eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

The clock is ticking! (The Great Haiku and Algebra Bird Feeder Contest!) ends at 11:59PM EST on August 3rd, 2007. There's still plenty of time to enter, but hustle is a good idea.

Other stuff...

Feeding the birds has an interesting effect on most people - in general they become more aware of the birds around them. It also leads people into interests that they may never would have considered. Take for instance the picture below...



Obviously, the wife has taken to collecting bird carvings, and figurines. The ones above are:

• 3 duck decoys by John A. Mulak of Yarmouth on Cape Cod. They were carved in the '60s or '70s. It looks like we have:
  • A Blue-winged Teal
  • A Hooded Merganser drake
  • A Hooded Merganser hen
• A Puffin miniature, carved by June Noll of Brewster on Cape Cod in 1987
• A Jim Shore composite rooster, from the Heartwood Creek collection. (The pattern is now retired.)

Yeah, yeah, I know... Boring. But did you know that a decent Elmer Crowell decoy will sell for $10,000 to $20,000. (A new record was established in November of 2006 when one of Crowell's works sold for $830,000.) And bird replicas can be pretty good investments too. A Bowman that sold for $10,000 in 1973 went for $464,000 in 2000.

Yeah, that caught your eye didn't it. The bottom line is that if you know what you're doing, there's money in them thar wooden birds! Here are some artisan names to look out for...

• Crowell
• Lapham
• Clark
• Tremblay
• Mason (a factory)
• Pratt (another factory)
• Lincoln
• Boyd

And a quick google will tell you of upcoming decoy auctions in your area. The wife likes to watch the middle to late part of the summer, and right into the early fall.

Let's just say that a little bird told ya right by the feeders...

CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember, (The Great Haiku and Algebra Bird Feeder Contest!) ends at 11:59PM EST on August 3rd, 2007. There's still time to enter, but Monika is starting to take a commanding lead!

Onward!



Nice photo above isn't it? But something's missing... More later...

When I was a kid (back in the '60s and '70s), I used to read Mechanix Illustrated... Oh, that was exciting stuff! Why, that magazine had articles describing how to build your own log cabin, your own airplane... It even had an article detailing how to build your own SCUBA tank! For a kid of 10, that was some kind of toe-twitching action! But those types of magazines/publications are pretty much gone now... There's still Mother Earth News, Instant Boats, and a few others of that ilk, but the days of cheap; "ok-or-better quality"; "do-it-yourself" stuff are pretty much over. Or are they???

Absolutely not! Here's how to become a legit "Backyard Birder" without breaking the bank. First things first... Scrap all ideas about backyard bird watching equating to $5,000 trips to Peru. (And yes, there are junkets out there that cost that kind of money.) Forget about that... Let's take this in steps...

• Spend nothing. Whether you live in the country or live in the city, just take note of the birds. You can use the links to the sites below to identify those creatures. Very simple.
• Get slightly more involved in the pastime. You can pick up (or borrow) a used bird book. Old bread crumbs shared during your lunch hour will work as bird food. A pad of paper can be your birding journal.
• Get even more involved by hanging a feeder, (part 1 and part 2) and/or building a birdhouse (part 1 and part 2). You can also use your computer to act as your birding journal.
• Spend some money on feed, feeder(s), more books, binoculars, camera(s), etc. (If you buy a camera, it is well worth it to buy or make a tripod.)

A final hint on buying stuff... Often, there is a secret to the process of buying and actually getting a quality deal. Ummm... Let's say that you want to buy a quality digital camera. But what to buy?

• You could drive downtown and ask "Cam the Camera Man" what he thinks you should buy. And no doubt that old Cam will have just the model for you. (And it's on sale too!) Man, oh man, oh man... Did you take Cam to the cleaners or what?!? Uhhh... Not exactly. (Old Cam hasn't been in business for 27 years because he gives away top-shelf cameras.)
• Ok, time for a different tack. You could ask Cousin Frick... No that's a terrible idea.
• Maybe you should hit the magazine rack or the camera Web sites, and see what they suggest, except that those "objective" magazines and Web sites are loaded with advertisements.

What to do:



And when all is said and done, what does the picture of the Monarda at the top of this post have to do with becoming a backyard birder? Simple... Whether you merely surrender a few stale bread crumbs to the birds, or blow $740 on the right digital camera (whatever that might be), you need to accept the fact that there will be days when all you get to see is a pretty flower. When you come to grips with that, you're well on your way to becoming a backyard birder.

