We saved a Downy Woodpecker

I wish I had photos to accompany this post, but I didn't take any.

On Sunday morning, I looked out in our front yard and saw a crumpled heap on the sidewalk.  I alerted Nathan and asked him what it was.  He said it was a Downy Woodpecker and headed outside to see if it was dead.

image from allaboutbirds.org

As it turned out, she was alive, but hurt.  She had her head tucked under her wing.  Nathan brought her to the door and we tried to decide what to do.  I tried to give her some water, but we didn't have a dropper.  Nathan decided to take the woodpecker back outside and put her on a tree.  He did that, but we just didn't feel good about having that woodpecker on the tree available for predators and it was becoming apparent that the bird couldn't fly.  It was beginning to look like an injury that needed to heal, rather than a stunned bird that just needed to sit for a while and recover.

We decided to bring the woodpecker inside and put her in our sparrow trap with food and water.  I had Nathan look on the internet to find out how to help a broken wing.  Of course, we knew that having a woodpecker inside our house was illegal.  We found information on how to bind a wing and learned that it could take 2-3 weeks for it to heal, but we also went to a link that specifically talked about woodpeckers.  The site mentioned finding someone who could rehabilitate the bird.  Since I couldn't figure out how to bind one wing to the body while leaving the other free, I called the Howell Nature Center because I was aware that they rehabilitate.

The Nature Center transferred me to the Infirmary and the lady there said they'd be happy to take the bird and gave me directions.  We were able to drop the bird off, along with our donations.  While they processed the bird, we walked around to see the wildlife they have (kind-of like a MI wildlife zoo).  These animals are either injured or are bonded to humans and can't be set free in the wild.  On the way out, we checked in on the Downy.  Turns out she had a shoulder injury.  I'm sure glad we didn't try to treat a broken wing!

They will call us when the bird is ready to be released because they bring her right back here to release her in our yard!

This is the second Downy that I've helped rescue.  The first banged into a window and I simply put him in a safe place until the "stun" wore off.  This one was much more serious, but Nathan said, "I'm sure glad we found the bird before a cat did!"  I second that!

Musical Abillity

My mom sent me to singing class when I was about eight.  I think I attended for about a year.  I remember it was a HUGE group of kids and that we all had red gingham shirts and that we got our picture taken for the Davis County Clipper.

My mom also sent me to piano lessons.  I took lessons for 2-3 years from a lady whose last name was Garrison.  Then, the lady across the street decided to take a few children from our neighborhood as students and I took lessons from her for 2-3 years.  This lady's name was Charmain Hatch.  She was a little bit of a meany.  She was also very talented musically and as a bonus taught music theory.

I didn't enjoy practicing the piano and I remember one night in particular when I just sat on the bench.  I was told by one of my parents (probably my mom) that I would be staying on the bench until I had practiced for 30 minutes or so.  I believe that I did finally give in.

Music theory wasn't the funnest thing either.  I remember very little of what I learned.  I can still pluck out simple songs on the keyboard, but I have lost much of my ability.  I think it would be fun to be able to play the piano now, but I really can't and I don't know that I have the patience to go back and take lessons.  There are other things that I'd rather spend my time doing.

One of the things I'm continually astounded by is my kids and their music ability and their musical ears.   They know things about music that I never even dreamed of knowing.  This ability comes from being in choir (Nathan and May--6 years, Elijah--5 years, Sariah--3 years) and being in band or orchestra (Nathan--6 years, May--4 years, Elijah--2 years).

They talk about musical terms I haven't heard of.  They help each other tune their instruments.  Just now, Elijah had me use the online viola tuner.  He was trying to tune his A string and May said, "You're sharp."  I just don't have an ear for that, but it's so thrilling to see them do this.

I also love the wide range of music they are interested in.  I love it that when listening to an entire orchestra, they can pick out the sounds of particular instruments.  I love it that they can harmonize easily.  I love it that they want to practice and want to perform.  I love it that Nathan comes home wanting to share the Youtube Friday videos his teacher shares with them.  I love it that their involvement has increased my music appreciation.

This is a definite bonus of parenting!

What to do on a snow day? Watch NOVA!

Sariah and Brigham wore their clothes inside out and backward on Sunday night.  I convinced Sariah not to put three licked spoons under her pillow.  This is because I recently had to buy new spoons because all but two of ours had disappeared.

