Why Promoting Research is Important...

 Our friends(really!) Kathy and Tim Krynak on the local news!

So many people want to bulldoze what's left of our natural habitats, cut down the trees for lumber, slash and burn to plant crops and drill holes in every empty space through out our park systems without ever giving a thought to what may be living in those places.

There's so much we don't know about this planet and the creatures that live on it. Without people like Kathy and Tim, doing so much on their own, we may never know what else we share this planet with! Tim works for the Cleveland Metroparks as well as being the president of the Las Gralarias Foundation and Kathy is a noted biologist and frog researcher working on her PhD. In their "free" time when visiting Reserva Las Gralarias near Quito, Ecuador, they scour the creeks and forests for reptiles, birds and amphibians.

They recently discovered a new species they've nicknamed the "Punk Rocker" frog. On one of their collecting trips they saw this very tiny frog that had spines on it. Not knowing what it was, they took it back to the reserve planning to do further studies of it the next day. In the morning they checked the frog and it had no spines and they thought they brought back the wrong one. When it was placed on moss, the spines slowly came out and they knew it was something quite different!

None of this is possible without funding and donations from regular people like us. If you love this fragile planet, please find a group such as Las Gralarias and donate to them and promote research around the globe before it's too late.

Thank you!

 The famous Frog!

Click HERE for more info on this unusual frog!

 Tim's series of photos showing its metamorphosis.

 What a beautiful area to visit!

 There are so many mysteries hidden in the rainforest.

 The Doodles looked under every leave during our visit, but we found no frogs...I think we were too busy with the birds...and not getting lost!

 We saw many hummingbirds like this Fawn-breasted Brilliant.

 I wonder how many frogs I just walked past...

 The Giant Antpitta, the bird of the trip!

Next visit we shall search for frogs with Kathy and Tim!

Just Humming along...

The little guys are White-bellied Woodstars and the "large" one is a  Buff-tailed Coronet.

A few years ago, the BBC sent a film crew to visit our friends at Reserva Las Gralarias in Ecuador. They were working on a new series, already shown in the U.K., titled "Life Story" and narrated by Sir David Attenborough. The second episode called "Hummingbird Fight Club" was filmed there. Click on the title to see a preview.

Las Gralarias is an amazing place to visit with birds that you'll never see up here in our freezing climate...they even had a few of our warbly friends when we visited! I still think about it whenever I get chilled to the bone up here and look forward to returning one day. We owe so many thanks to Jane Lyons, Edison Buenano and Tim and Kathy Krynak for making our stay do fantastic. Now that I have a better lens and a little(very little) more skill, I may even be able to get more shots in focus! They just move soooo fast!

 Andean Emerald...truly a jewel!

The feisty Booted Racket-tail...

Buff-tailed Coronet, you can tell because his tail is buff. 

Clever...

 Buff-winged Starfrontlet, all puffed up due to the rain.

It is a rainforest after all!

Fawn-breasted Brilliant.

 Fawn-breasted Brilliant, I think he actually made a sound!

 Great Sapphirewing or Green-crowned Brilliant...hmmm...which one was it?

 Now this is a Great Sapphirewing...I think...

This is a Green-crowned Woodnymph with a White-whiskered Hermit pretending to be the boogey man.

It's a Sapphire-vented Puffleg...cause he has puffy legs of course!

 Shining Sunbeam.

He truly was one a wet afternoon of jungle birding.

Yep, that bill really is that long on this Sword-billed Hummingbird!

 From base of the bill to the tail tip, this species averages 5.5" in length, not counting the 4" bill!

 Velvet-purple Coronet was my favorite hummingbird of our trip.

They looked gorgeous in the rain, very soft and velvety!

Violet-tailed Sylphs have crazy long tails to impress the ladies...

The things that men do for love...

White-whiskered Hermit...hey! That's like me when it gets below zero here!

If you value these hummers and all of the birds that live in Ecuador and the many that migrate to our neck of the woods in the spring, consider helping out the Las Gralarias Foundation. 

Every little bit helps!

Thanks!

Thank You...

Today I'm' thankful  for all those little warblies that sit still long enough for me to get a nice photo...

 I'm also thankful for great friends like Kim Kaufman of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory for all they do to promote conservation and the love of nature.

 We need to also be thankful for all of the Audubon groups like Western Cuyahoga Audubon for their ongoing support and protection of the Important Bird Areas.

