Rick Wright

Rick served as a department editor at Birding magazine from 2004 to 2008 and as the editor of Winging It from 2005 to 2008; he is currently the book review editor for Birding and The ABA Blog. His own forthcoming publications include a guide to New Jersey birds and the sparrows volume in the Peterson Reference Guide series.

The Managing Director of WINGS from 2008 to 2010, Rick is a widely published writer, a popular lecturer at birding events, and an enthusiastic tour leader in Europe and North America. His time afield is documented in his blog, Birding New Jersey.

Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus populinus)

Ecology: Saprobic; growing in shelf-like clusters on dead and living wood of Populus species, primarily quaking aspen; causing a white rot; spring, summer, and fall; widely distributed in northern and montane North America, throughout the range of the host trees.

Cap: 2-15 cm; convex, becoming flat or somewhat depressed; kidney-shaped to fan-shaped, or nearly circular if growing on the tops of logs; somewhat greasy when young and fresh; smooth; whitish to pinkish gray or pale tan, without dark brown colorations; the margin inrolled when young, later wavy.

Gills: Running down the stem; close or nearly distant; whitish.

Stem: Usually absent or rudimentary, when the mushroom is growing from the side of a log or tree. When it grows on the tops of logs or branches, or at an angle, however, it may develop a substantial and thick stem that is dry and slightly hairy near the base.

Flesh: Thick; white.

Odor and Taste: Odor distinctive but hard to describe; taste mild.

Chemical Reactions: KOH on cap surface negative to yellowish.

Spore Print: Whitish (never lilac).

Microscopic Features: Spores 9-12 x 3-5 µ; smooth; cylindric to long-elliptical. Compare with measurements for the epitype collection of Pleurotus ostreatus, rather than measurements quoted in most field guides.

Making the harvesting cut

The delicious gems are a definite with their deep, earthy flavor that pairs perfectly with beef. I cooked the oyster mushrooms with slices of prime rib in a reduction of red wine with onions, garlic, and sage. Simple…delightfully.

The first haul oyster mushrooms

Prime rib with a oyster mushroom-wine reduction sauce

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Kenn Kaufman

Birds took over Kenn Kaufman’s life when he was six. At 16 he went out hitch-hiking all over to see as many birds as he could, as described in Kingbird Highway. He has 9 books in print now, in 3 languages, including his own series of field guides. He’s in demand as a speaker, and he’s led birding tours on all 7 continents.

We talk about his birding adventures, the Spanish language field guide he produced, and listing in terms of environmental awareness.

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Pair of Barrow’s Goldeneyes

The first full day of spring, which in Montana means weather straight out of the ADHD mind of the godhead. Warm sun, thunder, torrential rain, freezing rain, snow, and, finally sun again, arrives with much faith and hope for the eager birder. Just as the weather is a chaotic mixture of winter and spring, the local avian assemblage also exists in a state of interfusion and flux. The last lingerers of the winter migrants are holding on into the spring months. A few Common Redpolls huddle around well-stocked feeders. A lone Rough-legged Hawk hunts in a field even as competition from arriving Red-tailed Hawks increases daily. With each passing day, new migrating arrivals fall into the warm valleys. The ubiquitous American Robins continue to build in numbers, their various calls greet the dawn. The Canvasbacks and Redheads settle in on the pothole ponds of the prairie. The medley of birds grows to over-flowing with the inclusion of Snow Geese and Tundra Swans passing overhead. The white Vs resemble waves on a calm ocean, a current of birds heads north to the reaches beyond the treeline.

I live to bird these periods of transition. The novelty of the returning migrants and lament for departing winter residents makes for a delightful yin-yang birding recipe. This time of year also coincides with the annual inflation of the year list, and how I love a growing bird list. It seems that with each day, a new tick seems to appear on that list. Sandhill Crane, check. Greater White-fronted Goose, check. Each tick comes with a flourish of joy, and tinge of clinging. There can be more gratification in the tick than in the bird. Have I got this whole birding thing upside and backwards?

