The Zen Birdfeeder

Book Review: Flyaway

Flyaway - How a Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings

A review copy of the book Flyaway came to me from the publisher Harper Collins.  I guess I would be considered a logical reviewer because of my blog, along with my ownership of a Wild Birds Unlimited shop and interest in birds.  Our WBU store is a local resource regarding backyard birds, so we field many calls about "orphaned birds" and refer customers and callers to our local wildlife rehabilitator (see below).

Flyaway is about Suzie Gilbert's journey as she became involved in bird rehabilitation, founded her own bird rehabilitation non-profit (called as you might suspect, Flyaway), and its ultimate closing.  The book seems to have been a therapeutic exercise for the author as she accepts the closing of her venture.

She tells many interesting stories of bird rehabilitation, some joyful and uplifting, others are terribly heart-wrenching.  In other words, she tells the WHOLE story of the life of a bird rehabilitator, the ups and downs, the good and the bad, the physical and emotional demands, as well as the personal toll it can take on the rehabber, their family, their friends and associates.  Flyaway makes it clear that bird rehabilitation is not all just saving sweet little birds and seeing them fly away happy and healthy.

Gilbert enters the field trying to carve a narrow niche for herself in the bird rehabilitation community and finds how hard it is to say "no" in order to function within her defined niche.  Her activities widen far beyond what she originally intended and envisioned and the toll it takes on her and her family is significant. 

The short chapters are easy to read and each have a story, theme, or message.  They give you a real glimpse into a rehabber's life: the work they do, the 24x7 days, the miles they cover, and the dilemmas they face.  Gilbert is very knowledgeable about birds (as we hope all rehabbers are) and her stories deepened my appreciation for not only the work of the rehabber but also the lives of birds.  It is obvious Gilbert has a deep love for birds (she tells a goshawk that just aggressively flew at her, "Do you have any idea how cool you are?").  And you've GOT to love birds to be able to fillet a mouse to provide nutrition for a raptor in your care!

We hear stories of rehab successes but also losses, in other words, the highs and lows of bird rehabilitation.  Gilbert unabashedly calls to task the inexplicable behaviors of humans that drove the injured birds into her care: leaving cats outdoors, intentional car strikes, shootings, and pesticide poisoning, to name just a few.  Good for her.

This book should be required reading for anyone thinking of entering the wildlife rehabilitation field as it will give them fair warning of the hard work and emotional highs and lows it entails.  Those already in the field I'm sure will feel a camaraderie and a feeling of "so it's not just me" that would hopefully give them encouragement to carry on the important work they do.

And for the rest of us, Flyaway deepens our appreciation for the birds, but also for our local wildlife rehabilitators, their hard work, their knowledge and skills, their commitment, and just how few of them are out there.  Here in the Saratoga Springs/Glens Falls area, our local rehabilitation organization is North Country Wild Care.  Read Flyaway and I'm sure you'll join Wild Birds Unlimited in realizing how important it is to support their efforts.

Flyaway - How a Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings
Hardcover $25.99
ISBN: 9780061563126
HarperCollinsPublishers
10 East 53rd Street  New York, New York 10022
Copyright © 2009 HarperCollinsPublishers
www.harpercollins.com

Book Review: Adirondack Birding - 60 Great Places to Find Birds

If you live in or near the Adirondack Park in upstate New York, or are one of the thousands of people who vacation or recreate in the park, Adirondack Birding is a useful guide that gives you 60+ locations to find some of the many birds that pass through or call the Adirondacks home.

Authors Mike Peterson and Gary Lee know these places first hand, and it shows in their write-ups of each site.  I know Mike Peterson from the bird banding work he does each May at the Crown Point IBA on Lake Champlain.  Mike has had a hand in a number of books on area birds, as well as writing 12 of the species accounts in the recently-released Second Atlas of Breeding Birds of New York State.  Gary Lee also contributed to the new atlas, has co-authored a book with Mike, and has 35 years of forest ranger experience under his belt.

The book starts with an interesting essay "A History of Adirondack Birding" written by Mike.  Mike's apparent affinity for history also comes through in his site descriptions.

