ABA Blog

2012 Proxy Update (And What To Do If Yours Hasn't Arrived)

By now, all active ABA members should have received a 2012 ABA proxy ballot, along with a letter from me and Board Chair, Lou Morrell. That ballot also includes the non-binding referendum on possible expansion of the ABA Area, as well as an invitation to what is shaping up to be a very interesting and informative annual membership meeting.

And the letter has some pretty interesting news, too—news about our growing membership numbers, about how you can now claim a large percentage of your ABA membership dues as a tax deduction, and about a special deal on membership renewals, for starters.

The ballots and letters were mailed here in Colorado on Friday, August 24. We do use non-profit mailing rates (not bulk rate, that's different and slower) whenever possible, which save a lot of money. However, the delivery schedule can be, shall we say erratic. Many people in Colorado and New Mexico, including all of us at HQ, received the mailing the next day. By the middle of the following week, they had begun reaching the US Great Lakes states and Pacific Northwest. And by the end of that week, we were already seeing dozens of completed ballots returning to us.

 

Taken yesterday, September 10, this is just the last four days' worth of filled out proxy ballots! Counting them will be a lot of work, but it's work we're happy to do. We really do want to hear from you! photo ©Liz Gordon

But as gratifying as the flood of responses has been and though the letters have by now been received as far away as Australia, there are still members who report not yet receiving them, including ironically, Lou Morrell, who lives in a remote little hamlet called New York City. If you are one of these members, we apologize, and we would still would very much like to hear from you.

Here's what you can do. Go to aba.org/proxy12. There, you'll find links to download both the letter and the proxy ballot. You'll also find useful additional information about the membership meeting and voting your proxy.

To cast your ballot, simply print out the ballot pdf, vote, sign it, and return it to: ABA Proxy, 1618 W. Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80904 by September 21. Note that we'll only be able to count votes for the election of board members received on or before the 21st. However, since the ABA Area referendum is non-binding, we have a bit more leeway on timing there. We'll go ahead and tabulate responses on the area question received on or before September 30.

And of course, you must be an active ABA member for your vote to be counted. (Technically, members only expire the last day of odd-numbered months. So if your membership didn't expire on or before July 31, you were sent a proxy and are eligible to vote.)

In these ways, we're hoping to be able to have the participation of just as many of you as we can. An effective, dynamic membership organization needs regular input from its members. I'm thrilled that we've had such good response rate to this year's and last year's ballots, a stark and refreshing change from the anemic turnouts of the several years prior. 

Thanks to all of our members for supporting the ABA and for taking the time to participate in its governance and direction. It makes all the difference. 

We hope you've gotten one of these already...if not, there's still time to download the pdf and send in your vote.

 

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!

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.

The ABA Area in 2012—What Should Be In and What Should Be Out?

 

Hawaii. Attu. Saint Pierre. Which should be in the ABA Area and which, if any, should be out?
Images by:  SteveD./Steve Dunleavy (Hawaii); alaskanet/D. Sikes (Attu) The Tedster/Theo (Saint Pierre)
all images are used under a Creative Commons license via flickr 

The boundaries of the ABA area, especially whether they ought to include Hawaii or not, remain a topic of great interest and discussion within and beyond our membership. I’ve followed this debate closely, as I think these issues are important ones that will have an impact on the ABA's growth and effectiveness. In this post, I’ll share some of my own thoughts about what would be best for the ABA and most importantly, tell you about how we intend to go about getting your thoughts.

A very brief summary of the debate. Some say we should stick with tradition. And the tradition can be summed up as follows: 

ABA Area = (United States - Hawaii) + Canada + St Pierre et Miquelon, France + adjacent waters to a distance of 200 miles from land or half the distance to a neighboring country, whichever is less.

But much has changed, both inside the ABA and in the world at large. Though we proudly retain many long-term members, we have a very large and increasing percentage that are new to our flock in just the last couple of years.

At the same time, the accelerating peril of Hawaii's birds is easily one of the saddest spectacles or our era. Many have called for us to shine what spotlight we can on this amazing, vanishing avifauna and have argued that inclusion in the ABA Area is the best means at our disposal for so doing.

