I and the Bird #78 – Summertime Birding Adventures

Summer time and the living is easy — for teachers.  We teachers just spend the summer kicking back, eating bonbons, and getting pedicures.  So, of course, I volunteered to host I and the Bird in the summertime.  Sure, I’m busy with sipping my ice cold iced tea by the cabana but I figured I could squeeze it in between reading that great summertime novel and supervising the pool boy.

And now, back to reality.  Sure it’s summer and I’m not working but my two kids need a chauffeur, my husband expects to be fed regularly, my house is a disaster area, I’ve got to plan for next year’s batch of kids, kitchen/dining room remodel isn’t finished, the backyard landscaping has been designated for me to manage, and did I mention my house is a disaster?  I know:  whine, whine, whine.

Yes, I do have the summer off and yes, I am enjoying it to the fullest.  Still, I’m not above taking a shortcut here or there.  So, when I learned about Wordle, I was ecstatic.  This is great, I thought, now I don’t have to be clever and come up with a witty theme for I and the Bird #78.  I can kick back, relax, and let  Wordle to the work for me.  (Maybe I can squeeze in a pedicure, after all!)

So,  Wordle works like this:  you take some text (like, say a whole bunch of posts about birds submitted to the world’s favorite birding carnival!) and you tell  Wordle to make it pretty.  And, it does.  You can fiddle with the fonts and colors until you are happy with it and bob’s your uncle (or something like that!).   Wordle is a free service and comes with no strings (that I’ve been able to see!).  You can take your  Wordle results and use them as you will — make t-shirts, make postcards and send them to all your friends and relatives, needlepoint a pillow for your Aunt Clementine, sell them on street corners, or whatever.  That’s pretty cool.  They’ll even let you use them to illustrate a Blog Carnival!  🙂  Oh, and rest assured I have absolutely no affiliation whatsoever with Wordle except that I think it’s pretty cool and I read the FAQ which is how I know all that stuff.

But, without words, Wordle art is a picture of a polar bear looking the other way in a snow storm (as my unartistic 5th graders used to say to me while staring at a blank piece of paper).  So, I am extremely grateful to the contributors to this edition of I and the Bird. You’ve seen their words as art — now go read their posts — see if you can figure out who contributed which words.

IATB #78’s Hard-working Contributors:

• Jeff @ Ecobirder
  Yellowstone Raptors
  Love raptors?  Click and read about some very cool raptors in Yellowstone!  Warning:  no mention at all of bears stealing picanic baskets.
• Laura @ Somewhere in NJ
  Straight Out of the Field Guide
  Every birder dreams of seeing a bird doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing — it makes them soooo much easier to recognize when they do that!  Laura got lucky in North Dakota!
• Mary @ Mary’s Corner of the World
  Snowy Egrets at Palo Alto Baylands
  Great pics of the oh-so-showy Snowy Egret
• Jeff @ Boreal Bird Song Initiative
  Sex and the (Bird) City
  As if you aren’t going to click on that one no matter what I write about it.  Go on then, we’ll wait for you.
• Y C @ Bird Ecology Study Group Blog
  Injured Purple Heron: Seven Months On
  Amazing report on how a seriously injured bird is surviving its injuries
• Sheri @ Life, Birds, and Everything
  The Tragic Tale of the Quelili
  No jokes about this one — just go read it and weep.
• The Ridger @ The Greenbelt
  Make Way for Ducklings
  When good ducks go wrong . . .
• Carel @ Rigor Vitae
  What Do Fish Eagles Eat Anyway?
  Well, one might imagine they eat fish but one would be surprised!
• Duncan @  Ben Cruachan Blog
  That’s A Laugh
  A hilarious report on a funny bird.
• Beverly @ Behind the Bins
  Rail Tale
  Beverly comes out from behind her bins to talk about a bird I’d like to see one day
• Seabrook @ The Marvelous in Nature
  Home Among the Colewort
  Homey bird with a very cool nestbox!
• Robin Andrea @ New Dharma Bums
  Our Local Bird Sanctuaries
  Sometimes nice things happen to really nice people — who really appreciate their luck!
• David @ Search & Sensibility
  Kagu Mania
  I do most of my birding in my own backyard — lots of Chickadees, people!  David isn’t like me — he’s daring and adventurous and willing to camp in the rain.  But, it pays off!
• Susannah @ Wanderin’ Weeta
  Daddy is a Show-Off
  Who’s Your Daddy?  Oh, he’s the show-off over there!
• Cindy @ Woodsong | Off the Beaten Path
  Singing a Consolation Song
  Sometimes a consolation prize is all you get and sometimes that’s really, really okay!
• Liza @ It’s Just Me
  A Nice Walk in the Woods
  Warning:  Cameras and exercise are incompatible!
• Mike @ 10,000 Birds
  Green Herons and their Groovy Necks
  Green Heron necks ARE groovy.  After you read this post, promise to go through your photo collection and share great Green Heron shots with Mike!

