ABA Blog

Who Else Likes My Brush Pile?

A couple of weeks ago, I extolled the virtues of my back yard brush pile.  I find myself surveilling the structure nearly every day breakfast, and last week was tickled to see a Red Fox effortlessly hop my 5-foot fence as I enjoyed toast and coffee.  It was clearly well-practiced at the ambush, probably hoping for a distracted squirrel, careless bird, or lingering mouse but on this morning the critters at the pile took shelter and the fox moved on after showing off its balancing prowess by strolling along the top of the fence by way of departure.  Curious to learn more about what besides birds may be visiting my brush pile, I deployed a motion-activated trail camera to keep 24-hour vigil when I wasn't watching for myself out the kitchen window.

In the short time I've been keeping track, I've found the fox to visit almost every day, at about any time though not yet mid-day. I'll bet it has come away successful at least once and so keeps trying, though I've yet to capture a capture on my trail cam.  

Hmmm, why is this squirrel in a hurry to be elsewhere??

Oh, that's why..

The fox knows when the gig is up, though, and breaks off the chase (though no doubt remembers the details to adjust its strategy the next time.)

Maybe a dawn raid?

No good.

Pre-dawn might be good for mice...

Besides the fox, I've seen a few other night visitors.  One, though unwelcome, triggered two interesting frames...

One night this fat cat swung by the pile.  I've never seen it during the day, but it underscores the benefit of the brush pile as nearby cover for feeding birds.  It also forces an errant cat to approach from the open ground in front of the brush pile, denying it the element of surprise.  Now what is the cat looking up at on this brisk night?

 

A second later, the cat is looking nearly straight up.  Right under the numerals 3/5 at top center (which means frame 3 of 5 in the sequence), note a gray blur that isn't there in the first frame- click to enlarge both cat pics and you'll see it.  I believe this is a wingtip of an owl flushed by the cat and if so, the worst photo I've ever acquired of a strigiform.  

Squirrels have the daytime clean-up concession, but at night sometimes a Raccoon will see what spilled seed is left to mop up. Cylindrical baffles like the one visible on the left pole keep both grounded, leaving the feeders to those that can fly in (though I'm sure the fox could jump up if desired.)

Brushing Up

Earlier this fall, I had an ash tree that needed some pruning back.  One cut led to another, and soon I had a daunting pile of limbs, branches, and twigs to deal with.  I lopped the bigger stuff into campfire wood (local use only, wouldn't want to inadvertently spread Emerald Ash Borers...) and chopped a bunch of the leftovers up into mulch using my chipper/shredder.  But in a perfect blend of putting off work while helping birds, I heaped the rest into a pile behind my feeder array.

My winter brush pile, providing cover near my feeder array and keeping the photo opps coming!

 A brush pile gives birds a place to stage as they come out to feed and offers a quick retreat from predators such as accipiters- the National Wildlife Federation includes this as an idea to create cover for improving backyard wildlife habitat. Some species of birds just don't like to be out in the open, and having the brush pile around increases the chance of seeing these skulkers.  I have a big permanent brush pile beyond the more manicured part of my yard for birds to roost or take cover in, but in the winter feeding season I plan to maintain the smaller pile by the feeders, with my photo blind set up nearby to take advantage of the birds that visit.  So far this fall I have already reaped the dividend of a couple of new yard birds and some fun photos- thanks, brush pile!!

 

I love raptors, and Sharp-shinned Hawks like this youngster always liven up my day when they patrol the feeders.  This guy was playing the waiting game with birds in the brush and in my spruces, completely intent on their scuttling deep in the cover and trying to figure out how to successfully get at them.  A brush pile gives small birds cover from predators, but a sharpie won't shy at following birds right into the brush pile or thick spruce boughs if it thinks it has a chance. 

 

    

Eurasian Collared-Doves scatter up instead of into cover.  This can be a bad move when an experienced Cooper's Hawk is sharing their airspace, as evidenced by this adult enjoying a plump exotic columbid dinner atop a neighboring building.  Don't worry- despite the intentions of my Super Cooper Troopers I've still got plenty of EuroDos around.

 

Junco diversity in the west is pretty sweet.  I've had all of the Dark-eyed Junco subspecies in my yard, and having a brush pile increases their numbers and length of their stay.  Here a Pink-sided Junco looks for stray seeds in frosty thyme, a few hops away from shelter under the tangle of branches.

