The Stroud Preserve, 2 March 2014

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Finally, after a long, long absence, I was able to visit the Stroud Preserve today. My last visit was way back on 15 October! I must admit that my motivation to get out and walk around this winter has been pretty low. I can’t remember a winter where we had snow on the ground from the first of December to at least the 2 of March. To add insult to injury, the forecast for tonight is for more of it, anywhere from 3 to 10 inches. Ugh.

I didn’t get there until 2:30 so my expectations for a long list of birds was pretty low. This is in fact, exactly what I got - twenty-one species in all. Even with this low species count there were a few surprises. I observed a single Hermit Thrush in one of the thawed out patches of grass. This is only my 12th observation of one since August 2011. I also saw 2 Killdeer in the old farm bed. This would only be the 18th time I’ve seen them on or from the preserve. I still consider both of these species to be uncommon here.

The bird of the day, though, was a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk. This is only the 7th one I have recorded at the preserve. Five of the previous observations were birds flying overhead. Only one time prior have I seen one perched on an object attached to land that was within the boundaries of the preserve. Even then it was a great distance away. Today I was less than 100 feet away and had fantastic views looking down from a hill onto it. I still don’t understand why this species is seen so infrequently here. It seems to me that it would be great habitat for them. What I do see here are great numbers of Red-tailed Hawks. Perhaps it is a simple case of competition that keeps their numbers low.

One of the main reasons I decided to head out today was that I wanted to check the Red-tailed Hawk nest from last year to see if it had a Great Horned Owl on it. The nest site is on the north end of the preserve not far from the failed owl nest from last year. However, the loop trail that goes past the site was quite the difficult trek. So, I opted to bird from the main road that runs through the preserve. I’ll wait until some of the snow melts before I try that again. Here is the rundown of my very short list of birds.

 

Start time: 2:33

End time: 3:54

Temp: 37

Wind: None

Skies: Overcast

Species Total: 21

 

  • Turkey Vulture – 4
  • Canada Goose – 50
  • Mallard – 25
  • Red-shouldered Hawk – 1 immature
  • Red-tailed Hawk – 3, 2 adults, 1 immature
  • Killdeer – 2
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker – 3
  • Downy Woodpecker – 1
  • Hairy Woodpecker – 3
  • Northern Flicker – heard only
  • Pileated Woodpecker – heard only
  • Blue Jay – 4
  • American Crow – 8
  • Fish Crow – 5
  • Eastern Bluebird – 2
  • Hermit Thrush – 1
  • American Robin – 20
  • Northern Mockingbird – 1
  • Song Sparrow – 1
  • Northern Cardinal – 1
  • Common Grackle – 25

A little catching up with family matters

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It has been a while since I have had a chance to update the blog. The last time that I posted an update was way back on 4 November! Since then we have had three holidays and two birthdays pass. The puppy is almost grown into a full size dog, The kids are halfway through their school year, oh, and so is Mary. Most importantly I am finally finished with my training in Maryland and back with Mary and the kids.

Our graduation was on 19 December. Mary and the kids, along with Mary's dad, came to Frederick to see me get my badge and be sworn in. It was a long haul. I headed down to for the training on 9 September. We had a three week interruption with the furlough that drug thing out longer than needed. I didn't get any break from work however. On Monday the 23rd, I was back at work at the airport. I got Christmas day off, but that is about it. From here on out, holidays and weekends will be a foreign concept for me. One lucky thing is that our port does not function around the clock. The first shifts start at 5:00 AM and end around 10:00PM. Eventually, I'll get a shift that is a regular reoccurring schedule, but for the next 6 months or so, they will bounce around every two weeks. I greatly enjoy the work and I'm very grateful to have found a job that fits my knowledge base and career path so well. 

Mary is still teaching middle school boys. We are not sure how she tolerates such a thing but she seems to do it quite well. Paddy and William have started taking guitar lessons. Which they seem to enjoy...sometimes. It seems that Paddy has some issues with practicing. That said it does seem as if soccer is the sport that Paddy will pursue. He has been taking indoor winter soccer skills clinics at the YMCA. These clinics are taught by Paddy's coach and our good friend Dave.

Emily has decided to take a break from fencing for a while to focus on school. She has a very challenging english class that takes more time that she would like, however, she really likes the class, so that works out okay. Emily's hair color seems to vary quite a bit. Currently it is blue. 

Check out photos from the last couple of months here. Also, check out photos of me and my classmates from Frederick here. As always, it would be good to hear from you and what is going on in your neck of the woods. 

Frederick Finale

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At long last, our time in Frederick is done and we now spread back to literally every corner of the United States. I was very impressed by the diversity of our class. I thought that would be one of the things that I would miss in leaving. But to be honest, our class was a true reflection of our work force in general. The port of Philadelphia has just as many great and wonderful people to get to know and learn from. We often hear that our employer has many faults, but hiring people with diverse backgrounds and ethnicities isn't one of them. That said, I already miss the many friends that I made over the last three months. I do hope that I see all of my classmates again at some point in the future. I'm constantly looking for excuses to visit every corner of the country, I can now pile on a very good one. 

I've posted a potpourri of photos from the last five or six weeks we were there (playing pool, creepiest, BBQfest, lunch with MD, graduation, etc.). Check them out here

Happy New Year and best wishes to you all! 

