Good Reads for the Week: 25-January-2013

From PetaPixel, a free plug-in that can save you money on photography purchases.   It only works with the Chrome browser (for now--others coming soon).  It's completely free and there is no registration required.  It's called Honey and you can find out more here:

http://www.petapixel.com/2013/01/24/honey-a-free-plugin-that-can-save-you-money-on-photography-purchases/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PetaPixel+%28PetaPixel%29&utm_content=Google+Reader


Rick Wright writes about The Other Ridgway -- and the 2013 ABA Bird of the Year.  The 'other' Ridgway is John Ridgway, the younger brother of one of the most famous ornithologiests in North America.  The reason this blog post caught my eye is that John Ridgway painted a series of cards for the Singer Sewing Machine company.  I checked ebay to see if there are any available there and there are!   These are new to me!  I have collected (purchased on ebay) some cards painted by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, M.E. Eaton, and others, that were put into Arm & Hammer baking soda boxes.  If you like bird art but don't have a budget for it, buying a few collectible, but affordable, bird cards can be the way to go.  These cards were produced and offered as marketing give-aways at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.

Here's Rick Wright's blog post:

http://birdaz.com/blog/2013/01/22/the-other-ridgway-and-the-2013-aba-bird-of-the-year/

Here's a link to ebay for the John Ridgway / Singer Sewing Machine cards:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=ridgway+singer+sewing+machine+cards&_sacat=0&_from=R40

John Ridgway Northern Mockingbird Card for sale on ebay

And, here's a link to ebay for the Arm & Hammer cards:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=ridgway+singer+sewing+machine+cards&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313&_nkw=Arm+%26+Hammer+cards&_sacat=0



BirdChick is having a contest!  Submit your worst bird photo and win her Swarovski spotting scope.  Details are here:

http://www.birdchick.com/wp/2013/01/win-my-spotting-scope/


Don and Lillian Stokes announce two new portable field guides coming out in March:  The NEW Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern and Western Region.  Read about them here:

http://stokesbirdingblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/announcing-2-new-portable-field-guides.html



Google Images has been redesigned for a 'better user experience'.  I've not used their image search, but I plan to check it out soon:

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2013/01/faster-image-search.html



A lucky fellow received a camera for Christmas from a friend.  It's not all that it seems...  What a hassle, and an almost unbelievable story.  Read about it here:

http://www.petapixel.com/2013/01/21/caveat-emptor-receiving-a-used-new-camera-from-amazon/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PetaPixel+%28PetaPixel%29&utm_content=Google+Reader



Moose Peterson writes about The Uncommon Challenge.  Basically, this is getting to know the birds you're photographing in order to get a lot better pictures:

http://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/2013/01/23/the-uncommon-challenge-another-way/



And finally, National Geographic is celebrating its 125th anniversary.  See what they've put together to celebrate:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/125/




Here's my photo of the week, a Short-eared Owl taken on Robinson Road (near Highway 113) in Solano County last Sunday.

Short-eared Owl at Sunset © Brooke A Miller

Happy Birding!

Brooke A Miller
18-January-2013

Good Reads For The Week: 18-January-2013

Arthur Morris/Birds as Art compares the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II and Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS:

http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2013/01/15/canon-ef-600mm-f4l-is-ii-vs-canon-ef-800mm-f5-6l-is-and-the-winner-is-2/

Canon Canada Opens 'Image Square,' the Canon Experience Centre in Calgary, Alberta.  You can see and try out their products, but you can't actually buy them:

http://www.canonrumors.com/2013/01/canon-canada-opens-image-square-the-canon-experience-centre-in-calgary-alberta/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+canonrumors%2Frss+%28Canon+Rumors%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Canon U.S.A. Raises Awareness About Counterfeit Accessories For Digital Cameras and Camcorders:

http://usa.canon.com/cusa/about_canon/standard_display/aboutcounterfeits

The final roll of Kodachrome film is shot.  Great story to end an era:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=3962

The National Geographic photo contest winner is disqualified for removing a bag from his image:

http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/01/17/national-geographic-photo-contest-winner-gets-disqualified-for-removing-a-bag-from-winning-image-via-a-crop/