I'm not superstitious or anything, but what happened next was nearly a miracle.  It snowed 2-3 inches and then it rained.  It was an ice storm.  It wasn't serious enough to weigh down the power lines and snap them or even to break the branches of trees, but at about 5:23 in the morning, I got a call from the East Lansing School Superintendent saying that school was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Now, Mondays are my days to try to get the house back in order after having it filled all weekend with people.  They are also my days to be in the quiet if possible and put myself back in order! :)  But, the kids stayed home, so I made the most of it. First, I slept in a bit to make up for not being able to get to sleep the night before.  Then I got up and started crocheting while listening to Skeptoid podcasts.  Those weren't keeping my attention like they have in the past, so I popped a NOVA DVD into the computer that I had recently checked out from the library.  It was on Flight 111, an airplane that crashed killing all people on board in 1998.

After that, I made french toast for lunch.  I know, weird lunch!

I decided that since it had been a while since I'd been working on this afghan that we could just make an afternoon of NOVA.  I let each person have a turn picking which title they wanted.  First, I chose one on Neanderthals.  Elijah was next and picked on that fit his interests to a T.  It was titled, "Why Ships Sink."  May chose a title about an area on Colorado where many fossils were found.  There were mammoths and mastadons, huge sloths etc.  They delved into why so many animals died there.  Nathan chose one called, "The Mystery of Easter Island," which was about trying to figure out how the Easter Islanders of old moved those giant stone figures around the island.  Brigham picked "Secrets of the Sun," which was quite fascinating, but not as much as Brigham had hoped.  Sariah was next with "Secrets of the Viking Sword."  It was amazing to watch as a sword was made to copy those that have been found in Viking ruins.  Finally,  though it was past eight, I let Elijah choose again.  This time he picked one about the deadly earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

We watched a total of eight episodes yesterday.  Results:  NOVA marathons are almost as fun as Mythbuster marathons.  Not really, but considering that there are no more Mythbuster episodes for them to watch, this will have to do!

Damn you, Death!

Over the weekend I learned that a lady from our old ward (Holt Ward, not our more recent ward, Williamston) was dying of cancer.  It was a strange case.  She had a sore on her tongue and when checked by the Dr. they found it was tongue cancer.  They removed the cancer, but it spread to her lymph nodes and lungs.  This January she was in the midst of chemo and radiation therapy but contined to decline in health and early Saturday morning, with her husband present, she died.

We knew her husband better than her since he was our home teacher over a handful of years.  Even still, I would describe them in similar terms.  Funny, but more importantly just good, uncomplicated people.  I say uncomplicated in the best of ways. (I told Joseph that we used to be complicated in a bad way and he got what I was saying).

She has three kids.  The oldest is graduated from High School.  The second is in High School.  And, the youngest, a boy is only six years old.  That's Brigham right there, without a mom!  It breaks my heart.

After feeling very sad, I began to analyze the situation.  Why?  That's a philosophical question that comes from my religious days.  It's easily answered in certain terms.  She had cancer, her body could not fight it, and she died.  That's pretty simple.

I had thought through this scenario while contemplating leaving the church and ultimately leaving Christianity and religion altogether.  How would I handle the death of a loved one?  I knew that I would have to go through the steps of grieving process, which can take years and years.  I also knew that in the end, I hoped to land in a peaceful place something like, "I'm glad I knew them.  It's much better to have loved and lost than to have never loved." I have applied this to my grandparents who have already died.   I have even prepared myself for the desire I might have to reattach myself to religious ideas because it's just too painful otherwise.

I think I experienced that a little bit last night in my philosophical argument in my head.  Why her?  Why not me?  Why should I have health and happiness while she doesn't?  The easy religious answer was either, "She or her family needed that particular trial." or "We don't know why, but we will know later, and later we will all be together again."

I loathe those religious answers because people usually start saying them right away after a death.  I believe that this is extremely unhelpful to the human grieving process.  I actually believe that statements like that do more harm than good to the individuals who have lost.  Even when I was a believer, I really despised it when people said things like that after a death.

Last night, in my unhappiness though, I actually did try God on for size again.  I cursed at him for a while.  I won't share what I said as it's not blog appropriate.  But basically, I told him what a horrible, rotten guy he is.  I've been told that God would rather have you tell him your anger than just not talk to him, so I just did it.  Then I tried to humble myself a little bit at least.  Finally, I waited for the comfort that would come.  Right?  I should receive some comfort.