Radd in the Costa Rican rainforest Carara National Park

This spring, I am determined to undergo my own transition of sorts. I love my lists, perhaps too much. I have chased rare birds over hundreds of miles with caffeine-fueled frenzy, only spend 5 minutes with the objection of my desire (or worse miss it all together), another tick on the old life list. Big Years, Big Days, Life lists are all twists of collection mentality that have dominated a great deal of my birding activity. Now, I think to its high time to simply appreciate the birds as they present themselves. Time to commit to the experience, and not the accumulation of check marks on an inherently meaningless list. Each sighting is a transitory experience that will never be replicated, and the present moment is the only authentic time to be immersed in the bird itself. Through this lens, a American Robin is as equally amazing as the most unlikely of rarities.

Does this mean that I am done listing? Absolutely not, only that the list is no longer the primary motivation for my birding pursuits. When in the middle of the next Big Day, I will (hopefully) be more focused on the amazing experience of seeing a vast representation of the given geographic area’s avian life. It is time to transition into the birding moment.

The great thing about Urban Birding is that it can be done anywhere and any time, whether you’ve got the day to spare, an hour before work or just a half hour lunch break. In most cities like London, Paris and New York you are never too far away from a green “space” which can often act as natural havens for great urban birds.

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The Flammulated Owl

Say goodbye to Otus flammeolus and hello to Psiloscops flammeolus.

Flammulated Owls have always been an enigma. They are tiny, secretive, and quite easy to overlook. Take the Flammulated Owl’s historical status in Montana, where the birds went largely undetected until the 1980s. The little, and I mean little, owls tend to live higher in the canopy of dry ponderosa pine forests. They hunt mostly insects in the pitch black of the summer nights.

The Flammulated Owl is so secretive that we are still debating its taxonomic status and genetic relationships to other owls. Now it has been suggested the Flammulated Owl belongs within its own monotypic genus, Psiloscops. But this is not the first taxonomic leap for the little owl.

When the Flammulated Owl was originally describe to science, it was given the scientific name of Megascops flammeolus, which suggested that it was closely related to the New World Screech-owls. But then in 1910, the Flamm was moved into the genus Otus, the Old World Scops Owls. There it remained…until. Recently a paper has been published that suggests that the Flammulated Owl is not closely related to the other members of the Otus genus, but rather it related to the New World Megascops owls, but it is basal to that lineage in its own unique genus, Psiloscops. These findings were, once again, the result of molecular genetic analysis, and, more specifically, mitochondrial DNA. This all means that the Flammulated Owl shares a common ancestor with the Screech-owls, but it split from lineage in the distant. The Flammulated Owl is also a genetic enigma as well.

Peregrine Falcon on an eyrie in the Pryor Mountains

By early 1980s, the skies over Montana were missing the fastest aerial predator. The Peregrine Falcon had ceased to breed in a state where it was once considered common. The Peregrine population was at the tail end of a roughly 40 year decline that started with post-World War II modernization.

The post-war American was focused to better living through chemistry and technology, and removal of life’s nuisances was an intergal part of that utopian paradigm. Chief among the pests was the little blood-sucking, disease-carrying mosquito, and now we a had the tool to eliminate them from our lives. DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons were sprayed beyond liberally across the American landscape. Parks, irrigation canals, and wetlands were literally soaked with pesticides. The chemicals worked all too well, mosquitos and malaria sink from the forefront of the fearful American mind. But there lurked an unintended consequence of the introduction of these chemicals into the environment, a backwash that seeped unnoticed until a particular Silent Spring in 1962.

Organochlorine pesticides such as DDT are known to bioaccumulate within the food chain with top predators, like the Peregrine Falcon, being the termini of the process. DDT persists in the fatty tissue of an animal, and this property is the lynchpin of the accumulation. Bioaccumulation works somewhat like this. Say a mosquito possesses 1 unit of DDT, and a single nighthawk consumes 100 mosquitos in an evening of feeding. Now, the nighthawk has 100 units of DDT within its fat. Now a Peregrine Falcon kills and consumes 3 nighthawks over some time. That’s right, now the falcon has 300 units of DDT. Now the DDT does not outright kill the falcon, it causes eggs produced via ovigenesis to have reduced calcium in the eggshells. These thinner eggs tend to break easily in the nest. After a few diminished or failed breeding years, the recruitment of new falcons into the population falls below the rate dying falcons. Hence, the population slowly dwindles towards extirpation and, ultimately, extinction.

Annual Peregrine Falcon observations in Montana

The alarm bells stated ringing in the 1960s, and the Peregrine Falcon was federally listed as endangered in 1970. DDT found itself banned from all use in the United States by 1972. But these efforts came too late for the native breeding Peregrine Falcons of Montana. Within decade, from 1970 to 1980, known falcon nesting sites (eyries) went from 23 to absolutely zero known breeding pairs within this huge, wild state. Luckily, the remedy for the disappearance was being implemented. The Peregrine Fund had been experimenting with the use of artificial nesting sites or hack towers and captive-bred falcons to augment existing populations. The hacking process, in a nutshell, involves placing near-fledging falcons within a hack tower, rearing them with minimal human contact, and hope they return to the site as breeding adults. The Centennial Valley and Red Rocks National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Montana were determined to be an ideal location for the beginning of the Peregrine Falcon reintroduction effort. By 1984, the first wild pair of Peregrine Falcons had returned to the Centennial Mountains, and this pair would continue to return to the site and produce young. Over the years, over 500 Peregrines were hacked at 26 different sites in Montana, and population slowly crept towards recovery. The number of known nesting sites now exceeds 50, and the now delisted Peregrine Falcon once again streaks through the Big Sky.

Peregrine Falcon plate from The Crossley Guide: Raptors

This post is part of the Raptor Blog Tour sponsored by Princeton University Press for its forthcoming release of  The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors authored by Richard Crossley, Jerry Liguori & Brian Sullivan. I had the opportunity to review this new raptor field guide (forthcoming), and I to have to say that I loved this book. The composite photographic plates do a superb job in communicating the field marks, shape, habitat, and variations of all the raptors found in North America. The species accounts are vividly written and densely informative. This is how the Peregrine Falcon is described;

The chase is on! A Peregrine Falcon is closing in on its prey with blinding speed and precision turns. The smaller bird is quick and agile, but no match for the larger, faster, more powerful predator that mirrors its every move. Elegant, graceful, and deadly, the Peregrine Falcon is always one step ahead of its prey, typically outracing and capturing it in midair.

To read an outstanding review, head on over the Nemesis Bird for their review.

See larger image The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors (Crossley Id Guides) (Flexibound) By (author) Richard Crossley, Jerry Liguori, Brian Sullivan List Price: $29.95 USD New From: $17.39 In Stock Used from: $20.03 In Stock

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Pisco Sour

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces pisco
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• 1 ounce key lime juice
• 1 egg white
• Angostura bitters (2-3 dashes)
• Ice cubes

Preparation:

CORRECTION: It was Rick Waldrop who was with Gunnar at the Owlet site at Esperanza.

“Everyone come and fight sparrows” — Propaganda poster showing children killing sparrows using a sling shot

They started waving bright red flags, and banging pots and pans at dusk. The frantic commotion sustained for days. Terrified Eurasian Tree and House Sparrows wheeled in distraught flight overhead as they searched in vain for a place of respite. Exhaustion took hold of the little birds, and they soon littered the ground. Children and adults wringed their necks with evangelistic zeal. The Sparrow – the enemy of the People’s Republic – was vanquished, no longer would they cause the famines. The blame surely lay on the birds because the infallible Chairman Mao and obedient Eighth Party Congress at declared it to be so.

Fledgling stages of the Great Leap Forward began with the outright persecution of the main antagonist enemies of the Marxist-socialist utopia promised to the people. Nature stood in the way of progression, it was a reality that had to be vilified, in order that the people could be mobilized as a standing army of eco-terrorists. The Sparrows were one of the four great pests. Rats, flies, and mosquitoes rounded out the list of pests. Why were they declared pests? Sparrows eat the grains intended for the workers, who were consistently in the state of near or outright famine. Mao was either unable admit or deluded to the fact that his government’s failed agricultural policies and collectivization practices owned the lion’s share of the condemnation. Taking responsibility for failed policies would lend the appearance of weakness or, even worse, incompetence, and the Party would not or could not endure that type of tangible responsibility. Mao needed to find a scapegoat, and thus the Four Pests Campaign was born in the deep recesses of his manipulative mind.

Eliminating the last sparrow

“Wipe out the Four Pests” was the slogan that stirred the populace into action. Mao even conscripted children with his declaration of, “The whole people, including five-year old Children, must be mobilized to eliminate the four pests.”  The violent act of killing masses of creatures was made both a patriotic and amusing duty for the children. Indoctrinated into a culture of violence that would culminate with upcoming Cultural Revolution where the blind ferocity would be visited upon their neighbors and families, Chinese youth were now tools of the Communist Party. Automatons engaged in the perverse will of Chairman Mao.

The Sparrows were viewed as the vilest of nature’s pestilences, to the point were even art that depicted the little songbirds disappeared from the public view as the artists undoubtedly feared the persecution associated with being in collaboration with an enemy of the state. Soon the Four Pests Campaign won its war against the “evil” Sparrow. The landscape was devoid of the birds. Chairman Mao was posed to overthrow Nature and its order.

His lack of compassion of other sentient beings stands in direct opposition to his Buddhist upbringing. Growing up in the household of his abusive father and devout Buddhist mother, Wen Chi-mei, Mao Zedong initially adopted the Chinese Chán practices (early Zen) of his mother.  Chán is within the Great Vehicle of Buddhism, otherwise known as Mahayana, which holds the aspiration of the Bodhisattva as one of its highest ideals. The Bodhisattva is the individual who works to attain Enlightenment as quickly as possible, so that they can benefit every single sentient being in their own path to Enlightenment. Mao at one time aspired to have the Buddha-mind or Bodhicitta. This same man would one day tell His Holiness of the Dalai Lama during their final meeting, “Religion is poison.”

The effects of the “success” of the Four Pests Campaign become readily apparent within the next year. The song of the Sparrows was not heard anywhere in the countryside. The dawn chorus now consisted of only the silent rising of the sun over the eastern horizon. The following spring, the crops started to grow, and immediately, the insects descended upon the feast of tender shoots. The Four Pests Campaign had unwittingly removed Nature’s insect control from China’s agricultural infrastructure.  Starvation rode its pale horse over hinterlands and cities. The Great Leap Forward only succeeded in producing the greatest famine seen in the long history of China. Chairman Mao’s solution to the disaster of his own creation was to quietly replace the pest of the Sparrow with the pest of the bedbug. The damage had been done to the ecology and agriculture of China, but perhaps the most insidious result was the psychological cultivation of accepted violence by millions of children.

Starting in 1966, many of these young survivors of the Great Leap Forward were pressed into service again. They were tasked with removing another blight from the Chinese cultural landscape. A new and more dangerous pest infested in their communities.  The youth were organized into Red Guards with ever-present Little Red Books filled with slogans, propaganda, and hatred. Chairman Mao’s new pests were the intellectuals, artists, the religious, and anyone with the potential for independent thought. If Mao succeeded in eliminating the Sparrow, then why not remove these subversives? The well-indoctrinated youths were all-too-willing to be the nefarious hands of Mao in this destructive enterprise. The violence observed and acted upon during their formative years upon the sparrows had resulted the runaway aggression of their early adulthood.

Female House Sparrow

“Garbage birds! Goddamn trash birds! Introduced Species!” are among the common cries from birders as we have the “misfortune” of seeing the ubiquitous House Sparrow. The House Sparrow has become one of our great pests along with European Starlings, Rock Pigeons, and Eurasian Collared-Doves, the dreaded horde of introduced species from Europe that have captured vast swathes of  territory in the New World. All of these Old World species have had dramatic impacts on the North American native birds via inter-species competition and resource allocation competition. Their introduction has simply been an unmitigated avian catastrophe. But who was the dunderhead that introduced these “pests” and why?

Eugene Schieffelin is history’s villain of the Acclimatization Movement in North American (an ecological Snidely Whiplash, complete with black suit and fancy mustache), for he in his chaotic mind was conceived the notion of introducing all the birds mentioned in the plays of Shakespeare to New York City. He imported starlings in 1890 and House Sparrows some thirty years later, although the starling introduction truly thrived under his guidance. Every European Starling that you see can almost assuredly to trace back to Scheffelin

As a young man, I harbored a particular vindictive attitude towards the starlings and sparrows. I was invariably taught through trusted and not-so-trusted adults and ignorant peers that the introduced species were of little or no value. In fact, they were competition for our preferred species – chickens, pheasants, and livestock, all of which are also introduced to this continent. This engendered hatred coalesced in some acts that I am not proud of.

Lying on burlap feed bags that itched and poked, we waited under a low tin roof. Our 22s were filled with birdshot cartridges. The minutes passed before the first starlings come into the pheasant enclosure for the scattered bits of loose and spilled grain. A host of House Sparrows soon joined them in the sloppy feast. With an unspoken coordinated volley of the rifle fire, hundreds of tiny specks of lead birdshot screamed towards the feeding birds. When the proverbial smoke cleared, several starlings and sparrows laid dead or writhing in the throes of dying. There was little blood and gore, just a scattering of feathered dead bodies. With a flourish of boisterous enthusiasm, we picked up the little birds and took them to be accounted for our bounties of the 10 cents for House Sparrows and a quarter for each starling. Even with several coins in my pocket, I felt a gnawing ping of guilt. My prepubescent self somehow managed to feel that these violent actions were wrong. I was always a gentle child, and engaging in the killing did not properly account with my general nature. Once in a while, I still would kill a sparrow or gopher, but as I aged these slaughterhouse scenes become increasingly infrequent.

The question of the impact of introduced species on the native avian fauna arises though. How can we reduce or eliminate the harmful impacts of these species, and how can it be done in a nonviolent fashion? Or do we simply acknowledge that they are here to stay, and we will have to come to terms with that reality?

The best method to discourage House Sparrows is deployed a range of tactics around your house that are effective.  If you have nesting boxes on your property, please purchase ones that are designed to specific desirable species such as chickadees and swallows. They are a whole range of options that are detailed at http://www.sialis.org/hosp.htm.

As birders, we must cultivate a mindset that views the natural world as it is currently presenting itself. The House Sparrow is simply doing what it has evolved to do. We have to accept that the sparrow is not an object of derision, it is simply another bird. A nonviolent mindset makes birding a more pleasant activity, and affects how we communicate our love of nature to birders or other folks. Out of our concern and compassion, the others will pick up on that vibe, and their outlooks and actions will be altered. We as birders can help society avoid another Four Pests Campaign, and by extension, lead to a more peaceful world for all living beings.

Jeffrey Gordon of the American Birding Association

Jeffrey Gordon, President of the American Birding Association, talks with me about the current state of birding and its future. Also we chat about his emergence as a birder and naturalist.

NOTE: My portion of conversation is of horrible sound quality…apologies in advancement.

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The Unfeathered Bird from Katrina van Grouw is a beautifully illustrated large format book from Princeton University Press that tackles the great task of illustrating a representative selection of the world’s extant bird families. The birds are drawn in unique poses such as a de-feathered Eurasian Buzzard in mid-flight.

This title has received so many wonderful reviews that I feel that my addition is an whole-hearted recommendation. Trust me, if you were to place this title on your coffee table, someone will pick it up and start asking some questions.

See larger image The Unfeathered Bird (Hardcover) By (author) Katrina van Grouw List Price: $49.95 USD New From: $29.84 In Stock Used from: $29.83 In Stock

Birds of Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire in the cool Montana autumn

Sometimes I dream about escaping the lingering flurries and barely tolerable temperatures of February in Montana. I want to feel sand filtering its way through my toes as the tropical sun ever so gently radiates upon my shoulders (maybe even a little sunburn). I start thinking of Jack Johnson and the Beach Boys tunes – oh yeah, “Aruba, Jamaica, Babe I wanna take ya.” Aruba, yeah that’s the ticket. A trip to Aruba cures the winter blahs for certain. But alas, the funds have not materialized in the old bank account. Guess, I will have to settle for reading about the Birds of Aruba, Curaçao & Bonaire.

