Winter Bird Feeding
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Flying Dromaeosaurs
A winged, but flightless, Deinonychus by Stephen A. Czerkas FLYING DROMAEOSAURS Stephen A. Czerkas, Dianshuang Zhang, Jinglu Li and Yinxian Li The Dinosaur Museum, 754 South 200 West, Blanding, Utah 84511, USA; Liaoning Provincial Bureau of Land Resources Management, Liaoning Fossil Administration Office, and Liaoning Museum of Paleontology, Left of Nanshan Park, Beipiao, Liaoning Province 122100, People’s Republic of China. The Dinosaur Museum © 2002 Abstract Dromaeosaurs have been regarded as theropod dinosaurs that were among the closest avian ancestors which were strictly terrestrial having not yet evolved the ability to fly. Consequently, phylogenetic analyses have resulted in the claims of birds having evolved from “the ground up” within a dinosaurian ancestry. Though widely accepted, the relationship between birds and dinosaurs has remained highly controversial and disputed by advocates of birds as having been derived from an arboreal, non-dinosaurian type of archosaur. The cladistical interpretation of the dinosaur/bird relationship hinges upon the presumption of the dromaeosaurs inability to fly. Recent discoveries of dromaeosaurs have revealed impressions of feathers and avian characters in the skeleton that nearly equal and even surpass that of Archaeopteryx. Yet despite this, the ability to fly has been discounted due to the shorter length of the forelimbs. Described below are two such dromaeosaurs, but preserved with impressions of primary flight feathers extending from the manus which demonstrate an undeniable correlation towards the ability to fly. This compelling evidence refutes the popular interpretation of birds evolving from dinosaurs by revealing that dromaeosaurs were already birds and not the non-avian theropod dinosaurs as previously believed. -
2014 Winter Bird Feeder Survey
DAY 1 - NUMBER OF BIRDS DAY 2 - NUMBER OF BIRDS ____ ____ Total number of birds seen Record the highest number seen at one Record the highest number seen at one time for each species. Submit one (1) day of time for each species. Submit one (1) day of ____ ____ Total number of species KANSAS data, for each of two (2) consecutive days. data, for each of two (2) consecutive days. How many of the birds listed above can you ____ Bobwhite (Northern) Quail ____ Bobwhite (Northern) Quail identify? (check one) 2014 ____ Rock Dove (Common Pigeon) ____ Rock Dove (Common Pigeon) ____ Mourning Dove ____ Mourning Dove ____ Less that 25% ____ 75% to 95% ____ Redheaded Woodpecker ____ Redheaded Woodpecker WINTER ____ Red-bellied Woodpecker ____ Red-bellied Woodpecker ____ 25% to 50% ____ 100% ____ Downy Woodpecker ____ Downy Woodpecker ____ Hairy Woodpecker ____ Hairy Woodpecker ____ 50% to 75% BIRD ____ Flicker (all races) ____ Flicker (all races) ____ Blue jay ____ Blue jay Feel free to copy this form ____ Crow (American) ____ Crow (American) for other participants and FEEDER ____ Black-capped Chickadee ____ Black-capped Chickadee ____ Tufted Titmouse ____ Tufted Titmouse THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF THIS ____ Red-breasted Nuthatch ____ Red-breasted Nuthatch SPECIAL SURVEY. SURVEY ____ White-breasted Nuthatch ____ White-breasted Nuthatch ____ Brown Creeper ____ Brown Creeper ____ Robin (American) ____ Robin (American) ____ Cedar Waxwing ____ Cedar Waxwing Mail the completed form, ____ Starling (European) ____ Starling (European) no later than February 14, to: ____ Cardinal (Northern) ____ Cardinal (Northern) ____ Tree Sparrow (American) ____ Tree Sparrow (American) ____ Song Sparrow ____ Song Sparrow Ecological Services - KDWPT ____ White-throated Sparrow ____ White-throated Sparrow 512 SE 25th Ave. -
Bird Feeding Backyard Habitat for Wildlife
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Bird Feeding Backyard Habitat for Wildlife Feeding birds in the autumn and winter is especially rewarding. Following are some helpful hints for satisfying our hungry feathered friends: The Bird Feeder Whole kernel corn is eaten by blue jays, There are four types of seed feeders. woodpeckers (and squirrels), while many The platform feeder is a shallow ground feeding birds prefer cracked wooden box with a screen bottom corn. Be aware that cracked corn is and may be placed on the ground, vulnerable to rot when wet and that on a tree stump or clamped to a many mammals like to feed on corn. deck railing. The hopper feeder is Potential Feeding Problems like a platform feeder with a roof Unclean feeders or rotting, moldy and sides to hold the seed dry bird seed can cause birds to get sick and inside. The last two seed feeders spread disease to other birds. Be sure are tube shaped; one has large your bird seed is kept dry. Disinfect feeder ports for sunflower seed birdseed feeders with dilute bleach and the other has tiny feeder (10%) and water. ports for thistle niger seed. The tube may be plastic, glass, or If many undesirable birds such as metal; may have a wire cage grackles, starlings, brown-headed surrounding the tube; and may cowbirds, or crows are hogging your have a circular tray attachment. feeders, try feeding only safflower and Both tube and hopper feeders can thistle seed (only in thistle feeder with be hung or bolted to a pole. -
