Florence McBride

Here is the archive of the Sunday, May 27, 2012, BirdCallsRadio show featuring an with Florence “Flo” McBride. Listen as this popular Connecticut birdwatcher describes how she gets children excited about learning about nature and birds. She even does her “Blue Jay rap” — twice. Nice!

Flo leads several bird walks for children at East Rocks in New Haven, and she has developed a science curriculum, “Take Flight!”, centered around birds for the elementary schools in her hometown of Hamden.

An active member of the New Haven Bird Club, she is also a nature film maker and has made several videos of Connecticut wildlife.

Earlier this year, Flo was presented with the presigeous Mabel Osgood Wright Award from the Connecticut Ornithological Association. It is the latest in a long list of awards that have been bestowed upon her.

Click here to listen: bcr 5-27-12 flo mcbride. As always, thanks for supporting BirdCallsRadio.

Northern cardinal. Photo by Chris Bosak, copyright, all rights reserved.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everybody. If you’re traveling, be careful and best of luck seeing some good “road birds.” If you’re staying put, best of luck seeing great yard birds or birds in the field. Feel free to share your Memorial Day weekend sightings with BirdCallsRadio by clicking here. I’d love to hear from you.

Remember to spend some of your weekend with BirdCallsRadio as we will have a new show on Sunday (1 to 2 p.m. at 1490 WGCH or listen live) featuring Connecticut birder Florence “Flo” McBride. Listen how this special lady gets children involved with birdwatching and nature.

Have fun at your parades and picnics, and always keep in the mind the reason for the holiday. Thanks to all servicemen and women, but on this weekend, especially those who paid the ulitmate sacrifice.

Florence McBride © Michael McBride. All Rights Reserved

Florence “Flo” McBride will be the next guest on BirdCallsRadio, coming up this Sunday, May 27, from 1 to 2 p.m. on 1490AM WGCH or Listen Live.

Flo is a well known long time birder in Connecticut and is particularly adept at getting children involved in nature. She leads several bird walks for children at East Rocks in New Haven, and she has developed a science curriculum, “Take Flight!”, centered around birds for the elementary schools in her hometown of Hamden.

She is also a nature film maker and has made several videos of Connecticut wildlife, including birds, of course.

Listen as Flo describes her love of birds, nature and introducing that wonderful world to children. Perhaps she’ll also do her “blue jay rap.” Knowing Flo, she will be up for it.

Flo is well educated and holds a MA from Radcliffe and is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow;  Doctoral work in English (American Literature) at Harvard. Graduate credits through workshops at Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS). She also studied ornithology under Noble Proctor at Southern Connecticut University.

She is also an active member of the New Haven Bird Club and leads bird walks for that organization. Flo participates in several bird censuses and other citizen science projects.

Earlier this year, Flo was presented with the presigeous Mabel Osgood Wright Award from the Connecticut Ornithological Association. It is the latest in a long list of awards that have been bestowed upon her.

In her own words: “My mother loved birds and wildflowers, and I almost certainly learned awareness, appreciation, and nomenclature because of her, and because of tramping around the woods and fields of New Jersey with my father.”  When I was quite young, I was entranced by a flock of Cedar Waxwings eating berries on a bush right outside our  window – thought they were named for the silky-smooth appearance of their plumage.

“The bird badge was the only badge I got in my brief time as a Girl Scout.  I loved walking around the neighborhood gathering the sightings that would enable me to fulfill the requirement to “Identify, out of doors, fifteen birds.”

Tune in to hear more from this special birdwatcher.

Katie Fallon with cerulean warbler

Here is the archive of the Sunday, May 20, show featuring Katie Fallon, author of “Cerulean Blues: A Personal Search for a Vanishing Songbird,” by Ruka Press. Katie discusses the plight of the Cerulean Warbler, a beautiful blue warbler that is declining rapidly. Katie went to South America to visit the birds’ winter habitat. She discusses in this interview the various challenges the birds face on their winter and summer homes, as well as on their migration routes. She also tackles mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia and encourages consumers to drink shade-grown coffee.

It’s a fun interview. bcr5-20-12katiefallon

Also on the show, Joe Warren of Wild Birds Unlimited talks about helping baby birds and how cardinal parents teach their kids to eat from feeders.

Mardi Dickinson gives a wrap-up report from The Biggest Week in American Birding, that took place in Ohio.

I also talk about migration and read several “Best Bird” accounts that listeners emailed to me. (Thanks again for that.) Finally, I read a quick passage from my favorite old book “Our Amazing Birds,” which was published in 1951.

