Kamis, 29 April 2010

Skintastic!

In what can only be described as a cluster eff of epic proportions yesterday evening I was rear-ended at a stop light in my less than a year old car (that I saved forever for) by a handicapped hoarder.  Yes, it's a mouthful and a run on sentence, but it's the truth.  No jokes and his admission.  He bent over to pick up a "relic" from the floor, took his foot off the brake and while rolling into me looked up, panicked and hit the gas instead of the brake.  WHAM!  And ouch!  So while I had a great blog planned that would expose one of my favorite jewelry designers, instead you'll have to take a not-so-fancy picture of me as I reveal my greatest skincare secret. 

Within an hour of being hit last night I had a pounding headache and a pretty stiff upper neck and back.  This morning the lower back was in rough shape too.   Whenever I have any joint or muscle stiffness I head straight to acupuncture.  Back when it was first recommended to me I made some smart aleck remark about crazies putting needles IN their bodies to relieve pain.  Cut to present and I'm still digging my size 6's out of my mouth.  Today when my acupuncturist so graciously fit me into her schedule for a round of needles in the back, she gave me an ancient treatment that allowed me to also lie on my back after the needles had been inserted so that I could have some other meridians cleared with needles in the front of my body...including what she calls the "face lift" AKA my big reveal!

Bear in mind I was not going to a fashion show when I went to the appointment so it is what it is.  But you get the point of what the treatment entails and I kid you not my skin is in great shape.  The needles do not hurt at all; she just puts them in and then I take a nap for half an hour or so and ta-da!  (will take a before and after next time)



Like I said I'm looking a little torn up in general, but it's been a rough 48 hours or so...In any event, I highly recommend acupuncture for the face if you have crow's feet or fine lines.  It completely works and aside from that is very therapeutic in general.  I live in the LA area and the acupuncturist I see is in Santa Monica.  She is completely wonderful so if you are interested just leave me a comment and I'm happy to share her information with you...if anyone is out there reading this.

Why I Always Go Back to the New

Briefly, because I know we all have better things to be doing, I wanted to share a couple of images with you showing why I come to the New River Birding & Nature Festival every single year.

Male cerulean warbler.

Two words having to do with warblers: Cerulean and Swainson's.

Both of these birds were digiscoped today on my trip down Sugar Creek Road to the Gauley River. And I only took the images AFTER we'd shown every participant views of these species through my Leica spotting scope.
Male Swainson's warbler.

Rabu, 28 April 2010

James Perse: The Holy Grail of Cotton T-Shirts

...and cashmere too.

To me, James Perse is synonymous with amazing t-shirts.  I fell hard for his t's about 7 years ago after running my hand across one while walking through Nordstrom.  It was definitely a stop, drop, and roll out your credit card moment, and the beginning of the end of all my other relationships with basic t-shirt brands.

Cut to present day and my t-shirt drawer is almost exclusively James Perse with a peppering of T by Alexander Wang, Kain, and the occasional Gap tank.  It's not that I don't wear other t-shirts; it's that I prefer Perse above all others because they have the best fit and are the most versatile.  So whether you are looking to invest in the perfect v-neck or a few tanks for layering, I would highly recommend this brand as a good place to start.

In addition to standard basics, each season James Perse offers a mix of simple ready-to-wear pieces that can easily be worked into any wardrobe.  In the Fall and Winter the line typically carries, amongst other things, amazing cotton/cashmere pieces that include tunics, sweaters, jackets and sweatpants.  In the Spring and Summer you can always find the breeziest sun and maxi-dresses as well as skirts, shorts and pants that can take you from lunch straight to the beach.

I refer to it as a collector's addiction.  Some people have stamps; I have James Perse apparel.  What's your guilty pleasure?

Below you'll find (from L-R) the Jersey Bolero, the Double Layer Rouched Skirt, and the Fitted Long Sleeved T-Shirt - and of these 3 all I have to say is "Yes please!" (and thanks for bearing with me while I get the hang of putting up these pictures to match the post...still can't quite figure out how to lose the white space. ugh).

Perse


Selasa, 27 April 2010

Best Boyfriend in All the World

And no I don't mean my own, although he is pretty good too.  :)

In this case I am referring to Current/Elliott's Boyfriend Denim.  The first time I set my eyes on a pair of these I instinctively knew it was the beginning of a long and meaningful relationship.  Working for Gap, Inc. over a period of years instilled in me a great love and respect for denim and Current/Elliott has, in my opinion, cornered the market on premium denim.  Their jeans are worn, super soft and distressed in all the right places.  My closet has more than a few pairs that are definitely the ones I reach for whether I'm going for a casual look with a t-shirt and flip flops or something dressed up with a boyfriend blazer and heels.

Among my current favorites are The Boyfriend Mid-Rise Jeans, The Boyfriend Jeans in Super Loved, and The Long Boyfriend Jeans in Treasured Destroyed.

Feast your eyes on these babies and treat yourself to a pair if you haven't already!

Current/Elliott

Part 3 Birding Guyana: Flying to the Interior

Buff-necked ibis.

I like to start off my BOTB blog posts with a bird photograph if at all possible. So I am inserting this image of a buff-necked ibis here, even though it is out of order in the time line of this post. I believe the buff-necked ibis might be the second most beautiful ibis in the New World, right behind the scarlet ibis. Good thing there is not a Scarlett Johannson ibis, or that might take the crown. Now, where were we...

Oh yes! Guyana.

After a lovely (too short) morning of birding in the botanical gardens in Georgetown, we were herded to the small, in-town airport for a flight to the interior of Guyana. Because we were taking a small 12-seat plane on this flight, weight was an important factor. We had been warned about this in advance by our hosts and leaders, but that didn't stop us—well it didn't stop me—from bringing far too much stuff. We were weighed by our trip leaders at the hotel. Then weighed again at the airport. I won the avoirdupois prize as the heaviest traveler. Fully one-third of my things—mostly stuff I would not need immediately—was sent by bus overland, along with extras from my fellow travelers.

We were all caught between the pull of wanting to have all of our camera and birding gear with us, along with the proper clothing and footwear, and the necessity of packing the absolute minimum. We also had to send one of our leaders on the land bus. That alone saved us more than 300 pounds of humanity (sorry, just kidding Michael).

