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Showing posts with the label comparisons

Nature Note #149: A Familiar Grind

As the dog days of summer trudge on, those of us in the world of adult responsibilities grind along too. We have jobs, appointment, and lives to lead regardless of how hot the weather and how inviting the sunshine is outside. Despite this, there is a familiar sound that punctuates the noise and grind that surrounds our everyday lives. Even as I've grown more and more used to life here in the city, noise still finds a way to puncture through. Recently I was listening to an episode of Roman Mars's podcast,  99% Invisible  where he discussed the difference between noise and sound. Noise is a sound or series of sounds that are annoying or disturbing to one's overall experience of the world, while a sound itself was the expulsion of air waves of a certain pitch and frequency that we recognize coming from a specific source, regardless of the impression it has on our experience of the surrounding world.  There is certainly no doubt that cities are noise centers. Rumbling tra...

On the Wing #81: Warblering Both New and Old

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Fall is upon us once more and with its arrival comes the annual southward migration of warblers, sparrows, and other small birds, winging their way south for their winter vacations. My goal is to find a few more species to add to my rolls. Canada Warbler ( Cardellina canadensis ), Connecticut Warbler ( Oporornis agilis ), and Yellow-breasted Chat ( Icteria virens ) would all be wonderful additions to my list but for now, I'll wait for the weekend to start (Sundays and Mondays again) before I head out to search the nearby woods. Having spent part of spring migration in Ohio with my girlfriend I was able to get amazing, up-close shots of migrating warblers including four or five I'd never seen before. (My entry for that weekend in May can be found here ) However, more recently there are two books of mine that have helped me get in the mood for the warblers to come. They are quite different from one another with one providing reference and technical insight into the parulids o...