Keep on Rockin in the Bird World!

From backstage : ) Kim writes: I wanted to add a bit to Kenn's post about our Friday night gig. The funkiest, most far-out part about our band is the way we came together and got this community ROCKED on to the fact that birds are a major driver of ecotourism dollars in northwest Ohio.

Get this. In addition to me and Kenn, our 6-7-8-OH Band members include:
On drums - Larry Fletcher, Director of the Ottawa County Visitors' Bureau;
On rhythm guitar and vocals - Bob Hille, Ottawa County Treasurer;
On rhythm guitar, keyboards, and vocals - Ron Miller, Lake Erie Vacation Rentals;
On lead guitar - (and layin it DOWN, brotha), Pat Sullivan, a local entrepreneur

How we all came together is a trip.
Last spring I launched the “BSBO Business Alliance” initiative. For the most part, the local business community had no idea of the numbers of birders that are starting to pour into our Magee Marsh / Crane Creek area to witness the all-out binocular-burning migration sensation that pumps through here during the month of May. So, with help from one of the most dynamic volunteers on the planet, Delores Cole (who I affectionately refer to simply as, D), I put together a very simple plan to connect the dots for the local business people.

The plan was indeed simple. Kenn had put together the Kenn Kaufman’s Best Bets for Birding blog that offered updates on migration, weather, and sightings for the Magee Marsh / Crane Creek area. To that, D & I added a series of links to local hotels & restaurants in the area, focusing on those within a half an hour from the major birding hotspot, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, which is where the Observatory is located. And finally, we designed “Birders' Calling Cards” and handed them out to every birder who came into the Observatory, asking them to leave them with the businesses they visited during their stay.

Within 4 days I started to get phone calls from business owners who were absolutely blown away at the number of birders in their establishments! Now that I had their attention, I selected several well-connected business owners and invited them on a tour of the marsh. We did two trips. The first was a few days before International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD), and the second was actually on IMBD, which is typically celebrated on the second Saturday in May. I loaded everyone up in the BSBO Bird Bus and drove them back to the boardwalk to see the spectacle. I arranged for Toledo’s Channel 13 News to cover the story.

IMBD at Magee is probably the largest bird festival--that isn’t called a bird festival--anywhere in the world. It has never really been promoted, and it isn’t called a “festival,” but, it IS a festival. There are vendors, field trips, and bird banding demonstrations, a Big Sit fundraiser, and BIRDS! If the weather isn’t a total washout, you can see 20+ species of warblers. Oh, yeah, we also have BIRDERS! We can have more than 10,000 people come through Magee on IMBD weekend, and more than 50,000 during the month of May. (Or May-hem, as I often say.)

BLOWN AWAY….is all I can say. When the tour rolled up to the east end of the parking lot and an ocean of cars and people came into view there were audible gasps from everyone. I’d say there were at least 400 cars in the parking lot. The camera man nearly went berserk. He kept saying that he had no idea this was so huge, and almost before the bus stopped he was bailing out to run through the parking lot to get shots of all the state license plates. (At one point during the second week in May last spring we counted 24 different state license plates in the parking lot---in one day!) Believe it or not, most of the tour participants had never even been to Magee Marsh. Oh, they'd heard of it, sure. But they had no idea what was really going on out here.

The tour was a smash success! Channel 13 did a great job of capturing the essence of the experience in a segment, titled Bird Migration boosts local economy. The best part for me? The fact that NOW the local business community has a vested interest in preserving these wildlife areas.

Ecotourism is alive and well in northwest Ohio.

On our first tour was Larry Fletcher (aka...our drummer), invited, of course, as the Director of the Ottawa County Visitors' Bureau, and not for his mad thumping drum skills! At that point, I had no idea that Larry was a musician, but for people who love music, it eventually finds its way into any conversation. A few weeks later, in a follow up meeting about the birding tour, we discovered our mutual music madness.

Larry was telling me that, yes, he was a drummer, but the band he’d been playing in was on hiatus because they had lost their bass player and lead vocalist. He jokingly says to me, “You don’t know any bass players or lead singers, do you?” You should have seen the look on his face when I said: “Ummm….Yes. I sing and Kenn plays the bass.”

History is of that which happened next, as they say. : ) The local papers have all been running stories on the band, and Kenn and I have gotten extreme kicks out of the fact that they introduce us as: Kenn Kaufman, bass guitarist and bird expert, and Kim Kaufman, lead singer and Director of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory.