Negotiating the payload for our flight. Michael (black backpack, no hair) drew the short straw and had to ride the overnight chicken bus to Iwokrama.

Onto the plane we went and in moments we were in the air flying away from Georgetown. Below us stretched miles of housing, then the houses were replaced by a ring of cane fields.
Some of the cane fields were being burned off and we could see and smell the smoke rising from the earth.
Then we were away from all signs of human habitation and civilization. Below us lay unbroken rain forest, a vast carpet of green. It was a sight that did the heart some good. This is why we were here—to experience what is perhaps the last vast expanse of undisturbed rain forest in South America.
The Guyana rain forest from the air.

Our destination, the Annai landing strip, hove into sight. While flying we'd seen a few birds—turkey and black vultures mostly, with two distant king vultures for added spice. I strained my eyes hoping to catch sight of a harpy eagle perched on one of the emergent snags jutting above the forest canopy, but was unsuccessful.
The Annai landing strip is a dirt road next to Rock View Lodge, one of the largest eco-lodges in Guyana. Stepping from the plane we felt our knees buckle in the mid-day heat. Soon cold drinks and a nice lunch at Rock View Lodge helped revive us.

Dr. Steve Banner struggles to find just the right angle for a photo of the welcome sign while leader Kirk Smock looks on in wonder.

The plane! The plane! The plane we came in on.

After lunch we began birding the grounds. Palm and blue-gray tanagers were common. A white-necked thrush was building a nest under the thatched canopy of a benab. I caught a fleeting glimpse of a burnish-buff tanager in a fruiting tree. A horse corral held a number of southern lapwings and the aforementioned buff-necked ibis. I had the feeling that this place would be much birdier early in the morning.

Leon gives us the run-down at Rock View Lodge.

Leon, a guide at Rock View Lodge, gave us a tour of the grounds and facilities, which included very nice guest rooms, a bar and general store, a huge vegetable garden, and the stony promontory from which the lodge derives its name. I would have been content to stay right on that overlook for the rest of the day, conducting a Big Sit, perhaps with a run to the store for some munchies and a frosty cold beer, but our leaders needed to get us on the move. This would become a theme of the trip.

We boarded several 4x4 trucks and headed down a long, straight, red-clay road. Destination Iwokrama, a field station and eco-lodge owned and operated by the Makushi people in the heart of the vast Iwokrama Forest. If one were to drive directly, I suspect this trip would have taken about two hours. We birders found so much to look at that we stretched the drive until well after dark. Arriving at Iwokrama, we hauled our luggage to our rooms, splashed our faces with water and reconvened at the main building for a late dinner. By the time we finished eating and had a brief orientation meeting, I was so tired my eyes were crossing.

Everyone hurried back to their cabins to get ready for bed before the generator was switched off. This was our first night sleeping without air-conditioning under the very necessary mosquito netting. I tried to recall the life birds I'd seen that day but did not get far before dropping into slumberland.

At each stop we made, new tropical delights were discovered.

In my next post, I'll share some of the special sightings from the road to Iwokrama.

Welcome

I have always had a love for clothing.  When I was a wee little girl and the other girls were collecting baby dolls pretending to be moms, I was to the brim with Barbies and begging for more outfits.  Superstar Stage Show anyone?  And that was just the beginning. 

8 years ago I found myself making a career transition to Los Angeles from Seattle.  I was not exactly happy about it, but believed the job would be a good experience and, when done, I could always move back.

Suffice it to say I am still here, no longer with the job and a lot more content than when I arrived.

But it took some time to get this way.

Ultimately I decided to start this blog for a couple of reasons.  Arriving in LA was a shock to the system.  I mean I knew it would be having visited several times, but it was much more than I ever could have anticipated.  The traffic alone, coming from an island and growing up on the Prairies in Canada, was a lot to overcome.  Even more than that was the instant overload of self-expression; it caught me off-guard.  Not being a SoCal native, I didn't know where to find the good stuff - the nooks and crannies, the boutiques and hidden brands.  Once I embraced the search for said good stuff, and had more time to have fun with it, I began to like living in Southern California.  I got more familiar with the neighborhoods, more comfortable with my surroundings and felt more at home.

And then something else happened.  People started to stop and ask me where to find certain things I was wearing - which was really fun and flattering because I knew exactly how they felt - on the quest to find their fashion groove with not enough time to get it done.  After having this happen a lot, a blog is born.  I'll start simple with my go-to favorites on everything from apparel, shoes, jewelry and skin care and take it from there.  Along the way you might find a gluten-free recipe or two mixed in because I got diagnosed with gluten-intolerance 3 years ago after suffering misdiagnosed for over 5 years.  And honey let me tell you, there's nothing worse than a world without homemade chocolate chip cookies.

As an aside, this blog is also a bit of a memoir to my niece Kaela.  You might see her on here from time to time.  She is super special to me and, at the tender age of four, already showing all the tell-tale signs of a fashion girl at heart.  We live thousands of miles apart and Skype keeps us together.  In the event her love for shoes holds fast, I want her to see in twenty years that everything re-emerges...and there's a reason for all the crates in my attic with her name on them.



I hope you'll come along for the ride...and that you'll share your favorite finds too.
-Carrie

Rabu, 21 April 2010

My Digiscoped Bird of the Day


I flew into Phoenix, Arizona today and took this photo of a male Gambel's quail in a northern suburb of that fair town. The light was weak and it was drizzling—very un-Arizona-like conditions, actually. Plus it was chilly! But I could not resist trying to capture an image of this dude while he was singing.

I'm out here to give the keynote talk at the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary here in Cottonwood, AZ. I'm hoping tomorrow's field trip to Page Springs yields another chance to digiscope Gambel's quail.


And I have not forgotten about Guyana—we'll head back there soon.

Senin, 19 April 2010

Finding a Pileated Woodpecker Nest


Let's take a short break from our Guyana adventure and enjoy a bird species that's closer to home—at least for those of us in North America.

Two weeks ago I was walking in the old orchard on our farm and I heard the tell-tale sounds of a woodpecker excavating a nest cavity. I followed the sound until I was reasonably sure I knew which large, dead tree was going to be the nest site. However, the tree (a dead yellow poplar trunk) had at least a dozen large holes in it, several of which looked relatively new.

