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Orange Hawkweed

near Lake Placid, NY Summer 2001

A field of hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum) like this one is something that I love about the Adirondacks. I don’t see hawkweed here in NJ although the USDA says it occurs in some northwestern and southern counties of the state. It’s a non-native, but well-loved wildflower, and is considered a noxious and invasive weed in many states. But it is beautiful, don’t you agree?
We visit this country road each year on our way to Lake Placid and usually stand around for a bit looking for bobolinks, I think. I don’t know that I remember ever finding any there, but I do enjoy the scenery.

Sandy Hook Migration Watch

The Sandy Hook Migration Watch started yesterday March 15th and counter Calvin Brennan will be at the platform counting everything that flies by until May 15th. A hawk count at Sandy Hook has been in existence since 1979 and in 2003 was expanded to include other migrating birds. The photo above shows a view of the NYC skyline visible from the platform. The photo was taken in early spring, if I remember correctly. Later in the season the dunes are awash in blooming beach plums and migrating warblers.

The counter has a great job, I think, but it must be pretty miserable sometimes out there in the cold, wind, and rain when birds aren’t moving. Most groups who are out birding will pay a visit to the platform and often bring snacks to the lonely counter and get an update on what’s being seen.

These photos were taken a few years ago during one of the Sunday morning bird walks I like to do at Sandy Hook. We usually meet at 7 am (6 am during May) and go till 1 or 2 in the afternoon, making our way around the Hook. We’ve been doing this for years, and Ed and I (his photo is there at left) do an awful lot of BS-ing while we bird. He was on the very first *real* bird walk I went on, and was so helpful and friendly. I never felt intimidated as a new birder joining this group and Ed helped me get a lot of life birds. Thanks, Ed!

Mid-April is peak time for migrating raptors at Sandy Hook (4,000 – 6,000 birds of prey are counted in a typical year) and the majority of migrants are Sharp-Shinneds, Cooper’s, Kestrels, and Merlins. Rarities include Goshawk (most likely seen in March), Swallow-Tailed Kite (late April), and Mississippi Kite (May). More information, directions, and count stats are available here.

Come on out, bring snacks, we’ll be glad to have you!

More book stuff: a meme

Name 5 of your favorite books:
1. Equinox: Life, Love and Birds of Prey by Dan O’Brien
2. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
3. The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter
4. Plainsong by Kent Haruf
5. Trinity by Leon Uris



Name 5 of your favorite authors:
1. Dan O’Brien
2. Kent Haruf
3. Hal Borland
4. Barbara Kingsolver
5. Sue Hubbell

Name of the last book you bought?
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Name of the last book you read?
Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps by Ted Kooser

Name of five books that are particularly meaningful for you:
1. A Country Year by Sue Hubbell. A book that I’ve read over and over.
2. Sundial of the Seasons by Hal Borland. I refer to this book every day. Borland always has something to teach me about how to look at the natural world.
3. El arbol de la ciencia by Pio Baroja. The first contemporary Spanish novel I read as a Spanish major in college. This book opened up another language (and its books) to me.
4. A Pocketful of Proverbs by Joan Walsh Anglund. Given to me by my aunt and uncle on my first Christmas. I still treasure this little book.
5. Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Birds by Roger Tory Peterson. It’s where I keep my life list!

Name of three books you are dying to read but just haven’t yet:
1. out of print books by Hal Borland
2. next book by Kent Haruf
3. next book by Barbara Kingsolver

Would anyone care to self-tag?

An old treasure from my bookshelf

My home is filled with books. So many that I often don’t realize what I have here. Sometimes, when searching for a particular book I come across others that I’d forgotten about. This post on Lake Life today reminded me of a treasure. The Burgess Bird Book for Children was originally published in 1919. My well-used copy was published in 1965 and has color illustrations by Louis Agassiz Fuertes.

This is a wonderful book to introduce children to birds. I think I bought my copy back when I was teaching elementary school and read it on occasion to my students during the last moments of the school day. Burgess includes information about each birds’ appearance, habits, and personality incorporated into story form. He includes those birds that little children are most likely to see and the illustrations are true to life.

The story begins with the arrival of Mistress Spring. Peter Rabbit goes into the orchard looking for spring’s new arrivals and meets Jenny Wren, the local gossip, who is happy to tell him all about the other birds as they arrive in the Green Meadows. One by one Peter Rabbit meets all of the common country birds and learns about them from Jenny Wren. What is most endearing to me are the names that Burgess gives each of the birds. There is Bully the English Sparrow, Slaty the Junco, Dear Me the Phoebe, and Scrapper the Kingbird among the cast of characters. This book is worth searching out in your local library or used bookstore, even if you don’t have children. Burgess’ love for birds is obvious. Is it any wonder I love this book – bird stories told by a bunny!

What color green are you?

You Are Mint Green

Balanced and calm, you have mastered the philosophy of living well.
Your friends seek you out for support, and you are able to bring stability to chaotic situations.
You’re very open and cheerful – and you feel like you have a lot of freedom in life.
Your future may hold any number of exciting things, and you’re ready for all of them!

Thanks to endment for the link to this bit of fun.

Dreaming of a getaway

A friend at work left this brochure on my desk today. She does this, every so often, because she knows how badly I want to visit the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY. I almost stayed there on my honeymoon, but decided it was too expensive and probably not worth the money to be in such a beautiful place in the freezing cold weather. I had a chance a few years later when my car broke down on the Thruway at the New Paltz exit. A good mechanic nixed that chance.

I’m drawn not so much to the elegant accommodations and unique charm of the place (no in-room tv’s and they serve tea and cookies each day!), but to the breathtaking scenery. Who wouldn’t want to stay in a castle in the mountains with that view?

Grocery store tulips

Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity – John Rusken
Spring is seeping in, day by day. Because my connection with the outdoors is focused primarily on birds, rather than say, wildflowers, I note the changing seasons with the comings and goings of birds. Sure, I spot snowdrops and crocuses, and notice the swelling buds of the magnolia beside my front door and feel the urge to get my fingers in the dirt like any gardener, but my sense of time is very much centered on the migrations of birds.
I wonder if most people, who aren’t *nature-girls* as my friend likes to call me, are aware of the subtle changes happening now. Do they notice the earlier dawn accompanied by birds tuning-up their voices for the coming spring chorus? Do they stop whatever they’re doing to listen to the titmouse singing his “Peter- Peter-Peter” song? Can they hear the red-wings and the killdeer already taking claim to a space for nesting?
A co-worker found me yesterday afternoon, outside on my break, grinning from ear to ear, standing alone. “What are you doing, Laura?” How could I explain to her that I was listening to a mockingbird imitating the practice songs of a titmouse? That these two birds were singing a duet? And that I was getting a real kick out of listening to them do it?