Feb 13

Wild Birds Unlimited Participates in IFA’s Franchising Gives Back.

By Margaret Collins WBU Business Leave a Comment »

Paul Pickett, Wild Birds Unlimited vice president of Franchise Development, represented the nature specialty store last week at International Franchise Association (IFA) launch of Franchising Gives Back in Orlando, FL. Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc. also donated a bird feeding station from the local Winter Springs store to the project.

More than 100 franchisees and franchise executives spent several hours Friday, February 10th, volunteering at the Orlando Health and Rehabilitation Center. The project consisted of constructing an outdoor park which included laying mulch, planting shrubs, building benches and garden boxes. In addition, participants spread gravel and laid thousands of pounds of concrete to create a walking and wheelchair path.

“I couldn’t pass up this wonderful opportunity which will enable residents to get outside and connect with nature,” said Paul Pickett. “It is our mission to bring people and nature together, and this was a great way to do just that”, Pickett added.

The IFA is the oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. The IFA’s mission is to protect, enhance and promote franchising through government relations, public relations and educational programs.

Orlando Health and Rehabilitation Center Orlando Health & Rehabilitation Center has been serving the greater Orlando area for over 48 years.

Wild Birds Unlimited is the original and largest franchise system of backyard bird feeding and nature specialty stores with more than 275 locations throughout the United States and Canada. Wild Birds Unlimited specializes in bringing people and nature together with bird feeding and nature products, expert advice and educational events. Visit our Web site and shop online at www.wbu.com. To learn how you can open your own Wild Birds Unlimited, visit www.wbufranchise.com.

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Feb 09

Help Build a Futuristic ID Tool

By Brian Cunningham Strategic Partnerships Leave a Comment »

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is at it again. They are making learning about birds a bit easier by creating an interactive, online bird ID tool called “Merlin.”

You can play an important part in developing this valuable identification tool by helping make Merlin smarter. All you have to do is participate in one or both of the following activities: Mark My Bird and Bird Color Challenge.

Mark My Bird is an activity where your answers help teach Merlin how people view birds. You’ll answer a total of 18 questions about a randomly chosen bird species. Things like the general size, bill length, body part location, coloration and more. It’s really simple and all about your opinions; so, there are no wrong answers. You can “play” again and again being given different species to help build this futuristic ID tool!

Bird Color Challenge is the other activity you can try. It is designed to help teach Merlin how you and others perceive colors on a bird to solve future bird ID questions.

The color challenge is a very quick activity with no wrong answers. You have five seconds to see a bird and then a screen pops up asking you to describe the colors that you saw. It doesn’t matter if you know the bird. Merlin is interested in what colors you see as most prominent.

Then something really neat happens. You get to see how your perception compares to the current tally of answers.

Check out the results of the Lesser Goldfinch when I took the color challenge. It is pictured below. There are certainly black, white and yellow colorations on the bird. But, how would you describe the other color? The results show it seen as gray, olive, brown or green.


Further complexity in describing coloration can be seen with the Great Horned Owl pictured below. I see black, white, gray and orange. What colors do you see?

From the results charts below, it is apparent people see many different colors in this owl. The crazy part is, you can only choose up to three prominent colors with this activity. You can see how varied the responses were.

It is fascinating to see how others perceive color on a bird. Hopefully, Merlin is “learning” well and will be able to find a distinguishable, helpful pattern.

So, go ahead. Play along with the two activities and help Merlin “learn” how we all ID birds. Click the link, http://www.allaboutbirds.org/labs/ to get started.

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Feb 14

Valentines Day is for the Birds!

By John Schaust American Goldfinches, Birds, Bluebirds, Courtship, European Starlings, Sparrows, Woodpeckers 1 Comment »

If you believe in folklore, then Valentine’s Day has been about the birds since the very beginning!

In a practice dating back to the ancient Romans and Greeks, the flight patterns, songs and behavior of birds were used as a basis for divining the future and their meanings were often interpreted as prophecies about love and relationships.

But it doesn’t stop here.

Medieval folklore says that birds choose their mates on February 14, so it was a natural conclusion to choose the same date for our own celebration of love and fidelity.

As this folklore evolved, it came to dictate that the first bird an unmarried woman sees on Valentine’s Day would provide an omen as to her future husband’s character.

So, if you wake up on Valentine’s Day and want to stack the deck in your favor, just make sure you find the correct bird from the listed below in order to “guarantee” the partner of your dreams:

• If you want a wealthy partner then see a goldfinch first.
• Seeing a swan first foretells finding a loyal and lifelong partner.
• A bird of prey means living with a politician or leader.
• Your partner will always return home if you see a pigeon.
• A blackbird signals a clergy member in your future.
• See a sparrow and a life on the farm is headed your way.
• Want to travel with your partner? See a gull first!
• A bluebird means a fun and happy partner will come your way.
• Not in to commitment? Then a woodpecker or crow means a relationship or marriage will have to wait another year.

Whatever bird you see first, it is sure to foretell that you are a person that loves nature and that birds will be a part of your future for years to come and that is always a good omen!

Have a Happy Valentines Day!

