The sign is fading (like the bander) but still says it all.
The 2016 bird study/banding season kicked off on the 1st as I sorted out the paperwork (banding data sheets, log notes, etc.) and computer spreadsheets for the coming year. And like clock-work, birders came to start their year by “ticking off” Tufted Titmouse on their lists. Usually they will drive in and sit in their cars facing the feeders waiting for the bird that rarely disappoints. All you need is patience. One young woman on the 1st had come all the way from Vancouver to get this bird! Usually, once they “get” the bird they’re out of here on their way to another tick.
Birders waiting for the Tufted Titmouse “tick”.
Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD) has the ring of a psychiatric malady like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). But it’s not. It simply points to a lack of basic knowledge of the natural world – a “disconnect” if you will between kids and their natural environment. And although not a psychiatric syndrome per se, it is real. I don’t want to sound like a geezer but…the current generation of young people know very little about nature, even that found in their own backyards. Most can not identify even the most common birds or trees or flowers or insects. It’s concerning. It’s going to be hard to get people that don’t know anything about their environment on board when it comes to rallying forces to protect it.
Teaching youngsters about birds and banding. -S. Merritt
So as well as generating data about birds, we see one of our major roles as “treating” NDD. In our experience nothing impacts a child like seeing a bird up close, maybe holding one and then releasing it after banding.
Releasing a male goldfinch. -S. Merritt
Yesterday we hosted a Christmas Bird Count for Kids event arranged by Peter Scholtens of A Rocha Canada. We had lots of visitors and, fortunately, lots of birds to keep them interested and learning. For the day we banded 26 and handled another 23 repeats (birds that we’ve banded previously). American Goldfinches made up well more that half of the birds banded. They are hitting the feeders hard right now. Although we didn’t band these we had a number of Cedar Waxwings, Eastern Bluebirds and American Robins around the site. And we even banded a Brown-headed Cowbird! These certainly attest to the mild Winter we’ve had so far.
Cedar Waxwings. -B. Fotheringham
Flocks of Cedar Waxwings numbering up to 35 individuals have been seen in the past couple of days. -B. Fotheringham
Male American Goldfinch at a nijer feeder.
Banded 26:
4 American Tree Sparrows
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
3 House Finches
18 American Goldfinches
ET’s: 22 spp.
Photo Gallery:
Taking birds out of a net – and reassuring all concerned that the bird is ok. -S. Merritt
Extraction is an art form. -S. Merritt
Close up: check the intensity on their faces. -S. Merritt.
Netted American Tree Sparrow, -S. Merritt
-S. Merritt
Samuel, a member of the Ruthven “Baggers” doing a demonstration. -S. Merritt
Female House Finch. -S. Merritt
Two male House Finches. -S. Merritt
Graham carrying bags, giving me a hand. -S. Merritt
The effects of deer rubbing their antlers on a small tree. -S. Merritt
There were several Eastern Bluebirds around the site. -S. Merritt
Walking an aspiring bander through the steps. -S. Merritt.
Rick’s Rill is still wide open – not even a hint of ice.
Rick
Rick, you are amazing with these young people. I am far from young but always enjoy my time in the banding lab with you. You are always so willing to share your knowledge.
Thanks Sue.