Gray Catbird singing. Photo by Chris Bosak, copyright, all rights reserved

Just like birds don’t always look like field guides say they look, birds don’t always sound like field guides say they sound like.
Unless it’s a very comprehensive field guide — such as a Sibley or Crossley — it won’t show all of the various plumages you might see in a bird. Try finding the eclipse plumage of a male Wood Duck in a typical field guide. Birding is rarely cut-and-dry, which is one of the great things about the hobby.
This is certainly true of bird sounds as well. Notice I didn’t write “bird songs” as birds make a variety of sounds, such as songs, calls and alarm notes.
The Gray Catbird is a good example of this. I was walking through Selleck’s Dunlap Woods the other day when I heard a variety of bird sounds all around me. I heard about 10 unique sounds and at least three of them were coming from different catbirds.
Gray Catbirds, of course, are so named because of their cat-like calls. It is a very appropriate name for that bird as they indeed sound just like a cat. Sometimes you question whether a cat is lurking in the thick brush, or a Gray Catbird.
But catbirds also have a warbling, squeaky song. And, as I discovered the other day as I stood there and absorbed the bird sounds, they have another sound. It was somewhere between its call and song. I knew, however, it was a catbird because of the overall feeling of the sound. Kind of like how an American robin makes several different sounds, but they are all “robin-like.”
Several of my recent guests on BirdCallsRadio have talked about a different type of birdwatching, one in which birders consider all the aspects of the bird — including size, shape and habits — in order to make an identification. Sometimes called the “Whole Bird and More” approach, birders do not merely rely on the color and general appearance of the bird. Listen to the archives of the Derek Lovitz, Kevin Karlson, and Richard Crossley archives at www.BirdCallsRadio. com for more information about this approach.
The same principles may be applied to identifying birds by sound as well. Take the aforementioned robin for example. We all know its “cheerup, cheerily, cheerily” song. By knowing the overall feeling and sound of that song, you can identify the robin’s other sounds — such as their “tut, tut, tut” calls — when you hear them. Robins have other songs and calls as well, which can be traced back to the robin using the same principles.
That said, I’m certainly not an expert at identifying birds by sounds. The warblers that are filling our treetops certainly pose a fun challenge for those who like to “bird by ear.” But when you get to know a certain bird sound well enough, it can carry over into that bird’s other sounds. If you hear the Black-capped Chickadee’s “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” call enough, you also know it’s a chickadee when it sings its “fee bee” song. (Actually I like to think of that song as “ha ha” and imagine the chickadee laughing.)
So, just like the “whole bird” approach may be applied to looking at birds, it may also be applied to listening to birds. Give it a shot.

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Click here for the Derek Lovitz archive, during which he describes the Whole Bird and More approach.

Will releasing a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

More photos below.

One day this week I brought the boys over to Birdcraft in Fairfield, Ct., to watch the expert bird banders in action. A big thanks to Judy Richardson and everyone else who was there banding and helping to educate Andrew and Will.

Sure, the boys missed an hour or two of school, but the lessons they learned I think were plenty valuable. can’t beat hands-on science.

Speaking of hands on, the action was a bit slow as the birds, for the most part, avoided the nets. But, Will did get to release one bird and Andrew got to release one bird. Will actually got to hold and release, under the watchful eye and instruction of Judy, a Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher. Not a bad bird for a five-year-old to become acquainted with. Andrew got a larger bird, a Gray Catbird, to release. They both were thoroughly thrilled to hold and release the birds. Andrew also intented watched Judy as she inspected and banded the birds. Thanks again to all at Birdcraft.

Judy was a past guest on BirdCallsRadio. Listen to the archive here, as she discusses bird banding in New England and Costa Rica.

Don’t forget Sunday’s show with Katie Fallon, author of “Cerulean Blues,” a book about the plight of a beautiful and rapidly declining warbler. Sunday from 1 to 2 p.m. at 1490 WGCH and Listen Live.

Thanks for your support of Bird Calls Radio.

Andrew releasing Gray Catbird

Andrew watching the action intently.

Katie Fallon with cerulean warbler

Katie Fallon, author of “Cerulean Blues: A Personal Search for a Vanishing Songbird,” will be the next guest on BirdCallsRadio. Cerulean Blues (Ruka Press, 2011) is a personal account by Fallon about the plight of the cerulean warbler, a beautiful, but fast-declining songbird. In fact, there are 80 percent fewer cerulean warblers today than there were since the 1960s.

Tune in to Bird Calls as Fallon discusses why the cerulean is disappearing; and tackles issues such as deforestation, coffee plantations, and mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian mountains.

In Cerulean Blues, Fallons explains how the fate of the tiny bird is linked to our lives as humans. As Ruka Press cites: “Cerulean Blues will appeal to nature lovers, bird watchers, actual and armchair adventurers, and anyone interested in the health and future of our planet.”

The book was named a finalist for the Southern Environmental Law Center’s Reed Award for Outstanding Writing on the Southern Environment.

Cerulean Blues cover

Pete Dunne, well-known nature writer and former guest on BirdCallsRadio, had this to say about Cerulean Blues: “Told here is the story of a woman who could and a small, blue, bellwether bird that increasingly cannot maintain itself in this world of our making. Cerulean Blues is part journey, part documentary, and wholly engaging.”

Fallon also teaches creative writing at Virginia Tech and West Virginia University.

BirdCallsRadio airs 1 to 2 p.m. each Sunday on 1490 WGCH and Listen Live here.

For my upcoming show this Sunday (May 20) I want to continue discussing the spring migration. And why not? We’re still in the thick of what many consider to be the most exciting time of the year for birdwatching.

