Thursday, July 9, 2009

Those Canadians!

"Are you lookin' at me? I don't see anyone else around, you must be lookin' at me!"


I wonder if Canada is having the same problems we in Ohio are having with our delightful and highly intelligent politicians and their disdain for the environment? Let me know!


On to a lighter subject, about 10 grams actually...a very small warbly thing.
Those wacky Canada Warblers, always skulking about making it difficult for the Loop and his lens to capture them. This year, success! I've been going through my files looking at the past years warblies and those Canadians have always been covered by branches, leaves, rocks, stumps, the Doodles head...you get my meaning. They aren't the easiest to spot, butt I have a few good ones from this spring, and even a couple are in focus!



Here's our fine friend, Mark Shieldcastle, holding our fabulous feathery featured friend that I photographed with fantastic fervor wearing his new bling around his ankle. One day I'll post a photo of Mark that contains more than his hand.

This would qualify as a "CrAzY EyE' photo! He was a great model and stayed up for me for quite some time. Even the Doodles saw him!




Ya gotta love that pattern on top of there little feathery heads (TĂȘte faite varier le pas, for Chris.) Please note the same branch as in the previous pic, I told you he didn't move much!

I couldn't post anything without giving you the money shot! Canada Booty babee!



I'd like to thank my fellow Ohioans for reading my last post and harassing our politicians. As I've said before, we birders can wield a lot of power if we stick together!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Attention All Ohio Birders!

Please take the time to read this message I received from our local Audubon chapter.

Our glorious leaders in the state capital are panicking with the budget short fall. In addition to them devastating the libraries budgets and what that will mean to our already suffering educational system, they now will throw away more than 30 years of environmental struggles that have given us so many natural areas to hike and bird in.

Thanks,
Dave

*Please take a moment to ponder all that has been accomplished by the Arc of Appalachia...

Since our inception thirteen years ago, we have purchased over 65 properties, and 3200 acres of life-drenched bio-diverse native landscapes - primarily with private philanthropic dollars. Yet such work is only supplemental to what can and should be accomplished with state tax dollars.

The Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves currently oversees an astounding 134 public nature preserves in our state, stewarding 30,000 acres, run by some of the finest conservation professionals we could ever have the pleasure to work with. Most of these preserves are
open to the public, free of charge, with well maintained systems of hiking trails.

Can you imagine a scenario in which an entire Division disappears?
It's hard, but it's important to try. Due to state money shortages, The Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has been forced to swallow many budget cuts over the last few years. When the last round of news concerning financial deficits hit ODNR this week, here was their
reluctant response.

Fiscal Year 2010 (beginning next week) a 30% cut in in the Division's budget
Fiscal Year 2011 (beginning July 1, 2010) ZERO FUNDING for the
Division of Natural Areas and Preserves

The proposed budget figures can be found at:
http://obm.ohio.gov/sectionpages/Budget/FY1011/BalancedBudgetFramework.aspx
DNAP's figures are in the PDF-link at the bottom of the page:
"Balance Sheet by Line Item" and near the top of page 7 of that PDF.

It is a large document but the message for DNAP is clear: for less
than 2 million dollars a year, the Ohio natural areas program could be
saved: 134 public nature preserves, 30,000 acres. Back in the
seventies the founders of the ARC worked at ODNR when the Division of
Natural Areas was born in the cradle of the environmental movement.
The founders were proud to bear witness to Ohio's new bold conception.
Shall we now bear the shared burden of watching its demise?

If you care about wilderness, about biodiversity, about the native
landscape that once covered Ohio, please act by contacting your
legislators and governor. The Division only has one chance to survive.
In addition, please email or call the budget conference committee
members directly. If the public doesn't respond with a loud and
collective outcry, the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves will
soon be gone. Over thirty years in the making, an entire division of
trained botanists, preserve stewards, maintenance staff, and
information line people. All of them gone. Here are the conference
committee members who are working on the budge for 2010 and 2011.

