Birdchick Podcast #163: Peace Doves Attacked, Amazing Snowy Owl Stories

January 27, 2014

Really cool birds in flight video. Artist Dentist Hlynsky creates visual trails that illustrate the path of each moving bird in a flock. Really cool stuff! [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/32363204[/vimeo]

White doves that were released by children standing alongside Pope Francis as a peace gesture have been attacked by hood crows and yellow-legged gulls. National Geographic has a good explanation of it...yes, the crows and gulls were trying to eat the doves.

Kansas Secretary of State, Kris Kobach has a bill that makes it a felony for any federal agency to intervene on behalf of the greater or lesser prairie chickens.

Cool new app from Cornell Lab of Ornithology identifies common bird for newbies...AND IT'S FREE!

When you have time please read some of the cool research going down with Project Snowstorm!

An old Onion article on the David Sibley Guide.

And not an onion story...city tries to regulate what type of bird feeders you have.

Birdchick Podcast #162: Project Snow Storm & Listing

January 6, 2014

Holy crap, birding has gone mainstream: it's in the Boston Globe (on Neil Hayward breaking the North American big year record), Wall Street Journal (birders using taped calls) and USA Today (how birding is attracting "young fans" lol in their 30s and 40s). Is 2014 the year of the BIRDER?

Project Snow Storm: the study of a snowy owl irruption in real time. Contribute either sighting or money (I did). Also here is an interesting of a snowy owl getting caught in a truck's grill (the owl is ok).

The controversy surrounding the "rediscovery" of the night parrot in Australia. Also a list of bird discovered in 2013.

Turkey chasing delivery guy--why I love living in Minnesota.

What it's like to tell people you area a birder at a party.

Birdchick Podcast #161: Owls and Resolutions

December 22, 2013

Here is the horrific bird house NBB and I were talking about:

*shiver* and Ew!

Zombie bird feeder.

Here are the links we talked about:

Snowy owl nest.

Compilation of the best snowy owl pics so far this winter.

Some crazy guy in Iowa (who thinks owls have paws) started a blog on feeding them.

Goldeneye x hooded merganser hybrid.

Birdchick Podcast #160 Snowy Owls and Backpedaling

December 11, 2013

We talked about scare crows, snowy owls, what you should really be concerned about with wind turbines going up on Lake Erie and oh cool this contest from Celebrate Urban birds...you have until January 15, 2014 to enter.

Birdchick Podcast #159: Talking Starlings and Crossbills as Pets?

November 29, 2013

This is a hard story about the pet bird trade in Beijing but we need to read it. And before you think, oh these are birds, I'll never see...check out the bohemian waxwing and red crossbill. On a side note, the US is offering a $1 million reward for information to help dismantle one of Asia’s largest wildlife-trafficking syndicates.

Pete Dunne suffered a stroke last spring but he's still doing what he loves at Cape May. Read more about his future plans here.

Wind company fined $1 million for killing eagles (as they should be fined). But be careful where some of the information protesting wind farms on birds' behalf is coming from. Quite a bit of it comes from oil companies.

Are hummingbirds really eating suet?

Some New York City residents are not happy about the influx of wild turkeys. Maybe they should try the weird looking coyote decoys.

Hand reared spoon-billed sandpiper found with wild flock.

Talking starling story.

You, North American Peeps, consider signing up for a Christmas Bird Count near you.

Liam Neesons.

Birdchick Podcast #158: Starling Poop In Rome & Hawk Owl Rescue

November 17, 2013

This is what I feel like when I go birding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi8a1fOl4u4&feature=gp-n-y

Read names of people who said they loved the podcast (it's on your phone).

Rome is inundated with starling poop.

Kayaker rescues hawk owl in Finland--amazing photo, here's the English version.

14 year old birder named Khalid Boudreau discovered the second-known breeding spot of the American white pelican in B.C.

Forbes article tries to explain why the ToysRUs ad is backfiring but makes it a gender issue but Stephen Colbert NAILS it.

Study about traffic noise and its affect on birds.

Check out an online seminar on the behind the scenes of Cornell's Bird Cams. Learn some of the secrets this coming Monday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 P.M. Eastern, in a special live presentation from Bird Cams Project Leader Charles Eldermire.

Birdchick Podcast #157: New Sibley? Toys R Us are jerks.

November 2, 2013

Brace yourselves, kids, there's a new Sibley coming. The company Toys R US has an advertising department that is full of complete and total jerks because of this ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5SXybm6bss

Funny article about rules for the 20 something birder.

Did you enjoy my post on Austria? Want to have a similar trip? Sign up with my friend Ben and Clay and go on their digiscoping tour of Austria.

Here's Carl Sagan

All the illion's from Cosmos by Carl Sagan. Millions, Billions, Trillions and 1 Quadrillion. For all the other words that aren't those ones. Please watch Cosmos.

Australian scientists work on plan to relocate species that will be affected by Climate Change.

Can you see the bird feet in this photo… 'cause I had a tough time.

Check out Bird to the Max with The National Eagle Center.

Birdchick Podcast #156: Black Birder Rules and Pokemon

October 25, 2013

Dr. Drew Lanaham wrote up the 9 Rules for a Black Birdwatcher...funny and not so funny at the same time. Black hiker in the woods.

How birding is like Pokeman.

Is this new owl species hooting "Here comes the bride?"

Another bird with a satellite transmitter has been "attacked" for being a spy.

What we can really do to cut back on bird collisions with planes.

Condor Cam...with extra carcass.

Bird poop coffee is the new coffee...wait, what?

What BuzzFeed thinks are "Borderline Genius" camping hacks...are what people should mostly know anyway.

Birdchick Podcast #155: Boobies, Women and Zombies

October 16, 2013

Mom stories--"don't you know who my daughter is" or visiting NWR and it's closed. I was interviewed by a college newspaper and the article is just so darned cute. Love those college reporters.

What bothers me most about the zombie genre is addressed in this article on Boing Boing.

A brown booby in Buffalo.

Alpine swifts are CRAZY flyers.

How predatory sounds can affect an ecosystem.

Record holding teen birder in the Chicago Tribune.

Revisiting sexism in science and nature careers. A science writer is asked to write for Bio Online for free by an editor, she declines and gets called a whore by the editor. This is not acceptable as the now former Biology Online editor has learned.

How many of these 13 essential outdoor experiences have you done?

Cool photos you should check out: Bald eagle vs great blue heron over a fish and the 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners have been announced. I thought this noddy photo was the most intriguing: