Latest news with #ornithology
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gahanna teen wins national honor from American Birding Association
GAHANNA, Ohio (WCMH) — A central Ohio teenager has received the nation's top honor for his outstanding efforts in the world of birding. Killian Sullivan, a 13-year-old from Gahanna, earned the prestigious American Birding Association's 2025 Young Birder of the Year award. According to the ABA's website, Sullivan won the 10- to 13-year-old age category for his work in the Young Birder of the Year Mentoring Program. He received gold in the modules of conservation and community leadership and writing and a silver in illustration. Sullivan credits spotting a large black and blue songbird called a Steller's Jay at Lake Tahoe with sparking his passion for birding. He also praises his parents, Brandon and Heidi Sullivan and mentors James Muller and Ben Warner, for helping him develop his initial interest into becoming a young leader in the field. 'From the moment I saw that Steller's Jay in California, I have had incredible support,' said Sullivan. 'Because of [my parents' and mentors'] guidance and inspiration, I have been able to learn and enjoy this amazing passion. Often, I wonder if that single bird would have sparked 700 more without their lessons and encouragement.' The teen's love of travel, adventure and rock climbing has helped him thrive in the ornithology community. He has published articles in magazines, given talks at birding festivals and has been a guide for the Biggest Week in American Birding. In Columbus, he teaches a series of birding workshops for Grange Insurance Audubon Center. 'I entered ABA's Young Birder of the Year Program because I wanted to give back to the birding community,' said Sullivan. 'As a result, I wanted to create a series of resources to make birding more accessible to those just finding this beautiful adventure.' Out of the hundreds of birds he has observed in the 49 states and six Canadian provinces he has visited, Sullivan's favorite bird, the Carolina Wren, can be found in his own Ohio backyard. Other key places he likes to search for new species include southeast Arizona, New Jersey's Cape May and any pelagic, or birding by boat. Sullivan's notable skills include the ability to recognize nearly a thousand species of birds by their field marks and hundreds by their calls and songs. He has currently seen 678 species and is working on becoming the youngest person to see 700 birds in the ABA region, which includes the U.S. and Canada. Birding has inspired him to conduct research, restore habitats, create digital art and learn photography. Recently, Sullivan was filmed by MacGillivray Freeman Films for an IMAX movie that traces nature through the seasons in Ohio. Sullivan's work can be found at The American Birding Association's Young Birder of the Year Mentoring Program was created to guide and encourage birders between the ages of 10 and 18. Central to the program is providing expert advice that helps develop the skills and talents of young birders. The program, which began in 1998, has a track record of advancing the careers of up-and-coming leaders in the birding and ornithological communities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN
26-05-2025
- CNN
I tested the Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder Pro. It'll change how you see your yard
The Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder Pro taps into the best part about bird-watching: It's a hobby that can be enjoyed anytime, in anyplace, by anyone. It doesn't matter if you're sitting at your kitchen table eating lunch, at work taking calls or traveling around the world, this bird feeder, with its upgraded high-resolution camera and accompanying AI-powered app, keeps you constantly connected to the avian visitors of your backyard. Any feathered friend that stops by your feeder is recorded on video and sent to your phone. It's a nifty gadget whether you're an amateur ornithologist or someone whose experience with animals doesn't go much beyond your pet. But what if you already have one of the best bird feeders attracting finches, sparrows and crows to your backyard? Is swapping that regular feeder for a smart one worth the price of upgrading? And what makes the Bird Buddy, let alone the Bird Buddy Pro, the best smart bird feeder for anyone who wants to know more about the birds in their yard? Allow me, a serious birder with 10 years of experience and more than 250 species logged, to break it down now that I've had a Bird Buddy Pro posted in my backyard for over a month. Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder Pro Thanks to the upgraded camera aboard the Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder Pro, which can recognize and ID different species and even individual birds, nature lovers can get up close and personal with every bird in their yard. Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder Pro Solar Though you can always purchase the solar roof later on, getting it with the feeder is the best value for what I would consider an essential add-on. Never having to charge the camera means more time to watch birds. It opens your eyes to nature Prev Next Before digging into the specs that make the Bird Buddy Pro one of my favorite devices I've come across in years of product testing, let's explore the overall experience. I'm obsessed with birds — my wife and I vacationed in Costa Rica earlier this year in part to see cool birds — but I admit that, sometimes, I overlook the birds I see every day. The Bird Buddy Pro reminded me that northern cardinals, one of the most common backyard birds in the northeast, are legitimately awe-inspiring. It brought me back to my early days as a birder, when every species I encountered was fascinating and special. I never should have lost sight of that. The Bird Buddy Pro can give you that same spark, teaching you about birds you probably didn't notice have always been there. Hopefully, you can go from saying, 'Oh, a bird,' to saying, 'Holy smokes, a rose-breasted grosbeak.' Even if you don't become the kind of person who nerds out like I do, being more aware and appreciative of who and what is flying around can be really satisfying. Then there's the social element. Right now my Bird Buddy Pro is hanging on a pole in my parents' backyard. Being able to call my mom and tell her our feeder finally got our first visitor created a real memory. Texting my family group chat with updates on the latest videos is fun. I can also invite friends to make their own Bird Buddy account to view my findings on their phone. Even though we aren't all under the same roof, having access to the footage of real birds that ate from my feeder is something we can all bond over. The video quality is absurdly good Having a camera built into the main housing elevates a smart bird feeder above a standard bird feeder, but the upgrades made to this specific camera are what separate the Bird Buddy Pro from its predecessor. It added 2K video, HDR, a bigger sensor, a longer focus range and a wider field of view. If you don't know cameras, that means pictures and video are brighter, clearer and more immersive than before. As someone who often lugs around a giant camera and lens to take pictures of birds, I was blown away by the quality of the captures from the tiny Bird Buddy Pro. The little details were visible, like raindrops on a bird's head and imperfections in its beak. I noticed the way individual feathers layer on top of each other and marveled at the different colors of various species' eyes. Even when conditions weren't ideal, like on rainy days or at dusk, the Bird Buddy Pro delivered crisp images. One male northern cardinal that repeatedly visited my feeder showed the not-so-picturesque side of bird life. He was molting, or replacing old feathers with new ones, revealing bald patches around his head. It might not be the aesthetic you imagine, but these are the things you see when you can get views of a bird from inches away. The app is fun and informative The physical bird feeder is only half the story with the Bird Buddy Pro, because the Bird Buddy app is where you access everything the feeder captures. If there were a Spotify Wrapped-like recap of my phone usage at the end of the year, I'm sure Bird Buddy would make the cut. It's a fun platform that combines the virtual scrapbooking of Instagram with the collector's angle of Pokémon Go. Four tabs provide navigation within the app: home, collection, BBTV and cameras. The home tab is where you see the latest visitors to your feeder. It can be arranged in a curated format or display every single visitor. Users can scroll and swipe through photos and videos, submit feedback on identification, save certain 'postcards' for later viewing — that's what Bird Buddy calls each documentation of a visitor — and learn more about the birds spotted with interactive AI features. Dubbed 'NatureChat,' that last element dishes out fun facts and lets you engage in a question-and-answer session with a chatbot. The collection tab is your logbook. Any media you liked enough to save will be stowed away here for you to look back on anytime you want. You can sort by species, most frequent visitors or many other criteria. On BBTV, a For You page of Bird Buddy cams from around the world gives you a glimpse at what birds other people are seeing (don't worry, you can keep your footage private in the settings). Finally, the cameras tab is your interface with the device's options, like video quality, and access to a live feed from your Bird Buddy Pro. Upgrade to the solar roof if you can The plastic build of the Bird Buddy Pro is basic but well constructed. It's shaped like a small house, where the front wall, rear wall and roof can be removed for easy cleaning. Once pieced together, the camera pops into the front wall, and a small trap door on the rear wall flips down to pour in more seed. That collection of seed fills the inside and overflows into a platform on which birds can perch and feast — and pose for the camera, of course. Some add-ons can give birds more snacking options too. The 3-in-1 Nutrition Set, for example, lets you place fruits and jellies — favorites of the Baltimore oriole — on a secondary platform. But the extra feature I can't recommend enough is the solar roof. Available on its own or included with the feeder, this roof looks identical to the standard roof but with a solar panel on one side. It plugs into the camera, and as long as you get adequate sunlight, you likely won't need to charge the camera. My feeder has been up for over a month, and I've never noticed the camera's battery below 80%. AI identification isn't perfect Bird Buddy's ability to identify birds is part of its charm. It makes the world of birds accessible to users who don't know a black-capped chickadee from a tufted titmouse. But after analyzing every report from my feeder's camera, I noticed more than a few misidentifications. Northern cardinals were the most frequent visitors to my Bird Buddy Pro, yet the app incorrectly labeled some instances as an American robin, tufted titmouse and even the rarer summer tanager. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that notification, but my excitement was for nought. Part of my testing included leaving a camera next to the feeder to observe visitors from another angle. At one point, a blue jay stopped at the feeder for about eight seconds. Yet, I never got that video from the Bird Buddy Pro's point of view. The app never alerted me to the blue jay's presence. If I hadn't had a secondary camera set up, I never would have known. Part of why I love the Bird Buddy Pro is that it erases the FOMO I have about missing an awesome bird at my feeder, but this mishap planted a seed of doubt in my mind that it's keeping me abreast of every visitor. Bird identification can be hard, and we can't expect an AI system still in beta testing to get everything right. To Bird Buddy's credit, it's a system that asks for feedback on every ID so it can better learn the difference between right and wrong. My advice: If you're new to bird IDs, check out the Merlin app for extra help. Its image recognition is top-notch. Most features are paywalled I generally groan when people complain about a great product existing behind a paywall. So, while I won't belittle Bird Buddy for packaging several features in a paid subscription, I will at least let you know such a restriction exists. The individual plan is $6 per month or $60 per year, while a family plan that grants premium features to guests you virtually invite to your Bird Buddy Pro is $10 monthly or $90 per year. Some paid-exclusive features include the highest resolution video available, an AI chatbot that teaches users about birds, an alert system that can notify you of sick birds that might spread disease and unlimited cloud storage for your favorite sightings. It's important to note that none of these features are required to enjoy the core of what makes the Bird Buddy Pro so fun; you can still get a ton out of it without paying a cent more than the price of the actual feeder. These extras only enhance the experience. Some of my CNN Underscored colleagues already loved the original Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder. Testing the Pro model made it clear that a good thing just got better. It's a wicked-fun gadget for anyone with even a basic interest in nature, as it opens your eyes to how many different kinds of birds are flying around your home. The Bird Buddy Pro is well made and pairs with an app that turns the educational aspect into a gamelike experience, plus it makes maintaining the feeder feel less like a chore and more like an activity. The camera has no business being as good as it is in such a small package, yet it produces sharp, vivid photos and videos every time a bird lands at your feeder. The all-in price of The Bird Buddy Pro is no small investment. You have to subscribe for the best features and you'll have to stay stocked on birdseed. I still think it's worth it because it has brought me joy daily, letting me passively watch birds even if I'm too busy to spend hours with my binoculars on a trail somewhere. And to me, that kind of around-the-clock access to nature is borderline priceless. How do I fill the Bird Buddy Pro bird feeder? How do I fill the Bird Buddy Pro bird feeder? A small door opens on the back wall of the Bird Buddy Pro to allow easy pouring of birdseed into the feeder. The Bird Buddy Pro also comes with a small cup with which you can scoop and pour your birdseed. How do I hang up the Bird Buddy Pro bird feeder? How do I hang up the Bird Buddy Pro bird feeder? The Bird Buddy Pro can be hung up with the included triangular metal hanger that attaches to its roof. It also comes with a screw-on mount for attaching to poles or platforms. How often should I clean my Bird Buddy Pro? How often should I clean my Bird Buddy Pro? Clean your Bird Buddy Pro at least once a month, though more frequently would be even better. Take the feeder apart and wipe down the plastic parts with soapy water. The brand also recommends a 10% bleach solution to disinfect the feeder. This is important because a sick bird can transmit disease, such as avian flu, to other birds if your feeder isn't regularly cleaned. CNN Underscored has a team of skilled writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and recommending products, and they ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. We talk to top experts when applicable to make certain we are testing each product accurately, recommending only the best products and considering the pros and cons of each item. For this article, associate testing writer Joe Bloss put up a Bird Buddy Pro in his family's backyard and obsessively monitored the Bird Buddy app. Bloss is both an avid birder and an experienced product tester. He has penned CNN Underscored's guide for beginner bird-watchers and tested the best binoculars under $500. His favorite bird is probably the black-and-white warbler, but it's hard to choose just one.
