Ivory-bill Celebration Observations

Here is a photo of ivory-bill rediscovers Bobby Harrison and Tim Gallagher visiting the Eagle Optics booth. It was fun to finally see both guys at the same time. I told Bobby that I was beginning to think they were the same person since you never see both of them at the same festival. I need to give a big Thank You to the Brinkley Chamber of Commerce and to Bobby Harrison for directing people to my website and to Eagle Optics website. While working the Eagle Optics booth I would get one of three comments:

1. "Are you that birder chick? The Chamber told me to check out your website, it's nice to meet you." 2. "I need to get some new binoculars and that Bobby Harrison fellow said that I needed to get them through you." 3. "Oh, Eagle Optics, I've purchased my binoculars through you, I love them."

For a first time festival, Brinkley did a pretty good job. Sure there were a few rough edges, but that was mostly minor details that you learn as you do a festival. I was so amazed by the number of people who just dropped in from neighboring towns because they heard about it on the news or because they saw the sign off of the highway.

I was asked to give a talk on Birding 101 at the festival. I kept it informal and light humored and the response was favorable afterwards, I had never done one trying to describe what birding is all about.

I started my talk with a monologue from Play on Birds about one person's journey to birding. In the talk I make a reference to pishing. At the end of my talk, I opened it up for questions and a lady asked me, "Can you tell me what 'pissing' is?"

I haven't had a line served to me on a silver platter like that since my last visit to my mother.

I answered, "I can tell you what that means, but I think what you really want to know is what 'pishing' is, spelled P-I-S-H. If it's not, I'm certainly happy to oblige on the other word."

She quickly covered her mouth when she realized what she asked and all of us, including the lady who asked the question, got a good giggle out of it.

Pete Dunne had given a talk the day before on the art of pishing. For the non birders that check this blog, pishing is a noise birders make to get birds attention. Say the word 'pish' in a whisper while keep your teeth clenched together, that's a basic pish. You will find each birders has their own technique and for the most part is can be a useful tool to get a birds attention and getting it closer to you. Usually, in a performance I will include a demo of pishing (especially when doing it in a regular theater setting, however since this was a bird festival and Pete had just talked about pishing and the audience laughed loudly at the reference, I continued on. Mental note, from now on, always define pishing, even at bird festivals. Friday and Saturday were an action packed days, helping people with binoculars. I was so excited, June Osborne purchased a pair of Zeiss binoculars at the booth, it was an honor to help her. She told me the story of how she and her husband of 53 years met--in jail! They were both part of a church youth group in high school that would go sing to guys in the drunk tank. Her husband Harold said he was smitten right away. I hope I'm lucky enough to reach half that number with Non Birding Bill. That's June wearing her signature purple between Amy Hooper and me.

Speaking of Amy, she got a little weird on this trip. Bless her heart, she's from California and just not used to chilly temperatures. Granted, the air did get a bit crisp and I even broke out some earmuffs at one point, but she was really affected. Saturday afternoon I had to pack up the booth, which is the hardest part of the job for me. If I sell anything, it's not going to fit in the boxes the same way as it arrived, so I have to carefully repack to make sure everything is cushioned and secure for the trip back to the Eagle Optics headquarters. It's kind of like a game of Tetris. Well, I was tired and a bit of mess when I finished and the banquet was going to start soon. I decided to head back to the hotel room and try and clean up for the dinner. Amy came along and on the way we stopped for some super sugary gas station cappucino to reawaken me. When we got to the room, I checked messages on my cell phone. I heard Amy mumbling in the back ground, but didn't pay too close attention. Something about "feet and hot water". I got off the phone and went to the sink to wash my hands and found her standing in the tub, fully clothed with her feet sitting in hot water while drinking her gas station cappuccino. I looked at her quizzically and she replied, "I told you, happiness is cold feet in hot water." I'm always happy to be of service to my warm weather friends in cold temperatures.

We freshened up and headed to the banquet. As we eat we listened to all those involved with the first search from Tim and Bobby, to David Luneau who shot the famous video, to Gene Sparling the kayaker who got ivory-bills searchers attention when he spotted an odd woodpecker while on the Cache River. All of the guys involved in that early initial top secret search are deeply affected by what happened to them, but I had never really heard Gene talk about it in person before. All the speeches were great and all but Gene's involved Powerpoint, but Gene got up, and spoke from his heart. He still hasn't quite deciphered what all this means in his personal grand scheme of things. And as much as I enjoy listening to Tim and Bobby recount that fateful day and as interesting as David Lunneau is, I was touched deeply by the refreshing, soulful honesty of this naturalist who truly loves the Cache, ivory-bill or not.

