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Greetings!
It's flat-out summertime. Hot, most places,
including where we are. Our minds are on
water. Water for birds. Water for the garden. And for
birding from a boat on our nearest river.
| Birding by Boat |
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We floated in a sunlit corridor between two
halves of a thick green forest. I dangled a bare
foot over the edge of the boat.
Birders call summer the slow time of year.
But orioles, vireos, and warblers
maintained a daylong chorus, and kingfishers
flew up and down the river rattling
raucously. We'd found a birding bonanza
hidden in the midst of farmland.
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| Dear Diane... |
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Dear Diane: I went birding with a group of
people who
kept identifying every bird by its song. I
can't remember
the songs. How do they do it?
It's fun to learn to identify birds by their
songs. (You can see more birds with your ears
than
you can with your eyes.) Here are some tips
on how learn to bird by ear. And some tools
to help you. And here's why
summer is a great time to start learning
birds songs.
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| How to Clean Binoculars |
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Know how some people accidentally ruin their
binoculars? By cleaning the lenses by
breathing on them and then rubbing them with
their shirt.
That method grinds dust particles (which are
actually very tiny rocks) into the glass,
creating microscopic scratches. Eventually
the binocular will be as frosted as the
shower door. Here's the right way to
clean binoculars
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Photos ©Michael
and Diane Porter
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Kindness Is a Birdbath |
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Sometimes fresh, clean water is the scarcest
necessity for a bird to obtain. You can make
a robin's day better by the simple act of
offering a drink and a bath. Your little
circle of clean, cool water is a kindness to
the birds.
It's a kindness to yourself and your family,
too. A birdbath is one of the easiest ways to
bring birds up close, where everyone can get
a really good look at them.
Here are some tips on the characteristics of
a great birdbath — one that birds will use
enthusiastically.
Read more... |
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