By Ilana DeBare

Earlier this month Audubon held its first national convention in 13 years, and Golden Gate Bird Alliance was represented by two staff members, three board members, and one of our Eco-Education high school interns.

We’re grateful to National Audubon for donating two scholarships that allowed intern Asma Ayyad and Eco-Ed Director Anthony DeCicco to register for free. Meanwhile, I also got a free registration for suggesting the tagline for the convention, Taking Flight Together!  🙂

The convention was held in the Columbia River Gorge, on the Washington state side of the river but only about 45 minutes from Portland, Oregon. The area was beautiful, and there were some remarkable field trips available before and after the convention. (GGBA board member Linda Vallee visited one of the world’s largest Caspian Tern nesting sites; I toured the Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge and some Willamette Valley wineries, including one that uses falcons to scare off birds that would eat the grapes).

View of Columbia River from convention site / Photo by Ilana DeBare Great Blue Heron at Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge / Photo by Ilana DeBare

But the convention itself was the heart of the weekend… over 400 local Audubon leaders from chapters ranging from Florida to Idaho. There were workshops on conservation strategy, and on nuts-and-bolts skills for running our chapters. (I myself went to more of the nuts-and-bolts ones.) There were also several general sessions led by National Audubon President David Yarnold, including one on fostering diversity within our organizations.

Far too much to fit into one blog post without putting you all to sleep. So here are my own personal takeaways, in a nutshell:

There is a National Audubon! I had worked for GGBA for 18 months and felt no connection to National, other than the emails I keep getting as an individual member asking for money.  🙂 As far as my daily work life, they were no different from any other national conservation group like NRDC or World Wildlife Fund. But I came away from the convention with a sense of unified direction… and knowing resource people I can call at the national office… and some possible offers of help from National (more on that below)… in short, feeling part of a national organization for the first time.

Impressed with David Yarnold. Formerly the editor of the San Jose Mercury News, David has been CEO and President of National Audubon since 2010.…

By Bob Lewis

The Handbook of Bird Photography, by Markus Varesvuo, Jari Peltomäki and Bence Máté was published this year by Rocky Nook, Inc. of Santa Barbara, CA.  It’s a softcover landscape format book of 358 pages, full of striking bird images.  The book outlines equipment and techniques, but the authors emphasize fieldwork in an effort to share their different approaches and experiences.  They encourage the reader to seek his or her own unique approach to bird photography.  Roughly 100 pages of site descriptions are included, with the emphasis on Scandinavian locations.  Although perhaps not a great attraction to the North American bird photographer, they are interesting as examples of what attracts the photographer to a site.

The three authors have different approaches and preferred subjects:  Varesvuo specializes in winter and bird action photography, and prefers natural light;  Peltomäki is known for owl photography; and Máté works from within blinds and uses flash.  The first two are Finns, the last a Hungarian.  Each won the prestigious International Wildbird Photographer competition, organized in Britain, during the years 2003 – 2005.  They obviously know their subject and their images set a high standard to guide the reader’s aspirations.

Green-crowned Brilliant and snake / Photo by Bence Mate from The Handbook of Bird Photography

Great Grey Owl hunting, by Jari Peltomaki in The Handbook of Bird PhotographyThose of us who photograph birds know that almost every species in the world has been well documented, yet we enjoy the hunt, the chance to capture a slightly different, more interesting image.  The authors encourage us to know our subject, to take advantage of the changing seasons, weather and lighting to obtain more interesting images, to spice up a slide show or capture a contest award.  And in large measure they tell us how to do it.  Out of habit and training, I almost always have the sun behind me when I shoot and I don’t often photograph in the rain or snow.  After reading this book, maybe I’ll change some of my habits.  Similarly, birds in their environment, shot with a relatively wide angle lens, or tight crops of a subject will both add interest to a presentation.

Female Snowy Owl / Photo by Markus Varesvuo from The Handbook of Bird Photography

I rarely use a blind.  These authors frequently use blinds, constructing a variety of hides for differing purposes.  There is an interesting section on building and using blinds. …

By Annette Litle

It all began with a terrible accident. My husband and I were pruning a camellia that should have been tended to in the fall. As we were picking up the debris to compost, we found a nest on the ground with four screaming nestlings, eyes still unopened.

Horrified, panicked, and crying, with gloved hands I carefully lifted the nest back into the bush. I held vigil to see if the parents would come back, but there was no sign of them. I stayed away from the nest for the next few days in hopes that nature could recover from my carelessness. Finally I checked and the nest was empty.

My sadness at the loss of these babies caused me to start viewing things differently. I began looking in my backyard.

Through the ensuing years, I watched and waited to see who would come visit and perhaps take up residence. One day I spotted an American Robin perched on the fence with a big juicy worm in its beak. Seeing all was safe, she flew into one of our trees to feed her babies. Only then did I hear them. How could a nest have been there all along, right in front of me with wailing babies, and I had still not noticed?