The city of Brinkley itself is overwhelmed by this situation but they opened up their arms to welcome birders and charmed us with their hospitality. I love all the places I've been so far with my job, but Brinkley is becoming a favorite with the friendliness of the people who are not only curious about why someone would travel hundreds of miles to their town for the slimmest of chances to see a bird, but are also grateful for the business.

The number of participants certainly exceeded my expectations and those of the organizers. I heard on Friday that there had been 157 people at the Fish Fry and that didn't include people who just popped in for the activities during the day or who were to show up just for Saturday's activities. Our hotel was certainly packed Saturday night. I had a tough time finding parking when I came back after the banquet. I hope the festival continues to grow in the future.

Ivory-bill Haircut

I originally posted this entry Saturday morning. As soon as I hit "publish post" there was a commotion in the vendor area and low and behold an Ivory-bill Haircut Demonstration was in progress. I recovered the post so I could add in this rarely captured event! Pictured left is hard working volunteer Bart sitting in for Penny to work her hair magic. Bart was the best, not only did he help keep the festival moving, but he was kind enough to find a box for me to stand on during my presentation so I could see over the podium. Standing next to Penny in the orange ivory-bill shirt is Lisa Boyd who runs the Ivory-bill Nest-- your one stop shop for everything ivory-bill. My friends ask if I will ever get an Ivory-bill Haircut on one of my trips to Brinkley. Cute as it is, I just don't think it's a good day to day style for me. But we had seen some men that have chosen this bold fashion statement at the celebration. They style appears to require lots of gel and colors (even more color than I put in my hair).

People surrounded Bart and snapped photos in awe of his bravery (pictured, right). Bart mentioned that he got a discount on the cut, because he already had white hair, so Penny could skip adding that color in. As soon as Bart's cut was finished, Lisa loudly asked, "Okay, who wants the next one?" I've never seen a crowd disperse so quickly in whole life! I did find more men with the avian hair style. So, what does an Ivory-bill Haircut look like? Well, here is Bart receiving his finishing touches:

And here's another satisfied customer:

And it wasn't just for the mature birder. The young guys were sportin' this do as well:

And it's not just for people with hair! Even if you are "closely cropped" so to speak, you can still get this high fashion style. Here is tv reporter Todd Wilson of KTHV sporting an Ivory-bill Haircut:

It is interesting to note that NO WOMEN, not a single one was spotted at the celebration with the cut. I was told is was a unisex style, but the ladies weren't diggin' it.

Ivory-bill Fest Report

When I pulled into the parking lot this morning, that good bird smell was heavy in the air. You could totally smell the blackbirds that had roosted around there the night before, it reminded me of the bird housing at the Raptor Center. I got the booth put together without too much trauma and sold a pair of Rangers right away, thanks to the help of Ron Austing who brought a friend over to look at our products. I was very excited to meet Ron, he is another guy who has photos just about everywhere. When I was going through his prints available for sale, I recognized so many from various bird books. Then, I found one of my all time favorite photos of a red-tailed hawk. Isn't it sweet? I didn't realize that he was the guy who took the photo. But geeked out when I realized how talented he was.

In the booth next to me was a lovely couple who carve birds. Their carved birds worked as great targets for people to test out the close focus on the various binoculars. They told me that they just sold a life sized ivory-bill carving for $12,000. They do tremendous work, that is one their ivory-bill heads pictured at right--even Tim Gallagher was impressed.

This evening we heard a wonderful band playing at the celebration called the Greasy Greens. Their big claim to fame was playing at President Clinton's inaugural ball. They rocked the crowd here...well, as much as you can rock a crowd of birders. They debuted a new song about the ivory-billed woodpecker that combined the Woody Woodpecker Theme and Rockin' Robin. Amy and I invented a couple of a new dances to it: the bino and the scope. I wonder how soon that will be all the rage at birding festivals?

