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For the last two decades, Europe and the greater Mediterranean have been covered by one of the best field guides anywhere: “Collins Bird Guide” by Lars Svensson et al., published in the US by Princeton as “Birds of Europe”. Not many European countries have their single-country guides (the exception being UK, Spain and a few others with a strong in-country publishing scene).
Author: Tim Houlihan In my conversation with Jana Gallus from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, we examined the ways that precision impacts the effectiveness of rewards. Her research points to important aspects of how rewards, the signals they send and their efficacy are affected by precision. In short, more precision is better for rewards used with incentives, while less precision is better for rewards used with recognition.
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Cover photo : Ram Fortress by Ilija Jacanovic. In the chill morning of late January, I am driving east of Belgrade towards the Two Towers section of the Danube and the best waterfowling bonanza in the whole of Serbia. Actually, I visited the Two Towers twice, had about 50 bird species each time and about 60 in total, so this is sort of a composite tour description.
Most of us are already familiar with hummingbirds, whether in the flesh or in glorious, birdy dreams of lush tropical rainforests. They are one of the most famous families of birds, and for good reason. Buckets of energy crammed into an exceedingly tiny body, they can fly in every imaginable direction, change colour at will and consistently are treading the thin line between life and death.
Growing up in western New York, February was one of the more tedious of winter months. It might be the shortest month but the continuing cold, snow, and dreary weather made it seem like one of the longest. Stomping the slush from winter boots, shoveling the sidewalk, extracting the car from a tomb of snow, those were some memories of February in the 80s.
I have commented before on the privilege and pain of living in a state (Michoacán, Mexico) which hosts 10 out of the 15 Empidonax Flycatchers , as well as at least 4 of the 22 Myiarchus Flycatchers. But those are not the only taxonomic families in which Michoacán has an embarassment of (difficult) riches. If you are lucky, and very, very obsessive, you can also see 7 different Swifts in my state.
I have commented before on the privilege and pain of living in a state (Michoacán, Mexico) which hosts 10 out of the 15 Empidonax Flycatchers , as well as at least 4 of the 22 Myiarchus Flycatchers. But those are not the only taxonomic families in which Michoacán has an embarassment of (difficult) riches. If you are lucky, and very, very obsessive, you can also see 7 different Swifts in my state.
Set in an abandoned oil refinery where wildlife is slowly regaining control save for the desperate attempts of golfers to retain all eighteen holes, industrial ghosts loom over rolling freshwater lakes bordered by fifty foot tall trees. Fortunately, throughout the tenure of the refinery many of the older, larger trees were preserved. This was actually the place where the late Richard ffrench spent much of his time as a music teacher, amassing countless observations of birds that would later form
It’s not always easy to get up early. For the early bird people yes but for those who relish some extra sleep, not really. Even when visiting a new place where the possibilities for lifers abound, days do arrive when a birder has to dig for enough will power to drag his or herself out of bed. The exhaustion of early starts and long hot walks adds up until the body demands an easy birding day in lieu of yet another exciting yet tiring birding marathon.
No matter where you happen to be, you can’t really go wrong when beginning a new year of birding. Birds are everywhere and if you keep the mind open to appreciation, even the most common of familiar birds are incredible, beautiful creatures. That said, more birds are always better and ones infrequently seen even more so. By our good chance, Mary and I began our year of birding in Costa Rica at a place that combined both of these factors, a place with the promising name of “Raptor Rid
It’s the same the whole world over. A rare bird draws a crowd of optics and men of a certain age. The Tokyo Bay Wild Bird Park was exceptionally busy this morning. Rumour had it that a Bohemian Waxwing had been sighted and it had been noted consorting with 4 Japanese Waxwings. The Japanese Waxwing, Bombycilla japonica , is uncommon and would have been enough to draw a crowd from the Tokyo contingent of birders, but B. garrulus would be top of the bill.
Breezy Point, the westernmost tip of the barrier islands that protect Long Island’s south shore, is also the southwestern most portion of Queens and one of my favorite locations to look for birds. Being out on the beach is always nice and Breezy Point often gives you the feeling of being one of the last people on earth despite being in a city of over nine million people.
Just before we left Victoria and returned home to Broome I was doing one of my regular walks from Foster to Fish Creek. I walked up to the look-out, which is about half way between the two small towns. I stopped to take in the view one last time. Suddenly there was the familiar odd sound of Gang-gang Cockatoos, which we had encountered on Boxing Day last year.
Today is Valentine’s Day – which means that at this very moment, countless would-be Romeos and hopeful Casanovas are undoubtedly scurrying around at the eleventh hour trying to find that perfect gift, tracking down the last florist in town not already sold out of roses, or perhaps merely struggling to choose a perfect bottle of wine for tonight’s dinner.
Strange as it may seem, this is not an entry into a “most boring blog headline” contest. Rather, it is derived from an obscure song by a British band (Marc Riley and the Creepers) titled “Another song about motorbikes”. Which I think is quite a clever way of taking a potentially cool topic and making it mundane. For those still reading on after this introduction, this is about Barn Owls I have seen in Germany in summer 2018 and winter 2019 – rural Northern Germany, to be more specific.
