Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all
from the entire flock here at Bill of the Birds.

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Bird Boxers

Birders need all kinds of gear for their activity. Photo © David Tipling.

Bird watching has finally arrived as a viable market segment of society. Birders are consumers but it's only been in the past decade or so that the business world outside of our niche market has begun taking an interest. They have done so by creating products specifically aimed at bird watchers, and some of these products have really taken off. Witness the success of the iBird family of applications, one of which Apple featured in its national iPhone ads during the last season of "American Idol."

And then there is the birding clothing realm. Hats, vests, pants, coats, shirts, gloves, boots, and socks are among the clothing items designed, manufactured, and marketed specifically with birders in mind. But until now, it was impossible to dress yourself (or someone you love) in complete birding clothing from head to toe.

There was no birding underwear.


Bird Boxers.
About 15 years ago I had the idea to produce a line of boxer shorts with birds on them, but I could never find the right combination of elements to make the magic happen. Now that's all changed, and the first two Bird Boxers designs are rolling off the manufacturing line as you read this.

The artwork, by the multi-talented Julie Zickefoose, is screen-printed and depicts an American woodcock (on the black boxers) and a hairy woodpecker (on the gray boxers) at or very near their actual sizes. In fact it even says "Actual Size" below the birds' names. The boxers are a very nice and comfy cotton-poly blend.

If there is a more perfect holiday gift for the boxer-wearing bird watcher in your life, I'm not sure what it is.

You can find more information about Bird Boxers here at this link. And you can place your order at this link, or by calling us at 800-879-2473.

Yes we have more ideas in the pipeline.
And yes, we are working on some items for women. More on that later.

Happy holidays!

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Traditional Welcome Ceremony

The birding tower at Indigo Hill as seen from the western side.

When special guests come to our rural farm in southeastern Ohio, we welcome them in the traditional way of our people: we throw rotten pumpkins from the top of our tower. This is the primary reason we mortgaged our childrens' future to build this giant structure: to throw things off it that will go splat and make us laugh.

That and because it increases our Big Sit numbers.

From left: Kevin Sibbring, Shirley Stary, Wendy Eller—all from Lakeside; Chet Baker, Julie Zickefoose and Jen Sauter.

No, we don't throw the rotten pumpkins AT the arriving guests (although that's not a bad idea, come to think of it!). We invite our honored guests up to the tower top to witness the grunt-toss-thunk-splatter action first hand.

So when our friends from Lakeside, Ohio came for a visit, we rolled out the pass-the-freshness-date pumpkins for them.

Three potential victims, resting in their decrepitude. We chose the middle one, originally a pig.

The ceremonial carrying of the pumpkin up to the tower is performed by a specially trained member of the tower staff.

Carrying the mushy pumpkin (carved into the likeness of a pig) to the tower presented a challenge. Have you ever smelled rotten pumpkin juice? By comparison, Limburger cheese smells like Chanel No. 5.



And speaking of Chanel No. 5, Kevin Sibbring was standing by to help me wish the pumpkin a toothless goodbye.


Ready? One.....Two.....Three.......

Ooof! Thar she flies!

Inches and milliseconds before impact.....

And the post-splat money shot of the final carnage. Pumpkin tossed. Honored guests properly welcomed. Skunks and opossums happy.

Just another reason to love Halloween.

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One Moment: Leaping Blackburnian

On the morning of September 11, 2009, my camera captured a young male Blackburnian warbler launching into flight from our side-yard sycamore tree.

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Lack of Photo Ops & Chops

Roseate spoonbill.

I've been in a dry spell for taking interesting bird photographs lately. Partly due to being busy with work, life, and other stuff (IS there other stuff?), partly due to the fact that I haven't been anywhere that offered decent photo opportunities, and partly due to my dissatisfaction with my modest skills. What images I have managed to snap have mostly had one problem or another due to "operator error." I know enough to know that I don't know enough about my camera.

For me to get a really great bird photo, the planets have to align perfectly. This seems to happen about as often as the Comet Kohoutek passes within view, or as often as the Pittsburgh Pirates win the World Series.

In order for me to take a decent bird image, the following things have to fall into place:

• I have to be close to the bird.
• The bird has to be relaxed and not moving very fast or very far.
• The bird's head and eye(s) need to be visible.
  
• The light needs to be good (not too bright/too dark) with the sun behind me and the bird in front of me.
• I have to have the right lens on my camera.
• The compact flash card inside the camera has to have some space on it.
• The camera's batteries have to be charged.

This last point was the clincher this past weekend when I spotted an American tree sparrow in our birch tree. Perfect light, calm bird, grabbed my camera, aimed it, hit the shutter button and nothing happened.

I believe it was the second part of the compound expletive I shouted that scared the sparrow into woods, never to return.

I keep on telling myself that one of these days I'm going to find the time to finally learn how to use my camera and all its fancy settings. And then I'm going to make time to get myself into situations that are conducive to taking many, many bird pictures. When that happens, because my brain is swollen with all that camera-using knowledge, I won't have to toss out 86% of the images I take, because I'll know how to use the camera properly!

Roseate spoonbill.

Looking at the calendar, I'm thinking the late-January trip to Florida for the Space Coast Birding Festival might be my next best opportunity. Phoebe is traveling with me for that event, so she can be my sharp-eyed bird spotter. Maybe I can get another shot of a flying spoonbill when I'm there.

That is, if I remember to charge the camera batteries.

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A Friday Haiku

Wind rippled shadows
alone against tones of blue
somehow a foothold

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Liam and the Gorilla

Last Friday, as part of his 10th birthday celebration extravaganza, we took Liam and his sister Phoebe, and two of their Columbus pals, to the Columbus Zoo. Liam really wanted to see the gorillas, though he assured me that the bison was still his favorite animal.

So, after checking out several of the other animal exhibits (broken up into continental themes: Asia, Africa, North America, etc) we headed over to the Gorilla House to visit the relatives. The gorillas at the Columbus zoo are western lowland gorillas.

What happened next was pretty cool.

We were looking through the thick glass enclosure at a humongous male silver-backed gorilla. It was eating some tiny seeds it was picking up off the floor. Liam was fascinated to be so close to such a huge animal. Adult male western lowland gorillas can weigh almost 500 pounds and stand 6-feet tall. They are called "silver-backeds" because the hair on their backs goes silver as they age—at about 12 years old. Males younger than 12 years have all black hair.

I couldn't resist taking some pictures of Liam watching the male eating.
And then the male turned to look at Liam...

And the two shared a moment of quiet, mutual contemplation....

I was so proud of Liam for staying in the moment and for realizing how special it was to be looked at by a mature male gorilla.

The only thing Liam said was "Man, this gorilla really likes looking at me!"

Liam even canted his head to the side, aping the great ape's head position.


We humans have something like 98% similarity in our DNA to that of western lowland gorillas. And yet, gorillas are endangered wherever they occur due to deforestation, bush-meat hunting, and persecution. While it's not as special to see gorillas in a zoo as it would be to see them in the wild, places like the Columbus Zoo help to educate (and fascinate) the public about these incredible animals. And the Columbus Zoo generously funds a variety of gorilla research and conservation programs in countries where these wondrous animals are struggling to sustain their populations.

If you have not yet been to the see the gorillas at the Columbus Zoo, I'd highly recommend a visit. Take the kids. Take the neighbors. Take your friends. But definitely take yourself. By the way, 2009 is the Year of the Gorilla at the zoo.

As we were leaving the gorillas, Liam waved goodbye to his new pal. And then he said "Waal, I think that giant man gorilla knew it was my birthday and that's why we had a special connection!"

Who was I to argue with that?

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