ethno-ornithology ideas

I'm looking for some ideas for ethno-ornithology blogs. If you have an idea send it to me, I'll work it into my posts somehow!

Minorities and youth in Fisheries and Wildlife

I met with Rebecca Goggins, the intern and incoming student coordinator (and professor extraordinaire) yesterday. We discussed the FW 441 project when she asked what we were looking for I told her that I couldn't speak for the group but that I am interested in knowing the ethnographic statistics for the Fisheries and Wildlife Program and what influenced peoples' decisions to join us. Being the wonderful person she is, Rebecca found several articles for me to read and e-mailed me copies of the surveys she gives to first year Fisheries and Wildlife students and of the final data for 2008 students. The results are not too surprising, few minorities (though hispanics and American Indians dominate the minority responses), more males than females, big game more popular than waterfowl or upland game birds (big game is the most popular), conservation is the dominant "interest" and getting into academia is one of the least desired fields to go into after graduation. Perhaps more interesting than the information from OSU is the results of a study involving teenagers and forestry (natural resources as a whole, done by Clemson University). This study found that seniors in high school are quite concerned about the environment, are most concerned about issues regularly in the media and don't want to go to college to study natural resources fields. Most students didn't realize that money could be made in natural resources and had only a vague idea of what natural resource careers entail. Even more interesting is that most students interested in careers involving natural resources have no plans to attend college. Interesting and completely pertanent to what we're trying to do with this class. We meet tonight to discuss survey questions. I hope it isn't as frustrating as I feel it's going to be. Dana (the professor) has suggested making an agenda and working to get everyone to stick to it. Wish me luck! If you're interested, I'm attaching the reference for the article, I'll see if I can find an e-version later.

Hager, S., Straka, T., Irwin, H. 2007. What Do Teenagers Think of Environmental Issues and Natural Resources Management Careers? Journal of Forestry, pps 95-98.

Mental health awareness

A volunteer for the Republican National Committee has been violated. She has been violated by her own mental illness and by the very party she volunteers for. Oct 23, Ashley Todd, a 20 year-old Texas A&M student accused an Obama supporter of attacking her and scratching a "backwards B" into her face. Today, she admitted to making the story up and scratching the B into her cheek herself. See the article here. Perhaps the most distressing aspect of this whole scenario is that Todd does not remember scratching herself. The police are holding her for psychiatric evaluation. On Oct 23 some supporters of the Republican Party ran with it. Sean Hannity apparently claimed that "this is what Obama supporters are like" when he presented the story. Desperate times call for desperate measures I suppose. Ultimately it makes me more disgusted with the depths that people go to to try and get votes. I know I've said it before but my sincere hope is that Americans will fight the "fear doctrine" so that people can start being calmer, more sensible and actually stop to think on their own (you know independently and with freedom). I also hope that Ms. Todd gets the help she needs, and a sincere apology from the people who tried to exploit her situation. While we're at it apologies should go out to Obama and African-Americans across the country.

This is a perfect segue into my next thought. The McCain/Palin campaign has been trying to sell a bunch of "us against them" retoric. How so? By claiming that urban residents and liberal east coasters are anti-American. By claiming that rural dairymen (and people like them) are the only patriotic pro-Americans. Frankly I refused to believe that people out there could actually agree with that. Then I saw the Daily Show clip of people being interviewed in Wasilla, Alaska. They kept espousing the same ideals that McCain and Palin have been on their campaign trail. The best part? Whan 9/11 came up they used it as an example of how rural America came together . . . even when they were reminded that the events occurred in NYC they tried to play that off as coincidental. My gods . . . they really are crazy! All of this anti-American rhetoric has me offended. According to conservatives (at least the ones currently getting the most publicity) the only way to be pro-American is to be anti-abortion, anti-religious freedom, anti-equal rights, anti-environmental, pro-oil drilling in highly sensitive places and by voting for McCain. Well, I'd like to remind these people that this country was founded by people seeking religious freedom, hence the separation of church-and-state and our founders recognized the importance of equality (read the Declaration of Independence). Obviously not everything our country was founded on has proved to be a good idea. Eminant Domain had some pretty negative results (ask the Indians and natural places and critters) and slavery went on for far too long. Finally, capitalism was a bad idea, at least unchecked capitalism was a bad idea. We've made mistakes, recognizable, diagnosable mistakes. Let's learn from them and move forward with the memory and realization that being pro-American means allowing others to be as they are, not persecuting them, not forcing them to conform and punishing them if they don't. As long as our country promotes Christianity as the only true and pure religion, minorities as being less equal (based on sexuality, ethnicity, race, or whatever) and war as the only solution the country as a whole will remain profoundly un-American.

