Birders are taking over the Blogosphere

Howdee all,

  

Woweee

Lots happening in the Bird blogging world.

The Greatest Network of Birding and Nature blogs,

Nature Blog Network,

has some great changes in store for us..read about it here

continuing the conversation

…………………………..

Over at 10,000 Birds,

Corey just announced the new inclusion of more Bird bloggers to their website…

New 10,000 Birds Beat Writers 

Corey says they don't beat their writers….though, after reading a few comments online, I am not sure if that is true or not :)

So..do they Beat their writers????

Read the above link to see what Corey means by his title, and to see the wonderful bloggers who will be joining their cast of characters.

…………………………………………………………

The ABA recently appointed a New President, Jeffrey Gordon, and has the Birding Blogosphere a twitter..and more hopeful than ever, that the ABA is for all of us.

The ABA has also announced a Blog and  made several posts…one recent post by Nate introduces several blogs for readers to check out…

(Wow, Nate, you sure do get around)

…………………………………………………

Last but not least…. in the works for over a month now, Gunnar Engblom

A birding blog by Gunnar Engblom

Is starting another Birding Blog 

Birdingblogs.com

With some awesome writers..

Gunnar Engblom (Peru)
  Kenn Kaufman (US),
  Gyorgy Szimuly (Hungary),
Susan Myers (Australia)
  Dale Forbes (Austria)
  Tom McKinney (UK)
  Rich Hoyer (US),
Jeff Gordon (US)
Rebecca Nason (UK)
  Martin Garner (UK)

And..yours truly…

Me..

While, i certainly don't think I am in the league of any of the above writers..

I have my place in this Bird blogging world.

I love to read Birding and Nature blogs and It will be my pleasure to introduce others to some wonderful Bird Bloggers out there.

 

The site was just launched this morning..

Read the first post by Gunnar explaining what we are all about.

Multi-author birding blog launched today

………………………………………………………………………..

I find it so very interesting..that The Nature Blog Network, The ABA, 10,000 Birds and Gunnar have started very similar platforms around the same time.

Amazing…

I guess Great minds,do.. think alike…

 

I want to congratulate all the Bird Bloggers in all of these venues…

 

May we help enlighten others to the beauty and joy of Birding.

Happy Birding to you all!

Macro Monday

    Howdee all,

Leaves with water droplets on Asphalt

       

Happy Autumn!

Bluff point, Groton, CT

Image via Wikipedia

Howdee all,

Its Autumn here in Connecticut. Blustery, stormy days interspersed with sunshine and windy days.

Bluff point is our favorite place for a four mile round trip walk..not to far from Mom and Dads.

This was an evening walk.

   Windy with no rain.

Just getting dark…

We brought our bins on this walk..but the wind kept most birds down.

We did see a Great Egret.

  Lots of Cormorants, Gulls and Yellow-rumped warblers, Song sparrows, Eastern Towhees and Blue jays.

otherwise..it was pretty quiet…

I am always looking for mushrooms…We found a few gems on this trip.

This is some sort of Lepioda mushroom

I have never tried any Lepioda mushrooms..too many poisonous look alikes.

  Puff ball city..

  Some puff balls are edible

If I don't know a mushroom well, I don't eat it unless I am out with an expert.

I try to stay with the safe mushrooms..ones I know inside and out.

If these are edible..this would make a nice mushroom soup.

Instead..I will use the mushrooms I froze and dried last fall in Oregon…

Chanterelles, Lobsters, Matsutake, Porcini, Chicken of the woods.

   The colors are changing..the leaves are falling..and the Birdies are going souther..

A lovely time of year…  

Related articles

All the rain promises and more http://dawnandjeffsblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/all-rain-promises-and-more-david-arora.html

• Confusing fall warblers -- mostly blackpolls -- are pouring through Northeast Ohio (cleveland.com)
• Go native to attract the greatest variety and abundance of birds to your home gardens (cleveland.com)
• Orange Mushrooms A Few Days Later (newenglandsnarrowroad.wordpress.com)
• Complete Mushroom Cookbook (thefoodielist.co.uk)
• Finding Fall Mushrooms (newenglandsnarrowroad.wordpress.com)

Turkey Tail

Image via Wikipedia

Howdee all

Hope you all are having a wonderful fall season.