But changing the ABA Area isn’t something that I or the board or the staff can simply do. It would take a vote by the membership to change the bylaws of the organization to do it.

Though some of us may remember it as vividly as if it were yesterday, it's really been quite awhile since the issue was put to the membership. And so we have come up with a plan to get a sense of where the membership stands on this issue in 2012. First, though, I promised to let you know what I think.

While I'm under no illusion that the ABA adding Hawaii to the ABA Area will quickly halt or reverse the mass extinction now occurring there, I think it's the right thing for the ABA to do. In my estimation it can't hurt and it may well help. It will also send a clear message that the ABA can indeed change and adapt and that the risk of attempting to do something to help trumps the comforts of maintaining the status quo.

I also think there are other benefits to be had from refining the ABA Area. In fact, phrasing the question as "add Hawaii, yes or no," may not be the best or most helpful approach. I'd prefer to frame it just as much as a question of clarity and coherence.

People have often debated the ABA Area, saying it should somehow be "biogeographically" or "ecologically" defined. This is often a prelude to saying that it makes sense to keep Attu and the rest of Alaska, but exclude Hawaii.

These arguments, however impassioned and well intentioned, make no sense to me. If the ABA area is supposed to be biogeographically defined, then South Texas, Southeast Arizona, etc, are out. Or Northern Mexico, for starters, is in. And the latter is certainly an option, but my suspicion is that is adding part or all of Mexico wouldn't be approved by the membership at this point.

So it’s my contention that the ABA Area is more a political, cultural, and recreational construct, though certainly one with ornithological consequences.

Cutting to the chase here, my own own preference would be to have the ABA Area be the United States and Canada. I think that's the simplest, most coherent formulation. It's clear, memorable, and easy to articulate without asterisks and footnotes. Obviously, that brings Hawaii in and I suppose, kicks Saint Pierre et Miquelon, which are just off Newfoundland but technically France, out. But I'd likely be OK with that, as I suspect many of our members would be.

I also think we should internally ban and generally discourage referring to the ABA Area as, "North America," or "North America north of Mexico," etc. I think those formulations are inaccurate and clunky. Always have. 

On the other hand, I don't think making the ABA Area the same as the AOU area, as has sometimes been suggested, is the best course, either. 

For one thing, ABA=AOU would run the risk of seriously diluting one of the ABA's most recognized and valuable properties, the whole idea of a US/Canada-centric ABA Area that is different than the geographic North America. I hope everyone knows that this isn't any kind of slight against Mesoamerica, whose birds, people, food, music, culture, and nearly everything else I love. It's just that a US/Canada grouping makes a lot of sense, really. 

There have been proposals to include Greenland and Bermuda over the years. Never the Bahamas that I know of, for whatever reasons. Nothing against any of those, but I think the US + Canada formulation is in many ways the best. While I wouldn't be upset at all if Greenland or Bermuda (or the Bahamas for that matter) were in, I think that any of those starts to erode the simplicity argument.

But that’s just what I think. What I and the ABA board and staff are really interested in is what you, our members, think.

So we’re going to include a non-binding referendum on this year’s proxy ballot, which should be in your mailbox in the last week of August. On it, we’ll pose a series of questions about your preferences for the ABA Area boundaries.

From that, we’ll work to come up with a proposed change to the bylaws that truly reflects our shared vision of where the ABA is now and where it ought to go. And if the answer is that most of you want things status quo, well, at least we’ll know it’s time to put the issue to rest for a while.

Here’s a draft of what those questions will look like.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Understanding that this is a non-binding referendum, please give us your opinions on the following questions.

1. My preferred definition of the ABA area is:

______ A. United States minus Hawaii plus Canada plus St Pierre et Miquelon, France plus adjacent waters (status quo)

______ B. United States plus Canada plus adjacent waters

2. I would like to see the following places added, whatever else happens _______________________________

3. I would like to see the following places excluded, whatever else happens ____________________________

4. It is important to me that St Pierre et Miquelon, France, be retained.       yes | no

5. If your preferred definition for the ABA Area isn't addressed above, please describe it below

_________________________________________________________________________________________

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

So I have several questions for you right now, dear readers.

