Happy New Year: Bird Photos and A New Bird Identifying App

Welcome back and Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all.  In this post I will share more of the photos taken during my participation in Project FeederWatch.  I will also discuss the latest version of Merlin, a bird identification app with real-time offline bird identification for 650 species.

I previously wrote a post regarding Merlin and other birding apps, and also the various birding research projects available to participate in including the Christmas Bird count, which is now ongoing.  This post can be found in the right hand margin under 'Featured Post".


First, Enjoy The Bird Photos:

Downy Woodpecker

Blue Jay

White Throated Sparrow

Black-Capped Chickadee

Dark-Eyed Junco

American Tree Sparrow

Black-Capped Chickadee

White Breasted Nuthatch

Merlin Bird App Now With Photo ID:


This latest update is simply fascinating.  In the past, the Merlin app could help identify a bird by entering parameters such as size, shape, colors, location, etc.  Now, this app can identify the bird species from the photos you take on your smartphone or digital camera.  And as mentioned above, the app can identify 650 different species.

Merlin App Depiction

You can choose a photo that you just took, one from your photo library, or even take a photo of another photo, for example, one on your digital camera.  The app uses computer vision models developed from over 1.85 million photos.

For a full description of the Merlin app, which is free and available for both IOS and Android, click on the this link from the E-Bird website.

With all of the excitement surrounding this app (yes, this is exciting for bird watchers!), I thought I would put it to the test.

I tested it by identifying three of my photos, it correctly identified a Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, but incorrectly ID'd the White-Throated Sparrow, but that photo was a little dark.  I think that's good results for a first try.  I will continue to test the app and report my results in future posts.

Until next time.

Simply Photos - Project FeederWatch/Fall Garden Cleanup

Welcome back.  It's hard to believe that this weekend is the 5th week of Project FeederWatch.  I have enjoyed it as always.  This fall has seen a wide range of weather conditions, including the days leading up to Thanksgiving during which the weather changed from 65 degrees to 18 inches of snow over a two day period.

In this post I will share a few photos I have captured thus far.  It's a challenge to get good photos, as it requires a great deal of patience at times.  The different weather conditions have, however, provided varying backdrops for the photos.

In case you missed my last post regarding project FeederWatch, it can be viewed in the right hand margin of this post as a "Featured Post".  That post will give you all the specifics you would need if your want to participate in this great project.

Female Northern Cardinal

Blue Jay

House Sparrows

European Starling

Hungry Blue Jay

Dark-Eyed Junco

Fall Garden Cleanup

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Even though Winter is settling in, I am sharing a few photos and information from the fall garden cleanup process that I promised in my last post.

It is important to care for your garden in the Fall, so that in the Spring it will be easier to get it ready for planting.  It will also help to ensure that next year's garden will be a success.

The main chore in the fall is obviously to remove the remaining plants and to till the soil.

It is OK to leave a few decomposing plants to till into the soil as the organic matter is generally good for the garden with one notable exception.  If you had plants affected by blight, it is recommended to dispose of those plants completely to help prevent it's return next season.  For more information about early and late blight, refer to this post from 2014.

 Another important aspect is to amend the soil.  If you compost kitchen scraps and other organic matter, that is excellent to use to enhance your soil,  Since I don't currently compost, I use chopped leaves and grass clippings, which also add nutrients and character to the soil.  As a rule, organic matter not only adds nutrients, but also improves the soil consistency in a way that allows it to retain moisture better and to prevent it from hardening in harsh conditions during the summer.

Amending Garden Soil

Cold Hearty Vegetables Still Thriving

Adding Layer of Leaves/Grass Clippings

Late Season Vegetables

As you can see from the photos above, I had quite a few late season, cold hardy vegetables including Swiss chard, kale, and leeks   These veggies can survive late into the Fall season and can withstand temperatures down to the mid twenties.  Some actually improve with frost, such as leeks.

As always, thanks for visiting.  Stay tuned for more bird photos from my Project FeederWatch participation.  Also, in my next post, my first attempt at a terrarium,

Project FeederWatch - It's Bird Watching Time!

Welcome Back.  Here we are in November, actually almost half way through the month.  The garden is for the most part finished for the season, however, a few cold hardy vegetables remain.  I will post a few photos in my next post of those items and some fall gardening tips.

But for the immediate future, I am turning my attention to one of my favorite winter hobbies, bird watching. and of course, Project FeederWatch, which is a joint venture between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada.  This project starts this Saturday, November 12th.

Although I will focus mainly on Project FeederWatch in this post, another of my favorite birding projects is The Great Backyard Bird Count, which will take place February 17-20, 2017.  This project involves the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, Bird Studies Canada, and eBird.

For those birders who want to submit bird counts any day of the year, there is eBird, which  is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and The Audubon Society.

For information on this citizen science and how to get started, click here.

