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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="096d4c00dduajq.gif"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="95" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 46 WIDTH="91"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="46" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="91" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id93.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Claire Curry"><U>Claire Curry</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Best of Texas Nature Writing . . . </B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Best of Texas Nature Writing . . . "><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id119.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Current Column"><U>Current Column</U></A>   |   <B>Archives</B></div> <div> Archives</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Birds and Beyond</U></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0e0680a0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="266" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I><B>                                                                                           </B></I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><I><B> Photo by Mary Curry</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Summer Surprises</B></div> <div> <B>Claire Curry</B></div> <bR> <div> April, 2003</div> <div> Wise County Messenger</div> <div> © 2003 Claire Curry</div> <bR> <div>      Wise County has a wonderful variety of birds in the summer. You probably know about the bright red cardinals, the fierce little hummingbirds, and other common birds that live here. Here I will describe some lesser-known summer residents of Wise County.</div> <bR> <div>      The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a rather hard-to-see bird. You usually hear its odd call, “guck-guck-guck-guck-guck kow kow kowp kowp”, before you see the cuckoo up in the trees. The cuckoo is brown above, with reddish brown visible in the wings during flight. The underside is creamy white and the slightly curved bill is yellow at the base. There are large, round spots on the underside of the tail, which show as white tips in flight. This stealthy bird is also called the rain crow, since some people say it calls before a rain. The cuckoo may call before rain, but it sure calls a lot when it doesn’t rain, too!</div> <bR> <div>      There are five species of flycatchers that live in Wise County in the summer, plus one year-round resident (the Eastern Phoebe). Eastern and Western Kingbirds and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are usually seen frequently, but the two other summer flycatchers, Great Crested Flycatcher and Eastern Wood-Pewee, are not noticed as often. Despite its name, the Great Crested Flycatcher doesn’t have too much of a crest like a cardinal, but it does have a rather bushy head of feathers when it gets excited. It is brown above, with rufous in the wings and tail and a yellow underside. This flycatcher is sometimes easier heard than seen, as it gives a loud rolling “brreep!” call. The last flycatcher on the list, the Eastern Wood-Pewee, is not quite as common as the others. It is a nondescript olive color with two wingbars. This bird calls its name, giving an upward-sounding “peeaweeee” call.</div> <bR> <div>      The tiny Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is another interesting summer resident. These delightfully antsy birds hop all over, regularly giving busy buzzing calls. They are a pretty blue-gray color, with a long tail and thin beak. The males have a slightly brighter blue tint to their plumage than the females, and a dark line over the eye. With their long tails and wandering, buzzy song, I sometimes think of them as miniature mockingbirds.</div> <bR> <div>      Of the vireos, small insect-eating birds, we have three summering species. The two most common are White-eyed Vireo and Red-eyed Vireo. The other, Bell’s Vireo, is scarcer. The White-eyed Vireo sings quite persistently and loudly, but even with the frequent clues as to its location it can be a pain to find. When you do see it, the White-eyed Vireo is quite a bird. It is greenish above, with a flush of yellow below on the flanks. On its head, it has yellow “spectacles” around its white eyes. (Juveniles have dark eyes.) A quick and insistent “chuck chip and marie! chuck” is its song, although the exact notes vary from song to song. The Red-eyed Vireo is similar in its ability to sing loudly and not be seen, but it sings from way high up in the trees, so you get to strain your neck while you look! Its song has been described as “I am here. Where are you. Look at me. Here I am. Way up here. In the tree,” and so forth.