Look out! HAWK!

So... something you might not think about if you're new to the whole birdfeeding thing... If you feed songbirds, you can bet you're going to feed the occasional hawk as well. I've observed two species at my feeding station. One, a redtail, who's lived in our neighborhood for several years will take a bird if he can get one but he's more likely to target one of the fat gray squirrels that visit my yard for sunflower seeds, suet, peanuts, cracked corn, and the acorns from our oak trees. And we don't have to worry about wood rats. He took care of them when they showed up a couple of years ago. Once I made the mistake of watching "big red" eat one through my mom's scope. It was extremely gross.
The other hawk that frequents my yard is a Cooper's. He's long and lean with a narrow striped tail and red eyes that freaked me out a little at first. Coopers hawks are fast and agile and prey mainly on birds. Initially, it really upset me to know that I was putting the songbirds in danger, even though I get it that hawks need to eat too. I did some research and learned that subsidizing the local bird population with with food, water, and shelter does more good than harm. It's beneficial to many many birds, and hawks will prey on birds whether you're feeding or not.
Nature's not always pretty, but it's always interesting. Anyone who's ever watched a lioness take out a cute little gazelle on NatGeo knows that. Man interferes in so many negative ways: habitat destruction, car strikes, pesticide use. I'm glad I can give a little back to our feathered friends with my little bird cafe.

Pictures: http://birdsdowntown.wordpress.com/2012/12/
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-tailed_hawk/id


A Coopers Hawk remains vigilant while perched on a branch

A soaring Red Tailed Hawk fans out its red tail as it scans the ground for unsuspecting prey

House Finches

  The weather is warming up, and more birds are arriving at the feeder. This week a couple house finches got my attention, so I snapped a few shots of them and decided to make them the species for this week. These birds can be found almost everywhere in the US year round. Male house finches are handsome with a scarlet red wash on their heads and throats. Females are brownish gray with blurry streaks all over. Many finches will overlook a regular tube feeder because the seeds and berries inside are too big, but house finches will sift through the seeds as well as eat the thistle from the finch feeders. These birds are not ground feeders, so unless you have a finch feeder you most likely won't encounter one.  They're hard to spot on trails because finches are very small birds that blend in with the trees that they're perched in. If you don't have a feeder at home (yet!), visit a local nature center. They usually keep their feeders full and you can observe the birds up close and personal.
A fun fact about house finches is that in 1940 a group of illegally sold caged house finches were released near New York City, and now all of the house finches east of the great plains are descendants of these released birds! Birds rule!

A female (left) and male (right) house finch eating thistle seeds from a tube feeder

Two male house finches that were searching for the smaller seeds inside the tube feeder

A male house finch perched on a wisteria vine.

Showcasing: The White Throated Sparrow

I was sick this past weekend, which gave me a lot of time to just look at the birds at my feeder. It gave me the idea that it would be interesting to write some posts showcasing various bird species that visit my little "bird café". This week we have the white throated sparrow. It's easily recognizable by it's white throat and crown. In fact many bird names are very "creative" in this aspect, for example the white breasted nuthatch has a white breast, a purple martin is well... purple, mourning doves make mournful sounds, and so on. However some birds have names that give a false impression of how the bird looks. Take the purple sandpiper for instance; the name makes you think that it's purple obviously. But, if you're at the beach anytime next winter check the rocky jetties for a plump, brownish, long-billed bird probing the crevices, you just might be looking at a "purple" sandpiper. If you use your imagination, and the light is juuuuust right, you might see a very slight purple gloss in their plumage. Anyway, back to the white throated (WT). They are ground feeders and scratch among the fallen leaves for food. My mom and I make sure to throw some seeds and cracked corn on the ground for the WT, mourning doves, juncos, and others. The WT has two morphs. They either have a bright white eyebrow, or a tan stripped eyebrow. WT's have a distinctive yellow lore (area in front of the eye). A fun fact about the WT is that for a while it was believed that the tan striped morph of the WT was simply the juvenile plumage, but recent studies have shown that white striped adults usually mate with tan striped WT adults. Well, what can I say... opposites attract! You can search for a WT in your back yard or as you walk along Sligo's wooded paths. They're present winter, spring, and fall.

