I didn't even know I had it. At this point, we have well over 4,000 photographs (and the total number may well be twice that), so I guess that's understandable. But beyond that, there's the lost moment... The lost specialness... I remember the first time I saw turkeys... I was coming home from college, and there were a few beside the highway. That was a big deal for me, but I don't remember the first time I saw them in our yard. Earlier, I remember my first encounters with red-winged blackbirds, but I don't remember the first time I saw them in our yard either.

I guess my point is that special things get lost - get forgotten. Maybe we can chock some of that up to experience. (Note that word "experience".) Maybe we all suffer from a sensory overload and desensitization in this extraordinarily technical, violent, and convoluted world... After all, we live in a time when home computers routinely have a terabyte of storage... The violence reported in the news, in computer games, and in the movies is just stunning... And politics and the economy are driving us crazy from every angle... Perhaps it's all just too much to process. Is it possible that the special and quiet have fallen victim to the glaring and loud?

Anyhoo...

There's a turkey picture completely new to both of us...

Deep sigh,

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/03/forgotten_turkeys_forgotten_ph.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/03/forgotten_turkeys_forgotten_ph.html Backyard Sanctuary Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:25:56 -0600

Well, that's quite an image? Where to begin? Maybe at the bottom...

That white object on the floor is the mailbox/birdhouse to be. I've repaired the wooden bottom, and pounded the metal of the box itself back into shape. That will be fine. After reviewing the comments from the link above, I've decided to pull a mea culpa and go with no perch... Birds have been making nests in metal objects since humankind has been making metal, so I'll simply round the edges of the hole, put on some paint, drill some ventilation holes, and mount the rascal. Problem solved.

As for the hutch... Well, the drawers are done. They consist of cherry, pine, and luan bound together with epoxy and 48 dovetails - beautiful, and brutally strong. But there's still a lot of work to be done... The top panels have to be secured to the posts via biscuits and glue, and the top and bottom doors need to be routed for the glass and hinges. Then there's more framework, cleats, the top, a couple more shelves, glass, tiles, hardware, lights, and final assembly. (Who knows what this thing is going to weigh when all is said and done?) Ahhh, Spring...

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/03/as_spring_lurches_closer_proje.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/03/as_spring_lurches_closer_proje.html Educational Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:02:50 -0600 Well, here we are again... Backyard night fishing - the hobby of trying to spot (better yet get a print screen of) a creature in our lower 40. So here are our latest catches:

Raccoon

Possum

Skunk

Two Raccoons

Bunny Wabbit

Yeah, I know that none of the images will challenge the works of Ansel Adams, but there's honest to goodness fun there. And beyond the silliness, there's something more sublime...To watch this cam is to (for me anyway) reluctantly hope for some "thing" - some unknown creature that makes the house go "bump in the night." Possibly a flying squirrel, or possibly--who knows?

Speaking of possibilities, who would have thought it possible that we'd be over 22,000 hits on the backyard bird cam? 22,780, to be exact. I'd like to thank all of you who are watching, and remind you that once the hummingbirds are back (mid- to late April), you'll be seeing the hummingbird feeder in all its glory, with our usual quota of ruby-throats, instead of the distant shots of the bird feeder out back.

See you by the bird cam,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/03/backyard_night_fishing_re-visi.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/03/backyard_night_fishing_re-visi.html Backyard Night Fishing Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:05:14 -0600 Well, the shot below is not exactly what one would want to see...

I don't know... It just seems like turkeys are such large and intimidating animals. But that might just be me.

Beyond that, what do you do with a mailbox that has twice suffered the insult of a town snow plow?
Throw it out??? Naw! We recycle... We'll make a birdhouse out of the carnage... I'll take the thing apart, wire-brush, re-paint, and use joinery biscuits and water-proof glue to fix the broken bottom. Sure, I'll have to pound on the metal a bit, and punch a bunch of ventilation holes. But in the end it will make for a fine avian domain. In general, I'm thinking about drilling a small access in the door of the box for the birds, and using epoxy to secure a little wooden perch on the door face. We could use stout cable ties to close the thing shut (and still allow for easy cleaning when the time comes). Finally, we'll mount the house in just the right direction on a 10' or 15' 4X4 or 4X6. It may look funky, but I'll bet you dimes to donuts that the birds are going to love it.

Ahhh... Happy birds and befuddled neighbors... What could be better?

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/03/turkey_on_the_deck_and_recycli.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/03/turkey_on_the_deck_and_recycli.html Backyard Sanctuary Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:23:19 -0600 Anyway, as I say, I stopped at a local yard sale and came across this lovely little addition to our collection of indoor birds.