</div> <bR> <div>      There are many species of warblers that migrate through this area, but only one seems to stay for the summer. This is the Black-and-white Warbler, which, as the name suggests, it streaked black and white. This pretty bird has a thin, high-pitched song that can be approximated to: “seepy seepy seepy seepy seepy”.</div> <bR> <div>      We have cardinals here all year long, but in the summer you may want to double-check your red birds. You might find the Summer Tanager, a superficially cardinal-like bird. However, instead of a bright orange, conical beak, the tanager’s beak is longer and more of a grayish, off-white color. The two birds’ red colors are slightly different, too. The tanager has a hint more of rose red, while the cardinal seems to have a shade of orange in its plumage. Female Summer Tanagers vary from greenish-yellow to a more orange yellow.</div> <bR> <div>      Three sparrows show up here for the summer (two other species stay year-round). These are Lark Sparrows and Grasshopper Sparrows, plus the less common Cassin’s Sparrow. The Lark Sparrow is one of our most boldly marked sparrows. It has a bright rufous, black, and tan face pattern, a smudged spot on its breast, and in flight, white corners on its tail. This sparrow also has an interesting courtship display; the male puffs up and sticks his tail in the air like a turkey gobbler. The Grasshopper Sparrow seems like the exact opposite of the Lark Sparrow, being an inconspicuous bird with a quiet, insect-like buzz for a song. Its plumage is streaked brown on the back, light tan on the front, and a hint of yellow in front of the eye.</div> <bR> <div>      Now, for a taste of the tropics. The Painted Bunting is dressed in a rainbow of red (on the underside), blue (on the head), yellow (on the back), and green (on the wings and tail). Its song is a short, sweet, downward warble. The females and immature males are greenish yellow and can be harder to spot. Even the adult male, with his brilliant plumage, can be surprisingly hard to see. A relative of the Painted Bunting, the Indigo Bunting, also can be found spending the summer here in Wise County. The male is bright blue in good light, but appears dark at times. The female of this species is brown. Another brightly colored summer bird is the Blue Grosbeak. It resembles the Indigo Bunting, but has a bulkier, cardinal-shaped beak, and chestnut wingbars. The female grosbeak is brown, not unlike the Indigo Bunting, but the heavy beak gives away its identity.</div> <bR> <div>      Orchard Orioles, which are actually in the blackbird family (this family also includes meadowlarks, cowbirds, and grackles), are occasionally seen in the summer. The males are rich brick-red and black, while the females are greenish yellow, with gray wings and whitish wingbars. Orioles have pointed beaks, rather like a meadowlark’s.</div> <bR> <div>      Eastern Meadowlarks live here year round, but in the summer a smaller look-alike shows up. It is the Dickcissel, which has a shorter, more sparrow-like bill, reddish shoulders, less extensive yellow, and a very different song. The Eastern Meadowlark sings a clear whistle, while the Dickcissel gives monotone chirps (usually in sets of three).</div> <bR> <div>      With all these exciting birds roaming the woods and fields, there are plenty of feathered reasons to brave the humid, hot summer weather, and go birding!</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="0e1680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <I><B>                                                                                            Photo by Mary Curry</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>A Spring Stroll</B></div> <div> <B>Claire Curry</B></div> <bR> <div> April, 2003</div> <div> Wise County Messenger</div> <div> © 2003 Claire Curry</div> <bR> <div>      Mid-afternoon rolled around, warm and slightly windy. I was tired of standing around in the yard fidgeting with my currently small garden. It took me a few minutes to grab all my birding equipment, but I soon started through the yard and along the path to the woods. I went in hope of watching a hummingbird nest that we had recently found.</div> <bR> <div>      As I walked I heard a mockingbird singing from the direction of the woods. Each of the several mockingbirds scattered around the property has its favored hang-outs, and the one currently singing preferred a brushy area near the woods. A Bewick’s Wren also declared its dominance of the woods.</div> <bR> <div>      In less than ten minutes I arrived near the woods. An unfamiliar, quiet song was emanating from a brush pile. Intrigued, I moved closer to the clump of brush and thorn trees. With the wind I was having a difficult time figuring out precisely where the soft song was coming from. Then, success! A Lincoln’s Sparrow (a migrant through our area) was moving about in the lower parts of the brush pile, singing in an unobtrusive voice.