Feb 08

How to Better Identify Birds for GBBC

By Brian Cunningham Bird ID, Events, Great Backyard Bird Count Leave a Comment »

The 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is almost here; February 17-20, 2012. Participation is easy, fun and free.

As a GBBC participant, you may see birds you don’t know. To identify lesser-known birds, practice answering the following questions, looking at a bird from the top down. Use the numbers on the Song Sparrow pictured above for practice.

1. Silhouette
Look at the bird’s overall size, shape and posture. Is it the size of something familiar like a sparrow, robin or crow?

2. Head Markings
Does the bird have a colorful or striped cap, also known as a crown? Is there a stripe above or through the eye; does it have an eye ring or “spectacles?” Look for cheek patches or a mustache. Is there a white throat patch?

3. Body Markings
What are the overall back, breast and belly colors? What’s on the chest: a patch, spots, streaks or is it clear? Are the flanks (sides of body just below the wings) clear or streaked? Is there a white or yellow rump patch?

4. Wing Markings
Are the wings a different color than the body? Are there one or two wing bars (solid lines of color) or spots?

5. Tail Shape and Markings
Is the tail long or short compared to the body? Is it forked, squared, pointed or another shape? Are there certain colors or vertical or horizontal stripes?

Using these tips will help you quickly gather all the clues you need to positively identify birds during GBBC.

So, grab your favorite bird identification guide and invite a friend to join you in the fun of counting the birds for science.

Learn how GBBC helps scientists, especially this year, by clicking here. Learn all the details of how to participate at www.birdcount.org.

Where will you be counting the birds and who will be joining you for this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count?

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Feb 03

Great Backyard Bird Count – Great Timing!

By John Schaust American Robin, Birds, European Starlings, Events, Great Backyard Bird Count, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal Leave a Comment »

OK…let’s be honest, things have been a little slow at my feeders this winter.

Apparently I am not alone! Anecdotal reports from much of North America seem to paint a similar picture of less than stellar activity.

Why?

At this point we can only speculate; but, there are a couple of prime suspects: an incredibly mild winter, a bumper crop of natural foods produced during last year’s growing season and the almost total lack of a southward movement by the “winter finches” out of northern Canada.

It is all speculation at this time, but this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) looks to be perfectly timed to help bring some factual answers to the question, “Where are all my birds?”

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages and skill levels in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent.

The 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count will be held February 17-20, 2012. Participation is free, and everything you need is available online.

Last year’s count, which includes Canada and the United States, identified 596 species and tallied over 11.4 million individual birds. Citizen scientists like you submitted over 92,000 checklists for the four day count period.

While the European Starling was the most abundant species reported by GBBC participants at almost 1.4 million, the American Robin was a strong second with 1.04 million birds reported.

The Northern Cardinal appeared on the largest number of checklists – 45,709, which is almost half of all the checklists submitted, the Mourning Dove took second place.

Information like this will help ornithologist determine how this year’s weather and other factors are influencing the activity, movements and populations of birds throughout North America.

And you can help!
Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from novice bird watchers to experts. Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org.
You can find all the details on how to participate at the GBBC web site.

This event is coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Bird Studies Canada and I am proud to say that Wild Birds Unlimited has been the major corporate sponsors for the GBBC since its beginning.

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Jan 18

Owl Irruption

By Brian Cunningham Bird Irruption, Birds, Snowy Owl Leave a Comment »

When we get hungry, we head to the refrigerator or pantry. When the stock gets low we head to the grocery store. Birds, like owls, don’t have the luxury of the grocery store. When food sources are low, owls move to “greener” pastures. That is exactly what is happening this winter with Snowy Owls.

Snowy Owls live in the Arctic feasting on their mainstay food source of lemmings. Lemmings, in the rodent family, have been described as little sausages with legs. When there are not enough lemmings and other prey to feed the owl population then the owls irrupt southward looking for more abundant food source.

It seems there was an abundance of lemmings during the owls’ breeding season last spring. In response, the owls laid more eggs than usual and the newly hatched owlets thrived. With winter’s approach, it seems there was not enough food sources to feed the increased population of owls. This caused many Snowies to leave, or irrupt south, to find food.

Like other owls, Snowy Owls have very good eyesight and hearing for hunting. They eat small rodents and rabbits as well as small birds and waterfowl like ducks and grebes. They will even catch fish to eat. They mostly hunt from a perch sitting and waiting for prey.

The Snowy Owls are expected to start moving back to the Arctic breeding grounds in February. They have been seen as far south as Oklahoma. Be sure to find out if they are in your area. Click here to see a dynamic map of January sightings on eBird.org.

What birds have you seen lately that seem out of the ordinary?

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Jan 11

Living Lava Lamp

By Brian Cunningham Birds, European Starlings Leave a Comment »

Do you remember lava lamps? I would watch mesmerized by those globs of “lava” as they floated up and down elongating, twisting and eventually pulling back into tight balls. I still sit and watch mesmerized by these dynamic shapes; but, I do it outside watching flocks of starlings.

European Starlings gather in flocks in the winter. These flocks, called a murmuration, can be a dozen birds or a few thousand birds; which is quite impressive.