       Jeff and I are in Connecticut now, parked in my parents driveway.

We plan on being here until the beginning of November,then will head south to warmer weather.

On our quest to stay healthy we do a daily walk at Bluff Point on the coast in Groton. A four mile loop…the first part thru woodlands.

I am always on the lookout for mushrooms…and found this beautiful specimen.  Turkey Tail mushroom or Trametes versicolor

“Turkey tails are possibly the most common mushroom you will find. They are saprobic growing everywhere on dead or rotting stumps and branches. As "versicolor" may suggest, they are very variable in color. Their uses are mainly medicinal and decorative. They can have great beauty. They dry easily to become leathery tough. I have seen them used by artists in various assemblages and even as jewelry. They also can be used to make blue and green dyes for wool and other fabrics.

There has been quite a bit of research done on these for their medicinal value as adjunct cancer treatment including colorectal cancer and leukemia. A protein-bound polysaccharide called PSK (Krestin) has been developed in Japan for cancer therapy.”

from http://mushroom-collecting.com/mushroomturkey.html

I found a few informative videos online.

 “The turkey tail has bioremediation potential, according to mycologist Paul Stamets. T. versicolor biodegrades a variety of pollutants. It is eaten by the caterpillars of the fungus moth Nemaxera betulinella.”

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trametes_versicolor  

"In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Turkey Tail is used to clear dampness,
reduce phlegm, heal pulmonary disorders, strengthen the physique,
increase energy and benefit people with chronic diseases (Yang &
Yong, 1989, Ying et al., 1987). Chinese medical doctors consider it a
useful treatment for infection and/or inflammation of the upper
respiratory, urinary and digestive tracts. Turkey Tail is also regarded
as curative to liver ailments (including hepatitis B and chronic active
hepatitis) and is used to treat general weakness of the immune system
(Ying et al., 1987)

Krestin (PSK), a proprietary anticancer drug approved in
Japan, is extracted from the Turkey Tail mushroom and accounted for
25.2% of the total Japanese national expenditure for anticancer agents.
Nakazato et al. (1994), reported that 262 gastric cancer patients
treated with PSK as an adjunct to chemotherapy showed a decrease in
cancer reoccurrence and a significant increase in disease-free survival
rate. Kobayashi et al. (1995) reported that the protein-bound
polysaccharide PSK reduced cancer metastasis. Sakagami et al. (1993)
reported that PSK stimluted interleukin-1 and interferon production in
human cells. Other researchers have reported that PSK appears to be a
scavenger of free-radical oxidizing compounds. Unlike many conventional
anticancer drugs, PSK produces few, if any, side effects and shows no
immunosuppressive activity." from http://wildbranchmushrooms.com/turkey-tail

Video on the Medicinal Properies

 

“Healing Properties
Its main effects are to strengthen the immune system, particularly by enhancing the workings of one of the most critical cells, known as T helper cells. T helper cells tell all the other cells in the immune system what to do and to what degree, and when to stop.
In cancer, the runaway cells often secrete compounds known as cytokines that give false signals to immune cells to stop working. This further enhances the ability of the cancer to survive. An unfortunate side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy is that they further damage the immune system, in part by inadvertently killing T helper cell” read more here …from Discovery Health

 

So..I am thinking of collecting some to make a tea.

I will dry it and powder it…and use it to build up my immune system during this flu and cold season.

“Preparation and Dosage
The usual dose is 2 to 3 grams of dried, powdered turkey tail mushrooms three times per day, either mixed into food or put into capsules. Specialized extracts known as PSK or PSP (which focus on single polysaccharides in the mushroom, to the exclusion of all other potentially beneficial compounds) were the actual form of this mushroom studied and are given in the same amounts as powdered turkey tail.
However, these extracts are quite a bit more expensive than the whole powdered herb. Crude turkey tail mushroom has been used successfully in traditional medicine for thousands of years, so it is unlikely these special extracts must be used for it to be effective.
Storage
Turkey tail mushroom generally stays potent for many years, regardless of its form. The constituents don't break down easily. Keeping it away from heat and light will help extend its useful shelf life.” From Discovery Health

Disclaimer..I do not recommend using or eating any wild mushrooms unless it has been identified by a professional.

