If you have any interest in birds, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society want your help counting birds this weekend.

The annual Great Backyard Bird Count takes place from Feb. 13-16, 2009.

Rules are simple: Count birds for 15 consecutive minutes on any one (or two, or three, or all four) of these dates. Then enter your sightings online here (this page will be active for entering information once the count begins). 

You can count birds for longer than 15 minutes, but count for a minimum of 15 minutes.

Location doesn’t matter. It can be your backyard bird feeder. You can go to a local park or wildlife refuge and count the birds there. Is there waterfowl on a nearby lake? The GBBC wants to know.

The results of the bird-counting help Cornell and Audubon track trends in bird numbers and trends in bird locations. You become a citizen-scientist for these organizations. Your data helps provide a picture of the bird population across the continent.

This is a great event for educators, and the GBBC website has special information just for you at this link.

And here’s a game called Eagle Eyes to help children learn to hone their observation skills.

Once the results are entered, it’s fun to see what the trends for your area are. For example, in 2008 for Cedar Rapids, Iowa, these were the top 5 birds reported (by numbers of birds):
Mallard — 1841
Canada Goose — 559
Mourning Dove — 339
House Finch — 188
Dark-eyed Junco — 175

For Iowa overall, these were the top 5 birds reported (by number of birds):
Dark-eyed Junco — 8334
House Sparrow — 6236
Canada Goose — 4850
American Goldfinch (Iowa’s state bird) — 4394
Northern Cardinal — 3915

And for the US, these were the top 5:
Snow Goose — 927,059
Canada Goose — 778,867
European Starling — 767,754
American Robin — 534,560
Common Grackle — 509,020

These figures were all taken from the GBBC website. Go here to explore the numbers and birds that interest you.

The GBBC website has all the information you need to participate in the count. Have fun!

This is one time during the year when dogs are in the spotlight. People who don’t normally follow dog events will gather around the water cooler or stop in office hallways to discuss the results of the judging, talk about their favorite dog from the previous night’s televised broadcast of the show, or try to guess which dog will be selected as Best In Show.

Carolyn Schaldecker and CH Imagine Harry Potter, a Keeshond

I contacted Carolyn Schaldecker of Imagine Keeshond in Solon, Iowa to find out what makes Westminster such a prestigious dog show. Carolyn breeds and shows Keeshonden and is an approved AKC judge for the breed. She shares the following information:

The top five dogs in each breed are given special advance invitation to enter Westminster. Then entries are opened to all AKC recognized champions. Total entries for this show are limited to 2500 dogs and typically close within minutes from the time entries open. So, it is quite prestigious to even make it into the show.

This show is only one of three AKC benched dog shows across the country. This means that the dogs are to be onsight during the entire day of their show and have special benching areas so that the spectating public can meet and greet the wonderful champions and their owners up close and personally.

For those of you who are new to dog shows or don’t quite understand how they work, following is some information to help you understand what’s happening as you watch.

First of all, what is conformation? Conformation is the dog’s appearance, movement and  body structure. The dog is judged  against the “ideal” dog of that breed. The “ideal” dog isn’t a “real” dog but a written standard of what the perfect dog of that breed would be.

The dog show starts with Breed judging. As an example, all of the dogs of the breed Keeshonden will be judged. The dog that comes closest to the ideal conformation standard for a Keeshond  will be chosen as Best of Breed for Keeshonden and will be the Keeshond representative in the next round of judging, the Group judging. (Watch last year’s Keeshond judging from Westminster here.)

Westminster’s Breed judging takes place during the daytime hours on Monday, Feb. 9 and Tuesday, Feb. 10. Click here to follow the web updates and videos as Best of Breed, Best of Group and Best in Show dogs are selected on Monday and Tuesday. (Breed judging is not televised but Group and Best in Show judging are televised.)

Ron Bedford and CH Geragold Maximum Joy, a Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier

Next comes the Group judging. A Group is composed of various breeds having similar qualities or functions. For example, a Rough Collie, an Australian Shepherd and a Border Collie are all breeds which belong to the Herding Group because these dogs were traditionally used to herd livestock. A Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier and a Cairn Terrier both belong to the Terrier Group, dogs which were traditionally used to go after vermin.