When I thanked Kim for  promoting conservation, I also need to be thankful for all the young people that have heard the call of the wild.

Support groups like The Ohio Young Birders Club!

Better not forget The Doodles for putting up with me!

And the lovely birds that have visited our gardens and brought a little joy and a sense of wonder to our lives.

I am very thankful for our friends at the Las Gralarias Foundation for helping to save wild areas in Ecuador for our feathered friends.

There are groups like this the world over that need our support.

Thanks to all of the bird banders and researchers that strive to help and preserve the birds that we love so much.

 Our friends at all the the parks and refuges that are struggling to protect a little bit of nature through all of the government cuts and inane laws need thanks and support as well.

 On behalf of the birds on this Thanksgiving, I thank the insects. Yummmmm...

Gifties...

 Oops...did you know Christmas is almost here? And I haven't done any shopping...as usual. Oh dear.
Actually, me and The Doodles don't do the giftie thing any longer. We decided a few years ago to use that money to help preserve habitat for our birdie buddies. So...I thought I'd share a few ideas with you. There are so many organizations out there that help birds and wildlife to pick from, these are our favorites.

Number one on our list is the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. Kim Kaufman and those folks are amazing! Bird banding, the Biggest Week In American Birding, the Ohio Young Birders Club and all of their education programs done from that tiny building...they deserve all the help anyone can afford!

The Las Gralarias Foundation of Ecuador is doing wonderful work in research and habitat restoration in the cloud forest of South America. They have saved many acres of land in the Mindo Valley, discovered new species of frogs and butterflies and even put up with me and The Doodles for a week of amazing birding(over 350 species!) None of that work comes for free you know...

Get a membership in the Cornell Lab, help with the Great Backyard Bird Count, there's so many ways to help in citizen science projects.

 The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds started in 1889 and is still going strong with wonderful preserves all over the UK. We were fortunate enough to spend time visiting a great friend and birding in a number of these preserves. More great work to save our feathered friends!

 The ABA has been reorganized and is bigger and better than ever. With memberships, the Birders Exchange, field trips, Young Birder events, great magazines and even a book shop, the ABA is worth looking into.

...and speaking of books...

 I would feel bad if I didn't at least mention a few gifts that your favorite bird buddy might enjoy! This has been a great year for new guides, especially The Warbler Guide (my most favoritest book ever!) and the Crossley ID Guides to Birds and Raptors.

 

 Princeton University Press has also issued a number of books on birds that may soon disappear such as The Worlds Rarest Birds and The Unfeathered Bird. They also have a great selection of fields guides for any country or island you could imagine going to for the winter...I'm dreaming right now.

 And then there's always the simple gift of taking care of the birds in your own little world...

 Merry Christmas!

Frog Heaven

Me and the Doodles with Kathy and Tim Krynak, "Frog Finders Extraordinaire!"

On Friday night we went to the Rocky River Nature Center to see Tim's program on the frogs of Reserva Las Gralarias in Ecuador. Tim is a naturalist for the Cleveland Metroparks and the president of the Las Gralarias Foundation. The amount of time and dedication Kathy and Tim give is amazing!

They visit Ecuador a few times a year to do research and surveys of the many frogs and other wildlife that inhabit this endangered area. One of the frogs they've discovered on the property was featured in National Geographic. In addition to working with a number of universities and research groups, they spend time with the local children in the Mindo valley, teaching them about the wildlife that surrounds them.

They have another trip planned this June and our friends Joanne and Terry Gorges will be traveling with them to discover the wonders of this great place! There are still a few opening left for this trip and I would HIGHLY recommend contacting Tim and arranging a place with their tour.

Some of Tim's excellent photography is featured on their display board.

The frogs in my neighborhood aren't as exciting as Ecuador's...butt...

This Leopard Frog in our pond liked the fountain...maybe a little too much...

Just waiting for a bug...

The Doodles, Jane Lyons, founder of Las Gralarias, and me ruining the photo as usual.

Our buddies, Terry and Joanne, ready for Ecuador!

Oh yeah, you can see a few of the over 1500 birds while you're looking for frogs!

Masked Trogon by the way...

This Pale-mandibled Aracari would like to meet you!

This photo was taken along one of the trails at Las Gralarias. That Puma has caught a breakfast of Deer.

Visit the Las Gralarias site for more of the wonders of this endangered area and while you're there, maybe help them out a little!

Thanks!