As far as field guides for Princeton University Press go, this is a rather thin text. Not thin because of lack of content, but rather, it is thin due to the nature of island biogeography. On an island, any habitat is limited, which means the avifauna is likewise limited. These islands are located with such proximity to South America that they can be generally categorized as possessing South American avifauna with a sprinkling of West Indies specialties for variety’s sake. In other words, these islands are not the classic Darwinian hubs of endemic birds.

To be honest, I find the illustrations to be completely cartoonish, almost to the point of not accurately portraying some species (especially the shorebirds). The species accounts are succinct with the best feature being the local names on all three islands for each species. Who know that the Black Skimmer is known as Bok’i skèr on Bonaire? While this is far from the best field guide that Princeton University Press has been so kind to put in front of my eyes, it is just good enough to take away the chill. Is that a tropical breeze I feel?

See larger image Birds of Aruba, Cura�ao, and Bonaire (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback) By (author) Bart de Boer, Eric Newton, Robin Restall List Price: $27.95 USD New From: $14.11 In Stock Used from: $17.39 In Stock

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Greater Sage-grouse

“We just saw 50 Sage Grouse on the lek this morning,” I blurted out as the waitress’s eyes rolled with such force that her head jerked backward.  The Bearded Bird Freak Barricade landed at her table, and boy, was she duly impressed. Well, at least, she will have a new story now about the 3 oddballs that told her way too much about sage grouse. Every birder I know suffers from the same glorious condition of over-the-top enthusiasm for birds, birding, and the natural world. We write, take pictures, ear-beat our friends and family, and, some of us, podcast about birding.

I listen so many podcasts that headphones are my permanent cranial accessory. I subscribe to all the birding podcasts, and most of them are terrific. The hosts share their love of birds with that familiar passion in their voices.  But, I felt something was missing, a certain gap was present. What was missing? That thought stuck with me for months, and then, finally I knew what I could add to the birding discussion.

Birding is more than just birds. Birding is a biological study, natural world immersion program, spiritual practice, conservation effort, economic agent for positive change, and goodwill ambassadorship program all rolled into one incredibly powerful package. The problem is that most of the public and many of our fellow birders do not see this fact. I started the More Than Birds podcast to start telling these largely unknown stories. I want to touch on spiritual aspects of birding with a Buddhist monk and birding friend. I want to know how a father balances family and his birding passion. I want to talk with a filmmaker whose passion is to share the natural world in order to protect it.

You may think that I seem grandiose, but please take a moment to ponder it. How many times have you been silently walking through a still forest, only to notice that you have been become immersed into the world as it is at that moment? No concerns, no desires – just the birds and the present. This is a moment of mindfulness, the very basis of any meditative practice. Birding is spiritual.

Let’s do another thought experiment by way of the following quote.

“I’ve been bird-watching in Israel with both Palestinians and Israeli bird-watchers who’ve gone out with me early in the morning, both inside Jerusalem and in other places.”

This statement is from perhaps the greatest agent of peace in our time, former President Jimmy Carter. He has used his birding passion as part of his peace-making toolbox. When people are totally enthralled by the beauty of a displaying Houbara Bustard, it is hard to aim weapons at one another.

I firmly believe that we as birders can help change the world for the better of all living beings. We can help protect wild areas, save endangered species, provide much-needed monies to less than fortunate economies – all by birding. I hope that my little voice via the podcast can help, but I sincerely encourage you to help in your own way, even if that is sharing your passion with a disinterested waitress. I promise you, she will remember.

Northern Saw-whet Owl

I have been on an absolute owl tear lately. I have found and photographed Northern Pygmy Owl and Great Gray Owl along the Bitterroot River. I accompanied owl researcher Denver Holt on one of his owl trapping/banding field days where I got up close and personal with a Long-eared Owl. All of these experiences have serviced to only ramp up my owl lust. When the sun fades I the evening, I am not thinking about crawling into a warm and cozy bed, I want to be out in the dark and cold listening to Boreal Owls at some high mountain pass. If you were to ask my partner, I am sure she will tell you I have gone a bit around the bend in my quest for owls.

So, what does a confirmed owl nut do when he is not chasing owls? That’s easy, he reads about owls from around the globe, and starts to daydream about fantasy birding trips. Heimo Mikkola’s Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide from Firefly Books is the perfect gateway book for this type of dreaming.