Two days later Julie and I heard the wood-chopping sound while checking the bluebird boxes in the orchard. She immediately thought "pileated" but I wasn't so sure since we have four other woodpecker species that nest on our place. We walked to the trunk and suddenly the head of a male pileated woodpecker poked out of one of the larger holes on the southwest side of the trunk. Not wanting to spook the bird from his work, we slowly backed away and left him in peace.

The following day I went out to scope the site from a distance, but before I could even set up, the male and his mate began drumming and calling to one another. The male swooped into the nest tree, glared at me for a minute, then swooped off into the woods. Now I was really paranoid that I was going to frighten the pileateds into abandoning the nest, which I assumed was still being excavated.

Later that afternoon I went out and listened for the tapping. I heard none and could see no activity in or around the nest hole. This was my chance. I ran back to the garage and grabbed my portable photo blind. Back out to the orchard I ran. I had the thing set up in three minutes. Unzipping the peephole facing the nest I saw that my activity had not gone undetected. The male was there in the nest glaring at me. Very calmly I stepped back out of the blind, zipped it closed and strolled away nonchalantly. The male resumed his excavation a few minutes later, the impacts of his bill sounding like someone using a hatched to split kindling.

I knew I wanted to digiscope the scene but not at the expense of disturbing the birds. Clearly there was no way to get in and out of the blind unnoticed. I decided to try anyway. I went back at 3:00 pm, knowing I had a bit more than an our before I'd have to go pick the kids up at the school bus stop. I carried my Leica digiscoping rig out to the blind and slipped inside. The sound of my footfalls, or perhaps the zippers on the blind, were enough to alert the nest occupant to my presence. When I opened the blind's peephole, there was the female looking out the hole directly at me.

I set up the scope, got good focus, dropped the Leica D-Lux 4 camera and adapter over the eyepiece and shot a dozen frames. The female resumed her work, bringing bill-fulls of chips and sawdust to the opening and dumping them out.
The female pileated (note her black moustache) glaring at me.

Then I flipped it over to video and got this:


I am completely over the moon about this nest and the opportunity to observe it over the next month or so, assuming all goes well with the excavation work, the egg laying, the incubation—you get the picture. And I hope I do, too!

Jumat, 16 April 2010

Guyana Part 3: Botanical Gardens

Yellow-crowned (Amazon) parrot in the botanical gardens of Georgetown.

After a restful night's sleep in the air-conditioned comfort of the Hotel Pegasus in Georgetown, we staggered downstairs with all of our gear for our first full day of birding in Guyana.

And when I say "staggered downstairs" I mean it literally—at least for myself. The evening before I had gotten stuck in one of the hotel's two elevators for about 15 minutes, trying to descend from the fifth floor to the lobby. The doors closed, I pushed the L button and nothing happened. I pushed the button again—nada. I pushed the OPEN button. Nope. Within another three minutes I was trying to attract the attention of the hotel employee I'd seen cleaning the room opposite the elevators by pounding on the doors and screaming (politely) for help. She could not hear me. So I waited.

I figured someone would eventually notice that I was missing and would come looking. I purposely felt in my pocket for food, just in case. The granola bar I'd had with me since Ohio was some small comfort. After a period of minutes that seemed longer than it probably was, the elevator woke up and took me down to the lobby where exasperated looks from my fellow travelers greeted me.

Hence, on the following morning I (and all my gear) took the stairs.

Our morning destination was the Georgetown Botanical Gardens and Zoo, a place nearly everyone mentions when talking about birding in Guyana. The large trees of the gardens lure parrots, woodpeckers, toucans, and raptors while the various ponds and marshy areas host water birds. It's mostly open beneath the trees so it's easy to see the birds. And believe me there were birds in every direction we looked, including a distant peregrine falcon on a radio tower.

The central road through the botanical gardens.

We spent a few hours (but clearly not long enough) birding along the central road through the botanical gardens.

Great kiskadees screamed and whined from everywhere as they tussled with one another and hawked insects over the ponds.

Cinereous becard, male.

One of the first true life birds for me was the cinereous becard, a small pale gray bird with a stout bill and a black cap. I got a good look and a decent digiscope shot of the male.

Immature snail kite.

Snail kites are so numerous are Georgetown that we began saying things like "Oh it's just another snail kite..." This struck me as weird since it took me three special trips in the early 1990s to add this species to my life list in Florida. Of course once I saw one, the species no longer vexed me. No such worries in Georgetown, where every single citizen could add this species to their yard list every day of the year. Bad place to be a snail.

Little cuckoo.

Just as the morning was beginning to get noticeably hot (which starts as soon as the sun rises above the trees) we had a run of great birds, starting with a very cooperative pair of little cuckoos in the brush along a wet ditch. Such neat little cinnamon birds with bright yellow bills! I struggled to find a vantage point for my scope so I could get a photo. And once I got the scope on the birds, I nearly missed the shot because my exclamation of "Holy mackerel!" formed an instant line of people behind me wanting a scope look. When that happens I cannot hog the scope to get my shots, so we all got good scope views, AND I got my shot of one of the cuckoos just before it jumped back into deep cover.



Lemon-chested greenlet, gray-breasted martin, southern house wren, tropical gnatcatcher, white-lined, blue-gray, and palm tanagers, yellow oriole, limpkin, spotted sandpiper, wattled jaçana, ruddy ground dove, pale-vented pigeon, golden-winged parakeet, smooth-billed ani, green kingfisher, and yellow-chinned spinetail are just some of the birds I remember seeing that morning in the botanical gardens.

Striated heron.

The photographers among us got their first truly cooperative subject: a striated heron that walked calmly just a few feet away from a collection of whirring, beeping, clicking lenses.

Black-collared hawk.

I worked on my camera's settings for digiscoping on a black-collared hawk perched on the far side of a pond. What a handsome bird!

Yellow-crowned parrots.

Parrots, macaws, and their ilk filled the morning air with raucous cries. Flocks zoomed by overhead. Our guides called out IDs but I confess I did not get good looks at all of them. We did get great looks at several yellow-crowned parrots (called yellow-crowned amazon in the field guide)

A quartet of lineated woodpeckers was trying to work out territorial boundaries in the large trees of the gardens, which gave us thoroughly pleasing looks.