Adirondack Birding is an all-season guide to more than 60 sites to find the boreal birds of the Adirondacks.  It is not to be mistaken as a field guide - it is clearly a guide to help locate certain species of birds within the 5.8 million acre Adirondack Park.

Mike and Gary split the writing based on where they've done most of their birding: Mike in the Champlain valley and eastern Adirondacks, Gary in the central and western Adirondacks.  The initials of the author appear at the end of each chapter.

From there, they've further split the park into five regions:

• Eastern Region (Lake Champlain valley)
• High Peaks Region
• Northern Region
• West-Central Region
• Southern Region

The authors are self-described "habitat birders", ascribing to the mantra that "the best way to find a species is to search its habitat in many places rather than look for it at one or two locations."  This book gives you those "many places" to look.

What you'll find for each location is what species you might see there, directions to get there, descriptions of the trails, suggestions on where at the site to look for certain species, and in some cases, a history of when less common species have been seen at the site. 

If you're in search of a particular bird like the Bicknell's Thrush or Black-backed Woodpecker, the section entitled "Finding Boreal Birds" suggests some starting points.

The directions to each site and accompanying hand-drawn maps appear to be very detailed.  Once you get there, the write-ups provide many details on locating markers and other landmarks where you're most likely to find certain species.  These are especially detailed in the chapters written by Gary.

Beautiful color images by local nature photographer Jeff Nadler are throughout the book, further enticing you to seek out that Boreal Chickadee or Gray Jay.

Whether you're in search of a certain species like the Spruce Grouse, or just heading off on an Adirondack trail and wondering what birds you might see there, this book will provide the information you need.  It is nicely written, detailed, and reflects years of in-the-field experience by the authors.  If two of your loves are the Adirondacks and birds, you'll want this book in your library.

Adirondack Birding - 60 Great Places to Find Birds
by John M.C. Peterson and Gary N. Lee
with color photographs by Jeff Nadler
Published by Lost Pond Press, Saranac Lake NY, 2008
ISBN 978-0-9789254-3-7
$20.95
Available at WBU-Saratoga Springs

More Snowy Owls in the Region

Besides the Snowy Owl fished out of the Hudson River near the USS Slater in mid-November (status report on that owl on Tuesday was that he is nearly ready to be released back into the wild) and the snowy on the UAlbany campus on November 25th, there have been a number of reports of Snowy Owl sightings in Ft. Edward NY.

Don and Sher of Are We There Yet? blog captured a couple images and posted them in their "Pair of Snowy Owls" post.

And local nature photographer Ken Harper has two great images on his website at Peliken Photos.

If you venture up there in search of the birds, remember to always be respectful of the bird(s) so they are not subject to stress.  No photographic image or sighting is worth harming a bird. 

Upstate New York author Bruce Hiscock wrote and illustrated a children's book about the snowy owl called "Ookpik: The Travels of a Snowy Owl". 

When the Snowy Owl's main food source in northern Canada declines, the owl flies south to the grasslands of northern New York.  You will really enjoy sharing this story with your children, as it tells of the challenges faced by this magnificent bird. 

We were lucky enough to have Bruce in the store this October to sign copies of his childrens books.

"Ookpik: The Travels of a Snowy Owl" is available at Wild Birds Unlimited - Saratoga Springs.

Book Review: For the Birds - A Month-by-Month Guide to Attracting Birds to Your Backyard

For the Birds - A Month-by-Month Guide to Attracting Birds to Your Backyard is the first book by three sisters, Anne and Mary Schmauss and Geni Krolick, who also happen to own Wild Birds Unlimited shops in New Mexico. New Mexico is thousands of miles from upstate New York, so I was interested on how their book would play for birdfeeders in the northeast.

Fortunately, the authors hail from northern Illinois and have fed birds in Minnesota and Missouri as well.  This broad exposure has helped them write a book that is as useful in New York as it is in New Mexico.  Though the book contains some minor discrepancies in timing for us in the northeast, the book will be useful to birdfeeding hobbyists all across the country.

For the Birds starts with a Basics section that reviews the four essential elements to hosting birds and other wildlife in our yards: Food, Water, Nesting, and Habitat. It presents a good overview of the different foods and types of feeders available, how to present water, nesting and nest box basics, and guidelines to provide a suitable habitat.