See you by those sometimes lonely feeders,

CapeCodAlan

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Wikipedia
• Audubon Society
• U.S. Geological Survey
• MSN Encarta
• The National Audubon Society’s “The Sibley Guide to Birds”
• ”Birds Of North America” published by Golden
• ”Birds of New England” from Smithsonian Handbooks
• Chapman's "Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America"
• Peterson's "A Field Guide to the Birds"
• "Birdwatching" from publisher "Discovery Travel Adventures"

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, the good news is that there's still plenty of time before Contest 5 (The Great Haiku and Algebra Bird Feeder Contest!) ends at 11:59PM EST on August 3rd, 2007.

The other good news is that we're getting a sizable turnout for this contest. Oh it took a few days, but now we're off and running! Even the crow below seems to offer a harsh "ok".



Come on guys! Admit it... This is fun! And all we're looking for is a funny, bird haiku and a single fractional answer per comment/entry.

I initially thought that it was the math that would give folks the shudders... But given the feedback, it looks like the haiku is the culprit... Ok... Here are some more examples...

Hear chirpy chirpy...
Birdie birdie is that you?
Chirpy chirpy "Yes!"

Black bird "Caw!" "Caw!" "Caw!"
Complains for lack of suet.
Nothing to crow at!

Seed, seed, gone astray.
Not possible birds did this...
Nope... Squirreled away!

Beyond these examples, you may have to interact with old schoolmates, teachers, professors, neighbors... Even your relatives or worse yet teenagers... Gasp!

So here's the skinny... The wife and I have done something insidious. (And stop booing... You're just jealous.) The wife has notified her ragdoll-cat forum of this contest. That readership is 95% female. I on the other hand have notified my boat-building forum, which is 95% male.

Now, let's see who really wants to get involved and have some fun. (And what about you other readers out there? This is your chance to grin without staring numbly at the TEEVEE!)

CapeCodAlan,

Laughing by the feeders!

P.S. Every time you enter, points are added or subtracted from your score appropriately... At this moment, the score stands at:

• Largosmom: 9
• Joni: 8
• Monika: 7
• Jen: 3
• Kate:3
• Archie: 2
• Detlef: -1

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Yeah, I warned you that this was going to be the weirdest contest yet. I always keep my promises... That's right... We're talking about a contest based on goofy bird haikus and algebra.

First, here's the prize:



Looks like a pretty slick Post Mount Blue Bird Feeder!

Now about the contest... Here's the two part challenge...

Part 1:
You need to write a funny, "American-style" bird haiku. And what is an "American-style" haiku you ask? Glad you asked! Well, the haiku is a form of poetry that originated in Japan long ago. In its American form (at least for the sake of this contest), it is a short, three-line poem with the first and third lines consisting of 5 syllables, and the second line consisting of 7 syllables. Further, the last line should offer some sort of subtle closure for the first two lines. And on top of that, it has to be funny. Here're two examples...

Stupid bird haiku
Just first part of dumb contest
I hate algebra

-Or-

A lonely sparrow
Pines for his mystery mate
Old Hank sings sad songs

You get the idea... It doesn't have to revolve around this blog... It just needs to involve birds and be funny.

Part 2: In a way, this is pretty easy really... All you need to tell me is what is the cube root of the product of one third and one ninth. The problem is shown below...


Your answer should be in the form of a single fraction, (e.g. 1/4). Decimal answers are unacceptable.

Scoring: Awww... You're going to love this. The haiku will be based on a -3 to 3 scale.

• -3 points: Not a valid haiku
• -2 points: A valid haiku that is irrelevant to this contest
• -1 points: A valid haiku that is relevant to this contest but simply isn't funny at all
• 0 points: A haiku that is relevant to this contest, but "ho hum" funny in a "bird" sort of way
• 1 point: A haiku that is mildly funny and deals with birds
• 2 points: A haiku that deals with birds and is really funny
• 3 points: A haiku that deals with birds and is truly hilarious

Now... What about that algebra question... That's a spoiler! The math question is based on a -1 to 0 scale. If you get the question wrong, you lose a point. (Try to avoid going into negative points!)

Rules

• Use the comment function on this post to enter both a single "funny, bird-related" haiku and a single fractional answer.
• Enter as many times as you like using separate comments. But each entry needs to have a new haiku (which will be rated on its own merits) and a single fractional answer. (Obviously, if you're sure that you've got the right fraction, you can use the same fraction over and over again. But I'll be adding up the wrong ones!)
• Dictionary.com will be used to verify syllable counts.
• Scores will be tallied for each contestant throughout the contest.
• The winner will have the highest number of points. In the case of a tie, a random drawing will be used.
• Only rated “G” comments/entries are allowed.
• Entries made by eBirdseed employees and/or their families will not be eligible for prizes.
• All decisions made by the judges at eBirdseed.com are final.
• The contest starts as soon as this post goes live. (That is, if you’re reading this, the contest has begun!)
• The contest will end 11:59PM EST, Friday, August 3rd, 2007.
• *As always, eBirdseed will pay for the shipping of the winning prize to anywhere in the continental U.S.