Malay Mail
23-05-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
‘Birds are in trouble': Irishman races to record songs of vanishing species
COBH (Ireland), May 23 — On a mission to record all of Ireland's bird species — many of which are dying out — Irishman Sean Ronayne calls his unique audio archive a tool to both raise alarm and bring hope. According to conservation bodies, some 63 per cent of Ireland's birds are currently either red or amber-listed, meaning they are at severe or moderate extinction risk. 'Birds are in trouble in Ireland like they are across the world, the loss of wildlife — sonically and physically — is devastating to me,' said the 37-year-old. 'But I focus on hope and beauty, which is essential,' the ornithologist told AFP at his home near Cobh (pronounced 'Cove') in County Cork. More than four years into his recording project he has sampled 201 different Irish bird species, stocking over 12,000 audio clips from around the country, Ronayne told AFP. Just two remain to be documented: the great skua, and red-breasted merganser. 'If people realise just how spectacular wildlife is, there's no way they would let it disappear, attitudes would change,' Ronayne said. Irish ornithologist Sean Ronayne records the birds songs, and more precisely dawn chorus, at Glenbower wood, near Cobh, in the outskirts of Cork, southern Ireland April 3, 2025. — AFP pic Sound: 'An engaging tool' Ireland may be famed for its green fields, but Ronayne paints a bleak picture — 'realistic' he says — of a degraded landscape and a bird population decimated by vanishing habitats. Most of Ireland comprises intensively farmed fields bounded by trimmed hedgerows, drained and mined peatlands, overgrazed uplands, and minimal native woodland, he told AFP. Non-native conifer plantations — approximately nine per cent of Ireland's 11 per cent forest cover — are also a biodiversity villain, described by Ronayne as 'a species-poor industrial cash-crop'. 'I try to show people the beauty of what we're erasing and what we must stand up and fight for,' said the wildlife expert. Last year he published an award-winning book, released two albums, and made an acclaimed documentary film. His talk tour is currently selling out venues around Ireland. 'Wildlife sound is such a great engaging tool to connect people to nature itself and get them acquainted with everything that's on their doorstep,' Ronayne told AFP. 'If you know your neighbour you're more likely to help them in times of need,' he said. At the shows Ronayne, who was diagnosed with a form of autism as an adult, presents the story of his life and how nature is woven through it. He also plays audio of warbles, tweets, trills, screeches and chirps, and mystery sounds, inviting the audience to guess the origin. Some clips show birds mimicking other animals like dogs, people and other bird species. 'Some species in my collection can mimic 30 to 40 other species in their song,' he said. Laughter is common at his talks, but also tears and grief as listeners learn of Ireland's endangered birdlife. Irish ornithologist Sean Ronayne places a recording monitor among the vegetation at Ballycotton beach, near Cobh, in the outskirts of Cork, southern Ireland to record birds songs April 3, 2025. — AFP pic 'Sonic diversity' Ronayne regularly holds 'dawn chorus' walks, bringing small groups into silent forests far from road noise to experience the birdlife waking up. A gradually building cacophony of sound, the dawn chorus is 'a reflection of the health of a given environment', he told AFP in an old woodland near his home while waiting for sunrise. 'The more sonically diverse it is, the healthier the habitat is,' he said. After unpacking his audio recorder, parabolic microphone and tripod, he quickly identified the melodies of song thrushes, robins, blackbirds, goldcrests and others as they greeted the day. 'Chiffchaff! Did you hear that?! There's a grey wagtail!' he exclaimed, head twitching toward each sound in the lifting gloom. Ronayne also hides recorders for weeks and even months in remote untouched places where birds congregate. On Ballycotton beach near Cobh, migrating birds swirled overhead before settling on an adjacent lagoon. Ronayne carefully placed a waterproof recorder — able to run for up two weeks — in grass by the shore. 