Entries Tagged 'Geobirder' ↓

Geography is broken up into four large categories: atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. Each of these categories has numerous aspects that involve birds and birding. To help further our study on Geobirding, we are looking into each of these categories and coming up with various topics for further study.

Lithosphere Topics

Soil types necessary to support bird life
Birds actions and survival relating to volcanic activity and earthquakes

Cave conservation and other natural structures

Atlasing birds through mountains and plains

Geographic differences between major landforms — similar birds that have changed over time based on their location

Western Scrub-Jay

Geography is broken up into four large categories: atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. Each of these categories has numerous aspects that involve birds and birding. To help further our study on Geobirding, we are looking into each of these categories and coming up with various topics for further study.

Oily Crested Auklet from Wikipedia

Hydrosphere Topics

Contamination of water- oil, pesticides, herbicides, and other pollutants that affect bird life

Polar ice and snow habitats for breeding birds

Pelagic and coastal habitats -as well as estuaries and delta areas

Riparian and freshwater Habitats

Wetlands

Sooty Tern from Wikipedia

Geography is broken up into four large categories: atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. Each of these categories has numerous aspects that involve birds and birding. To help further our study on Geobirding, we are looking into each of these categories and coming up with various topics for further study.

Atmosphere Topics

Migration mapping with WSR (Weather Surveillence Radar), also referred to as NEXRAD (Next Generation Radar).

How birds use or are effected by wind currents - thermals, fronts that cause fallouts, etc.

Effects of storms such as hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, and blizzards have on birds.

Climate changes and long-term weather effects on bird distribution.
Air and light pollution issues.

NEXRAD locations in the U.S.

Images of the world and U.S. at night, showing how lit up it is.

I was pleased to find out that eBird is now using Google Earth to let birders map nearly the exact location of a bird sighting or checklist.  This feature (which actually was introduced a little while back) creates a much easier way to find where your birdspot is and then report checklists to that area.  I love eBird and this feature helps when birding in new areas.

Bill Schmoker’s Birding Blog has a lot of great details about birding with Google Earth including displaying Christmas Bird Count circles, giving directions to birders, and possibilities for Breeding Bird Atlases among others.  I would like to add something that I have been using them for in Birdfreak’s project CAWS (Changing All Wasted Space).

Many times when I’m driving lonely country roads or areas on the outskirts of Rockford, I spot areas with loads of grass and not much else.  As long as I remember my route, I can check it out later and see just how much land is there.  Not only that, it makes it incredibly easy to find how close the wasted space is in relation to currently protected areas (provided you know the protected area).

Google Earth is an easy to use tool that coincides nicely with our Geobirder project.  I can see other possibilities in the future and I hope more birding organizations will begin to start utilizing this awesome tool.  Any other ideas on how Google Earth helps conservation or birding, let me know.

In this scaled down version, you can see the farm fields (not wasted space if being used for farming) and an area where 35th St and Blackhawk Rd meet.  This area is a church that has a few scattered trees and a bunch of dingy grass.  To the east, a road heading south (parallel to the highway I-39) is the entrance to Kishwaukee Gorge Forest Preseve.  The goal would be to create as much habitat in the area to connect this and various other preserves to each other, easing the fragmentation a little bit at a time.

Geography and birding have a lot in common. Migration, water conservation, types of climate, and where to find birds to name a few. A Geobirder is the combination of studying geography and how it relates to birds and birding. As I read through the courses I will be taking as a geography major, I noticed how every class can relate to birding in some way or another. I look foward to blogging more on this subject.

American Redstart taking a break during migration. Migration routes are a key project for Geobirders.