The House & other Arctic musings

I blame encyclopaedias

When I was ten years old or so, give or take, my parents fell under the thrall of a door to door salesman and bought a set of World Book Encyclopaedias. For the benefit of those who are younger than the internet, an encyclopaedia was a bunch of books that people looked up stuff in before Google and Wikipedia.

It sat on the bookshelf in my bedroom, heavy volumes from A to the end. Every year a Yearbook was added to update the information, and a Science Year as well updating some of the major advances in science from the past year. I used it often, pulling down the appropriate volume to look up something I needed, or wanted, to know. Then one day I thought, how great would it be to soak up that entire wonderous set of books?

So I turned to "A", pulling down that first book and opening it to the first page and I began reading. Every night I read more, eventually finishing the volume and moving to the next. I didn't read every word in that shelf of books, but I stopped at every entry and took something from it. Not everything stuck, in fact an arguement can be made by those who know me that very little did, but it did something to me. To how I function, or rather how I fail to function.

There were so many fascinating things in those books, and once I read about it I moved on to the next fascinating thing. I admire people get interested in one or only a few things. For they get good at it, they have a stick-to-it-ness that I lack.

You see, I'm easily distracted, there are just too many fascinating things in this world. And I jump from one to another. While an encyclopaedia might be organized alphabetically, the topic immediately after the one you just read can be as different as night and day. Or as different as aardwolves and Aaron Burr.

So I flit from interest to interest, which is good in many ways but I have habit of not following things through to the end, for there is always something shiny to pursue. This then is my apology, or at least an explanation for my lost blogging mojo.  Six years plus is a long time for something to occupy my attention. I know that I hardly post anything any more, and more importantly haven't looked after Nunavut Blogs! or read many of the great blogs I've come to know over the years. That may change, but knowing myself it is unlikely. There is another volume of stuff right behind this one, and I'll likely be pulling it down off the shelf soon.

I wonder what I'll find?

The more things change...

Amongst the books I was recently given was an old bird field guide, Bird Guide - Land Birds East of the Rockies From Parrots to Bluebirds, by Chester A. Reed. It looks like it is a reprint from 1944, originally copyrighted in 1906.

One of the first thing that struck me, while I was reading the Introduction was how many of the same threats to birdlife that we recognize now, were known then. Those threats outlined in the book are poignantly outlined by the fact that at least four of the birds featured in this small volume are extinct (well okay maybe not the Ivory-billed Woodpecker but if it still exists there are so staggeringly few of them, well..) including the very first bird shown.

Here is an excerpt from the Introduction:

It is an undisputed fact that a great many of our birds are becoming more scarce each year, while a few are, even now, on the verge of extinction... If I were to name the forces that work against the increase of bird life, in order of their importance, I should give them as: Man; the elements; accidents; cats; other animals; birds of prey; and snakes.

He goes on to detail some of the threats and again here an excerpt of a couple after Man and the Elements:

Birds are subject to a great many accidents, chiefly by flying into objects at night. Telephone and telegraph wires main or kill thousands, while lighthouses and steeples oft cause the ground to be strewn with bodies during migrations.

and

In the vicinity of cities, towns, villages or farms, one of the most fertile sources of danger to bird life is from cats. Even the most gentle household pet, if allowed its liberty out of doors, will get its full quota of birds during the year, while homeless cats, and many that are not, will average several hundred birds apiece during the season. After years of careful observation, Mr. E.H. Forbush, Mass., state ornithologist, has estimated that the average number of birds killed, per cat population, is about fifty. If a dog kills sheep or deer, he is shot and the owner pays damages; if a man is caught killing a bird, he pays a fine; but cats are allowed to roam about without restriction, leaving death and destruction in their wake. All homeless cats should be summarily dealth with, and all pets should be housed, at least from May until August, when the young birds are able to fly.

And here are the four aforementioned birds.

Dreams From My Father, and just plain dreaming

Hmm, I don't know but it would seem to me that the asking price for these signed copies of Barack Obama's books is, hmmm, a little ambitious.