</div> <bR> <div>      While I was sitting and writing my notes about the sparrow, I was told that a gnatcatcher nest had been discovered! I hurried through the grass into the woods. There, at the corner where we always see two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers flitting around in the oaks, was the well-hidden nest! The tiny nest was quite a work of art. It’s hard to see, as it is 30 feet up in a tree, tiny, and covered in flakes of lichen, but it is a natural work of art anyway. In fact, the gnatcatcher’s nest seems rather like an overgrown hummingbird nest, the nest I had originally taken my walk to see.</div> <bR> <div>      We watched the gnatcatchers a few minutes more, and then found out why one of them was scolding us. The other member of the pair was on the nest! A tell-tale gnatcatcher tail peeked over the edge of the nest. So, we all departed to give the antsy birds peace.</div> <bR> <div>      I now decided to head over to the hummingbird nest. I stopped along the path where the hummer’s nest was located. The problem was, though, I couldn’t find the nest! It shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, since hummingbird nests are as camouflaged as a gnatcatcher’s. Plus, they’re a whole lot smaller! I finally realized that I was looking at the wrong spot, and I then relocated the nest.</div> <bR> <div>      The female hummingbird perched nearby when I first set up my chair, but after that I didn’t see her much. The nest, which we had discovered two days before, seemed to me to be almost finished. I sat for nearly an hour, and even moved out of sight of the nest, but I don’t think she worked on it. I suppose that she had other important things to do, like eating.</div> <bR> <div>      Despite the lack of activity in the hummer department, other birds were around to keep me busy. The resident mockingbird and cardinals sang frequently, while the excited calls of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers popped into the air. After sitting for a while I started to hear other, quieter call notes in the trees. I turned and faced a different direction, and began to see occasional movements in the trees. Another unknown song also piqued my curiosity. I wondered if it might be a louder version of the Lincoln’s Sparrow, but the true singer soon set me straight. A male Yellow-rumped Warbler was singing as he foraged among the leaves. As an extra treat, this winter resident and migrant was in crisp breeding plumage instead of its duller winter plumage.</div> <bR> <div>      Another delightful bird, the Chipping Sparrow, was looking for a snack up in the oak trees. It too gave me a thrill with its breeding colors: a rich chestnut crown, a bright white over the eye, and a bold black eyestripe. What a bird!</div> <bR> <div>      It occurred to me that I ought to glance at the titmouse nest. Titmice nest in cavities, and this particular hole was a good ways up a dead tree. So although I couldn’t actually look in the nest, I gave a quick look at the tree. I didn’t see anything happening, but the titmice had been seen working on the nest earlier.</div> <bR> <div>      After sitting for almost an hour, I was ready to walk again. I headed down the path, and noted a Mourning Dove and a Lincoln’s Sparrow as I went. I found a spot where I could see the tireless mockingbird singing his head off. I watched him for several minutes, and then walked onward. It was almost dinnertime, and about time for me to meander home. As I headed home, I heard the tinkling version of a Grasshopper Sparrow song. The other version of their song is a short “tick” note, followed by a buzz. It may not be impressive to us, but I guess the lady sparrows like it!</div> <bR> <div>      Over two hours after I started, I was once more in the front yard. A mockingbird was rambling away from a commanding perch, while Eastern Meadowlarks were whistling their clear songs from areas around the yard. An afternoon walk sure is a pleasant way to end a weekend!</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0cf58b30.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="435" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I><B>                                                                                                                                                                                       Photo by Mary Curry</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Summer Hummers</B></div> <div> <B>Claire Curry</B></div> <bR> <div> March, 2003</div> <div> Wise County Messenger</div> <div> © 2003 Claire Curry</div> <bR> <div>      The big event should be only a few days away. In fact, this annual occurrence fills souls with delight all across the country. What is this phenomenon that causes such eager anticipation? The return of the summer hummingbirds!