The book then proceeds with a monthly discussion of:

• What birds to look for
• What food to offer including seeds, suet, mealworms, fruit, and nectar
• Water needs and options
• Nesting activities and needs
• Habitat reminders
• Quick tips
• "Sisters' Tips", fun reminders from each of the 3 authors
• Kids Projects (a great way to get kids interested in the hobby!)
• Notes Section (good for tracking the comings and goings in your yard over the years)

This systematic approach to attracting birds serves as a reminder of the need for food, water, nesting, and suitable habitat every month of the calendar year. The book does an excellent job of addressing not only WHAT to offer, but HOW to offer it, WHEN to do it, WHAT NOT to do, and what to expect.

The advice will help beginners get started, know what to expect, and how to maintain their backyard bird habitat month by month.  Experienced birdfeeders will find tips on how to attract non-seed eating birds such as robins (with water), creepers (with suet), and buntings (with millet) as well as how to fine-tune their birdfeeding stations to attract some of the more finicky birds like orioles.  

The book concludes with a Troubleshooting section that addresses common problems such as squirrels, messy seed, and rodents, as well as a disclaimer that essentially reminds me of a lesson in zen acceptance: nature happens.

The book is visually pleasing, with a large, square format and flat paper stock that shows off the wonderful photography well.

I'd recommend reading the book from start to finish initially, but to also keep the book handy to re-read each month's section as you attract birds throughout the year.

Follow just one suggestion each month from For the Birds and I think you will be able to continually enhance your enjoyment of this great hobby.  For the Birds has something for everyone, especially the birds!

For the Birds - A Month-by-Month Guide to Attracting Birds to Your Backyard
by Anne Schmauss, Mary Schmauss, and Geni Krolick
Published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang  2008
ISBN 978-1-58479-717-3
$19.95
Available at WBU-Saratoga Springs

Book Review: Songbird Journeys by Miyoko Chu

As I learn more about birds, the miracle of migration has become more and more intriguing to me.  It probably started with the frequent sharing with our customers of the story of the migration of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. But with each passing spring and fall, I find myself yearning to learn more about the wonders of songbird migration.

So the 2006 book Songbird Journeys played right into this growing interest.  The book is presented by season - a nice logical progression, especially for a reader like me who is currently re-reading Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac one month at a time as the month occurs.

But after reading the stories within "Spring", which starts off Chu's book, I just couldn't put it down for an entire season before reading "Summer," and I surely couldn't wait until December to read about our songbirds in "Winter".

Songbird Journeys is filled with the fascinating stories of those who have witnessed and studied songbird migration first hand. From John Arvin's observation of thousands of migrating songbirds from an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico to studies of American Redstarts at garbage dumps in their Jamaica wintering grounds.

She shares the work of Richard Graber, who in 1965 put a minute radio transmitter on the back of a gray cheeked thrush, and then followed the radio signal by airplane for over eight hours and four hundred miles.

Chu has taken a non-fiction subject, filled with scientific and natural science observations, and made it read like fiction.  Not since Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time (about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt) have I read a non-fiction piece that reads so much like a novel.

If you tend to skip the introduction of books - don't skip this one. Chu's opening sets the stage and gives you a taste of the writing style beyond. And if you tend to not check out a book's appendices, etc., do take the time to check these out: Songbird Journeys is also a useful resource for migration hot spots and citizen science projects.

This book is not just for the hardcore birder, but for anyone who has paused to savor the visit of a migrating songbird as it passed through their area, albeit briefly.  Songbird Journeys is wonderful reading.  And when you're done, keep it on your bookshelf; it is the kind of book you'll undoubtedly want to read again.

Have you read Songbird Journeys?  Let us know what you thought of this book.

Miyoko Chu was a keynote speaker at the Adirondack Birding Celebration at Paul Smiths VIC this past June. I was unable to hear her speak, but VIC Naturalist Lydia Wright was nice enough to ask Ms. Chu to autograph my copy of Songbird Journeys. Thank you, Miyoko, for the autograph and for a wonderful book.