Russell

Sugarloaf Mountain Natural Area, Maryland

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[Note: Jake and I made this trip back on 11 November 2013. I wrote this up but never posted it to the blog until 30 December 2013]

Jake and I paid a visit to the Sugarloaf Mountain Natural Area today. Like many of the natural features of the area it played an important role in the Civil War. The mountain is a small mountain that is isolated and to the east of the Appalachian Mountain chain. It rises only 800 feet above the surrounding area but that is enough to make for an excellent lookout (the photo above is looking east towards Washington and Baltimore). On 5 September 1862 the small unit of Union soldiers station there as a lookout spotted Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia crossing the Potomac River to the southwest. 

While that is all very interesting, Jake and I, being astute biologist noted that it was a sunny day and leaving the hotel for a few hours was probably in the best interest of our mental health. I looked at a map, noticed a large green patch that was less than half an hour away and then we were off!

When we got there we noticed that not much was green. Falling back on our advanced degrees we determined that the primary reason nothing was green was the fact it was now early winter and most trees drop their leaves and are simply not green. However, we did discover that a few trees were in fact still green! Jake pulled out his handy Sibley Guide to the Trees of North America and we figured out that they were in fact conifers, of which we found 8 species. Check out photos of our day here

Lilypons Water Gardens, Frederick County, Maryland

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Today, at the recommendation of a fellow birder at the Professional Development Center (Thanks Larry!), I visited Lilypons Water Gardens, which lies beside of the Monocacy River and just south of Buckeystown and east of the Sugarloaf Mountain Natural Area. This spot was described to me as a commercial aquatic horticultural operation with a multitude of little ponds that attract a vast variety of birds. I first thought it was “Lilly Ponds” Water Gardens, but that would be incorrect. I thought Lilypons was a strange spelling but didn’t think about it again.

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As I walked around I found out that the location has a long history and that the spelling was for a specific reason. At the store located on the site I saw a plaque on the wall by the entrance. “Lily Pons,” post office, and Metropolitan Opera Singer made absolutely no sense to me. When I got back to my room I used the modern investigative tool, Google, dig up some history on the place.

The Lilypons Water Gardens is a family owned business that was started in 1917. It started out as Three Springs Fisheries specializing in goldfish and water lilies. In 1930 it started doing business by mail order. By 1935 the mail orders were so numerous that the US Postal Service decided to establish a post office on site. What to name this new post office? Well, as it turns out, the owner was a huge opera fan and his favorite singer and most popular singer of the day was, you guessed it, Lily Pons. Perfect, except that the post office requested that the name of the new office be one word. The post office ceased operations there in 1966 and in 1975 Three Springs Fisheries became Lilypons Water Gardens located in Adamstown, MD 21710. Who knew? Read the full history on the company website here.

As for birds, it seemed relatively quiet. There were a number of Rusty Blackbirds which are always a pleasure to see. The most numerous group of birds were sparrows, however, species diversity was pretty low with only Song, Swamp, and White-throated present. With all that aquatic vegetation I was hopeful that a Nelson’s or LeConte’s Sparrow would have popped out somewhere, but they didn’t. I was surprised to see three species of wrens, Carolina, Winter, and Marsh.

There were as many as 5 Red-shouldered Hawks in area with possibly as many as 7 or 8, which is a little puzzling to me. When I moved back to the east coast I assumed Red-shouldered Hawks would be one of the more common raptors around West Chester. However, in the two years that I have been birding at the Stroud Preserve, which is very similar in habitat and general appearance, I have only seen single Red-shouldered Hawks on eight occasions.

The last notable flying organism had scales instead of feathers. At 10:00 with a temperature of approximately 38º I saw two sulphur butterflies. It seemed a little on the cold side for butterflies to be flying!

Start time: 7:30

End time: 11:00

Temp: 28-45º

Wind: 0-9 mph from the north

Skies: clear

Species Total: 44

  • Great Blue Heron – at least 6
  • Great Egret – 1
  • Black Vulture – 5
  • Turkey Vulture – 14
  • Canada Goose – approximately 50
  • Wood Duck – 4
  • Mallard – 7
  • Green-winged Teal – 5
  • Hooded Merganser – 1
  • Bald Eagle – 1, immature
  • Red-shouldered Hawk – at least 5
  • Red-tailed Hawk – 3, 1 adult, 2 immatures
  • American Kestrel – 1 male
  • Wilson's Snipe – 8
  • Rock Dove – 2
  • Mourning Dove – 1
  • Belted Kingfisher – 4
  • Downy Woodpecker – 5
  • Hairy Woodpecker – 1
  • Northern Flicker – 3
  • Pileated Woodpecker – 1
  • Blue Jay – 4, heard only
  • American Crow – approximately 25
  • Carolina Chickadee – approximately 20
  • White-breasted Nuthatch – 1, heard only
  • Carolina Wren – approximately 15
  • Winter Wren – 1
  • Marsh Wren – 2
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet – approximately 10
  • Eastern Bluebird – 6
  • American Robin – 2
  • Northern Mockingbird – 5
  • European Starling – approximately 15
  • Cedar Waxwing – approximately 30
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler – 2
  • Eastern Towhee – 1, heard only
  • Song Sparrow – approximately 100
  • Swamp Sparrow – approximately 25
  • White-throated Sparrow – approximately 25
  • Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 10
  • Northern Cardinal – approximately 10
  • Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 15
  • Rusty Blackbird – approximately 25
  • American Goldfinch – approximately 15