Happy Birthday Mr. Peterson

Today marks what would have been the hundredth birthday of Roger Tory Peterson. It can be argued, quite easily I think, that no one is more responsible for the success of birdwatching as a hobby, avocation, or compulsion than him.  He figures quite significantly in my development as a bird lover, for like many people it was the gift of a copy of his Field Guide to the Birds that... that... hmm gave me the skills to identify what I was seeing in the field. Like many people, the ability to name something strengthens my desire to know more about it, to want to be able to name others, and to know more about them. I still own that first copy of his seminal guide, and still take it out from time to time despite its having been updated many times since it was published.

It is fitting of course that Houghton Mifflin, the publishers of the Peterson Field Guides, chose to issue a new edition of his Field Guide to the Birds. Actually it is a new edition to his two Field Guide of the Birds of Eastern North America and Birds of Western North America, for both editions have been included in this book, Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America.

I love the book.  But what can I say, I am unabashedly a fan of the Peterson Guides, and they are the first guide I reach for most birds. Possibly because of early exposure to the Peterson Guides I've always been partial to field guides with paintings of birds, rather than photographs. And quite frankly for North America no one does painted plates better.  So, I imagine you can get more objective reviews than this one is going to be.

So, what is new about the book?  Well the most obvious thing is added bulk and weight. In fact that is probably the biggest drawback to combining the Western and Eastern editions. This is no longer a book that you can slip in your pocket, well without a big pocket. I've been known to carry around several large tomes with me in a back pack while out on an excursion, in Cuba I think it was six but hey I was supposed to be the expert (little did they know), so the size isn't a major issue with me, but it is a consideration that you must make if you're only going to get one field guide. I've heard that there are actually people who only own one field guide, I've just never met one. I can stop buying field guides anytime, really, not now, maybe later.

The larger size means that the plates are larger, and they now include the range maps on the page facing the plates, along with the description. Now my first impression was that the range maps were much too small for my liking, but there is a second, larger version of each map towards the back of the book.  About 40 new paintings have been added, and many of Peterson's original drawings have been digitally enhanced. 

With a nod to the impact the internet is having on birding and birdwatching with the book comes the opportunity to register for some video podcasts, that offer some further help with popular and common species, tips and a biography of Roger Tory Peterson.

I obviously think highly of Peterson's system of field marks, features of birds that are key to the species identification. It is a system that is especially suited, I believe, to the bird watcher who is just starting out. And while I think this book is worth picking up for everyone, its worth is greater for the beginner.

But if you're a birder who is just starting out, or a seasoned veteran, it is probably worth taking a moment to day to give thanks to Roger Tory Peterson, who really got the ball rolling in this grand game.

Another book/iPod giveaway

While you're busy heading over to 10,000 Birds trying to win one of the ten copies of Smithsonian Guide to the Birds of North America or the iPod that they're giving away, you might as well head to Naturalist Notebook. Summer is also giving away a copy of the book and an iPod.  And all you need to do is identify some bird song.

Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds

I don't think it is possible to have too many Field Guides.  It is almost the same as having too many tools, it just doesn't seem like there could be an theoretical limit. Harper Collins has just published an excellent new one, for those of us who like to get as many as possible, or for those in search of their first.

The Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America covers some 750 species of birds found in the ABA area of North America, in a clear concise guide. A little too large to slip in to most pockets, it is nonetheless still very portable and easily taken into the field (where a Field Guide does the most good), and has one of those durable plastic covers that can take the abuse of being thrown in a pack, or kicked around in the car.  But what of the content?

One of the beauties of this book is the species accounts are each on a single page (in many cases there are two to a page). And they manage to pack a lot of information into each page. First of all there are sharp clear photos of the bird, covering at least the major plumages. Fantastic photos by the way. A code (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6) tells you the bird's status in North America; a single line instantly gives you the bird's size, and whether one sex is larger than the other. A small but quite useful range map, a brief but informative description of bird and habits and a description of major calls or songs rounds out the page.

The introductory chapters on how to use the book, how to identify birds, and the natural history of birds are excellent. They are a must read before you dive into use the book, as not only do they give you the overview of the system that the book uses, but they are an excellent primer on bird ID and natural history.

