Return to Warden's Grove

I'll begin the new blogging year by recommending Return to Warden's Grove: Science, Desire, and the Lives of Sparrows by Christopher Normant. His book is one of the finest examples of nature writing I've come across in years. For three summers Normant worked out of a cabin in the Canadian Arctic while conducting research on Harris's Sparrows near the Thelon River. His eloquent writing style made it easy and enjoyable to read the detailing of his labor intensive research and a pleasure to ponder his personal meditations on science and nature – I was spellbound throughout. Because I have an affinity for sparrows (especially the zonotrichia), parts of the book made me feel as though I was receiving words from a kindred spirit. As someone who has spent an inordinate amount of time observing and photographing sparrows, I strongly identified with his process:

"One of Lisel Mueller's poems bears the title, 'The Need to Hold Still,' and that was what I had to do. This 'need to hold still,' to fall into slowness and simply watch, is a chief blessing of focused work in both descriptive natural history and hypothesis-based research. It is a skill that both scientists and nonscientists need to cultivate, a vital way to pay attention to the world. Perhaps it also is where science and art can interact with one another – sensory experience as a synthetic, creative process that grows out of watching and waiting, listening and coming into patience. Through observation, it is possible to develop a richness of texture and nuance, substance and form, in our understanding of the animate and inanimate residents of this world – and our place in it. It is how we become informed."

Later on in his book, Normant reveals he experienced a less than happy childhood. His path toward transcendence with nature evolved despite (or because?) of this upbringing. I could relate. Like Normant, I had an abusive step-father who died from an unhealthy lifestyle. I was reminded of family who remain so caught up in a cycle of ignorance and abuse that appreciating nature in a transcendent way will likely elude them for the rest of their lives. This makes me glad people like Christopher Normant are out there – his book offered a sense of rightness and hope because I feel that I habituated with nature in a similar way:

"Once the wilderness became a sanctuary for me, an idealized world in which I could escape from the turmoil of my home and feel safe and strong, it was easy to conclude that by its very nature the wilderness cultured humane, moral behavior. I became convinced of the following syllogism: The wilderness is good; I am in the wilderness; therefore, I am good."

Still, Normant expresses caution regarding this potential illusion. As transformative as his experiences studying Harris's Sparrows at Warden's Grove were, he's keenly aware of his life's successes, responsibilities, and failures away from his love of the wilderness. Reflecting on recent events in my life, I cannot deny that I have used nature and birds as a form of escapism. Perhaps this is what I liked best about Return to Warden's Grove – it was largely a case of personal introspection and rewarded me with something I didn't anticipate when picking up a book about the lives of sparrows.

Harris's Sparrow © 2009 Mike McDowell

Raptor Center busy with snowy owls

"The scientists at the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota are having a busy winter. They're nursing starving birds back to health and setting broken bones. They're also seeing a lot of snowy owls, as the big white birds are are turning up again in Minnesota."

Link: Full Article from Minnesota Public Radio

Link: Donate to the MN Raptor Center

Snowy Owl © 2008 Mike McDowell

Closing out 2008

Singing Sedge Wren at Pheasant Branch

You know what? Pheasant Branch Conservancy really is a wonderful place to go birding. I checked my blog entries for last year around this time and came across my New Year's Resolution for 2008:

"In 2008, I will not record a year list of bird species. However, I will still collect eBird data for Pheasant Branch Conservancy and that's where I will continue to focus my nature quests. I will also continue to increase my understanding of non-avian flora and fauna, especially native plants and wildflowers. I will endeavor to do as much as I can to limit the squandering of communal resources in pursuit of these interests by staying close to home. Provided with the means to do so, I will help people and organizations whose goals are the same as mine; to protect nature's creatures and the habitats they depend upon. Make every bird a life bird."

I made good on quite a bit, though it wasn't exactly at the forefront of my mind in the context of a resolution as the year progressed. I made 88 separate birding excursions to Pheasant Branch and tallied 14,091 individual birds for 161 species. The eBird count for the conservancy now stands at 204 bird species. (My personal master PBC list is at 211, but not all species are entered into eBird). The most exciting new bird for the conservancy in 2008 was a nesting pair of Bell's Vireos that successfully fledged young. It sure was an enjoyable experience monitoring their progress throughout summer.