1. Are you an ABA member? We don’t typically ask commenters to say, but I think it’s important here, as we can only tabulate responses from members. Of course, you’re still welcome to comment here on the blog, member or no. And if you're a non-member with strong opinions on this issue, you can always join now in order to recieve the proxy.
2. How would you answer the questions posed above?
3. How can that list of questions be improved?

Remember that all of us, members, board, and staff, should be thinking of what’s best for the organization as a whole as we move into the heart of the 21st Century. Thank you in advance for your thoughts. It is both an honor and a privilege to serve the ABA community.

 

 

 

 

 

First Look: Swarovski's New ATX Scopes & Digiscoping Accessories At Hungary's Hortobágy

 

From left: Guide Attila Steiner looks on as Belgium's Gerard Driessens, England's Tim Appleton, and Sweden's Måns Karlsson field test Swarovski ATX scopes in Hungary's Hortobágy

 A little over a month ago, I was invited to represent the ABA at a pretty amazing gathering in Hungary. I say amazing in that it assembled quite a powerhouse of talent in the European birding industry. Editors, photographers, bloggers, from a wide variety of media outlets joined Swarovski country reps and a goodly number of Swarovksi Optik executives and staff from the home office in Austria.

North America wasn't slighted, though. In addition to me, Corey Finger of 10,000 Birds fame, Gus Axelson, Science Editor for the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, and Clay Taylor, Swarovski's US Naturalist Markets Manager all made the trip across the pond to attend.

 

From left: Corey Finger, Gus Axelson, and Clay Taylor at Tisza Balneum on the shore of Lake Tisza

 

To attend what? The invitees weren't exactly sure and Clay, who we grilled en route, wasn't telling. All I knew was that I was being invited to attend an event put on by one of the ABA's major sponsors and advertisers and that there was going to be some great birding with some great people. I was in.

We didn't have to wait long. Shortly after our arrival at the Tisza Balneum, we were shown the new ATX spotting scopes and a couple of new digiscoping adapters. Then, even better, we were given a set of of the new products to use for the next several days.

Even though we knew we would have to surrender these nifty new toys before leaving, there was a palpable Christmas morning wave of excitement surging through the crowd. These things looked really cool! But how would they perform? 

 

First looks through the ATX. Why is it that we birders so often look through spotting scopes where people are swimming or sunbathing?

What follows are some photos and thoughts about the experience both of birding and digiscoping with the ATX setup and in Hungary. I hope they'll be of value to anyone with an interest in spotting scopes and digiscoping.

First question: what's new about these scopes? I realize that in the shots so far they may not look much different from other products already on the market. Well, have a look at the shot below.

Rather than the standard spotting scope/eyepiece configuration we're all accustomed to, where the eyepiece determines the magnification and zoom, there is now a system that more closely resembles a telephoto camera lens. You choose either a straight (STX) or angled (ATX) ocular unit and then attach it by means of a bayonet mount, again very like a camera lens, to an objective unit of which there are 3: a compact 65mm, an 85mm that is in the range of most larger spotting current spotting scopes, and a stonking big 95mm unit. All can be interchanged, producing scope combinations of different magnification, weight, and brightness

The advantages of such modularity are obvious. You can choose to emphasize small and light or big and bright or split the difference.




I ended up using the angled unit with the 95mm objective almost exclusively, though I spend a bit of time with the 65mm, too.

One last product shot and we'll get back out into the field. I was also given a sample of Swarovski's new TLS APO to test, an adapter that allows you to connect these scopes to a DLSR, Micro 4/3, or other interchangeable lens camera.

They also had samples of a new swing bracket style adapter for digiscoping with smaller point and shoot cameras but I didn't evaluate that. I've done lots of bird and nature photography with DSLRs and standard camera lenses, and a fair bit of digiscoping with point and shoots. But I've never digiscoped with an SLR before though I've been curious about it. So that's what I resolved to do with my time in Hungary. I only wondered how much learning curve there would be.