As an added bonus, included with the book is a DVD with 587 downloadable bird songs, covering a good selection of songs and calls of some 138 common North American species. It was a bit unwieldy getting them on to iTunes and subsequently my iPod, but that may have been more me than anything else.  I did put all 587 tracks (each accompanied by a quality picture of the bird) on my iPod, even though the chances of my making use of all but five Arctic species are pretty slim.  But hey, if a Dickcissel  finds its way up here I'm ready (I love that name, it always reminds me of school boy's insult - "Yeah, well you're a dickcissel." "Heh heh. He said 'Dickcissel'") It would have been nice to have a more complete coverage of species but I suppose space was the limiting factor.  As an aside that would be a good project for someone like Cornell's Macaulay library of bird song... partner with Apple and iTunes to offer bird songs/calls for individual purchase through iTunes.  That way a person could build their own personalized library (including geographic differences) for study or field ID.  Anyone in Cornell reading this?

In  short I found this book to be an excellent, practical field guide, well worth the purchase. I have a particular bias towards paintings as opposed to photographs for field guides but that is a personal choice. The book is functional and concise, and that is the main thing.  And wait, how would you like to win your own copy of this book, or maybe an iPod? The lads over at 10,000 Birds (the 600 lb gorilla of bird blogs - a very deserving 600 lb gorilla) are giving away 10 copies of the book and an iPod. The contest started yesterday but there is still time, check out the details and then give it your best shot. It is a worthy book to try for.

Franklin,

It is always interesting to read of the modern popular take of Sir John Franklin as “unimaginative” incompetent and the author of his final Arctic Expeditions demise (see the comments in this CBC article). Franklin was chosen, partly because of lobbying, but partly because he was the British Officer with the most Arctic experience.   His final trip was his fourth to Arctic regions.

Yes, his first overland expedition was beset with disaster, starvation, murder and a summary execution, but to state that he never learned from it, or that it wasn’t successful in part is just wrong.  The expedition mapped a large part of the Arctic and Arctic Coast, from the mouth of the Coppermine River to Point Turnagain.

More importantly he did learn from his experiences and mounted a very successful Second overland expedition that mapped much of the Arctic Coast in the other direction.

People tend to point to the size of the Franklin’s last expedition (and compare it to Rae’s small party led by natives) as a reason for the failure, and miss the point that they were looking for a commercial route through the Northwest Passage, much of which had been mapped. The whole idea was to be able to find a passage for ships through the NW Passage, not dog teams. They were, at the time, the best equipped Arctic Expedition ever, employing ships with reinforced hulls for the ice, that were equipped with steam engines, and they had some of the best officers available for their crew. It was provisioned with over three years of food and supplies (Hmmm…. And they didn’t start looking for them for how long?) and were expected to take at least two years to make the passage.

They also ran into some very bad luck.  Inuit testimony recounts there being “no summers” those years, resulting in greater ice pack than even they expected. Problems with the quality of their provisions  (supplied by a government contract) were out of their hands.  There is actually a suggestion (again by Inuit testimony) that there were still provisions left on board the ships.  And of course, by the time the crew was making their death march south, well Franklin was already long dead, probably from natural causes, given his age.

People who point to the Rae expedition as the model of success (and don’t get me wrong he was a very successful, capable Arctic explorer) ignore the fact that starvation regularly visited the Arctic Regions. A similar small expedition looking for Franklin evidence, the US Schwatka expedition, small, guided by Inuit and traveling in Inuit style, narrowly escaped starvation on their return to the Repulse Bay area from King William Island. Indeed starvation constantly stalked Inuit throughout the Arctic. It can be a very unforgiving place, even for those who have thrived up here for thousands of years.

In fact a major Starvation Event took place on King William Island shortly after the Franklin tragedy  It may have been even caused by the Franklin expedition, as (once again according to Inuit testimony) at some point the Franklin survivors had shot many caribou, carcasses were lined up from shore to the ships. Tragically many of the people best able to offer evidence of the Franklin Expeditions final years (there were probably still survivors in 1851) perished in that starvation event.