There are 7 Groups in an AKC dog show — Sporting, Hounds, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding. The Best of Breed winners compete against each other in their respective Groups and one winner is chosen from each Group. Now we are down to 7 dogs.

Group judging is televised live on Monday and Tuesday nights. (Click here for information on TV coverage.)

The 7 dogs that emerge as the Group winners compete for Best in Show. That is the grand prize for bragging rights. The Best in Show judging  is also televised live on Tuesday night, as soon as the last of the Group judging is completed. (Click here for information on TV coverage.)

A Beagle was the 2008 Best in Show winner:

You can watch the full judging for 2008 Best in Show competition here.

I’ll be glued to the web updates as the Best in Breed dogs are chosen on Monday and Tuesday and then will be rooting enthusiastically during the evenings for my 2 dog breeds in their respective Groups — the Rough Collie in the Herding Group and the Keeshond in the Non-Sporting Group.

Which dogs or dog breeds are you rooting for?

Good luck to all of the dogs and competitors!

For those of us who can afford to help, this is a time when shelters and rescue organizations need us the most. Below are some links to Cedar Rapids-area animal organizations that can always use dollars or volunteers.

If you would like to plug your rescue group or shelter, just add a comment and put in a link to your organization.

Gazette Online posted this story about cats that are living in abandoned homes in Cedar Rapids’ flood-damaged neighborhoods. If you want to donate to help these cats, read the story to find out how.

Safe Haven of Iowa County is raising money to build a new facility. They’re also participating in a contest to win a $1 million makeover. Click here to participate and help them earn points to make the top 20 (they’re currently #21) and put them in the running for the makeover. It’s free! (See comments below for more information about this shelter and an update on their current ranking in the makeover contest.)

The Cedar Valley Humane Society is another local shelter that always can use your help. They are located in Linn County, Iowa.

If you’re a horse-lover and want to help our equine friends, check out this group: Iowa Equine Rescue and Awareness League. This group has been busy the last few years helping abandoned, abused and/or starving horses from all around Iowa. They can always use your help. Horses are costly!

Miracles in Motion specializes in therapeutic riding. Located just outside of Swisher, Iowa, this group isn’t a shelter or rescue organization, but does rely on volunteers and donations for much of its operating costs. It’s a very worthy cause helping many people with disabilities.

I know there are many more worthy groups in our area that need help. Please consider making an extra donation or volunteering some time if you are fortunate enough to be in a position to help.

Dad giving Teddy a bath

My dad passed away 2 years ago on Jan. 15. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of my dad. As I was pondering what to write about for my next blog posting, memories of my dad and his love for animals came to me and I thought I would share some of those memories.

I remember Mom telling me about the little cocker spaniel that Dad had when she and Dad were dating. Mom did not like the little dog because it was very jealous when Dad paid attention to her and would sit between them and bark at her. But I suspect my grandparents trained it to be a chaperone, keeping the two lovebirds at a respectable distance from each other.

I remember Dad’s gold tooth. The story he told me was that he was walking his German Shepherd (or GS-mix) dog down the sidewalk as a boy and he tripped over the dog and fell and broke the tooth. At that time the dentist replaced the front tooth with a gold cap. I always thought it made Dad very distinguished-looking.

I remember the first pet Dad got for me — a tiny kitten when I was just a couple of years old. It’s one of my earliest childhood memories.

I remember our first dogs. When I was 4 and my brother was 2, we moved from one town to another. The first Easter in the new home, Dad gave my brother and me each a collie puppy. Mine was named Lady and my brother’s dog was named Butch. Unfortunately, both contracted distemper fairly soon after we got them. Butch did not survive, but I remember Dad nursing Lady by hand, spoon-feeding medicine into her, sitting up nights with the small puppy. He literally nursed the dog through the disease because without his constant care and attention, she would not have survived. We had Lady for many years after. She was my first collie, and I’ve had 2 more since then.