George Armistead at the ABA blog writes about the Top 10 Birding Taboos:

http://blog.aba.org/2013/01/the-top-10-birding-taboos.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+aba-blog+%28ABA+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Swarovski sends BirdChick a brand new Swarovski ATX spotting scope, but it doesn't play nice with her camera:

http://www.birdchick.com/wp/2013/01/new-swarovski-digiscoping-set-up-with-the-atx/

An interesting article, posted on the Cornell Lab or Ornithology's All About Birds website, about the interrelationship between Pinyon Jays and Pinyon Pines.  An interesting relationship that may help both species make it through climate change:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=2552

Ms Robin draws ferns with her 3rd graders:

http://robinlazzara.blogspot.com/2013/01/fun-with-ferns.html

My friend Steve, over at Test Driving Life, reviews the Subaru XV Crosstrek:

http://testdrivinglife.blogspot.com/2013/01/subaru-xv-crosstrek-updating-outback.html

And finally, in birders and photographers behaving badly, are a couple of folks caught in the act of stalking a Ferruginous Hawk in Coyote Valley, Morgan Hill:

http://www.birdguy.net/reports/paas_winter13.html

My photo of the week, a Golden Eagle, in Coyote Valley, Santa Clara County:

Golden Eagle © Brooke A Miller

How It All Began

I can still hear the House Sparrows chirping, and watching them fly to and from the adobe tiles on the front of my Grandparent's roof.  This was long ago, in my early childhood.  The birds seemed happy and busy and content with each other.  I imagined they had nests inside those half-round tiles; that they were flying in to deliver food, and flying out to get more for their nestlings.  I loved spending time at my grandparent's place for many reasons, one of them was because of these birds.

House Sparrow - Photo from Wikipedia

At my childhood home we had several Pyracantha bushes in the backyard, and each winter the American Robins came and gorged themselves on them.  They're getting 'drunk' is what I was told.  They did seem to fly kinda fast and goofy to and from those bushes.  I remember sitting at the living room window watching this spectacle many, many times over the years.  Like watching the House Sparrows at my grandparents, I could watch the robins for as long as they'd stay.

American Robin © Brooke A Miller

Then, there was the bottlebrush bush we had in the backyard as well.  This attracted hummingbirds.  Watching them sip nectar from the flowers, zip here and there, and fly straight up and dive down, was heaven.  Again, I could lose all track of time when watching a hummingbird.

Anna's Hummingbird © Brooke A Miller

These early childhood experiences with garden birds must have been the beginning of my love for birds and nature.  As a Brownie and Girl Scout our troop spent many weekends doing outdoor activities, overnight camping trips, and the like.   The more I experienced the great outdoors, the more I wanted to experience!

Fast forward a few years and when I was choosing what to study in college, it had to be Ecology!  I was going to save the earth, save wildlife, and save birds from, well... humans, and their destructive ways.   So I went on to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and studied Natural Resources Management.   I learned about habitat management, ornithology, biology, botany, mammalogy, soil science, fisheries and wildlife management.  My first birding field trip was in 1977.  I still have my checklist.   That was the first time I had actually went out 'birding'.  ...and it was wonderful!  I bought my first pair of binoculars around that time and they kept with me for many, many years before they finally just disintegrated.

Those were simpler times:  binoculars for $39.95, the Birds of North America Golden field guide, and a coat; you were 'out there' looking for birds and learning their field marks.    In a lot of ways, birding can still be 'simple', as simple as looking out your window, or as simple as a walk down the block.  Birding became a major focus in my life because birds of one sort or another are everywhere, and you just never know what you'll see where, or when something different will pop up.

So, that's the how, where, and when of how it began for me -- House Sparrows, Anna's Hummingbirds, and American Robins in the yard.

Thank you to the backyard birds that caught my interest so long ago... and who still do!



Brooke A Miller

16-January-2013

Highlights of Week 1, 2013

I've had 3 full days of birding during the first week of 2013 so far.  Here are some highlights:

I started out the year on January 1 at Oka Ponds, in Santa Clara County.  The bird to find here was a first winter Harris's Sparrow.  It did not disappoint and was found easily, although there was some waiting and patience involved to get good views for the camera.  It's a Zonotrichia sparrow and is fairly rare for our area, although it seems like a few have been seen around the Bay Area during wintertime during the last several winters.  A 'spiffy'-looking sparrow, indeed!