It is true that when Rae brought back his stories that the  Inuit had told him, of starvation and cannibalism that they were discounted, but it is hardly surprising. The British at time were not prepared to believe that their officers and men would resort to eating human flesh, and it was all to easy for them to dismiss the reports. But the British empire at the time all too often looked at indigenous people with indifference at best and disdain at worse. Wrong? Of course it was, but given the times it could hardly be unexpected.

For a good analysis of just what the Inuit have told us about Franklin I heartily recommend David C. Woodman's book Unravelling the Franklin Mystery: Inuit Testimony, an excellent insightful book.

Cool... cool... I want one.

When I travel I like to keep a journal, although I have to admit that I haven't been very diligent the last couple of trips.  Normally I use a simple bound sketchbook (I have dreams of being able to sketch.  Much like my dreams of playing an instrument they die when I discover it takes work to learn how) but now I want one of these, one for each trip.  I found the link via John at Prairie Ice (whom you should go visit - great blog).

The Young Birder's Guide

One of the challenges to introducing youth to watching birds is the lack of age appropriate reference materials, such as field guides.  That has just changed with the release of The Young Birder's Guide: to the birds of eastern North America, the latest in the Peterson Field Guide series. Written by Bill Thompson III, he of Bill of the Birds, and illustrated by Julie Zickefoose, it is a Field Guide aimed at youths in the eight to twelve range.

The guide covers about 200 common or intriguing birds from Eastern North America, and is designed for the field with a compact size and tough plastic cover. Each bird receives a page treatment, with a picture, the basics to identify the bird and its voice, a range map and a "wow" factoid about the species. It keeps firmly to the K.I.S. (Keep It Simple) principle, with the idea that a regular guide will have too much detail and be overwhelming.

Thompson apparently consulted with his eleven year old daughter's class in coming up with the design of the book, so the book is really a family affair. I suspect that the book will work really well, especially at the lower age of the target audience. I think for an older child I'd supplement it with a regular field guide, to satisfy the thirst for additional details once the appetite has been whetted by this book.

All in all I think this would be an excellent gift for a youth, hopefully starting them down that path to observing nature in the wild.

Gulls of the Americas

Nicely timed with the arrival of gulls in Arctic Bay has been the arrival of a new guide on gulls, Gulls of the Americas.  This large (515 pgs) volume is the first book in the Peterson Reference Guides series, written by Steve N.G. Howell and Jon Dunn. It would make a nice addition to any bird watcher's library, especially those vexed by the challenges of gull identification.

The guide is generously illustrated with over 1,100 photographs, and covers some thirty-six species of gulls found in North and South America (out of the fifty odd species found world wide). The book is organized with the photo plates at the beginning of the book (after the "How to Use This Book" and the Introduction), followed by the species accounts including range maps.  The introduction is an excellent primer on gulls and the various elements of gull identification that one needs to sort through this group of birds.  The species accounts are well organized and detailed, and include a section on similar species in all the various plumages. The similar species section is essential for proper identification. It also includes information (and photos) of various hybrids.

The beauty of gull identification is that you can take it as far as you'd like.  You can start by identifying only adult plumage birds if you so like, ignoring some of the confusing intermediate plumages. If you feel up to it you can delve further and further into the identification challenges, but I'm willing to bet that no matter how skilled you become you will never reach 100% success in identifying the gulls out there.  There will always be individuals you come across that defy identification. All part of the beauty of nature. This is a book that can assist you in expanding your skills and enjoyment of gulls.

But while this book is a welcome addition to my library I do have to say that it will not be my primary reference when it comes to gull identification.  That will remain Seabirds: An Identification Guide by Peter Harrison.  The Harrison book is slightly more portable, and thus is easier to take out in the field, but more importantly for me (and I realize this is a personal thing) has illustrations rather than photographs.  The photographs in Howell and Dunn's book are excellent but I much prefer illustrations. Illustrations (to my mind) are better able to convey the "idea" of characteristics, rather than a particular individual's characteristics.

I've already made good use of this excellent book, the day of it's arrival. I look forward to expanding my gull identification abilities with it.