outlandish getup.

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Anxious for the spring migration? Try Armchair Birding on Facebook

by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal
written by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal

House Sparrows hop along the sidewalks of downtown Washington, even on a 20-degree day. There are starlings galore and the occasional mockingbird. But my warblers, buntings and finches flew south months ago.

I find myself craving a forest silence shattered by birdsong and the endorphin rush of spotting a male in full breeding colors. It’s a glorious state of oblivion I can’t seem to get any other way.

How did this “birding thing” become so addictive?

My gardening friends tell me it’s much the same for them, only with dirt, blooms and weeds. To get through the Massachusetts offseason, my sister-in-law studies seed catalogs and salivates.

Birding magazines are a bit like seed catalogs, but they just weren’t doing the trick. Then, on Facebook, I discovered an extremely entertaining way to help fill the void.

It’s a Facebook Group called “What’s This Bird?” where folks post photos of birds they can’t identify. Other birders tell you what it is. (This is a Public Group from the American Birding Association. Sign in to Facebook, and then click here to check it out.)

For starters, you’ll notice that most of the photos are same-day, and all of them say exactly where and when the bird was found. This gives me a sense of  “being there” — Armchair Birding in a revved up way.

This Group is also like a quiz to test your own identification skills. Some of these folks are crackerjack birders who take the time to point out subtle details that can be surprisingly enlightening.

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BirdingBirding researchFeaturedMigration

How birders are helping to unravel mysteries of the migrations

by Anders Gyllenhaal
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

The new Cornell maps of bird migrations look for all the world like works of art: great swaths of color splash across digital canvasses that would be at home on the walls of a modern art museum.

This map reflects the migration travels of the Pied-billed Grebe, with the different colors showing the stops over the course of a year.

They are also the most powerful tools yet for deciphering the inner workings of the migrations each spring and fall. As if that’s not enough, the maps could hold the key to determining how birds are adapting to global warming.

“The amount of information in these maps is way beyond what any single source or even combination of sources could give you,’’ said Marshall Iliff, project leader for Cornell’s eBird program. “It’s on a scale that’s never been done before.’’

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology announced the latest phase of its mapping project two months ago to only limited fanfare in the early going. That’s likely to change as word gets out and more animations are added beyond the first 107 species. 

What sets the new maps apart is the way they come alive with the click of a button. You suddenly see a species’ entire migration unfold, moving south over the course of the fall and then back north during the spring. The maps are fueled

Mapping the Bald Eagle: see below for an animated version.

by the tens of millions of bird lists sent in by 120,000 birders across the hemisphere. The animations are then adjusted with a stew of scientific, satellite and wildlife data to approximate and in some cases predict how the collective birds will move.

Marshall Iliff

As a result, the animations are one of the most ambitious scientific crowd-sourcing experiments underway anywhere today.  “We’re really excited about it,’’ said Iliff. “It’s definitely big data ornithology. It’s a whole new concept.’’

( Click here for an index of the 107 species in the first phase of the project. Click here to explore that data behind the maps, which can help birders find hotspots and explore raw observations about species. And click here for the introduction to the eBird maps).

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Talk like birding royalty: A squabble of Gulls and a bowl of Spoonbills

by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal
written by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal

What could be more delightful than a herd of cowbirds, a flotilla of frigatebirds or a pandemonium of parrots?

A bowl of spoonbills, perhaps.

A Spoonbill about to join a bowl

One of my favorite of Anders’ photos is of a gangly Roseate Spoonbill coming in for a landing to join six others. So when I came across the fact that a group of spoonbills is called a bowl, the image was just so striking it made me laugh.

And of course it made me curious.

Turns out that our medieval ancestors dreamed up tons of terms for flocks of specific birds. There’s a “wisdom” of owls, a “mewing” of catbirds and a “slurp” of sapsuckers.

Is it a 1) squabble, 2) wedge or 3) a scoop of Skimmers? See the list below.

The lucky ducks get several monikers: a “safe,” a “raft” or a “paddling” while on land — or a “team” in flight.

Hummingbirds can be collectively called a charm, a glittering, a shimmer, a tune, a bouquet or a hover.

