Loree Burns – Page 13

February 6, 2013April 25, 2015

Wednesday Wild: Focus on Feeders Edition

This past weekend, MassAudubon sponsored its annual Focus on Feeders bird census. My kids and I managed to spot fifteen species of birds over the course of the two days. Most were at our feeders, but a few, like the crows and the red-tailed hawk, just happened to be flying overhead while we were counting. I was thrilled that one of our resident red nuthatches showed up and posed for a photo, and completely stoked that my son Ben was ready with the camera. (If you are into birds, you can compare this red nut to the white-breasted cousin from this recent post.) Here’s our full species list:

American crow

American goldfinch

Black-capped chickadee

Blue jay

Dark-eyed junco

Downy woodpecker

House finch

Mourning dove

Northern cardinal

Red-bellied woodpecker

Red-breasted nuthatch

Tufted titmouse

White-breasted nuthatch

Red-tailed hawk

Don’t worry if you missed the fun; Great Backyard Bird Count is just two weeks away! I’ll be counting with kids from my local elementary school. How about you?

February 5, 2013April 25, 2015

Citizen Scientists news

The past few months have brought some nice accolades for CITIZEN SCIENTISTS, each of which makes me proud and very, very grateful. Thank you to the teachers, librarians, scientists, reviewers and children’s book lovers who make these awards happen …

It was awarded an AAAS/SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books (Hands-On Science category). You can read more about this award and all the 2013 finalists here.

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) named it an Orbis Pictus honor book. You can read about the Orbis Pictus winner, the Orbis Pictus honor books, and more NCTE Recommended titles here.

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) included it on their list of Outstanding Trade Books for Students K-12. Access the complete list here.

The New York Public Library included it on their 2013 list of 100 Titles for Reading & Sharing. You can see that complete list here.

February 4, 2013April 25, 2015

On Dolphins and Ocean Trash

Last week, Erica Zappy, the editor of my ‘Scientists in the Field’ books at Houghton Mifflin sent me and author Pamela S. Turner, a link to this video of a dolphin in distress approaching divers in Hawaii, apparently for help. “What to you guys make of this?” she asked.

Pam is an experienced scuba diver, and has just written a new SITF book, THE DOLPHINS OF SHARK BAY. This is what she had to say about the video.

I’ve written a book about ocean trash, and so my thoughts got a bit preachy. But I stand by them. How can the average at-home viewer do anything for that poor dolphin? By changing the way you think about plastic, by making tough decisions about when to use it. By getting real, refusing that plastic straw, and drinking your restaurant soda directly from a glass.

In a beautiful coincidence, I had an email over the weekend from a woman I’d never met, but who is doing work I admire. Sara Bayles has taken the ocean plastic issue into her own hands. Literally. For 365 non-consecutive days, twenty minutes at a time, she has cleaned thousands of pounds of trash off the beach near her home. And she has inspired people around the world to start doing the same thing. Visit Sara’s blog and her website and you are very likely to be inspired, too. In Sara’s words: “One person makes a difference. That one person is you. Together we are an unstoppable solution.”

Amen to that.

(A word on the photo: My friend Betty Jenewin took this photo on Grayland Beach in California when I was writing and researching TRACKING TRASH.)

February 1, 2013April 25, 2015

Citizen Science Portals

Is it me, or is citizen science EVERYWHERE? I just opened the January/February edition of Audubon magazine and found a piece about yet another web portal for curious kids and their families to explore citizen science projects that need their help. I’ve added it to my growing list (links below) of places to send folks who need a “real science” fix …

SciStarter

Cornell Lab of Ornithology Citizen Science Central

Zooniverse

Happy exploring!

January 30, 2013April 25, 2015

Wednesday Wild: Sharp-shinned Hawk

My husband was working quietly at the kitchen table this week when a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk snatched a dark-eyed junco out of mid-air, skidded across the kitchen window, then landed on the ground nearby to eat its catch. By the time I got home an hour later, soft gray feathers still clung to the window glass, and a light snow had settled on the bloody murder scene.

Some days are wilder than others, you know?

