New Blog on the Block: Earbirding

In the "this just in" department, via Bill Schmoker at Brdpics, comes a new blog that promises to be not only interesting, but cutting edge: Earbirding.com. The blog's author, Nathan Pieplow, not only takes birding by ear to new levels, but revisits old levels and clarifies them. Or at least prompts discussions to try to. Friends, Romans, and Countrymen, lend him your ears at Earbirding.com.

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Oops, I Did It Again

Yes, I cheated again. We published a second post on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's "Round Robin" blog. This one, titled "How to See a Sound That’s a Half-Second Long," gets into flight-calls a bit more and talks about using spectrograms to "see" sound.

Find out more about this image, including what it sounds like, at Round Robin.

If you missed it, the first post, "Let's Go Biding! . . . At Night . . . Blindfolded," serves as an introduction.

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Stepping Out

Dear Feather and the Flower,

You'll probably find out about it elsewhere on the Internets, so let me come clean. The rumors are true. I've been writing with someone else.

It's only platonic, I swear - please know you are still my one and only blog. But I was approached by another blog, we innocently chatted about our shared interest in birds. We hit it off, the attraction was too great to resist; one thing lead to another, and as of today I've published on a different site.

I don't mean to hurt you, but the other blog means a lot to me. And given a chance, I think you would really get along - Round Robin is popular, attractive, intellectually-stimulating, and funny - what's not too like? Give it a try, see what was posted, I think you'll be excited.

Affectionately,
noflickster

ps I know you want the details, so here they are. Our nocturnal flight-call group wrote a piece about nocturnal migration for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's blog. We are planning to contribute more throughout spring migration, we expect topics will range from when and where to listen, their importance in conservation and other fields, and several tutorials to introduce species so you can explore this frontier of bird watching. Please let me know (on this site) or the Lab know (on Round Robin) about your experiences in listening for nocturnal migrants, if you find the posts useful, and so on - we are looking for feedback! And if you blog, please consider promoting the posts to your readers: we'd like to reach a wide audience and hear comments about experiences across North America.

Now, I'm stepping out to see some birds - so I have something to post here before I get in dutch with my own blog . . . .

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Time Lapse Artwork

Watching an artist work in their chosen medium is as inspiring, if not more so, than the final product. But who has the time? Well, with the use of time lapse photography and our friends at YouTube, we all do!

Carel Brest van Kempen of Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding produces some beautiful likenesses of the natural world, and watching how they come alive is truly awesome. But don't listen to me, explore for yourself! See how this Golden Pheasant came into being in under two minutes.

You can watch this clip here or find it on YouTube, but either way you should also check out the artist's blog for additional works.

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Antarctica, Penguins, and a Blog

Do you love exotic locations? Penguins? Reading nature-oriented blogs?

If so there's a new (at least to me) blog that is worth adding to your reader, "Antarctica: Life Among the Penguins."

It's written by Noah Stryker who is spending this season at Camp Crozier, Antarctica with a few research scientists and thousands of Adelie Penguins. Noah, an associate editor of Birding (from the American Birding Association) and columnist from WildBird Magazine, is an excellent writer and photographer. Couple that with his curiosity, attention to detail, and passion for birds and you've got a recipe for an outstanding vicarious experience.

Enjoy!

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Pigeonholed

With few exceptions, bloggers are writers. One non-birding blog I like, Whiskey River, involves no original writing, just quotes. Very novel, and if done well (which it is), the quote says all that is needed.

But the rest of us express ourselves through a combination of words and images, and, stating the obvious, no two blogs are alike. Similar, yes, but not alike, and that property leads to the singular question, "What are the different types of nature-blog writing and, by extension, the writers? Can we all be pigeonholed?"

It'll take someone with more insight and experience than me to do this. That, and to a degree it's already done. Nature bloggers are very much like travel writers, and Tim Patterson has already defined the six personalities of travel writing. Why not piggy-back on his observations?

While there is little I enjoy more than opining and compartmentalizing others, I won't. Not here, anyway. Check out his article and classify yourself, and feel free to report back and comment on your "writing personality." Hey, it's just between us, so invent a new one if needed.

My self-analysis: personality-wise, I've been called a "Naked Introvert" on more than one occasion. I suspect that carries over to my writing, too.

• Rock Pigeon image © J.M.Garg