Owls of the World

The guide covers all extant owl species in the world, which is such an overwhelming undertaking. The species accounts are thorough and well-written. However, it is the images that separate this guide from others. I cannot imagine the hours of researching it took to obtain images of living birds for almost all of the world’s owl species.

My recommendation is to run, not walk, and get this guide (or better yet click on the Amazon link below, and have it delivered). Mikkola places the entirety of the owl family into an easily digestible format that I have personally gone through several times. I now have a new favorite owl, the Hume’s Owl of the Arabian Peninsula. Its orange eyes and desert-like coloration really put the hook in me. Look on page 312, and you will see for yourself.

See larger image Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide (Hardcover) By (author) Heimo Mikkola List Price: $49.95 USD New From: $31.64 In Stock Used from: $27.88 In Stock

Naturalist’s Mercantile

What does every community need? A store specializing in bird feeding and naturalist knowledge, of course. In Missoula, we have the Naturalist’s Mercantile, the ultimate nature geeks emporium. The store’s co-owner, Mat Seidensticker, talks with about the store, bird feeding, and his past work as an owl researcher.

My favorite portion of the conversation centered around the diminutive Flammulated Owl, the little enigma of the ponderosa pine forests of the West. Hopefully I can talk Mat into showing me the tricks of trade in finding these owls.

You can reach Mat and the Naturalist’s Mercantile at Facebook or call at (406) 544-0227

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Tristan Reid – The Inked Naturalist

Tristan Reid is the Inked Naturalist, who over the last 20 months has been tattooed with 24 birds that are representative of the Turkey. His tattoos have gone up both arms and even into his head. He did all this as a method of raising awareness of proposed hydrologic projects in Turkey that would devastate native bird populations and displace 2 million people. Tristan also plans to walk across Turkey to further raise awareness in the international community, which will benefit to raise much-needed funds for the Birdlife International partner in Turkey; Doğa Derneği.

You can reach Tristan at his Facebook and Twitter

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Birds of Melanesia with a Kagu illustration

The temperature has climbed to nearly 25 degrees F this afternoon as the sun finally broke throw the dense inversion layer. Over the Bitterroot, a lone Belted Kingfisher rattled its call as it hovered above the ice-free center of the river. With a quick dive, it captures a hapless minnow. Bursting from the river with silver ring of splash, the kingfisher heads up river to its favorite perch to consume the hard-earned meal. The kingfisher is the only reminiscence of tropical warmth in the brilliantly white and silent winter landscape of Montana. The vast majority of its other family members live in the tropics. Many are blue like this kingfishers, while others are green. Some of these cousin species thrive on isolated islands like the Bismarck Kingfisher from the islands of the name name. The Bismarck Kingfisher illustration leaps from the page of the Birds of Melanesia from Princeton University Press.

Melanesia is a region of islands in the south-west Pacific and generally located to the northwest of Australia and New Guinea. This loose logical confederation of islands is mainly inhabited by Papuan-speaking peoples. As unique as the people are in Melanesia, the birds have equally diverge in unique evolutionary directions due to their isolation on the islands. The Kagu (Rhynochetos jubatus) is perhaps the most unique found on New Caledonia. It is so unique that its exact taxonomic affinities are still largely unresolved. Its nearest possible relative is the Sunbittern of Central and South America. The Kagu stalks the undergrowth of the forests where it consumes a diet composed of entirely animal prey.

This terrific Guy Dutson authored guide is exquisitely illustrated with short corresponding text summaries (longer species write-ups occupy the second half of the guide). A specialized bar under the species summary graphical displays the island (island group) presence and relative abundance.

Warming temperatures are starting to herald the coming of spring, and my mind starts to wander to day-dreams of summer birding. I cannot wait to be outside without long sleeves and heavy coats. Maybe next year, I will cheat winter, and search for the Kagu on New Caledonia with my binoculars strap tan on my shoulders.

See larger image Birds of Melanesia: Bismarcks, Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback) By (author) Guy Dutson List Price: $49.95 USD New From: $29.98 In Stock Used from: $29.60 In Stock

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