January 17, 2013April 25, 2015

Convenience Will Kill You

I’ve been working with the fine folks at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on an enhanced digital edition of my first book, Tracking Trash. One of my jobs has been to scour the digital world for content that might enhance a young reader’s experience of the book. This week, I’ve been particularly interested in finding video footage that explores what we can do–you, me, the world–to address the issue of marine pollution. (Answer: REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE plastic. But mostly: REFUSE) I’ve found some great material, and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together in the final product.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share a favorite video that didn’t make the cut. Plastic State of Mind is a must-see PSA from fimmaker Ben Zolno, featuring AshEL Eldridge and Jenni Perez, that I found through the Plastic Pollution Coalition video gallery. Warning: the tune and new lyrics are catchy. And spot on in the most uncomfortable way: “Skip the bag, the cup, and spork, dude. Convenience will kill you.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koETnR0NgLY]

January 16, 2013April 25, 2015

Paloozas

One of my favorite reviews of Citizen Scientists, from librarian and SLJ blogger Travis Jonker of 100 Scope Notes, contains this line:

“The rear of the book is a backmatter-palooza …” (You can read the full review here.)

Yes! The final ten pages of Citizen Scientists are a backmatter-palooza. That’s partly because I’m a sucker for meaty backmatter; how better to truly ponder a book than to thumb around in the land after THE END, getting a feel for why the author wrote what she wrote … and where she thought you might like to go next? The truth is, though, that this book demanded serious backmatter real estate. If Citizen Scientists worked as I hoped, then readers would finish antsy to launch their careers as citizen scientists. I wanted to point them to a depth and variety of print and web resources that would help them do that.

Alas, backmatter has its downside. Foremost on my mind today: the ephemeral nature of web addresses. After Citizen Scientists went to press, but before copies were even available for purchase, one of my favorite of the backmatter web resources, the website Science for Citizens, changed its name. And its internet handle. Grrr.

We will fix this in subsequent editions of the book, of course. In the meanwhile, know this: Science for Citizens is now SciStarter. It is a great place to search out real science projects in need of real amateur scientists. Into bats? They’ve got you covered. Crazy for mastodons? No problem. Honestly, it’s project-palooza over there. For a little taste, check out SciStarter’s Top 12 Citizen Science Projects of 2012. You’ll see some you’ve heard me talk about before (Great Sunflower Project) and some that I’m only beginning to contemplate (Project Squirrel, anyone?).

Happy exploring!

January 8, 2013April 25, 2015

Winter Lecture Series

I’m pleased to be part of MassAudubon‘s Friday Night Lecture Series at Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary (113 Goodnow Road) in Princeton, Massachusetts this winter. Check out the complete list of the series speakers below, and join us for one or all events. Lecture admission is $7 for MassAudubon members and $10 for nonmembers, and all lectures begin at 7:30pm. Call the Sanctuary at 978-464-2712 if you have any questions.

January 11
Belize it or Not: Mass Audubon’s Tropical Connection
Leader: Bancroft Poor, Mass Audubon’s Vice President

January 25
How Can I Help? Empowering Citizens with Science
Leader: Loree Griffin Burns, Scientist/Author

February 8
A Forest Journey
Leader: Matthew “Twig” Largess, Certified Arborist, Largess Forestr, Inc

February 22
Management of Grassland and Shrubland Habitats for Declining Wildlife Species in Massachusetts
Leader: John Scanlon, Forestry Project Leader

March 8
Life as a Field Artist
Leader: Gordon Morrison, Artist, Naturalist and Author

March 22
The Nature of Mongolia
Leader: Chris Leahy, MassAudubon Bertrand Chair of Natural History and Ornithology

April 12
Nature Potpourri
Leader: Gail Hansche Godin, Photographer/Naturalist

December 19, 2012April 25, 2015

Wednesday Wild: Nuthatches

This past weekend we set out our bird feeders; I’ve been staring out windows ever since. The usual fellows are visiting: tufted titmice, chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves, downy woodpeckers. And white-breasted nuthatches, like the one in the image above. I’ve always loved the tidy nuthatches, so sharp-looking in their crisp gray and black feathers. But on Saturday, I spotted a pair that didn’t look quite right to me. They were scruffier than usual. Buffier in the breast. Wearing strange eye patches. Wait a second …

RED-breasted nuthatches!

I’ve not seen red-breasted nuts at my home feeders in more than fifteen years of watching. We’ve not added a new-to-us species to our birding journal since this sharp-shinned hawk stopped by last year. And I’ve not felt so grateful for a bird since this little brown creeper cheered up the winter of 2010.

“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary in life,” Rachel Carson once said. This weekend, her words rang truer than ever.

Happy Wednesday, friends. I hope it’s a wild one.

December 18, 2012April 25, 2015

Middle Schoolers Rock!

Especially these ones.

Thank you, Driscoll School, for sharing your enthusiasm for science with me and with your school community. It was a treat to be part of your Science Solstice festivities … and I love this picture of us!