In 1486 Dame Juliana Barnes of England listed these “proper terms” in “The Book of St Alban.”  They were included in handbooks to educate the English nobility — a way to distinguish the aristocracy from the less well bred.

Is it a 1) pod, 2) a party, or a 3) posse of Pelicans. Keep reading for answers.

Fast forward to 2001 and “An Unkindness of Ravens: A Book of Collective Nouns” by Chloe Rhodes. She says flocks tended to be named for peculiar habits, physical characteristics or a personality trait that people believed the birds to possess: A flamboyance of flamingos, a coronation of kingbirds, a constellation of starlings, a murder of crows.

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BirdingFeaturedPhotography

How a lake disappeared — and an unexpected gift took its place

by Anders Gyllenhaal
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Here’s a story to help transport us to the opposite end of the calendar as winter sets in: We traveled nearly 10,000 miles this past summer in search of birds and new places — and the unexpected was often waiting along the way.

One of those stops in mid June was at Mississippi’s Trace State Park, which was promoted as a magnificent lake-front campground just off the Natchez Trace Parkway near Tupelo.

The lakefront was just overgrown weeds — many waist high.

When we pulled up to our waterfront campsite, a surprise awaited. The lake was missing — and in its place was a sprawling field of weeds, brush and brambles stretching as far as we could see.

We learned later that the lake was drained a full three years earlier after the dam showed signs of wear. They’d been working on it ever since in utmost slow motion without bothering to update the website or let folks know the prime camping spots lacked any actual water. 

Red-winged Blackbird at the lake that wasn’t.

We thought about turning around and driving on. Who wants to look out over an empty lake bed for three days? But it was late afternoon so we decided to stay at least for the night.

And then we noticed something unusual: A symphony of bird songs was coming from the field where the lake use to be.  We stood listening to be sure we weren’t imagining it, then quit setting up camp and ran for binoculars and my camera and powered up the birding apps.

Within an hour we had spotted Indigo Buntings, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Red-winged Blackbirds, and lots of goldfinches, starlings and cardinals. It was the beginning of three days of terrific birding — far better than any lake view could have been.

As an added offering, our timing put us in the middle of the first flights and early worm-hunting lessons from a new generation of birds as they left the nest. Here is a mix of what we saw:

The disappearing lake left me thinking about expectations and unexpected gifts. Let’s hope they never fix the dam.

An Indigo Bunting perches near the “shore” of the missing lake at Trace State Park.

(Scroll down to leave a comment — or tell a story of when the birds surprised you with the unexpected.)
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Year of the Bird: Telling the story of the global campaign to save birds

by Anders Gyllenhaal
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

Second of two parts

When the Year of the Bird campaign on behalf of endangered species kicked off one year ago, National Geographic magazine turned to a unique voice for its cover story. One of the country’s leading novelists, Jonathan Franzen, took up the question of “Why Birds Matter.’’

The National Book Award winner’s article blended his fascination for birds with his literary firepower. Drawing from his decades of birding all over the world, Franzen walked through the attributes of 49 different species on the way to an appeal for us to change our careless ways.

“Now humans are changing the planet – its surface, its climate, its oceans – too quickly for birds to adapt by evolving,’’ he wrote. “Crows and gulls may thrive at our garbage dumps, blackbirds and cowbirds at our feedlots, robins and bulbuls in our city parks.

“But the future of most bird species depends on our commitment to preserving them. Are they valuable enough for us to make the effort?”

The Year of the Bird project, led by the Audubon Society, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Geographic and Birdlife International, comes to a close on Monday with a long list of accomplishments to its credit.

One of the most notable was the story-telling that came with the campaign. Over the course of the year, essays, journalism, photography and videos drew an enormous audience reaching tens of millions of people to the question of whether and how to preserve the world’s endangered species. Last week, Flying Lessons explored the impacts of this sprawling project. Today’s post looks at the way the coalition told its story.