Songbird Journeys - Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds
by Miyoko Chu
Published by Walker Publishing Company, Inc.  2006
ISBN 978-0-8027-1468-8
$23.00
Available at WBU-Saratoga Springs

Book Review: Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America

I recently received for review a copy of Harper Collins' latest field guide "Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America".  The guide, published in May, was written by Ted Floyd, Editor of Birding Magazine.

My review will be from a dual perspective: first, that of a birder whose primary focus is on the more common birds, those that casual birders are more likely to encounter. Secondly, from the perspective of a Wild Birds Unlimited store owner in terms of the needs of our customers.

The guide is the first to include a disk with digital recordings of 138 of the 750 species included in the guide.  The recordings come on a DVD (not a CD) in an mp3 format that can be copied to a computer or portable mp3 player for use in the field.

Other features include:

• More than 2500 color photographs
• Up to date range maps
• Emphasis on bird behavior and a "whole bird" philosophy of field identification
• Interesting essays on each bird group with vital information on behavior and ID tips

What I liked

• Multiple images of each species to help differentiate male/female, molts, immatures, spring/fall, etc.
  Would be useful in identifying variations in plumage due to age, season, geography, though coverage of the variations could be more complete.
• While the birdsong files cover only about 1 in 5 birds, they do include multiple vocalizations for each species including song, flight, and call.  The recordings are longer than those on the Thayer-brand software products, while similar in length to those on Backyard Birdjam.
• Bird weights are shown
• Range map color-key easy to find inside the front cover
• Indicates when there are significant visible weight differences between male and female
• Summarizes natural variations within the species including molts, sex-related, age-related, and seasonal differences
• Quick index by common name as well as full index
• Bird checklist with ABA coding
• Glossary with example of usage

What I didn't care for

• Lacks a single list of key identifying characteristics of each bird and opts for descriptions alongside each individual photo.  This makes it more time-consuming to use and less than ideal for beginning or casual birders.
• While focusing on natural variations and differences within the species, doesn't do nearly as complete a job differentiating between species.  Example - lacks key identification hints to tell a Sharp-shinned from a Cooper's Hawk.
• Images accompanying the birdsong files are too small to be useful on iPod Nano (though similar in size to Backyard Birdjam images).  And I'll have to work within iTunes to get the birdsongs organized to more easily locate them on my iPod since the mp3 file names are not user friendly.

How I will use this guide and how I would recommend it to customers

• I personally would not use this as an in-the-field guide due to its size as well as its features.
• I would not recommend this to a beginner as their first guide (field or otherwise).
• It is not the first guide I would pick up to aid in identifying a bird.
• It would, however, function well as a 2nd or 3rd reference guide to research/confirm initial impressions, especially for age, seasonal or other variations within the species.
• The included birdsong DVD adds to its value on the bookshelf.

Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America
Published by Collins 2008
ISBN  978-0-06-112040-4
$24.95

"A Sand County Almanac" Revisited - March

I first read Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac" many years ago.  This environmental classic, published in 1949 (after Leopold's death), takes us on a tour of the seasons, month by month.

I pulled it off the bookshelf a few months ago and decided to read it differently than I had initially: I would read each month as that month was progressing in real-time.

His March entry is called "The Geese Return".  I was waiting to post the passage until I saw my first large flock of migrating geese.  I had seen a smaller group overhead at home, but on Friday while driving through Charlton, a town south of us, I saw hundreds of Canada Geese in 5 to 6 large V's headed in an easterly direction.  Hundreds more were in a cornfield that was losing its blanket of snow.

I hope you enjoy this short excerpt from "A Sand County Almanac" as much as I did:

MARCH
The Geese Return
One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of a March thaw, is the spring.
A cardinal, whistling spring to a thaw but later finding himself mistaken, can retrieve his error by resuming his winter silence.  A chipmunk, emerging for a sunbath but finding a blizzard, has only to go back to bed.  But a migrating goose, staking two hundred miles of black night on the chance of finding a hole in the lake, has no easy chance for retreat.  His arrival carries the conviction of a prophet who has burned his bridges.

Photo from the WBU Image Library