 

A White Wagtail worked the edge of a dock ©Jeffrey A Gordon

The answer: not much. I found that within 10 or 15 minutes I was getting images I was quite happy with. Not to mention the fun of practicing on common European garden birds that for me were things I seldom or never see.

 

A House Martin gathers mud ©Jeffrey A Gordon

 

In the reed beds around Lake Tisza, there were less domestic species. Three times, I was treated to brief fly-by looks at Little Bittern, one of which was exciting enough that I dropped one of my own lens hoods in the lake, losing it forever.

Any sting was soon eased by the looks and the photos I was getting at and of other birds. A Great Reed Warbler cooperated well, giving its loud, multipart song recalling by turns a thrasher or a chat and perching high up in its namesake substrate.

 

Great Reed Warbler ©Jeffrey A Gordon

A couple of things were obvious. One, Swarovski has really thought carefully about what birders and digiscopers experience in the field and tried to address many of the persistent issues. The TLS APO is easily the most elegant digiscoping adapter I've yet used, attaching a heavy camera body securely and easily. It also deattaches very quickly, making it possible to switch back and forth between photography and observation, which I did frequently.

For those who are not digiscopers, the ATX delivers beautiful views at the eyepiece, startlingly clear and bright and holding together very well even toward the upper end of the zoom range. With the 95mm, that's a whopping 70X. The other two front modules go to 60X.

The new arrangement of zoom and focussing rings adjacent on the barrel feels a bit novel at first but soon becomes second nature, especially if you have used larger camera lenses. And it solves another problem for digiscopers: now you can easily adjust the scope's focus and zoom with one hand while operating the camera with the other, you're not forced to make one hand switch between camera and zoom.

Ergonomically, the scopes were great. Even that giant 95mm didn't feel too heavy though my scope shoulder has carried a lot of weight over the years so your opinion might be different.

I will say, though, that the 65mm breaks new ground in portability. It's light and compact fully assembled. Break it down and it slides into an astonishingly small carrying case that looks more like it would hold a large pair of binoculars, not a scope. Traveling birders, and those who are fond of (or forced into) long hikes, take note. 

Did I see any problems or weaknesses? With the caveat that this was not an exhaustive field test, no. The only obvious question in my mind was how durable and resistant to water, dust, etc that bayonet connection will be. Swarovski's specs say that the ATX will be water tight to 4 meters, so they are confindent in that regard.

And though the ATX/TLS APO combination does indeed make DSLR digiscoping easy, it's still not quite as seamless as photography with a dedicated telephoto lens: there's no autofocus, of course, and metering with my Canon 50D and 60D bodies required frequent exposure adjustment, though nothing burdensome. 

On the plus side for ATX versus a big telephoto lens, the ATX is much smaller and lighter, less expensive, and offers you first rate viewing, something no camera/telephoto combo does.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with the quality and field functionality of the ATX system. I'm interested to see how popular it will prove with birders. Based on what I saw those few days in Hungary, it's likely to become among the most admired of birding optics.

To read Corey Finger's impressions from the same trip, go to his post at 10,000 Birds. Gus Axelson's report can be found at Cornell's Round Robin blog.

I'd also recommend perusing Swarovski's site devoted to the ATX/STX system. I haven't had much time to poke around it yet, but I thought the video here featuring Clay Taylor and Dale Forbes did a very good job of explaining how the TLS APO adapter works.

The ATX will debut publicly at the British Bird Fair next month. It should be available in the US and Canada sometime in September, when I'm sure you'll start to be able to see it in action at various birding festivals and other events.

Our partners at Eagle Optics will have more info on pricing and availibility.

What follows are a few more shots from the trip, which visited the marshes and steppes of Hortobágy, as well as the wooded Buuk Hills. All the wildlife shots are digiscoped with the ATX.