 

Harper's Ferry

This past weekend me and few of my classmates here in Frederick took a break from studying and went for a visit to Harpers Ferry. Most people might recall Harpers Ferry as the location where the abolitionist John Brown made his attack against the federal armory. Harpers Ferry was also a highly valued strategic geographic point by both the Union and Confederate forces in the American Civil War, changing hands several times during the corse of the war. After the war, the economy never really returned to the small town at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers and as a result left the area frozen in time. 

What is there today is a great example of what a small town in the mid 19th Century would have looked like. Nearly the whole of the downtown and the surrounding area covering the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland is now a National Historic Park

On our part, we couldn't have picked a finer fall day for a visit. My roommate Jake, along with Heather, Steven, and Rubin spent the day there taking in the sights. We also got our daily dose of exercise as the walk from the main parking area to downtown then across and up to Maryland Heights was quite the workout! 

I did discover a link to my personal family history while I was there. I noticed that the Confederate General that commanded the troops in the battle of Maryland Heights in 1862 was General Joseph B. Kershaw from South Carolina. Since my family is from the Kershaw and Lancaster County area, I wondered if my ancestor William Joseph Flectcher (my grand father's great grandfather) might have been apart of this battle.  

Knowing that he was sharp shooter in the Flat Rock Guard, Company G, of the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers it didn't take very long to find out that he probably did fight in that battle (As a side note, the company was also present at the battle of Antietam, Cold Harbor, Chickamauga, and Gettysburg, and many others). I also found a map of troop movements before and after the battle of Maryland Heights that show that he most likely marched right through Frederick and the streets that I now ride my bike to work upon. The Flat Rock Guard was apparently a rough and tumble group of soldiers. One of it's members "cut and wore a pair of cuff buttons from a fragment of his own skull." Yikes! 

Skull jewelry aside, I recommend that if you ever get the chance to visit Harpers Ferry. It's rich history and natural beauty are well worth the effort. Check out a mix of photos taken by Jake and I here and at Stephen's photo stream here.

Russell

Finished with Furloughs

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I never posted an update about my furlough status but like all other federal employees, I went back to work once congress got it's act together and passed a budget. Because I was in the middle of job training, getting me and my classmates back to Frederick Maryland was a little more complicated and it took about another full week to get back into the swing of things. 

In short, I headed back to Frederick on 21 October and have been studying government stuff ever since. In case you were wondering, being furloughed generally sucks. I should clear up any misconception that being furloughed is like an awesome paid vacation. It is not. What it is like is being let go from work with no income coming down the pike and nothing but uncertainty ahead of you. Plus, as you can see from the photo above, I didn't quite get the vacation of my dreams. I won't rant on about it all but legislators that use federal employees and citizens that depend on those federal employees as pawns in their political games really should be dealt with severely at the ballot box.  

What you do when you are furloughed is try to make the best of things. I enjoyed being with my family and tried not to worry to much about the future. And to that end, I did get to see Mary the kids off to school in the mornings, and cook diners for them in the evenings. I am pretty happy that the furlough at least corresponded with the final   games of the Philadelphia Union's season. I certainly enjoyed going to all the games this year with Steve and Paddy. I also managed to take care of a bunch of things around the house that I couldn't do while I was a way. That said I was pretty have to get back to the training center and moving on with my new career. Here are some photos of various and sundry things that went on while I was home. Also there are a few photos from Halloween. 

 

The Stroud Preserve, 15 October 2013

 SPICEBUSH Lindera
benzoin (L.) Blume 15 October 2013, Stroud Preserve, West Chester,
Chester County, Pennsylvania.







 
  
 



 
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 SPICEBUSH Lindera benzoin (L.) Blume 15 October 2013, Stroud Preserve, West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Today the Stroud Preserve had the look of fall and the feel of summer, as it was quite warm and nearly windless. Bird life was listless, which could have been a factor of my late start. There seemed to be far more butterflies flying about than birds.

The bird of the day was a gianormous dobsonfly that flew past nearly taking off my head near the old farm pond. Judging from the size of it’s mandibles, which seemed to be half of the total length of the insect, I would guess that it was a male. I remember seeing many of these growing up South Carolina, but this is one of the few that I have seen in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Now that I have a fairly good grip on the birds and plants of the Stroud Preserve I think the project that I would like to undertake next year is to start an inventory of butterflies. I have a fairly large insect collection that I primarily use for educational purposes. I have only one tray of butterflies and I would like to keep it that way for two reasons, the first is that butterflies take up lots of room in Cornell trays and that gets expensive as time goes on. The second reason is that I don’t really enjoy pinning butterflies. If I forgo collecting butterflies specimens I’ll need to get a good camera so that I can document what is there. Good camera is something I’ll have to save for. So until that happens, I’ll stick to plants and birds.