So I want to know what your best bird has been so far this spring? A colorful warbler, fleeting shorebird, soaring raptor? It doesn’t necessarily have to be exotic or rare, just one that made you say to yourself: “Ahh, that’s why I love birding so much.”

I know you can probably name 10 or 20 “best birds,” but try to limit it to one or two _ and a brief explanation of why it’s your best bird. I’ll read some on the air this Sunday. Include your name and hometown (I won’t include your last name on the air). Entries from all over the world are welcome. Don’t be shy, I want to make BirdCallsRadio as interactive as possible. Tell your friends, too. Click here to send your best bird.

More on Sunday’s show coming up in a later post. Thanks for your support of BirdCallsRadio.

Remember, Bird Calls airs from 1 to 2 p.m. on Sundays on 1490 WGCH and listen live. Archives of each show are available a few days after the original airing. You can find the archives here.

Terry Backer, Sound Keeper

Here is the archive of the show that originally aired on Sunday, May 13, and featured Soundkeeper Terry Backer, who has devoted much of his life to preserving and protecting Long Island Sound.

Terry, who is also a state Representative in Connecticut, talks about important initiatives that will protect the Sound, what the Soundkeeper organization (now 25 years old) has done over the years to protect the Sound, and, of course, birds. Terry has been fishing and shellfishing on Long Island Sound nearly all his life and offers an interesting perspective on the waters. bcr terry backer

Thanks for coming on the show, Terry. And, of course, thanks to all the listeners for your support of BirdCallsRadio.

Yellow warbler by Chris Bosak, copyright all rights reserved

Here is my most recent For the Birds column that runs weekly in The Hour (Norwalk, Ct) and The Keene Sentinel (Keene, N.H.). Also, be on the lookout tomorrow for the archive of Sunday’s BirdCallsRadio show with the Soundkeeper, Terry Backer. Thanks.

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Ah, the whims of migration.
Last Friday evening I stepped into Selleck’s Dunlap Woods in Darien and was treated to one of the best birdwatching days I’ve had in years. It was actually a scouting trip for a walk I was to be leading the next morning.
Warblers danced among the tree tops in high numbers on Friday. I picked out Chestnut-sided, Yellow-rumped, Magnolia, Black-throated green and Yellow warblers, as well as American Redstarts. Ovenbirds, another wood warbler, were commonplace along the ground.
Ten minutes into the walk a raucous over my head captured my attention. An impossibly red male Scarlet Tanager was chasing another impossibly red male Scarlet Tanager from tree to tree. Two more male Scarlet Tanagers joined the fray and offered great looks at their brilliant plumage.
As I delved deeper into the woods I was surrounded by the wonderfully odd and beautiful song of the Wood Thrush. I found a few of the birds and simply enjoyed the flute-like music provided by several others. Those Ovenbirds joined the chorus with their “teacher-teacher” song, too.
It was already a tremendous walk, but it got even better when I stepped out of the woods and into an open, brushy area. I looked to the left just in time to see a Great-crested Flycatcher jump up into a higher branch. Baltimore orioles filled the trees that formed the border between the woods and brushy areas.
As I walked along the trail I heard a familiar buzzy insect-like song. I knew it wasn’t an insect, however. It was the unique song of the Blue-winged Warbler. I’ve never seen more than one or two Blue-winged Warblers at a time on any walk before.
There must have been a dozen of them flitting among the thick brush. I caught mere glances of most of them, but was able to single out a few individuals for good looks. Blue-winged Warblers are neat-looking yellow birds with blue-gray and white wings and black stripe through the eye.
As I worked my way back through the woods — surrounded again by the sounds of Wood Thrushes — I couldn’t wait until the next morning. People on the walk are going to love this, I thought. They’re are going to think I’m some sort of bird whisperer with all the great birds I’m going to show them.
Then another thought entered my head to throw water on that whole bird whisperer thing. What if all these birds migrate out of there tonight? Many birds, including most songbirds, migrate at night. These birds could be in New Hampshire by the time the walk starts tomorrow, I thought.
Well, as you may have guessed by now, my fears were realized. Not only was Saturday morning cool, gray and misty, nearly all of the birds were gone. Not a single Wood Thrush sang in the woods. I think we may have heard one Hermit Thrush, but that song was fleeting. We heard some orioles, but saw only one. The warblers, those that remained anyway, looked like gray blobs in the tree tops with the gray sky behind them.
We did hear an Eastern Towhee, which was a good bird to hear. It proved to be shy and didn’t show itself, but we did get to hear its call and song. Yellow Warblers made some close appearances and Gray Catbirds were constant companions, so the walk was still a success — it just wasn’t the bird fest I was hoping for following Friday evening’s walk.
Oh well, any walk in the woods is a success, whether the birds are around or not.
• • •
Perhaps you noticed I capitalized the names of specific bird species in this column. After more than 625 For the Birds columns, I am making the switch to capitalizing bird names. More on that coming up in a future column. (I know. How will you sleep at night awaiting the explanation?)