A white throated sparrow with a white eyebrow

 

The WT's blend in with the ground (left), unlike the cardinals

A PVP Server

I haven't done a Minecraft post in a while, but I want to share a pvp server that my friend introduced to me recently. I've attached a narrated video of me showcasing the server's features. As I get ready to post my entry, I realize that some might find the Minecraft vocabulary objectionable. The words "kill" and "die" are used to describe events in the battles between two teams of Lego-like characters. There are no guns, no blood; but bows and swords are used in combat. As video games go, Minecraft doesn't contain graphic violence. In my own life, I support peaceful solutions to problems in our world. I spent yesterday working at the Little Friends for Peace organization in a D.C. neighborhood that is plagued by violence. You may have read my earlier post after the Newtown tragedy, about attending a vigil to end gun violence. I don't think my interest in gaming conflicts with my personal values or philosophy about living an ethical life. I, like most avid gamers, know the difference between fantasy and reality. I hope you take my post in the spirit that was intended, and that you have you have a hobby that you enjoy as much as I do mine.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

I've been a birder for a long time. My mom has had me birding since I was 4 or so.  Recently my mom started telling me about this thing called the great backyard bird count (GBBC) so I decided to look into it. The GBBC is where someone can just sit at their window and count the birds they see. They record their results and send their findings to Conell University of Ornithology. It's citizens' science! This is amazing to me because I love to just kick back and watch the birds come and go. Earlier today I filled up the feeders and started recording what I saw. I saw a lot of the birds that I just love, like a flock of dark eyed juncos, a cardinal, and two varites of woodpeckers (1 red bellied woodpecker, and 2 downys). This was a great way to say goodbye to Maryland as I pack my bags to spend president's day weekend in Pennsylvania. I hope I will have time to do more of this in the future, because as I've said many times in this post, I LOVE birds!

I just spent the last 30 minutes looking at birds out my window.

Eggs

Mr. Mayo challenged us to a make a 60 second video focused around a mystery prop. It was exciting and a little nerve wracking knowing that whatever item we pulled from the black plastic bag would be the inspiration for our show. One group got a bloody severed head, so we knew we had to be prepared for anything! Our "anything" turned out to be a birds nest with three eggs in it --- maybe not as exciting as a decapitated head, but we knew we could work with it. After a lengthy brainstorming session, we decided on a theme of suspense. Would the itty bitty birdies survive the fall from the treetop or end up a scrambled mess on the pavement below?
We used sound effects and music to add both drama and humor to our film. And of course Ross came through with a brilliant performance. This one minute film, from conception to final editing, took us many hours to produce. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.
The experience will be helpful with our upcoming CAP Hollywood Project because it was a good exercise in using our skills and imaginations to create a concept and captivating story in a limited amount of time.

I took a shot...

I've always loved acting. I did a little at Imagination Stage when I was younger. I enjoy writing skits and creating characters and doing voices and accents. But I was too intimidated last year to try out for either of Blair's plays. I went to see The Three Musketeers and Les Miserables, and they were fantastic!
This fall, my parents challenged me to audition for The Taming of the Shrew. I used to run into Ms. O'Connor in the drama room she shares with Ms. Jeral. She seemed cool and very nice. Anyway, I finally got up the nerve to put my name on the audition schedule one day. Mine was actually the last name on the list of 84 hopeful students. I figured I was "safe". By the time the O'Connors got to my presentation, they'd surely have already found all the actors they needed, or maybe if I was really lucky they'd just sleep through my tryout. Who did I think I was, anyway?! To my surprise, they were wide awake and enthusiastically watching my and my partner's every move. I even made Mr. O"Connor laugh out loud.
The rest of the story is that I won a small role in the Shakespearean comedy. It's been even more fun than I imagined it would be. I feel really lucky to have had this experience and I hope to participate in future MBHS productions. Come out and see the play this weekend. I'm the guy who gets his butt kicked, literally.

Oh, and if you've been thinking of joining a club or trying out for a sport or the play --- JUST DO IT! You'll be glad you did.