SPICEBUSH Lindera
benzoin (L.) Blume 11 April 2013, Stroud Preserve, West Chester,
Chester County, Pennsylvania.







 
  
 



 
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SPICEBUSH Lindera benzoin (L.) Blume 11 April 2013, Stroud Preserve, West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Speaking of plants, the photo above is the fruit from a spicebush (Lindera benzoin). These little red berries, actually a drupe, have been a long time in coming as the flowers of the spicebush (right) are amongst the first flowers to be seen in the spring, flowering far in advance of the leaves.  Spicebush along with several species of viburnum are amongst the most dominant of the native shrubs of the forest understory here in Southeastern PA. Here I emphasize “native” as the non-native honeysuckles, privet, and autumn-olive far out number the native shrubs. It is one of only two members of the Laurel family that occur in Pennsylvania, the other being sassafras (Sassafras albidum). Sassafras is quite common in most parts of Chester County, but locally on the Stroud Preserve, it seems to be few and far between. 

 

Start time: 9:52

End time: 12:09

Temp: 57-64º

Wind: 0-4 from the northeast

Skies: clear

Species Total: 39

 

  • Black Vulture – 25, I observed one kettle of 21 individuals
  • Turkey Vulture – 10
  • Canada Goose – approximately 20
  • Wood Duck – 4
  • Sharp-shinned Hawk – 2
  • Red-tailed Hawk – 2
  • American Kestrel – 1
  • Rock Dove – 4
  • Mourning Dove – approximately 10
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker – 5
  • Downy Woodpecker – 2
  • Hairy Woodpecker – 1
  • Northern Flicker – 5
  • American Crow – approximately 30
  • Tree Swallow – approximately 20
  • Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
  • Tufted Titmouse – approximately 10
  • White-breasted Nuthatch – 2 heard only
  • Carolina Wren – 2, heard only
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet – 1
  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 2
  • Eastern Bluebird – 5
  • American Robin – 3
  • Gray Catbird – 1
  • Northern Mockingbird – 1
  • European Starling – approximately 40
  • Cedar Waxwing – approximately 15
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler – approximately 20
  • Palm Warbler – 1
  • Eastern Towhee – 6
  • Song Sparrow – approximately 30
  • Swamp Sparrow – approximately 10
  • White-throated Sparrow – approximately 15
  • Northern Cardinal – 4
  • Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 10
  • Brown-headed Cowbird – 1
  • House Finch – 11
  • American Goldfinch – approximately 10

Exton Park, 14 October 2013

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On Sunday I saw  a report on PABIRDS of a Nelson's Sparrow at Exton Park, in Exton of all places. Having never been there and seeing that it was only about 4.5 miles I thought I'd go check it out. Nelson's Sparrow is a species that I haven't seen since in a long time and it has been on my list of birds that I'd like to find at the Stroud Preserve. 

I didn't have much time to explore the 700 acre park, but I did find the spot where the sparrow was seen the day before. There were many Swamp, Song and White-throated Sparrows, a handful of Lincoln's Sparrows and a single Field Sparrow. I could not find a Nelson's Sparrow anywhere. 

Otherwise, I enjoyed my walk around the pond. Other highlights were a Merlin and an adult Bald Eagle and my first fall Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. I heard but did not see a Greater Yellowlegs. The full list of birds is below.  

 

Start time: 10:00

End time: 12:22

Temp: 56-61º

Wind: 5 from the northeast

Skies: clear

Species Total: 39

  • Black Vulture – 4
  • Turkey Vulture – 20
  • Canada Goose – approximately 350, mostly overhead
  • Wood Duck – 4
  • Mallard – approximately 50
  • Bald Eagle – 1, adult
  • Cooper's Hawk – 2
  • Red-tailed Hawk – 1
  • Merlin – 1
  • Greater Yellowlegs – 1, heard only.
  • Rock Dove – 5
  • Mourning Dove – 8
  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1
  • Downy Woodpecker – 2
  • Northern Flicker – 4
  • Blue Jay – approximately 20
  • American Crow – approximately 5
  • Fish Crow – approximately 10
  • Crow sp. – approximately 50. There were many crows but only calling in the proportions noted above.
  • Tree Swallow – approximately 50
  • Carolina Chickadee – 5
  • Tufted Titmouse – 1
  • Carolina Wren – 2
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet – 1
  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 4
  • Eastern Bluebird – 2
  • American Robin – 5
  • Northern Mockingbird – 1
  • European Starling – approximately 25
  • Cedar Waxwing – approximately 10
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler – approximately 100. The trees around the pond and wetlands were filled with these.
  • Eastern Towhee – 3
  • Field Sparrow – 1
  • Song Sparrow – approximately 25
  • Lincoln's Sparrow – 5
  • Swamp Sparrow – approximately 20
  • White-throated Sparrow – approximately 20
  • Northern Cardinal – 5
  • Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 40
  • American Goldfinch – approximately 10

The Stroud Preserve, 8 October 2013

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It has been quite a while since the last time I posted anything about birds at the Stroud Preserve. This is primarily due to the fact that I have not been birding there in quite a while. I spent much of the summer working on plants there. During much of the breeding season, my birding efforts were searching for birds that I thought might be here but couldn’t find, primarily woodland species like Hooded, Kentucky, Worm-eating and Prothonotary Warblers. I searched what I thought might be appropriate habitat listening and using playback to conclusively determine that they did not occur on the preserve. Looking for and not finding birds generally takes a lot of effort and produces a very boring species list.

