Jeff Gyr’s Birding Blog

Back from Guatemala

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:20:22 -0400

Liz and I arrived in Philadelphia after midnight last night, following a protracted journey through customs in Atlanta (nothing interesting, just tons of people and a long wait for baggage), so we accepted my Mom’s gracious offer to stay at their house, which is close to the airport.

Today, Liz is headed home and I’m headed to Gettysburg, PA, to speak to the South Mountain Audubon Society.

We had a great time, mostly, but still it’s good to be home, mostly. How’s that for equivocation? Honestly, though, the truth of things is usually complex.

Suffice it to say that we were thrilled to visit such a beautiful, diverse country and to spend time with an amazing assortment of friends old and new. I am really excited about Guatemala’s future as an ecotourism destination; the country has so much to offer now, and so much promise going forward.

More soon. It’s laundry time.

Chinese Caterpillar Fungus Fur-Seal Pills

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:27:16 -0500

I’m traveling to Guatemala right now. And you know, life on the road can be a real drain. That’s why I take Chinese Caterpillar Fungus Fur-Seal Pills, or Chi Cat Fu Fu Sea P’s, as I like to call ‘em for short.

They’re the fastest way to get your full requirement of Chinese Caterpillar, Fungus, and Fur-Seal in an easy to swallow, easy to carry, pill form.

A couple double-handfuls of these babies, washed down with a Venti Caramel Macchiato or two or three, and you’re high on life. And death. And everything else before, after, and in between.

Just try lugging all these vital nutrients with you in their “natural” state--why you’d need leaves for the caterpillars, fish for the fur-seals, and manure for the fungus, unless the fungus could grow on the fur-seals’ manure, which would save some weight and space, I guess. The point is, you’re gonna need one HELL of a Zip-lock baggie to get all that through airport security.

Now, I know that many of you are saying, “Oh sure, the label says it’s got Caterpillar, Fungus, and Fur-Seal, but the pictures clearly show a sea-lion, a phocid seal, and some sort of unholy hybrid between Bambi and his own Dad. I don’t know what to believe.”

Relax. Strict Chinese food and drug purity standards ensure that you get only the fuzziest caterpillars, the finest fungus, and the freshest, freeze-dried fur seals. Never mind the unconscionably lax Chinese graphic design standards, which have regrettably caused so much confusion and misery.

Remember all those lead-laden toys? People act like they were defective or something, when it was clearly the labels that were defective.

Chinese Caterpillar Fungus Fur-Seal Pills. Available in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service seized wildlife products display near gate E27 at Atlanta’s Hartshorn Airport, right between the tiger penis and the cobra-scorpion liqueur. Ask for them by name.

At Long Last

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:50:55 -0500

Sometimes, bird feeding is a coyote-like exercise in frustration. Coyote-like as in Wile E. Coyote, the perpetually frustrated hunter of the Roadrunner.

All winter, there have been good numbers of northern finches over much of the continent. But none of that bounty seems to have found its way into my yard.

There have been crossbills, redpolls, Purple Finches, even non-finch finches like Bohemian Waxwings, seemingly all over the place. But I couldn't get a Pine Siskin, clearly the lowest man on the winter finch totem pole, to favor my yard with a visit. I've been pretty darn good about keeping the thistle feeder clean and full. We have two water features, plus lots of other avian amusements both natural and man-made, scattered around our property.

Now it would be one thing if it was just my buddies like Jim White in the northern part of Delaware who were getting siskins--even though that narrow slice of Piedmont Hills is only an hour and a half's drive away, there are often some surprisingly large differences in avifauna.

But it seems like every second or third day, when Brecon and I are out walking, I hear the explosive, far-carrying note of a siskin or two within a mile or so of my house. Once, I even had one fly overhead while I was standing in the yard, technically fulfilling the requirements for a yard bird, but still feeling like a bit of a snub.

Yesterday, no doubt in honor of the Great Backyard Bird Count, the siskin strike ended.

The timing seems particularly fitting. More than any other single event, it was my observation of a Pine Siskin at my parent's feeders in February, 1977, that really pushed me over the edge into the land of the bird nerds.

And here I am, three decades later...

Thanks for the Hot Chicks!

Mon, 4 Feb 2008 15:50:42 -0500

Last December, Liz and I and our birding buddy Sharon Lynn were asked to help out with a new promotional program called “Thank You Delaware Bay.” It’s a series of public service ads--on television and in print--that highlight the many valuable things we get from Delaware Bay.

We were photographed at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, where we did some actual birdwatching, but mostly just tried to look like we were birdwatching. It was a lot of fun, really, especially in that it only lasted a couple of hours, and it was interesting to watch the crew work.

I just got an e-mail today saying that the campaign’s new web site is up. On it, you can watch the video (QuickTime required, a free download, if you don’t already have it).

