Book Meme

Laura from Somewhere in NJ posted this meme. I really like it and I'll do my best to answer it. I'm a slow reader, so my library of nature books that I've read isn't emense. I might have to intersperse some non-nature books in here.

1. One book that changed your life: Strangely, it's the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds. While notably not the best field guide in the world, this book was always on my parents' shelf when I was growing up. My dad took us birding sometimes when we were young. He would put a black "X" next to every bird he saw. I remember thumbing through this book a lot when I was young and wondering, "I wonder where could I see a warbler?" or "I hope I can see a Great Gray Owl someday." The photos of the birds still stand out in my mind. They stand out so much that I recognize them when they're used in other publications. This book is by no means a good field guide, but it was my introduction to birds and the first one that I really used while birding.

2. One book that you've read more than once: I'm sorry to say that there is no book that I've read more than once. There are just too many books in the world to read. Ask me again in 20 years.

3. One book you'd want on a desert island: This one.

4. One book that made you laugh: Most nature books arent very funny. Pete Dunne has some funny moments, but Down and Dirty Birding by Joey Slinger is really funny.

5. One book that made you cry: No nature-related book has made me cry, yet. But Tuesdays with Morrie really gets me...

6. One book that you wish had been written: Another tough one... how about a book about environmental protection that really appeals to the masses. I'd like one that everyone would talk about and read. It seems that many great books about our environment are only read by people who already know the deal.

7. One book that you wish had never been written: I'm going to go out on a limb here and say The Big Year. I actually enjoyed the book and I'm a "lister" myself at times. My problem was that it really left a bad taste in my mouth about birders who have the resources to go anywhere at anytime. It kind of took the fun out of the adventures of the players in the book and added to the questionable public image that birders have. To me, birding is like a treasure hunt where you're rewarded once in a while with a new treasure. This book took the "hunt" aspect out of it.

8. One book you're currently reading: Wild America by Peterson and Fisher - FINALLY! It's great.

9. One book you've been meaning to read: To See Every Bird on Earth - the story of a father and son relationship where the father is an emphatic world lister.

10. Now tag five people: Whoever wants to join in can do so! It's a great way to learn about great books.

I & The Bird #33

A new edition of the bird blog carnival known as I & The Bird is up at

Wild America

I’m finally reading Wild America by Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to read this legendary story of the two naturalists’ journey across North America. It’s one of those books that every budding naturalist is almost required to read. I have wanted to read it for a long time but for some reason my local library and all of its “sister” libraries don’t carry it. That’s a travesty if I’ve ever seen one.

Being only 100 pages into it, I can’t comment on the whole book, but what I’ve read so far has been really great. I’m a sucker for travelogue-type books, especially when they involve nature. For those who haven’t read it, the book is told from both Roger’s and James’s point of view at different times. Sometimes Roger is speaking and sometimes it’s James. Peterson gives his thoughts on the birds, the landscapes, and the characters they encounter while Mr. Fisher, being from the UK, gives his views on the many new birds and experiences he’s having. It’s wonderful to hear him recount his experiences of first seeing and our Wood-Warblers and their comparison to the cryptic Old World Warblers he is familiar with. His sense of wonder at the natural world is contagious and it takes me back to some of my first birding experiences. The two are clearly fond of each other and James’s perceptions of Roger give us an inside look into the life of the father of modern birding.

So far, Roger and James have visited the Cape St. Mary’s gannet colony, Maine, Washington, DC, Shenandoah National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains, and the southern swamps of Georgia and northern Florida. The sights and sounds they’ve encountered still exist to this day in most respects, but I have a feeling of dread as to some of the adventures coming up in the next several hundred pages. I fear that a lot of what they see has probably changed immensely in the 50+ years since the book’s publication. I’m sure some of it has been saved for posterity, but I fear that others have been developed or changed in a negative way due to invasive species or other changes. Scott Weidensaul addresses these fears in his Return to Wild America, which I will read immediately once I’m finished with it’s predecessor.

I’m looking forward to finishing this book over the next few weeks (I’m a slow reader). I welcome any readers comments about this wonderful and historical book.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Rumors

Since the announcement of the re-discovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, birders, ornithologists and nature-lovers everywhere have been holding their breaths for some indisputable evidence that these ghosts of the swampe do indeed still exist. The 2005 search didn't turn up any hard evidence and the skeptics have been adding to their case even further. I am not one of those skeptics. I believe. (It probably doesn't hurt that I just read Tim Gallagher's Grail Bird, a wonderful and highly recommended book.)