Smashing stereotypes never sounded so good.
Rock on…

Rocking With The Mayor

From Port Clinton, Ohio, Kenn writes: A few years ago I was the keynote speaker at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer, Alaska. It was in May, before the rush of tourists that flock to Homer in summer but at the peak of the shorebird migration. The crowd at the festival was getting an eyeful of huge numbers of birds, in addition to educational programs, the spectacular scenery of the surroundings, and the hospitality of the locals. In the spirit of America's last frontier, that was the first time I recall giving a keynote talk wearing jeans, sweatshirt, and hiking boots! But another thing that struck me about the festival was that the mayor of Homer recognized the value of having all these visiting birders in town. The mayor came to my keynote talk, said a few words of welcome to the crowd, and he even came out birding with us the next day.

I concluded, right then and there, that it's a good thing if you can get the mayor to attend your special events.

Tonight our band rocked the walls at Mango Mama's, the big party hall at the Kokomo Bay Restaurant here in Port Clinton. A good crowd braved the cold to come out and hear us, which was a doubly good thing because this gig was a fund-raiser for the Salvation Army. A contingent from the fire department showed up, and fire chief Kent Johnson got up and played guitar with us on a couple of songs. And the dynamic mayor of Port Clinton, Debbie Hymore-Tester, was there for the entire evening -- mingling with the crowd, supporting the cause, moving on the dance floor. Her Honor The Mayor even got on stage with us and sang lead on a couple of songs, rocking out in duets with Kim. After the show was over, of course, Kim and I spent some time talking with the mayor and her husband about the importance of birding to the local economy. Port Clinton is catching on to the fact that thousands of birders come here in spring and fall, but we've been able to draw attention to that in a completely unexpected way through this musical connection.

Most Serene San Marino

“Go slow. There isn’t a lot to see,” an attendant at a tourist information office told me when I drove into the Most Serene Republic of San Marino aka Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino.

Her candour was, I soon discovered, just one of the aspects of the wee country’s singularity.

Set on an outcropping of the Apennine Mountains, it is the world’s oldest republic, based on its founding in the early part of the 4th century.

At that time, a Christian stonemason named Marinus (Italianised to Marino), was forced by agents of the Roman Emperor Diocletian to work at the Adriatic seaport of Rimini.

He escaped to the 2,500-foot Mount Titano about 10 miles west.

The settlement that collected around him was apparently too remote to be worth Roman reprisal, so Marino (who was eventually canonised) could say to his compatriots on his deathbed: “I leave you free.”

The commune managed to remain that way by good fortune, alliances and pluck.

Its independence was confirmed by several Popes and after finding refuge there in the wars leading up to the 1870 union of the Italian peninsula, republican leader Giuseppe Garibaldi did not insist on incorporating San Marino into the modern state of Italy that now surrounds it.

San Marino’s motto, “Libertas”, appears on its crest, along with the three towers built in the Middle Ages atop Mount Titano.

The iconic bastions reared up boldly as I followed a switchbacking road to the old town and capital of San Marino, a car-free zone built on a series of terraces.

Near the main gate, a policeman gave me a map showing about a dozen parking lots tucked around the hill town.

I found a spot close to the top and carried my bag to the nearby Hotel Rosa, underneath the first tower, known as La Rocca.

Like everything in Italian-speaking San Marino, the hotel and its terrace restaurant exude good government.

My modern single room on the second floor lacked charm but it had a window with a pleasing view over the roofs of the old town.

Moreover, Hotel Rosa is just a few doors away from the Waxworks Museum.

San Marino also has Curiosity, Torture and Modern Weaponry museums, legions of bus tourists and a wide range of souvenir shops, where you will find items as diverse as designer watches and Native American headdresses.

Most interesting are the stores devoted to imitation weapons, with medieval maces alongside AK-47s.

I was starting to wonder whether “Libertas” had evolved into San Marino-style Libertarianism when a shopkeeper explained that the weapons are purchased mostly by historical re-enactors.

A quick stroll that afternoon told me the town caters wholeheartedly to visitors, later confirmed when I read in a brochure that half the republic’s revenue comes from tourism.

Travellers stultified by places such as Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia; Stratford-upon-Avon, England; and Carcassonne, France; would be well warned to stay away.

But I can cope with tourist traps, so I unpacked and had dinner at Hotel Rosa.

San Marino cuisine resembles that of nearby Italian regions, including Emilia-Romagna, with plentiful seafood from the nearby Adriatic.

I had a delicious fried calamari starter, followed by baby clam spaghetti in red sauce.

The next morning I began exploring the old town by having my picture taken with a guard in a white-feathered shako at the Palazzo Pubblico on the Piazza della Liberta.

The boxy, medieval building with a clock tower is the seat of San Marino’s singular government, overseen by two Captains Regent who stand for re-election every six months.

The 19th-century San Marino Basilica above the Piazza della Liberta enshrines the founding saint’s bones.

Below is the State Museum and the post office, which sells prized San Marino stamps and coins.