Harris's Sparrow @ Oka Ponds © Brooke A Miller

 

Harris's Sparrow @ Oka Ponds © Brooke A Miller

Also of note at Oka Ponds on the 1st was a Green Heron interacting with a Common Gallinule.

Green Heron and Common Gallinule @ Oka Ponds © Brooke A Miller

I then headed to Radio Road in Redwood Shores, San Mateo County.  I had some beautiful afternoon views of Blue-winged, Green-winged, and Cinnamon Teal, as well as Eurasian Wigeon.  For whatever reason, I missed Eurasian Wigeon in 2012.

Blue-winged Teal © Brooke A Miller

Green-winged Teal © Brooke A Miller

Cinnamon Teal © Brooke A Miller

Eurasian Wigeon © Brooke A Miller

 I spent all day Wednesday out in the Central Valley at Cosumnes River Preserve, Staten Island Road, and finally Woodbridge Road with Sequoia Audubon, led by Leslie Flint.

Sandhill Cranes Dancing © Brooke A Miller

One of the highlights of the day were finding these two Sandhill Cranes dancing.  I don't think I'd seen this before, at least not this close-up.  It was quite a sight watching the posturing and the jumping!

Tundra Swans at Woodbridge Road © Brooke A Miller

We went to Woodbridge Road for the sunset fly-in.  There weren't huge numbers of birds, but the experience was ethereal as it always is.  These Tundra Swan were just beautiful!

The last day of the first week of January, Sunday the 6th, I spent with friends Sonny Mencher, Mary Ann Allen, and Cathy Loewen in coastside San Mateo County.  Our target birds were the Black-throated Blue Warbler, Rough-legged Hawk and Eastern Phoebe.  All 3 were seen and the Black-throated Blue Warbler was a lifer for me!

Black-throated Blue Warbler, San Mateo County © Brooke A Miller

Rough-legged Hawk, San Mateo County © Brooke A Miller

Eastern Phoebe, San Mateo County © Brooke A Miller

Its been a busy first week!  My 2013 species count is already at 132!   I'm using eBird diligently now to record all my sightings, something I started doing fairly religiously last year.

It's already a great year and I'm looking forward to all of 2013!

Brooke A Miller
January 8 , 2013

My 2013 Birding and Photo Resolutions

California Condor © Brooke A Miller

1.  Just get out there!  This is first and foremost for me.  I keep busy with lots of things--things that have to be done, and things I want to do.

Golden-crowned Sparrow © Brooke A Miller

2.  Don't just look, but see!   It's so easy to not really see what you're looking at day-in and day-out.  Make a note of field marks on the birds, don't just say in your mind what the bird is!

Hermit Thrush © Brooke A Miller

3.  Keep learning!  Ok, so this one isn't too hard for me.   Read, learn and experience more about birds, photography, and photo post-processing.  Use this new knowledge!

Long-eared Owl © Brooke A Miller

4.  Expand my horizons--get outside my familiar box!   Go to new places; use new techniques.

Tree Swallows and their Nest Box © Brooke A Miller

5.  Keep my photos backed up daily.   I'm all backed up on the first day of 2013, and I need to keep it that way!

6.  Take better photos, not more photos!(?)  There's nothing like coming home from a birding outing to process 500 photos of only about 25 bird species, when I saw 75 bird species!  Photo processing takes so much time and perhaps there's no easy answer here.  Maybe I do need to take a lot of photos; if so, I need to hit the 'delete' key a lot easier and quicker.  

Bobcat © Brooke A Miller

7.  New gear!?  I love my Canon 7D that I've been using for 3+ years.  I'm hoping that Canon introduces a new APS-C DSLR this year with fast FPS.  Whenever they do I will get it!  I don't have a backup camera and I really need one.  There will most likely be new photo processing software in 2013 as well.

There are rumors of a Canon EOS 7D Mark II

8.  Keep my photo site and blog current!   I really love my new name and logo, thanks to my daughter, Robin!   I hope to write a blog post at least once a week, and post new photos to my photo site http://idbirds.smugmug.com whenever I have new photos.

Brooke A Miller
January 1, 2013