The Birds of Easter

Had a lovely Easter Dinner with my Aunt and Uncle, who live near a forest and have a bird feeder up all season.  I had the good sense to bring my little Zen Art Sketchbook mentioned in the last post and basically filled the last few pages.  Behold!

Inktober Day 22 - First Junco!

I set up my bird feeding station a few days ago and all it took was a rainy, soggy morning for the birds to find it.  It hasn't snowed yet, but we've had some snowbirds.

Hummingbirds and Orioles are Back!

Last autumn and LAST last autumn, I had written about feeding hummingbirds. Since they've returned and are courting each-other by now, I figure some of the points I made back then need to be reiterated.  Once again, the formula is 3.5-4 cups of boiled water to one cup of pure cane sugar. Let the sugar dissolve in the hot water and set it aside to cool. DO NOT USE FOOD DYE!!!

I like to have a container prepared in advance. The feeder currently has a 3.5 cup of water mix but I'm going to fill the feeders with the 4 cup water mix next, just for the sake of experimenting.

A couple of Baltimore Orioles have been visiting the hummingbird feeders and their own nominal feeder as well. We started seeing just the adult male at first, so I put out a few slices of oranges to encourage him.



And then we started seeing this Oriole. I apologize for the blurry-as-hell through-the-kitchen-window photograph. I figure she/he is either a moulting young male or a female who looks a little ragged after diving in and out of her nest all day.



Here's another look at her/him. If you know what I'm looking at here exactly, sound off in the comments please.

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Sketch of the Day!

On new (to me) "Futurama" Episodes

I guess I could stay a little on-topic and talk about how having ten movies nominated for Best Picture ultimately makes the category almost meaningless and complaining (again) about the bullsh*t involved in the Best Animated Feature award (which this nice infographic does very well for me so never mind). Instead, let's talk the "Futurama" revival. And, later, bird seed.

I didn't get to see the new episodes of "Futurama" in their initial run, but I just found out this weekend that they are available via Netflix Instant Watch. So I spent a lazy Sunday watching the whole shebang in one go. Here are some thoughts:

Don't bother if you haven't seen the direct-to-DVD movies. This is a pretty continuity-heavy series. There's only four of them and they aren't that long. They are also all available via Netflix instant watch.

It takes a few episodes for the show to find it's footing again. Once it does, you've got episodes that rank up there with the best. Among the highlights are the revelation that, yes, history is cyclical in the "Futurama" universe (bummer for that guy in "The Cryonic Woman"), Amy's brain temporarily being overtaken by a self-aware piece of janitorial equipment, and an intelligent design advocate who happens to be a superintelligent orangutan.

I don't know if I've sold more people on this series or frightened them away...

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Sketch of the Day!

Release the Hounds!

Things I Must Post About!

This is partially for my benefit, partially for you readers to laugh at. I just finished an archive binge on my own blog and here are all the subjects I said I would write more about "someday":

* - WACOM Tablets and why they own so hard.

* - Jeff Smith's Bone. Actually, let's just get this one done: It's very good. Great art, terrific story. Just be aware that this is the kind of graphic novel that starts out like "Pogo" and ends like Dragonlance, and we all know what those are like, right?

* - Executive Meddling. Though I think between Don Bluth Month and the "Alien 3" review, I think that's been adequately covered. If you just can't get enough sad stories about an artist's vision being screwed by the higher-ups, you may read the namesake Trope, or listen to the whole spectacular debacle that the director of the film "Fanboys" suffered in this episode of the /Filmcast.

* - Speaking of: Podcasts! I got another shout-out by the very nice guys at "Science... Sort Of" in a recent episode. I think it's time to return the favor.

* - Obscure and or strange cartoons and shows like the previously and very briefly mentioned 1990's "Land of the Lost" reboot, "Kidd Video," and"Glow Friends".

* - The 1980's "Dinosaur" documentary with Phil Tippet animation and the PBS "Dinosaur" documentary with cel animation.

* - Reviews of illustrated books that somehow influenced me. William Stout's Dinosaurs, Rien Poortvliet's Gnomes, and Wayne D. Barlowe's Expedition.

* - Hazel Hedgehog and the Smurfette Principal. Maybe. Once again, the namesake trope pretty much covers it. Hazel herself is mentioned in the "Comics" section.

* - Classic Ranger Rick, though this is seeming less and less likely, and that makes me sad.

* - "Inception" and how much it melted my face off. Actually, yeah, there's my review. "Inception" = Awesomesauce.

"Trish, this is a movie that is essentially a victory lap for one of your favorite directors, stars an actor you've been a fan of since forever, the rest of the cast is incredible, it has amazing music, a brilliant fight scene unlike anything ever attempted before, and many shout-outs to M.C. Escher and Jungian symbolism and other stuff that you find awesome. And all you have to say about it is, 'It's Awesomesauce'? You know you wrote an entire blog post about a Tinkerbell book..."

Yeah. Yeah I know. It's just that I'm very late to the party and better writers have beaten me to everything interesting I could say about "Inception". I'm pretty sure I don't need to sell the movie to anyone at this point either. And I consider the Tinkerbell review an Old Shame.

By the way, Christopher Nolan was totally robbed. Bad Academy! Bad!

* - Other good 2010 movies I haven't got a chance to review yet and deserve long write-ups because they are underrated/obscure/whatever.

* - MOER OLD PALEOART!!! Especially the tale of Syntarsus (got that ready for Thursday!) and the Simon and Schuster Encyclopedia.

* - "Fraggle Rock" for cryin' out loud! Jim Henson's stuff in general.