 

My favorite junco, a spanking White-winged Junco, makes an appearance in the brush pile late last month.

 

As I scrambled to unobtrusively switch off my focus limiter, the White-winged Junco hopped towards me, unaware or uncaring as I snapped away from my photo blind just a few meters away.

 

Last weekend  on a lazy morning I scanned the brush pile from our kitchen window after an overnight basting of snow.  Much to my surprise and delight, a big white-bellied immature Harris's Sparrow was working in and out of the branches with the mix of more common birds.

 

As some of my birding buddies from across the pond might say, What a Stonker!!

Young Birders Wanted! First-ever Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival Young Birder Track

From ABA Young Birder blog coordinator Jennie Duberstein, comes this announcement regarding the upcoming Lower Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival:

--=====--

Last November I had the opportunity to co-lead field trips at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. Although I’d been to the area several times before, going as part of the festival was a completely different experience. From the impressive lineup of leaders and speakers (impressive both in terms of knowledge and experience, as well as sheer numbers) to the fantastic expo to the enthusiastic participants, not to mention the unique birds, butterflies, habitats of the region, it didn’t take long for me to realize that this is a special festival.

 One of the participants on one of the trips I led was a young birder from Delaware (read her account of her festival experience here: http://birding.typepad.com/youngbirders/2012/08/the-rio-grande-valley-birding-festival-2011.html). This young woman’s enthusiasm and interest caught the attention of everyone she interacted with, and after the festival field trip coordinator Mary Gustafson asked me if I’d be interested in helping to put together a special young birder “track” for the 2012 festival. We sat down last December and sketched out some ideas for how it could work, and the next thing I knew, the first-ever Young Birder Track at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival was on the books, co-sponsored by the ABA and Leica Sport Optics.

Cameron Cox/Leica Sport Optics

 The Young Birder Track (YBT) includes field trips, evening programs, and more, just for young birders. We will visit renowned sites such as Anzalduas County Park, South Padre Island, Estero Llano Grande State Park, and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. A rock star slate of co-leaders will join the group over the course of the four days, including ABA President Jeff Gordon, Cameron Cox and Jen Brumfield (Leica Sport Optics), Michael O’Brien and Louise Zemaitis (VENT), and Bill Thompson III (Birdwatcher’s Digest), among others. It is truly going to be a one-of-a-kind experience.

Jen Brumfield/Leica Sport Optics

 All that we need now? A few more young birders! This is where you, gentle readers, come in. We’re down to the wire. There is just one more day to register for the festival, and we still have space left in the young birder track, so we’re asking for help in spreading the word. Do you know of a young person who might be interested? Please let them know about this opportunity. Are you attending the festival yourself? Why not bring along a young birder!

Cameron Cox/Leica Sport Optics

For more information, including how to register, see details below, visit the festival website or contact Jennie Duberstein, ABA Young Birder Program Liaison. Space is limited, so register soon!

Fee $450 / Thursday 8 Nov – Sunday 11 Nov 2012 / Ages: 13-18

The American Birding Association, Leica Sport Optics, and the RGV Birding Festival have teamed up to offer a stellar opportunity for young naturalists. This first-ever Young Birder Track will be conducted in conjunction with the Festival, utilizing its resources and events, but with custom trips and programs for young birder participants. Learn about the natural history and ecology of the region, find out about careers in birding and conservation, and meet other young birders from around the country, as well as pro leaders, authors, and artists, all while seeing the Rio Grande Valley’s unparalleled birds, butterflies, habitats, and more.

 Young Birder Track participants do not need an accompanying adult in order to participate (although adults are very welcome to attend the Festival!)

THE TOP 10: Cutest Birds in North America

Precisely what makes a bird “cute” is kind of hard to say. You don’t have to ask someone why puppies or kittens are cute. They just are undeniably cute. It is a fact we all accept. Their cuteness requires no explanation, and is not up for debate. Undeniably cute birds exist too, but some are only cute if you know them a little bit. It’s like appreciating the charming tics of an old friend. Seeing a familiar bird’s energy, comportment, and presence stirs affection. Once a Carolina Wren or a House Wren has graced your yard, you cannot observe their fussy, industrious perambulations without fondness. Such birds become cute (or cuter) as you come to know them. They acquire meaning.