The other complicating factor that has kept me away from the preserve since the first of August is that I secured a paying job after two years of unemployment. This was and especially difficult tasks because finding something in my career path (wildlife biology and ecology) is particularly difficult in Southeastern Pennsylvania. It is a position with a federal agency which has an intensive job training program in Maryland. So, I’ve been physically away from the area, which in turn, makes it hard to get out birding here. However, after seven weeks of steady work, I got furloughed. Such is life working in the public sector. It’s not the first time that I’ve had to deal with something like this and I’m sure it will not be the last.

The upside to being furloughed is that I got to go birding to day at the Stroud Preserve. I was hopeful that the storm front that passed through here yesterday would have brought waves of migrant birds to the east fork of the Brandywine Creek. And to this end, I was disappointed. The up side is that I did tally a new species for the preserve list! There were approximately 15 Dickcissels in the vegetation covering the old pond bed. These were the first Dickcissels that I have seen since returning to the east coast in August of 2011.

Other birds that were noteworthy were a pair of Kestrels and a single Merlin. The Kestrels were dive-bombing the Merlin. Once the Merlin was driven off, the Kestrels foraged along the fields on the north side of the preserve where the Bobolinks nest. There were also approximately 25 Snow Geese in two groups, in the first 15 followed by 10 more about 20 minutes later. They were both heading south-southwest.  

What I didn’t see today were waves of migrant birds; only three warblers totaling 6 individuals. For the most part it was pretty quiet today. I did have stellar views of the Yellow-throated Vireo which is always nice. Since I have been away from the area for the last seven weeks I don’t really have a good grip on whether any of the birds that I saw today are early or late or otherwise.

 

Start time: 8:55

End time: 1:10

Temp: 54-63º

Wind: 5-7 from the north

Skies: Clear

Species Total: 46

  • Black Vulture – 15
  • Turkey Vulture – 25
  • Snow Goose – 25
  • Canada Goose – 10
  • Mallard – 8
  • Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1
  • Cooper's Hawk – 3
  • Red-tailed Hawk – 4
  • American Kestrel – 2
  • Merlin – 1
  • Mourning Dove – 20
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker – 4
  • Downy Woodpecker – 4
  • Northern Flicker – 2
  • Pileated Woodpecker – 1, heard only
  • Eastern Wood-Pewee – 2
  • Yellow-throated Vireo – 1
  • Blue Jay – 18
  • American Crow – 30
  • Fish Crow – 2
  • Tree Swallow – 10
  • Carolina Chickadee – 15
  • Tufted Titmouse – 2
  • White-breasted Nuthatch – 3
  • Carolina Wren – 4
  • House Wren – 2
  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 2
  • Eastern Bluebird – 8
  • American Robin – 10
  • Gray Catbird – 5
  • Northern Mockingbird – 3
  • European Starling – 5
  • Cedar Waxwing – 55, in two flocks of approximately 25 and 30
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler – 1
  • Palm Warbler – 2
  • Common Yellowthroat – 3
  • Eastern Towhee – 10
  • Song Sparrow – 20
  • Lincoln's Sparrow – 5
  • Swamp Sparrow – 15
  • White-throated Sparrow – 10
  • Northern Cardinal – 4
  • Dickcissel – 15, New bird for the preserve! Approximate number as they were foraging in the vegetation of the old farm pond in a loose flock and were difficult to count. The most I observed at one time were 8. 
  • Red-winged Blackbird – 3
  • House Finch – 15
  • American Goldfinch – 25

Frederick, Maryland

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As most of you know, I started a new job in August with US Customs and Border Protection. It is an awesome job that utilizes all of my strengths and interest. Plus, it actually pays well with great benefits. Monday marked the sixth full week of work there and my third week of training at the USDA Professional Development Center in Fredrick, Maryland. And Tuesday marked the first day of furlough on account of the conservative side of the House of Representative having their heads up their anal orifices. 

So, today, six weeks and two days in to my employment, I find myself at home with Mary and the kids, which ain't all bad. Since I got to Frederick I have been trying to find the time to do a blog post on life there and now I seem to have found the time to do just that. I do expect to go right back to Frederick when the intestinal obstructions are cleared as we still have approximately seven weeks of training to complete. For now I will enjoy my mini vacation and being with my family.

Frederick is an interesting little town. Actually, it isn't that little. The metropolitan Frederick area has a population of about 66,000 people. It lies about 50 miles west of Baltimore and about 50 north-northwest of Washington DC. Established in 1745, it is an old town with a rich history. It served as a major cross road in both the American Revolution and the Civil War. The town is the final resting place for Frances Scott Key. In fact, my daily bike commute goes past the Mount Olivet Cemetery where his family plot is located.  

Frederick is the home of Fort Detrick and just outside of town you can find the presidential retreat Camp David. The town is in  Maryland's piedmont between the Appalachain Mountains and Chesapeake Bay and outer coast. Ten miles to the south is the Potomac River. Along the rive is the C&O Canal bike trail which runs from Washington DC to Pittsburg. I would love to take a few days off of training and ride the the entire trail, but since my training is a condition of my employment, I'll wait to do that some other time. My first weekend there I did manage to ride about 40 miles of the trail up to Harper's Ferry and back which was fantastic. 

