October 2007

#26 of 31 Days to Better Birding and Conservation

If you’ve never participated in a Christmas Bird Count (CBC) make this be your first year! CBCs are held all over the country and internationally too. A count coordinator will assign you a circle and you count birds around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. It’s never to early to plan for a CBC, especially if you plan on doing multiple ones (like we are).

This year will be the 108th year of CBCs. Over the years the data from CBCs has been analyzed and used to help determine bird populations. The data is not perfect but the more counters, the more area is covered to get a good census on birds across the nation.

In the Midwest the weather is about as unpredictable as the number of birds found. A couple years ago we found ourselves in deep snow and below zero temperatures. Last year we birded in cloudy, 40-degree weather for one of our counts. For us, it is a fun challenge to face the elements and force ourselves to bird for many hours at a time. And that possible surprise find is always worth cold fingers.

Started on September 20th of this year, Refuge Watch is a wonderful blog showcasing the “News and Events From America’s National Wildlife Refuges”.

Why exactly are National Wildlife Refuges important? How about because they are home to:

• over 700 species of birds
• around 220 species of mammals
• approximately 250 reptile and amphibian species
• more than 200 species of fish
• over 250 threatened or endangered plants and animals
• used by millions of birds during spring and fall migrations

Little Blue Heron at Santa Ana NWR

All 50 states have at least one refuge and in total there are 548 National Wildlife Refuges. No matter where you live in the U.S. there is a refuge relatively nearby. The refuge system provides wonderful natural places for not just for birding but for photography, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, and other wildlife viewing. Without our refuges we would lose much more than great places to go birding.

This is why it is vital birders unite as one group to promote the importance of the National Wildlife Refuge system. It is up to us to convey the conservation message and to support proper funding for our wildlife refuges.

#25 of 31 Days to Better Birding and Conservation

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Buying Duck Stamps is great for conservation!! 98% of the sale price of Duck Stamps ($15.00 each) goes to national bird conservation.

Duck Stamps make great gifts: you can buy one for a birthday or Christmas gift, you can stick one on your car, they make great decorations on binocular or camera straps, backpack zippers, etc.

So even if you already own a Duck Stamp, consider buying another one and if you do, let us know! For every Duck Stamp you purchase from now until the end of November, the Birdfreak Team will donate 1/3 of a stamp ($5.00). You can click the link on the sidebar to contribute through Pay Pal if you wish.

See how many Duck Stamps we’ve purchased since August 1st, 2007.

You still have time to win Bird: The Definitive Visual Guide. All you have to do is tell us what your defining moment was when you knew you were a birder.

If you don’t have a defining moment (or don’t remember one) you can enter the contest by answering this question: What do you think is the best way to promote bird conservation?

Please send your submission to birdfreak@birdfreak.com or use our contact form.

Just so you know, we’ll pay the shipping but the contest is only open for those in the contiguous U.S.

#24 of 31 Days to Better Birding and Conservation

We try to avoid politics on the blog and this is not a political statement. Instead, this is a call to action to let your local and state politicians know what really matters: Bird Conservation. The environment is often last on the list and it should not be. The more birders and nature lovers that write and sign petitions, the more likely these politicians will understand how important conservation issues are.

There are websites out there that let you sign petitions online and submit them to your immediate representatives. What works even better is to sit down and write a short letter and mail it to all your local politicians. It is a small gesture and who knows if the politicians even care (that is why it is often good to start locally), but it could lead to big things if enough people get involved.

As fall descends upon us, it’s bringing us plenty of cold air and feathered ones from the north. The Callaway Nature Preserve has been full of Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes, and White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches. We had nine Red-breasted Nuthatches hanging out with us on Sunday!

Although we are sad to see many or our songbird friends go south, we welcome our winter friends. Winter will hopefully bring us many fun birding adventures.

The squirrels are always hanging around of course!