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Posted by CapeCodAlan at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Documentary Review: "Ghost Bird"

Hi,

Just watched an interesting documentary by Scott Crocker -- "Ghost Bird". Here's the trailer...

As you can tell by the clip, there are several stories woven into one film. Thoughts...

Technically, it's pretty good... The intro is a bit too long, the sound production is uneven, and the entire piece could have been tightened by about 15 to 30 minutes. But all told this is still great work. While this didn't come out of the Cornell Dept. of Ornithology, it did feature interviews with heavyweights such as David Sibley and Scott Edwards (curator of Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology).
As I see it, the first story is simply that of the bird itself... does it, or does it not still exist? That's a tough question in that some pretty qualified people on both sides of the question are weighing in...
Interwoven into the question above are the politics (grant money) involved. From small-town officials to the federal government, everyone has a vested interest.
This is also the story of little America (Brinkley, AR) facing tough times. The purported sighting of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker has been a boon to the local economy just as the 1947 "crash of a UFO" in Roswell has created a rather lucrative cottage industry there.
Finally, there is the all-too-human narrative of wishful thinking on the part of the guy on the street, the ornithologists, the business folk, and even the viewer... I mean, wouldn't it be cool if there was final irrefutable proof that somehow, this beautiful creature somehow managed to elude humankind's selfish crush?

Bottom line?" Well... This isn't Ken Burns, but it's pretty high-grade stuff and would be enjoyed by all family members... Most heartedly recommended... If you can get the Documentary Channel (or better yet, buy it)!

By the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rare Audubon Book Sells for $10 million... And a Gripe

Hi,

Check it out... (Sorry for the commercial in the beginning...)

Remarkable isn't it? (I told you I like old bird books!) But I do have one gripe, and it's a deeply personal one. (Read that, "Don't blame eBirdseed.com for what follows...")

My problem is that Audubon was a hunter who killed birds to make his paintings. Sorry, but for me, that's just wrong. (Before you jump ugly on my "Pacifist Side", understand that I'm a life member of the NRA - I'm not exactly "buddy buddy" with Code Pink.) Still, I just don't understand the satisfaction/enjoyment/glee/thrill/reverence in killing... From Monty Python:

Bevis: I always preferred the outdoor life... hunting... shooting... fishing... getting out there with a gun and slaughtering a few of God's creatures... Charging about the moorland, blasting their heads off.

In my not-so-humble opinion, killing should only occur for two reasons: survival and food. (And if we have to kill a million lab rats to save one child, so be it.) As for food... There are some of us (myself included) who digest meat better than veggies - sorry Porky. But no matter what, death is a bitter process, and I simply don't understand those who happily partake in the name of "Sport", or "Art", which takes us right back to Audubon...

I'd better quit now or I'll be looking for a soapbox and ticking off everyone in sight. My point is, "Don't kill unless you have to, and don't feel particularly grand about it afterwards. Needless dead beauty in every way shape and form isn't all that damnably profound."

See you by the feeders if you're still reading this,

CapeCodAlan

Time is running out on that contest!

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 9:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Where a Bird Book can Take You

Hi,

Man oh man, it all started so simply. I thought I'd break out an old bird book, scan in a print, and talk about the bird(s). (In fact, I was going to present a nice plate displaying gulls, and discuss why I don't particularly like them.) But that was not to be. When I opened the 1916 "Birds of New York" volume, and really started poking around, I found a note clearly stating that the book was, "To be given to Miriam Westwood". Alrighty then... That got me to pondering about who was Miriam Westwood, and who wanted to give her the book, and was it part of a will, etc., etc., etc. So, I decided to take a picture and write a post on the subject, but in doing so I stumbled upon some other vintage stuff, and, well, there you go...

The toy badges from left to right are:

"Deputy Sheriff": As these items belong to someone else (we're only documenting them), I don't know its exact history, but I'd guess it's a 1950's era piece.
"Straight Shooter": We know a bit more about this one... This is 1937 Tom Mix pin. It might be worth $50, but more importantly... What happened to the young hands that played with it?
"Scoop Ward, News of Youth": Gotta love it! "Scoop Ward" - what a name for a "junior reporter". This guy is from 1935 - 1937... The badge was a promotional item from Ward's Soft Bun Bread company.