Downtown Frederick is pretty neat. It has a vibrant downtown area with many shops and places to eat and there are many old and interesting buildings to see. There is a canal that runs through town that I thought must be linked to the C&O Canal in some way, or at least harken back to a bygone era when goods moved easier on little barges than on the stiff wheels of a wagon. When I googled the Frederick canal I did not find a thing about it. I ended up asking one of the instructors at our training center about it's history and he told me it was built in the late 1970's for flood control. Not the answer I was expecting. When I googled "Frederick flood" I did come up with many images showing Frederick underwater. So in the end it seems as if the Frederick Canal had more influence from a civil engineer than an urban designer. Either way, I found that the canal adds lots of charm to the downtown area. 

We are living in a Marriott Suites Hotel and the rooms are actually quite nice. Most of us share a suite with a roommate, however, we all have separate bedrooms. My roommate is Jake. Jake is from Utah but his CBP duty station the Blaine border crossing in Washington State where the Peace Arch is located. He is also a botanist, so we have much to talk about. The hotel is on the south side of town and our training center is on the north side of town. We are provided vans to get to get to and from the training center, however, I brought my bicycle with me and ride it to the training center every day. It is only about 6 miles each way and only takes me about 20 to 25 minutes to get there. I occasionally stop a the Starbuck's Coffee in downtown Frederick which adds a little time to my ride, but it sure makes me happy.  

My training program is demanding, fun and interesting. Our class is made up of 35 people from all over the United States, and I am certain that they will all be a new set of life long friends. I especially like the diversity of our group. Perhaps half of our class speaks english as a second language or are bilingual. There are even a few southerners in the class so I can speak my native tongue - Southernese. However, with no other Philadelphians in the class I generally keep that tongue to myself as it is a lexicon that most adults generally find offensive. I don't even know what you call that tongue. How about "Yo, youse got sumtin to say, din say it", or how about just "Yo?" Yes, that's it, I speak Yo!

So, like, yo, if'n youse want, click on the word "here" over dare -----> here  and check out sum shots of Frederick and my friends and stuff. Aright? Aright den, dats what I'm talkin'bout. 

 

The Sun Sets on Summer

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It's that time of year again where a great moan can be heard across our great land as kids are pushed out of bed and shoved onto a bus and taken back to the place where joy is surgically removed from their being. For parents on the other hand it is the one time of year that we feel really good about paying our property taxes. Some parents are so happy to get their kids out of their hair for a while that you could probably get them to pay a little extra.  

Yes, the kids are back in School. Both Russell and Mary are working, which is an oddity. It is actually the first time that Mary and I have been fully employed at the same time since we were married. Our first full paychecks come next week. It will be nice to shovel money into the hole instead of shoveling it out. One difficulty that my new job has for us is that I am in Maryland for training until Thanksgiving! I'll post some photos of Fredrick, Maryland when I get the chance. 

Our final weeks before school started were mostly lazy. They involved playing with the puppy, soccer games and a visit to the zoo. Check out photos of it all here.  

 

Keith's Putting on the Miles

This is our nephew Keith. He is known for being...well, let's just put it out there, silly. This is a photo of him a few years ago in his beard-tastic phase. We've been told that he had something to do with the bringing Lilly into this world (sitting on Carrisa's lap). We aren't completely buying it as Lilly is quite possibly the cutest baby girl in the world and we can't figure out how Keith did that. 

Silliness aside, Keith has been on a mission since Mom-mom passed away. He's taken to walking great distances very summer to raise funds for breast cancer. Sixty miles to be exact. If you could support him in his endeavor he would certainly appreciate it. Lilly will be happy to pop down a few Cheerios as well. Click here to donate to his page. 

Good luck Keith! 

While we were at the beach...

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...some one turned 15 years old. Holy cow, time does fly by.  

One of the nice things about picking up and moving across the county is that all of your possession get picked up and reorganized. I use the term "reorganized" rather loosely. You look in a box of stuff and find that long lost sock that you've been looking for the last six and a half years.  

One of the things that I found a few months ago was a little tiny Rite-in-the-Rain note book. In it were these notes from August 1998. 

AUG 2

0300 - Contractions began

0500 - Called nurse. Told Mary to take a hot bath which she did. When contractions get 4 minutes apart call the hospital.

2130 - Went to hospital. cervix was not dilated at all. Midwife gave Mary morphine so she might sleep.  

2400 - Went home. 

AUG 3

0230 - Mary slept good for a hour and half, then woke up vomiting. Was up the rest of the night. 

0700 - Called midwife. Told us to come in for a checkup.  

0745 - Christine checked Mary's cervix. She was about 1 cm. She gave Mary a drug for nausea and we went home. Need to call back at 1100. 

1100 - Called midwife. Mary was resting much better now. Midwife asked us to come back to hospital.  

1230 - Got admitted. Got blood samples and such for first serval hours. Around 1450 Mary took a whirl pool bath which really relaxed her. Came back to room and we both napped until about 1530.  

