Christmas Bird Count in Los Angeles at Limekiln Canyon

Dec 20Posted by Jeffrey Mann

The Christmas Bird Count has been an annual tradition for the past 115 years, since 1900, taking place of the annual “side hunt” that men would go on each year to hunt as many birds as possible. This is my third year participating in the event, last year I counted with Dan Cooper at Ballona Wetlands, and the year prior at Sepulveda Basin with Kris Ohlenkamp. This year I counted at Limekiln Canyon Park with Rose Leibowitz, President of the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society and three other participants.

Christmas Bird Counts are are officially organized through the National Audubon Society and conducted by local chapters or groups that have signed up.

Duck Feeding PSA

Dec 17Posted by Andrea Mott

No bread, of any kind, has any nutritional value for ducks. By feeding them bread, it fills their stomachs while providing no nutrients. It’s essentially the equivalent of humans eating cotton balls, or grass. This also goes for such snacks as tortilla chips, regular chips, pretzels, cheesies etc. The oil, salt, and/or flavoring on any human snack is no good for ducks. This is especially important for the wee ones during the breeding season, while they’re growing.

Abandoned Giant Chicken Church in Indonesia

Dec 16Posted by Jeffrey Mann

I stumbled upon this video of a giant chicken church in located deep in the forest of Central Java island in Indonesia.

The building was originally built as a prayer house by 67-year-old Daniel Alamsjah after he received a divine message from God. Although he intended the building to resemble a dove, the locals care more that it looks like a chicken, nicknaming it “Chicken Church.”

Did you know there is a bird census every year?

Dec 16Posted by Jeffrey Mann

For the past 116 years the Audubon has organized the annual Christmas Bird Count where groups all over the country gather between December 14th and January 5th to count birds in a particular area.

Like many people do on bird outings, the number of species spotted and how many of each species is recorded and submitted to eBird to help scientists monitor population fluctuations and migration patterns. The Christmas Bird Count bird census was started to replace the tradition of the “side hunt” where men would go out and hunt as many birds in a day as possible.

Los Angeles Bird Fest 2015 Attracts Bird Lovers from All Over

Dec 8Posted by Jeffrey Mann

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the second annual Los Angeles Bird Fest. The free event was put on by the Western National Parks Association with participation by the National Audubon Society, International Bird Rescue, Heal the Bay, California Wildlife Center, and other vendors and organizations. The event kicked off at 9AM with bird walks being led by San Fernando Valley Audubon volunteers.

The first bird walk of the morning was led in two different groups that explored around the nearby King Gillette Ranch.

New Birds of North America Poster – 740+ Species

Nov 13Posted by Jeffrey Mann

I wanted to share this awesome, brand new bird poster from the artists at Pop Chart Lab with you all. This large 39″ x 27″ poster features a stunning 740+ species of native and introduced birds found in North America. They are drawn *somewhat* to scale and grouped by family. This poster would make the perfect gift for any bird lover.

Adobe Creative Cloud Promo Discount Plans 68% Off

Nov 10Posted by Jeffrey Mann

If you’ve had your eye on Adobe Creative Cloud to edit your bird photos, Adobe just announced a new Black Friday Creative Cloud Promo for Students and Teachers – 68% off their plans! Also if you are not a student or teacher, you can still get a Creative Cloud Discount of 20% for Black Friday.

5 Things You Might Not Know About Pigeons

Nov 8Posted by Chelsea McClellan

Pigeons are some of our most common urban neighbors, and much like humans, they are frequently seen where there’s a possibility of free food. But despite sharing our space with them on a regular basis, people still have plenty of misconceptions about our feathery friends. Here are five things you might not know about pigeons.

New eBird Update Brings Photos and Audio to Checklists

Nov 4Posted by Jeffrey Mann

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and eBird have been hard at work bringing improvements to the online bird checklist site, eBird. Their latest update on November 3rd brings the ability to attach photos and audio clips to bird checklists. This rich media becomes a part of the Macaulay Library, which acts an a permanent archive for eBird data.

5 Tips on Breaking into the Biology Profession

Nov 2Posted by Andrea Mott

Getting a job is hard. Thousands of millennials graduate college each year with nothing else to show for it than a piece of paper. A diploma no longer gets you a full-time job right out of college. The job market is tough, especially in the wildlife field. There is a finite amount of jobs for a growing pool of applicants. This doesn’t mean you can’t get there, it just means you have to put in a little more effort beyond your time spent at college!

Here are a quick 5 tips on breaking into the biology profession:

2nd Annual Los Angeles Bird Festival on December 5th

Nov 1Posted by Jeffrey Mann

On Saturday, December 5th, 2015, the Western National Parks Association is hosting the 2nd annual Bird Festival in Los Angeles at the Santa Monica Mountains Interagency Visitor Center. This free event is a great chance to meet local bird experts, go on a guided bird walk, watch a live bird presentation, and more.

A Day in The Life of a Falconer

Nov 1Posted by Ethan Maki

Even though I’m unfortunately taking a break from falconry for one year due to college in another state, I still relive and reminisce on my countless past outings. Here is what a typical day in the life of a falconer is like. My day doesn’t have a horrendously early start, a long travel time, or an expensive bill waiting to greet me at the end. My life is like any other high schooler, at least until around three o’clock.

The Best Birds on Tumblr This Week 10/30/15

Oct 30Posted by Jeffrey Mann

So many great posts of birds make it to Tumblr every day. Here is recap of this week’s best Tumblr posts featuring birds.

Identify Birds with Your Phone Using Merlin

May 18Posted by Jeffrey Mann in App Reviews, Main Feed, Reviews

New Merlin Photo ID Able to Identify Birds Online from Digital Photos

May 6Posted by Jeffrey Mann in App Reviews, Featured, Main Feed, News, Reviews

Birdsnap App Review

Aug 2Posted by Jeffrey Mann in App Reviews, Featured, Main Feed, Reviews