Attractions of Bird Study

The only way really to know the birds is to study them in the field in their natural environment. Bird-study furnishes one of the most attractive hobbies. The pleasure that birds furnish in this way makes their aesthetic value quite as important as their economic value. Bird ac­tivities pass through so many changes in the course of a year that there is no opportunity for bird­study to become monotonous.

Then, too, bird-study takes one out into the fields, in the open, so that the setting in which bird-study is carried on is in itself attractive. While the individuals of a species change, the species remains about the same to us, and thus we come to associate with certain birds some of our pleasantest reminiscences. People and conditions in our former homes may change, but as we return to visit these scenes of our younger days, the bird life remains unchanged to welcome us and remind us of former days.

While special trips to the woods and water to look for birds offer many pleasant hours, yet, perhaps, the greatest pleasure from bird-study comes through the observation of the birds found around one's home, as one sits on the porch and watches the wrens and bluebirds rear their young in the houses pro­vided for them, or sees the robins and flickers that dot the lawn in search of insects, or hears the bird chorus that swells through the open window as one awakens in the early spring morn. The pleasure thus derived is the lasting, unconscious enjoyment that becomes an intimate part of one's life.

Birds also appeal to the-imagination on account of the annual cycle of life changes through which they pass over and over again year after year. It seems as though every spring birds were reborn and lived their lives over again, so that youth seems forever renewed with the return of the first birds.

There are all stages of attainment possible to suit every condition, from the identifying of a few birds in,the field up to the most careful study of bird hab­its, which may occupy one's entire time. One of the most satisfactory methods of studying bird life is to observe close at hand in one's yard the birds that may be attracted there by nesting-houses, foun­tains, and food.

Yahoo! News Search Results for bird study
Yahoo! News Search Results for bird study

Study blames gulls, not storks, for bringing in bird flu
A study has found that the bird that carried the influenza virus H5N1 into Thailand was a gull, not the openbill stork.
Free as a Bird?
MU researchers find that man-made development affects bird flight patterns and populations.
Ground features affect bird flight paths
COLUMBIA, Mo., Aug. 31 (UPI) -- "Free as a bird" may not be as free as it sounds, researchers say, as a study suggest what's on the ground greatly affects where birds fly. Bird - Recreation - Bird flight - Biology - United States
UCF study: Is our weather going to extremes?
UCF study: Is our weather going to extremes?
Study discovers why females fare better than males after traumatic injury
A study published in the September 2010 issue of SHOCK by Dr. Ed W. Childs and colleagues at Scott & White Healthcare looks at how female versus male rats fared after suffering a trauma and subsequent hemorrhagic shock who were given Estradiol (estrogen). In the study, the Estradiol prevented vascular permeability following hemorrhagic shock.
UCF climate study: Is our weather getting wacky?
A study by UCF points to more extreme weather I f the Australian pine and the cabbage palmetto are to be believed, Florida's winters and springs have grown a bit cooler during the past half century ? even as the state's summers and autumns have heated up a touch.
FIRST SHOTS: Mideast peace talks, ?911 ? I need cocoa?
Welcome to "First Shots," a daily roundup of early-bird news and a preview of what's to come. ? Israeli and Palestinian leaders begin peace talks in Washington. (New York Times) ? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify at a hearing of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission as part of its inquiry into the roots [... ]
Full study of water issue promised, but will take 'months'
Following the lifting of the boil-water advisory for White Rock this morning, Epcor, Fraser Health and city officials are promising a full study of how E. coli got into the water supply and how the crisis was handled.
Teacher on bird-watching expedition
Todd Menadier, a high school science and sustainable energy teacher at Bloomfield Tech High School in Bloomfield, joined an Earthwatch research team for a 10-day expedition in Wyoming to help scientists understand how the local bird population is affected by land development and climate change.
Man-made Development Affects Bird Flight Patterns, Populations
It may seem like birds have the freedom to fly wherever they like, but researchers at the University of Missouri have shown that what's on the ground has a great effect on where a bird flies. This information could be used by foresters and urban planners to improve bird habitats that would help maintain strong bird populations."Movement of individuals influences nearly every aspect of ...