To Feed Birds Or Not to Feed Birds? Discovers Your Bird Feeder
This guide is designed to help if you are new to Bird feeding in summer requires more bird feeding, or you are already feeding birds and How to clean a bird feeder planning and responsibility in bear country – have bear problems or bird–window collision bears are generally active from mid-March Empty the feeder and scrub it to get all problems. thru mid-November. It’s important to make food remnants out. Rinse. sure a bear doesn’t get a reward if it Use one part liquid chlorine household To feed birds or not to feed birds? discovers your bird feeder. bleach in nine parts of tepid water (a 10% solution) to disinfect. Feeding birds has benefits and drawbacks. The Hang feeders 10′ high, and at least 4′ from birds get extra nourishment and we humans get to any supporting post or tree. Or put them Make enough solution to immerse the feeder completely. Keep it submerged for enjoy watching them at close range. But feeders behind electric fencing that is at least 6′ two to three minutes. can cause problems by increased transmission of high. avian diseases, predation from cats, and attracting Or take your feeders down and bring them Allow to air dry. bears and other nuisance wildlife into your yard. in at night, or if you leave town. Once or twice a month should do, but weekly cleaning may be needed if you Done right, bird feeding can be good for the birds Only put a small amount of food in the notice sick birds at your feeders (sick birds and not cause undesirable side effects. -
Homeschooler's Guide to Project Feederwatch
Homeschooler’s Guide to Project FeederWatch Project FeederWatch Susan Spear Homeschooler’s Guide to Project FeederWatch The Homeschooler’s Guide to Project FeederWatch is a sample curriculum from the BirdSleuth team at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If you find these activities useful, be sure to investigate theScience Investigator’s Kit for Homeschoolers www.birdsleuth.net/homeschool Production Team for the Homeschooler’s Guide to Project FeederWatch Curriculum Writers: Jennifer Fee, David Bonter, Genna Knight Editor: Miyoko Chu, Ph.D. Design Director: Diane Tessaglia-Hymes Graphic Designer: Susan E. Spear BirdSleuth or Homeschool Activity Questions: Email: [email protected] Phone: 607-254-2489 BirdSleuth web site: www.birdsleuth.net Project FeederWatch Questions: Email: [email protected] Project Phone: 607-254-2427 FeederWatch web site: www.feederwatch.org FeederWatch The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a nonprofit membership institution whose mission is to interpret and conserve the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. This curriculum is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0242666. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Copyright 2008 Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 www.birds.cornell.edu ii Homeschooler’s Guide to Project FeederWatch Inquiry through Citizen Science Through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Citizen Science Program, people of all ages collect data about local birds and send their observations to scientists who study bird populations. -
February 2021 Historical Winter Storm Event South-Central Texas
Austin/San Antonio Weather Forecast Office WEATHER EVENT SUMMARY February 2021 Historical Winter Storm Event South-Central Texas 10-18 February 2021 A Snow-Covered Texas. GeoColor satellite image from the morning of 15 February, 2021. February 2021 South Central Texas Historical Winter Storm Event South-Central Texas Winter Storm Event February 10-18, 2021 Event Summary Overview An unprecedented and historical eight-day period of winter weather occurred between 10 February and 18 February across South-Central Texas. The first push of arctic air arrived in the area on 10 February, with the cold air dropping temperatures into the 20s and 30s across most of the area. The first of several frozen precipitation events occurred on the morning of 11 February where up to 0.75 inches of freezing rain accumulated on surfaces in Llano and Burnet Counties and 0.25-0.50 inches of freezing rain accumulated across the Austin metropolitan area with lesser amounts in portions of the Hill Country and New Braunfels area. For several days, the cold air mass remained in place across South-Central Texas, but a much colder air mass remained stationary across the Northern Plains. This record-breaking arctic air was able to finally move south into the region late on 14 February and into 15 February as a strong upper level low-pressure system moved through the Southern Plains. As this system moved through the region, snow began to fall and temperatures quickly fell into the single digits and teens. Most areas of South-Central Texas picked up at least an inch of snow with the highest amounts seen from Del Rio and Eagle Pass extending to the northeast into the Austin and San Antonio areas. -
Winter Jet Stream Trends Over the Northern Hemisphere