Some final words about the contest... I chose these two subjects (algebra and haiku) very carefully; I doubt that there are many dual English/Math grads out there. The idea was to force you into working with your neighbors and each other to survive in the contest. Lastly, I will publish the haikus as you enter them, but I won't publish the fractional answers until the contest is over - that will give you a good chance to check and recheck your answers!

See you by those tricky feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 2:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (97)

July 16th, 2007

Hi gang,

Time for yet another "Weird Birds News, etc." post.

The first bit of weirdness comes from of all places the Middle East. (Barn Owls Unite Israelis, Jordanians) As the title suggests, at long last the Israelis and the Arabs might have something that they can agree upon - an owl. Only on planet earth.

Next is the story of "Stumpy", the once four-legged duck (who's now a three-legged duck), and has a girlfriend. Anyone care to guess how many legs the ducklings will have? Weird Daddy-O, just weird.

And finally comes the story from Chad, a friend who reads this blog... Seems that for a couple of weeks, there were times when Chad was outside, his phone would mysteriously ring and then go silent. Hey, it happens to everyone... Darned telemarketers! Still, it was kind of strange that the problem only happened when he was outside.

But just a few days ago, Chad was on his porch quietly listening to the songs of a mockingbird. And then suddenly it hit him... One of the "songs" was that of his phone's ring tone... At one point or another, the bird had listened to the ring and learned to mimic it. In retrospect, it all makes sense and is funny. But at the time it had to be maddening for Chad to keep running into the house only to discover that the phone had stopped "ringing". (I vote for funny!) Anyway, here's a shot of the typical culprit below...



See you by those aggravating feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 2:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, this was supposed to be a bit of fun fluff. I was going to use some crazy, brute-force method for holding down an ear of corn (I ended up using two slabs of cement), and in doing so get a nice shot of a squirrel or better. As it turned out, I got lucky and snagged a very primo pic of the chipmunk below.



That's the way it was supposed to work. But it didn't... The NovaBird camera caught an image I wasn't expecting, and cannot explain...



Though the bird was clearly beyond the focal length of the camera, the photograph still holds some validity... A closer look is revealing...

• At first I thought that this was just light shining off the beak... But the picture was taken at 13:45:31 on 07 14 2007... The sun was pretty much overhead and there wouldn't have been a white color on the underside of the chin. Also, if you look carefully in the background, you can see bright patches where the sun's rays pierced through the overhanging tree, and struck the ground. I don't think this is light playing games with the lens.
• It might be an issue with the NovaBird itself, though I've taken thousands of pictures with it and never seen this type of symmetrical anomaly.
• Comparing the bird with others in roughly the same location in the same shoot, I'd say that it's approximately the size of a large grackle or a small crow.
• The color of the iris appears to be brown. That would strongly suggest a type of crow.

So what is this bird?

• Maybe it is just a crow subject to a photographic "cronk".
• It might be a juvenile crow, (though I can't find any documentation that young crows look like that).
• On the fringe of possibilities, this is some sort of Rook, a Eurasian bird that ended up here. (Don't laugh... A Eurasian Kestrel showed up on Cape Cod in Chatham in 2002.)
• In any event, there it is. If anyone can shed light on the situation, I'd sure like to know!
  
  Puzzled by the feeders,
  
  CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 1:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well the title of this one pretty much says it all... When it comes to backyard nature watching (and all nature watching now that I think about it), sometimes you win and get the greatest sighting/photo on planet earth... And sometimes you strike out big with a capital "S" and a capital "O".

Here was the game plan... I was simply going to hang an ear of corn in front of the NovaBird camera and then photographically note the goofiness of the squirrels as they wreaked havoc on the corn. (Squirrels will eat the nose off a brass monkey if you just give them a chance.) Simple right? What could go wrong? This could have been a nice, funny, simple post. But noooooo!!!!!!

After letting the camera sit for 10 hours (count 'em, ten hours over two days), the best shot I got was that of an ear of corn swinging in the breeze.