Wordless Wednesday

More Birds and Bees

Howdee all,

I am really enjoying this auto generated paper that uses tweets on twitter.

This particular paper I had set up using the tweets of twitter friends that share Bird/Nature content.

You can peruse the first page of the paper..or you can click See all articles to go to the list view of articles and blog posts shared.

So click on the link below..and read some great shared links..you may find one of your own.

The birds-and-the-bees Daily

as shared by 108 people on Dawn’s Twitter list

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nature indoors

Howdee all,

Its been overcast and rainy in Massachusetts this week. I have a cold and am taking it easy indoors.

I miss being outdoors in Nature.:(

I haven't had enough of it this month, between the apartment search with our daughter and moving her, and other family happenings,I just haven't taken the time.

I miss long walks in the woods…I hope to get my fix once we are in Connecticut.

Which will happen soon.:)

Jeff and I love to walk the 4 mile loop around Bluff Point on the coast…(exercise and birds.)

I am hoping to spend some outdoor time with my Lovely Sickstas and Brother if I can get us all together…they love hiking too.

We will visit our daughter, a few times,help her organize and then hike the green spaces in Providence.

Mom and Dad love going for walks too..We will plan some fun outings.

We also have lots of projects planned…Yard work at Mom and Dads and going thru all our belongings in Sickstas attic , we will see if there is anything our daughter would like for her new home, pack some for our future fixed foundation, and donate the rest to goodwill or family members who want them.

Lots planned..might need to stay a bit longer to fit it all in before our migration south for the winter.

Anyway….that's what's up with me…

I was missing nature..so I did a nature walk in our Homey..

Look what I found..

Mr. Bob White peering out from my houseplants.

    Jeff found this cute little planter in the trash and rescued him for me.

Oh..lookie here, a talking parakeet. My Sicksta Tammy gave this squawker to me.

I love him. Oh..another parakeet.. this one from my Sicksta Dell Mr frog hangs out near our desk. This lovely Haiku book on birds was given to me by my Twitter friend @Zenbirdfeeder More frogs..these hold candles.I guess I have a bit of nature indoors…They may not be living..but I enjoy them…

Do you have nature indoors?

Cape May Monarch Butterflies

Howdee all,

A few weeks ago there was chatter on facebook about Monarch Butterflies going thru Cape May area.

Jeffrey Gordon said on facebook he was going out to look at them. Others in the area mentioned thousands going thru.

I have never been to Cape May to see this Phenomena, but I sure would love to see it happen.

This video below was shared by David LaPuma,if you don't know who David is check out his website Woodcreeper. David tracks bird migration via Doppler radar.

Now that's allot of butterflies.

Below

“Louise Zemaitis, Field Coordinator for the Cape May Bird Observatory, tells us about the fall Monarch Butterfly migration. Cape May County is a prime location to watch this phenomenon, Stone Harbor Point being an active spot.”

 

 

And this next video is from the New York Times

When Jeff and I were in wintering near Pismo beach we were able to see thousands of Monarchs that winter in clusters on the Eucalyptus trees.

It was an amazing sight.

Check out the this link. I have read a few bloggers posts who have raised Monarchs.

One that comes first to mind is..

  Ruthies (Nature Knitter) 

You must read her blog posts about her experience raising and tagging Monarchs.

An Excellent Read.

And if you haven't had enough check out the butterfly articles below.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Monarch butterflies begin huge migration (cbc.ca)
• How To Create A Butterfly Garden (brighthub.com)
• Long Live the Monarch Butterflies...Or How To At Least Help (environment.change.org)
• Logging down in Mexican Monarch butterfly reserve (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Canadian researchers solve Monarch migration mystery (ctv.ca)
• Mexico: Butterflies on the Sierra Madra (telegraph.co.uk)

Grackle Birdinings…

Howdee all.

A huge flock of Grackles landed near our Motor home the other day..

I took the photos from the Motor Home…the flock landed on one side of us in a huge flurry and began gobbling the Dogwood Berries in the tree and various things on the ground..

When they were scared off by a car and person approaching they all flew to the other side of our Homey.

   The Grackles moved on to the next yard…foraging in the grass

  and then they were gone.

How quickly they came and went….

Feels like that's what happened to summer.

COME BACK..I am not done with you yet!