Meeting Greg Miller at the Brookline Bird Club

 Greg Miller speaking to the Brookline Bird Club 2-3-12

On Friday night I had the privilege of going to the Brookline Bird Club’s winter meeting in Bedford, MA, where Greg Miller was speaking. Greg Miller is one of the birders from the book The Big Year by Mark Obmascik. Jack black played the character modeled after him in the movie by the same name. I first read The Big Year back in 2004 when it was first published. At that point in my life I was still a beginning birder, and though I had participated in The Great Backyard Bird Count and Project Feeder Watch, I still was not the birder and bird lister that I am today. When I first read this book I had never heard of a “Big Year,” nor had I ever met anyone who kept lists of all the birds they had seen. It was quite an eye-opener for me and I loved the book because it wasn’t just about birds, it was about people and how an obsession can take over your life. Mark Obmascik is a good writer and the story is very well told. I couldn’t put the book down when I first read it.

 The crowd listens intently while Greg tells us his stories.

When the movie came out I went to see it with Jeff and Dawn Fine while I was in Connecticut. If you haven’t seen the movie, it was really good. It is out on DVD now, so you can get it and watch it at home if you’d like. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make this meeting because Gus had the day off and he and I took a drive into Boston to go to the Boston Museum of Fine Art. We came home earlier than expected, so I was able to go after all.

 Kathie and Greg Miller

Greg is a really nice and friendly guy and was very patient with everyone who wanted to have their picture taken with him. He is an excellent speaker and a good story teller. He told us how he became a birder in the first place, about doing his Big Year, and about how his life became the subject of first a book and then a movie. At the end when he let us ask questions most people wanted to know how reality and the movie differed. When he was telling us his story he told us how after his Big Year it was discovered that he had leukemia. He told us how that affected him and his life, but he never told us how it all turned out. So, I raised my hand and asked him myself. With a Big Smile he told us that his doctors now consider him cancer free! Yes, birds and birding are very good and for me they help make any dark day brighter, but I must confess that I was very happy to hear that at least for now, he has beaten cancer.

Greg and Diana Frugulietti

I wish you well Greg Miller! Keep on smiling and watching those birds!

My World at the Moment

My world at the moment consists of walking with a cane and resting often. I spend most of my time in bed or a chair, yet I still must see the birds. This morning I woke around 7:30 a.m to watch the birds gathering at my Mother's backyard feeders. It is another gray day here. I see the slate sky foggy and soft over the vacant lot behind her house. Almost all the trees have leafed out, but a few are still in the budding stage. I wish I knew what species they were.

The cardinals seem to be the first birds to come to the feeder in the morning, along the robins, catbirds, and house sparrows. Last night at dusk the chimney swifts flew, batlike and chattering over the rooftops. I wanted to join their flight! This afternoon I went outside with my mother and we cleaned out her fountain and got it running again for the year. It looks like and old millstone and I love to sit by the thing at her table and watch birds. Now that she has moved one of her feeders to the backyard this will be even easier. Along with the gray squirrels who live abundantly in her yard there is also a very chubby and well fed woodchuck that lives under the garage. I saw him yesterday and again later on in the afternoon. He looks like a fat and pokey old man, though he could be a girl I suppose.

We get the fountain clean and full and sit down in our chairs to relax. I have my books and bins around me and am ready for a pleasant afternoon when suddenly a few drops of rain start to fall. I look above at the dark woolly sky and hope it is only a brief shower, but then the heavens open wide and dump their swollen waters down on us. We grab our things and bolt for the house as fast as we can. Soon I hear rumbles of thunder. This now becomes a perfect day for a cup of tea and a good book. I am currently reading Bernd Heinrich's A Year in the Maine Woods. Soon I am lost in the forest with deer and ravens and snow. Soon I am lulled to sleep by the rain. Not a bad way to spend my day after all, but I do want to get out and see some more birds!

All of this turmoil and confinement has inspired me to write more poetry, so if you are interested, stop by Kathie's Poet Tree and take a peek!

Love my new Crossley ID Guide!

Ever since I first heard of this book I have been coveting it. A month ago I finally got my hands on a copy and I must say that I just love it! The Crossley ID Guide to Eastern Birds by Richard Crossley is a whole new approach to bird guides. I like how each species is displayed in an illustration showing the bird’s most likely habitat. I also like that he shows you several views of the bird from different angles and in different plumages where this applies. While the book is large and not something that I would ever take out to the field with me, it is something to have on hand at home where you can compare your photos and field notes with what you saw in the field or in the yard. Beneath each illustration is a description of the bird as well as the four letter alpha code which many bird guides lack. For someone who is just learning these codes it is hugely useful and convenient.