Oh, don't worry... As soon as I admit defeat, the squirrels will swarm all over the corn and that will be that. (The last time I did this they actually took the steel eye hook I had used to secure the corn.) No... Don't worry about the squirrels. In fact, they're taunting me. Laughing in that weird, high laugh they laugh - it's like listening to Peewee Herman after he's inhaled helium. But I can handl...

Arghhh!!!

I just checked the corn... It's gone. All of it... Cob and all... Gone. Even the screw I used to secure the ear to the bungee is gone. And the only photo I got was of a squirrel's paw.



Keep in mind that I have the NovaBird camera set to snap every 10 seconds when there's movement. So, somehow the rapscallion cut the nylon cable tie; he did so in under 10 seconds. (Are those rodents carrying shivs?!?)

Alright... Alright... Deep breath... This now becomes a challenge to my talents as an engineer, and I hereby issue this formal notice to all the squirrels out there... As the great Bugs Bunny said, "Of course you know, this means war!" I will get a phenomenal photo of a squirrel (or better) munching on an ear of corn, or I will eat pie. (And I ain't eatin' no stinkin' pie!)

I'm off now to design a hold-down system for an ear of corn!

CapeCodAlan

P.S. Watch out for that next contest!!!

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 2:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hi all, First thing... Thanks to all the contestants!

And (after a random draw amongst the participants with the correct answers), the winner is JONI!
She guessed the Hairy Woodpecker. Joni, you read my mind!



Joni, we'll contact you within the next couple of days concerning shipping info... Enjoy!

So why the strange contest in which I suggested that you folks privately exchange thoughts and ideas for the identification of the mystery bird? Here's why... We're not talking with each other via the "Comments" button and email! As I mentioned before, we boat builders have established true friendships. Mrs. CapeCodAlan traded more than 50 Christmas cards with people from all over the world simply because she participates in a cat board. (And yes, I do know the difference between a forum and a blog... But the "Comment" button is always available, and your thoughts are always welcome.)

But keep your eyes open! There's another contest coming up... And this next one is going to be the strangest yet!

As always, you can reach me here on this blog, or at: capecodalan@ebirdseed.com.

And if you want to talk to one of the owners of the company (Gordon or Dan), their contact info is:

eBirdseed.com
27823 86th Ave. South
Hawley, MN 56549-8982
(866) 324-7373


See you by the feeders--with lots of comments!

CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Quite frankly, it's a mystery to me... There are a bunch of you readers out there who check this blog on a regular basis. We know that because of the traffic numbers for the site... Yet here we are, a flock of people that care about, and are knowledgeable about birds, and we're just not using the "Comments" button below to interact with each other and eBirdseed.com. (My hunch is that for the most part, you're going through the motions of feeding the birds, checking this blog, and then you're sitting down and eating pie.)

Ok then... Time for another competition, and this time the only way anyone wins is by having you folks start interacting. More about that in a second, but first, here's the prize:

It's a Songbird Cedar Bluebird Feeder!



Now, about this contest and how it's going to get you to put down the "pie fork", and actually interact.

The contest is very simple... I'm thinking of the common name for a particular bird (e.g. not a "Sapsucker", but a "Yellow-bellied Sapsucker"). You guys have to guess the bird. In order to do this, you'll use the "Comments" button for this post to make your entries.

Here are the rules...

1. Just ask (using the "Comments" button for this post) a "Yes/No" question concerning the mystery bird. Valid questions will take the form of, "Does the bird (fully matured) have a wingspan wider than 4 inches?"; and "Is the bird that CapeCodAlan thinking of a water bird?" Invalid questions will fall along the lines of, "What type of food does the mystery bird eat?" (Just think of the old "What's My Line?" game show!)
2. You are welcome to enter as many comments as you want.
3. At any time you can take a guess at the specific "unknown" bird, but I won't tell you if you're right or wrong. If you enter more than one guess, only your last guess will count when the contest ends.
4. So when does the contest end? ("Bwa ha ha ha!" he laughs with an evil laugh...) The contest ends when we get at least 20 different people/commenters/email-account entries. So what does that mean? It means that "John Doe" can post 100 separate comments each asking a separate "Yes/No" question, but he only counts as ONE entrant. And for poor "John Doe" (who no doubt knows the exact bird after asking 100 questions), that presents a problem... He can either prod family, friends, and co-workers into entering comments/questions, or he can sit and wait. Better yet, he can actually communicate with other readers of this blog via comments (and email) and exchange ideas.
5. After 20 different people have commented questions/guesses, we'll hold a random drawing to determine the final winner from among those who made the right, final guess.

Other common sense rules apply...