As far as helping organizations went, I donated to The Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, Raptor Education Group, The Endangered Resources Fund, International Crane Foundation, Operation Migration, and The Minnesota Raptor Center. I contributed observation data for the Cherokee Marsh/North Lake Mendota Important Bird Area project. I led field trips for Holy Wisdom Monastery, Madison Audubon and the Horicon Marsh Birding Club. I also participated in my first CBC in December.

Though Sylvia Marek continues to be an outstanding mentor as a naturalist, I feel like I failed to learn as much about non-avian flora and fauna as I was hoping to. Well, I did manage to add new images to my growing collection of wildflower photographs.

In 2008 I finally overcame a technical difficulty I was experiencing with my Nikon Coolpix 8400's white balance setting and added over 20 digiscoped images to my main gallery. Never once did I revert back to my Nikon Coolpix 995! (It barely works, anyway). German Digiscoper Gerd Rossen was experiencing the same yellow color tinging in his digiscoped images when using the 8400. He emailed inquiring how I overcame the white balance problem, so I offered him my simple solution.

Let's see... what else... Oh yeah! Despite personal emotional turmoil, I managed to keep this blog running for another year.

So, what of 2009?

Binoculars.
Camera.
Spotting scope.
Single.

Life is good!

© 2008 Mike McDowell

Path

It was -2 degrees Fahrenheight when I hit the trail at Pheasant Branch Conservancy this morning with my snowshoes, but the skies were blue. Almost worse than digiscoping under overcast conditions is the bitter cold - I find it very difficult to get a sharp image and my camera's batteries have a tendency lose their charge far more quickly. Would I trade these frigid conditions for mosquitoes? I don't know. I honestly don't know. There were plenty of birds around, but a White-throated Sparrow trying to keep warm was my sole digiscoped subject:

Doesn't look too thrilled, eh? There were other scenic things to photograph, like oak trees with branches thickly frosted with fresh snow. Sometimes I liken my nature excursions to an Edward Abbey quote I saw on Doc Ern's blog:

"Our job is to record, each in [her/his] own way, this Earth of light and shadow and time that will never come again exactly as it is today."

Yeah, that's been my job here, but it's not without criticism. "All he does is talk about his birds." "All he ever does is play with his birds." "You're a little geek with your birds. That's how I see you." If one were to witness the emotion behind this ranking, it might accurate to assume I possess a rather shallow mind with diminutive boundaries - a dullard. I do I spend an inordinate amount of time observing, photographing, and reading about birds. But such criticism lacks circumspection. Oh sure, holding binoculars up to a bird and marveling at its beauty in absolute transcendence is the apex of this recreation, but there's a lot more bird to this beak. Even the novice birder soon realizes there's a plethora of attainable knowledge as well as mystery glued to what is fundamentally an aesthetic fixation.

So, what are a few inherent scientific disciplines? Birds fly: aerodynamics. They have hollow bones: anatomy. They can be hierarchically classified: taxonomy and cladistics. They'll cross continents during migration: geography. They sing: acoustics. They've changed over time: paleontology, natural history and biological evolution. Seasonal timing with respect to the availability of food items: phenology. During migration, birds can detect the circumpolar movement of stars: astronomy. Weather systems affect bird behavior during migration: meteorology. You get the idea, but why not go on? Habitat requirements: ecology and climatology. From that vein, we can branch to a heightened awareness for the environment, which will often bridge to politics. Then there are all the interesting social interactions and behavioral bits involving bird and birder: ethics, psychology and sociology. You can volunteer to restore a prairie, have empathy for an injured bird and be charitable by donating money to a rehabilitator, or perhaps stop someone from harming a bird: morality. You can lead a field trip and teach others some of the above: education.

Even this barely scratches the surface. Birding needn't encompass multidisciplinary study and understanding to be thoroughly enjoyed, but many will do so unintentionally. Aware or not, the birder slowly becomes a naturalist. Bird density and diversity means accessibility. For the astute observer, birding increases one's awareness on how things work in nature and recognizes the same forces, rules and processes in play throughout the animal kingdom, across the entire globe. As a finite being, to develop and form an understanding of how I fit into nature's realm happens to be the most compelling and philosophically profound thing I can think of doing with my brief time here.

All images © 2008 Mike McDowell

Happy Holidays!