'They have to fly right over here to there,' he said pointing upwards at their route. 'After I collect it I'll be able to monitor the birds, capture their calls, and tell environmental stories from the audio,' he said. Back home, he scrolled on a computer showing thousands of archived sonogram clips — visual representations of sound — of birdsong audio. Each entry included data on the behaviour, calls and protected status of each bird: many either red or amber. 'First we must realise how wonderful nature is, then how fragile it is, and how much we have kicked it down,' Ronayne told AFP. 'When we as a society fall back in love with nature, and respect it as we once did, beautiful things will happen.' — AFP
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- The Guardian
‘Time slows down in Lastovo': I may just have found Croatia's most unspoilt archipelago
The sound of a baby crying echoes eerily in the night sky, seemingly coming from the uninhabited Zaklopatica islet that faces the terrace of our holiday rental in Lastovo. 'Do you think that's a bird?' I ask my husband. 'At this time of night? Doubt it,' he says. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Fast forward a couple of days and we're in a park ranger's motorboat bumping around the far-flung Lastovo archipelago in the Adriatic. All its 46 islands (including the main Lastovo island), islets and reefs were declared a nature park in 2006. By luck, I'm with the ornithologist whose discovery of the nesting sites of some of the Mediterranean's most endangered birds – yelkouan and Scopoli's shearwaters – was instrumental in Lastovo getting the official protection it deserves. Between Robert Crnković, a retired army officer turned full-time ornithologist who surveys the birds here several times a year, and Alexandra Horvat, Lastovo nature park's head ranger, I'm getting a crash course in the region's birdlife and biodiversity. Robert points to our right. 'Oh look – shearwaters! You can see them sniffing the water. They're searching for food.' He mentions that yelkouan and Scopoli's shearwaters are breeding on the islet within sight of my holiday apartment. 'Maybe at night you can hear them calling like a baby crying … ' That's one mystery solved. Here on one of Croatia's most remote inhabited islands – next stop, Italy – I am uncovering Lastovo's secrets. Time slows down on that terrace as I watch go by in Zaklopatica Bay – fishers cleaning their catches, older ladies chortling after a boozy lunch, young boys driving and mooring their boats. Ladders and steps along the quayside turn the bay into one giant swimming pool, where I jump into impossibly clear waters. On the horizon is bigger, busier Korčula. On the northern coast, wooded cliffs and the shearwater-inhabited islet give Zaklopatica bay plenty of natural shelter. Three waterside restaurants do a roaring trade feeding the yachting crowd. Among measures introduced to protect the marine ecosystem, particularly the posidonia seagrass, is a system of 'ecological mooring', using buoys instead of anchors. Boats need an entrance ticket to enter the archipelago too, while rangers look out for illegal fishing and diving, and maintain 125 miles (200km) of footpaths and hiking trails on a hilly island that's 70% covered in forests. I'm quickly getting a sense of Lastovo's fragility, and the battle to keep it from going the way of other parts of Croatia's overdeveloped coast and islands. Despite its natural park status, there are fears things could change. Diana Magdić in the tourist office worries the protection may not be enough, and estimates that Lastovo has about 10 years before unscrupulous developers exhaust other areas and try to do the same here. For now, the island remains gloriously unspoilt. Lastovo town lies a few hundred metres inland from the coast – this distance was useful centuries ago, when marauding pirates brought violence and fear to locals' lives. The village's 15th- and 16th-century stone houses with colourful shutters sit alongside vineyards, olive groves, orchards and market gardens whose produce ends up on local restaurant plates when it's not being bartered among neighbours. A squiggling road leads us downhill from the village to pretty Lučica Bay, where fishers' cottages squeeze around a bay too narrow for anything bigger than a dinghy. At compact Konoba Lučica, we sit at one of the restaurant's two outside tables with a romantic sea view. We dine on grilled squid served by owner-chef Ante Kovačev, who fell in love with this spot after being stranded here on a sailing trip and left his home in Šibenik to set up this enchanting pint-sized place. Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays after newsletter promotion Meanwhile, on the south coast, a giant comma-shaped peninsula of scrub-covered cliffs curves around the calm waters of Skrivena Luka, literally meaning hidden harbour. Here we find Porto Rosso, a restaurant and nautical centre whose numerous terraces hover over a pine-shaded beach. Although it's mid-June, the summer season hasn't kicked off yet, so we have an absurd amount of empty space in which to lounge after a satisfying lunch of seafood risotto. Gazing at the sea and swimming in transparent waters, we allow the afternoon to slip by in total relaxation. Lastovo does this to people. When we decamp from Zaklopatica and cross the little bridge to Prežba, the archipelago's only other inhabited island, I immediately fall in love with the huge flower-filled terrace in our roomy apartment overlooking Malo Lago Bay in tiny Pasadur village. The atmosphere is less yachtie than Zaklopatica, and the peaceful bay looks more like a channel, flanked by wooded hills. 'You'll have to drag me from here,' I warn my husband. Pine-shaded coves are tucked into Prežba's indented coast, also pockmarked by old naval tunnels and bunkers from the days before 1988, when Lastovo was a military base and closed to tourists. Although the beaches beckon, we are again seduced by the ease of jumping into the clean waters from the sunny quayside. It takes five hours to get to Lastovo from Split via two ferries, and three hours on a catamaran from Dubrovnik (leaving you reliant on the island's sole bus that is actually a minivan). It won't suit everybody (thank goodness), especially drunk partygoers from Hvar who get on the wrong boat and wonder where all the cocktail bars and nightclubs are (answer: there aren't any, and yes, this does happen). For Diana in the tourist office, who, like Alexandra Horvat, originally came from Zagreb, Lastovo harks back to 1980s Yugoslavia, 'when every tourist was a guest, a friend'. Lastovo just made a new friend. Studios in Apartments Marija in Zaklopatica from £60 a night (minimum two-night stay). Studios in Villa Agata in Pasadur from £64 a night. Ferries from Split to Ubli, Lastovo, run three times a day with Jadrolinija, and passenger-only catamarans run once a day from Dubrovnik to Ubli with TP Line
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- The Guardian
Birdwatch: After six decades, I finally catch up with the Alpine accentor
I was about seven years old when, in the pages of the European field guide illustrated by the legendary bird artist Roger Tory Peterson, I first came across the Alpine accentor. Something about this bulky cousin of our familiar dunnock must have clicked, because soon afterwards I was convinced I had seen one in our suburban front garden. Not just unlikely but, as I later discovered, impossible. That's because, as its name suggests, the Alpine accentor is a rare vagrant to Britain from the mountains of central and southern Europe. Never mind, I thought, I'm bound to see one somewhere on my travels. But I didn't. What made things worse was that so many of my friends – and not just birders – have come across these birds, usually at cafes in ski resorts. Then last month, almost six decades after I marvelled at Peterson's illustration, I visited a Buddhist monastery in Bhutan, high in the eastern Himalayas. And there they were, a pair of Alpine accentors: large and plump, like dunnocks on steroids. Tame as sparrows, they hopped around right in front of me, showing off their handsome grey, black and chestnut plumage. I had come to Bhutan to see some of the world's most striking and beautiful birds, such as the satyr tragopan we encountered a few minutes later. Yet finally catching up with a species I had been searching for since my childhood was, for me, the highlight of the trip. Funny old thing, birding.