            Perhaps wrens aren’t really the best example as I think most folks would agree they are pretty darn cute. And while cuteness in birds is certainly somewhat subjective, it does have several persistent themes. Smallness helps. Small birds are often cute, especially if they have some attitude. Mix 1 part smallness with 2 parts moxie and you have yourself a cute bird. (If you are short on moxie, crankiness is a fine substitute). Large eyes and short tails also help. Plumpness really helps, as does fuzziness. It’s also odd how ugliness is kind of cute. I don’t really understand why, but it’s true. (I recall my sisters musing on the cuteness appeal of Jabba the Hut… Maybe it’s the same thing with birds?). And perhaps for similar reasons, absurd “hairdos” on birds create cuteness as well.

Below you will find my take on the "Top 10 Cutest Birds in North America", but check out our SLIDESHOW: (Cute Birds of the Americas) for a more thorough examination of cute birds in North and South America.

10.

Boreal Chickadee ©George L. Armistead

Chickadees are pretty undeniably cute with their podgy bodies, small size, and alert attitudes.

9.

Winter Wren ©George L. Armistead

As mentioned, wrens rock! Winter Wrens have a voice that seems a million times the size they are.

8.

Bufflehead © Dorian Anderson/www.dorianandersonphotography.com

Also known as Little Dippers or Butterballs, when seen in life the small and plump proportions of the Bufflehead are undeniably appealing.

7.

Eastern Screech-Owl ©Bill Schmoker

Owls are universally appealing, but small owls are nearly absurdly so.

6.

American Coot ©Bill Schmoker

Talk about an ugly duckling... Things should get easier for this baby coot. I often quote my father when speaking about coots. He says," I like a coot, because you never see a coot puttin on any airs."

5.

Brown-headed Nuthatch ©George L. Armistead

Small, plump, and emitting fussy sounds, nuthatches are always crowd-pleasers.

4.

Least Auklets ©George L. Armistead

The Alcid family holds some pretty charming birds like puffins, Dovekie and Least Auklets, the smallest of the auks.

3.

Northern Saw-whet Owl ©Bill Schmoker

Few birds are cuter than the Saw-whet Owl. Once seen in life, they are never forgotten.

2.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet ©George L. Armistead

Kinglets are tiny, dainty, and attractive, with a little "fight" in their calls too.

1.

Piping Plover © Dorian Anderson/www.dorianandersonphotography.com

Shorebird babies are pretty ridiculously cute, but plover chicks are best of all. If this doesn't melt your heart, then you better check yourself....

Don't take my word for it though. See the birds for yourself! Check out these ABA Birding Events coming up soon:

1. Winter Birding Rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico February 16-20, 2013. REGISTER NOW!

Join Ashli Gorbet, Jeff & Liz Gordon, Bill Schmoker, George Armistead and others to search for rosy-finches and other southwestern specialties.

2. The Cradle of American Ornithology: An IFO Program in Philadelphia, Mar. 27-31, 2013.

Join Ted Floyd and George to learn about the history of bird study in the birthplace of the nation. Of course there will be plenty of birding too. Secure a spot now!

3. Gulf Stream Tubenoses of North Carolina: An IFO Program in Cape Hatteras, NC June 9-14, 2013.

George and Alvaro Jaramillo will give illustrated talks in a classroom setting to make the time at sea more valuable. We will search for seabirds but also unravel the secrets of these mystical birds through study. Secure a spot now!

 

Negate the Noise

In my last installment I talked about potentially Red-lining your ISO by setting a desired shutter speed and letting your camera's auto-ISO feature keep up by adjusting the sensitivity.  As advertisers are fond of saying, results may vary- make sure to play around with ISO on your camera to see how far you can push your sensor and still have acceptable results.  

The main issue with high-ISO settings is the image noise that can be introduced.  This is sort of like of the digital equivalent of film grain for those of us who can remember shooting slides or print film.  Basically, with faster ISO settings more random electronic noise will be introduced to the image, degrading its quality.  In general, newer cameras with later-generation sensors handle high-ISO settings with better noise control.  Larger sensors (like those found on full-sized DSLR bodies) are also generally less "noisy" than smaller sensors found on compact cameras.  Check your shooting menu- many cameras have a high-ISO noise reduction setting to help get cleaner images when you are red-lining your ISO.  Noise can be very hard to see on busy, focused backgrounds like branches, leaves, and grass, but is most noticeable in shadows and dark, out-of focus backgrounds.  