Hallie the collie puppy

I remember vividly how Dad caught my young brother and me swinging my cat Twinkle Toes around by his tail in our basement. That did not go over well, needless to say, and neither Bruce nor I ever mistreated an animal again after that incident. Although I can’t say that Twinkle Toes would agree with that last statement. I do remember dressing the poor cat up in doll clothes and placing it in my bike’s basket and taking it for rides through the neighborhood. Not too sure that Twinkle Toes particularly enjoyed that, upon retrospection!

After I grew up and moved away from home, I continued to have my own pets, and Dad had his. I lived far away from Dad, but he was always there by phone to lend a shoulder to cry on when one of my pets died. He always liked to hear my stories about what the latest pets were up to. And when I went home to visit and took the dogs with me, he and Mom always welcomed them into their home.

I remember how Dad could not abandon an animal in distress. He once found a small puppy that had been discarded in a neighborhood trash-can. Dad rescued the puppy and it became a beloved member of his home until it passed away many years later.

In later years, my husband and I chuckled many times over how much Dad spoiled his dogs. At one time he had 3 dogs and they each had a plastic picnic-type plate with dividers. In each of the divided areas of the plate, Dad put a different type of food for the dogs, chopped-up hot dogs being their favorite of the offerings. Mom was always running to the grocery store to get food for the dogs, not for the humans!

Dad’s last dog, Teddy, a cockapoo, was probably spoiled the most. I was home visiting and I remember distinctly Dad opening a can of chicken noodle soup for the dog, heating the soup in the microwave, then waiting until it cooled to exactly the right temperature before letting Teddy have the soup. As if Teddy would care about the soup being warmed in the first place! And there was no way to reason with Dad about human food being bad for dogs. We tried, but gave up on convincing him of that long ago.

So here’s to Dad — thanks for all the memories and for instilling in me the belief that life is precious in all of its forms.

The Iowa bird checklist shows that 420 species of birds have been seen in the state. However, that’s 420 bird species over a number of years, not 420 bird species every year. Of those 420 species, the Iowa Ornithologists Union splits the species into 3 main categories:

Regular = seen every year or nearly every year, at least 8 of last 10 years (306 species)

Casual = seen many years but not all, at least 3 and less than 9 of last 10 years (26 species)

Accidental = seen once to several times, but less than 4 of last 10 years (84 species)

In theory, this means that if you go out birding a lot and cover all corners of the state, you have a good chance of seeing 306 species each year (the “regulars”) and maybe more if you can find some “casuals” or “accidentals”.

Dedicated birders in the state set 300 as the goal to reach each year, but very few actually make it to 300. It takes a lot of time to bird the entire state each year. My highest so far was 297, but that was an exceptional year for me. Generally I find between 250-275 bird species each year.

So I began my quest for 300 this year by doing a little bit of local birding on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2. After 2 days of birding, my 2009 Iowa list is 36 species — I have a long way to go to reach 300 but lots of fun birding ahead!

 A few of the birds I most enjoyed seeing at the start of this year are listed below:

Rough-legged Hawk

The Rough-legged Hawk is my favorite of all the hawks. It comes south from the Arctic and other northern climes during the winter. Since most of Iowa’s summer birds flee the state during the fall for warmer climates, I am very partial to a bird that actually thinks Iowa is the place to be during the winter.

The Rough-legged Hawk can easily be identified by the large black “wrist patches”, shown in this photo from the Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter.

It is less common in Iowa in the winter than the more familiar Red-tailed Hawk.

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Another winter treat that I saw on Jan. 2 was the tiny Northern Saw-Whet Owl. This little owl is very cute, but don’t be mistaken by its cuteness quotient. It’s a hunter through and through.

Finding an owl takes patience and some knowledge of the particular habitat that species of owl likes. Once you’re in the correct habitat, look under the trees for owl droppings and regurgitated pellets.

The little Saw-whet that I saw on Friday had a good-sized area of droppings directly underneath it. After I saw the droppings, I knew just where in the tree to look for the owl, and sure enough, there it sat on a high branch, calmly watching me with those big owl eyes in that small owl body.

Saw-whets are not particularly spooky owls and usually will stay put on a tree branch and allow you to observe them. Most owls fly out of a tree long before you have a chance to approach them.