Tagcloudness

FW 441

In order to graduate all Fisheries and Wildlife students have to finish the Group Problem Solving series. This is a year long class teaching us how to work in groups (obviously). The group I've signed in to is a group trying in increase diversity in the Fisheries and Wildlife field. Our first few meetings were really rough, nobody seemed interested, people kept talking in circles and nobody seemed to want to speak up and move forward. I discussed my problems with the instructor, which opened up a whole new can of worms. It turns out nobody but me had thanked her for the pizza or snacks that she had provided and she was hurt, which I understand. Last week we had a guest speaker, Dr. John Bliss. He is a professor in the College of Forestry at OSU. His bachelor's degree was in Anthropology. So, Dr. Bliss came to talk to us about social sciences in natural resources. His only request was that people read a chapter that he wrote before the talk. Several people didn't read it, those who did thought the paper was a review about statistics. I, on the other hand, found the paper really helpful and was incredibly frustrated by the lack on interest by my group mates. Tonight people talked more, which made me happy. They still seem less interested in this project than I am and are uninterested in doing any extrawork but at least we're moving forward. Our next step is to create a set of specific questions and a questionnaire about ethnicity, age, socio-economic status and gender. Then we'll get out and do some prliminary research figure out what we need to do to get minorities interested and start creating information to send out with professionals. I'm excited, this has actually led to my decision to apply to Portland State University. I'd like to study more about citizen science and outreach education for minorities and urban residents. After four weeks the only thing I know for certain is that we have a lot of work ahead of us!

California Quail-CAQU

From: Wise, Cathy. 2004. Available at: http://www.wisenaturephotos.com/images/Misc.%20Birds/California%20Quail%20on%20Sage%202.jpg> Accessed October 20, 2008.

Here's a little something I wrote about CAQU about four days ago.

Chi-ca-go, pik, pik
Curly notch, brush runner, blue and brown
California Quail

Ethno-ornithology Sunday: birds as merchandise

I've noticed a disturbing trend the last few years, which has led me to my next ethno-ornithology blog. Birds as merchandising. The plethora of t-shirts, bags, labels and other material goods being produced with bird designs is phenomenal. In addition, graphic "swallow" tattoos are becoming increasingly popular as well. Possibly the most disturbing aspect of this trend is that awareness of birds, how we affect them, that they need our help and things of this nature is not increasing. Most of the bird designs out there are graphic representations of birds, or crows and hummingbirds. If you ask people to name their favorite bird they don't know the names of any (really), most don't even realize that the bird on their shirt isn't real. Of course I have no real studies to back me up. This is simply an observational study I've had in the works (more on the back-burner but I've been busy so it's coming out a little early). I'd actually like to explore this further. Even better would be for Old Navy, American Eagle and all the other "bird crazy" trendy stores to put real birds on their goods. Anyone for a peregrine falcon? How about an osprey? Or maybe a yellow warbler? Eh, I don't know, as a bird lover I find it incredibly frustrating and fascinating. These birds are literally graphic designs removed from all reality. An animate object made into an inanimate one, and none of the supporters of this trend realize the irony. Everyone I've talked to that has bird related graphic designs on their person doesn't see what the big deal is. Something else that has always bothered me is the use of bird species as street names. The birds that are used won't be found there any longer, shoot most people that live there don't even know what bird they've actually replaced (or had their street named after). Ugh . . . This is not my best ethno-ornithology blog, but there isn't much to go off of other than my own opinion, which I assume is readily apparent.

I'm taking suggestions for next weeks ethno-ornithology blog. Got one for me? Leave it as a comment. Cheers.



An applique bird bag. It's lovely sure, do you know what bird this most closely resembles?

An example of the "swallow" tattoo that is so popular.

Hummingbird shirt, nothing much to say about it.
I searched for bird fabrics, rather than post a picture though I'll provide the link here.