However, before adopting him into the family, there was the matter of price. No self-respecting yard sale attendee would dream of simply plunking down the sticker price without at least an attempt to dicker. So: sticker price was $20. I offered $15. Young boy manning the cash box says he'll have to ask his mom. 10 minutes later, I was $15 poorer and one genuine Herend green fishnet duck richer!

Once home, I was positioning the new arrival in place with some of the regulars, when I began to wonder just how many birds we have inside the house. After all, CapeCodAlan is always talking about the birds outside--what about the indoor ones?

Wandering around, camera in hand, I came to the conclusion that, however many birds we have outside, we also have avians aplenty on the inside.

And of all those birds, I was surprised to discover just how many chickens came home to roost:

Of course, it's not only roosters around here. We've slowly been building a collection of decoys, miniatures, and shore birds as well.

As you can see, the hobby of birding can encompass the great indoors as well as the great outdoors.

See you at the next yard sale,
Mrs. CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/house_full_o_birds.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/house_full_o_birds.html Hobby Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:02:56 -0600

Took this picture earlier - squirrels and dove in the wind-driven rain... The storm has only worsened since then; we've had brownouts twice. For obvious reasons, I'm going to make this post a quick one. (Thank heavens this is only rain.)

On a completely different note, there is something I do want to touch on - that of the handling of wild animals. Two days ago, a trainer (Dawn Brancheau) was tragically killed by a killer whale at SeaWorld Adventure Park. Obviously, this isn't the first time that this sort of thing has happened... Steve Irwin's death and Roy Horn's (of Siegfried & Roy fame) mauling leap to mind.

Look, no one questions the love these people had/have for animals. And no one questions the need for parks and refuges and zoos. But it is unfortunate that the public continues to be inundated with "shows" that promote close human/wild animal interaction. Wild animals (including birds) are just that - wild. Here on the Cape, many harbors have signs warning people not to feed the geese, and it seems that every day, there's someone out there trying to hand feed a goose. Sigh...

I'm not saying that we should stop feeding the birds. (In fact, just the opposite... We humans have managed to mangle the natural environment and at this point should be providing roughly 20% of birds' food source.) But I am saying that attempts to "play" with wild animals is just a terrible idea. In my very humble opinion, activities like backyard birding are fantastic so long as we keep our distance. Wild birds are not pets, "buddies", or "pals" no more than whales or tigers. They are wild animals and should be treated as such.

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/another_rainy_wild_night_on_ca.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/another_rainy_wild_night_on_ca.html Backyard Night Fishing Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:14:12 -0600

Yup, there he is in all his ignoble glory. Mr. Crow with the scraps of an inedible pizza. (If anyone out there has ever found a store-brand microwave pizza that doesn't turn into a brick that even a Ginsu knife couldn't handle, let me know... 30 minutes is way too short of a lifespan for a pizza.) Anywho, there's Mr. Crow struggling with the doughy concrete. It took him and a bunch of his cohorts about half an hour to finish off the little blocks. No doubt some will end up in the birdbath. Maybe they'll soften up after a day or two.

More and more, I've noticed a chilling tendency in crow behaviors - they know me and they know Mrs. CCA. They know when we rise, what we do, when we eat, and especially when we're in the kitchen. I'm thoroughly convinced of this. It's downright weird to make lunch with no crows in sight, but then to start cleanup only to discover a murder staring at you through the kitchen window. (To be fair, I've mentioned corvid intelligence before.)

Finally... It looks like an early Spring is on the way for Cape Cod... Why do I say this? Two things... First, the spiders are beginning to make their sinister presence known once again. And, I heard a titmouse making his mournful two-tone call today... Oh, I imagine we'll still have a few more Winter storms, but the end is in sight.

See you by the feeder,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/crow_with_pizza_crow_habits_sp.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/crow_with_pizza_crow_habits_sp.html Backyard Sanctuary Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:48:30 -0600 Mrs. CCA spotted the following birdhouse at a yard sale last fall, and we've been waiting for a decent day to mount it... Ta da!

It only cost a few bucks, and had all of the features we look for:

• Basically solid construction... It's nothing special, but serviceable. (We had to put a small, metal, entrance-hole face plate on the abode because of prior chewing, but that fixed that.)
• Screws are used to hold the thing together... Should a piece rot, or cleaning is necessary, the remedy is just a screwdriver away.
• Easily mountable... In this case, there's a stout plastic/wire loop that begs to be gang cable-tied to the branch. We probably will have to adjust the tilt of hang, but that's no big deal.
• It's attractive in a New England sort of way.
• The casa is easy to spot.