Each entry also has the range maps for the species. I really appreciate this especially since I have just moved back east and need to learn all my warblers! I have already consulted the guide several times as new migrants come it. I used the guide earlier this week to identify a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk that flew into the yard and landed in a tree. One detail I noticed about the hawk was the way it looked like it was furrowing its brow in deep thought. When I consulted the guide Crossley mentioned in his description that, on juvenile birds, “pale areas above and below eyes give studious look.” This description clinched the ID for me! Plus, his illustration matched what I saw and what I photographed.

At the beginning of the guide are pages with all the bird species laid out in photos that compare relative size, which I feel is a useful feature. If I have one criticism, other than size, it is that he does not include wingspan along with length on bird species where it would be appropriate, like eagles, hawks, geese and swans. I find this kind of information useful especially where teaching children about birds and it would be nice to have it readily available at your fingertips. But, overall, I would say that this has become one of my favorite books and a go to guide as I learn all my eastern migrants.

Though the size of the book its large, it is also what makes the illustrations so beautiful and so useful. If it were any smaller the visual impact would not be the same. With that being said, you are very likely to see me sitting outside on my back porch with book in hand and binoculars and camera nearby as I wait. Come on warblers! I am ready for you!

Check out the Crossley ID Guide for yourself!

Update: Hawk finds Help from A Place Called Hope

Sharp-shinned Hawk in Corona de Tucson, AZ (from my archives)

 

Last week I posted the story of the attempted rescue of a possibly injured hawk along route 85 south of Colchester, CT. My sister spotted the bird on her way home from work and called me to ask what to do. This started  a 3 hour vigil to find help for this hawk and ended with Todd Selecki of A Place Called Hope coming to the rescue. In those 3 hours I sat at my computer in Massachusetts searching the internet and reaching out for help to the birding community. You can read the whole story of the Hawk Rescue Attempt here but here is the update in Todd’s own words. I asked his permission to post his email response when I inquired about what type of hawk it was, since my sister is not (yet) a birder. Here is what Todd had to say:

This was a Sharp Shinned Hawk, most likely female due to it's size.  Females are always larger than males in the world of Birds of Prey.  When I arrived the bird had flown off.  After the Police Officer and I searched the area for about twenty minutes, we located her in a thicket of briars.  She was hunkered down and did not appear to have any visible injuries. Do you happen to know if your sister was able to get close enough to see any obvious trauma?  We then chased her out of the thicket and she took flight (quite well) about three feet off the ground moving very fast. She flew off into a near by Pine Grove.  It was at this point that we lost her and then spent another hour searching.  We unfortunately could not locate her. 

 

Our best guess is that she must be ok since she was able to fly and maneuver through the tree branches.  She may have been stunned and in the amount of time that it took for me to arrive, she had shaken it off.  The Police Officer was very helpful as he spent a good amount of time invested in this "rescue".  I am sorry I was not able to capture her to look her over to be 100% sure that she was ok.  I will say that she looked good and showed no sign of broken bones.  That being said, I can only hope that she will survive the incident with no lingering issues. 

 

All of us at A Place Called Hope appreciate concerned passerby's such as your sister, who took the time out of her day to make those endless calls. One of the calls she made was to Grace Krick, who is our Vice President.  Both Christine and Grace were unavailable and that is how I got the call.  We try to work together to make every effort to rescue those in need.  Unfortunately, there are not many Wildlife Rehabilitators due to the fact that the economy is so bad and the state does not fund our efforts.  Most of us have day jobs and must work around work schedules.  I am happy that I was able to go out on the call, but disappointed that I was unable to secure the Sharpie.

 

Thank you for linking our web site to your blog.  We appreciate your support.  Please tell your sister that we appreciate all she went through in trying to get help.  We know how frustrating those calls can be.  Especially on a weekday morning!

 

Sincerely,

 

Todd

I hope as you read this story that you will consider donating to A Place Called Hope or a raptor rehabber near you. These people are the only ones out there who can legally help these birds. However, the task is often overwhelming, as you can read in Susie Gilbert’s book on the subject, Flyaway. I contacted Suzie during this ordeal and she tried her best to help me from her location in Upstate NY. I will say once again, Thank you to everyone who helped or even tried to help this hawk. I can only hope she is flying wild and free in the forest and fields of Connecticut.