When all is said and done, all of the above (including the book) couldn't pay for parking, a beer, and nine innings. But still, what happened to these former owners? Were they good people? Bad people? Did they find the loves of their lives? Realize their potentials? Were some killed in war? Are any still alive, and if so, do they remember their once-precious book and little toys?

So many questions spawned by an old book... Miriam, I hope the tome was special to you... I know it certainly is to me...

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

P.S. Next time, we have a heart to heart talk about that contest...

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 1:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Squirrels and Old Books/Prints

Hi all,

First things first... Faithful reader "Gipper" Morris asked about the use of hot pepper in repelling squirrels... To answer you directly Harry, no I haven't actually tried hot pepper as a squirrel repellent. As we do sell hot pepper suet plugs, I assume that they do work. As for plain old hot pepper, I've never tried to use that to drive off the "gray menace", but, as an experiment, I just sprinkled a heaping helping of "Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning" on the 4X4 post that holds one of our feeders... (Even though we use a metal conical anti-squirrel shield, the rascals still try to rob the birds!) So let's see what happens... If they have the intestinal fortitude to go near the 4X4, they'd better bring both their gastroenterologist and their cardiologist - Tony Chachere's two main ingredients are red pepper and salt. I'll let you know ASAP if the squirrels try their normal futile raids (or if the 4X4 is even there in the coming days).

But on to another subject that hasn't gotten nearly the attention that (IMHO) it should have... That of free or nearly free bird pics and info... Take a look at just one more plate I got out of an old 1916 bird book:

Northern Pileated woodpecker.JPG

Those are Northern Pileated Woodpeckers... But the real point I'm trying to make is that the book cost virtually nothing... There are no doubt tens of thousands of like tomes out there with great artwork, great descriptions, and a sub-dollar price tag. (I was going to say that I'd bet that I could sell the plates alone and make more than a few bucks... But I couldn't do that - this beauty belongs in our home.)

Anywho... There you go - repelling squirrels and fantastic bird prints... Only on eBirdseed.com...

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

P.S. Should you want any hi-res copies of old pics (copyright expired), just let me know... I'll be more than happy to scan and email to you or add to our eBirdseed.com photo library.

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 12:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Thanksgiving Day, 2009

Hi all,

The Norman Rockwell image to the left seems fitting for this day. (Figures that there would be a bird in there, even if it was cooked.) "Freedom From Want" was one of Rockwell's famous "Four Freedoms" and was inspired by an FDR speech:

"In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way -- everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants -- everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor -- anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called "new order" of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb."
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, excerpted from the Annual Message to the Congress, January 6, 1941

In retrospect, parts of that speech now seem so wildly naive, but at least the thought was there.

Anyway, happy Thanksgiving everyone, and please try to think of the men and women of our armed services. Without them, there would be no Thanksgiving.

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Find at a Yard Sale

Hi all,

The picture below is of stuff the wife found at a yard sale. No big deal...

Birds of New York 001_all stuff_400.jpg

Let's see... We've got (left to right and front to back):

Plate number 8 from "Birds of America" consisting of a number of terns.
An article from the Sept. 1952 Atlantic Magazine entitled "Do-Nothing Day" by Wyman Richardson, M.D. This is an off-the-cuff discussion of a day of birding on Nauset Beach on Cape Cod.
The next two are advertisements for bird books circa 1930s to the 1950s.
The folder in the back right is the 1916 University of New York State Museum "Birds of New York" collection of 106 plates including the one below. That of Crossbills...

Birds of New York 002._crossbilljpg.jpg

And finally, there is a wonderful 31 page hand-written tutorial to friend, mentor, or perhaps an editor or publisher. The piece is dated around 1925, was composed in Dennis MA, and has what I would consider a very insightful passage...
"The more you go about among birds the more you will learn about these wonderful creatures and you will find as Mrs Porter says that they can reason."

It's so strange to come upon a find like this... As best I can tell, this is a compilation of a woman's Cape Cod birding from 1918 into the 1950s. I wonder what will ever become of this blog by 2060...

Mulling by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding