Author Archives: Erin

Barn Owls

Mother Earth News plays advocate for Barn Owls:

When a barn owl hears a sound, it turns its head toward the source until the sound strikes both ears simultaneously. That gives the barn owl the sound’s horizontal position. Determining the vertical position is a hit more complicated, but vital-without it, that dive for yummy rodent flesh could be a few inches too high (a clean miss) or too low (crash). The secret is in the lopsided arrangement of the bird’s ear openings. The right ear opening is lower on the face and tilts slightly upward. The left ear is higher than the right and tilts down. As a result, sounds from above are louder in the owl’s right ear. and those from below are louder in the left. The differences in volume tell a barn owl whether a sound is coming from above or below and reveal its exact elevation. When a sound is equally loud in both ears, the source is at eye level.

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/2003-12-01/Barn-Owl-Magic.aspx#ixzz1eBm4xqnU

Testing Testing

Testing out the blog-to-Facebook exporter. Do not adjust your sets. Please stand by!

Ooooh

A friend discovered this amazing slo-mo movie of an Eagle Owl swooping to a stop.  I imagine this has been the last thing many, many small forest creatures has seen.

My Messy Nest

In case anyone was wondering, this is what it looks like when one is preparing to be a vendor at a bird show.

My couch, full of painted products for the BFBS show in October, 2011.
My couch, full of painted products for the BFBS show in October, 2011.

The buttons and magnets are stored in the orange case to the left.  The paintings up high are awaiting their top coats.  The ornaments on the baking tray are in various states of “undress”.  Finished ornaments are boxed to the right.  There’s a single, painted clock on view here, too.  My paints are on the floor and my paintbrushes close at hand.  Believe it or not, there’s a couch under there, somewhere!

Applying Some Order

… or Suborder, or Families, to be specific!  I noticed the tag list was getting a little messy, so I’ve eliminated the individual bird names in favour of scientific families.  This should appeal to the twitchy types!  The search function is still available for those who want to find specific birds without the fun/hassle of the digital equivalent of sitting in a field blind. 🙂

Bird Calls

Loved this witty little short film.  Hope you do, too.

http://vimeo.com/5325530

Helpful Tips

Comedy website Pleated Jeans has some excellent suggestions on How to Clean Your Owl. (And a great picture, to illustrate!)

http://pleated-jeans.com/2010/07/12/how-to-clean-your-owl-pic/

Under Construction

Some lucky (or unlucky, if they haven’t got central air) homeowner got to sublet their window to this happy couple, who build a mud nest across the series of pictures.

http://themetapicture.com/dont-mind-me-just-building-my-house/

BNG at the National Bird Show

Bird Nerd Gifts will be a vendor at the National Bird Show!

The show runs from October 21-23, with public access on Saturday and Sunday.

We will be selling all of the products available on our web store.

Save yourself the shipping costs (and heartbreak, if your product sells out!): re-orders can be placed online for pickup at the sale.

http://national-birdshow.com/

Twitter Badges

American Goldfinch Social Media Badge Twitter Facebook Black Throated Blue Warbler Social Media Facebook Twitter Badge Blackpoll Warbler Social Media Badge Twitter Facebook Blue Jay Social Media Badge Twitter Facebook Canada Warbler Social Media Badges Twitter Facebook Chickadee Social Media Badge Facebook Twitter common yellowthroat twitter badge avatar Eastern Bluebird Social Media Badges Twitter Facebook Golden Winged Warbler Social Media Badge Twitter Facebook Nashville Warbler Social Media Badge Facebook Twitter Northern Cardinal Social Media Badge Twitter Facebook Pileated Woodpecker Social Media Badge Twitter Facebook Red Winged Blackbird Social Media Badge Twitter Facebook Rose Breasted Grosbeak Social Media Badge Facebook Twitter

These badges are free to download and use on any of your social media accounts.  To download, right click on the image of your choice and select “Save Image” to your hard drive.  You can them upload them to your profile on Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, Reddit… Whatever you choose!