Well guess what?  No comfort.  So the religious answer goes something like this, "You need this particular trial right now."  or "You turned your back on God, he might not answer you now." or "You chased the Light of Christ away with your horrible swear words, of course the spirit couldn't comfort you." or..."You aren't exercising faith."   These answers at best stop the conversation and at worst shame the asker.  Of course, I know great people who would probably just say, "I don't know.  I'm really sorry."

So, faith.  Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).  I'm not sure what I'm hoping here.  I think it has less to do with there being an afterlife and more to do with really, REALLy wanting there to be a way for things to be fair and merciful.  But, if faith is the evidence for what is unseen, what is that really? How does people having faith in something make it evidence?  I never did like that scripture, but I couldn't pinpoint why.

Let's try out the above scripture on an example.  If lots and lots of people hope that there are fairies in the woods and we apply this scripture, that's like saying that if they have faith that's the evidence of those unseen fairies.  I'm sure that there are apologists who would tell me I'm reading this scripture incorrectly.

In the Book of Mormon (Alma 32:21), this scripture is taken a step further.  You have to have faith in things that are true.  If you have hope for things which are true, that is faith.  How do you find things that are true to have faith in?  Follow prophets, read scriptures, your feelings about a certain subject, pray and God will tell you.

I'm sticking with the last one because I'm tired of the things fraught with human error.   But...wait a minute...God didn't answer.  Round and round I go then.  Maybe I asked the wrong question?  Maybe I forgot to ask a question at all?  Maybe I didn't have enough faith that god would answer?  Maybe I'm too wicked to get an answer?  Maybe I need this trial?

This might all sound really cynical and like I'm trying to prove a point.  That may be partly true.  But, actually, there's a lot more sincerity than you might realize.  Having written about confirmation bias recently, I have spent time thinking about my new confirmation biases and how they might be affecting me.  I can actually be humble enough to say I might be wrong.  But, since I was willing to try God and he decided not to answer, I will need to stick with my human understanding of things.

•  Live in the moment (Buddhism).  Make the moments count (not so much Buddhism, but makes me happy).

•  Work harder to make myself healthier and stay that way (Nutrition Science, Exercise Science, Medical Science).  Right now, this includes drinking green tea, which I formerly forbade myself to drink.

•  Be open to the process of grieving (Psychology).

There is no conquering death, but there are ways to prolong life, enjoy life and process life.

The Steel Wheels

Rain in the Valley by The Steel Wheels from Stephen Kniss on Vimeo.


Here they are.  The Steel Wheels.

Here in the Lansing area, there's a group called Ten Pound Fiddle.  During nine months of the year they bring in country/blues/bluegrass/folk music groups and individuals for concerts weekly.  We've gone to hear our favorite Michigan singers, but haven't ventured outside that sphere.

When I got the Ten Pound Fiddle email last week, I clicked on the video and after watching, decided we had to try it out.  Joseph and I took Nathan to this concert on Friday.  Trent Wagler and the Steel Wheels are phenomenal!  I love seeing/hearing live music and hearing the stories behind the songs and into the artists' lives.

I love the music video of one of the last songs the group sang Friday evening.  Trent told the story of his grandpa who grew up Amish.  As you probably know, the Amish are not allowed to play music instruments, except the harmonica.  Trent's grandfather loved music and had an underground Amish group.  He eventually left the Amish because of his love of music, among other things.

The song is called Red Wing.  It is also endeared to me for having a bird in it:

Waiting for summer

Waking up to a wind chill of -13 degrees today, I thought back to summertime.  Here are a few images out of my camera:

If you read our Holiday letter, here are the Mergansers that were my favorite birds from our camping trip.  At this point, they have already run under the bridge and are getting close to Lake Superior.

Brigham spends most of his time digging tunnels.  Nice tan, little guy!

Moonrise in the Porcupine Mountains (from our campsite)

Can you even imagine swimming in that crystal clear water right now?  Oh, Lake Superior, I miss you!

Confirmation Bias

A couple of years ago, I learned about confirmation bias.  Confirmation bias is something I had been practicing (still do!) and didn't even realize it.

From Wikipedia:

Confirmation bias (also called confirmatory bias or myside bias) is a tendency of people to favor information that confirms their beliefs or hypotheses.