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 133: 2109–2115 (2007) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/qj.171 Winter jet stream trends over the Northern Hemisphere Courtenay Stronga* and Robert E. Davisb a University of California, Irvine, USA b Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA ABSTRACT: Trends in the speed and probability of winter jet stream cores over the Northern Hemisphere were measured for 1958–2007, and related changes in the thermal structure of the troposphere were identified. Eddy-driven jet (EDJ) core speeds and probabilities increased over the midlatitudes (40–60 °N), with changes as large as 15% (speed) and 30% (probability). These increasing trends are collocated with increases in baroclinicity driven by a spatially heterogeneous pattern of height change consisting of large-scale warming with cooling centres embedded poleward of 60 °N. The cooling centres reduced high-latitude baroclinicity, making jet cores poleward of 60 °N less frequent and weaker. Over the west and central Pacific, subtropical jet stream (STJ) core probabilities remained relatively constant while core speeds increased by as much as 1.75 m/s decade−1 in association with Hadley cell intensification. The STJ shifted poleward over the east Pacific and Middle East, and an equatorward shift and intensification of the STJ were found over the Atlantic basin–contributing to an increased separation of the EDJ and STJ. Copyright 2007 Royal Meteorological Society KEY WORDS general circulation; climate change; global warming Received 25 March 2007; Revised 23 August 2007; Accepted 18 September 2007 1. -
1A.1 a Unique Cold-Season Supercell Produces an Ef1 ‘Snownado’
1A.1 A UNIQUE COLD-SEASON SUPERCELL PRODUCES AN EF1 ‘SNOWNADO’ David Sills1*, Marie-Ève Giguère2, and John Henderson3 1Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), King City, ON 2Meteorological Service of Canada, ECCC, Montréal, QC 3Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Lexington, MA 1. INTRODUCTION1 2. STORM EVOLUTION On November 23, 2013, the ‘forecast problem du A weak low-pressure system moved southeast jour’ in southern Ontario, Canada, was the onset across the Great Lakes area during the morning of of significant snow squalls to the lee of the Great November 23rd. An associated secondary low Lakes following the passage of an Arctic cold front rapidly intensified while traversing the relatively (Fig. 1a). It was discovered a short time later warm (~7ºC) waters of Lake Huron’s Georgian however that, in addition to snow squalls, a Bay (Fig. 2). tornado had occurred that day. Low-level reflectivity images from the Environment An EF1 tornado track was identified at Charleville and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) radar in (Fig. 1b) via an on-site damage survey. It was Britt, ON, show the transformation from a cluster found to have a path length of at least 270 m (Fig. of showers on the west side of Georgian Bay at 1c), a path width of 75 m and an event time of 0900 UTC (Fig. 3a) to a well-developed vortex just 2015 UTC+. No fatalities or injuries resulted, but inland from the east side of the Bay at 1200 UTC farm structures (Fig. 1d) and trees were damaged. (Fig. 3b). Similar cyclone intensification over the Great Lakes was found by Angel and Isard (1997). -
Feed Wild Birds, EC 1554
The Wildlife Garden EC 1554 Reprinted May 2003 $1.50 Feed Wild Birds E. Henning and N. Allen Feeding wild birds has become one of America’s favorite hobbies. It’s easy to attract birds to your yard, and there are many different ways to do so. The most common way is to put out bird feeders for them. Many wild birds such as chickadees, nuthatches, juncos, finches, and jays are regular visitors to feeders in urban areas. Types of food You can buy many types of wild bird foods. They usually consist of whole and shelled seeds that are packaged as a single type or in a variety of mixtures. Different seeds attract different species of birds (see Table 1, page 2). If you’re just getting started with a bird-feeding project, you might want to experiment to see which birds are in your area. Start by putting out a seed mix in an open place and see which kinds of birds you attract. Observe which seeds are wasted or pushed aside. Once birds have started coming to your yard, it is easier to lure them to separate feeding stations. Eric Henning, student, Avoid seed mixes that contain Department of Fisheries only a small amount of sunflower and Wildlife; and Figure 1. Tube feeder with perch. Nancy Allen, Extension seeds. These mixes can be wasteful Illustration courtesy of Wild Birds wildlife instructor; and messy. Commercial wild Unlimited, Inc. Oregon State University 1 Table 1. Common backyard birds and foods they like. Bird Sunflower seeds White millet Nyjer Peanuts Suet Chickadee X* X X House finch/Purple finch X* X X Sparrows X X* X X X Jays X X X American goldfinch X X X* Dark-eyed junco X X* X X X Spotted towhee X* X X Bushtit X Downy/Hairy woodpecker X X Nuthatches X* X X Mourning dove X X* X Quail X* Crow/Raven X Varied thrush X X * Indicates favorite seed choice birdseed mixes usually contain a lot of milo or White proso millet millet, which most wild birds don’t eat. -
ESSENTIALS of METEOROLOGY (7Th Ed.) GLOSSARY