Hawk Rescue Attempt

MG in Ghost Run 11-6-10

 

I often wonder if my life has any meaning, if my being here really makes a difference. This morning I am awakened by the sound of the phone ringing next to my head. My cats are curled up warm next to me. Gus has already left for work. I  move the cats out  of the way and reach over groggily for the phone. From the caller ID, I see that it is my sister calling me. I answer the phone. I hear her excited voice in my sleepy ear. “Kathie, do you know anyone who can help an injured hawk?" I’m sitting here on the side of Rt. 85 looking at this injured hawk!”

 

Now, you need to realize that my sister is in Connecticut and I am in Massachusetts. She proceeds to tell me she has been sitting there for 10 to 20 minutes already and the bird has hardly moved. It was on the side of the road at first, but then flew feebly into the lower branches of a hemlock or spruce tree about 2 feet off the ground. My sleepy brain is trying to think as I walk toward the front of the house and turn my computer on. Who to call? Who can help? From previous experience, I know this is not going to be quick or easy. I tell her to call the non-emergency number of the local police or the Department of Fish and game. Meanwhile, I am getting ready to do research on the internet.

 

Still in my nightgown and with no breakfast, I Google CT Wildlife Rehabbers. I start texting names and numbers to her. She starts calling numbers. Meanwhile, I think of Suzie Gilbert and her book, Flyaway that I did a book review of last year. She is a raptor rehabilitator and also my friend on Facebook, so I go to her page and leave her a message. Finally, I realize I should put this message out on my Facebook wall. Perhaps someone there can help. so, I share a note as my status update.

 

Meanwhile, MG has now been sitting there for almost an hour with no one answering their phones. She has left messages all over the place but so far no one has called her back. She is still watching the hawk which she describes as looking like a “dirty ball of snow.” I am trying to figure out what hawk this could be and all I can think is that it is a Northern Goshawk.

 

Help and suggestions start to pour in. Susie Gilbert sends me some info. Dawn Fine offers to Tweet it out. Loralea Kirby sends me a list of rescuers and rehabbers. Then, MG calls me to tell me an off duty CT State Trooper has stopped and offered to help! Later on we learn he is Sergeant Martinez.

MG has now been there for an hour and a half. The officer offers to stay with the bird until someone comes to help.He calls the Department of Environmental Protection.  Meanwhile MG has to leave as she drives a school bus and needs to go for her noontime run. There are kindergarteners to pick up and drop off. She stops briefly at home where she gets a call from one rehabber whose name I got off the internet list. This rehabber tells her that she no longer does rescue and rehab because it soon took over her life and she was not able to keep up with the demand. Sadly, she also informs MG that most raptor rehabbers only want to help the rare birds and have no interest in helping the Common Red-tailed hawk! I am shocked to learn this. How great the need must be for Raptor Rehabbers!

 

When M.G. leaves for her bus run she passes the officer again. He informs her that Todd Selecki of A Place Called Hope is on his way and he will stay until Todd arrives. Later she calls me with an update saying the officer called her and told her that when they tried to capture the hawk it still had enough strength to fly away into the woods and they were unable to capture it. He gave MG Todd’s name and number, which was also one of the numbers I had texted her hours ago. Since she passes this location on a regular basis, she can call Todd if she sees it there again.

 

So, all of this drama started for me around 9 a.m. By now it is noontime and I am still in my nightgown, still haven’t eaten, still haven’t fed my cats. As I walk away to take care of all of those things I am struck by how many people got involved to try to save one poor hawk on the roadside in Connecticut.

 

I want to give a huge Shout Out and Thank You to the following people. This incident has taught me numerous things: our lives do matter and I belong to an amazing group of people called birders who have huge hearts and are always willing to help not only a bird, but a friend in need! And, I want to thank my sister, MG also. She did not have to stop and help this bird, but because she loves me and she knows I love the birds, she did. She used her precious time and energy to try to save a wounded hawk. My sister is a runner, and these photos are from The Ghost Run she did last fall on the Airline Trail in Connecticut. While she did not “win” that race, she is certainly a winner in my heart!

 

Thank You Sergeant Martinez of the CT State Troopers for all of your help! (He stayed with the bird for 2 hours!)

 

Thank You Fellow Bird Lovers:

• Susie Gilbert
• Suzie Gilbert’s blog
• Loralea Kirby
• Dawn Simmons Fine
• A Place Called Hope

Please consider donating to any of these Raptor Rehabilitators. The need is so great! Time, money and supplies are all needed. Go to their websites for more info or Google one in your home state!

 

And to my dear sister, Keep on running!!!

MG, my sister, my friend (#1581)!

 

Note: if there are any updates on this hawk I will post it on my blog and Facebook page! We think it was a Northern Goshawk.

Update: It was not a goshawk. It was a sharp-shinned! Read Update: Hawk Finds Help from a Place Called Hope