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Have you ever had one of those weekends where every project you took on failed, perhaps spectacularly? Some weeks, Monday feels more like a respite than a burden. At least I didn’t have to travel far for great birds; my whole family thrilled to the sight of an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk chowing down on an unspecified rodent in our yard. Corey enjoyed his weekend at his parents’ house in the Hudson Valley though he didn’t see too many birds.
During the recent months we spent in Victoria we were lucky enough to observe a pair of Hooded Plovers. Hooded Plovers are only found in the south of Australia and they are not abundant in any location. There are two populations and our last encounter was in the south of Western Australia almost two years ago. We have also observed them in Tasmania several years ago.
My area of central Mexico has a true monsoon climate. That means that we have little or no rain through the winter months, and almost daily rain during the warm months of June through September, with May and October being transitional months. May is always our hottest month, while our recent rains keep temperatures in October much lower. Días de precipitación = Days of precipitation.
This post is inspired by a misconception. When I checked the photograph shown below, it was on a small screen in bright sunlight. In these circumstances, I thought that I saw the man amongst the pigeons putting his hand to his heart in a casual prayer to thank God for all of His creations, however common and familiar they might be. My feelings often run along a similar thread, not always as fervent as our pigeon feeder perhaps, but I am always grateful that I can take pleasure from small things.
February birding may qualify as boring in many parts of the world, but that simplistic observation ignores all the excitement a truly engaged and dedicated birder can muster. Don’t give up on birding, even during the boring times. Winter has yet to yield all of its avian treasures to me, so I’ll keep combing the lake for something new. Corey never quits his ceaseless quest for the best birds of the NYC area, so look for him just about anywhere near Queens.
I have previously written about the central Mexican highlands’ very own microendemic species, the Black-polled Yellowthroat. This bird is only found around three lakes (Lago de Pátzcuaro and Lago de Cuitzeo in the state of Michoacán, and Lago de Yuriria just across the border in Guanajuato state), and in the marshy area southeast of Toluca, the capital of the state of Mexico.
Last week I went downhill to Paso Ancho, as I always do at some point each January. I go there to add all those Tierra Caliente (Hot Country) specialties to my year list. The site’s spectacular endemics never let me down: The beautiful Orange-breasted Bunting. This female Red-breasted Chat is showing what it thinks of me. Fortunately, at this time of year there are also a good number of high-quality migratory species: Least Flycatcher.
Some weekends last longer than others. Whether you enjoyed the extra day the United States sets apart to honor former Presidents or spent your day at work in a country predisposed to honor its current leader, you can decide what period best described your weekend. Though I traveled to NYC this weekend, Ivy and I nailed down our best bird before I left; a Short-eared Owl has been hunting at a local park not 10 minutes from our house, which makes for the easiest owl sighting we’ve snagged in
I’ve learned a thing or two about winter birding since I’ve moved to a place with an abundance of winter. First and foremost, not every weekend offers ideal conditions for spotting snow birds, but a little patience almost guarantees that the right conditions come along. Did your patience pay off this weekend? Ivy and I went out to spot Snow Buntings and Horned Larks , and, by George, we spotted Snow Buntings and Horned Larks along with a single Lapland Longspur.
Brush Bronzewing – Phaps elegans are one of the bird species that we rarely encounter, because we are rarely in the right location in Australia. During our recent visit to South Gippsland in Victoria we had one encounter. They are similar to the Common Bronzewi ng , but they are a larger bird. Both species are very stocky and usually encountered alone or in pairs.
The heart, you may have heard, wants what it wants. If what you want this Valentine’s weekend is to chase birds, follow your bliss. As you may have also heard, love means never having to say you are sorry. I’m sorry to be heading down to NYC for reasons that have nothing to do with birding. I won’t even be in position to go after the coastal specialties we miss along the Great Lakes.
As one season begins to shade ever so slightly–or perhaps heavily, depending on your latitude–new birding opportunities open up. If you focus on first of year (FOY) birds, February always has something fresh and fun to offer. Now that Ivy and I have broken the ice on owls this year, we’re eager to add a couple more, so Owl Woods might be in the cards.
This week’s featured wine at Birds and Booze isn’t our first pinot noir , nor is it our first Barn Owl (in fact, this marks the third appearance of this species on a bottle here). And after checking the cellar, I know for certain that it won’t be our last on either count: we’ve got at least one more Barn Owl and a couple of pinot noirs coming down the pike.
This weekend offers a special opportunity to those of you who like to slice and dice your bird sightings by the most esoteric measures possible. Have you started your Leap Day List yet? What could be more challenging that growing a list you can only work on every four years at nearly the nadir of avian seasonal diversity. Sounds fun, right? The beginning of March signals the point at which we get serious about Saw-whet Owl sightings along Lake Ontario, but I’m not sure I’m feeling th
Author: Carmen Simon People act on what they remember, not what they forget. The latest scientific research places memory at the heart of decision-making. Studies show that in the process of making a decision, your brain predicts the rewards of a choice based on past memories, and then uses that information to make the most favorable decision. Simply put: Your brain is a prediction engine.
Author: Umberto Milletti All trends point to 2020 being more focused on the B2B customer, with data and insights as the key to understanding their needs. Marketing and sales have switched to account-based everything, which crystallizes focus on the customer. Customers have more power and more information than ever?—?they know what they want. B2B companies need to switch from a mentality of “here’s what we’re selling” to “we understand what you need.
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