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?
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]
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!
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
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.
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!
Yesterday’s post reminded me to remind YOU that some excellent bird-related citizen science opportunities are just ’round the corner …
These are great opportunities to get outside, show off your birding skills, and do a small something to help monitor the birds in your neighborhood. Both projects are simple, fun and–I warn you!–addicting. My kids and I have participated in one or the other since 2008, and we’ve had some extraordinary moments. (Last year’s sharp-shinned hawk comes to mind.)
All the information you need to get started can be found at the websites linked above. Check them out and see if a bird count is something you can fit into the family calendar. If so, fill up your feeders, dust off your ‘nocs, and invite the neighbors. Happy Counting!
This weekend I watched my four-year-old nephew catch the birding bug. He was over for the day, and on one of his trips through the kitchen, he caught me with binoculars checking out a bird on the feeders outside. He asked what I was doing and Presto! … he’s a birder. In about twenty minutes time he spotted eight species of birds. His reaction was fun to witness; I can’t think of anything more satisfying than a four-year-old leaping up and down in your kitchen and shouting, “There’s another one! Auntie Loree, look! I see another bird! What is it?”
(I think this guy needs his first birding field guide, don’t you? I’m going to put this one under the tree for him this year.)
Happy Monday, friends. May your week be filled with new birds … and a curious four-year-old or two.
Check it out.
That right there is the FeederWatch station of the Pre-K students at Brookwood School in Manchester, Massachusetts. It has everything the students need to monitor the feeder bird populations on their school grounds: stools for comfortable viewing, windows looking out over the school bird feeders, a basket for storing clipboards, data sheets, and pencils, and photos of birds to help remind watchers what they are seeing. There is even a sign–its posted on the easel at the left of the photo–warning passersby: “Shhhhhhhh! Bird Watchers at Work!” I was lucky enough to have a personal tour of this research station, and was mighty impressed with the citizen scientists who work there. Thank you Brookwood Pre-K students!
Thank you also to the Brookwood kindergartners, who shared their MonarchWatch experiences with me, the first graders, who told me about their tulip work for Journey North, and the second graders, who taught me about chicken care, introduced me to Cynthia and Mabel … and even gifted me a couple of fresh eggs.
Hooray for student scientists and the schools that inspire them!
I’ve been noticing gray-white moths like the one in this photo on the side of my house for weeks now. And I have been meaning to pore over my field guides in search of an ID for just as long. But you know how that goes: so many insects, so little time. What luck, then, that the good people at MassAudubon tweeted this link yesterday. Winter moths. Of course.
Maybe I need to spend more time on Twitter?
