Very happy to have met another member of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology here.
I am far from an expert bird spotter. My background is the hard sciences (physics). I started bird watching because a sparrow nest with chicks was destroyed during the building of my house.
Before the framing of my house was closed in, sparrows built a nest in the spring above the fireplace in my basement. When the builders enclosed the house the nest was destroyed. Because of this I vowed to build a bird feeder site to feed the birds. A small gesture for the loss caused by the building of my house.
The first year no birds showed up at my feeder. I think this was due to the disturbance to the environment caused by the housing development I live in. But after the first year, birds started showing up and I expanded and established my current bird feeder site.
After the first two years, my Mom encouraged me to join Cornell's FeederWatch Project. I have been doing it ever since.
I lived in California before moving here. I lived along the coast in the Los Angeles area for 7 years, but never really paid too much attention to the birds in the area.
I learned about the Gray Jays in a recent YouTube video and the article in the Living Bird magazine produced by Cornell. It was an interesting bird and I thought I would share it with the community.
As one who has lived at a slightly lower latitude than the Gray Jays, I can attest to how the winters have been. Right now it is 12 degrees (F) outside and has been much colder for the past few days.
The last part of my career was spent at a weather agency. Climate change is happening all the time, it is rare for the climate to be stable for long periods of time. Change always seems to bring about hardship for some and opportunities for others.
While the population of Gray Jays is declining now, it is possible this is nature's way of ensuring a hardy genetic pool for the future. Meaning the hardiest of the Gray Jay population will survive and be able to take advantage of the swing toward a colder climate.
Very happy to have met another member of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology here.
I am far from an expert bird spotter. My background is the hard sciences (physics). I started bird watching because a sparrow nest with chicks was destroyed during the building of my house.
Before the framing of my house was closed in, sparrows built a nest in the spring above the fireplace in my basement. When the builders enclosed the house the nest was destroyed. Because of this I vowed to build a bird feeder site to feed the birds. A small gesture for the loss caused by the building of my house.
The first year no birds showed up at my feeder. I think this was due to the disturbance to the environment caused by the housing development I live in. But after the first year, birds started showing up and I expanded and established my current bird feeder site.
After the first two years, my Mom encouraged me to join Cornell's FeederWatch Project. I have been doing it ever since.
I lived in California before moving here. I lived along the coast in the Los Angeles area for 7 years, but never really paid too much attention to the birds in the area.
I learned about the Gray Jays in a recent YouTube video and the article in the Living Bird magazine produced by Cornell. It was an interesting bird and I thought I would share it with the community.
As one who has lived at a slightly lower latitude than the Gray Jays, I can attest to how the winters have been. Right now it is 12 degrees (F) outside and has been much colder for the past few days.
The last part of my career was spent at a weather agency. Climate change is happening all the time, it is rare for the climate to be stable for long periods of time. Change always seems to bring about hardship for some and opportunities for others.
While the population of Gray Jays is declining now, it is possible this is nature's way of ensuring a hardy genetic pool for the future. Meaning the hardiest of the Gray Jay population will survive and be able to take advantage of the swing toward a colder climate.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Steem on,
Mike