Aside from its great birding, the botanical gardens is also famous for its tame pod of manatees in the lake. Grab an handful of grass from the lawn and waggle it in the water and a manatee or two will come up to eat it from your hand. One of our leaders, Kirk, demonstrated this for us, but the water was a bit too shallow for the large aquatic mammal to get all the way to shore. For a breathless account of a more exciting manatee encounter from this spot, slip over to Julie Zickefoose's blog post from fall of 2008.

Toco toucan.

The final bit of birding excitement from out botanical garden adventure happened when one of our target birds, the toco toucan swooped across the blue sky and landed atop a palm tree. Kiskadees swarmed and swooped at the toucan (they are well-known nest robbers) but the giant-billed bird just sat there and looked around. So did we, except that our attention was focused solely on the toucan.

This moment of birding reverie was broken with the soon to be all-too-familiar cry of "OK folks, back on the bus! We've gotta move out!" I could have spent an entire day in this park, and at the end of our tour two of our most avid photographers did just that in order to take advantage of the photo ops offered by the acclimated birds.

For now we were off to the small airport to fly to the interior of Guyana where more wonders surely waited.

Next post: Puddle Jumper Over Rainforest.

Senin, 12 April 2010

Guyana Part 2: Shorebirds at Dusk

After getting back off the boats from the Mahaica River in the late afternoon, we enjoyed a few minutes of air-conditioned comfort on the bus as we drove to our next destination: a tidal area of mangroves and mudflats that was a good shorebird spot. This was a somewhat unexpected stop in that it was not on the itinerary, but our Georgetown-based birding guides wanted to show it to us, and we were glad they did.

In the tropics, near the Equator, the sun cycles of daylight and night are 6 to 6. Day ends and night comes on with a suddenness that is alarming. The sun sets and rises at the sixes: 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. As we stepped out of the bus at the shorebird spot, we were already losing light. Still there was time and light enough to climb up onto the sea wall to scan the mudflats. Oh my this place was birdy. Egrets and night-herons dotted the mud. Lines of shorebirds scampered back and forth. I got the sensation that anything could should up here, and the nagging thought that we'd only have a few minutes here now.

Clapper rail.

Several clapper rails called from the vegetation. Then one and another strode out into the open giving us all fine scope views.

Scanning from the sea wall.

Standing on the sea wall we could see over the mudflats and clumps of vegetation and mangroves. Picking through the shorebirds and wading birds was quite fun. We added numerous species to our growing trip list, including semipalmated sandpiper, willet, short-billed dowitcher, both greater and lesser yellowlegs, and whimbrel, plus osprey and black skimmer. According to a couple of our guides, there had been a possible sighting of an even more exciting shorebird here recently: an Eskimo curlew! No images were captured, but there will be extra attention paid to all large, brown shorebirds in the future during the regular surveys conducted at this site.


If you look closely, you can see a whimbrel and a willet in this image.


As the light faded and the colors receded, we took our last looks at a couple of scarlet ibises foraging with some yellow-crowned night-herons and a tricolored heron. It was a nice way to end our first afternoon of birding in Guyana.

Two of these seven birds are scarlet ibises.

Jumat, 09 April 2010

Mahaica River Boat Trip

Mere hours after landing, bleary-eyed from an all-night flight at Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Georgetown, Guyana I found myself stepping gingerly over some rotted wooden dock boards into an aluminum (or "al-you-min-ee-yum" as my British fellow travelers would say) pair of boats for a short afternoon boat trip on the Mahaica River.

The sun beat down on everything—living, barely living, clearly not living—equally and I felt that sort of dizzy-in-the-head sensation that comes from too much of anything hitting your body all at once. Soon the boats (really, two skiffs lashed together) or boat complex was moving through the cocoa water, but the oppressive heat was barely reduced, but it was reduced some, and that counted for something. Then, just as I was feeling the urge to rid myself suddenly of the remaining airplane food in my stomach....birds.

Rising from the thick mangrove-lined banks, a blizzard of white—cattle and snowy egrets fled downstream and brought the day to life. They caught our collective attention and a half-dozen cameras swung into action to capture the spectacle.
What had I brought with me as preconceived notions about Guyana, packed tightly in my brain just as surely as the clothes in my suitcase? I'd brought the comments of my wife, Julie, who'd visited 18 months earlier, and of a handful of friends who'd been here. Hot as the hinges of hell was the dominant notion. Buggy. Birdy as anywhere in the world. Basic. Hot. Birdy.

Snowy egret (left) and a breeding-plumage cattle egret (right)

I could deal with all the rest, as long as things were birdy. But this cloud of white wading birds fleeing before our boats with their 15 horsepower motors–they were all snowy and cattle egrets. When would we start seeing some real South American species?

Just as that rather greedy thought crossed my burbling brain, I saw that there was a bright red bird in the midst of the snow-white flocks. It was a young scarlet ibis. Then, as if my eye were suddenly gifted with the ability to see thing s other than white, I spied several other, darker birds as our guides called them out.
Great black hawk, adult..

Pied water-tyrant, great black hawk, and the national bird of Guyana, the taxonomic anomaly known as the hoatzin (pronounced "wat-sin.").

What a freaky bird the hoatzin is!


I tried my level best to capture a few images with my big camera rig, but the rocking, moving boat and the huge contrast between the milky afternoons sky and the dark shadowy leaves of the mangroves made the task difficult.

Each time a hoatzin would be perched in the open, the lenses would swing up and the bird, with uncanny timing, would amble off its perch and into deep cover.
The hoatzins were difficult to capture on camera.

Tropical kingbird and kiskadees made themselves known by vocalizing. Snail kites and swallow-tailed kites notched the sky with their dark forms. We heard more birds call than we saw. And our guides called out more birds than we saw. But we had dipped out toes into the vast river of birding in Guyana—a river massively larger than the one upon which we were currently navigating.

Finally, a relatively decent photo of a hoatzin.

Senin, 05 April 2010

Blink and Whoosh!

Blue-gray gnatcatcher.

