criticism

A few different things that I've been noticing in regards to bird sounds have given me the incentive to think about seriously. It seems that the cardinal has a very annoying chirp most of the time. Then, suddenly it will have a pretty song. It must be a sensitive bird that is vigilant to its surroundings. Why is it the color red? Blue jays although pushy, like to stay up high in trees and watch. Their vigilance is marked by a succession of throaty calls. The problem is that it seems that they want to be a full blown predator. But not ready to make the leap of faith. ( a Hail Mary?) A Cat Bird is my favorite bird because the calls have the nicest sound. They seem to have a sense of humor. On the other hand- if it has the self awareness enough to make jokes (self mocking ones at that) why not use that energy to actually make a great bird call? It's my impression that they have a self handicap as if this were a game of golf! Life's not a game.

Here is a F-22 Raptor which reminded me of the little birds attacking the hawk. What's interesting about the F- 22 Raptors is that they are very expensive.

Hawks versus small birds

Today, I noticed a terrorist act. However, instead of among people- this was among birds.

Five small birds were ganging up on one large hawk. Surrounding and dive-bombing mid-flight. The hawk was making an attempt to fly out of the way. Why was this going on. I think it's an issue of territory, (food, resources, etc) As in: That hawk might have had a history of disrupting the small birds. Then, the little birds decided to band together and chase the hawk out. Either way, it was reminiscent of a dogfight (which is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft- up close and personal).

Tropical. Birds.

I'm faced with a very thought provoking task.

Should I think deeply about tropical birds? Tropical birds need their own recognition.

These parrots (for the most part) need a different type of study. This is because of how DIFFERENT they are as compared to birds of the northeast. Especially in intelligence ;)

The crow and raven might be able to compete. Same with the catbird.

Parrots are special.

Cardinal Fledging

In the middle of the road was a baby cardinal. He was right in between the double yellow lines. Eyes wide open looking around completely startled.

He was picked up and taken back to the bird safety bucket (a paint bucket that's filled with rags and torn up toilet paper).

This was marked by something a woman yelled out the window of her car:

"KILL the bird" "KILL the bird"

repeated twice.

Goldfinch

A goldfinch is my favorite when it's eating sunflower seeds directly from a sunflower. I saw this at the Queens Botanical Garden and was pleased.

Here's a link to the Queens Botanical Garden:

http://www.queensbotanical.org

Recognizing different birds from the same species

For a while I've been wondering about he necessity of birds who have banded legs and if that is the best way to keep track. For example, I'm under the impression that it might be possible to stay in the loop of what they're doing with or without the band around the "bird-ankle". Take for instance this robin I've spotted for the past few days, I'm sure it's the same robin even though it doesn't have a band. Here is a list of questions in regards to the band:

1. How much of a hurry are scientist in so that they must keep bands on birds. a. I can see how the quandary of "oh it is so much more efficient to keep the band on a leg, because this way we can keep track so much easier".

2. Is the reason why you study birds so that you are in control of the birds vis a vis the bird band? For instance- It seems that if you had the utmost respect for the birds one would be able to keep track with or without the band.

3. When keeping track of migrants I can see how it could happen where different birds fall by the wayside and maybe it can be difficult to identify deceased birds.

4. Is there such a thing as over zealous study in regards to the scientific exploration of animals, plants, i.e. the natural world as a naturalist?