What is more impressive than the sheer size of the flocks is the singular, fluid movement as if the murmuration was one entity moving in singular purpose. Just like the lava in lava lamps.

Other blackbirds gather in large flocks as well; however, the movement is not fluid and it seems like they just randomly follow each other. So what makes starlings different?

A study in Europe unraveled the mystery with some extensive computer analysis. It was determined that each starling watches 7 others irrespective of distance. They don’t have to be right next to each other as long as they can still see one another somewhere in the flock. By watching other starlings, and keeping a minimum personal-space distance, it allows the murmuration to move as one.

Keeping an eye on seven buddies also answers why there are “tight balls” of birds that break off from the main flock so fluidly just like the “globs” in a lava lamp. When one bird peals away from the murmuration, others follow.

Where have you watched a living lava lamp lately?

Want to see a video of this in action? Click here to see a video that went viral last fall on YouTube that shows a great example of a murmuration in all its lava lamp glory.

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Jan 04

Whooo’s a Night Owl?

By Brian Cunningham Barred Owls, Bird Calls & Songs, Bird ID, Birds, Courtship, Great Horned Owl, Screech Owls 1 Comment »

Screech Owl

Barred Owl

Winter nights are such a wonderful time to walk in the woods. It is so peacefully quiet as if everything is asleep.

Then you hear it. Soft, deep calls. An owl is awake defending territory or courting its mate.

Winter is a perfect time to search for owls. Since there are no leaves on the trees, owls are easy to see and their calls carry quite far.

Great Horned Owls call with a soft, deep “Who’s Awake? Me too.” The males call out with the occasional reply by their mate.

Barred Owls can be energetic with their “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” But don’t be fooled. They also do a deep, drawn-out call that sounds like a descending “whooo-awww” or a cacophony of calls that can sound like monkeys.

Eastern Screech-Owls can be eerie with their soft, descending whinny call, kind of a like a whinnying horse. I love to hear their sustained tremolo call that seems to go on and on without a breath.

The Western Screech-Owl can be heard “who-ing” soft tremulous calls that descend like a ping pong ball settling on a table.

Owls live throughout North America. Use the links above (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds site) to see range maps to determine which owls live your area and to listen to their calls.

Look for Great Horned and Barred Owls on large tree branches. Look for Screech-Owls in tree knot-holes or on branches near tree trunks.

What owls have your seen or heard lately?

Dec 27

Changing Behavior

By Brian Cunningham American Goldfinches, American Robin, Birds, Juncos, Northern Cardinal Leave a Comment »

Just like we change some of our habits for winter, birds can behave very differently in winter compared to summer.

Each morning I wait with my youngest daughter at the bus stop. As the sun is pulling into the sky, without fail, flocks and flocks of American Robins fly overhead. They are leaving their overnight, congregational roost and heading out to feed together. Normally found alone or in pairs in the summer, it is easier to survive the winter in a group than on their own.

Individual territories are no longer being held by Northern Cardinals; they are flocking together for night-time roosting and day-time feeding parties. When it comes to visiting busy backyard feeders, they prefer to be the so-called “early birds” beating the morning rush. They also like to wait till the evening rush is over and be the last to visit backyard feeders.

Watching a flock of Dark-eyed Juncos at feeders is a fascinating business. Almost like a concentric ring of circles, each winter-flock of juncos has a dominance hierarchy. The adult males are often in the prime, center spot of a food source followed by juvenile males, then adult females and finally young females. This is why many female juncos travel farther south than most of the males; less competition for food.

American Goldfinches also have a dominance hierarchy; however, it changes between summer and winter. Female American Goldfinches are dominant over males in the summer (presumably because they do the nest building, egg laying and brooding) and appear to be subservient to males in the winter.

Take a closer look at bird behavior at your feeders this winter. What changes do you see?

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Dec 21

Being Inspired by the Next Generation

By Brian Cunningham Christmas Bird Count, Events Leave a Comment »

Have you ever tried to teach and inspire someone and end up being inspired yourself?

Last Saturday I taught a Bird Study merit badge class for Boy Scouts. Two of my Audubon friends helped me in conjunction with the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. We had a lot of fun; the boys participated and were very attentive.

There were 23 Boy Scouts who gave up a Saturday morning to learn about birds , were up early for two hours of classroom work and for two more hours of birding. They also braved the wintery cold and snow flurries to find and count birds; all of which were entered into the overall tally for the Christmas Bird Count.

As we wrapped up the class, I asked the boys to share their favorite parts of the morning.

A highlight for many of them was seeing a mature Bald Eagle “in the wild.”

One young Scout said, “I liked it when you played us the Brown Creeper’s call and one called back!” It was cool for them to see a Brown Creeper so close that they didn’t need to use their binoculars.

A boy, about 17 years old, was very intrigued to learn how birds can be an important indicator for the quality of an environment. Who knows? He may become an ornithologist because of his experience.

Such comments from the boys really touched and inspired me. They had a genuine interest in learning about the birds and nature around them. Who knows what it will lead to in their lives?

How have you been inspired by the next generation?

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