Ornithology and Birding

Blogging has been a very different writing experience in different ways. I think the purpose of the activity was to expose us to a new form of writing. The chief differences I noticed were how easy it is to read others work and learn from it and write about what you want. It is amazing how much more open people are to writing when the topic interests them. In other words, the blogging environment is wonderful for developing writing skills because it makes changes easier. The other advantage a blog has is the sharing feature. You can receive feedback from a variety of people. I think Ms. Rumford wanted to work on blogs because they made it easier to bring out our writing style, express our writing skills, and learn from others’ writing.

I remember many a writing assignment that I looked at and thought, “This isn’t me.” I didn’t like being checked off for writing I considered foreign. With blogs, it was different. I could always – not sometimes, always – present something that was my voice in text. It has helped me find my true voice, something I hope to be able to use in other assignments. Another thing I accomplished through the blogs was experiencing the Web 2.0 phenomenon – the ability to share and create information that is visible worldwide. It was always enjoyable seeing dots on my ClustrMap, but I didn’t always understand how important the concept was. People from around the world were learning from my work. As I type, more and more people are getting involved in this phenomenon. I think it is important that I became a part of it. This is a big, inevitable change, and you don’t want to get left behind.

I don’t think I learned very many new concepts through blogging. I had already participated in Web 2.0 in Computer Exploration. I had used a personal blog of sorts. So the biggest lessons I had were in writing. I think the most important of these was smooth transitions. I never really noticed my writing didn’t flow very well, but when I was advised to work on my transitions, it improved my writing exponentially. Another important lesson I learned was about word choice. I had to work a little harder to include good words! I now know that I have to analyze every aspect of my writing if possible before turning it in.

The weekly requirements definitely helped me learn. When I think about it, this class has been more of analyzing reading than writing. This is not to say that we didn’t write; it’s just that we did more reading. In blogs, we got to focus on important skills. It was nice to be able to analyze each part of good writing, one step at a time. Each requirement left a sort of imprint on me, encouraging me to work on that aspect in each blog. When a birder makes an amazing spot of a camouflaged bird or an on-the-dot identification, a common question is, “How did you do that?” The common answer is, “I know what to look for.” Now I know what to look for in good writing, and can use that in my own.

When I first thought about how this experience would help me in the future, I could not think of more than writing classes. I am sure my writing will improve thanks to the emphasis on individual writing traits. However, I think this activity will help me in all classes and in a job. I will pay you a million dollars if you can find a job that does not require pencil and paper. No more “See Spot run” quality writing for me. With the writing skills I learned, my writing will be more impressive and I have a better chance of being successful in life.