Around the same time that I learned the term confirmation bias, I began reading a book called The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer.  I didn't read the whole things because as usual, I was reading four or five books at a time and this one didn't make it to the finish line.  What I gleaned from what I read, though, is that the human brain is set up such that we are given/we form our beliefs first (they are handed to us by our parents, teachers, mentors, experience etc.) and then our brains seek after support for our beliefs.  Shermer shows this by citing scientific studies and providing examples of how this works in common situations.

This was backward from what I had believed up to that point.  I thought that humans simply learn and grow into their beliefs by trial and error.  I also believed in some kind of inner compass that could tell us when we had arrived at truth.

So, let's take an example of the recent elections.  Some people lean left and some people lean right.  Some people say they are independent.  Interestingly, many people who easily fall within the right or left choose news sources that confirm their beliefs.  Amazing isn't it?  Why would anyone do that?  It would seem more rational to find a news source that gives equal time to varying viewpoints.  That way a person could make an informed decision based on what's really going on.

But, step back and think about yourself.  Which way do you lean politically?  Why?  Which news source do you listen to/watch?  Does it have the same political leanings as yourself?  If so, could this be harming you in any way?  Could this be harming anyone else you have some influence over?

For myself, I listened to NPR.  I've been listening to NPR for many years and I think that they do a very good job of reporting multiple viewpoints (let's face it, there are usually more than just two!)  During this last election cycle, I found that I was happy when the news went toward my leanings and upset when it didn't seem to do so.  When I pushed myself through those upset feelings though, I could usually see the viewpoint.  However, it didn't usually sway me from my positions.  To be fair though, I've put a lot of work into my current positions (I have solid positions on very few topics), considering multiple viewpoints, looking at what science has to say etc.

What other areas of life are influenced by this "trick" of the brain?  Religion?  Economics?  How can this be a benefit to us as a species or as an individual?  I hope to read more on what neuroscientists are learning about the brain.

If you have any examples of confirmation bias in your experience, I'd love to hear them.  If you'd just love to refute confirmation bias, I'd like to hear that too!

Read more in this Scientific American article.

Sariah's Bird-day

Sariah is now ten years old.  Our friend, Mike Boyce, told her that there's no going back now.  Once you are in the double digits, that's it for you.  I think she liked that idea.

Sariah decided to have a Bird-day Party just like Brigham did last year.  She invited all of the girls in her classroom and we held the party at Fenner Nature Center.  All of our kids helped to put this party together.  Nathan and Elijah prepared a bird quiz.  May made bracelets with bird charms on them.  Brigham agreed to help out with the bird quiz and the Bird Bingo game that we played at the party.  May also agreed to be party photographer and Nathan said he would lead the bird walk.

Sariah working on making a bead bird

Annie working on bird art.  We gave the kids clay and watercolor to choose from.

Olivia, Annie, Grace, Sophie, Lily, Brigham working on the Bird Quiz

Elijah and Brigham helping girls use field guides to do the Bird Quiz

Annie, Sophie, Lily, Sumika, and Helena playing Bird Bingo

Looking out Fenner's "bird" window before heading out on a bird walk

Sariah reminding everyone that birding is a quiet activity :)

Elijah, Helena, Kinya, Sumika, me, Sariah out on the bird walk

 Lily, Sophie, Olivia, Nathan, Helena, me, Sumika, and Sariah looking for bluebirds

Sariah's cake was very much like Brigham's cake last year, but this time I made a 10" cake.

Lighting the sparkler candles

 

Sariah trying to get those candles out (Sophie, Lily, Grace, Helena)

Clockwise from bottom left: Olivia, Annie, Helena, Sariah, Kinya with his mom, Sumika, Sophie, Lily, Grace

Sariah chose dirt cupcakes with gummy worms this year for her classroom celebration

We also had a bird egg (jellybean) guess and the winner got a cool cup and all the jellybeans.  We chose door prize numbers and gave out a field guide for young birders, suet cages and suet, and a squirrel corn cob feeder.  We chose a winner for the Bird Quiz and gave out a pair of small binoculars.  For party favors we gave out:

1) Bird treats.  See here for a great idea on how to make easy bird feeders.
2) Caterpillar treats.  Monarchs need our help.  The patches of milkweed are too few and too far in between.  We made homemade paper with milkweed seeds embedded and passed it out asking party goers to plant it in the Spring when the ground is warm and keep it watered daily.
3) People treats.  White chocolate candy mold candies in the shapes of birds and hearts.

Instead of gifts, Sariah asked that people bring a donation for Fenner Nature Center if they felt inclined to do so.  She also gave Fenner suet and suet cages to add to their bird feeding stations.  This will draw more wood peckers in for people to see and maybe even a Pileated Woodpecker.

It was a fun day and we hope everyone had a great time and learned a lot about birds!

New Blog

Nathan has started a new blog.  It's something he's been wanting to do for a long time, but recently some time opened up for him and so now's the time.  I can't wait to see what kinds of things he posts.  If you enjoy the natural world, this will be a good place to learn some new things!

It's called "The Crow's Roost."

2012

I turned 40 in 2012.  To someone older, I realize that 40 doesn't sound old.  It doesn't even sound that old to me.  That might be because I accomplished my best physical feat last year: backpacking the Lakeshore Trail along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore with Elijah (43 miles).  It might also be because I like my life so well.  I was thinking that through the last few days.  Other than being fat (Angie told me not to say that, just to say that I have a few pounds to shed), I don't think there's a single thing I'd change about my life right now.

In 2012:

**Four kids took art lessons
**Four kids participated in the MSU Choirs program
**Three kids played instruments (cello, flute, viola)
**We attended Ohio Young Birders Club nearly every month
**We attended Jr. Audubon whenever possible
**We saw Jane Goodall speak at CMU
**We saw Lee Stetson in the form of John Muir speak at Meijer Gardens
**Three kids attended "Choir camp" at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY
**We camped for five weeks in the U.P. and hiked over 115 miles (including Brigham).  We saw corners of the U.P. that we haven't seen yet (!!) and added other areas to our wish list
**Nathan completed his Young Birder of the Year modules including a conservation/community project that took over 300 hours of his time and about the same of mine
**Nathan received the Carl G. Fenner award at the Fenner Volunteer lunch, quite an accomplishment for someone his age (http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/viewart/20121212/COMM11/212120301/Sixteen-Year-old-Given-Carl-G-Fenner-Outstanding-Volunteer-Award)
**May started theater class and found that she really likes theater
**Elijah planned, saved for and executed his first backpacking trip
**I crocheted several afghans, made lots of cupcakes, pies, and even curtains for a classroom
**We all added to our bird "Life Lists"
**We planned future trips to Florida, Maine, South Dakota, Isle Royale (Nathan and I are backpacking there this August), and started planning our three month "Epic Western States Trip 2014"
**Sariah planned her bird-day party coming up later this month
**Brigham continued to astound us with his math prowess
**Joseph built several platform feeders for the birds and made a cool whiteboard for bird reports at Fenner
**I trapped 72 House Sparrows
**We listened to quite a few books on tape/CD, but not as many as usual.  My reading list was also shorter this year
**We attended Family Weekend at Earthworks Farm and really hope to go back
**We attended concerts by our favorite MI folk singers May Erlewine, Seth Bernard and Joshua Davis
**Nathan, May and Elijah submitted artwork, photos and writing to Golden-wings, the OYBC's newsletter.  Nathan also submitted his work to Fenner for their blog and use in their center.
**Nathan and Elijah did a Michigan Big Year, in which they tried to see as many birds in Michigan as they could.  Nathan ended the year with 261 and Elijah, 236.
**Sariah created amazing art with paint, clay, wax (seriously amazing)
**Brigham read most of the Harry Potter series
**We attended Capital Area Audubon meetings and field trips
**Nathan was awarded a partial scholarship to attend Hog Island Teen Camp in Maine
**Four kids got new cameras and I still have my same one!
**May crocheted a blanket for her 2nd grade intern's baby
**beach trips, birding trips, hiking trips, etc.

Clarification, or something

I'm working on a thicker skin.

I'm a judger and therefore have the biggest aversion to being judged.  How's that for open and honest?

I've reset my blog from public to private to public to private to public within the last year.  I left facebook because people I knew were feeling attacked when I posted links to ideas that were about me.

One possibility for the blog is just to write about fun family events, rather than writing any philosophical-type posts.  I'm not sure what I'll do.  In mulling over the philosophical-type, I've missed writing about some spectacular happenings with our family and kids.  Partly that's because I live in the moment regularly and in doing so am missing out on the regrets and guilt, and/or the need to prove that my existence is important that I used to experience regularly.  I find that I don't "need" the catalog of events on my blog like I used to.  However, it's still fun to have it. (For instance, I left the room and upon returning, Nathan was sitting here reading through the posts.  That makes it worth it!)

I have written some about my journey in a series of posts called "Letters to My Children."  So, here's the big announcement direct from my blog to whomever may be reading.  Joseph, myself and my kids left the LDS church.  We not only left it, but we resigned.  I cannot currently imagine any circumstances which would induce me to return.  From what I can see through my extensive (not exhaustive) study, thought, and prayer over the past (approximately) two years, it is based on partial truths.  It has been cultivated by a philosopher-king mentality, but maybe not consciously (the idea that the people need someone to show them the way by leaders who "know better" than the general masses--an idea espoused by Plato).  The power and truth said to be held solely within the church can be found all around.  There is nothing that a person can experience within the walls of Mormonism that they cannot experience elsewhere.  Here I'm referring to a basic definition of experience since if you are not Mormon, you cannot go inside a Mormon temple, for instance.  There is also not "one way" to get where you are going.

From inside the church, I would never have agreed with what I just wrote. It's abundantly clear from outside though.

While going through the process of leaving, I found an internet forum called New Order Mormon.  It was immensely helpful to me as I dealt with the collapse of religion in my world.  I went through (am going through) a grieving process.  How could I not?  I had been "in" that world for 38 years.  Recently, one of the members said that his biggest accomplishment in his life was leaving the church.  Having left it, I think I can understand what he means.  It is by no means easy.  It was by all means grueling, necessary, a rebirth.

I recently read a document written by a Canadian man as an open letter to Elder Holland.  I have read several such letters.  Writers of the letters often ask, please, show me where I'm wrong.  I would love to come back to church if you can explain to me why I'm wrong about these matters.  These requests have been met by silence and, occasionally, derision.  This letter is rather bold and tells Elder Holland what would have to change before the writer would consider coming back:

http://www.i4m.com/think/intro/Bishops_letter2.pdf

It is very long.  The short version is at the beginning of the letter and the long version starts at the appendix.  I felt some sense of closure as I read that letter.  It summarizes many of my feelings and thoughts.

This letter made me feel like a HERO to my kids.  While they know that they have choices, they know that the whole world is open to them.  They will not be indoctrinated by ideas that I believe will be damning for them (not damning in the hell sense, but in the stopping sense).  Parents tend to strive to give their kids a better life.  Just in being honest with them about the church we attended, Joseph and I have done that.

I want to send a thank-you out to those who continue in friendship with me, despite my doing something that could be conceived as "evil," possibly a "bad choice," or at best "what was right for my family."

New Year!!

To welcome 2013, our friends the Juarez' came to spend the day with us.  We had an awesome lunch of tacos with all of the trimmings:

In preparation for their visit, I made eight batches of gingerbread and Joseph and I (with help from Sariah) glued the pieces together:

Here the kids are just beginning on their houses:

Here is one view of the finished houses (starting with the closest house: Manny, Brigham, Angie, Gabe, Nathan, Elijah, Sariah, May):

 A view from the other side of the table:

These houses are a tradition for our family.  We do them on New Year's because the Christmas season is so busy and because we can get clearance candy after December 25th.  Last year we made rice kris pie blocks and the kids glued them together and then decorated.  I prefer the gingerbread though because it smells so good!

Our Big Year

This is the Christmas memories/letter that Joseph wrote up for us about 2012:

Our Big Year

            OK, so birds have become integrated into our life in a big way.  You might even say we are bird nuts.  We attend birding clubs in Michigan and Ohio, we drive crazy distances to see rare birds, and we talk nonstop about birds.  You might grow feathers if you stayed too long with us.  Maybe you have seen the movie “The Big Year?”  If so, you will know that when birders do a “Big Year” they try to see as many birds as possible for a certain location (a state, all of North America, etc.) as they can.  While we didn’t intend to do a big year, we ended up having a big year in birding for Michigan and Ohio.

            Last December, we went to the wastewater treatment plant near Muskegon, Michigan, to see Snowy Owls.  We saw two there, and two more on the other side of the state at Tawas Point, where we also saw three Northern Shrikes.  Snowy Owls only come to Michigan when their food sources up north are low.

