Birding Break

Delightfully, I decided to take a break from the hussle, bussle and stress of the week to go birding. I've never wandered North Mtn. Park before and there have been white-throated sparrows reported there. Unfortunately I did not see any white-throated sparrows, I DID see many birds that I haven't seen in quite awhile (Fox Sparrow, Pine Siskin and a large flock of female/juvenile Red-winged Blackbirds to name a few). It was nice to be out and about. I then went to see my horse and on the way spotted an adult Golden Eagle on a telephone pole. Lovely!

I've decided on a thesis topic. I had narrowed the project down to three possible focal points (residential vs migratory bird response to playback, response to neighbor vs stranger songs, and response to overlap vs alternating song). Feeling completely unable to make a decision I made several slips of paper for each topic and drew one from a hat. Residential vs Migratory it is! Now to get this thesis proposal finalized!

Finally, my "big project" for one of my classes is about Birds (shocking, I know). This project will include notes about the birds I see in my daily life, thesis related papers and whatnot, anything I find in the media about birds, quotes from other people about birds in their lives and things of this nature. Kind of following a "Birds in our Daily Live" kind of theme. I'm calling it "Growing Up Bird." Which reminds me that I will probably write about the similarities between juvenile birds and humans (I see many of them!). Anyone out there interested in contributing your thoughts and experiences, whether daily or growing up, please leave a comment with your quote, story, etc. Thanks!

I've come to realize that my life is quite literally all about birds right now. The majority of my projects are about them, I'm birding regularly and my spare time is filled with thesis research/proposal writing. I'm certain I've never been happier!

Thesis Project woes

I feel as though every time I talk about my thesis I feel more confused. Or like the project just keeps ballooning. Then shrinking. Then becoming something new. Something partially new, really. I've discovered that there isn't nearly as much research about Bewick's wren song/singing behavior as I'd like. That I will likely have to gather some baseline-type data myself (do they sing at dawn or dusk? do they have both type one and type two songs? what is their "normal" singing behavior?). There is talk about banding wrens to no for sure which birds I am monitoring. AND the coupe de grace is studying the effects of playback on the documented singing behavior. I can't tell if I've bitten off more than I can chew or not. What I do know is, I adore wrens, Bewick's wrens are not commonly nationwide and Bewick's wrens seem to be studied very little (outside of Donald Kroodsma who's PhD dissertation, from Oregon State, in the mid-70s involved Bewick's wrens at Finley NWR). Whew!

Klamath Basin/Shasta weekend

Man, oh man! I took a break from the homework deluge (already) this weekend and headed to the Klamath Basin. The lakes were all predominantly ice and therefore the waterfowl birding was not quite what I'd hoped for. Still saw large flocks of snow and canada geese, some ross's geese, tundra swans and various ducks just not the size or variety I'm used to in the Klamath Basin. There were also many bald eagles, a juvenile golden eagle (hurray), rough-legged hawks, several loggerhead and northern shrikes (the first time I've seen a northern shrike!), a townsend's solitaire (also a first), cassin's finches, a great-horned owl and red crossbills (a first that I have been waiting most of my life for!). This is not a complete list, but an exciting list nevertheless. We hiked Captain Jack's Stronghold at sunset. We drove from Klamath Falls to Weed, a side of Shasta I've never seen. I find the Klamath Basin/Mt Shasta/Lava Beds part of this region to be so amazing. Breathtaking. A wonderful way to start the year/term. Here's to a year of great birding!

"Collectory"

The "big project" for one of my classes is to be a collection of something we are interested in, related to our "subject" and related to adolescent development. Logically I have decided to work on collecting bits and pieces about birds (I basically have a collectory at home of bird-related "stuff"). I'm not sure how to relate this to adolescent development, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. Additionally, I discovered that I have to pay $2 EACH for Interlibrary Loan journal articles. This could be expensive as SOU doesn't subscribe to a great deal of the journals I need access to for my thesis. I still haven't heard from one of the professors that agreed to be a member of my thesis committee. I've got to track him down this week. I also still need to find a third (or forth) member. It has been recommended that I contact the ornithologist at the USFWS Forensics Lab in Ashland. I'd be pretty excited if he agreed to be on my committee. I've also greatly refined my project (I think) and am feeling more excited about things overall. Also, more concerned about time, timing and things of that nature. Ah well, the life of a graduate student!

Winter Term 2012

Today, the last day of winter break, finds me thinking about the coming months. About the mountains of homework. Of art I'm sure I'll want to create. Of the birding I will do for fun and for my thesis. Here I am, one being, alone in this world. Content to just be me. Hoping for so much.

While recently in Eugene, I saw the largest female red-tailed hawk I've ever seen. This seems like a good sign to me. Of what, I am not sure. Sanity. Success in school. Continued happiness in being alone. Whatever it is, I delighted by the discovery!

Slumber Party

At 31 years old I had a slumber party with my 3 year old niece and my 2 year old nephew at my sister's house. We ate homemade pad thai (my favorite!) for dinner, followed by popcorn and ice cream while watching "Elf." Possibly one of the most fun nights I've had in a while. We woke up to fresh coffee cake (for the vegans) and crepes (for the non-vegans). My niece told her mom "Hey, you're supposed to be gone" when she saw my sister in the kitchen. When it came time for me to leave my niece and nephew were so disappointed that I wasn't staying with them another night. I'm sure my brother-in-law thought it was silly, but I'm quite thankful for the adventures.

Mountains

I went into the mountains today, to find trees for decorating the houses of my parents and each of my sisters. Five dogs and four kids later I feel full of joy. The dogs were good (mine even listened the whole time!) and the kids full of laughter. We talked about trees and rocks and lichen and moss. We often talk about birds too, but I'm certain the altitude and the ruckus kept any birds in the area at bay. The lack of snow did not dampen spirits, though sledding is certainly more fun than playing in the dirt. Perhaps the snows will come soon enough for a family outing before Winter Term starts again. Being an auntie is one of the greatest joys in my life. Sharing my love for birds and nature the icing on the cake.