Walking the boardwalks at Halasto. ©Jeffrey A Gordon

 

Truly a multimodal trip, our group traveled by plane, bus, narrow gauge railroad, and even horse cart    ©Jeffrey A Gordon

 

A branchling Long-eared Owl at Hortobágy ©Jeffrey A Gordon

 

Birding the Buuk Hills ©Jeffrey A Gordon

 

Red-backed Shrike ©Jeffrey A Gordon

 

A butterfly whose name escapes me digiscoped with the 65mm ATX When this shot is viewed at full size, mites are clearly visible on the butterflie's thorax. That's sharp. ©Jeffrey A Gordon

 

What trip to Hungary would be complete without goulash and paprika? The group enjoys an outdoor meal at the Nomad Hotel.

 

 

Announcing the ABA Mid-Atlantic Young Birder Conference September 22, 2012

Hot on the heels of our just completed and very successful Camp Colorado, we’re very excited to announce the ABA’s next big opportunity for young birders: a regional conference designed to bring together young birders and their mentors from a wide area in order to facilitate the sharing of ideas and information, and to build and strengthen the young birder community.

While it’s true that the internet, social media, and cell phones have all given birders, especially younger ones, the opportunity to connect as never before, there’s still no substitute for actually meeting and birding together, face to face. And it can be surprisingly difficult for that to happen, something we’d like to help change.

For our kickoff event, we’ve chosen the populous Mid-Atlantic area, where there are a wealth of active and growing young birder groups.  But there’s never before been an occasion designed for them all to come together as one, until now.

So if you’re a young birder or a parent or mentor of a young birder or birders, mark your calendar for Saturday, September 22, 2012 and make plans to join us at the Ashland Nature Center in Hockessin, Delaware, for an amazing day of birding, learning, fun, and friendship. Ashland is very easily reached from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Jersey, and within an approximately 2 hour drive of Washington, DC, and New York City. Inexpensive overnight accommodations Friday night the 21st will be available on site.

 

 

The day will feature bird walks around the 242 acre preserve at Ashland, where floodplains, hillsides, and upland habitats attract a great variety of fall migrants. We’ll also spend part of the day on top of Hawk Watch Hill, where the Ashland Hawk Watch tallies thousands of raptors each autumn. Of course, migration is hugely weather dependent, but our timing puts us in position to intercept the peak of Broad-winged Hawk migration, as well some fantastic fall songbirds.

There will also be indoor activities, featuring young birder and adult presenters addressing a wide variety of cool and useful topics. Concurrent sessions for newer or more experienced young birders will allow everyone from elementary school through late teens to find things of interest. There will also be special sessions by and for parents, mentors, club coordinators.

 

 

Bill Thompson III, all-around awesome birding dude

For our keynote presentations, we’re very excited to have ABA’s Young Birder of the Year 2012, the very talented Marie McGee, and Bill Thompson III, editor of Bird Watcher’s Digest and author of The Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of Eastern North America (all attendees will receive a free copy, thanks to Bill!) and The Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of North America and recipient of the ABA’s Robert Ridgway Award for publications in field ornithology. And that, of course, is only scratching the surface of Bill’s vast talents and achievements. Bill and Marie will deliver a one-two punch that will have everyone fired up about birding and its potential to enrich and connect us all, kid or adult.

 

 

ABA 2012 Young Birder of the Year Marie McGee

Once again, ABA’s Legacy Youth Program Sponsor, Leica Sport Optics, has come forward with generous support for this event. They’ll also be sending a number of their knowledgeable and personable birding representatives, and bringing a lot of fine optics for us to use as we scan the skies over Ashland.

Of course, there’ll be a big contingent of ABA folks there, too, including Liz and me, Bill Stewart, and George Armistead, for starters.*

And there will be an abundance of other cool stuff. Jean Woods of the Delaware Museum of Natural History will be bringing by some very cool and very rare bird study skins for us to learn from and marvel at. There will be representatives from many birding related local organizations and businesses. Most of all, there will be dozens of other young birders, local young birder hosts, The Delaware Dunlins, and numerous adult mentors. It’s going to be a great day and one we hope to repeat in other regions of North America going forward.