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/new_birdhouse_etc.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/new_birdhouse_etc.html woodworking Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:16:46 -0600 Looks like we have yet another camera. This time, it's the Kodak C190 that will suffer the slings and arrows. Let's see... Here's the stuff as it comes out of the box...

Basically, the contents were:

• The camera itself
• Battery charger
• Batteries
• The box showing the C190
• Instructions for the camera and charger
• Soft case
• Strap
• Warranty stuff
• USB cable
• Kodak software

As with many of today's small cameras, it excels using the macro setting...

That's a closeup of a Canadian dime. (It's amazing what 12 MP will do for you.)

As for the more common birding-type photography, my first impression is that a tripod is almost a requirement. Here's a shot of a mourning dove we got using the max 5X optical zoom...

That was taken from about 25' using a tripod. We tried freehand, but the results were poor.

Other gizmos/features include "Smart Capture" (intelligent picture taking), face detection, flash control (nice), and video.

All told, this rig is about what you'd expect out of a $95 deal nowadays. The only downside we can see at this moment is the hinge for the trap door that holds the batteries and the SD RAM card (not included). Let's just say that that hinge doesn't exude robustness. Time will tell...

I doubt that you'll be able to use the C190 to become the next Ansel Adams, but so far it's doing just fine.

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/new_camera_review_etc.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/new_camera_review_etc.html Technology Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:42:05 -0600 Greetings from Don The Squirrel...

Thank heavens for that old NovaBird camera. Without that, you'd be looking at crayon drawings. (Actually, we've ordered another cam to replace our super-saturated Canon.) Anywho, there's Don in all his glory. (Don is a relative of Lafayette and Gomez in Minnesota, but that's another story.)

Hey... Not too much new here... The snow is almost completely gone... The crows still call for food, and the seagulls steal what we put out for the crows. Sigh... We did however see a wood thrush. (That's a new one for me. They run along the ground like terns... Very cool...)

There is one final observation... I helped a local merchant with a small contest (the total prize amount was around $2,000), and we saw a kind, but almost frightening behavior. Two of the winners refused part of their prize packages and instead asked that we find more needy recipients. They asked that they remain anonymous (and so they shall), but the fact remains that these people gave away a serious chunk of change. Quite frankly, that is a little disconcerting here on Cape Cod - land of the Kennedy's, home of the late Tip O'Neil, and stomping ground of the Clinton's and the Obama's. To put it bluntly, there's a lot of money around here. Still, the Cape is facing a serious economic problem (just like the rest of the country), and people are reacting instinctively. It's noble, but a little scary at the same time.

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/squirrel_and_random_stuff.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/squirrel_and_random_stuff.html Backyard Sanctuary Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:42:26 -0600 Man oh man, it has been one of those days... We're switching over from cable TV to dish TV, and the installer needed a hand running the cable. (I've got way too much experience running cable to find the process anything but a hassle.) And that wasn't made any easier by the ice that was left by our last storm. And so it goes... Tomorrow is trash day... I'm a day late on my workout schedule... Dishes needed washing,.. Laundry needed doing... Nothing was going right for the wife at work... Blah, blah, blah ad nauseum. But then, one of these guys appeared on the front birdbath...

And for maybe 15 seconds I simply stared at the bird. And in that briefest of times, I unwound; I could feel the stress just drain away. Look, I've never pretended to be "Mr. Super Bird Addict". Since you're reading this, there's a fair chance that you're just like me - you enjoy the backyard feeders and the birds, but life goes on. I'm not about to blow $3,000 on a Peruvian birdwatching adventure, and you probably aren't either. But there is a certain, undeniable peace about birds. (I wonder how much my blood pressure dropped in just those 15 seconds?)

Ya know, we all have responsibilities, But there should be respites... I distinctly remember being in the first grade (I swear this story is true) and watching a seagull out the window. All I wanted to do was watch the creature until it disappeared. And that's what I did. The teacher was asking us some question about grades (and I was still struggling with the alphabet...) Anyway, she called on me, and I made up some answer. That was one of the only times in my life I've lied and not felt guilty about it afterwards. Those brief 60 seconds were between me and a bird...

Respite...

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/respite.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/respite.html Backyard Sanctuary Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:06:06 -0600 Well... Here we go...

Accuweather.com says:

"The combination of strong winds and heavy snowfall on Wednesday will cause some roads to become impassable as the snow quickly accumulates and drifts. Snow drifts could reach 4 feet in many areas by Wednesday night. The winds will howl past 40 mph at times, with some gusts to 50 mph along the coast.