American Robin nest / Photo by Annette Litle

Learning to be quiet opened up a new world of wonder, teaching me how to look and listen for the birds. For a week my kids and I sat quietly watching the robin fly back and forth caring for the nestlings. It was so exciting to experience this new life materializing in our own backyard. I came outside one morning to check on the robins, only to find the nest had been torn to shreds, one of the babies dead on the ground.  A raccoon, maybe?

Again, I was stricken with sadness. This tragedy became an opportunity to teach myself and my children about the importance of respecting our urban wildlife, and about how difficult it is for birds to survive in the city with its predators, including humans. We also worked on letting go of the busy bustle of chores, school and work — all the things that prevent us from experiencing the wonder that is hidden, just slightly, from our eyes and ears.

Next season, I saw some of the activity I had been waiting for.…

By Matthew Perry

Betsey and I arrive home to our houseboat from a birding trip to Point Reyes and see a large bird flying high above the dock.  Is it a gull?  No, too dark.  Is it a Turkey Vulture?  No, not flying right.  Is it — yes, it’s an Osprey!  Is it carrying a fish?  Not this time…

I notice the cats perk up at something outside.  I follow their gaze and see a Snowy Egret perched on our neighbor’s deck, watching as kayakers paddle by.  He stays there for quite a while, putting on a fashion show as I snap pictures.

What was that shadow that just passed over the skylight?  Quick, look out the back.  I don’t see anything—oh, wait, there it is: a Great Blue Heron stopped for a breather on our neighbor’s roof.

I am at my desk near the back door and see a Belted Kingfisher perched on a light pole.  It stares into the shallows, adjusts its position, turns its head this way and that to get a better look, and dives.  Splash!  Out of the water it comes with a crab, onto a post, then toss-toss-adjust-gulp!  Down goes the crab, up goes the kingfisher back to the light pole, and around goes the process one more time.  This is our “back yard.”

Belted Kingfisher diving for crabs / Photo by Matthew Perry Betsy Finn and Matthew Perry at the front door of their houseboat

My partner Betsey Finn and I live on a houseboat in Sausalito, California, which means we see a different set of backyard birds than most people.  Our daily or weekly water-oriented regulars are Great Blue and Night Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets, Mallards, Canada Geese, and various gulls.  A few landlubbers join us every day, too—mainly Turkey Vultures, crows and ravens, House Finches, and hummingbirds.

Some seasonally abundant favorites include Killdeer, coots, cormorants, several grebes, Buffleheads and other ducks, pelicans, terns, kingfishers, stilts, yellowlegs, Willets, sandpipers, and more.  The occasional Osprey or loon stops in for a few minutes every now and then.

Great Blue Heron on houseboat roof / Photo by Betsey Finn

Sometimes Betsey and I miss the standard feeder fare (it would be nice to have some resident chickadees and goldfinches!), but we’ll never complain about the amazing avian pageant that plays out around our house all year long.

One of the coolest things about houseboat life is the rhythm of the tide. …

By Dave Strauss

In early June while driving along Arlington Avenue in Kensington, I spotted a little brown bird awkwardly thrashing in the road. It couldn’t fly and certainly would have been run over on this very busy route through the Berkeley hills, so I stopped and picked it up.

It was a California Towhee that appeared unable to move its right leg and right wing.  I took it to our nearby home, hoping it might recover on its own after some time in protective custody — safe from the cars, cats, hawks, and other threats to a helpless songbird on the ground.

Once home, I put the bird in an open top cardboard box on the deck just outside my office door. It was a beautiful day, and after 10 or 15 minutes of struggling, it appeared to relax in the warmth of the sun and protection of the box. Passing time seemed to be the remedy for this little towhee; I could see that the right wing and leg were starting to move a little.

It’s great to save a bird, but as a photographer, this situation presented a second unusual opportunity. I had a bird-in-the-hand, and getting in close with a macro lens was easy. I shot a few pictures and set the camera aside to see if our recovering bird was ready to depart.  It was.  With a little coaxing, it was out of the box and soon flew off into its familiar habitat of Wildcat Canyon.

That was a gratifying moment, but I quickly turned my attention to the photos. I uploaded them to my computer and took a look. In one photo I could see small, nearly-transparent “bugs” in the corner of the Towhee’s right eye.  I’d never seen that before.  I emailed the photo to David Herlocker, the terrific and encyclopedic Interpretive Naturalist for Marin County Parks, asking him “What’s this?” as I have on many other occasions.

Bird lice on eye of California Towhee / Photo by Dave Strauss

He replied, “Bird lice.”

After showing this photo to several friends, responses were along the lines of “Yuk”, “Ewwww”, and “Gross”, but I knew what they really meant was, “That’s amazing. Please investigate further and report back in writing.”

So here’s a handy word you can drop into everyday conversations and spelling bees:  Phthirapterologist.

These are biologists who study lice. Within a few mouse clicks, it was clear that Phthirapterologists constitute a vibrant worldwide academic community complete with societies, conferences, journals, heroes, and villains.…