If you are reading this article, you probably have some kind of interest in birds, and that interest has triggered some action on your part. Maybe you are an avid birder, traveling far and wide to add birds to your life list. But more likely, you are a person who enjoys watching the sparrows feed their chicks outside, tries to identify the birds you see out the kitchen window, or simply on occasion stops a few seconds to listen to the gurgling call of a White-eared Bulbul. The question I am trying to answer here, through a personal, non-scientific viewpoint, is why we do so.
As humans, we have an unconscious desire to connect with nature in some way. This does not mean reading the science section in the newspaper or owning a pet cat or dog. I am talking about the wild, something that is very foreign to we who live in civilization. Birds are the most obvious wild animals; they often react to their surroundings and behave in wild ways. Because they are so readily seen and heard compared to most other animals, that wild part of us causes us to react when a bird is detected, often with no more than a thought but sometimes triggering an hour of observation. You may not notice it, but that wild part of you is quite dominant; you are just as or even more likely to talk about the mynah that called loudly from your windowsill this morning than the porcelain dish you dropped and broke, even though the dish caused a larger reaction than the bird.
Another reason we watch birds is because they command our eyes and ears. It is hard to tear your eyes off the striking green plumage of the local Ring-necked Parakeets if not rushing for the digital camera that you may even keep nearby for such occasions. The brash call of the Common Mynah is hard to ignore as the bird advertises its presence to nearby individuals. If you have ever seen or heard a woodpecker drumming, you were probably fascinated the first time you heard the machine-gun speed rapping. Birds are there, and quite simply, we notice them, much in the way some of us are inclined to turn on the computer for no other reason than its presence.
I have noticed a third reason that is prevalent once we have established a relationship with birds. As we see birds over and over again, we begin to connect them to our lives as indicators. Most often, we can connect birds to the time of day. When I lived in Virginia, each day as the sun went down, Mourning Doves would fly in, one by one, to perch together on the power lines. Why they did this I do not know; but I began connecting this behavior with the late afternoon. If you wake up early, the real early risers, the birds, might be your alarm clock. Birders can connect birds to other birds. In North America, a group of agitated songbirds often indicates a roosting owl or hawk. Even explorers of centuries past used birds as guides; their presence meant land was nearby. It’s hard to imagine life without birds. Think about what you wouldn’t notice.
Although these are what I believe to be the three main reasons birds rarely avoid our eyes and ears, there is a fourth that I don’t think I can leave out. That fourth reason is that they fly. The whole concept of flight is still so foreign to us, living on the air rather than on the ground. We express this all the time. One good example is how young humans often enjoy climbing trees. The sense of being higher and seeing more than others that this makes us feel is no match for the birds, the pioneers of the air, free travelers on the wind.

Image: http://knol.google.com/k/uses-for-binoculars-and-telescopes

If you see a starling-sized, seemingly neckless bird cryptically perched on a tree branch, old wall, or even apartment gutter staring curiously at you with big yellow eyes, you might be staring at a Little Owl. This adorable bird’s plumages are just as varied as the environments it lives in! There are thirteen recognized subspecies of this owl, and the one photographed above is of the light desert variation, lilith. One thing all the subspecies share is a taste for insects and small mammals. All Little Owls share a general plumage form, brown and covered in spots. They also have ‘eyebrows’ that give them an exaggerated stern facial expression. Another similarity is the call. The Little Owl may be the Eastern Hemisphere’s ‘hoot owl,’ whose everyday dialogue is a repeated loud ‘hoo.’ However, it is a different story if the male owl is trying to call in a potential mate; the bird sounds off a mellow ‘gooek’ that gradually rises in pitch. You are lucky if you manage to experience this spectacle; like most owl displays, they occur at night and rarely as well. Even though you might not see the display during daytime, you are likely to see the Little Owl itself; it defies stereotypes by being partially diurnal, or active during the daytime. Maybe it likes the warmth the sun provides, unlike most of its cousins who don’t seem to enjoy the light the sun provides.

The Little Owl also finds its place in human culture. It is one of a few owls that may be found in a human city. The Little Owl has been introduced to Great Britain and more recently, New Zealand. In Great Britain it is almost considered a native bird. It is also notable for its place in Greek mythology. The owl is a bird sacred to the Greek god Athena as a symbol of wisdom, and the bird that appears on coins and sculptures of Athena’s owl is the Little Owl. This also explains the name of the genus that the Little Owl belongs to, Athene. Unfortunately, the owl may look wise but it is in reality among the least intelligent of birds. Like most birds, its two instincts are finding food and finding a mate. If the owl succeeds in mating, it will make a nest in a tree hole or a rock crevice. There, the female will incubate three to five eggs for about a month, and the young will fledge in another month. Of course, there aren’t many trees in the big city, so city owls will readily take special nest boxes. Young Little Owls don’t look so different from adults, except for the paler plumage and brownish rather than white spotting. Everything else about the juvenile and adults is the same. The age of the yellow eyes staring back at you doesn’t matter that much. It’s an owl, more secretive than almost any other group of birds. It’s a Little Owl, a bird that has graced you with a daytime appearance. Quiet. Watch.