As a general rule I'd rather have sharp but noisy images instead of soft, "clean" snaps as noise can be dealt with easier than soft focus.  Here's an example of a really high-ISO shot is used in my last post, a Hermit Thrush image shot at ISO 6400.  This is what it looks like out of the camera (opened in Adobe Photoshop Elements for editing):

Note that the picture looks a little washed out.  Composition isn't great, either, but to focus on the bird and get the metering right I centered on the adult bird.  So let's start with a more pleasing crop:

By next going to 100% view, we can evaluate the picture.  It is pretty sharp (noting the facial feathering detail, for example) but also quite noisy (click on the image to enlarge and note the green background.)  Realistically, this wouldn't make a great cover shot for the next Birding Magazine, but all hope is not lost...

The first thing I suggest is running a noise reduction filter.  I use NoiseWare, which runs as a plug-in from the filters menu in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.  There are certainly other options, either as built-in features in photo editing software or as aftermarket products.  Most of the time with NoiseWare I find the default values work well (plus I'm lazy and would rather look at birds than at a computer), but other presets are available along with user-customized settings.  Check out how much the image cleans up with a NoiseWare pass:

After processing for noise, I'll re-size the image.  Since this is for the web and/or email, I'll make it 14" wide @ 72 dpi.

Finally, I'll slightly adjust the levels so the bird looks like what I remember seeing:

And Shazzam- a slick pic of a neat bird encounter, much improved by about 1 minute of post-processing:

 Here's one more case study of a high-ISO photo, this time of a Broad-tailed Hummingbird I shot in my back yard last August.  I really like the dramatic dark background, but that kind of backdrop is especially prone to showing sensor noise.  This image was shot at ISO 1800, with exposure compensation at -2/3 to avoid blowing out highlights on the sunlit bird.  Here's what it looks like out of the gate:

Rotated and enlarged to 100%, the dark background looks pretty noisy:

So I'll run it through NoiseWare to get this:

A quick crop, re-size, level adjustment, & wee bit of sharpening leaves a pleasing image for the web or email:

 Any other noise reduction tips?  If you have a product to recommend or technique to try please leave a comment!

Scenes From Mel and Jeanne's 600th Party!

Yesterday, we had a great open mic post from Mel Goff, our volunteer librarian. In it, he recounted his recent trip with his wife, Jeanne, to Alaska.

 

Mel Goff, ABA's volunteer librarian, as we're used to seeing him every Wednesday

If you read Mel's post (and if you haven't, go do it!) you know that the Goffs had a very special milestone on their cruise: their 600th ABA Area life bird. So we thought that a little congratulatory celebration was in order. 

 

 

If you can take your eye off the chocolate cake long enough, look at that box. What could be in it?

Here's a quick video of Mel and Jeanne opening their special gift. 

 

 

 

A shot of the happy couple.

 

Leach's Storm-Petrel ornament painted by Marcia Poling. Even got the tube on the nose!

Ted, Michael, and Ned, I'll save you the trouble...she missed the hyphen in Storm-Petrel. Mel, maybe you can add that in? Pretty darn cool otherwise, huh?

Thanks so much, Mel, for your service to the ABA. You're a credit to our community and we're just thrilled to have you as part of the ABA family. Now, get to work on that 700!

Been Banding Lately?

Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting an educational bird banding station run by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory at Barr Lake State Park, just northeast of Denver.  Meredith McBurney and her team of volunteers do a fantastic job of engaging school groups, bird club trips, individual birders, and passers-by (the banding table is along a popular hiking trail.)  Meredith is amazing at explaining what's going on with each bird to anyone from pre-schoolers to folks with decades of serious birding under their belts.  Birds in hand catalyze discussions ranging from the esoteric to expressions of delight and amazement.  During my visit I compared and contrasted subtle Dusky vs. Hammond's Flycatcher features and pondered why silent fall "Western" Flycatchers in Colorado should be left at that instead of putting Cordilleran or Pacific-slope tags on them.  But equally cool topics included shared retinal wonderment at the vivid azure hues on a Blue Jay or amazement at the impossibly tiny bundle of migratory energy wrapped up in a MacGillivray's Warbler.