* - "Invader Zim" and "Super Mario Brothers"

* - Movies That Are Good But Have a Ton to Answer For.

* - Expensive bird seed failure.

* - Dinosauroids and maybe other weird pop culture paleo-stuff.

* - And maybe this will be the year I write about the classic Christmas specials, yah?

OK, I'm promising nothing, but there's a good long list of subjects. Hopefully "someday" will be "over the next few weeks".

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Art of the Day!

I have updated my DeviantArt ID finally! I don't know, I think Spewey is a good mascot don't you?


DA ID 2011 by ~babbletrish on deviantART

Feederwatch Season Begins!

Once again, it is time to set up our bird feeders and fill them with delicious treats for our favorite winged theropods. It's time to switch our weather alerts to Celsius. It's time to participate in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project Feederwatch.

Data on the migratory and feeding patterns of backyard birds is very valuable, and Feederwatch is probably the easiest of Cornell's citizen science projects to participate in. It couldn't be simpler:

1) Choose two consecutive days per week. Weekends are fine.

2) Keep an eye on your backyard during these days. It doesn't matter if it's all day or a few minutes.

3) Keep a log of (a) the weather and (b) how many birds of each species you see at a time.

This last part is often confusing for some people. If you look out the window on Saturday and see twenty House Sparrows (as an aside, it's okay to estimate if the birds arrive in big flocks), write that down. If you look out on Sunday and see fifty sparrows, scratch out your "twenty" count and write that down. This is because of part 4:

4) At the end of your second day, go to the Cornell Data Entry website and record the LARGEST number for each species you have seen over your two days.

And that's basically it. Really, all the information you need is at the Cornell website.

There are a few readers last year who were curious as to what birdseed I use. As you can see in the picture above, I use a blend. If you're making your own blend, start with sunflower seeds. Note that Black-Oil Sunflower seeds are easiest for birds to consume. I remember years ago being able to purchase bulk bags of Striped Sunflower seeds, but it seems as though those seeds are being relegated to being human food. You can experiment with Striped if you can find some that haven't been roasted, flavored, salted, or what-have-you.

Add some unsalted, unflavored, un-messed-around-with peanuts. You can experiment with other nuts (especially tree nuts), and small dried fruits like raisins and "craisins" are usually a big hit too, especially in winter. Avoid trail mixes as these often contain chocolate (as bad for birds as it is for dogs, poor things), yogurt, and other weird foods. The very patient among us can start collecting fruit seeds, like I have with the pumpkins (argh but not with the record number of Gala apples I consumed this autumn.)

Speaking of fruit, overripe fruit can go over well with wild animals. But, and I cannot emphasize this enough, DO NOT BE CHEAP AND TOSS STALE BREAD OUT THERE BREAD IS BASICALLY THE WORST THING YOU COULD FEED A BIRD!!!!! Read this Tetrapod Zoology post for more - much more; more than you could ever possibly want to know - about this. Aside from fruit, there are also... let's call them more exotic options. (For the record, this is a line I will not cross.)

So I usually get one big bag of sunflower seeds and a little bag of mixed seeds (this covers the "little stuff"), a jar of shelled peanuts, and a big box of raisins. And I can usually get all of this for a decent price at Ocean State Job Lot. (I have a future post in me arguing against expensive bird seed -- but keep in mind that the primary consumers of my seeds are house sparrows. Your mileage may vary.) I mix everything together in --this is very important-- a big plastic tub with a lid that closes very tightly. I even go further and keep my tub well off the ground and weigh the lid down. You want the critters to stay in the yard, not venture into the basement.

And speaking of critters...



Tolerance of mammals at your bird feeder is another "mileage may vary" issue. Some people are totally cool with the occasional squirrel. I am too -- as long as they are scarfing up whatever has fallen out of the feeder and aren't raiding the feeder itself.

To that end, I can't recommend a squirrel-proof feeder highly enough. The one I use is a hopper feeder that has a counterweight design; there's a little door above the opening that snaps shut if something that weighs a lot more than a bird sits on the perch. (It's not this model, but it looks very similar.) It has the added advantage of making sure huge crowds of house sparrows can't empty the feeder in one sitting (which, unfortunately, they absolutely will).

There are other designs, including the spectacular Yankee Flipper (here's a video of this thing in action, with a perfect soundtrack, and I get the sense that Droll Yankee invented it just for the LOLs.) If you don't have access to these feeders, a "baffle" works pretty well, and you could always try greasing your feeder pole. Best thing to do, really, is resign yourself to the fact that, if a squirrel could smell birdseed on Mars, he'd find some way to get at it.

I set my feeder in an area that's relatively hidden from the street, not too close to the hedges where the sparrows hang out and where predators could lurk, and in kind of an open spot among the lilacs (not to close to the trees that squirrels could jump from them to the feeder, but close enough for the birds to feel they could dive in them for safety if the neighbors' cat comes to investigate.) And, of course, it's in full view of my biggest window, without being anywhere near the window. Having birds flying around near a big window is just inevitably going to end in tragedy. On a similar note, keep your cats and dogs inside during the mid-morning and afternoon, as those tend to be the peak feeding times.



While we are on the subject of Carnivore Confusion, I tolerate hawks. The very few I have seen always go after the house sparrows. If you do not enjoy the sight of a Sharpie PWNING a sparrow in your own backyard, then what kind of birdwatcher ARE you?

I'll write more about bird feeding once I actually get my feeder up, as there are a lot of issues yet to cover. For those of you starting your counts early, good luck! Here's to a great season!