</div> <bR> <div>      Here in Wise County, we have two species of regularly occurring hummers: Ruby-throated and Black-chinned. The familiar Ruby-throated Hummingbird is found throughout the eastern United States in the summer. The male of this species has an iridescent red throat that shimmers from glowing flame-red to brilliant gold.  The Black-chinned Hummingbird, more of a southwestern species, has a black chin bordered by a broad, iridescent amethyst band.  The females of both species both lack the iridescent throats, and so are almost impossible to tell apart in the field.</div> <bR> <div>    As I mentioned above, the hummingbirds usually return here in the third week of March.  My hummer feeder is already out in anticipation of their arrival, and you might want to get yours out too.  If you are planning on buying or making a hummingbird feeder, I would recommend getting an easy-to-clean one.  Mold grows quickly in warm weather in the sugar solution, and bottle-shaped feeders with small necks can be a real pain to clean.  For the nectar, a solution of one part sugar and four parts hot or boiling water works well.  You don't need to add red food coloring, as the red on your hummingbird feeder should be enough to catch their attention.</div> <bR> <div>    Hummer-friendly flowers are also a great way to get these bejeweled birds to visit your yard.  Plus, you don't have to refill flowers.  A few good plants for hummingbirds include coral honeysuckle, salvia, penstemon, cardinal flower, and trumpet vine.  Also, hummingbirds eat many small insects.  So, using pesticides on your plants is probably not going to help the hummers.</div> <bR> <div>    Once you've got hummingbirds buzzing around your feeders and flowers, you can sit back and watch them fight.  Hummingbirds are very territorial little birds, and fight over the prized nectar almost constantly.  We've heard their beaks clash and seen them buzzing in an angry ball of feathers.  At times you wonder how they ever find time to do anything else.  But they do.</div> <bR> <div>    Male Ruby-throated and Black-chinned hummingbirds sometimes can be seen arching back and forth, performing a pendulum in an effort to impress the lady hummers.  It obviously works at least some of the time, as female hummingbirds lay two pea-sized eggs in an extraordinarily hard-to-see nest.  The nest is made of dainty materials such as spider web (the nest stretches as the babies grow), lichen, and plant down.</div> <bR> <div>    If you'd like to learn more about these delightful creatures, two interesting hummer websites are www.hummingbirds.net and www.hummingbirdsplus.org  You can also find photos and identification tips on our local hummers on /www.tallgrasstexas.org/  in the Wise County List section.  So, get ready to enjoy a summer of hummers!</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0be589c0.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="412" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I><B>                                                                                                                                                                                     Photo by Mary Curry</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Flowers for Birds and Butterflies</B></div> <div> <B>Claire Curry</B></div> <bR> <div> February, 2003</div> <div> Wise County Messenger</div> <div> © 2003 Claire Curry</div> <bR> <div>      It was hot out. Too hot to go walking. So, I just sat out in the yard, binoculars in hand. Most of the birds were a bit smarter than I, and only showed up in the heat occasionally or soared overhead. On the flower pots to either side of my log bench, though, butterflies flitted about on masses of color. A Giant Swallowtail and a Gulf Fritillary stopped at the pentas, while jumpy little skippers moved from flower to flower on the zinnias. A hummingbird sipped from magenta salvia blooms across the yard.</div> <bR> <div>      Plants are an important part of any yard, especially if you want to attract birds and butterflies. Not just any flowers will do, though. Native plants are generally the best for wildlife, non-invasive, and adapted to the climate here. Gayfeather and blazing-star are beautiful purple wildflowers that attract oodles of butterflies. When they bloom at my house, butterflies practically drip off of them. Milkweeds are the host plant for Monarchs and Queen butterflies, and some, such as butterfly weed, have lovely flowers. Sages (or salvia) are good flowers for both hummingbirds and butterflies. Other plants to consider include yaupon holly (produces berries for the birds), Mexican plum (both flowers and small plums), lantana (butterflies are love the native species), columbine, penstemons, Turk’s Cap, cardinal flower, cross vine, trumpet vine (good for hummers), standing cypress (a wildflower, not a tree), sunflowers (both nectar for butterflies and seeds for birds), verbena (nectar for birds and butterflies), bee balm, horsemint, Purple Coneflower (nectar when blooming, seeds when the flower dies), thistles, goldenrod (butterflies love this and it really isn’t a cause of allergies), daisies and asters, winecup, coral honeysuckle (pretty red tubular flowers that hummingbirds love, and it has red berries), passionflowers (the host plant for the stunning Gulf Fritillary), and sumac. Although you may be inclined to think of sumac as a nuisance, it produces berries for delightful birds such as bluebirds, robins, and mockingbirds, and has stunning red leaves in the fall. Also, if you find a caterpillar munching away on your passionflowers, let it be! It could be a future Gulf Fritillary. For more information on native plants, check out the Native Plant Society of Texas’s website: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><A HREF="http://www.npsot.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.npsot.org"><U>www.npsot.org</U></A></FONT>. </div> <bR> <div>      Zinnias, pentas, marigolds, and butterfly bush, although non-native, are also great flowers for butterflies and hummers. Many of the butterflies I watched at my flower pots stopped by for a drink at the zinnias and pentas. In the winter, seeds from the zinnias and marigolds provide food for birds like goldfinches and sparrows, so consider leaving the dead flower heads on the plants.</div> <bR> <div>      Finally, if you are planning to get some native plants, the Trinity Forks-Denton chapter of the Native Plant Society is selling native plants at the Redbud Day Festival on March 8 from 8am to 3pm at the Denton Civic Center on McKinney Street and Bell Avenue. </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> *      *      *</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Picking a Field Guide</B></div> <div> <B>Claire Curry</B></div> <bR> <div> January 2003</div> <div> Wise County Messenger</div> <div> © 2003 Claire Curry</div> <bR> <div>      Everyone needs at least one field guide to identify birds, but which one to pick? There are guides with photographs, guides with paintings, regional guides, national guides, and even guides with digitally edited photographs. Hopefully this article will help you if you need some advice on picking one.</div> <bR> <div>      First, there is the debate between photographs and paintings. Photographs show a picture of a real bird, so it would be the most realistic, right? Not always, since lighting, angle, and individual variation can make a photo look much different than the bird you’re looking at. Paintings are a sort of “average” representation of a particular species or plumage. However, not all bird paintings are equal and some may not have accurate shapes, or may not capture the bird’s general appearance.</div> <bR> <div>      Many guides are available, but here I will describe several of the best. The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, has (in my opinion) the best artwork of all the field guides. There are more plumages and forms than other books, and all birds are shown in flight. Some people don’t like it for a field guide because it is larger than most pocket-sized field guides. However, I find that the stunning and accurate artwork makes up for the bulky size. The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, another very popular guide, is also illustrated with paintings. Several artists contributed to this guide, so the quality of the paintings varies from mediocre to beautiful. This book has many more rarities than the Sibley Guide, and also is smaller sized. Birds of North America, by Kenn Kaufman, uses digitally edited photographs. The birds are digitally edited to highlight field marks, which helps take away some of the limitations of photos. In addition to showing adult, male and female, and juvenile plumages, some species have several pictures showing different postures or views of one plumage. Stokes Field Guide to the Birds, by Donald and Lillian Stokes, has two volumes (one each for Eastern and Western regions.) This is a photographic guide, with its strong point being species accounts including some life history and behavior.</div> <bR> <div>      Finally, your field guide needs to be one that you like. If possible, browse through the pictures, and find a familiar bird. Does the painting or photo accurately capture the essence of the bird? Does the range map seem reasonably accurate? Are you comfortable with the format of the book?</div> <bR> <div>      Once you get your field guide, remember that sometimes, for that one hard-to-identify bird, you may need to consult several guides to make an identification. You can never have too many bird books!