"Trees," he said, "are things that everyone sees every day."David Sibley, author of the well loved and easy to use Sibley guides to birds and birding, now offers us a way to easily identify the trees in our very own habitat.
..."he thought he could produce something more user-friendly than the existing guides whose methodology for tree identification involves a lengthy, frustrating sorting process... " "If you're out in the park and you notice from 100 feet away a tree with unusual flowers or an odd leaf shape or interesting bark, these books require you to walk up to the tree, take a twig in your hand and go through a series of steps," said Mr. Sibley. "It's at least five minutes until you come up with an answer. And immediately you lose sight of the whole tree and you lose sight of what attracted your attention in the first place. Taking a step back and looking at the whole tree, then looking at a few more trees and flipping through the pages of my book, you quickly start to see that all the maples have similarly shaped leaves and fruit and that all the oaks have acorns."
All the time Mr. Sibley was focused on trees, he kept his core constituency—birdwatchers—in mind. "I wanted to produce a guide you could use if you were looking through binoculars to a bird at the top of a tree, and you wanted to turn your attention to the tree without moving your binoculars."
From a review of the new The Sibley Guide to Trees. Article titled David Sibley's Habitat by Joanne Kaufman writing for the Wall Street Journal.
It goes on my wish list.
Sia
Art: Green Oak Leaf (Arts and Crafts style) tile by Carreaux Du Nord. You can see more of their work or buy their tiles at their website.
Every once in a while, we humans learn what we have done wrong and fix our mistakes. Here is one example of that: Farmers and cranes are learning to coexist in the Hula Valley Nature Reserve. (1) J. Issacson, writing for Arutz Travel notes that A unique beautiful park was recently opened in the Hula Valley...A combined effort of farmers, the Jewish National Fund, and nature conservationsts, the Hula Valley's newly reclaimed swamplands are now home to over 13,000 cranes from Siberia (Sia's note: recent surveys now put the number closer to 20,000)...In addition to feeding the cranes here, the Hula Valley has been reflooded - in effect to return the area to the swamp lands they once were. Now, an area that was until recently dry land, has ponds and streams. Ducks and geese are among the new inhabitants of the new park.
The battle to save both agricultural land, and to encourage migrating birds to winter in Israel, was achieved in a creative and cooperative effort. And we have gained a wonderful new park with lakes, waterways, a bird lookout tower, bicycle paths, and wonderful winged guests!
Crane Festivals:
If you live in the U.S and want to see cranes closer to home, try the Festival of Cranes in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. It takes place in November. Or visit one of the other crane festivals in Oregon, California and Arizona.
Crane Art, Jewelry and Gifts at the International Crane Foundation
Parents might enjoy the charming crane growth chart by artist Janet Flynn. M
any of her cards and prints are available through the International Crane Foundation. The ICF gift shop also offers crane art, jewelry, books, cards and gifts for sale. Check out their website and learn about the work they are doing to save cranes worldwide. Sia
Endnotes: (1)
A bit of history:For thousands of years ...
...the Hula Valley was an important resting place for birds migrating from Europe to Africa and back. Tens of thousands of birds found refuge in the pond and swamps. In addition, many species of rare fish and plants lived here, creating a wonderland of flora and fauna.
Immediately following the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, the government decided to drain the swamps and pond - which covered more than 15 thousand acres at the time - and convert them into agricultural fields. The task of draining the Hula Valley began in 1951. Scientists and nature lovers in Israel waged a vigorous battle to conserve at least part of the original landscape and eventually the government agreed to set aside 800 acres of the pond for a nature reserve. Officially declared in 1964, the Hula Valley Nature Reserve was the first nature reserve in Israel. Sadly, several species of flora and fauna have nonetheless disappeared from the Hula landscape.
Tens of thousand of birds, including cranes, storks, pelicans, cormorants, and several types of herons, make their homes in the reserve, enjoying life in the pond and the swamps. More than 200 species of water fowl flock to the reserve. The reserve - and indeed the entire Hula Valley - is blessed with abundant food supplies for these avian visitors The reserve is also a haven for rare water plants such as the lovely yellow iris. Buffalo were placed in selected parts of the reserve because their grazing helps preserve the open meadow.
The staff of the Hula Nature Reserve is involved in an effort to return certain bird species (such as the white-tailed eagle) to this area.
The reserve has lovely walking trails, including a "floating bridge" over the swamp, and special lookout points where visitors can observe the birds. The main path in the reserve is suitable for wheelchairs.
In the spring of 1994, another stage in the campaign to restore the Hula Valley was completed: the flooding of 250 acres of wasteland, located approximately two kilometers north of the Hula Nature Reserve. Because the wasteland had already sunk below its original level, it in any case flooded during every rainy winter. The intentional flooding of the wasteland improved the quality of the water in the Sea of Galilee. Now the water "rests" in the Hula Valley, giving the organic materials time to sink, whereas previously these substances flowed into the Sea of Galilee, polluting the water.
Art:
Flying Crane
"What is billed as the longest running wildlife census in the world, the annual Christmas Bird Count of the National Audubon Society, is to be conducted across much of the Western Hemisphere between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5.
This annual recreational tallying of bird species and numbers is a fine opportunity for newcomers to rub elbows during a day afield with seasoned naturalists and become quickly grounded in this popular pastime....
“Each of the citizen scientists who braves snow, ice, wind, or rain to take part in the Christmas Bird Count is making an enormous contribution to conservation,” said Geoff LeBaron, Audubon’s CBC director. “Counting is the first step in learning how environmental threats are affecting our birds, and in helping to protect them.”...
The Count began on Christmas Day, 1900, initiated by scientist-writer Frank Chapman and included 27 conservationists in 25 localities. Chapman’s idea was to create an alternative to the then-acceptable practice of the “side hunt,” in which teams tried to shoot the most birds and mammals....
Last year nearly 70 million birds were counted by a record number of participants, nearly 58,000. Counts were conducted in all 50 states, all the Canadian provinces, parts of Central America and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and some Pacific Islands."
- from Steve Pollick's article on the annual bird count for the Toledo Blade site. You can read the rest of the article here.
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Got birds?
Sia
Links:
Christmas Bird Count- Get Involved
Citizen Science
A Beginners Experience on the Christmas Bird Count
Gaia's Guardians
Art: Wizard of the Owls by Janny Wurts
She offers puzzles, cards and mugs via various vendors - see her website for more information.