The conference committee members are:

Senator Mark Wagoner, Senate Building, Room #129, First Floor,
Columbus, Ohio 43215, Telephone: 614/466-8060
Email: SD02@senate.state.oh.us

Senator Dale Miller, Senate Building, Room #048, Ground Floor,
Columbus, Ohio 43215. Telephone: 614/466-5123
Email: SD23@maild.sen.state.oh.us

Senator John Carey, Senate Building, Room #127, First Floor,
Columbus, Ohio 43215, Telephone: 614/466-8156
Email: SD17@senate.state.oh.us

Representative Vernon Sykes, 77 S. High St, 13th Floor, Columbus, OH
43215-6111. Phone: (614) 466-3100. Fax: (614) 719-6944
Email: district44@ohr.state.oh.us

Representative Ron Amstutz, 77 S. High St, 10th Floor, Columbus, OH
43215-6111, Phone: (614) 466-1474. Fax: (614) 719-0003
Email: district03@ohr.state.oh.us

Representative Jay P. Goyal, 77 S. High St, 14th Floor, Columbus, OH
43215-6111, Phone: (614) 466-5802, Fax: (614) 719-3973
Email: district73@ohr.state.oh.us

We end this letter by giving credit where credit is due. Although
donors have been the Arc's primary source of land acquisition money,
the Division of Natural Areas has often assisted the Arc by supplying
25% of our acquisitions money through the purchase of a conservation
easements on exceptionally botanically-significant sites. In addition,
the Arc has benefited greatly from tax supported Clean Ohio funding.
Non-profits don't thrive in a vacuum. They thrive in partnership.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

The Arc of Appalachia Preserve System
Headquarters: Highlands Nature Sanctuary
7629 Cave Road, Bainbridge, OH 45612
937-365-0101
http://highlandssanctuary.org/
director@highlandssanctuary.org

Thanks for your help!
I'll go back to the birds on Thursday!
Dave

Monday, July 6, 2009

Best Blog Friends


Well, I'm sure you noticed my little Owl buddy off to the side by now. He was a gift from my good blog buddy, Nickolay Tilchef. He's given me a few pointers since I started this blog fetish as well as great comments which make me post more. You really need to check out his blog if you haven't already. You will be amazed at the birds he has captured near his home in Tasmania, and more recently, Australia.
An important part of this gift is the passing on of this friendship among bloggers and the joy that we share together in our posts. At first I felt blogging was a little bit selfish, showing my photos and blathering on about whatever was on my mind. But, as I got more involved and got a few followers and started to follow other blogs, I discovered this is so much more. This is a way to connect with far away people and to learn AND be taught about our shared love of nature and the creatures on this planet.
So, the folks I'm gonna pass this on to...Chris from Iceland, a fantastic photographer and a slightly crazy person that loves to lay down in ice water to get a great shot. His posts are in English and French and I have a hard enough time with English!
Next is Kelly Riccetti of Red and the Peanut. A fellow Ohioan and another great photographer of birds and wildlife. There's a reason she has so many followers! Great writing and always uplifting...and she always has a nice comment for me, thanks! Next spring she'll be up to Magee Marsh for the May'hem of migration!
Matt Latham's Wildlife and Nature Photography will knock your socks off with the clarity of his photos. He is one of those guys that just picks up a camera and magic happens! I am lost for words when I see his photos. I'm honored that he visits my blog. Maybe when if I visit the U.K. again, he can give me a few pointers.
And last...for now...is my real friend, Jim McCormac, though if you meet him, he may deny knowing me. Jim works for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources among other things. He also got the ball rolling on the Ohio Ornithological Society and made me and other Ohioans more aware of our fragile habitats. His blog will teach you so much about birds, bugs and botany that your head will spin. Go on a hike with him if you ever have the opportunity, just request that he refrains from speaking in Latin...Oh yeah, he even likes my photos, even if they are from the wrong side!
These are my Best Blog Friends, I'm sure I'll name a few more soon. In the meantime, Chris, Kelly, Matt and Jim, post the logo if you like and definitely pass it on to your best blog buddies!