Birders of all ages & experience levels have much to learn at a bird banding station.

I've been to many banding stations throughout my birding life and always come away knowing more than I did before the visit.  My last trip also reminded me that bird banding is also a potentially good hook for beginners.  As a follow-up to the outstanding Pledge 2 Fledge initiative, perhaps you'd consider bringing a new birder to a banding station near you!  

Seeing what Peter Pyle says about determinging age & sex of Townsend's Warblers.

One last detailed look at a Townsend's Warbler before it continues on its way towards warmer climes for the winter.

Kids who mind their P's and Q's might even get to help release a bird like this MacGillivray's Warbler.

Studying in-hand nuances of birds like this Cassin's Vireo can help birders get a grip on tricky field IDs such as separating species within the Solitary Vireo complex.

 

Pledge to Fledge: The Best Thing You Can Do This Weekend

 

School children in Wilderness, Western Cape, South Africa earlier today participating in Pledge to Fledge. Photo courtesy Keith Barnes.

It's August 24, the first day of the first Pledge to Fledge event. If you've somehow missed the buzz surrounding this event, take a look at Richard Crossley's post here from last week. Also check the P2F website and Facebook page, where there is already quite a bit of material up from last night's kickoff event in Cape May, as well as some cool shots of Keith Barnes' efforts to fledge some new birders in South Africa. No doubt there will be much more to come.

I'm especially encoraged to see Pledge to Fledge emerge now, as I think it represents an important evolution in birding culture. Though I've often heard birders decry the lack of "new blood" coming into our community, I've rarely seen much in the way of focussed efforts to do something about it. Don't get me wrong—I know we've all stood at tables, gone to various events, and so on in hopes of minting some new birders. These are laudable efforts and they haven't been wholly unsuccessful.

But I think what is needed is an almost complete overhaul in how we recruit and I see Pledge to Fledge as an important step in that direction. Putting it in birding terms, we have to get as good at finding, identifying and sparking new birders as we have gotten at finding, identifying and spreading the word of vagrant birds.

Think how much time, effort, and ingneuity has been put into learing the habits, habitats, hotspots, weather patterns, and search techniques involved in ferreting out rare birds. Where these efforts have been most successful, they've involved shifting our frame of reference, dropping our old behavior patterns and learning to think like like the wayward birds we seek.

When I started birding the Mid-Atlantic in the mid-1970's, early November was considered a sort of lull between the peak of hawk migration and the peak of waterfowl migration. Not too much to see then, the thinking went. Now, thanks to the efforts of Paul Lehman and dozens of others like him, early November is recognized as perhaps the most exciting, productive time of the year, if finding Mid-Atlantic vagrants is your thing. And our expectations of what's possible then, in terms of numbers and diversity have been exceeded time and again.

What I'm really excited about in the coming years is helping the ABA get just that good at reaching and sparking new birders. There's much to be learned about where we can find them, how they behave, and what conditions set the stage for that magical conversion experience. I think we're not that far from a day when how good a day we've had in the field will be measured not only by how many species we found but also by the number of new birders we recruited.

As a community, we have so, so much to learn about how best to do this. And there's no substitue for getting out there and just giving it a whirl, refining what works and sidelining what doesn't. And the fact that so many others will be doing the same thing this weekend, gives us all a great opportunity to share our triumphs and our tribulations.

 

Liz shares her bins, and a view of a Prairie Falcon, with a birder-to-be at Garden of the Gods.

Liz and I have already got at least one spot picked out where we'll go birding for new birders this weekend: Garden of the Gods. It's a big tourist attraction, so there are plenty of people around, almost none of them there for birding. But there are nifty birds to look at, usually including Prairie Falcons. And a spotting scope set up in a place like that always draws a crowd, and the inevitable, "Whatcha lookin' at?," conversation openers. I think it's an ideal place to practice our recruitment skills.

How about you? Where might you spend an hour or two this weekend and snag a new birder or two? A local park with a duck pond? Maybe a zoo that has wild but relatively tame birds wandering the grounds? Remember, you don't need rare birds to do this. You want close birds, preferably lots of them. Don't worry if it's starlings or magpies. They'll work.