</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> *      *      *</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0c087180.jpg" border=0 width="391" height="280" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I><B>                                                                                                       Photo by Mary Curry</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Back-road Birds</B></div> <div> <B>Claire Curry</B></div> <bR> <div> December 2002</div> <div> Wise County Messenger</div> <div> © 2003 Claire Curry</div> <bR> <div>      Driving the back roads of Wise County, you may have noticed occasional flocks of birds scattering into the brush-covered fences as your car approaches. There are quite a few species here that frequent fencerows. Some of the most abundant are cardinals, sparrows, juncos, and towhees.</div> <bR> <div>      Cardinals are the easiest to identify, and most familiar to most people. Male Northern Cardinals are bright red, and the females are a subdued brown with hints of red on the wings and tail. If your car windows are rolled down, you may hear a cheery and metallic “chink!” call as they fly up.</div> <bR> <div>      In addition to cardinals, several kinds of sparrows and their relatives can been seen along the roads (and in other brushy areas.) White-crowned, White-throated, Harris’s, and Field sparrows are among the most common sparrows along wooded, brushy fences. White-crowned Sparrows, as their name implies, have a black and white, crisply striped crown in adult plumage. Immatures have the same pattern, but in shades of brown.</div> <bR> <div>      A similar bird, the White-throated Sparrow, also has white stripes on its head. It, however, has a bright white throat and a small patch of yellow near the beak on the stripe above its eye. This sparrow also comes in a “tan-striped” color morph, which is a rich brown and tan version of the “white-striped” form I have just described.</div> <bR> <div>      Instead of stripes, the Harris’s Sparrow sports black around its bill, eyes, and throat. A pink bill, white underside, and brown cheeks round out the Harris’s Sparrow’s plumage, making for a handsome sparrow. Immature Harris’s Sparrows have less black on their faces than the adults.</div> <bR> <div>      Unlike the three previous sparrows, the Field Sparrow doesn’t seem to have many markings at all. Its face is washed in subtle peach-brown and grays, with a white eyering and a pink bill. Field Sparrows are also daintier and smaller than their previously-mentioned cousins.</div> <bR> <div>      Juncos put a crack in the “brown and streaky” sparrow mold, but they are sparrows nonetheless. A dapper little bird, the Dark-eyed Junco is covered in neat gray with a white belly. Females are usually tinged with varying amounts of brown, but still are quite pretty. Juncos shuffle around in the leaf litter, jumping up while moving their pink feet back and forth and tossing leaves out of the way.</div> <bR> <div>      The last bird on my list, the Spotted Towhee, is a larger relative of the sparrows. Towhees are about cardinal-sized, but very different in plumage from a cardinal. Male Spotted Towhees have a black hood, back, and wings (with white spots on the wings and back), rufous sides, and a white belly. Females have the same pattern with brown replacing the black. When a towhee is flying away, you can see little white corners on its tail.</div> <bR> <div>      Next time you drive around, be sure to keep your eyes open for these and other beautiful back-road birds!</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> *      *      *</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0c204940.jpg" border=0 width="260" height="404" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I><B>                                                        Photo by Mary Curry</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Participate in the Christmas Bird Count</B></div> <div> <B>Claire Curry</B></div> <bR> <div> November 2002</div> <div> Wise County Messenger</div> <div> © 2003 Claire Curry</div> <bR> <div>      It was cloudy, cold, and windy. Occasionally mist drizzled down. Yet, there we were, thirty-one birders, divided into smaller groups, roaming through the county, searching for as many species and individuals of birds as possible.</div> <bR> <div>      Before noon, my group, covering the northeastern section of a fifteen mile diameter circle (centered in Decatur), had seen over thirty species! This included bluebirds, cardinals, jays, woodpeckers, goldfinches, one warbler, two species of ducks, three species of hawks, and nine species of sparrows. Most of the time, we drove down various county roads (all known in advance to usually harbor lots of birds). Our group stopped for about an hour, though, to tramp through the grass on a National Grasslands unit in search of native sparrows. A short break for hamburgers at lunch, and we were ready to look for more birds.