• We'll try to keep and eye on the entrants, but we're also using the honor system here. (Read that that we wouldn't be very happy if an individual created 20 different "Hotmail" accounts just to win this feeder.)
• Only rated “G” comments/entries are allowed.
• Entries made by eBirdseed employees and/or their families are void.
• All decisions made by the judges at eBirdseed.com are final.
• The contest starts as soon as this post goes live. (That is, if you’re reading this, the contest has begun!)
• As always, eBirdseed will pay for the shipping* of the winning prize to anywhere in the continental U.S.

And finally, there are a couple of hints...

• The bird I'm thinking of is not extinct.
• The mystery bird is quite common across a majority of the U.S.
• I'm NOT thinking of the "Yellow-bellied Sapsucker".
• The resources below can come in very handy!
  • Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  • Wikipedia
  • Audubon Society
  • U.S. Geological Survey
  • MSN Encarta
  • Winged Wisdom
  • The National Audubon Society’s “The Sibley Guide to Birds”
  • ”Birds Of North America” published by Golden
  • ”Birds of New England” from Smithsonian Handbooks
  • Chapman's "Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America"
  • Peterson's "A Field Guide to the Birds"
  • "Birdwatching" from publisher "Discovery Travel Adventures"

So why am I asking that we all interact?

Here's why. I'm a moderator on a boat-building forum (Instant Boats Message Boards). One single thread on that board has had 20,631 "views" and 404 "replies". ("Replies" on the Message Board equate to "comments" here on the eBirdseed blog.)

On that forum, comments are the lifeblood... Ditto for this blog. And right now the lifeblood (eBirdseed.com comments) ain't flowing... Without the comments and interaction, we're all just sitting here eating pie all by ourselves. And I for one really don't like pie.

So come on guys... Let's start hitting that "Comments" button just like us boat builders do with the equivalent on the boat building board.

CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (51)

As promised, below is a video that shows how we retrieved the snapping turtle from our window well. You'll have a chance to see my 13-year old and hear my 7-year old who ran the camera during the extrication.

Enjoy the video! Better yet, leave a comment by clicking the 'Comments' link.


Man Wrestles Snapping Turtle - The best home videos are here

Posted by Gordon at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Extraordinary Boredom Alert!!!

As you might remember, the last time we were looking at the structure of a feather. I asked for help from an old chum (and mechanical engineer), and his thoughts follow...

I found this: http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/201/22/3057.pdf

It contends that the strength of the feather's stem is largely due to the cortex, and hence, the cross section of the stem. You may want to cut the feather stem and start looking at the cross section, and then compare the cross-sectional interior of the shape to common structure shapes (like T-bars, I-bars, tubes - things like that).

-Alec

To speak to Alec's thoughts concerning the cross section of the feather... Unfortunately, in trying to cut the feather, I deformed it. But under magnification, it looks like this:



(Yeah, I know... I stink as an artist. But you get the idea.)

Judging by what the authorities have to say, it appears that the common feather straddles the fine line between the ability to repeatedly flex and the strength not to buckle.

(Anyone who would care to explore the issues of compression and tension on the surfaces of the sheath of the rachis spine (which covers the keratin core) of a feather should use the "Comments" button below. I'd like to delve into this deeper, but if I did, someone would probably throw a rock at me!)

See you by the feeders... (And watch out for that next contest, because you guys are all going to have to work together or NO ONE gets a shot at the prize!)

CapeCodAlan

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Boredom Alert! Boredom Alert! Boredom Alert!

What follows is from a message that I'm sending to an old engineering buddy (Alec) concerning the spine of the bird feather pictured below.



Hi Alec,

Long time no talk!!!

Ummm... There are a million things new here... But best to cut to the chase.

First off, this email will be duplicated in a post I write for www.ebirdseed.com/blog. I know... It's weird, but I've come to the conclusion that there are no non-engineering problems - only poor engineers who don't see the problems for what they really are.

Anyway... Here's an example... When you get a chance, take a look at some of the pics linked below. There are a number of shots of the back of a crow's feather's quill. Notice the wild cross section structure of the thing! It appears to be some sort of an arched or cylindrical beam embedded longitudinally within the cylindrical, hollow quill itself. This is just nuts. (At least I've never seen anything like this... Have you?) The links to those pictures contain a close-up, the entire set of feather photos, and the complete collection of bird pics itself.)

In general, the feather's shaft seems to be flexible but strong in all directions of deflection... It is resistant to shear, tension, and compression... So what gives with the goofy spine within a spine?

Have you seen any human-made structural elements like this?

Alan (aka CapeCodAlan)

I'll post Alec's response shortly, and in the meantime, see you by the feeders,

CCA

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 8:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)