Snow Robins

Snowy weather didn't keep me from participating in the Madison Christmas Bird Count yesterday. It was relatively balmy compared to this morning's bitter wind chills, which are presently blowing past -30d. F. Though somewhat unremarkable to most birders, over 100 American Robins were reported on the Madison CBC. During a recent snowshoeing excursion through Pheasant Branch, I pointed out an American Robin perched on a snowy branch to a woman who was walking her two dogs. I wanted to see her reaction, so I said, "Hey look, an American Robin!" She responded, "Oh my, what's it doing here? It better fly south! Will it be alright?" Amazingly, some robins are able to endure Wisconsin's harsh winters. I don't know whether these are birds that migrated this far south from extreme northern regions of their Canadian breeding range, or nomadic non-migratory flocks in search of food. For more detailed information on robins during winter, check out Nuthatch's February 2006 article "Robins in the Snow" from Bootstrap Analysis blog.



All images © 2008 Mike McDowell

Give to the Critters!

It's the season for giving! There's little doubt that whenever we experience economic downturns that conservation groups receive fewer donations. Here's a gentle reminder to financially support the critters and wilderness we cherish by giving to groups like The Nature Conservancy, International Crane Foundation, American Bird Conservancy, and Operation Migration. Additionally, I like to give to a few rehabilitation groups like the Minnesota Raptor Center and the Raptor Education Group, Inc. for all the caring work they do to rehabilitate injured birds and release them back to the wild. No amount is too small and they'll appreciate anything they receive!

Winter Storm Warning

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
153 PM CST WED DEC 17 2008

...MAJOR WINTER STORM EXPECTED TO IMPACT SOUTHERN WISCONSIN...

A MAJOR WINTER STORM IS EXPECTED TO HAMMER THE AREA THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL GATHER STRENGTH OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS ON THURSDAY...THEN TRACK NORTHEAST ACROSS NORTHERN MISSOURI... REACHING NORTHERN INDIANA BY FRIDAY MORNING. THIS IS A CLASSIC STORM TRACK FOR HEAVY SNOW ACROSS SOUTHERN WISCONSIN.

WIDESPREAD SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL FALL ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES ARE LIKELY ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.

WIZ056-062-063-067>069-180400-
/O.UPG.KMKX.WS.A.0010.081219T0000Z-081219T1800Z/
/O.NEW.KMKX.WS.W.0009.081219T0000Z-081219T1800Z/
SAUK-IOWA-DANE-LAFAYETTE-GREEN-ROCK-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BARABOO...DODGEVILLE...MADISON...
DARLINGTON...MONROE...JANESVILLE...BELOIT
153 PM CST WED DEC 17 2008

The anti-science President

Whooping Crane - USF&WS

Though many North American bird species are experiencing drastic population declines, a lame-duck president with an approval rating of less than 30% has pushed to remove the scientific peer-review process from the Endangered Species Act, thereby allowing federal agencies to determine on their own if a project will adversely affect wildlife. According to this change, federal agencies will no longer be required to consult with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service biologists.

Link: More from the American Bird Conservancy

Link: Scott Weidensaul's comments

After the Snowstorm

I had the day off today so I visited Pheasant Branch prairie to break fresh snow with my snowshoes. First on the trail! Whoo hoo! The future ex-Mrs. McDowell was in on the excursion. She expressed a desire to get some fresh air and exercise after being cooped up for a couple of days on account of the snowstorm, so I invited her.

With temperatures still in the single digits, we did a lap around the entire prairie. Along our route we observed dozens of American Tree Sparrows as they zipped over the fields in small scattered flocks. A few Dark-eyed Juncos followed them. A highlight was finding an adult White-crowned Sparrow perched high and looking über regal with the deep blue sky behind it. Though hopeful to see one, we failed to find a Northern Shrike. After an hour of kicking up snow, we went to get some cider and coffee.



We went our separate ways after warming up with our hot drinks. Lucky Becky had a dental appointment, but I decided to extend my snowy trek along the stream corridor trail section of the conservancy. There I watched a respectable assortment of dependable winter birds. There were White-breasted Nuthatches, Northern Cardinals, Black-capped Chickadees, Blue Jays, and a Brown Creeper. I also found three Great Horned Owls roosting in the evergreens.



Pheasant Branch – December 10th, 2008:

Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
House Finch
American Goldfinch

All images © 2008 Mike McDowell