Dear Readers:

My sincere apologies for the sparse and irregular posts of late. After my first Guyana post last Monday I had the very best of intentions last week about sharing some more from that trip but then life revved up into krazy-train mode. I blinked and it's another Monday!

I will try to do better this week. I hope you'll stick with me (I do appreciate your patience).

In other news the blue-gray gnatcatchers got in this morning on the farm. I heard my first brown thrasher of the spring on Sunday, and the eastern meadowlarks were battling it out over the meadow this morning. We watched them from the tower where we'd run hoping to identify three mystery ducks that flew over the hills to the west of us. No joy on the ducks, but the woods showed us its flimsy spring garments—the tree buds and blossoms exhibiting the most wishful thinking possible. We'll see if leaping into spring so soon is warranted or even advisable. I fear winter may yet have a face slap or two in its arsenal.

Cara Perawatan Cucak Hijau

Burung Cucak Hijau adalah salah satu burung yang tidak bisa dipandang sebelah mata. Bintangnya semakin gemilang, terbukti di lomba-lomba burung berkicau di beberapa daerah, kelas yang dibuka untuk burung ini selalu penuh.
Bahkan sudah sangat banyak transfer gacoan Cucak Hijau dengan nilai sangat fantastis.
KARAKTER DASAR BURUNG CUCAK HIJAU
  1. Semi fighter. Burung ini bukanlah burung petarung murni, daya tarung yang ada pada burung ini cenderung akibat tingkat birahi pada level tertentu yang akan membuat burung ini menjaga daerah teritorialnya.
  2. Takut gelap. Burung Cucak Hijau tidak suka gelap dan gampang panik apabila berada pada lingkungan atau suasana yang gelap. Hindari menempatkan burung ini pada tempat yang gelap, apalagi membawanya pada malam hari. Karena akan mengakibatkan burung ini akan panik, nabrak ruji kurungan, bulunya rontok dan dapat menjadi stress.
  3. Sangat cerdas, gampang menirukan tapi sangat gampang lupa. Dalam kondisi normal, burung ini dapat merekam suara isian yang ada disekitarnya dengan sangat cepat. Sangat mudah di master, tetapi apabila dalam kurun waktu tertentu tidak mendengar suara-suara master yang sudah ada, maka dengan gampang hilang dari memorinya.
  4. Mudah jinak. Karena kemampuan beradaptasinya yang tinggi, maka burung ini mudah jinak kepada manusia.
PEMILIHAN BAHAN BURUNG CUCAK HIJAU YANG BAIK
Ada beberapa hal penting yang harus diperhatikan dalam pemilihan bahan atau bakalan pada burung Cucak Hijau.
  • Berkelamin jantan, ciri-ciri burung Cucak Hijau kelamin jantan dapat dilihat dari postur tubuh yang panjang serasi, ekor lebih panjang, tulang belakang dan supit kecil rapat, warna bulu lebih tegas, paruh berwarna gelap, warna bulu di bagian bawah leher berwarna hitam dan membentuk topeng pada wajahnya, mata besar melotot, bentuk kepala lebih besar dan bergerak lincah.
  • Bentuk paruh, sebaiknya pilih bentuk paruh yang berpangkal lebar, tebal, besar dan panjang. Paruh bagian bawah harus lurus. Jangan memilih bahan yang memiliki paruh bengkok. Posisi lubang hidung pilih sedekat mungkin dengan posisi mata.
  • Postur badan, pilihlah bahan yang berpostur sedang dengan panjang leher, badan dan ekor serta kaki yang serasi. Jangan memilih bahan yang berleher dan berbadan pendek.
  • Sayap mengepit rapat dan kaki mencengkram kuat, ini menandakan bahan tersebut sehat. Warna kaki tidak berpengaruh terhadap mental burung.
  • Lincah dan bernafsu makan besar. Ini merupakan ciri-ciri bahan yang bermental baik.
  • Rajin bunyi, ini menandakan burung tersebut memiliki prospek yang cerah.
  • Leher panjang padat berisi. Menandakan burung ini akan mengeluarkan power suara secara maksimal.
MAKANAN YANG SESUAI UNTUK BURUNG CUCAK HIJAU
  • Voer (sebaiknya pilih yang berkadar protein sedang yaitu: 12%-18%, belum tentu Voer yang berharga mahal akan cocok dengan sistem metabolisme setiap burung Cucak Hijau. Voer diberikan sebagai pelengkap kebutuhan nutrisinya. Selalu ganti dengan Voer yang baru setiap dua hari sekali.
  • Buah Segar, burung ini sangat menyukai buah Pepaya, Pisang Kepok Putih, Apel, Pir, Tomat dan beberapa buah lainnya. Sebaiknya perbanyak pemberian buah Pepaya, karena buah Pepaya mengandung vitamin C yang tinggi sehingga membantu meningkatkan daya tahan tubuh. Disamping itu, buah Pepaya sangat mudah dicerna dan sangat cocok dengan sistem metabolisme rata-rata burung pemakan buah.
  • EF (Extra Fooding), pakan tambahan yang sangat baik yaitu: Jangkrik, Orong-orong, Kroto, Ulat Hongkong, Ulat Bambu, Kelabang, Belalang dan lainnya. Pemberian EF harus selalu disesuaikan dengan karakter pada masing-masing burung dan juga harus mengetahui dengan pasti dampak klausal dari pemberiannya EF tersebut.
PERAWATAN DAN STELAN HARIAN
Perawatan harian untuk burung Cucak Hijau relatif sama dengan burung berkicau jenis lainnya, kunci keberhasilan perawatan harian yaitu rutin dan konsisten.
Berikut ini Pola Perawatan harian dan Stelan Harian untuk burung Cucak Hijau:
  1. Jam 07.00 burung diangin-anginkan di teras. Jam 07.30 burung dimandikan (karamba mandi atau semprot, tergantung pada kebiasaan masing-masing burung).
