Cornell is back at it

Bird Songs Bible: A Must-Have for Birding Faithful Blend of art, science, and sound makes a unique holiday gift Ithaca, NY—There’s that old saw about a “bird in the hand.” Better use both hands for the Bird Songs Bible: The Complete Illustrated Reference for North American Birds, edited by Les Beletsky. This deluxe offering from Chronicle Books blends artwork, information, and sounds for all breeding bird species found in North America. The songs and calls for each species come from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library. “Months of winter lie ahead, but there’s no reason to miss out on the lovely sounds of all our birds,” said Greg Budney, audio curator of the Macaulay Library. “The Bird Songs Bible has a built-in audio player so the songs and calls of nearly 750 bird species are just the push of a button away with beautiful images at every turn of the page. “ Each species account includes four-color illustrations and range maps, showing where the bird is likely to be found. Information about the bird’s habitat, behavior, and vocalizations is also included. But the most unique feature of the Bird Songs Bible is its sound player. The numbered recordings match up with the appropriate species. From the nasal honking of the Trumpeter Swan to the clucks, rattles, and whistles of the Yellow-breasted Chat—this is a great way to practice learning how to identify birds by sound before testing your ears in the great outdoors. Editor Les Beletsky is a bird biologist and author of Bird Songs and Bird Songs from Around the World, also from Chronicle Books. He lives in Seattle, Washington. The Bird Songs Bible retails for $125.00. Pat Leonard, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, (607) 254-2137, pel27@cornell.edu

Win an iPod Touch & Try the New BirdsEye "Lite" App

Simply by entering checklists into the eBird online database (www.ebird.org) birders have a chance to win an iPod touch® and a free download of the BirdsEye bird-finding application.

BirdsEye is the revolutionary iPhone app that harnesses the power of eBird to help users find the birds they want to see. It's not a traditional field guide for identification. It does what a traditional field guide cannot do: guide users to the places where birders are seeing birds, using fresh eBird data that are frequently updated.

BirdsEye has information about 857 species in North America, including eBird sightings, sounds from the Macaulay Library, photographs from VIREO, and birding-finding tips from Kenn Kaufman.

And now BirdsEye has a little brother: BirdsEye Lite. Designed for beginning birders, BirdsEye Lite features information about 135 species that are easy to find in North America north of Mexico.

“It’s a fantastic tool for new birders especially,” says Cornell Lab of Ornithology director John Fitzpatrick. “It helps users actually find birds, which is something even the best field guide can’t do.”

Designed for use on the Apple iPhone® and iPod touch®, BirdsEye and BirdsEye Lite are available on the App Store℠. BirdsEye Lite sells for $1.99 and BirdsEye sells for $19.99.


The contest takes place from August 16 through September 6. Anyone who signs up at www.eBird.org (it’s free) and submits at least one checklist during this three-week period will be entered in a drawing for the touch device and a free BirdsEye download. Five runners-up will get a free app download. For those already participating in eBird, anyone who submits checklists during the contest period will be entered in a separate drawing for another iPod touch and BirdsEye download. An additional five will also receive the app for free.

The BirdsEye Lite and BirdsEye apps were developed by Birds in the Hand, LLC, of Virginia, and bring together content from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Academy of Natural Sciences, and author Kenn Kaufman.

Portions of BirdsEye and BirdsEye Lite sales go to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to help support its research, education, and citizen-science projects focused on birds, and to the Academy of Natural Sciences to support VIREO, the world’s largest collection of bird photographs.



Contacts:
Todd Koym, Birds in the Hand, (434) 327-8533, tkoym@birdsinthehand.com

Pat Leonard, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, (607) 254-2137, pel27@cornell.edu

Apple, the Apple logo, iPod, iPod touch, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.
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The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a membership institution dedicated to interpreting and conserving the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. Visit the Cornell Lab’s web site at http://www.birds.cornell.edu.

Cornell Lab Contest

Cornell's "Celebrate Urban Birds" is having a fun contest -- Funky Nests in Funky Places. Get out your pictures of nests in strange places or try your hand at some art project - making a nest and enter to win from a neat variety of things from bug repellent wrist bands to several books - even a NEW Leica Camera!!

Check this one out from Denise Robeson in Lincoln, Nebraska:
"The dove thought it was an ideal location, apparently (right next to a lantern, you'll notice)! In my opinion, this bird's feathers are so smooth and perfect you almost can't tell the bird is "real" (not stuffed, or fake...)....but she is! She was also indifferent to my presence....caring less that I was inches away from her, taking pictures. If only all my avian subjects were so helpful! (Barn swallow mothers dive bomb me, when I even approach their nests of babies...!) I think the location of the Baker's Rack nest is especially funny, since Baker's racks are often found in kitchens, with cookbooks on them (for instance). Ms. Mourning Dove decided to cook up a little recipe of her own (for babies)!"

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Got this wonderful letter from Cornell and I just know that some of you would like to become Citizen Scientists!! Get involved, and we can help keep the birds here for your Grandkids.

Dear Friend,

Got Nest Boxes? If you do, you have a front-row seat on the miracle of birth and renewal in the bird world. If you don't, now is the time to put them up. You can also help scientists learn more about bird families and how they might be affected by climate change.

You're invited to register your nest box (or boxes) with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s NestWatch program (www.RegisterYourNestbox.org). It won't cost you a thing but it does yield valuable information about breeding birds and how their natural rhythms may be changing.

NestWatch is easy and fun for adults and children. It helps all of us reconnect with nature, which is good for our health and well-being. NestWatch is a great activity to do on your own, in a classroom, or as a homeschool project.

Here's why it's so important to gather this information: Studies are showing that some birds are laying their eggs sooner than they used to—as much as nine days earlier in the case of Tree Swallows. That could spell trouble if the eggs hatch before a steady supply of insects is available for feeding the young. As a NestWatch participant, you'll visit nests once or twice a week and report what you see: Which kinds of birds are using your nest boxes? When were the first eggss laid? How many eggs were laid and how many actually hatched?

Everything you need to register your nest box and get started with NestWatch is available online, including directions on how you can monitor nest boxes without disturbing the birds.

Don't have a nest box yet? Find out how to provide the best and safest boxes for bluebirds, swallows, chickadees, and other cavity-nesting birds [at your local Wild Birds Unlimited Store]. If you like, you can also monitor the nests of backyard birds that don’t use nest boxes, such as phoebes, robins, and goldfinches.

By the way, the hugely popular NestCams are back in action—peek into nests and nest boxes across the country via live cameras focused on Eastern Bluebirds, Barred Owls, Wood Ducks, Barn Owls and more. Keep watching and see what hatches! The more NestWatchers we have the better the information we can gather about our bird friends. Feel free to download this NestWatch flyer (PDF) and post it anywhere you feel is appropriate. As a citizen scientist you have the power to really make a big difference.

Thank you!
Tina Phillips, Project Leader NestWatch