In any event, skeptic or not, some new rumors have surfaced about our Elvis with feathers. Rumor has it that a major university has been documenting a population of as many as 9 pairs of Ivory-bills on a river system in western Florida. It's an area that was never explored by James Tanner. It's expected that there will be an announcement about this at the AOU meeting next month in Veracruz, Mexico. Apparently, this discovery was made over a year ago and the proper authorities are at work trying to preserve the land. After all, we don't want something like THIS happening here.

This information comes from multiple postings on mailing lists as well as a radio interview from a well-known Virginia birder. We can only hope and pray that these rumors are true.

UPDATE: NY Times has an article about these rumors. It sounds like there may not be much concrete evidence this time either. We need the folks from Law & Order on this case.

In Search of a Gray Kingbird

I had already planned on birding Sandy Hook today, but when a report of a Gray Kingbird came in on Saturday night, my plans went from casual birding to rarity chasing. Reports of possible bad storms couldn't stop me from chasing this ninth sighting of Gray Kingbird in NJ.

I met some friends at the northern-most parking lot at Sandy Hook at 7:00 AM, which meant I had to leave my house at 6:00! The north lot (known as K lot) leads to a number of good birding areas on Sandy Hook including the famed "Locust Grove" which is a migrant trap, the hawk watch platform, and the "Fisherman's Trail". The "Fisherman's Trail" is a half-mile long trail north to the beach overlooking Sandy Hook Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The trail is notoriously referred to as the "death march" due to it being made up of soft sand. The end of this trail also leads to a salt pond that attracts shorebirds. West of the pond is a large wooded area of cottonwoods, poison ivy, bayberry, and beach plum. This is where the Gray Kingbird had been seen. Here's a map of the salt pond.

We trekked our scopes out to the area where the bird had been seen. Mosquitos were AWFUL! We had been warned by the people who found the bird that they had been bad, but I wasn't expecting to be eaten alive. Deet wouldn't stop them one bit. Luckily, I wore my rain jacket as an extra bit of protection. All for a lifer I guess!

We arrived to find another birder already searching. He hadn't been successful. Instead of a Kingbird, we found several Merlins, a Kestrel, and a Cooper's Hawk perched on various snags out in the dunes. Could one of these birds be full from a Kingbird snack? Let's hope not!

We set up our scopes and continued to search diligently for the bird. A "Who's Who" of local birders showed up, all with a single intention. We searched up and down the dunes for several hours. Flickers were everywhere and a fly-by Phoebe led to a few gasps from the crowd after thinking we'd found our bird. Other birders were looking elsewhere on the Hook. The birder cell phone network was primed for a sighting.

Historically, Gray Kingbirds are notorious for staying briefly and moving to a new site. This bird was adhering to that traditional MO. Twenty-five birders had arrived by this time and no one had found the bird yet. After several hours, our group gave up the fight and decided to bird elsewhere. "There are other birds to see" was our attitude. We ended up birding some other areas and found some nice birds. At this point, the Kingbird has not been refound.

Interestingly, a Gray Kingbird had been found in Martha's Vineyard on September 7. Could this have been the same bird?

Vesicare Commercial - The Pipe Birders

I don't know if anyone has seen this commercial for Vesicare - a bladder control drug. In the commercial, you see a guy made of pipes driving around in his little pipe world. You notice a book titled "Birds" on his car seat next to him. A bird pops into frame and the driver chases the bird down, only to be foiled by an overactive bladder. In comes Vesicare to save the day! He and his friends are able to re-find the bird and get some photos to boot. By their excitement, I think it was a lifer. Sorry that I couldn't find a full video of the commercial.

More from Belgium

Sorry that the nature-related posts have been slow. I've been recovering from our vacation. If you want to see some pictures, go here.

But check out this guy... he was playing blues in the Brussels "Grand Place". He sounded great and put SO MUCH energy into his performance. I loved this guy!

Back from Belgium

Well, we're back from Belgium. Brussels was awesome. We drank plenty of beer and ate more chocolate and frites than any human should be allowed to. From a birding standpoint, I decided to pass on the birding in favor of the wonderful sightseeing. I did manage to get a few pictures of birds and butterflies.


This European Peacock butterfly was found on a butterfly bush in a park. Butterfly bushes are EVERYWHERE in Belgium. I guess it's considered invasive in parts of Europe. This is very possible since it was seen growing in many cracks and crevices, as well as in many open places.


This is a juvenile Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) - more related to our American Robin than to our blackbirds. The calls of the bird were immediately recognizable as a Turdus thrush.


Carrion Crows are the replacement for our American Crow in Belgium.

Overall, I saw only 20 species of birds in the 30-40 minutes I spent birding in the park in Antwerp. 10 of those birds were lifers. I'd love to go back to Europe someday and see more of their birds.