            In January, we went to the Ohio Young Birder’s Club meeting in Cleveland Ohio and in Columbus where we had a behind-the-scenes tour of the Cleveland Natural History Museum and the Ohio State University Natural History Museum.  We got to see all kinds of rare bird specimens, the best of which were the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, Passenger Pigeon, and Carolina Parakeet (all extinct species).  Sariah and I traveled to Utah for her Uncle Todd’s wedding (and her third grade trip) and spent a whole week just with her Dad!  Todd gave Sariah binoculars for her birthday.

In February, we went to the Ann Arbor meeting of the Audubon Society to look for Redpolls in a city park.  We didn’t see any, but we did see other birds in the area.  We also traveled down to Detroit to visit Belle Isle.  We did see all kinds of great birds there floating in the Detroit River, including Hooded Mergansers among many other types of waterfowl in the river.  We also visited the Belle Isle conservatory, a cool ½ acre playground, and nature center.

In March, we traveled to the Maple River State Game Area in Michigan.  We had a great day birding there.  We also went to see Jane Goodall speak at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.  Jane Goodall is an inspirational speaker.  She spoke of her chimpanzees, of course, and of her hope for the earth and the people that can make changes to take better care of the earth.  Elijah did a science project in March determining which type of birdseed best attracts birds to our feeders.  He won an award for the neatness of his project board.  Brigham decided he wanted to help, so he began doing bird counts on his own.  Each day he’d ask for a piece of blank paper and sit at the kitchen window and write the names of the birds he saw.

            In April, we went birding in Port Clinton, Ohio with our good friends, Mike and Nancy Boyce.  We saw lots of great birds, including Hooded Warbler, American Woodcock, lots of shorebirds, and many water birds.  We also stayed in a cabin in Holland, Michigan.  While there, we attended a nighttime snipe and woodcock walk at the Outdoor Discovery Center.  Woodcocks do a funny mating dance.  Google it!!  We got to go to a Tulip Farm and heard the first of the year Meadowlark singing. May refined Elijah’s project for her own science project, in which she improved the conditions, improved the controls, and improved the counting methods.  Lastly, we traveled to Shiawassee Flats near Saginaw, Michigan, where we saw five species of blackbirds.  They crowded in the fields by the tens of thousands.  Elijah asked for a camera so he could photograph birds, and got one for his birthday.  Sariah was in her first jump rope show at Red Cedar Elementary and did very well.

            In May, Nathan started a conservation and community leadership project to be submitted to the American Birding Association (ABA) competition for Young Birder of the Year.  His project focused on a local nature center where he helped to improve the habitat for birds in multiple ways, did bird counts to establish bird use of the property, recorded breeding species, and helped to build a butterfly garden.  His project lasted through September, after which he wrote up the project and submitted it to ABA, spending a total of about 300 hours on the project.  Nathan also spent his summer taking bird photographs and taking down field notes which will compete in different modules for the YBY competition.

            In May we also attended “The Biggest Week in American Birding” at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Northeast Ohio, where we saw a Ruddy Turnstone on the breakwater, and watched (with hundreds of others) a Kirtland’s Warbler resting in a tree while migrating to its nesting ground in Northern Michigan.  We also had a bird-day party for Brigham at the local nature center with his friends from school.  He had a bird cake and a bird walk and asked his friends to donate to the Audubon Society in lieu of gifts.

            In June we took a Kirtland’s Warbler tour in Grayling, Michigan to see one of the world’s rarest species.  Kirtland’s Warblers only breed in Michigan and a few in Ontario in 15-20 year old Jack Pine Trees.  We also went birding by Kayak near Columbus, Ohio with the Ohio Young Birder’s Club.  The three oldest (Nathan, May, and Elijah) went on a “songbird” trip to Ithaca, New York as members of the Michigan State University Children’s Choirs.  They had a great time with young singers like themselves.  Nathan and Elijah got to visit Cornell University, home of the “Cornell Lab of Ornithology.”

In July, Cindi went backpacking on South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan with her friend.  Soon after they got back, Cindi and the kids went on their camping trip in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan.  They went birding in Sylvania State Wilderness Area, on the beach at Little Girl’s Point, and all over the U.P. at waterfalls.  On one of those hikes, Nathan fell into a waterfall and hurt his legs pretty badly.  What a scramble back to the van, while leaving Nathan and May near the waterfall, to get the first aid kit! Nathan used his new knowledge of native herbs to doctor himself and began walking toward the van before I could get to him.

