Hello, I have had a poor ear for bird songs even before age has lessened my hearing. So, like for many others, the Merlin app has been a godsend; it reminds me of songs and connects me to birds that I know but got rusty on and also points out birds that aren’t so uncommon but I’m not as familiar with. Yesterday on Bald hill road extension, I listened to Indigo Buntings. Later, I drove through Shindagin Hollow and stopping along the way, I recorded an apparent Canada warbler and a Hooded warbler and further along, a Yellow-throated Vireo. Hearing the Hooded was the most gratifying song to me personally because I've still never seen one and I could hear in real time what I’ve always missed identifying. This morning in the Hawthorne Orchard, I also enjoyed hearing Baltimore Orioles and a Wood Thrush among other cool birds. So, thank you Merlin app developers. You have produced an amazing product.
------------------------------------ Regarding Carl’s post. One takeaway from his post is whether by pursuing structural changes to our energy policies so quickly, there are negative consequences. This is a worthwhile question to ask because we know in fact there are both societal and environmental trade-offs. These are costs worth bearing apparently, but also worth acknowledging at least from time to time - the disposal of worn-out solar panels and toxic electric batteries, the problems with massive lithium mining, the over-reliance on renewables that may have led to deaths in the Texas ice storm, etc. Frankly, I’m glad that Carl is willing to be candid in this community. Change is upsetting without information and unless there is conversation, people won’t understand why society is changing so rapidly, e.g. – the NYS law that will essentially ban natural gas stoves in new construction beginning in 2026, etc. When legislation moves quickly and seemingly out of the hands of ordinary citizens and in the hands of intellectuals and politicians, it’s possible some folks fall behind in the conversation which creates social fragmentation. Toyota chairman, Akio Toyoda, said last December that a ‘silent majority’ in the auto industry questioned whether EVs are “really OK to have as a single option. But they think it’s the trend so they can’t speak loudly.” This is the company that brought us the Prius. If the chairman of the company that brought us the Prius is worried about rubbing up against progressive environmental orthodoxy, then how does the everyday person feel? Years ago I shared a post where I observed 3 crows land and circle a groundhog in my backyard and instead of simply being told, no, they’re never carnivorous (the behavior was odd and happened repeatedly over several days) I was shouted down by someone who thought I was anti-bird or anti-crow when I was merely asking wondering if the crows would be aggressive in the right/wrong circumstances. For this reason, it sometimes feels there are folks who in their zealousness towards our planet take it a step in the wrong direction and wear their beliefs as a form of piety which is unhelpful. Don’t be upset; be compassionate and get moving. Good birding. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
