Visions of Birding's Unchanged Past and Unrealized Future

I had the opportunity tonight to riffle through some old copies of Audubon magazine tonight, and I especially enjoyed the old advertisements. Birding always seems to be an underdog, on the cusp of mainstream acceptance - "one of the fastest growing activities!" they say - and so it was nice to see these old magazines and remember that this is a hobby with a full-bodied history.

The magazine I was looking at was from 1960, and featured a beautiful cover design (and the black-and-white photo was apt for the Gray Jay on the cover):

 

There were a couple of ads that I liked because they're still products that birders buy all the time. The problem of keeping squirrels off feeders will never go away, though I don't know how much I'd want my bird feeders making loud buzzing noises all the time...

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Kirtland's Warbler outside Grayling, MI

Wish Me Luck

Warbler's Way Motel - Grayling, MI

Gone Birding

Be back mid-May.

State Birds: What They SHOULD Be

I drove over a bridge from Maryland into Virginia today and on the big "Welcome to Virginia" sign was an image of their state bird, the Northern Cardinal - with a yellow bill.  I should have scoffed - another Birds at Large on tap! - but it hardly registered.  Everyone knows that state birds are a big damn joke.  There are a million Cardinals, a scattering a Robins, and just a general lack of thought being put into the whole thing.

States should have to put more thought into their state bird than I put into picking my socks in the morning.  "Ugh, state bird?  I dunno, what're the guys next to us doing?  Cardinal?  OK, let's do that too.  Yeah put it on all the signs.  Nah no time to research the bill color let's just go."  It's the official state bird!  Well, since all these jackanape states are too busy passing laws requiring everyone to own guns or whatever to consider what their state bird should be, I guess I'll have to do it.

1. Alabama.  Official state bird: Yellowhammer.  

Right out of the gate with this thing.  Yellowhammer?  C'mon.  I Asked Jeeves and it told me that Yellowhammer is some backwoods name for a Yellow-shafted Flicker.  Sorry, but that's dumb.  If you want a woodpecker, go for something with a little more cache, something that's at least a full species.

What it should be: Red-cockaded Woodpecker

2. Alaska. Official state bird: Willow Ptarmigan

Willow Ptarmigans are the dumbest sounding birds on earth, sorry.  They sound like rejected Star Wars aliens, angrily standing outside the Mos Eisley cantina because their ID's were rejected.  Why go with these dopes, Alaska, when you're the best state to see the most awesome falcon on earth?

What it should be: Gyrfalcon

3. Arizona.  Official state bird: Cactus Wren

Cactus Wren is like the only boring bird in the entire state.  I can't believe it.

What it should be: Red-faced Warbler

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Where DC Commuters Can See Peregrine Falcons

Peregrine falcons are the world's fastest animal.  WORLD'S FASTEST ANIMAL.  They're amazing creatures, but I bet none of my sleep-eyed compatriots riding the early morning Metro between Pentagon and L'Enfant Plaza know that these birds can be seen almost every morning.

Between Pentagon and L'Enfant Plaza stations, the Metro goes above ground and crosses the Potomac on a bridge.  It can be a dazzling moment for groggy passengers - bursting from the dark tunnel into a city sunrise over the river.  It's good birding, too, with gulls and geese and ducks and what-have-yous.  There are also, often, Peregrine Falcons, if you know where to look.  Metro passengers looking downriver can often spot a bird sitting on the railroad trestle, usually at one of four spots: the edge of the VA side, the two edges of the middle section, and the edge of the DC side.  Here are some maps (click to enlarge):

 

 



It may not be the greatest look in the world, but the hunched posture and sleek shape of the falcon are usually clear.  Living in DC it's easy to feel completely separate from the natural world, but these falcons are a daily reminder that we're not as far away as it seems.

Birds at Large: Family Guy

I pulled these screen shots off an episode this season called "Call Girl."  Look, I'm not going to get in a huge debate over Family Guy.  When it first aired it was some pretty cutting edge stuff, frankly, but it's settled into a rut where it settles for nastiness instead of nasty wit.  Who cares.  I'll watch it on Hulu once in awhile. 

This episode had birds in it.  Real birds?  No. 

I wish these were real.  These birds are beautiful.  Some kind of Connecticut Warbler x Mountain Bluebird hybrid?  Artistically, they show a pretty good sense of ornithological construction, they just aren't a real species.  Alas.

The plot of the episode begins with Peter getting a falcon for some reason that I don't remember already.  Here it is, first eating those cool birds from a second ago, then squishing Stewie's soft spot:

It most resembles a Peregrine Falcon, or a Prairie, but unlike the blue birds before this bird is lazily constructed.  What's with those patches where the coverts should be?  Where's the tail in the bottom photograph?  Like the show, this falcon is crude, hastily-constructed and lazy...but screw it it's better than Honey Boo-Boo.