Birding by Kayak

Posted by ardeidae on December 08, 2008

The cold front moving through Austin was at the tail end, but I knew it was going to be a bit chilly in the morning, so I loaded up my kayak Friday night. And cold it was! On the way to the put-in spot, the car said it was 29 degrees. But by the time the three of unloaded our kayaks at the Utley bridge, where the 969 and Colorado River meet, it was clear that it was going to be a beautiful sunny day. As we put our boats in the water around 9am, it was already around 45, with only a slight breeze. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. By the time we wrapped things up around 3pm, it was 65. What a wonderful day!

Through our nine-mile trek, we racked up 44 specied of birds, including two juvenile and two adult Bald Eagles as well as two Pileated Woodpeckers. I was able to add Crested Caracara to my life list.

This trip was part of a monthly survey of the Colorado River corridor between Austin and Bastrop. It takes place the first Saturday of the month and is led by Claude Morris (who also keeps the detailed lists as seen below). If you’re in the Austin area and want to join in, let me know. Birding on the water provides a great perspective and beautiful scenery. Hope to see you on the water!

Wood Duck 9   Pileated Woodpecker 2 Gadwall 47   Eastern Phoebe 18 Mottled Duck 8   Blue Jay 26 Green-winged Teal 12   American Crow 58 Double-crested Cormorant 112   Carolina Chickadee 48 Great Blue Heron 14   Tufted Titmouse 4 Black Vulture 22   Carolina Wren 11 Turkey Vulture 17   Ruby-crowned Kinglet 14 Osprey 2   Eastern Bluebird 8 Bald Eagle 4   American Robin 38 Cooper’s Hawk 1   Northern Mockingbird 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 6   American Pipit 18 Crested Caracara 5   Yellow-rumped Warbler 64 Killdeer 32   Vesper Sparrow 5 Spotted Sandpiper 20   Savannah Sparrow 32 Greater Yellowlegs 5   Lincoln’s Sparrow 4 Least Sandpiper 26   White-crowned Sparrow 7 Mourning Dove 18   Northern Cardinal 38 Belted Kingfisher 9   Red-winged Blackbird 68 Red-bellied Woodpecker 7   Brewer’s Blackbird 24 Downy Woodpecker 2   American Goldfinch 37 Northern Flicker 1   House Sparrow 22	Flight of Cormorants
	Colorful Trees Photo by Claude Morris
	Beautiful Views

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The Second Hatching

Posted by ardeidae on November 28, 2008

Well it’s been a while since I’ve written anything to the Beakspeak blog. It’s not due to a lack of things to write about; Austin has shown to provide plenty of topics and material. After I moved and started unpacking, it hit me how overwhelming things had become. I was in a new town, a world away from the people I’d gotten to know as friends in the 18 years I’d spent in Los Angeles. The sporadic calls of “Let’s hit up Killer Shrimp for lunch” or “Poker at Petey’s on Saturday” were no more. My birding friends weren’t calling for a Saturday trip to Bolsa Chica or Malibu Lagoon.

My new coworkers and the familiar faces of those who’d already transferred from the Santa Monica office were key in helping me get settled in. I’d spent so much time in LA, that I knew most of the town like the back of my hand. And though Austin’s a fraction of the size of LA, it was a complete unknown. Exciting, yet I didn’t quite know where to start. I had a direction…well several directions actually, which was kind of a problem. A good problem. Rather than searching for all that is Austin, I decided to let Austin find me.

The past year has been quite inspirational and energizing. Some of that energy has gone into Beakspeak. And after more development hours than I care to count, a vision that’s been developing for quite some time is finally able to emerge. The egg tooth has broken through the shell.

Without boring you too much with the details, here are some of the main changes:

1) Visual design. When I first designed Beakspeak in 2004, I didn’t have much of a plan past a basic blog. Then I got into photography. I created a Beakspeak photo gallery on Flickr and started including photos in posts. Next, I got into Birdcams and Podcasts. Those sections were easy additions…I didn’t change any of the layout; for each new section I just changed the color scheme. This rebirth brings photos into the main layout. The best color schemes are better found in nature than in a book, and the new theme uses colors found in the African Grey parrot. I’ve named it “Tango” in honor of a wonderful bird I left in the care of a sanctuary when I moved. 

2) Podcasts. The list of podcasts has grown significantly. Listing everything on one page made the page very long and busy. The new page lists the most recent six podcasts for each channel, with a button that takes you to all podcasts for that channel. And you can now listen to the audio podcasts using the inline player. There’s no longer any need to download the file and open it with an external player. Video podcasts will still require downloading.

3) Birdcams. The list of birdcams has grown significantly in the past few years thanks to all the generous people who took the time to email me links to new and updated video feeds. It’s been great to see all the support! If you’ve been to the page during nesting season, you’ve seen how many nests there are with eggs and chicks! I added three columns of icons to help make things a little more friendlier and easier to use. The second and third columns note the location and local time of the nest. The first column is new and shows the most recent status of the video, whether it’s an empty nest, shows activity or nest building, or has a nest with eggs or chicks. If you see a video feed that needs a status change, please feel free to drop me an email.

If you were subscribed to the RSS feed, you’ll need to update your information using the link at the bottom of the page.

That’s it for now. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It’s been a lot of work in the making, and there’s still a lot more to do. There is also a lot more to write about, so stay tuned!

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A Visit To The “Garden Of Eden”

Posted by ardeidae on December 21, 2007

Bruce Beehler, the lead scientist for Conservation International, takes Bob Simon and the 60 Minutes crew on a rare visit to a pristine mountain rainforest in Indonesia's Foja Mountains. They come back a great story and some wonderful video, including mating displays from the Black Sickle Bill Bird of Paradise and Golden-fronted Bower Bird, and a Pygmy Possum looking for its fifteen minutes of fame.

Read and watch video for A Visit To The "Garden Of Eden".
More info on Foja.

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Land of Car Alarms and Longhorns

Posted by ardeidae on October 21, 2007

The last couple months for me have been quite a whirlwind. Last year, the company I’ve now worked for for the last seven years made its first major steps to move its headquarters from sunny Santa Monica, California. After the decision of where the company would call its new home, everyone in my department was gathered for a meeting and we were all offered the option of moving…to Austin, Texas.

Some people wanted to stay, some wanted to go. I found the opportunity intriguing and exciting, but I didn’t really know much about Austin. There was no rush or pressure for any of us to move, and the new office was just getting established, so I gave it a little thought, teetering back and forth. Part of me wanted something new, and another part wanted to stay and be a part of the birding community I’d found myself deeply involved in.

In June, the company sent a group of us to Austin for a weekend to see if it would be a place where we’d want to relocate. I’d heard a little about Austin from others who’d made the trip before me, and those that knew me said they thought I’d like it. As our plane made its final approach into the Austin, I discovered how green the area was. I was amazed at how many trees there were. It was definitely a good first impression. Our hotel was downtown, right along beautiful Town Lake, and right next to the Congress Avenue bridge where the famous Mexican Free-tailed Bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) roost. The colony is estimated at 1.5 million bats, and they clear out about 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects each night!

On Saturday, our group had a short guided tour of some of the residential areas of town and on Sunday we were each assigned a realtor to take us around and show us some homes that were available. I hadn’t made up my mind fully about moving, but looking at homes was enticing. With the prices of homes in Austin, I could finally own a house! Night life was great too. Downtown Austin is easy to access, and there are plenty of places to go. Live music abounds! Austin is also home to the University of Texas, and Longhorn fans and memorabilia are quite abundant. It reminds me of the Husker spirit I experience every time I go home to Nebraska.

The only thing that might outnumber the Longhorn fans in Austin (besides the bats, who are probably UT fans as well) is a certain species of bird. These guys (and gals) are everywhere. They have several distinct calls, and one of them is reminiscent of a common sound in Los Angeles…car alarms. Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) are everywhere you go. They’re greeting you as you park at the grocery store…they’re picking up twigs in the parking lot at Target…they’re hiding in the plants at the Lowes Garden Center…they’re pooping on your car while you’re in the restaurant. You name the time and place, and they’ll meet you there. There are also a number of other birds (and other wildlife) in Austin as well, but if you ever need to take a photo of a Great-tailed Grackle, you’re sure to get it in Austin.

Though it was only a weekend, I got a good feel for what Austin is about. There are many things to do, and lots of nature-oriented activities. After more consideration, I felt that Austin could fulfill some life quality items that Los Angeles couldn’t. I’d spent over 18 years in Los Angeles, and I knew it would be difficult for me to leave my friends, as well as my Los Angeles Audubon family, but I felt that I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. That week at work, I started the ball rolling on my relocation.

At the end of August, I returned to Austin to do some house hunting. I found exactly what I was looking for on the first day and made an offer. It was accepted. With everything I had to do for closing and preparing to move, the next several weeks are now a blur.

I’ve been here in Austin for nearly a month now, and I’m still unpacking. I’ve been mostly occupied with getting settled in (going from an apartment to a house is such a big change!), so I haven’t really ventured out much yet. But I will soon, and there will be plenty of experiences to share!

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