And it ruled! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp0ZqbvXieo[/youtube]
Geek a Week Announcement
Hello all, NBB here. The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed that earlier this month we changed the blog's tag line, removing "To show the world you can be a birder without being a geek."
Why did we change it? Because today, Sharon officially joins one of the nerdiest herds around, the Geek A Week project!
Illustrator Len Peralta started this project to create one trading card a week, for a year, of an über-nerdy subject, along with an interview/podcast. In addition to the card front (above), you can view card back (with text by Paul of Paul and Storm, download the podcast, and read Len's write up about Sharon.
Congrats, sweetie! I'm so proud of my little geek!
Winter Finch Forecast
I've running around like a crazy chick this week doing aerial surveys and attending a bird feeding trade show (yes, they exist and yes there are more than one). Somehow I missed the Winter Finch Forecast! I always read it with the same grain of salt that I read the Farmer's Almanac.
It looks like many of those winter finches we love to look for when it's snowy in the northern US like the above pine siskins (taken with my Wingscapes cam)will most likely stay up in Canada.
We do have a good shot at those beret wearing common redpolls though, which I would love to see again at the feeders.
Read the full forecast here.
The Penguin's Fowl Play
Hello all, NBB here. Sharon's off to give a presentation in Missouri, so she's asked me to entertain you for the evening. So, I present to you The Penguin's Fowl Play!
It's a Batman adventure (courtesy of the Gone and Forgotten blog, which brings us vintage comic book insanity). In it, the Penguin comes up with a plot to rob a camera plan of its silver (and why not?) using, of course, birds. He does this, naturally by convincing a bird expert to create a "Bird Encyclopedia" using pictures of his rare avian friends (which he has on hand).
Little background: this actually happened. I don't want to mention any names, but why do you think a certain Mr. Sibley decided to use paintings in his field guide???
Click to enlarge
And in addition to being a thrilling adventure of the Dynamic Duo, it also educates, as well as entertains!
Click to enlarge
Jeff Gordon announced as new ABA president
Just a quick note while Sharon is doing her aerial surveys. The ABA has announced that Jeff Gordon has been selected as their new President. Kenn Kaufman, who was on the search committee, has a blog post up about the process and Jeff's credentials. Sharon wishes to personally extend her congratulations to Jeff, she just can't do it from the plane.
Birder's Exchange
If you are not familiar with Birder's Exchange, you should be. It's the American Birding Association's world-renowned conservation initiative, to help Neotropical migratory birds by promoting good science and public awareness in Neotropical regions. In these areas, many researchers, educators, and conservationists work without the most basic equipment. The ABA addresses this need for equipment and educational tools and contributes to bird conservation through its Birders' Exchange program. Birders' Exchange takes new and used birding equipment and educational materials and matches it with local scientists, conservationists, and educators, in Latin America and the Caribbean. Find out more about this exciting program and how you can get involved by exploring the Birders' Exchange website now! There are several ways that you can help--have an old pair of binoculars that still work well? You can donate them. Have some spare cash, even $5? The Birder's Exchange will take that purchase equipment for researchers in the Neotropics. Do you have an upcoming trip to a country in Latin America or the Caribbean? Would you be willing to take down donated equipment in your luggage on behalf of Birders' Exchange? There are several ways to help.
Here's a video that does a great job explaining the program and includes some great bird footage:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBQTC3wez2c[/youtube]
Drunk bees!
Hello all, NBB here. Yesterday was a pretty shining example of why, three (?) years into this process, I'm still the junior beekeeping assistant, the Barney Fife of the apiary world.
To get everyone up to speed: the bees needed to be fed, Sharon has to work, Neil is out of town, Hans is out of town, and Lorraine is sick as a dog. Which left me. Now, the last time I was sent off alone to check on the bees it was a comedy of errors, if by "comedy" you mean "it's funny because it happened to someone else."
This mission, however, was a simple one: feed the bees. I didn't have to switch boxes, combine any hives, or search for the queen. Just feed the bees by mixing sugar and water in a pail, then add the pail to the hive. A job so simple, an idiot could do it.
Which is why they sent me.
It was a cold day, about 44°, which meant the hives would be less active, they tend to stay inside and cluster for warmth. I got there in plenty of time, figuring to take about an hour to make the sugar water solution. Small problem:
The sugar, having been left in the garage all summer, was not so much as “easy pour” as more of a “solid brick.” After chipping away at the bags, I was able to produce several manageable chunks and also a large mess. So after about an hour I had five pails full of sugar water.
Too bad we have six beehives. Sigh... what can I say? Math is hard! Back to the house to make another pail, then back down to the hives.
Amazing, the bees were still alive by the time I got to them.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsJIUgrF0ws[/youtube]
We didn’t get as much honey as we were expecting this year. I wonder if the wetness of the season had something to do with this, or the fact that we had eight hives competing for pollen rather than two.
Regardless, the remaining hives seemed full. And thirsty...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAv3TBxv7-Y[/youtube]
For reasons that escape me now, I had to reopen one of the hives after I put the pail on. I noticed one of the bees had gotten splashed with the sugar water, making her the most popular girl at the dance.
Her wings were sparkling.
We’re heading towards the end of bee season. Soon we’ll be taking the hives down to two or three brood boxes (filled with honey, which the bees will eat over the winter). We’ll wrap the hives in insulation, put the entrance reducers on (to keep out mice and other pests that would make a honey-filled box a winter home), and that’ll be that. We’ll sneak down in the winter and press our ears to the side to make sure they’re alive, dreaming whatever winter dreams bees have.