LEARN ABOUT CREATURES
(IN OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS)
this project is called LOCAL BIOLOGY (until we think of something better)
Somehow I am able to wake up slightly earlier -- and was conscious at 7:30 am, when the morning sky was halfway blue.
The crows were squawking. Other ones were tweetering away...seemingly oblivious to the fact that my thermometer read -15, and the weather channel said it was -21.
The birds kept it up all morning.
Were the birds pleased about the cold -- it's hard to say. The days are getting brighter. The cold is more intense. It's possible that all the birds were totally freaked out that it was cold and frantically eating to sustain themselves.
Saw some more robins of winter. Can't really believe they are the same robins of spring and summer. They, like the crows, are always sitting on tress -- rarely at the top of the trees, but in the middle. I do not know if this is because they always sit there, but the trees hide them OR if it's a better place to sit in the winter than on the snow in the ground. I also wonder if the top of the tree is more windy and blustery.
I don't remember if I made a post about the first robins - which were seen on a tree with red berries. That was last month. They are still here!
Around 9pm, when it was very dark, we saw many many crows in many trees. The crows were roosting. They were also flying from tree to tree - not really staying put. It was cold (somewhere under 15 degrees)
Birds can fly in their sleep (when they migrate) - I wonder if the crows are sleep-flying to keep warm?
I finally saw crows roosting. It was starting to think about getting dark & a big winter storm was on its way -- but *almost* on its way, it really wasn't obvious to me until an hour or two later. It had been melty snow, then it all froze over and the parking lot was all slippery.
The crows were in the cemetary off lake street kind of near Cedar. There were lots in the trees, with feathers all ruffled up.
Find owls...put them on a map
http://colderbythelakebirding.blogspot.com/2008/12/dec-10-snowy-owl-nort...
Check out this owl map. I'm going to try to figure out how to contribute sightings & also how to look for owls.
From their website (check their website -- there's lots and lots more information on it)
"Since the Christmas Bird Count began over a century ago, it has relied on the dedication and commitment of volunteer citizen scientists. In other words, it all starts with you!
The Christmas Bird Count season is December 14 through January 5 each year. Your local count will occur on one day between those inclusive dates. If you have more than one local count, they will probably be conducted on different dates within the CBC season. You can pick the most convenient date, or participate in more than one count. In November of 2008 you will be able to search on upcoming count dates
There is a specific methodology to the CBC, but everyone can participate. The count takes place within "Count Circles," which focus on specific geographical areas. Each circle is led by a Count Compiler. Therefore, if you are a beginning birder, you will be able to join a group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher. In addition, if your home is within the boundaries of a Count Circle, then you can stay home and report the birds that visit your feeder or join a group of birdwatchers in the field. In either case, if you have never been on a CBC before your first step is to locate and contact your local Count Compiler to find out how you can volunteer."
Whole United States, find one of many groups in your state on the Christmas Bird Count website
From their website:
"The purpose of the Midwinter Bald Eagle survey is to monitor the status of Bald Eagle wintering populations in the contiguous United States by estimating national and regional count trends, overall and by age class. Each January, several hundred individuals count eagles along standard, non-overlapping survey routes. The 2009 Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey will be held from Wednesday, 31 December 2008 to Wednesday, 14 January 2009 with target dates of 9 and 10 January."
On some weekend afternoons I liked to go walk around my old neighborhood looking for birds. I would carry the binoculars with me, but I never quite figured out the right way to not look/feel totally freaky using binoculars near people's houses.
I still think the secret is to pretend to be an authority. (Obviously that's a problem for me if I'm writing this post.)
Birding with seniors over the phone
Jeanne-Marie saw this listing in a Golden Gate Audubon e-newsletter. A senior center, which has a telephone-based talking program, was accepting birder volunteers to talk to seniors about birds out their windows.
The program they mentioned was http://www.seniorcenterwithoutwalls.org. They were just looking for 1 volunteer. But this is definitely something that a lot of us could do. Perhaps we can come up with ideas for having these discussions from your phone...because I am not quite sure how it works.
© 2009 Local Biology, a social business
A social business is owned by the people who directly benefit, and need its existence. We all benefit from the earth, and knowing about the earth, therefore, the earth owns Local Biology and we are simply noticing her, and how she created us.
It is by being a social business today that we can reach out to all people who want to understand the world they live in - the science, the spirit, the changing planet. We can reach around walls built by schools and other educational institutions, television, media, science, religion, language and country.
We know that we love and care about our Earth and in this we unite as this 'social business,' the business being that we are all working together to bring this knowledge together on this website and to other real projects in our towns — working with our own communities and, especially, friends.
Local Biology by Local Biology is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.localbiology.org.
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