ABA board member Kenn Kaufman and Kim Kaufman, director of the Ohio's Black Swamp Bird Observatory, have a nice post on their blog with tips on taking new birders birding. It's worth a look as you're making your plans.

Mainly, remember to be friendly and enjoy yourself. Birding is a wonderful thing. Let's all get as good as we can at securing its future by growing our ranks.

So take the Pledge. Then get out there! Make sure your Bird of the Year stickers are in place and wear your ABA logo wear, if you have it. And be sure to tell us what you discover!



 

 

ABA Debuts Birding News!

 

Since the early 1990’s at least, birders have been sharing news via e-mail subscription lists. These lists were a great way to keep up with the birding scene in a given region. But they weren’t always the most convenient things to work with, especially if you just wanted to check in on what’s going on in a region but didn't want to go through the process of subscribing, figuring out settings, managing e-mail flow, and so on.

Enter Jack Siler and Birdingonthe.net. Jack is a Philadelphia birder and ABA member who long ago saw a need for a single place where all these user-generated news feeds could be aggregated and easily accessed. Nothing like that existed, so Jack, who isn't officially a web programmer, went ahead and built it himself. His groundbreaking site, especially the BirdMail page, quickly became one of the most heavily trafficked and most beloved birding spots on the entire world wide web.

And for years, Jack has maintained the site with incredible dedication and attention to detail on which thousands have come to rely. But the time has come for Jack to move on to other things including, we hope, getting a well-deserved break from tending these particular fires.

We’re thrilled that Jack has honored us by passing the torch of his inspired marshalling of local, regional, national and international birding mail lists to the American Birding Association. The result is ABA's Birding News (birding.aba.org). We’ve worked hard and are working hard to preserve Jack’s vision while building an entirely new site that incorporates the expanded possibilites of rapidly evolving web technology. We hope you're as excited by the initial results and the possibilites for the future as we are.

We have updated the inner workings of the site, allowing us to archive more messages on each list (30 day’s worth, instead of just a couple dozen), and to filter the messages so you can easily see reports of rarities based on the ABA checklist codes. Additionally, we’ve plugged in social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, so you can easily share messages that you find interesting, funny, provocative, or otherwise worthwhile with a huge audience that would have been highly unlikely to see them previously.

We at the ABA have always believed that the birding community is an immense storehouse of incredibly valuable and hard-won knowledge. And that birders know an awful lot about how to have a good time, plus some great stories of having some not-so-good times. We've always tried to shape and curate that knowledge and experience into useful things like the ABA/Lane Birdfinding Guides. Birding News is an attempt to do the same thing for the millions of bytes of birding information that go winging around the web every day. We want to make it all easier, more useful, and more fun.

The best part is, this is only the beginning. We can't wait to see what you, the birding community, make of Birding News. We promise to keep making it better, responding to your comments and suggestions, learning together as we all move forward. It's what birders do, after all.

We'll be talking a lot more, here and elsewhere, about Birding News. For now, go on over and have a look around. We think you're going to like what you see.

The address is easy. Say it with me: BIRDING dot ABA dot ORG! birding.aba.org Remember it. Visit it. Bookmark it, and the individual lists you visit often. And tell your friends.

Special congratulations are due to ABA's David Hartley and Greg Neise for their painstaking work setting this all up. They were aided by a succession of contract programmers, especially Greg Mahoney and Andy Sheppard. Thanks, too, to Carrie Hartley for a fresh but classic new look.

And finally, once again, thank you Jack Siler! For your hard work, your creativity, and your involvement in the birding community. We can't begin to express our gratitude that you've trusted the ABA with your baby. We aim to make you, and all birders, proud.

Young Birds & Young Birders

I'm enjoying my last day of summer break, doing a little back-to-school shopping (yeah, teachers do that too) and taking some trips down memory lane as I review some pics & vids from the last few weeks' worth of adventures.   Some of my most rewarding experiences this summer involved birding & naturalizing with young birders, particularly the privilege of leading at Camp Colorado and taking my most important client (my son Garrett) around Colorado's high country.  I also enjoy summer's chance of finding young birds, both to celebrate successful nesting and to entertain the hope that the next generation of birders and nature lovers will still have productive habitats and special birds to see.  Here's a little video that combines both themes- I hope you enjoy it.  -Bill Schmoker