National Geographic’s coverage included magazine stories on exotic and threatened species, its unrivaled nature photography, books and videos that put you, for instance, alongside wet-suited photographers bobbing in the frigid ocean to get a close-up bird shot.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology used advances in social media and apps to collect huge amounts of data from birdwatchers. The data fuels both scientific studies and storytelling with graphics and animation. The most impressive element is a new animation technique that lets you watch how migrations unfold over the seasons across the hemisphere.

The Audubon Society and BirdLife International used their increasingly sophisticated websites to share birding news, post photographs and make the arguments central to the Year of the Bird project. Audubon’s president, David Yarnold, is a former newspaper editor who writes regular advocacy pieces that draw on his journalism background.

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Year of the Bird: Can this sweeping campaign curb rising threats to birds?

by Anders Gyllenhaal
written by Anders Gyllenhaal

First of two parts

The most ambitious effort to protect birds in a century comes to a close next week. Although its catalog of accomplishments ranges from enlisting thousands of new supporters to collecting reams of fresh data, the Year of the Bird faces a tough question:

Was the 12-month campaign powerful enough to make a difference on behalf of endangered species, or will it turn out to be mostly a memorial to an era of plentiful birds that’s slowly disappearing?

Led by the Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Geographic and BirdLife International, the Year of the Bird project gathered 180 partners, 50 proclamations and tens of thousands of new supporters over the course of the year.

The campaign turned a loose collection of like-minded organizations into a coalition that can push for legislation, preserve habitat and rally supporters in the future. “The network is now in place,’’ said Miyoko Chu, senior director of communications for the Cornell Lab.

An example of Cornell’s maps that turn eBird data into animations of bird migrations by species. Look below to play video versions.

The project elevated Cornell’s effort to turn its birding apps into ground-breaking tools for visualizing migration and population trends. The apps are fueled by an army of 400,000 birdwatchers who record species to form a collective portrait more detailed than ever before possible. Last month, Cornell unveiled new technology that creates animations showing precisely where and how specific birds migrate during the fall and spring seasons.

The Year of the Bird was accompanied by a flow of stories, photos, videos and essays from National Geographic that took readers on a tour of the front lines of birding. The magazine launched its contribution with an essay by novelist and expert birder Jonathan Franzen, who took on the question of “Why Birds Matter.’’ It’s must-reading for anyone interested in the future of birds.

The Year of the Bird also inspired dozens of offshoot projects as partners came on board. In one example, a class of advanced graphic design students at Ithaca College heard a radio interview with Franzen and immediately went to work with Cornell on a series of  posters in support of the project.

“People participated in Year of the Bird in all sorts of ways, from the individual level to the global,’’ said Nicholas Gonzalez, an Audubon media specialist. “It’s always the year of the bird at Audubon. We never need a reason to celebrate birds. But this was an especially big deal.’’

And yet, right as the project was coming to a close this fall, a series of setbacks came along, as if to remind the organizations what they’re up against.

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FeaturedFlight

A pilgrimage to the Wright Brothers Memorial puts the power of human potential on display

by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal
written by Beverly Mills Gyllenhaal

Today is the anniversary of the Wright brothers flight on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where we visited the newly renovated memorial a month ago. What a Flying Lesson it was.

We set off from our campground on a near-perfect fall morning toward Kitty Hawk where the Memorial has stood for over a century. A chunk of granite at top of Kill Devil Hill marks the marvelous December day that – after years of painstaking and obsessive efforts — Wilbur and Orville proved that people could fly.

The original photograph taken the day the Wright brothers proved they could fly.

Naturally birds were part of the brothers’ inspiration, and birds became their instructors as well. The brothers watched birds soaring directly into the wind and noticed that the air flowing over the curved surface of their wings created lift. Birds also change the shape of their wings to turn and maneuver, and the Wrights believed they could find a way to emulate this to block their plane’s tendency to roll in flight. So they warped, or twisted the shape of a portion of the wing. It’s the birds’ twist in their wings that helps them be more agile and aerodynamic.

The details of the quest to fly captivated Anders and me when we read David McCullough’s book “The Wright Brothers.” We’re basically obsessed with birds ourselves at this point, and so for me a trip to the place where humans took flight felt like a necessary pilgrimage.

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