Birds
A Brief Note on Bird Blogging
Blogging is funny. One day, you sit behind the blogging console to write a post, but try as you might to stay focused on your intended topic, what comes out is an entirely different story. Tuesday night’s post (Birding is Hard. But Someone has to do it) was exactly that. It started as an introduction to [...]
Ruddy Ground-dove in the Rio Grande Valley
Nothing heightens the excitement of a birding festival than a rare bird being found in the beginning days. Here at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, a Ruddy Ground-Dove was spotted on Day 1. The Ruddy Ground-dove is a “very rare visitor (almost 20 records overall) along the entire length of the [Rio Grande] river [...]
Rio Grande Valley Festival Time!
Today I am up to my ears in gear and garb in preparation for my next trip. I am heading down to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas for this week’s Birding and Nature Festival. This will be my second year in attendance, so I’m both primed and excited about the birds (and the birders) [...]
Photo Quiz: Can you name this raptor?
Can you name this raptor? Hint: I was standing down in one of the southernmost areas of Texas near Brownsville during last year’s Rio Grande Valley Birding & Nature Festival. The bird circled above my party’s heads for several minutes. Eventually, it disappeared and a Crested Caracara showed up in the same airspace. I hope [...]
ABA Starts New Chorus
No, I don’t mean the fine young ladies and hairy gentlemen from the Colorado Springs ABA office are lining up together in sequined leotards and feather headdresses chanting “Weeeee are the Birds…come on let’s doooo it” while kicking their right legs up in the air. I mean the ABA started a chorus of voices, a new [...]
Evolution in Publishing: Your Digital National Geographic is Here!
In my mailbox this morning arrived a welcome message. Zinio.com, a digital magazine newsstand, just released a National Geographic digital issue (for both desktop and iPad). Who doesn’t love National Geographic? It’s a dream of a magazine…the first one I go to whenever I plop down for a long wait at the doctor’s office. Since [...]
Latest Project: Web 2.0-friendly WordPress Installation
I am pleased to report the launch of my latest web project for a birding tour company. This was a fantastic collaboration between my web team (Katherine Koch, lead designer and Bill Klingensmith, Rob Mauer, and Sean Koch) and the owners of Tropical Birding (a birding tour company based in Quito, Ecuador). The result is [...]
How Technology Can Harness Multiple Thought Leaders
I guess you could call me a social media maven. I’m just as likely to stay awake reading Mashable.com articles on new ways organizations are using social media to promote their message as I am reading about birds seen from the Canopy Tower in Panama. I am also prone to philosophizing and problem solving, so [...]
Bird-friendly Glass Inspired by Spider Webs Lessens Window Strikes
Millions of birds die from window strikes each year. A German company called Arnold Glas seeks to overcome that problem by designing Ornilux glass, which contains a special UV coating that is visible to birds, but doesn’t obstruct the view for humans. While we see a solid, clear pane, birds see a Jack Frost-like web [...]
The Great Adirondack Birding Celebration
The 2010 Great Adirondack Birding Celebration will be held June 4-6 at the Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Center in Paul Smiths. The weekend features birding trips, lectures, workshop and the popular Teddy Roosevelt Birding Challenge. The keynote address will be given by Dr. Peter Marra, a terrestrial animal ecologist at Smithsonian Institution. For more [...]
