A Week of Ups and Downs
The downs involved politics - I won't trouble you further.
Preamble - this is taken from a post by https://substack.com/@jameseroberts writing in the depths of Wales. If this speaks to you please know that I am trying and hope you will persevere. Take it is short chunks if that helps - for what it’s worth this weeks installment is a little over 900 words so you should be OK 🙃
... long-form posts, which are defined as anything over 800 words, are rarely read to the end, in fact less than 10 percent of readers get there. What people want, apparently, are short, punchy pieces, with clear takeaways. Is this true? I have no way of knowing.
Feederwatch 2024
We have arrived at the start of our 27th Feeederwatch season during which, each weekend for the next six months, we will be observing and counting the birds that come into the garden where our feeder array is situated. The data are submitted to the Feederwatch database (run by Bird Studies Canada and Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology). This data serves as a crucial resource for assessing the status of bird species, identifying trends in abundance, range shifts, and other relevant factors essential for their conservation. We do this because it is an important citizen science project and also because it is educational and interesting. This first weekend in November we were visited by sixteen species.
This first weekend we saw 16 bird species … I could list them here, but that’s boring for many people. But suffice it to say they were predominantly the regular residents such as woodpeckers, Robins, Goldfinch, Juncoes and the like. A Cooper’s Hawk - see further down the page - passed through but failed to find lunch. For us the birds of note were a pair of Carolina Wrens which we hope are becoming regular enough to spend a second winter as daily visitors to the feeders. We have had intermittent Carolina Wrens for years and that as good we would expect because this is very much the northern limit of their range but last year they were daily visitors. Gorgeous little, toffee-colored birds with a delightful song. Fingers crossed.
If you like podcasts (which I generally don’t, I’d rather read about things) here is one from Birds Canada about Feederwatch and winter birding that is for you … https://www.birdscanada.org/warblerspodcast
Motus Cardinals - Miss 608
The Motus tower has been erected in the garden for the second winter season. This belongs to a biologist from McGill University who is working on the behaviour of Northern Cardinals by affixing small radio tracking devices to their backs and then seeing where they go. She and a colleague can be seen walking the streets with hand-held radio aerials from time to time while the thirty or so foot aerial tower we have given space to tracks over a greater distance. The transmitters are minute, eventually fall off the birds and they cause no harm or hindrance - I want to stress that before anyone asks.
Pleasingly for us, within a couple of weeks of this year’s tracking season three female birds with devices have visited our garden - one of them (photo below) known as “Miss 608” was lost, possibly thought to have flown away too far and been lost or eaten by a hawk/cat etc but was identifiable by the unique colored bands on her legs. Being retired, I don’t do biology for a living any more, and anyway my studies were laboratory based rather than in the field so it’s nice to be able to assist in some small way with his study.
Coopers Hawk
Our generally well-attended bird feeders now and again catch the attention of passing raptors like this fine Cooper’s Hawk who was staring at a feeder just below his branch … but their wish for a small snack rarely comes to fruition; the smaller birds are sensitive to threat, usually know when the hawks are present and vanish in a trice. Chickadees in particular are very good at spreading the alarm call.
A Guide to “Noticing” Nature
A nature writer from the UK (Melissa Harrison - some enjoyable books and a regular column in The Times, so not a dilettante like me) has a new book out this week that I want to draw to your attention. Of course, I have not yet seen a copy, just an extract … and it is, not surprisingly, rather Britain-centred. However, it seems that a copy can make its way across the ocean by the start of December - I hadn’t expected it to be available in Canada for some considerable time, if ever, but the stars are aligned. I am very drawn to the whole concept behind her book. “Noticing” nature is important and in so many ways what this newsletter is all about too.
Briefly, the author introduces her book, Homecoming, thus:
… this isn’t just a reading book, it’s a doing book – and that’s really important. After all, the thing that has the power to change your life isn’t within these pages, it’s out there: in your garden, on your street, in your local park, through your car window and on your weekend walks … remember, when you go for a walk, stopping and waiting and looking and listening are all part of reconnecting to nature – even if you don’t manage to see the mystery creature or identify the bird this time. Allow yourself to be comfortable with uncertainty, doubt and occasional frustration: all key aspects of relating to the unpredictable, enriching, non-human world.
Anyway, if you can access books in or from the UK, this is it - elsewhere Amazon are your friends:
And here is Melissa’s introduction:
What happened at COP16?
… ministers from around the world underscored the crucial importance of nature to limiting damage from global heating, and vice versa – emphasising that climate and biodiversity could no longer be treated as independent issues if either crisis was to be resolved. Countries agreed a text on links between the climate and nature, but failed to include language on a phase out of fossil fuels.
Canada’s endangered species could disappear before being protected due to assessment backlog
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/science/article-endangered-species-at-risk-backlogs/
… human resources may prove to be a barrier even if the committee’s budget can be increased. Declining commitments to academic programs in conservation biology suggest there could be a shortage of trained individuals with the necessary expertise to conduct assessments if targets are increased.
The spider got it right …
(To see the last three lines and get the point of this you will have to click on the text below - sorry, computer stuff you know)
Sad Bees …
A quarter century ago I kept a few bee hives in England - nothing commercial, very small scale, and so this saddened me to read. There is apparent sugar syrup adulteration of 9/10 samples from large supermarkets. All fine from the little guys.
Have you visited …
Finally, just down the road
Speaking of honey, I buy honey with the True Source Certification. I started doing this a few years ago after seeing a documentary about adulterated honey, most of which emanates from China
Good stuff as always Richard! 👏
As to writing, my default is long form. I have made the effort to write shorter pieces on Medium and Substack, and come to appreciate the value and the challenge of making my points faster. As Mark Twain said: "I would have written a shorter speech, but I didn't have the time".