Boy, I tell ya' I am racking up the author lifers here, I'll have to update the list as soon as I get home. I met June Osborne who is as sweet as she can be. She was sitting behind us at Gene's Barbecue and we ran into her around the festival. I also met Pete Dunne again, and he bought lunch for all of us hard working optic reps at the festival--what a guy! He even stopped by the booth to talk to customers about binoculars and offered some great pointers. He's currently packing seven power binoculars--I like a guy who is comfortable with his magnification. I'm going to use this photo for the author page, but can't wait to post it. Here is Pete stealing a fry as I steal a photo of him.

The blackbirds poured into the trees again tonight, just as hypnotic as last night. This time there wasn't anyone around to try and scare them with fireworks, which was a relief. I overheard someone say with a tone of disdain, while watching the millions come in, "You know, this is what people think birders do. Like birders want to sit around and be entertained by this?" I couldn't help it, I piped up, "I'm a birder and I love this, I could watch it for hours. It's hypnotic." I don't know what it is, but giant flocks of birds just fascinate me.

In the next entry: What does and ivory-bill haircut look like anyway?

Back to Brinkley!

I love being at the airport and I love traveling. I had a conversation with a freelance writer friend who warned me to be careful what I wished for. He said it was hard being on the road in a cramped plane, sleeping in an unfriendly hotel and just trying to get things done. So far I have found the opposite to be true. I tend to get a lot of work done catching up on phone conversations (with my hands free headset at left) and doing some emailing while waiting at the gate. Once on the plane I get a surprising amount of writing accomplished whether it be blog related, catching up on emails, an article for Birding Business or something for Eagle Optics. No distractions. This trip I used the time on the plane to go over the packing list of product that will be waiting for me in Brinkley. I tried to make sure that I not only knew what was packed but try and memorize the weights, prices, etc.

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved airports, I love watching the people and I love the buzz of everyone off to destinations. You can see how excited some are to get to a vacation spot and other just off for work. I just like the energy. When I touched down in Little Rock, I got into my rental car and headed straight for the festival:

Welcome back to Brinkley! Okay, for the record, I am a safe driver, I do not snap photos while going down the highway, but about 15 miles from Brinkley one nasty traffic jam came into formation. When I got off the exit, there was a police officer directing traffic! Who knew? Could this be a sign that the festival is jammed packed full of participants? I was shocked. I was also a little concerned with the officer started using his cell phone while directing traffic. Call me crazy, but I want someone's full attention when they are directing vehicles of various sizes off of and onto highways.

Typically a traffic jam is not my first place to be, but there were so many snow geese moving that it was fun to watch swirling and descending onto the nearby fields as I sat in the highway parking lot. It was bird rush hour! As I got closer to Brinkley, I noticed hoards and hoards of red-winged blackbirds. I hadn't seen flocks like that since I was a kid in Indiana. I estimated one flock to be at least 2 million birds (that's a conservative estimate, not an exaggeration). I was super excited to notice that the flocks were heading towards the Brinkley exit like I was. Here is a photo of a flock (note traffic in the lanes heading away from Brinkley are moving quite fast):

When I arrived at the convention center, there was a young man with fireworks taking aim at the red-winged blackbird flocks attempting to roost in the trees (kind of like that scene early on Steel Magnolias when they boys are trying to get the birds out of the trees before Shelby's wedding--although in the movie they look to be rock pigeons with house sparrow calls dubbed over). The birds would land, and make the trees look like full foliage, the fireworks would zoom in the center, the flock would rise and then descend down into the trees again. I mentioned to the crowd watching that this a bird festival, the birds should be left alone. I was told, "This isn't a blackbird festival!" I was also told that we would want the birds gone because of the all the droppings the birds leave behind. I mentioned that birds tend to "evacuate" more when scared so all the fireworks were doing were just encouraging the birds to poop. At this point there was a loud bang, and the flock zoomed our way--we all hightailed it into the convention center.

Inside I found all the merchandise had been shipped, figured out where my booth was to be set up. The boxes were large so Steve Moore and Amy Hooper helped me move them. Boy, WildBird Magazine really is out to help! My boxes are in place, so I went to grab an Ivory-bill Cheese Burger and call it a night. Back at the hotel I fine tuned my presentation for Saturday: Birding 101. I love titles like that because it's open to interpretation, I can go several different directions...I just need to keep in mind that I only have 30 minutes.