Northern shrike

Another beautiful bird that winters in Iowa is the Northern Shrike. Birds with black and white feather patterns are particularly pretty, I think. Shrikes are known for their behavior of storing prey on thorns or other sharp items.

I usually find shrikes perching on top of small trees, although once or twice I’ve seen them on telephone wires. They move around their territory and are sometimes hard to find in the same location a second time, although they may be in the general vicinity still. I always feel lucky when I come across one.

What have you seen so far this year? What are your favorite winter birds? Please share in the comments section.

In the spirit of the holidays and the winter season, I’ve collected some animal-themed videos and other links that have come my way over the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!

My personal favorites of the holiday and winter season are the Budweiser Clydesdales videos. This one is the Clydesdales snowball fight:  

Don’t you wish your dogs could trim the tree for you while you sat back and watched?

Bailey the Unknown Reindeer has been making the email rounds. This dog is really getting into the spirit of winter. Great video! But I am thankful there is not that much snow in my yard.

Here’s a fun doggy Christmas e-card.

 And a “do one thing for nature” Christmas message from “BBC breathing places”.

 I thought this dog collar was unique. If you haven’t figured out yet what to get Fido, check this out: keep-your-pooch-afloat.

There are so many more fun animal-themed videos, gift ideas and links out on the Web. Add your favorites in the comments section so we can all enjoy them.

Rosie warm and snug indoors

And speaking of the comments section, I am copying below a comment from Catlore to my previous blog on winterizing your dog. She brings up some excellent points relating to the cats  and dogs who are left outdoors during winter. Living in the city, my kitty Rosie lives indoors year-round where she is safe from traffic and not wandering onto the neighbors’ property. But not all cats are as fortunate as Rosie. Please consider Catlore’s points and do what you can to help out the animals who have to survive our frigid Midwest winters outdoors.

 Here’s the comment from Catlore:

Thank-you for giving this topic some much needed attention. It’s nice to see someone writing about this other than in a letter to the editor! I would love it if you’d include references to those CATS (owned as well as homeless) unfortunate enough to find themselves outside (e.g. watch for cats who warm themselves under a car hood ~ bang on the hood if you have cats around), references to the city animal control ordinance which has certain requirements for any animal outside (click on Animal Control Ordinance at http://www.cedar-rapids.org) and tips about making sure NO cat or dog is outside in temperatures like we are having right now. If there is a stray cat in your neighborhood, please offer your garage for shelter, fresh food and potable water. They rely on the kindness of humans for their survival. Fresh water is more important in the winter than summer ~ and less readily available ~ to help animals spending time outside regulate their body temperature.

The holiday season is a good time to reflect on how important your furry ones are in your life. Remember the homeless ones in whatever way you can help. If you are able to, make donations to your favorite animal charity. And shower your own pets with lots of love, just as you do year-round.

Happy holidays, everyone!

My long-haired dogs (a collie and a keeshond) do pretty well in the cold temperatures and the snow without too much extra preparation. But some of my friends and colleagues have smaller dogs, or dogs with shorter hair, and we’ve been discussing how to keep these dogs warm and comfortable during their outside excursions in the winter.

Below are a few tips I’ve been able to think of to help our dogs stay comfortable and healthy when they’re outside in the cold. If you have tips to add, please do! And I’m not addressing what to do for dogs who remain outside all of the time since my dogs are indoor dogs and only go out for walks and nature calls. So if you keep dogs outdoors during the winter, please chime in and offer suggestions on how to keep the dogs safe and warm when winter is at its worst.

Tips for winterizing your dog

1. Trim the excess fur from the pads on the dog’s feet. When you walk your dog outdoors during the winter, snow and ice will accummulate in the fur that grows out from the pads. This can make the dog uncomfortable when he’s walking. Snow-melt chemicals can be trapped in this fur also which will irritate the feet.

2. When re-entering your home, clean and dry the dog’s feet. This will remove the salt and chemicals that are used to melt snow and ice. If you don’t clean and dry the pads, the dog will do it himself by licking his feet, which means he’ll be ingesting the chemicals. Not good!