It has a collection of forgettable Italian Baroque paintings and a far more interesting display of pendants, earrings and necklaces from the Treasure of Domagnano, found nearby in the tomb of a 6th-century noblewoman.

Alas, most of the items are reproductions of originals now at museums in Berlin, London and New York.

I saw a medieval crossbow demonstration, took the funicular down to the hamlet of Borgo Maggiore, then walked a path along the ridgeline of Mount Titano, passing all three towers. It is said, from here you can sometimes see right across the Adriatic to the coast of Croatia.

At breakfast the next morning, I was beginning to think the woman at the information office was right.

Having visited all the sights, I could not figure out how to spend my last day in San Marino.

But then I remembered the view from Mount Titano and set out in0 the car to sample the pleasures of the countryside.

The capital is surrounded by eight little townships, known as castellos for their ancient hilltop castles, where most of the country’s 30,000 residents live. It took 10 minutes to reach Fiorentino, where I stopped at a supermarket and bought a sandwich.

I planned to picnic in neighbouring Monte Giordano. But when I got there, an innkeeper told me to go to Albereto di Montescudo, an even smaller hill town reached by a precariously winding, one-lane road.

Somewhere along the way I must have crossed the border because Albereto is in Italy.

In the Middle Ages, the diminutive castello was controlled by the fearsome Malatesta family from Rimini. Now it is an elegant restaurant with a terrace overlooking Mount Titano.

While my sandwich spoiled in the car, I had lunch, starting with a plate of divine pistachio and artichoke ravioli.

A fillet of white fish in puttanesca sauce came next and dessert was cinnamon gelato with an espresso.

All the while, I gazed across the valley at the triple towers, wondering why we need big countries when there are beautiful, free and idiosyncratic small ones such as San Marino.

These are a few of my favorite things....

From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kim writes: As the Director of Black Swamp Bird Observatory, a fair portion of my job falls into the "slightly less than fun" category. Budgets & spreadsheets, policies & procedures, and so on. But, one part of my job that I really enjoy is "shopping" for cool new bird and nature related items to offer in our gift shop. I've been working with Hugh Rose, our gift shop manager, for months planning our holiday strategy, and we found some neat stuff that I wanted to share.

A bit about my shopping strategy...
One very cool way that I prowl for new stuff is traveling with Kenn. Being on the road with Kenn is more fun than anyone should be allowed to have. I get to meet so many wonderful people, see amazing birds, and spy on other organizations' gift shops. ; )

This fall we were in Cape May, New Jersey for Cape May Bird Observatory's Autumn Weekend. This is a killer event! Absolutely flawlessly organized, (Sheila & Marleen--you rock! Pete had better be showing you the love all the time or I'll steal you away to Ohio!) and filled with the most positive energy that stays with you even after you leave. We always have a blast when we visit Cape May!

Kenn gave a workshop, led field trips, and delivered a keynote on Saturday night. On one of Kenn's field trips, I spent some time talking with this really nice guy about our mutual love of birds and nature. At the end of the trip, he presented me and Kenn with this beautiful carved and painted Cape May Warbler ornament.

"Really Nice Guy"turns out to be Gary Starr, and he owns Starr Decoys in Weybridge, VT. I came back to Ohio and immediately placed an order for our shop. Here are a few of my faves...

The White-throated Sparrow

The bird that sings for me, thanks to Kenn!

And, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird
This has been a hot seller in our shop.

Another product that I really like are these lovely bee's wax luminaries. The Bee Natural Company offers a variety of bee related products, but this is my favorite.



And finally, if you really want to change someone's life this holiday season (or any time, for that matter) consider putting one of these into their hands.

A way to really embrace the spirit of giving is to consider purchasing your nature related books and gifts from a nature center, refuge, or bird observatory. In most cases, 100% of the proceeds from your purchases go straight back into supporting the organization.

Enjoy~

Feeder Highlight Reel...

From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kim writes: In Kenn’s last post he offered great information about White-winged Crossbills, including areas to focus your search for them in the field. I just wanted to add that you shouldn’t rule out a visit to your feeding station! Several years ago a White-winged Crossbill visited one of my feeders (in central Ohio) for a couple of days. This individual went strictly for sunflower seeds, and had no trouble using that wicked-cool bill to reach through the screened sides of the feeder to pull out seeds, which it scarfed down like a champ!

The feeder was a large hopper-style with plastic-coated wire sides. I actually got a photo of “my” bird, and--if you stop looking at the cool bird for a second--you can see the type of feeder I’m describing so rottenly.

Aren't they just the coolest birds?!