Motorists who are able to travel will encounter whiteout conditions and very slick, snow-covered roads throughout the day and into the evening. In addition to blowing and drifting the snow, the winds could down snow-laden trees and power lines."

Oh goody! Let's see... Not too much to say about a blizzard... We've got all our emergency supplies in. We have plenty of suet, water (we buy it by the case), and seed. And we certainly know how to dress in layers. If we lose power, so be it.

On a happier, (though perhaps more ominous note) we had a night visitor!

That white blob in the lower center of the screen is a raccoon under the feeders... Was he out foraging in preparation for the storm? I don't know. But there he is... Another trophy for the BNF folder. (That is so cool!)

The winds are picking up so I'll sign off... Be safe!

We'll see you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/and_the_storm_approaches.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/and_the_storm_approaches.html Backyard Night Fishing Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:06:31 -0600 First things first... The eBirdseed.com live streaming bird cam is back up and running again... To date we've had 21,620 hits on that cam alone.

(We had about 4,000 on the first web camera.) As time goes on I'll experiment with ways to get the rig back outdoors and improve the image quality significantly without exposing the hardware to Mother Nature's wrath. (The plan is to have several video camera cables available for the single cam... One connection will be to the current backbone of our inside configuration, and another will function as our good-weather outdoor hookup... All we have to do is bring down the entire system, unplug the vid from one cable and hook it to the other, and then reboot everything. (Think of a single lamp that can either be connected to a 15' extension cord or to a one-hundred footer.) Whoopee! I get to play with a soldering iron and cables and jacks and stuff!

Putting the technical aside, Mrs. CCA and I went to a Super Bowl party tonight, and we struck up a most interesting conversation with a woman who had a rather strange encounter with a large bird. She said that she first spotted the creature when it was staring at her through one of her windows. She said that it was only about 8' away at the time... To make this more intriguing, she said that after she left for work, the same bird (or similar ilk) appeared two towns away at a traffic light. Her description was that it was big, and brownish in color... My guess was that it was a turkey, but she believed otherwise. She was of the idea that it was some sort of raptor - a hawk or even an eagle. That certainly is possible... In any event, the moment was too transfixing to warrant a dash for a camera... So we may never know. But it goes to show that even in the midst of a great Super Bowl, the topic of birds is never too far away...

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/streaming_cam_back_up_strange.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/streaming_cam_back_up_strange.html Backyard Night Fishing Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:57:58 -0600 First, in case you haven't heard, the mid- and coastal-Atlantic region is facing a monster storm. Hope you're prepared...

Next, an apology for that last post... I'm sorry that I was so snippy... But simple fact be told, there's no reason why the public should be exposed to malware and viruses. We all work too hard for that garbage. Back when I used to teach in the corporate world, I used to advocate for the death penalty for sinister hackers... It's just a matter of time before their cyber hooliganism is going to kill somebody and they know it...

Not to worry... I'll fix my home machine, and all will be fine. In the mean time, eBirdseed.com remains as clean as a whistle, just as it always was. (Why, why, why, can't other companies run clean systems like eBirdseed.com???)

Deep breath...

And on a lighter note... Check out the tracks below...

Ya' know you've got turkeys on your deck when... Jeez Louise, look at the size of those prints! Of course, that does present a problem - when large animals like turkeys get close to humans, the results can be tragic (the toms have taken to attacking delivery trucks.) I guess we can just hope for the best.

Final thoughts... The wife saw a wren today on one of the feeders and there was even a sparrow checking out the birdhouse. Hope springs eternal...

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/storm_apology_and_turkey_track.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/storm_apology_and_turkey_track.html Backyard Sanctuary Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:34:52 -0600 This may be my shortest post of all time... All I can say is thank heavens for eBirdseed.com and the security they use to protect you the customer from viruses and spyware.

Suffice it to say that I've spent the entire day trying to kill a virus on one of my home machines. (Yeah it's the one that runs our streaming kitchen web cam, but is completely removed from eBirdseed.com... Like I said... Thank heavens for eBirdseed.com!) I'm 99% sure I know where the virus came from, and it's a commercial site to boot. (Both the wife's and my machine collapsed after visiting that one site - NOT eBirdseed.com!)

Anyway... As always, you're safe with eBirdseed.com, and I'm tired.

Signing off now... There's a lot of work to be done.

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

P.S. I believe Dante wrote of the nine circles of Hell... I hope one of those is reserved for people who write malware.

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam ]]> http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/thank_heavens_for_ebirdseedcom.html http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/02/thank_heavens_for_ebirdseedcom.html Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:21:22 -0600