In August, we birded at Seney National Wildlife Refuge, where May saw her favorite bird of the year (an American Bittern).  Nathan got to spend an entire day birding in Seney solo.  He found 15 Grey Jays and watched them in the trees for over 30 minutes.  We also spent time birding in Porcupine Mountains State Park, where Cindi saw her favorite birds.  We saw some Red Breasted Mergansers taking rides down the waterfalls.  Another group of mergansers showed up while we were sitting on a bridge over a small stream.  We thought they might just swim right under us.  Imagine our surprise when they stood up on their feet and ran from near the bridge out to Lake Superior.  We also birded in Hiawatha National Forest, where we saw many birds, including Spruce Grouse, Mourning Warbler, Boreal Chickadee, Philadelphia Vireo, and Connecticut Warbler.  We enjoyed time at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory where we saw Buff Breasted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Merlins, and Semi-palmated Plover. 

We spent time at Tahquamenon Falls State Park where Sariah saw here favorite bird (a Least Bittern) and Elijah saw his favorite (a Spruce Grouse).  We were walking along the Clark Lake Trail when suddenly a bird burst out two feet in front of Elijah.  It scared the wits out of him, but we got to watch it sitting in a Spruce Tree from 10 feet away.  Lastly, in August, we birded in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore where we saw Canada Warblers, Golden Crowned Kinglets, Black Throated Blue Warblers, and Ovenbirds.  In the campground, the kids saw a pair of Redstarts (very small warblers) dive-bomb a hornets’ nest, make a high pitched sound to scare the hornets away, and rip the wasp nest apart, eating the larvae.

            In September, Elijah and Cindi went backpacking for a week, hiking from one end of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to the other  (43 miles) where they saw a Red-breasted Nuthatch on the ground a foot away, Pine Warbler, a Bald Eagle snatch a chickadee out of the air, Trumpeter Swan (from 20 feet away), and all kinds of other warblers in migration.  I (Joseph) built two new platform bird feeders for our backyard.  These get constant attention from our backyard birds and from the pairs of eyes watching them from inside the kitchen.  We visited Hartwick Pines State Park just North of Gaylord, Michigan where we saw giant White Pine trees and an Evening Grosbeak.  Sariah auditioned for the next choir up called CMS Singers and was admitted.  She sang her first solo this year.

            In September, Nathan was birding in some local mudflats when he sank to his waist in the mud.  He lost one of his muck boots, and was lucky that he didn’t sink any further.  He hurled his camera and binoculars to safety and tried but failed to get his stuck boot out of the mud.

In October, each of the kids built a bird feeder near Grand Rapids, Michigan for the Grand Rapids Jr. Audubon Society meeting, which we have been using to feed our birds.  We also joined the Big Sit in Meadowbrook Marsh in Northeastern Ohio where we saw a Nelson’s Sparrow, Sandpipers, Black Crowned Night Herons, Cape May Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, and a Gray Cheeked Thrush.  Nathan also asked for a better camera for his birthday, and when he got it, sold his old camera to Sariah.  Both of them are eagerly photographing birds.  Nathan turned his project in to the American Birding Association and awaits the judges’ results in late March/early April of 2013.

In November, we attended the Ohio Young Birders Conference in Dayton, Ohio where Nathan presented in bird identification, and received a compliment on his skillz from one of the foremost birding book authors in the U.S. (Ken Kauffman).  We also traveled to Allegan County, Michigan to bird on the shore of Lake Michigan, where Nathan saw his favorite bird of the year (a Golden Eagle).  May competed in the Solo and Ensemble Festival with two other flute players and got a I (one) and a medal.  This is the highest rank possible.  We drove to Whitefish Point Bird Observatory where we saw Redpolls, a Hoary Redpoll, Pine Grosbeaks, and Bohemian Waxwings (Brigham’s and my favorite of the year).  It was a luxury to see these Bohemians up close eating juniper berries in the bushes.  May saved up her money to buy a camera with which she is also photographing birds.  Only Brigham has yet to get a birding camera.  Grandpa came to visit for Thanksgiving where we enjoyed bounteous food and lots of football!

This December we will be doing the Christmas Bird Count, Trapping House Sparrows (an invasive species crowding out native species), and dreaming about our big birding trip to Southern Florida coming up in April.