ESSENTIALS OF METEOROLOGY (7th ed.) GLOSSARY Chapter 1 Aerosols Tiny suspended solid particles (dust, smoke, etc.) or liquid droplets that enter the atmosphere from either natural or human (anthropogenic) sources, such as the burning of fossil fuels. Sulfur-containing fossil fuels, such as coal, produce sulfate aerosols. Air density The ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume occupied by it. Air density is usually expressed as g/cm3 or kg/m3. Also See Density. Air pressure The pressure exerted by the mass of air above a given point, usually expressed in millibars (mb), inches of (atmospheric mercury (Hg) or in hectopascals (hPa). pressure) Atmosphere The envelope of gases that surround a planet and are held to it by the planet's gravitational attraction. The earth's atmosphere is mainly nitrogen and oxygen. Carbon dioxide (CO2) A colorless, odorless gas whose concentration is about 0.039 percent (390 ppm) in a volume of air near sea level. It is a selective absorber of infrared radiation and, consequently, it is important in the earth's atmospheric greenhouse effect. Solid CO2 is called dry ice. Climate The accumulation of daily and seasonal weather events over a long period of time. Front The transition zone between two distinct air masses. Hurricane A tropical cyclone having winds in excess of 64 knots (74 mi/hr). Ionosphere An electrified region of the upper atmosphere where fairly large concentrations of ions and free electrons exist. Lapse rate The rate at which an atmospheric variable (usually temperature) decreases with height. (See Environmental lapse rate.) Mesosphere The atmospheric layer between the stratosphere and the thermosphere. -
A Bird's Eye View of the Evolution of Avialan Flight
Chapter 12 Navigating Functional Landscapes: A Bird’s Eye View of the Evolution of Avialan Flight HANS C.E. LARSSON,1 T. ALEXANDER DECECCHI,2 MICHAEL B. HABIB3 ABSTRACT One of the major challenges in attempting to parse the ecological setting for the origin of flight in Pennaraptora is determining the minimal fluid and solid biomechanical limits of gliding and powered flight present in extant forms and how these minima can be inferred from the fossil record. This is most evident when we consider the fact that the flight apparatus in extant birds is a highly integrated system with redundancies and safety factors to permit robust performance even if one or more components of their flight system are outside their optimal range. These subsystem outliers may be due to other adaptive roles, ontogenetic trajectories, or injuries that are accommodated by a robust flight system. This means that many metrics commonly used to evaluate flight ability in extant birds are likely not going to be precise in delineating flight style, ability, and usage when applied to transitional taxa. Here we build upon existing work to create a functional landscape for flight behavior based on extant observations. The functional landscape is like an evolutionary adap- tive landscape in predicting where estimated biomechanically relevant values produce functional repertoires on the landscape. The landscape provides a quantitative evaluation of biomechanical optima, thus facilitating the testing of hypotheses for the origins of complex biomechanical func- tions. Here we develop this model to explore the functional capabilities of the earliest known avialans and their sister taxa. -
Norntates PUBLISHED by the AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST at 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10024 Number 3265, 36 Pp., 15 Figures May 4, 1999
AMERICANt MUSEUM Norntates PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10024 Number 3265, 36 pp., 15 figures May 4, 1999 An Oviraptorid Skeleton from the Late Cretaceous of Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia, Preserved in an Avianlike Brooding Position Over an Oviraptorid Nest JAMES M. CLARK,I MARK A. NORELL,2 AND LUIS M. CHIAPPE3 ABSTRACT The articulated postcranial skeleton of an ovi- presence of a single, ossified ventral segment in raptorid dinosaur (Theropoda, Coelurosauria) each rib as well as ossified uncinate processes from the Late Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation associated with the thoracic ribs. Remnants of of Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia, is preserved over- keratinous sheaths are preserved with four of the lying a nest. The eggs are similar in size, shape, manal claws, and the bony and keratinous claws and ornamentation to another egg from this lo- were as strongly curved as the manal claws of cality in which an oviraptorid embryo is pre- Archaeopteryx and the pedal claws of modern served, suggesting that the nest is of the same climbing birds. The skeleton is positioned over species as the adult skeleton overlying it and was the center of the nest, with its limbs arranged parented by the adult. The lack of a skull pre- symmetrically on either side and its arms spread cludes specific identification, but in several fea- out around the nest perimeter. This is one of four tures the specimen is more similar to Oviraptor known oviraptorid skeletons preserved on nests than to other oviraptorids. The ventral part of the of this type of egg, comprising 23.5% of the 17 thorax is exceptionally well preserved and pro- oviraptorid skeletons collected from the Dja- vides evidence for other avian features that were dokhta Formation before 1996.