1550 - Christine broke Mary's water and gave her potussin. to induce labor. 

1600 - Contractions became much more intense. 

1730 - Epidural given. 

1830 - Epidural worked great. Mary is sound a sleep. Even with contractions. 

1930 - Diana, the nurse left, and Mary Lou the other nurse came on duty.  

2310 - I saw the baby's head. 

AUG 4

0030 - Emily born. 8lbs 12 oz, 21 inches. 7 hours labor.  

It seems like just yesterday. Happy Birthday Emily! Check out these photos of how to give your big sister a birthday kiss. 

 

Rehoboth Beach, DE

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As I mentioned in earlier post, we were at Rehoboth Beach for two weeks. Pop-pop got us a nice condominium that was only a few minutes walk from the beach. For the most part, the weather was pretty good while we were here, although we did have solid rain for a couple of days. 

I enjoyed cycling down there as the landscape is flat as a pancake. The only real challenge at times was the wind, which almost always blows towards the north. The ride from Rehoboth Beach to Ocean City Maryland was about 20 miles. The ride down was always in a stiff headwind. However, coming back was awesome! Mary, William and Paddy spent as much time of the beach as they could while Emily stayed at the condo and read books all day. Timmy and Dotty, Kenny and Violetta and Kevin came down for visits while we were there. All in all it was very relaxing. Check out photos of the trip here

Meet Charlie!

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Somewhere along the way I must have said something to the effect that "if and when I get a job we can talk about getting a dog!" Of course this served absolutely no incentive for me to find a job and quite frankly I don't remember ever saying such a thing.  

Now, Mary and the kids remember things quite differently. What they heard me say was "if *** **** I get a job we can **** ***** get**** a dog!" 

Ether way, the day after we returned from the beach, Mary and the kids disappeared for a few hours and returned with this little fluffy thing! As a person that has spent their life studying wildlife I would say that based on current observations and other recent data we now own a dog.  

I have been told that his name is Charlie and that he is eight weeks old. Genetically, he appears to from a pack with a very high effective population size (layman translation: he's a mutt!). He was rescued from a litter that was abandoned along with the female. He is darn cute and a very low keyed and well behaved puppy. He is responding to training very well. 

If the truth must be told, during the two weeks we were at Rehoboth Beach, Mary and William spent the majority of their time reading books by the Dog Whisper and searching the internet for puppies, how to chose the right one and how to train them. I will say that he sure seems to make William (along with the rest of the neighborhood) pretty happy!

Check out more photos of Charlie and the kids here.  

 

Finally some good news from the home front

I haven’t made mention anything about my search for employment, primarily because there hasn’t been anything to talk about. We knew when we left Washington State and moved across the continent to Southeastern Pennsylvania that finding work for me would be a challenge.

In my search for a job I applied to well over 100 positions. I don’t know exactly what I applied for, as I quit keeping track of them after the 84th one. Some of these were positions where I met the minimum qualifications and really didn’t have high expectations for, but I figured I had nothing to lose by applying. Most positions, however, I was highly qualified for with a graduate degree and around 20 years experience.

Of all these I had only 3 interviews, all three with the state of Delaware. I believe all the interviews went very well, but in the end, I was not the one selected for the position.

The 37th application that I sent out was back on 28 March 2012. This was for a position with position as an Agriculture Specialist with US Customs and Border Protection, which is part of Homeland Security. This position was a very good fit with my education and work experience. I figured I had a pretty good shot at that one. Also,  on 12 June 2012, I applied for a position with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service as a meat and poultry inspector. Not as great a fit, but I did meet the minimum qualifications. Both of these positions were with federal agencies and were permanent positions and had full benefits.

On 29 June 2013, I got an email from Customs saying that my application scored an 80 and that 70 was passing. It didn’t give me any other reference as to what this meant, so I had no idea if this was good or bad or what my chances were. I ultimately figured it was good, as I wasn’t rejected from the process. Then on 13 October 2012 I got an email saying that I was a tentative selectee for the position and the pre-employment process of background check, drug test, health screening, so on and so forth, would begin. I also learned at that time that I was selected out of 2000 applicants! Oinga-boinga.

Also in mid November of 2012, I got a letter from USDA stating that I was being considered for a meat inspector position in southern New Jersey. However, they had changed the position from permanent with full benefits to a temporary hourly position with no benefits. When I first applied, the commute to New Jersey would have been just barely worth it if it included health care. Without health care, this position simply wasn’t worth leaving my current position as a stay at home dad, so I turned it down.

Days, weeks and months clicked past. Just when I’d get to the point that the Custom’s position was slipping away, I’d get a message from them with a question about this or that or that they were moving on to the next step in the process. In what seemed like measurements on the geologic time scale, I passed the qualification verification, drug test, background check, etc. By the first of March I was left with only the health screening.

Let me tell you, when you are over 50, there is nothing but questions about your health. In short, I made over four trips to the doctor for this, that, and the other. Questions arose about injuries that I sustained over 30 years ago when I was a young gymnast. As aggravating as this was for me to deal with, it was probably more so for my doctor who had to address and document all these questions.