Meriwether Lewis . . . depressed to the end

According to Scott Bonar, Meriwether Lewis was terribly depressed. He attempted suicide twice, once by trying to jump overboard from a steamboat. He then tried to shoot himself. Both of these attempts were made while on a trip east (from Louisiana, where he was governor) to explain why he wasn't a very good governor. In Tennessee Lewis rented a room in a cabin and then shot himself twice and then cut himself from head to toe with a razor (Bonar 2007). There aren't any pages that confirm what Bonar says here's a good background on Lewis. I like Bonar's book so far (The Conservation Professional's Guide to Working with People), though the uncertainty I have about Lewis actually cutting himself from head to toe is high.

politics

As I walked the dogs this morning I got to thinking about politics and how they sometimes break families up. My mother and I haven't spoken since our most recent political argument (and I try so hard to stay out of them with her), my friend J's family isn't really talking to her either. I'm worried for out country. I'm worried because the Republican candidates keep talking as if Americans are stupid, they're condescending. I'm worried because Republicans want people to be OFFENDED by Obama's level of intelligence and diction. They want to cut funding for education yet again. Then, they complain because Americans aren't as smart as other countries. Even worse is that they've turned to FEAR tactics in order to try and win votes from Obama. He's a terrorist because he served on a board of education with William Ayers? Really? If you serve on the board of an organization and someone else is radical you're suddenly one too? If McCain and Palin win I'm afraid the rich will get richer, the middle class will get poorer, the economy will continue to flounder and the war in Iraq will go on until there are no more soldiers or someone finally forces us out. Why? Because McCain won't leave Iraq until things have calmed down (although our very presence there keeps things "stirred up"). We have some major problems, to which McCain says he has solutions, though he hasn't shared one yet (other than cutting corporate taxes . . . because corporations don't make enough money as it is). Don't get me wrong, I'm an independent. I've been to both candidates websites, visited league of conservation voters, visit factcheck when I doubt something that has been said and have watched the debates with an open-mind. I like McCain too. I believe that he's a "country first" kind of guy. Sadly I think his idea of "country first" and mine are pretty different! I believe that McCain is (or at least was) a strong man, he was a POW for five years and survived, that seems impressive. But, he's up there in years, has battled health problems and has Palin as his running mate. I'm not even going into how much Palin scares me . . . we'll just leave it at that. So, Obama gets my support. He and his wife are intelligent, I believe he undertands the middle class (maybe foolishly so), he has thought about so many things AHEAD of time and I think he's what our country needs right now. Wanna know more?

Visit John McCain here.
Visit Obama here

Ethno-ornithology Sunday: artists and collectors

Carolina Parakeet, the now extinct native North American Psittacidae family member. From: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2041/2334948993_3ee4befb53.jpg.

When people hear the name Audubon the first thing that pops into their minds is birds. This makes sense as John James Audubon himself was a prominent bird artist. I am a big fan of his art, and the society named after him (of course)! One thing that many may not know is that Audubon once wrote that “he felt incomplete if he didn’t kill a hundred birds a day” (Gibson 2005). Many of Audubon’s paintings were created using freshly killed models that were meticulously posed using wires to hold them in place. Sometimes it would take more than a hundred birds to find one perfect for his paintings (Gibson 2005). Audubon’s paintings were part of his “Birds of America,” which included 435 life-size paintings. For an interesting description of Audubon as an artist go here. Eventually Audubon began to worry about birds like the Carolina parakeet and the ivory-billed woodpecker, as he traveled the country painting, he encountered fewer of them. In “The Race to Save the Lord God Bird” an excerpt of Audubon’s diary mentions his concern remarking that it was popular to wear ivory-billed woodpecker bills and crests and that their habitat was being eliminated in many parts of the south. Finally, their loud calls and bright colors made them easy to find by hunters (Hoose 2004). Audubon himself actually had little to do with the creation or naming of the Audubon society. One of the Audubon Society’s founders, George Bird Grinnell, was tutored by Audubon’s wife. Knowing Audubon’s affinity for birds and his reputation as an ornithologist, Grinnell chose to name the society after Audubon (Audubon Society 2008).

Swainson's warbler from: http://www.surfbirds.com/media/gallery_photos/20040419054308.jpg
Another aspect of this time that negatively affected bird populations (aside from over-hunting, birds hats and a general lack of concern for nature) was museum collectors. Hoose recounts the actions of one man that while acceptable at the time, today are quite deplorable (and bewildering to me). George Beyer was a German born American museum-creator at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. In 1899 ivory-billed woodpeckers were rarely, though not extinct. Beyer was informed that ivory-bills still existed and went on an expedition to bring skins back. While in LA he killed seven birds in a week (mind you they’re known to be rare at this time). Three of these birds were a family. The parents were still feeding their recently fledged baby when he killed them, cutting the next from its tree top home, so it could be part of the museum display (Hoose 2004). Arthur Wayne is another museum collector whose love of birds led him to become a hunter for museum collections. Wayne’s loved of birds was equaled by William Brewster, another museum collector. In 1884 Wayne and Brewster collected 47 swainson’s warblers, a species considered extinct until Wayne and Brewster “re-discovered” it (Hoose 2004).