</div> <bR> <div>      Does this sound exciting? Then we need you to participate in the National Audubon Society’s 103rd annual Christmas Bird Count! Last year, which is what I have described above, the Wise County Christmas Bird Count had twenty-nine thousand individuals of one hundred fourteen species of birds. The data from Christmas Bird Count circles all over North America is used to measure bird distribution and populations. You can check out the CBC website at: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><A HREF="http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/"><U>http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/</U></A></FONT>.</div> <bR> <div>      We need bird-watchers of all skill levels in the count. Going birding with others is fun, and a great way to improve your birding skills, too. In fact, you don’t even need to be a bird-watcher. You can help keep track of bird numbers and point out birds. Or, you can stay in the warmth and comfort of your home and watch your bird feeders.</div> <bR> <div>      If you’d like to participate in this year’s Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 14, please contact Marshall Fox at 940-627-2343. Tallgrass Prairie Audubon is also having a meeting at 7pm on December 7, at the Greenwood Masonic Lodge, where we will discuss the upcoming CBC. We hope to see you there!</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> *      *      *</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0c3700c0.jpg" border=0 width="368" height="268" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I><B>                                                                                               Photo by Mary Curry</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Bird Personalities</B></div> <div> <B>Claire Curry</B></div> <bR> <div> October 2002</div> <div> Wise County Messenger</div> <div> © 2003 Claire Curry</div> <bR> <div>      If you’ve spent time watching the behaviors of different birds, you know they each seem to have their own idiosyncrasies. For example, Eastern Phoebes have a nervous twitch. At times, it appears all their energy is devoted to catching insects, and twitching their tails. Other birds have habits just as unique. Here are some of our local birds, and a few of their interesting traits. </div> <bR> <div>      Gnatcatchers are hyper little fluff balls that frequently give out buzzy call notes. They seem like they’ve had way too much coffee and soda and ate far too many sweets, and are all wound up as a result. Hopping around, flicking their tails this way and that way, gnatcatchers seem nervous, excited, and a bit upset all at once. </div> <bR> <div>      Another small, active bird, the chickadee, is not only nervous, but lets the whole world know about it. Their relatives, titmice, are just as vociferous. These cute little birds are always miffed at the world in general and still manage to not act grumpy. </div> <bR> <div>      The Downy Woodpeckers that come to my suet feeder don’t chatter near as much as the chickadees. However, they look both cute and rather fierce, holding their heads high even when the bigger birds chase them away.</div> <bR> <div>      If you really want to talk about tiny and mean, just try and mess with a hummingbird. Even though hummers are only a few inches long, they have been known to attack hawks. I sometimes hear about people wondering what they can do about bullying hummers taking over their feeders. Well, if you somehow made the one leave, another just as determined would take over. Sit by a hummingbird feeder, and you will know why. The charming little fellows fight, clash bills, and zip back and forth with vim and vigor, each struggling for complete dominance of the valuable sugar water. It’s a wonder that I’ve never seen two hummers with their beaks stuck clear through one another! </div> <div> Pine Siskins are another tough but diminutive bird. They look like slightly daintier, streaky versions of the American Goldfinches at our feeders. Unlike the goldfinches, they will occasionally chase off the larger House Finches to get a choice perch. The goldfinches are content with fighting among themselves and with birds their own size. </div> <bR> <div>      All of the aforementioned birds are generally considered pretty. Vultures, however, are usually not. How attractive can a naked-headed, carrion-eating bird be? When soaring, vultures float through the air with the confidence of an eagle, rarely flapping a feather. I also happen to consider both species of vultures to be quite elegant birds. When perched, despite a wrinkled head with little stubbly feathers, vultures have a quiet dignity. Laugh if you want. </div> <bR> <div>      None of these behaviors I’ve described are defining field marks. They are a bit more intangible; something that doesn’t seem, to me, very useful to the bird. It’s more of the essence of the bird; something that adds to the personality of a species. Besides, what fun would bird-watching be if field marks were the only things which made each species itself?</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> *      *      *</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>