How much does all this cost? For young birders who are ABA members, just $15. Adult ABA members are just $25. Non-ABA members may register for $10 more. That price includes a catered lunch and admission to all bird walks and presentations.

For more info about the event, click here, or e-mail Bill Stewart [email protected]

To register, click here. 

To sign up for overnight accommodations for Friday the 21st at Ashland, call LeAnn Pilger at the ABA office 800-850-2473 or 719-578-9703 extension 224.

See you in September!


*A heads up to all ABA members: our annual membership meeting will be nearby the day following this event, on Sunday September 23 at the Delaware Environmental Center in Wilmington. So if you’re in the area, or can be, you should consider making an ABA weekend out of these two events. More details soon!

 

Tour de Force, and FUN!!!: ABA's Camp Colorado 2012

 

 Camper Rosemary Kramer cuts up for the camera ©Jeffrey A Gordon

What's the best work you've ever done? What gave you the greatest sense of accomplishment, of having a larger purpose, of really throwing yourself into something, yet coming away feeling renewed and energized? Work that kicked your butt yet at the same time felt like play?

Everyone I know that works with young birders puts that work at the top of their list of things they've done that are truly worth the effort. They know how great the care and attention required can be and they also know how vast the rewards are. It's a wonderful thing to feel that you're present at times and places where lives are being changed for the better and that you're having a hand in fostering it all.

 

Ptarmigan watching on Trail Ridge Road photo ©Jeffrey A Gordon

This year's ABA Camp Colorado, which ran from July 8 - 13, was a truly great piece of work. I can't say enough to adequately convey the fine job done by leaders Bill Stewart, Jennie Duberstein, and Bill Schmoker, who brought an endlessly impressive array of skills and talents to bear. 

 

Bill Stewart does his Turkey Vulture impression ©Jeff Bouton

Jennie Duberstein with a Cassin's Finch photo ©Bill Schmoker

 

Bill Schmoker keeps his cool ©Jennie Duberstein

 And this year, they were joined by Jeff Bouton and Cameron Cox of Leica Sports Optics, both incredibly competent and passionate birders, naturalists, and guides. These five were simply inspiring to watch in the field, especially when you know the weeks and months of planning and decades of experience that undergirded the whole enterprise.

Jeff Bouton represents ©Jeffrey A Gordon

Cameron Cox (hat) Lorenzo Rohani (at scope) and Luke Hamilton (taking photo) ©Jennie Duberstein

 The only thing more impressive than this corp of leaders was the kids themselves. Eighteen young men and women so smart, funny, knowledgeable, energetic, and enthusiastic that you just had to shake your head in awe and admiration. It felt like the positive energy flowing around that group of campers and leaders could move mountains and I think it’s just possible that it did. I wish you all could have been there to experience it first hand.

The camp crew at the floor of Phantom Canyon ©Bill Schmoker

Alec Wyatt works on his field notebook—nice job, Alec! ©Bill Schmoker

Liz and I were lucky to accompany the group for 2 days, joining a cast of guest leaders that included Birding editor Ted Floyd and ABA board member Chuck Bell. It was wonderful to be along for the ride!

Liz Gordon admires a siskin while Alexandra Emond looks on ©Jeffrey A Gordon

 

Chuck Bell (r) and Dillon Cole discuss cacti in Phantom Canyon ©Jeffrey A Gordon

 

Ted Floyd (l) waves on the way up Phantom Canyon ©Bill Schmoker

 

I hope the photos here can give you a little taste of that energy that poured forth from all these people and that you’ll feel a measure of the pride and gratitude that I did, to have played a part in something truly great. That’s appropriate, as all of you who support the ABA through your membership and donations support this work. To all of you, and especially to the leaders and the kids, I give my thanks. Strong work, everyone!

 

A midday session on careers in birding, biology, and conservation ©Bill Schmoker

 

Rosemary photographs Sean Burns releasing a Cassin's Finch ©Jeffrey A Gordon

The group in Phantom Canyon ©Jeffrey A Gordon

 

A couple more cool things:

This post has mostly people photos, but it's easy to see some of the amazing birds and animals and experiences we all shared.