Unfortunately I can’t find more information on this. I suppose I should check OSU’s library, though I’m not sure what else to search under. If I find more I’ll bring it too your attention at some point. Ultimately, my goal was to bring to light some bizarre, possibly previously un-thought of effects we have/had on birds. Birds have been popular ornamentation since man came into existence. Cave drawings depict birds, artists have painted them and people have committed their lives to studying birds. What gets me most about the “collecting” portion of our history is the “collecting” part of it. People who felt a true affinity for birds, a love for their plumage, their lives, killed them. In some cases these people helped wipe them out. I don’t get it. In 2000 I worked with a volunteer in Orange County, CA that originally brought this practice to my attention. We had caught a female calliope hummingbird in one of our nets. They’re a rare find in that area, so he brought her back to the banding station (mistake number one on his part). Once there he asked me if he could kill her, so she could be stuffed and placed in a natural history museum he worked for. I was horrified, why should she have to die? There are pictures of calliope hummingbirds. There are specimens in cases elsewhere for certain. It is all very odd. I got to work with some 50+ year old specimens last spring in Systematics of birds class. These specimens are spectacularly beautiful, and when will I ever see a typical roller in person again? They are also spectacularly sad. I held them in my hands knowing they had once breathed, cared for a family or been cared for and I cried.
Lilac-breasted roller from: http://www.davidmixner.com/images/2007/09/15/image002_2.jpg

Audubon Society. John James Audubon 1785-1851. 2008. Available at http://www.audubon.org/nas/jja.html. Accessed October 12, 2008.
Hoose, P. 2004. The Race to Save the Lord God Bird. Melanie Kroupa Books, New York. 196 pp.
Gibson, G. 2005. The Bedside Book of Birds. Nan A. Talese, New York. 369 pp.

Forever

It feels like forever since I last posted. Of course if forever was really only 10 days or so I think we'd all be pretty sad. Well we'd be sad other than the "forever" promises we make that we want out of, then we'd be awfully glad.

I missed last week's ethno-ornithology blog, with good reason. Homework. Well, that and we played around on Saturday. Anyway, I was going to post Monday, then I had my brakes fixed, which took SIX hours! Albany, OR is the closest GM Certified shop in the Valley, so I went to Albany, with the only homework not on my computer. I finished reading and doing my Math homework withing about three. Needless to say Monday was really busy by the time I got home! I switched around a class so I had a ton of reading to do during the week, two assignments due at the end of the week . . . *sigh.* I'm finally caught up (for the most part) and still have a ton of stuff to do. Maybe things will slow down more by next weekend. Ha!

On Wednesday I met with Doug. We talked about the research project. I was feeling pretty down on it until I talked to him. He seemed happy with the data, impressed with my ability to keep up with the large number of birds I encountered (there were at least 300 birds each day, often more than 500). We discussed next summer and whether or not I want to band as well. As much as I love banding I don't want birds to die because I'm taking so long at each net. There would definitely be some kinks to work out there. We also discussed graduate school. He's encouraging me to go and that makes me feel good, it's a little overwhelming right now though. This research project plus homework, plus trying to find schools to apply to and then actually applying. It's looking like I may take a year off in order to finish this project and get my graduate school prospects lined up. Also, Julie really wants to apply for the bridge position. It makes me feel like hurrying to get everything done may be a little pointless. I'll look into some of the programs here at OSU, maybe some of the one year certificates or something.

Bleah, back to homework. I'll have an ethno-ornithology blog posted by tomorrow night (think James Audubon).

Schools in . . .

Three days into the term and I'm already wishing it could be winter break! I suppose that isn't entirely true, I like the classes I'm in and the work isn't overwhelming me yet. There's just a lot of work to do, class presentations included. I hate talking in front of classes. Most of these cats aren't even here to listen to the professor, they just want to graduate and get out. Why would they "want" to listen to me? Also, I don't feel as though speaking up makes me smarter . . . or maybe I just have such low self-esteem (large insecurities) that I'm not confident enough. I can get up in front of people to talk about wildlife and birds though. I'm so weird.

I've come to realize that I can't make a good scientist, these three days of classes saw to that! The reason is that scientists have to remain objective. They can advocate for things with lectures or donations, but the science is just that, science. If a study has results you don't like then you have to deal with the outcome, like it or not. Not that I think data should be manipulated. I just think that I want to be an advocate, I want to be involved in helping repair some of the damage and open minds to what the EARTH has to offer. You know, get people out of the house, away from the computer screen (haha) and into nature. I still want to know what's going on, study things of interest and what-not, I just don't think I want to do so via academia.