  2. Bersihkan kandang harian. Ganti atau tambahkan Voer, Air Minum dan buah segar.
  3. Berikan Jangkrik 3 ekor pada cepuk EF. Jangan pernah memberikan Jangkrik secara langsung pada burung.
  4. Penjemuran dapat dilakukan selama 1-2 jam/hari mulai pukul 08.00-11.00. Selama penjemuran, sebaiknya burung tidak melihat burung sejenis.
  5. Setelah dijemur, angin-anginkan kembali burung tersebut diteras selama 10 menit, lalu sangkar dikerodong.
  6. Siang hari sampai sore (jam 10.00-15.00) burung dapat di Master dengan suara Master atau burung-burung Master.
  7. Jam 15.30 burung diangin-anginkan kembali diteras, boleh dimandikan bila perlu.
  8. Berikan Jangkrik 2 ekor pada cepuk EF.
  9. Jam 18.00 burung kembali dikerodong dan di perdengarkan suara Master selama masa istirahat sampai pagi harinya.
PENTING
  • Kroto segar diberikan 1 sendok teh maksimal 2x seminggu. Contoh setiap hari Senin pagi dan hari Kamis pagi.
  • Buah Segar diberikan rutin setiap hari, dengan format: Hari Senin sampai hari Kamis berikan buah Pepaya, hari Jum'at dan hari Sabtu berikan Apel atau Pisang atau buah lainnya.
  • Pengumbaran di kandang umbaran dapat dilakukan 4 jam perhari selama 4 hari dalam seminggu.
  • Berikan Multivitamin yang dicampur pada air minum seminggu sekali saja.
  • Berikan buah pisang yang yang telah diolesi Madu setiap hari Sabtu.
PENANGANAN APABILA KONDISINYA OVER BIRAHI
  • Pangkas porsi Jangkrik menjadi 1 pagi dan 1 sore
  • Bisa diberikan 2 ekor Ulat Bambu dalam 3 hari berturut-turut
  • Frekuensi mandi dibuat lebih sering, misalnya pagi-siang dan sore
  • Lamanya penjemuran dikurangi menjadi 30 menit/hari saja
PENANGANAN APABILA KONDISINYA DROP
  • Tingkatkan porsi pemberian Jangkrik menjadi 5 pagi dan 5 sore
  • Tingkatkan porsi pemberian Kroto menjadi 3x seminggu
  • Mandi dibuat 2 hari sekali saja
  • Burung segera diisolasi, jangan melihat dan mendengar burung Cucak Hijau lain dahulu
  • Lamanya penjemuran ditambah menjadi 2-3 jam/hari
PERAWATAN DAN STELAN UNTUK LOMBA
Perawatan lomba sebenarnya tidak jauh berbeda dengan perawatan harian. Tujuan perawatan pada tahap ini yaitu mempersiapkan burung agar mempunyai tingkat birahi yang diinginkan dan memiliki stamina yang stabil. Kunci keberhasilan perawatan lomba yaitu mengenal baik karakter dasar masing-masing burung.
Berikut ini Pola Perawatan dan Stelan Lomba untuk burung Cucak Hijau:
  1. H-3 sebelum lomba, Jangkrik bisa dinaikkan menjadi 10 ekor pagi dan 6 ekor sore.
  2. H-2 sebelum lomba, burung sebaiknya dijemur maksimal 30 menit saja.
  3. 1 Jam sebelum digantang lomba, berikan Jangkrik 3 ekor dan Ulat Hongkong 10-20 ekor.
  4. Apabila burung akan turun lomba kembali, berikan Jangkrik 1 ekor lagi.
PENTING
  • Jangan memandikan burung pada saat di lapangan, karena dapat membuat birahi burung tersebut menjadi sangat tidak stabil.
  • Berikan kesempatan pada burung untuk beradaptasi sebentar pada suasana lapangan, agar burung tidak kaget.
PERAWATAN DAN STELAN PASCA LOMBA
Perawatan pasca lomba sebenarnya berfungsi memulihkan stamina dan mengembalikan kondisi fisik burung.
Berikut ini Pola Perawatan dan Stelan pasca Lomba untuk burung Cucak Hijau:
  1. Porsi EF dikembalikan ke Stelan Harian.
  2. Berikan Multivitamin pada air minum pada H+1 setelah Lomba.
  3. Sampai H+3 setelah Lomba, penjemuran maksimal 30 menit saja.
PERAWATAN DAN STELAN PADA MASA MABUNG
Mabung (Moulting) atau rontok bulu merupakan siklus alamiah pada keluarga burung. Perawatan burung pada masa mabung adalah menjadi hal yang sangat penting, karena apabila perawatan yang salah pada masa ini akan membuat burung menjadi rusak. Pada masa mabung ini, metabolisme tubuh burung meningkat hampir 40% dari kondisi normal. Oleh karena itu, burung butuh asupan nutrisi yang berkualitas baik dengan porsi lebih besar dari kondisi normal. Hindari mempertemukan burung dengan burung sejenis, karena akan membuat proses mabung menjadi terganggu. Dampak dari ini adalah ketidak seimbangan hormon pada tubuh burung. Proses mabung juga berhubungan dengan hormon reproduksi.
Berikut ini Pola Perawatan masa mabung:
  1. Tempatkan burung di tempat yang sepi, jauh dari lalu lintas manusia. Sebaiknya burung lebih banyak dalam kondisi dikerodong.
  2. Mandi cukup 1x seminggu saja dan jemur maksimal 30 menit/hari
  3. Pemberian porsi EF diberikan lebih banyak karena sangat diperlukan untuk pembentukan sel-sel baru dan untuk pertumbuhan bulu baru. Misalnya: Stelan Jangkrik dibuat 5 ekor pagi dan 5 ekor sore, Kroto 1 sendok makan setiap pagi dan Ulat Hongkong 3 ekor setiap pagi.
  4. Berikan Multivitamin yang berkualitas yang dicampur di air minum 2x seminggu.
  5. Perbanyak pemberian buah pepaya, karena buah pepaya sangat mudah dicerna sehingga melancarkan proses metabolisme tubuh burung. Disamping itu buah Pepaya banyak mengandung banyak vitamin C yang akan membantu meningkatkan daya tahan tubuh burung.
  6. Lakukan pemasteran. Masa mabung membuat burung lebih banyak pada kondisi diam dan mendengar. Inilah saat yang tepat untuk mengisi variasi suara sesuai dengan yang kita inginkan. Lakukan pemasteran dengan tepat, sesuaikan karakter dan tipe suara burung dengan suara burung master.