There's a great post on the ABA Young Birder Blog with photos from campers.

Bill Schmoker has an awesome Flickr set of photos from camp.

Jeff Bouton did a great guest post here recently on his experience at Camp. 

Cameron Cox did a cool post on Leica Birding's Facebook page about how the kids were great all-around naturalists.

Leica Sport Optics, Legacy Sponsor of ABA's Young Birder programs, provided us Jeff and Cam's leadership as well as money for scholarships. We are very grateful for their support.

Scholarship funding also came from duPont's Clear Into the Future initiative. We want to thank them as well.

The ABA's 2012 Young Birder Appeal is still in full swing. Check it out and please give what you are able to. Let's keep it going!

5 Little Birds: The ABA Is Spared Damage In The Waldo Canyon Fire

Last week, I posted here about our experiences in the Waldo Canyon Wildfire that's been burning in the mountains on the west flank of Colorado Springs since June 23rd. As I write this, it's July 2nd and the fire is listed as 55% contained. All of us at the ABA are back in our homes and safe.

Though there were some terrible losses, including 2 people killed and nearly 350 houses burned, not to mention untold thousands of birds and other non-human animals killed or displaced, the overall impact was far, far less than it might have been. The outstanding efforts of fire fighters and the various agencies charged with dealing with this monster coupled with the weather, which backed off a bit on the extreme heat and low humidity that made the fire so hard to control initially, combined to spare the vast majority of Colorado Springs residents anything more than inconvenience and anxiety.

I mean no disrespect or lack of compassion to those who lost their houses or the 2 who lost their lives and their families. There was real human tragedy here. 

But the far larger story is how many homes were saved and the almost unbelievably low rate of injury and death, considering the scale of this thing. And for that, all of us at the ABA are truly grateful. 

Here are a couple of photographs, plus some links to others, that I hope will tell the story of how the last couple of days have looked and felt.

The tent city where many of the fire fighters slept. These men and women did their jobs (and always do) in conditions that few of us would be able to handle. We're so grateful to them.

Last Tuesday, June 26th, Liz looks west from our apartment as the flames and smoke poured down the mountains.

The same view this morning, July 2nd.

 

Our guitars, paintings, and other objects precious and ordinary survived in fine shape.

 

Miraculously, all 5 baby Barn Swallows and both their parents who are nesting beside our front door survived brutal heat and smoke and are thriving!

So as you can see, Liz and I, as well as the rest of the ABA team, have an awful lot to be thankful for. I'm also quite thankful to those of you who commented here or on Facebook or by e-mail, sending your good thoughts and prayers for our safety.

One of those commenters suggested that I ought to play my guitar for the Barn Swallows. I haven't subjected them to that, but I will say that there is one song I've been playing a lot, both on my guitars and in my head, since we've been able to go back home. I think of it every time I think of them and how pathetic and helpless they all looked in the thick smoke Tuesday afternoon compared with how vigorous they look now. The song's deceptively simple lyrics repeat like a mantra, bringing me to a state of calm and gratitude that I hope radiates throughout this town and to all of you, too.

"Rise up this morning, smile with rising sun

Three little birds perched by my doorstep

Singing sweet songs with melodies pure and true

Singing, 'this is my message to you.'

 

Don't worry about a thing

'Cause every little thing is gonna be alright

Don't worry about a thing

Because every little thing is gonna be alright."

--Bob Marley, "Three Little Birds"

 

I can't quickly find a good video of Bob singing the song and I suppose none may exist. Here's a clip of Tracy Chapman covering it at a Marley tribute concert.

  

There's another song that's been in heavy rotation on my own mental playlist of late. Inspired by a visit to Colorado Springs in 1893, the song has an undeniable grace and power. It's the most fitting expression of gratitude I know for the for the beauty of this place and for the efforts of those who have worked to protect it.

 

 

Finally, the Denver Post published the two best sets of photos I've yet seen of the fire and its aftermath. And there's an impressive time lapse video of the fire by Steve Moraco here, which clocks in at just over 16 minutes.