3. Some dogs can be trained to wear doggy booties, another way to prevent salt and chemicals from irritating the dog’s pads.

4. If you have a short-haired dog, have him wear a doggy sweater to help retain his body heat. He’ll be the envy of his doggy peers and you can have fun and create a fashion statement with your pet. A search of “dog sweaters” on the web will turn up plenty of choices, and many local retailers carry these in their pet supply areas.

5. Shorter, more frequent walks will keep both of you warmer than one long walk during the worst of the winter weather, especially when wind chills are in the dangerous levels. Dogs are subject to the effects of wind chill just as humans are. It is important to continue to walk your dog as many days as you can during the winter, for your health as well as for your pet’s. Just be careful when footing is treacherous. Train your dog not to pull and drag you on the leash. Last year 3 of my friends and co-workers had broken bones from falling during the winter — not because they fell on the ice but because they tripped over their dog! Also, if your dog walks calmly beside you he will be less likely to slip and fall himself.

And if you don’t find it safe to walk outdoors during the winter, find another way to exercise your dog. Some people have trained their dogs to exercise on a treadmill. I take my dog to agility practice at my dog club’s indoor facility. Turning your dog out to play in the yard unsupervised is not providing exercise. Most likely the dog will just sit by the door waiting to come back indoors where it’s warm!

6. Be careful with the use of antifreeze. Make sure any accidental spills are cleaned up and the dog is not allowed any access to the spills. Antifreeze is deadly. Store it out of reach of pets (and children!).

7. When letting dogs out into the yard for their nature calls, don’t leave them out unsupervised for any length of time. Give them enough time to do their business then bring them back into the house. My dogs sometimes signal when they’re ready to come in by holding up a front paw, letting me know that their feet are getting too cold!

8. Keep your dog well-groomed and unmatted. Fur that is unmatted is much better insulation than fur that is full of mats.

I found this link to Bark Busters safety tips for winterizing your dog to be very helpful, especially since it offers information about how to recognize signs of health problems that can be brought on by the colder temperatures. This includes some safety tips for dogs that are kept outdoors as well as for those kept indoors.

Please add any other suggestions for caring for your dog during winter’s extremes. Stay warm, safe and healthy!

Christmas Bird Counts — that’s why!

The 2008 Christmas Bird Count season officially starts on Dec. 14 and runs through January 5.  All around the country birders will be out during this time period, carefully plotting their routes, staying inside the official “count circle” for their area, and scouring every nook and cranny for birds.

On CBC day, every bird counts. Not only do you count the number of bird species you find, you count the number of birds of that species as well. See 1 cardinal? Check. See another cardinal? Another check. Count every bird as best as you are able to estimate the flock size.

Certain birds appear in large numbers in Iowa. American Crows, Canada Geese, House Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Mallards, Mourning Doves, Dark-eyed Juncos and European Starlings were the most-counted birds on the 2007 Iowa City CBC. (See results for past Iowa City CBCs here.)

Some CBCs have a friendly competition to see which can find the highest number of bird species. Generally, a CBC that has an open water source (such as a reservoir or a large river) will have a higher number of species since the waterfowl will flock to the open water.

Dedicated birders start their day before dawn with “owling” — checking habitat that should support owls and listening for the owls to call before the owls settle in for the day. On CBCs, you can count “heard” birds as well as “seen” birds.

Those of us who want to sleep just a little later still start the day at first light to search for birds. Birds, as a general rule, are more active during the morning hours than afternoon.

And birders who want to participate but don’t want to go outside can monitor their feeders and turn in their feeder reports.

The CBCs are sponsored by Audubon — you can read all about them here. The web site tells the history of the CBCs, how CBC information is used to monitor bird populations, how to get in contact with your local Audubon chapter, etc.

The Iowa Ornithologists’ Union maintains a web site that lists all Iowa CBCs, including contact information. You can find that web site here.

Locally, the Iowa City Bird Club has information about their CBC here.

So let the games begin. On Dec. 14 I’ll be out with the Iowa City Bird Club counting birds. And on Dec. 20 I’ll be out again with the Cedar Rapids Audubon group.

I can’t wait! It’s a highlight of the winter birding season for me.