Sharon, Liz, and I are one of the later sets of bay enthusiasts featured. You’ll see a fisherman, some hunters, families eating and traveling, and a dock worker. We, of course, are the birders. I get to deliver the accurate but highly improbable line, “Thanks for the beauty.”

Of course, in real life, I’d probably say, “Thanks for the birds,” but that might have seemed too specific for a mass media campaign. I like the unspoken message that birders have a 2:1 female:male ratio.

The web site and video are here:

Thank You Delaware Bay.org

Flycatchers at Fresh Pond, Part 2

Thu, 3 Jan 2008 06:31:56 -0500

After some research by Chris Bennett and others, it appears that the Fresh Pond area is in fact currently open to both permitted bow hunters and other visitors, too. I suggest that anyone going to look for the bird(s) be aware of the ongoing hunting and avoid any conflicts with other users. The bow hunters I met there on Monday were great folks. I know that lots of people will be out birding there on Sunday; that may well be your best bet.

Above is a map with a few notations on it I hope you’ll have no trouble deciphering. You can download a pdf of the map (minus my notations) here.

I’ve also put a place mark on a Google Map; the area where I saw the bird was just south of the trail junction indicated, areound the turnoff to Deer Stand #10. You can use the zoom controls (on left of frame) and switch the view from Satellite to Map to Hybrid (button bars in upper right) to get a better fix on where the bird is (or was).

Ash-throated Flycatcher at Fresh Pond

Tue, 1 Jan 2008 11:04:15 -0500

Saturday, 29 December 2007 was the Rehoboth Christmas Bird Count. So far, the most exciting find of the day was an Ash-throated Flycatcher, Delaware’s first documented record.

It was discovered by Bruce Peterjohn & Ed Sigda at the Fresh Pond unit of Delaware Seashore State Park. Amazingly, they also had an Empidonax flycatcher in the same general area that got away before it could be identified. I have not heard any reports of that since; if refound, it could possibly trump even the Ash-throated as a rarity.

One difficulty surrounding these birds: Fresh Pond is a hunting area, and access appears to be complicated, at best. I’ll be posting more, here and/or on DE-BIRD, about that situation, once I have a chance to research it.

In the meantime, here’s some video:

Circus of the Spineless #27 (2)

Tue, 4 Dec 2007 04:09:33 -0500

Patrick Belardo at The Hawk-Owl’s Nest, has posted Circus of the Spineless #27.

Another blog carnival, this one is centered on invertebrates and includes a link to my post about the One-spotted Prepona discovery in Texas.

Cool--2 blog carnivals in less than a week. Watch out, YouTube--one of my videos is bound to break the 1000 hits barrier...

I and the Bird #63

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 07:51:28 -0500

I and the Bird #63, the Thanksgiving edition, is up at The Greenbelt.

Host The Ridger has been kind enough to allow my Spark Birds video to go up in this blogging carnival, my first submission to IATB.

If you’ve never checked out I and the Bird, or a blog carnival of any kind, give it a click!

Midnight on the Delaware Birding Trail

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 01:30:25 -0500

Liz and I had a long drive home this evening, all the way from Millersburg. Pennsylvania, where we were visiting with our friends Bill Thompson and Julie Zickefoose. Julie just opened a show at the Ned Smith Center showcasing her paintings and sketches for her recent book, Letters from Eden. As we headed south into Delaware, I realized our timing woud be just about right to hit Prime Hook at midnight and kick off our week-long “Bird the Trail” event in celebration of the Delaware Birding Trail.

We started at the Broadkill Beach Road Impoundment, where a huge last quarter moon was rapidly rising, casting its pale orange light over the forms of hundreds of Snow Geese, the first species we recorded after the cell phone registered that December had begun.

Almost immediately, American Wigeon peeped in. We also heard White-throated Sparrow, Great Horned Owl, and Eastern Screech-Owl. No Saw-whets tonight, but still, an auspicious kickoff for the week.

A Birding Trail Map for Ruth Ann

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:49:38 -0500

Here I am this afternoon, presenting the first copy of the brand new Delaware Birding Trail to the Governor of Delaware, Ruth Ann Minner.

After eighteen months of working on it--I authored the text and served as coordinator for the project--it feels awfully nice to have the finished product in-hand.

I’ll have more to say about this newest of birding trails soon, but for now, here’s two more pictures. All three photos on today’s post were taken by my wife, Liz Gordon.

The Birding Trail Task Force and the Governor (l to r): Jeffrey Gordon, Karen Bennett, Bill Stewart, Ruth Ann Minner, Ann Rydgren, & Andy Urquhart. Unfortunately, task force member Sally O’Byrne was unable to attend today.

Bill Stewart and Governor Ruth Ann Minner