Semoga sukses..! Salam Kicaumania...

Sumber:
http://www.smartmastering.com

Sabtu, 03 April 2010

Cara Merawat Anis Kembang

ANIS KEMBANG

Burung Anis Kembang memiliki suara dan alunan lagu yang sangat baik. Merawat burung Anis Kembang sebenarnya cukup mudah, apabila kita telah mengetahui dan memahami karakter-karakter dasar dari burung tersebut.
KARAKTER DASAR BURUNG ANIS KEMBANG
  1. Sangat sensitif dan butuh waktu untuk dapat beradaptasi terhadap perubahan. Perlakuan yang kasar, perubahan ornamen pada kandang dan perubahan suasana lingkungan yang drastis, akan membuat burung Anis Kembang dapat menjadi stress.
  2. Pembosan dan selalu butuh suasana baru. Apabila berada di satu tempat dengan waktu yang relatif lama, maka burung ini menjadi malas untuk berkicau lagi. Cobalah secara berkala selalu memindahkan tempat gantangannya. Misalnya: Selama ini digantang di depan rumah, kemudian digantang di samping rumah. Ini merupakan salah satu misteri pada burung tersebut.
  3. Birahi yang cenderung mudah naik. Burung Anis Kembang sangat mudah naik birahinya, banyak penyebab yang dapat membuat naiknya birahi pada burung jenis ini. Stelan EF (Extra Fooding) yang over, penjemuran yang berlebih dan melihat burung Anis Kembang lain, dapat dengan cepat menaikkan tingkat birahinya.
  4. Sangat manja. Hampir rata-rata burung Anis Kembang tidak akan mau bunyi dan hanya loncat-loncat naik turun tangkringan apabila ia melihat orang yang sehari-hari merawatnya. Karena burung tersebut secara psikologis telah menganggap perawat atau pemiliknya sebagai pasangan. Aneh memang, tapi itulah kenyataannya. Biasanya pada waktu kontes atau lomba pada burung kelas Anis Kembang, joki yang menggantang burung dan joki lapangan adalah orang yang tidak pernah berhubungan atau terlibat dalam perawatan harian pada burung tersebut.
  5. Mudah jinak. Karena sifat manjanya yang tinggi, maka burung ini mudah jinak kepada perawat atau pemiliknya.
PEMILIHAN BAHAN BURUNG ANIS KEMBANG YANG BAIK
Ada beberapa hal penting yang harus diperhatikan dalam pemilihan bahan atau bakalan pada burung Anis Kembang.
  • Berkelamin jantan, ciri-ciri burung Anis Kembang berjenis kelamin jantan dapat dilihat dari postur tubuh yang panjang serasi, ekor lebih panjang, tulang belakang dan supit kecil rapat, warna bulu lebih tegas, paruh berwarna lebih gelap, warna bulu sangat tegas, mata besar melotot, bentuk kepala lebih besar dan bergerak lincah.
  • Bentuk paruh, sebaiknya pilih bentuk paruh yang berpangkal lebar, tebal, besar dan panjang. Paruh bagian bawah harus lurus. Jangan memilih bahan burung Anis Kembang yang memiliki paruh bengkok. Posisi lubang hidung pilih sedekat mungkin dengan posisi mata.
  • Postur badan, pilihlah bahan Anis Kembang yang berpostur sedang dengan panjang leher, badan dan ekor serta kaki yang serasi. Jangan memilih bahan yang berleher dan berbadan pendek.
  • Sayap mengepit rapat dan kaki mencengkram kuat, ini menandakan bahan tersebut sehat. Warna kaki tidak berpengaruh terhadap mental burung.
  • Lincah dan bernafsu makan besar. Ini merupakan ciri-ciri bahan yang bermental baik.
  • Berdiri pada posisi kepala mendangak 45 derajat. Boleh percaya boleh tidak, apabila anda mendapatkan bahan yang seperti ini, dijamin umur 7 bulan sudah ngerol dan sudah bisa dilombakan.
MAKANAN YANG SESUAI UNTUK BURUNG ANIS KEMBANG
  • Voer (sebaiknya pilih yang berkadar protein sedang yaitu: 12%-18%, belum tentu Voer yang berharga mahal akan cocok dengan sistem metabolisme setiap burung Anis Kembang. Voer harus selalu tersedia didalam cepuknya. Selalu ganti dengan Voer yang baru setiap dua hari sekali.
  • Buah Segar, burung ini sangat menyukai buah Pepaya, Pisang Kepok Putih, Apel, Pir, Tomat dan beberapa buah lainnya. Sebaiknya perbanyak pemberian buah Pepaya, karena buah Pepaya mengandung vitamin C yang tinggi sehingga membantu meningkatkan daya tahan tubuh. Disamping itu, buah Pepaya sangat mudah dicerna dan sangat cocok dengan sistem metabolisme rata-rata burung pemakan buah.
  • EF (Extra Fooding), pakan tambahan yang sangat baik buat burung Anis Kembang yaitu: Jangkrik, Orong-orong, Kroto, Cacing, Ulat Hongkong, Ulat Bambu, Kelabang, Belalang dan lainnya. Pemberian EF harus selalu disesuaikan dengan karakter pada masing-masing burung dan juga harus mengetahui dengan pasti dampak klausal dari pemberiannya EF tersebut.
PERAWATAN DAN STELAN HARIAN
Perawatan harian untuk burung Anis Kembang relatif sama dengan burung berkicau jenis lainnya, kunci keberhasilan perawatan harian yaitu rutin dan konsisten.
Berikut ini Pola Perawatan harian dan Stelan Harian untuk burung Anis Kembang:
  1. Jam 07.00 burung diangin-anginkan di teras. Jam 07.30 burung dimandikan (karamba mandi atau semprot, tergantung pada kebiasaan masing-masing burung).
  2. Bersihkan kandang harian. Ganti atau tambahkan Voer, Air Minum dan buah segar.
  3. Berikan Jangkrik 2 ekor pada cepuk EF. Jangan pernah memberikan Jangkrik secara langsung pada burung.
