Young Birder Blog Birding #9 (September 2012)

Compiled by Alexandria Simpson

September to me is a sad reminder that summer cannot last forever and cruel, cold winter is on its way. However, the month does have highlights. For example, on September 9^th, I was privileged to speak to several groups of elementary-aged kids about ducks and duck conservation at the West Texas Fair. And despite my feelings about the month, there were plenty of good blog posts.

Alex Burdo at his blog, Flight of the Scrub Jays, shares his feelings on “patch listing” noting the differences between a hotspot and a patch. 

Being the second decade of the twenty-first century, the majority of us have relatively easy access to an automobile, or at least some kind of transportation powered by fossil fuels. As we birders know, a car is the backbone to a successful rarity chase, or perhaps a fun birding road trip, or even an outing to a nearby hotspot.…Hold on now, I know what some of your disclaimers are, and I’ll address them both in turn. First off, you’re probably thinking “Is he kidding me? The best nearby birding spot is a half an hour away on the interstate! How could I possibly reach it without a car? 

Over at Catching the Thermals, Brendan Murtha talks about what he does on those “slow birding days”:

I love birding. It’s my passion and when times are busy (like this fall is-busier than ever) birding is the one thing I make sure I always have time to get out and do. But over the summer, some of those slow birding days found me noticing and marveling at the other flying creatures that surrounded me- and during these sort of days there were no lack of them. Butterflies and dragonflies had come into my interest.

Kristina Polk, Wild At Heart blogger, writes about the ocean, something I enjoy very much myself:

I have always been drawn to the ocean. Its rolling tides, the gentle lulling rush of waves as they reach the shore, the faraway endless horizon, the biodiversity concealed just under the surface. Gulls and terns patrol the skies, shorebirds prod the sands, pelicans are sentinels on the docks. Dolphins frequent the currents, whales appear amid monotonous waves, seals rest placidly on the coast...

And last, but certainly not least, the Prairie Birder helps tag young Turkey Vultures:

In mid-August I travelled again with Dr. Wayne Nelson, and also the local Fish & Wildlife officer, and a wildlife photographer to wing tag young Turkey Vultures. We visited three abandoned buildings, each with two vultures in it, and at two of the buildings we saw an adult flying over. We tagged the vulture chicks from the first and second buildings while indoors, but the vultures from the last building we tagged outside, so most of the photos of the tagging, below, are from the last building since the lighting was better.

Comments

[Prairie Birder]

Thanks so much for adding my post to your round-up, it's great reading about what other young birders are up to!