Some key information from the website is listed below:

Important Dates:

The 2016-2017 FeederWatch season runs from Saturday, November 12 to Friday, April 7. Online data entry will open for new participants on November 1. The last day to start a two-day count is Thursday, April 6.

The project always starts on the second Saturday of November and runs for 21 weeks.

Instruction Summary:

1. Sign up – If you have not yet signed up, join today! During the season, it takes a few weeks from when you sign up for your kit to arrive with your ID number and for your ID number to be activated in Your Data.
2. Select your count site – Choose a portion of your yard that is easy to monitor, typically an area with feeders that is visible from one vantage point.
3. Choose your count days – Select two consecutive days as often as once a week (less often is fine). Leave at least five days when you do not count between each of your two-day counts.
4. How to count – Watch your feeders as much or a little as you want over your selected count days. Record the maximum number of each species visible at any one time during your two-day count. Keep one tally across both days. Do not add your counts together!
5. What to count – Please count
   • all of the individuals of each species in view at any one time
   • birds attracted to food or water you provided
   • birds attracted to fruits or ornamental plantings
   • hawks and other predatory birds that are attracted by the birds at your feeders
   But do not count
   • birds that simply fly over the count site, such as Canada Geese or Sandhill Cranes.
   • birds seen on non-count days
6. Report your counts – Submit counts through the Your Data section of our website.

For further information, use the link above. If you need ideas regarding how to feed birds including the many different types of bird feeders, refer to my "Featured Post" above in the right hand margin of the blog.

I am excited to get started again this year.   Even though this may seem like a huge commitment since it runs for 21 weeks, it's fine if you don't or can't participate each and every week.   Any data you collect will be very useful for research.

Finally, as I have stated many times, bird watching is a great family activity.   It can be done both indoors and out, is not expensive, and can help pass the time during the long winter months.

So dust off the binoculars, sharpen your pencils, and sign up today for Project FeederWatch. 

In closing, another nice sunrise at my home taken in late October.

Thanks for visiting, until next time.

Simply Photos - Fall Colors and Final Harvest

Welcome back.  Believe it or not it's been six weeks since my last post as I have once again found myself very busy with late summer/early fall yard and garden work. And of course working full time.   As the gardening season winds down and the leaves turn brilliant colors, I will share some photos for you to enjoy.


Fall Foliage:

Garden Harvest and Cleanup:

The Last of the Heirloom Tomatoes and Peppers

Sweet Bell Peppers

Swiss Chard/Kale

Leeks

Upper Garden

Lower Garden

Thanks as always for reading.  In my next post, I will write about Project FeederWatch, a citizen research project that is very near and dear to me.  In the meantime, visit  the website for more information.  The project officially starts on November 12th.

I have posted a video below for more information.  Bird watching a great family activity!

Harvesting Heirloom Tomatoes and More

Welcome back.  My readers must think that I vanished from the Earth, as it's been almost two months since my last post.  Well the good new is that I'm still around, although the busy summer has definitely affected my blog posting!  Now, several vacations later, my blog has returned!

After a fairly dry Spring and a very dry June, Mother Nature has definitely responded in July and August. Here in central NY State, we received just shy of 9 inches of rain in July, and over 6 inches in August.   So the rain over the last 6 weeks has definitely made up for the lack of snow last winter and the dry Spring and early Summer.  This rainfall. however. has been limited to a 5 or 6 county area in Central NY, while much of the State remains in drought conditions of varying degree.

Now for some garden updates:

Tomatoes:

Even though the tomato plants again suffered from the early blight, as you can see, I am getting a great harvest thus far.  For more information on the varieties I planted, refer to my featured post on the right hand margin of this post.

Heirloom Tomatoes and Sweet Bell Peppers

Heirlooms on the Vine

Colorful Heirlooms

Sweet Peppers:

This has been a great year for sweet peppers, perhaps the best I have ever had.  I've had very good luck in the past with hot peppers (and again this year), bur for some reason the bell peppers don't usually produce all that well.  This summer's hot temperatures and ample rainfall provided optimum conditions it seems.

Abundant Peppers

Bell Peppers on the Vine

Potatoes:

Overall it was a good year for potatoes, especially in regard to a new variety of fingerlings that I tried this year, the La Ratte fingerling.

As I have stated in previous posts, I try each year to mix in a few new varieties of veggies along with my tired and true ones.  Sometimes the results are good, sometime not.  But it is a part of the gardening process,

For more information on the La Ratte fingerling and the other potato varieties I planted, refer to my post on June 10, 2016.

La Ratte Fingerling

Fantastic Fingerling Yield

Potato Digging Helpers

Yukon Gold and Burbank Russett

Finally, some photos of the great blue heron that frequents our pond.  I took these this morning as the fog was still settled in the valley.  I don't remember ever seeing this huge bird sitting in a tree, but we noticed it has been lately.  They look so prehistoric.

Until next time.