Tonight, my booth looked like this:

Tomorrow, it will be a buffet of fine binoculars!

How to Buy a Duck Stamp

I've gotten quite a few responses on where to buy a duck stamp. I went online and found that the official duck stamp site reads that I can buy a stamp, but the link isn't working. So I found this site that carries the stamp. You might also contact your local post office to see if they are carrying the stamps (not all of them do). I think when I get back home, I might do an entry on how to purchase a duck stamp.

Thank you to all the birders who are willing to buy a duck stamp. The top reason I thank you is that you are helping to buy wetlands for a host of bird species. The other reason is that you are helping to break down the stereotype that birders are cheap and want others to pay for conservation--we need to get rid of that, almost as badly as we need to get rid of the notion that birders aren't cool.

Holy Cow!

Check out this unbelievable looking pileated woodpecker. Interesting, this bird was found in the same area I searched in Arkansas with Cornell in December. It mentions Tom Snetsinger, he was our team's leader. Cool looking bird. I think I can say without causing a stink that we did not see that bird while our crew was there. Boy, I wish I had, that is a nifty looking pileated.

Off to Arkansas--again!

Last week, after spending over eight hours in windy single digit temperatures we had dinner at Clay’s house. While warming up and enjoying a hearty meal I smiled and announced how happy I was to finally have the hip and adventurous lifestyle of an optics rep--a childhood dream. All the other guys at the table looked at me like a chicken with my head cut off. Hip?? Adventurous?? Apparently, I was the only person who got that memo.

Okay, maybe it’s not exploring the Arctic, but it’s still fun and challenging. Non Birding Bill thinks all I do is talk about birds all day and sing karaoke all night while on the road, but there is a lot more to it than that and I love every moment of it. Since the Call of the Ivory-bill Celebration will be my first solo trek running a booth, I will chronicle what all an Eagle Optics employee has to do on the road. Here I am with my suitcase loaded with clothes, binocular demos and my traveling office. I'm opting for my camo jacket this trip, because it seems to help you blend in with the locals in Brinkley, AR.

Whoever is going to this festival is going to meet a bevy of who is who in the birding world: Pete Dunne, Amy Hooper, Greg Butcher, Bobby Harrison, Tim Gallagher, Marie Reed, Gene Sparling, David Lunneau...I wonder if there will be a skeptic crowd there? Boy, it sure would be a good opportunity to ask questions. Should be interesting stuff.

Duck Stamp Discussion

So, I was at a “Duck Stamp” meeting today—or rather a meeting for the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Program. It was held at the Minnesota Valley NWR Visitor's Center next to the Minneapolis/St Paul Airport. There were feeders outside our windows so I had to work very hard to focus and not bird (note all the woodpeckers at left).

I was surrounded by people involved with Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Fish and Wildlife Service and DNR, guys who work for Congressman Kennedy—all types of big wigs and all very interested in preserving wetlands and the species associated with them.

The group got very excited when a sharp-shinned hawk flew in and landed on top of the feeders. All the birds were gone at that moment and it moved on. Twenty minutes later a flock of house sparrows moved in. Like a blue blot from the sky, the sharpie dropped straight in and sent all the sparrows in every direction--some flew into the window. It looked like the sharpie nailed one of the sparrows and then flew off with its meal--cool! Of course, always having a camera ready for a blogable moment, I did get a photo of the sharpie on one of its passes (right).

Hey, here's a question for ya':

Did you know, approximately 98 cents of every duck stamp dollar goes directly into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to purchase wetlands and wildlife habitat for inclusion into the National Wildlife Refuge System?

Why aren't more birders (scratch that, make it people) buying this stamp?!?!?

We were trying to figure out how to increase the sales of duck stamps or at least how to increase the revenue from the stamps. Eagle Optics was invited so I was there representing the company and trying to find ways to be more supportive, because let’s face it, if there are no wetlands, there really aren’t much birds to watch and no one will need binoculars and I’m out of a job. It behooves me to pay attention and encourage others to buy duck stamps for the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Program.

There’s genuine concern about the heritage of duck hunting disappearing. If duck hunters want to hunt they must purchase a stamp, something that birders do not have to do in order to go out and enjoy birds. For those folks who have never cared for hunting to begin with and are grateful for fewer hunters—you should be worried, very worried. Fewer duck hunters, fewer stamps purchased. Fewer stamps purchased, fewer areas of habitat for birds we enjoy and watch to thrive in.