Finally at long last, on 22 July 2013, a checkmark appeared by the medical review part of the pre-employment process. Everything was completed! I got a letter stating such and that I was now being referred to the “scheduling unit.” What this really meant was that I was entering into another period of uncertainty because I know I would not be scheduled for anything unless there was a funded vacancy available for me to fill. Knowing that our legislators currently have no interest in making our government function smoothly a funded vacancy could occur tomorrow or a year from now.

Another big unknown would be if I got a final job offer where would the Duty Station be? I applied for the position because it said there was a position available in Philadelphia, assumedly at the airport. This would be a very reasonable commute from West Chester. However, applications for the position are to a region, in my case, to the Mid Atlantic, which stretches from JKF in New York to Richmond Virginia and west to Charleston, West Virginia. If a job offer was for Richmond Virginia, then all of this could be a wasted effort. I had not option other than to sit back and wait. Something I have become very good at.

In the meantime, on 3 June 2013, I got an email from USDA saying that I was being considered for another position as a meat inspector, this one in a kosher poultry processing plant in Birdsboro, PA. Shortly thereafter I had a telephone interview with the supervisor of the position. On 18 June, I got a letter offering me the position. Like the other position, this one was temporary and had no benefits. However, with Mary at home for the summer to keep the kids and the uncertainty of the Customs position, I accepted this one as something to do while I wait. Plus, I think it somewhat ironic that I got my graduate degree in ornithology and all those years studying and watching birds, that it would all culminate with a job as a chicken checker in Birdsboro, PA. What were the chances of such a thing?

Like the Customs position, this one had a pre-employment process. I assumed it would be somewhat less rigorous since national security is not involved, however, like the Customs position, this one had a health screening. And as before, it involved the body of a 50 year old male. Ergo, the process began to stretch out. Again, my poor doctor had to respond to what seemed to be an endless number of questions. Finally, yesterday at noon, my doctor emailed me and said that the final set of health forms were being faxed to USDA.

With that, I was back to waiting. Waiting for everything. We happen to be on vacation at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. With nothing left to worry about I set out for a bike ride down the Delaware coastline. I stopped along the way to look at grasses and sedges and other interesting plants grow in coastal saline environments. At 2:00 PM, as I was standing in ankle deep mud with a handful of interesting sedges, I got a phone call.

I am happy to say that on Monday, 19 August, one year, four months, and 22 days after I applied, I start work at the Philadelphia Airport. It looks like my chance at chicken checkin’ in Birdsboro is behind me.

In the end, this was the one position that I felt was a great fit for me and only one that I really had hoped I would get as it is a great continuation of my career that I began in Washington State. The pay is good and there is great opportunity for advancement. I look forward getting started!

Russell

 

The rest of the summer

The entrance to the Barns Foundation. 

The entrance to the Barns Foundation. 

Besides visiting North Carolina we have been quite busy with other stuff. Back toward the end of June Mary singed us up for a volunteer day at the Chester County Food Bank where we helped removed stones from a potato field in Spring Manor County Park. 

Spring Manor is a working farm where the produce is all contributed to the food bank. We were astonished to learn that while Chester County, Pennsylvania, is one of the wealthiest counties in the country, there are still over 80,000 residents here that go hungry every day. Being able to contribute to an effort to help eliminate this was a great experience. We wanted to sign up for more volunteer sessions but hey have more volunteers than they know what to do with. So, we may not be able to do that again until the fall. 

Also at the end of June I turned 30 for the 21st time. I had a nice birthday where the Fozards came over for cake and ice cream. The following day I went to see the Union play Dallas FC to a 2-2 draw, which is not a loss, which was a nice birthday present for me. Even nicer was the fact that my friend Lee Pavorsky and his son Jake joined Steve and I for the game. Lee and I go way back to Rome Italy where we shared many great adventures. His son Jake is a budding sports writer. See some of his work here and here.  

Shortly after my birthday it was our neighbor Miranda Fozard's birthday. Mary treated both Miranda and I to a day at the new Barns Foundation galleries in Philly. If you are not familiar with this fantastic collection of early twentieth century collection of art, you should be. It is fantastic. The collection use to be in Lower Marion but was recently relocated to Center City Philadelphia under much controversy. I was lucky in that I got to know the collection quite well when I was going to school at the Tyler School of Art. I have to say that former location was special and unique, the new building in Center City is world class. If you come to Philly go see it. You won't be sorry. 

We will be at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for the next two weeks enjoying a pleasant summer vacation with Mary's family. I'll update the blog with new and exciting news when we get back!  

See photos of the rest of the summer here.  

Russell

 

Down on the farm with Grandma and Grandpa

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Back around the first of the month we all went to visit Grandma Linda and Grandpa Gene. Mary, Emily and I stayed for about a week. We came home, but left William and Paddy with Grandma and Grandpa. Cousin Ian came for a visit was well, so all of the  grandsons were there all at once. 

It was a nice stay excepting for all the rain, of which there was a lot! The trade off for all the rain was that the temperature was really cool. I also got to visit with my dear friend Laura Thomas that I grew up with in Fort Mill. She just happened to be at a potter's retreat in Spruce Pine the week we were at Mom and Dad's house. Mary, Emily and I too the opportunity to go visit her while we were there. It was great to she her after more than thirty years apart! It also rained like the dickens on that day as well. Check out photos from our visit here.