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Taking the Next Step
A Birds in
Forested Landscapes site coordinator shares I remember the first thrush song I ever heard. Actually, I was not in the woods at the time or even outdoors. The unforgettable song was coming from my phonograph. Tucked in the back pocket of the book, Song and Garden Birds of North America, I had found a small set of birdsong records, produced by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology six years before I was born. Perhaps you remember the following words, written by Lab founder Arthur Allen and narrated by Library of Natural Sounds pioneer Peter Paul Kellogg: "Here are the voices of America’s finest songsters, the thrushes, noted for their purity of tone and depth of feeling," said Kellogg as he introduced the sounds of thrushes singing on the slopes of Mount Greylock in Massachusetts. Today, I’m a Birds in Forested Landscapes (BFL) site coordinator based at the Kalamazoo Na-ture Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This past October, on the suggestion of several local volunteers, I invited experienced and prospective participants in southwestern Michigan to the nature center for a postseason BFL volunteer gathering. Despite a heavy autumn downpour, 15 people arrived. As a group, we shared insights about BFL; watched a slide show; looked at study skins of accipiters, thrushes, and Cerulean Warblers; and learned about local volunteer opportunities, including BFL and the Cerulean Warbler Atlas Project. When the rain let up, we walked the forested slopes of Cooper’s Glen and practiced conducting the BFL protocol with the field tapes of accipiters and thrushes. Listening to the Wood Thrush notes on the field tape reminded me again of the vinyl records turning on my phonograph and thrush songs rolling up the slopes of Mount Greylock. During the walk, most people loosened up and began to ask questions. Several volunteers suggested holding a spring training workshop to show the ropes to new volunteers. I believe this would be successful, and I encourage other site coordinators to get together like this, before, during, and after the field season. Arthur Allen’s and Peter Kellogg’s set of birdsong records is still inspirational. As an experienced volunteer or site coordinator, you can continue in their spirit by sharing your time and passion for birds with someone new. A volunteer workshop next spring, a canoe trip with a friend, a walk in the woods with a neighbor, or a cassette tape shared with a child are simple actions that lead to communities of people inspired with environmental ethics in their hearts. And there is nothing more inspirational than the songs of the thrushes with "their purity of tone and depth of feeling." The BFL staff thanks the Kalamazoo Nature Center for its efforts and would like to urge more BFL site coordinators and participants to get further involved with recruiting and assisting local participants. If you are interested in expanding your role, please let us know how we can help. |