There’s an idea in the legislature to increase the current stamp price from $15 to $25. Will there be some backlash from people who already purchase stamps and maybe this will be enough to make them stop duck hunting? Another idea is try to get non hunters to purchase the stamp. There’s been a push the last few years, but birders aren’t buying. I wonder what the reason is there? One is that most birders have the idea of “I’m not killing anything, so why not let hunters carry the burden on this?” or “I don’t need to worry about it, someone out there will make enough of a fuss so I don’t have to?” The comment was also made over and over again by both hunters and birders involved in the meeting that birders are cheap. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be stereotyped that way. Birders and other frequenters of National Wildlife Refuges purchase a $15 Federal Duck Stamp each year in order to gain free admission to refuges. Conservationists buy Federal Duck Stamps because they know that the stamps are, dollar for dollar, one of the best investments one can make in the future of America’s wetlands.

I'm encouraged by the ideas that were generated today and hopeful we will see success with them in the future. There are some real movers and shakers invovled with this so there is reason to be hopeful. The bottom line, however, is that more non hunters need to invest in the stamp, it's one of the best tools for habitat preservation out there.

(At the end of the meeting I sat by the window and watched the feeders a little to unwind and low and behold a possum trucked right on through.)

Eagle Optics Helps with Cuban Sandhill Cranes

Here's another way we're helping out at Eagle Optics.

In the United States, the Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) is the most abundant crane species. However, in Cuba, the Cuban Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis nesoites) is classified as endangered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Found only in Cuba, this crane population’s survival is dependant upon open grasslands and savannas. Eagle Optics recently had the privilege to help the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in their efforts to help the Cuban Sandhill Crane or the la grulla cubana.

The ICF has sponsored seven expeditions over the last ten years to aid Cuban colleagues with research and educational efforts. Mrs. Xiomara Galves, who completed her PhD studies with the support of ICF in 2003, has spearheaded these efforts. Some of the accomplishments include surveying and identifying 12 populations of 650 of Cuban Sandhill Cranes, fitting radio transmitters on ten cranes to follow their seasonal movements, and educating the local communities on the importance of habitat conservation and creating activities and festivals centered on the cranes.

In 2006, a group of formal and non-formal educators want to travel to the Isle of Youth, Cuba to build upon activities and conservation education started ten years ago. In the Isle of Youth is the Los Indios Ecological Reserve that hosts the largest known population of Cuban Sandhill Cranes (about 170 birds). The education work centers on a week long Cuban Sandhill Crane Festival, where communities, government officials and schools surrounding significant crane areas celebrate the presence of cranes and other endangered and endemic species. There will be student and teacher workshops, presentations and an international art exchange. In 2004, a record of 680 American students from 14 schools across five states contributed crane artwork that was sent to their Cuban counterparts. Cuban children on the Isle of Youth created artwork, which was presented to the participating American school, creating the art exchange.

The ICF team of educators also shares resources, donations of school supplies and information on the cranes. Cuban school children and educators share activities and performances with the IFC team helping to create a sense of civic responsibility and stewardship towards natural resources like the cranes and their habitat.

To help support the Cuban efforts with the crane research and education, Eagle Optics donated ten binoculars and a spotting scope with a tripod. Cuban biologists, researchers, educators and students to observe the cranes and other endemic species and their nesting habits will use these. Some of the optics sent include Eagle Optics Denalis, and an Eagle Optics Raven Scope with a tripod.

Duck Stamp Meeting

Here is the lovely Amber with Sam the light morph great horned owl at KARE 11, yesterday. I made a point to bring a bird with me, it's my last time working with Brad Woodard, he's off to Houston, TX next month. I wanted to bring a bird because he a HUGE animal lover and he's always done such great animal stories (and is such a good time to work with). He will be greatly missed. Although, if he's in Texas I do have a chance to visit him when bird festivals blow me that way.

Today I am off to a duck stamp meeting and how to improve the sales. Why aren't more birders buying duck stamps? We know we should but we aren't. I must say, this is my kind of all day meeting. No being locked in the lower level meeting room in an office building for eight hours. This meeting is at the Minnesota River Valley Headquarters. Finally, a proper place for a meeting.