  4. Penjemuran dapat dilakukan selama 1-2 jam/hari mulai pukul 08.00-11.00. Selama penjemuran, sebaiknya burung tidak melihat burung sejenis.
  5. Setelah dijemur, angin-anginkan kembali burung tersebut diteras selama 10 menit, lalu sangkar dikerodong.
  6. Siang hari sampai sore (jam 10.00-15.00) burung dapat di Master dengan suara Master atau burung-burung Master.
  7. Jam 15.30 burung diangin-anginkan kembali diteras, boleh dimandikan bila perlu.
  8. Berikan Jangkrik 1 ekor pada cepuk EF.
  9. Jam 18.00 burung kembali dikerodong dan di perdengarkan suara Master selama masa istirahat sampai pagi harinya.
PENTING
  • Kroto segar diberikan 1 sendok teh maksimal 2x seminggu. Contoh setiap hari Senin pagi dan hari Kamis pagi.
  • Pemberian Cacing diberikan 2 ekor 3x seminggu.
  • Buah Segar diberikan rutin setiap hari, dengan format: Hari Senin sampai hari Kamis berikan buah Pepaya, hari Jum'at dan hari Sabtu berikan Apel atau Pisang atau buah lainnya.
  • Berikan Multivitamin yang dicampur pada air minum seminggu sekali saja.
PENANGANAN APABILA KONDISINYA OVER BIRAHI
  • Pangkas porsi Jangkrik menjadi 1 pagi dan 1 sore
  • Lakukan pengembunan (jam 05.30-06.00)
  • Berikan Cacing 1 ekor 2x seminggu
  • Frekuensi mandi dibuat lebih sering, misalnya pagi-siang dan sore
  • Lamanya penjemuran dikurangi menjadi 30 menit/hari saja
PENANGANAN APABILA KONDISINYA DROP
  • Tingkatkan porsi pemberian Jangkrik menjadi 3 pagi dan 3 sore
  • Tingkatkan porsi pemberian Kroto menjadi 3x seminggu
  • Mandi dibuat 2 hari sekali saja
  • Burung segera diisolasi, jangan melihat dan mendengar burung Anis Kembang lain dahulu
  • Lamanya penjemuran ditambah menjadi 2-3 jam/hari
PERAWATAN DAN STELAN UNTUK LOMBA
Perawatan lomba sebenarnya tidak jauh berbeda dengan perawatan harian. Tujuan perawatan pada tahap ini yaitu mempersiapkan burung agar mempunyai tingkat birahi yang diinginkan dan memiliki stamina yang stabil. Kunci keberhasilan perawatan lomba yaitu mengenal baik karakter dasar masing-masing burung.
Berikut ini Pola Perawatan dan Stelan Lomba untuk burung Anis Kembang:
  1. H-3 sebelum lomba, Jangkrik bisa dinaikkan menjadi 2 ekor pagi dan 2 ekor sore.
  2. H-2 sebelum lomba, burung sebaiknya dijemur maksimal 30 menit saja.
  3. 1 Jam sebelum di gantang lomba, burung di mandikan dan berikan Jangkrik 1 ekor saja.
  4. Apabila burung akan turun lomba kembali, berikan Jangkrik 1 ekor lagi.
PENTING
  • Jangan memberikan Ulat Hongkong dalam menggenjot birahi pada burung Anis Kembang. karena dapat membuat birahi burung tersebut menjadi sangat meningkat dan menjadi tidak stabil.
  • Sebaiknya, Joki lapangan adalah orang yang tidak pernah terlibat didalam perawatan harian pada burung Anis Kembang tersebut.
PERAWATAN DAN STELAN PASCA LOMBA
Perawatan pasca lomba sebenarnya berfungsi memulihkan stamina dan mengembalikan kondisi fisik burung.
Berikut ini Pola Perawatan dan Stelan pasca Lomba untuk burung Anis Kembang:
  1. Porsi EF dikembalikan ke Stelan Harian.
  2. Berikan Multivitamin pada air minum pada H+1 setelah Lomba.
  3. Sampai H+3 setelah Lomba, penjemuran maksimal 30 menit saja.
PERAWATAN DAN STELAN PADA MASA MABUNG
Mabung (Moulting) atau rontok bulu merupakan siklus alamiah pada keluarga burung. Perawatan burung pada masa mabung adalah menjadi hal yang sangat penting, karena apabila perawatan yang salah pada masa ini akan membuat burung menjadi rusak. Pada masa mabung ini, metabolisme tubuh burung meningkat hampir 40% dari kondisi normal. Oleh karena itu, burung butuh asupan nutrisi yang berkualitas baik dengan porsi lebih besar dari kondisi normal. Hindari mempertemukan burung dengan burung sejenis, karena akan membuat proses mabung menjadi terganggu. Dampak dari ini adalah ketidak seimbangan hormon pada tubuh burung. Proses mabung juga berhubungan dengan hormon reproduksi.
Berikut ini Pola Perawatan masa mabung:
  1. Tempatkan burung di tempat yang sepi, jauh dari lalu lintas manusia. Sebaiknya burung lebih banyak dalam kondisi dikerodong.
  2. Mandi cukup 1x seminggu saja dan jemur maksimal 30 menit/hari
  3. Pemberian porsi EF diberikan lebih banyak karena sangat diperlukan untuk pembentukan sel-sel baru dan untuk pertumbuhan bulu baru. Misalnya: Stelan Jangkrik dibuat 4 ekor pagi dan 4 ekor sore, Kroto 1 sendok makan setiap pagi dan Cacing 2 ekor 3x seminggu
  4. Berikan Multivitamin yang berkualitas yang dicampur di air minum 2x seminggu.
  5. Perbanyak pemberian buah pepaya, karena buah pepaya sangat mudah dicerna sehingga melancarkan proses metabolisme tubuh burung. Disamping itu buah Pepaya banyak mengandung banyak vitamin C yang akan membantu meningkatkan daya tahan tubuh burung.
  6. Lakukan pemasteran. Masa mabung membuat burung lebih banyak pada kondisi diam dan mendengar. Inilah saat yang tepat untuk mengisi variasi suara sesuai dengan yang kita inginkan. Lakukan pemasteran dengan tepat, sesuaikan karakter dan tipe suara burung dengan suara burung master.



Semoga sukses..! Salam Kicaumania...

Sumber:
http://www.smartmastering.com