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Can you believe the third anniversary of I and the Bird is here already? Three years of the best bird blogging on the planet deserves something special so instead of talking about birds (boring!) let’s talk about ourselves! For the first anniversary, Mike asked everyone to write about why they bird, blog, and/or blog about birds. For the second anniversary, he urged everyone to summarize why their blogs were must-read material. After all this time, Mike has another question, one that he hopes the hundreds of contributors we’ve had over the years will consider and confront: Why are you still bird blogging? Don’t take this question the wrong way! We want to know what wonderful experiences/insights/interactions bird blogging has rendered unto you over your weeks, months, or years of micropublishing.

What makes this anniversary edition of IATB even more exciting is that it’s being hosted by Charlie Moores, the second-ever host of our favorite blog carnival and someone who helped shape this collaboration from the very beginning.  So write a post on your blog tackling this pointed question by Tuesday, July 5 and send your link to Mike (mike AT 10000birds DOT com) or Charlie (charlie10000birds AT googlemail DOT com) for the July 7 edition.

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They are at it again . . . .

. . . or more proof that I will do anything to get a free book.  Well, a free GOOD book . . . about birds!

10,000 Birds is giving away an amazing book called The Life of the Skies.  All you have to do is a) promote their giveaway (check!) and/or submit a drawing or photo of a bird in flight (hmmmm!).  I am wondering if anywhere in the 45,000 photos I took this week in San Diego did I get any birds in flight?  Probably not because I’m sick to death of taking shots of blue sky.  But, hey, I’ll check . . . I must have a photo of a raven in flight SOMEWHERE!!!  🙂  Go visit and enter the contest. But, I’ll win.  I always win!  Always.  Always.  Always.  🙂  (Now that I’ve doomed myself to failure by bragging unnecessarily, I’ll go back to uploading the 3 GB of pics I took on my trip! )

PS.  Yes, we’re home safe and sound.  Details (3 GB worth!) to follow!   

Did you vote yet?

Over at 10,000 Birds, the polls are open in their essay contest. I voted . . . have you? Guess who I voted for . . . .

And, while I’m talking about the guys at 10,000 Birds, I’d like to thank them one more time for having this amazing contest, for giving away the fantastic prize of the Bird:  The Definitive Visual Guide books, and, most of all, for choosing to give one to me!

I got it in the mail last week.  It was when I was sick with a nasty cold (that I still have, by the way) and I spent a lovely couple of hours perusing it on my couch, wrapped up in my down blankie, sipping hot lemon tea with honey.  I can’t think of a better way to be home sick, honestly.

The book is really wonderful.  The pictures are fabulous.  The information interesting.  It is not a field guide by any means.   It’s one of those general knowledge books — filled with facts and insights.  It is like a box of chocolates (to coin a phrase) and I thoroughly enjoyed nibbling and I felt like I didn’t have to share it with anyone!

It’s such a great book that I think I’m going to put one on my wishlist for my classroom — truly a wonderful book for kids to learn about birds!

Thank you so much to Mike, Charlie, and Corey.  What an amazing job you guys do at birding, spreading awareness of birds, and building a community.  So, go read all the essays and vote, vote, vote!

I won one!

I can’t quite believe it. I still think it might be a hoax. I am clearly, without a doubt, the luckiest birdy blogger on the planet. Mike at 10,000 birds emailed to let me know that I am a winner! I won a copy of Bird, The Definitive Visual Guide for my report on my favorite birding locale — Elkhorn Slough. It’s not enough that he referred to me as a ‘great birding blogger’ but then I win too! I’m floored and so thrilled. That book looks utterly delicious! I can’t wait to get it. Huge thanks to Mike and the rest of the 10,000 Birds team — you put out a fabulous blog with a powerful message, with warm hearts, with loads of fantastic birds, with an amazing carnival (i and the bird) and with phenomenal PRIZES, too!

If you want to buy this book, click above. The proceeds will go to 10,000 Birds!