Things aren't entirely secure yet. There's still a lot of work to be done and some considerable healing that must take place. But I wanted to let you know that we're doing fine and just how grateful we are.

Update: here's a post, plus a short slide show, showing a family who did lose their house making their first steps toward recovering. Two things I found especially poingnant: the way the backyard was nearly undamaged and the extent to which tending to their garden gave them comfort.

ABA Offices and Staff Homes in Colorado Springs Still Safe Despite Waldo Canyon Fire

Dear ABA friends,

I wanted to give you a quick update on how the ABA team in Colorado Springs is faring as far as the Waldo Canyon fire. So far, the news is good. The office is about 15 blocks from the southern end of the evacuated area. Thus far, none of the staff has had damage to their homes. As of now, all our homes are at least 2 miles from any flames, though the smoke has at times been troublesome.

It's a stressful time in this town and throughout much of Colorado and the West. It's not clear how the fire and smoke will impact operations at our office, which uses a swamp cooler rather than A/C and so is subject to filling with smoke easily. If you need to get in touch with us in the near future, you may have better luck using this blog, Facebook, or e-mail rather than the office phones.

We're thankful for the efforts of all the fire fighters who are working so hard to get this situation as under control as it can be. Here's hoping that the weather conditions take a turn for the better so that they have a somewhat easier and less dangerous job.

Below is a series of photos I took yesterday, Tuesday, June 27th, along with a few comments about how things unspooled.

We'll keep you posted on how things are going.

Best,

Jeff

 

At around 1:30, Liz, LeAnn, and I went out from the office to grab lunch. The Waldo Canyon fire was still largely north and west of the Garden of the Gods, visible just beyond the house here.

 

Planes were dropping water and fire retardant trying to keep the fire from spreading east toward town. Though burning since midday Saturday, the fire had not yet burned any structures.

 

The chemicals looked eerily like flames as they fell.

 

Around 4:30 PM, things kicked into a very different, more ominous gear. A huge smoke plume began to rise over the office in the sky to the north.

 

At this point, high afternoon winds had pushed the flames to the east and north at terrifying speed. This was particularly alarming for Liz and me, as our apartment is in the NW part of town. We closed up shop and headed for our place. The ABA office is the blue and white building at the right.

 

We made it home around 5:30, finding a spectral scene. Here Liz looks off our balcony toward the Rampart Range, normally easily visible about 3 miles to the west.

 

Though the smoke still had a incongruously pleasant odor, it burned our eyes and made our throats itch. But mostly, it was just frightening to have it look like this in late afternoon.

 

 

We did a quick run through the house, grabbing clothes and a small number of valuables. Though on one level I hated to leave things like guitars, paintings, and other objects to which we have a strong emotional attachment, it was easy to do. This Stratocaster has been with me since high school and I hope to play it again. But that's a minor concern, really. This exercise was a great reminder of how unimportant material things are, in the end.

 

This may sound silly, and on a population level it is. But one of the things that really worried us was the fate of the Barn Swallows nesting on the light fixture beside our front door. The parents, who we believe are the same pair that successfully nested here last year, hatched 5 babies last week. This is what they looked like yesterday morning as I was leaving for work.

Of course, local wildlife will be paying a terrible price in this event. But the successional changes brought on by the fire will benefit some birds and animals. It's all part of the grand drama of life on Earth. But there's no denying that it was hard to listen to the parents give their alarm calls in the hot, smoky air. I sprayed the nest and babies with a light mist of water from our plant sprayer and wished them luck.

 

 

It took us an hour to drive a mile. Odd to see so many vehicles loaded with what people had seen fit to take with them. Also strange to get back to blue skies and sun just a mile or two south of here.

 PS: It's now morning, town is full of smoke, but we're otherwise fine. Another fire has broke out near Boulder. We'll see what all the Colorado fires do this afternoon, when they tend to intensify. An advancing cold front may bring us some badly needed humidity, lower temperatures, and even rain in the next days. Let's hope.