Kenn and I don't keep life lists, per se, but we do keep a list of birds that we see in our yard. Ahem...Okay, we also count birds that we see FROM our yard. In fact, full disclosure here, there have been a number of times that we were out running, spotted a bird that we thought we could see from our yard, and sprinted all the way home to get it for the yard list. Crazy? Yeah. But hey, wouldn't you race home to get a Bald Eagle or a Trumpeter Swan on your yard list? Be honest now....

We've had some really great birds on our yard list, (and lots of good exercise racing home so we could count some of them too...) but the crossbill remains one of my all-time “yard bird” highlights.

If anyone else is willing to share their own favorite yard birds, I'd love to hear about them.

Happening Right Now: Crossbill Invasion

From Birding Central, Kenn writes: In the northeastern quadrant of the U.S. and adjacent southern Canada, this is shaping up to be a huge winter for northern invaders. I’ve written already about Pine Siskins invading southward, and that push is continuing, with flocks reported all over the east. Northern Shrikes have appeared in unusual numbers, and so have Snowy Owls, with many around southeastern Canada and the Midwest. Flocks of Evening Grosbeaks have put in brief appearances in several places. Now, just within the last few days, flocks of White-winged Crossbills have set the hotlines buzzing all over Ohio.

Of all the "winter finches," White-winged Crossbills are the most nomadic. They specialize on cones of spruces, hemlocks, and tamaracks, using their trademark crossed bill tips to pry open the cones and get to the seeds. The map here shows their overall range in North America -- but they are never present throughout this range at once. They concentrate where there are bumper crops of cones, nesting and raising their young where the food is abundant at practically any time of year. When the cone crop fizzles and the food supply declines, flocks of crossbills fly fast and far in search of the next good feeding area. The purple area on the map shows the limits of their year-round range; within those limits, the same birds might nest in Quebec one year, Alaska the next, Ontario a few months later, sweeping back and forth across the continent to find the cones.

The dashed blue line on the map shows the (very approximate) southern limit of their winter wandering. They certainly don’t come south to this line every year, or even once every five years. The classic setup for an invasion is to have a huge crop of spruce cones in eastern Canada, so that the crossbills nest and raise lots of young, followed by a crash in the cone crop in fall. When that happens, White-winged Crossbills may suddenly appear all over Ohio and surrounding areas -- as they have in the last few days.

A birder who knows the callnotes might detect these birds anywhere, the flocks passing overhead in rapid flight. To get a sit-down look at White-winged Crossbills, birders are seeking out places where northern evergreens have been planted. Parks and cemeteries with lots of hemlocks have been productive here. The crossbills appeared in the Cleveland area last Saturday, in Toledo on Monday, in Columbus today. There are probably hundreds more flying around that no birder has seen yet.

Never again would birds' song be the same

From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kenn writes: It isn’t often that ornithologists get to document an abrupt change in the song of an entire species of bird, but this is exactly what happened less than four years ago.
Moreover, it happened with a very common bird, the White-throated Sparrow. This beautifully marked native sparrow nests across the eastern two-thirds of Canada and parts of the northeastern United States, winters commonly in most eastern states, with small numbers throughout the west. It’s a backyard bird for literally millions of bird watchers. You would expect that a sudden change in its song would command the attention of legions of birders. But as far as I know, only one reference book has documented this change in vocal pattern.

That reference (I must admit) was my own field guide. It was published in 2000 as the Kaufman Focus Guide to Birds of North America, with a brightly colored cover featuring a Scarlet Tanager. In 2004, however, the marketing department at the publishing company decided that they should change the name of the series from Kaufman Focus Guides to Kaufman Field Guides. So they designed a new cover, the current one that features a bright Yellow Warbler on a white background, and it was issued in early 2005.

I insisted that if we were going to change the cover design, I had to make some improvements to the interior of the book as well. They didn’t want me to do a complete revised edition (and besides, we were busy with the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects), but they said I could make essential changes: adding 8 pages to the introduction, improving a few illustrations, updating some maps, changing some scientific names to conform to the latest pronouncements of the American Ornithologists’ Union. And making an important change to the description of one bird’s voice.

If you find yourself in a position to compare the editions of the focus / field guide, look up the White-throated Sparrow. In the older edition it’s on p. 350, and its song is described as Oh, sweet, Canada-Canada-Canada. In the newer edition, White-throated Sparrow is on p. 358, and its song has changed to Oh, sweet, Kimberly-Kimberly-Kimberly.

Sorry, Canada, but those are the facts.

This morning Kim called me to the window. In the garden was a White-throated Sparrow, foraging on the ground, crisp and bright among the new frost. It had not been there the eve before, and this seemed a gift of this special day, as if song or laughter had carried it aloft and placed it here. The bird wasn’t singing but in my heart I could hear it anyway.