Birding in the 515 – The Simple Voice

Mysterious

There have been strange things happening around here.

I live in an apartment with a door to a small outside but covered courtyard. An outside entrance, I’m sure, so they can say it is a townhome and charge me more rent. But anyway. . .

I keep finding grass all over my doormat.

grassOnWelcome

Took me a few days to look up and find a barn swallow nest above my door.

Now what do I do? It’s a bit ewwwee — not sanitary at all. If I call the landlord they will remove the nest and I will feel bad. Like I’ve ruined this middle-class bird couple’s chance for a new home, in a nice neighborhood, with dry, protected surroundings. hmmm.

On another bird note (see what I did right there? 🙂

On another bird note, my hummingbirds are back. I was slow to get my feeder up. To my delight, there were many flying around my deck looking for the feeder. They came back. How cool is that? Enjoy your day,

— Namaste

Fly Away Hummingbirds

This summer, like all great things, will be coming to an end soon. With the start of school and the cooler nights, everything takes the cue to move to the next stage. My hummingbirds will be leaving soon. I’ve heard the Baltimore Orioles are already out of areas in our region.

According to Wired.com, forty percent of all North American waterfowl, and up to 50% of all migratory bird species use the Mississippi River as a navigational aid. Enough birds follow the Mississippi Flyway that they are picked up by radar on calm evenings.

I use BirdCast to get an idea of what is flying through my area. It helps me decide if I need to make an effort to get outside and what habitat to visit to see the birds I want.

So fly away. Bring on Fall. (…. and no, there will not be an obnoxious pumpkin spiced reference in this post.)

— Namaste

Cool Apps I’m Diggin

What are the apps on your phone right now? The answer is just as revealing of your personality as in woe-be-gone-days looking in you purse or wallet. Here’s a list what I’ve been diggin lately.

flashlight — it is what it says; very handy when walking fuzz butt after dark #dawginthehouse
flvto — converts YouTube videos to MP3s
todoist — To do list and task manager
habitica — is a free habit building and productivity app that treats your real life like a game. With in-game rewards and punishments to motivate
level — simple way to track discretionary spending
blender — use when creating 3D animation
pocket — when you want to save longer reads or interesting content for later
vivino — to scan wine lists, bottles in stores, etc. and instantly get ratings, prices, and descriptions (also stores what wine you like)
garden — see a plant, take a pic and find out what it is
shazam — point it at your radio to tell you what the song title and artist playing
podcast republic — to listen to podcasts
mapMyRide — for bicycling to tell me duration, speed, route, calories expended
pacer — to count steps, calories expended, distance
myFitnessPal — to track my food intake and exercise goals (#11 and #12 sync with it)
ebird — bird identification and bird info

Broken Wings

kildeer_baby Look at this cute little Kildeer. Adorable.

I also love the way Kildeer walk. So in a hurry: https://youtu.be/KyadCR3AJeQ kildeer_nest

If you ever see an “injured” adult bird, don’t necessarily believe it. In summer, Kildeer nest in these tiny nests — often in parking lots at my work. The first time I saw a limping momma Kildeer, I felt sorry for her. She limped. She

cocked her wing to make it look like it was mangled. I’ve since learned this is a ploy momma’s do to lead you away from her precious babies. Groovy, right?!

The Administration’s 2018 budget blueprint, released last month, would eliminate many EPA programs — bird habitat and important conservation programs decimated. The crippled bird, may be all too real in the future.

— Namaste