Pine siskin coming in for a landingThe "Daily Updates Mailing List" module on our site has been failing intermittently which has caused many subscribers to miss getting the update in their email as of late. The software on Bearstudy.org requires an upgrade in order to fix the module. The webmaster will be working on this tomorrow and possibly into tomorrow evening. The faulty module is currently shut down so this update will not go out via email tonight and Bearstudy.org will be down some of the day tomorrow for upgrading.
Pine siskinsThe up side is that this should end the frustration that many of you have had lately regarding the updates. We’ve wondered why that was happening, and the webmaster believes this will solve it. Super!
Pine siskinOut the window, the flock of redpolls has turned into a smaller flock of pine siskins (Spinus pinus)—probably named by a poet. In a couple of the pictures, they are sitting on the hat of Manny the Mannequin’s twin that dresses with a locally made Wintergreen hat. The hat was designed for the dogsled trip that owner Paul Shurke made with Will Steger to the north pole some 30 years ago. Birds get used to coming to it for sunflower seed hearts. I remember some years ago when I stood where the mannequin had stood and 17 siskins landed on me at once. I had seeds on my head, shoulders, hands, arms, etc.
I look forward to Black Bear Field Course participants having close-up experiences with birds by the mannequin this mid-July through August. Fourteen slots are open yet at http://www.bearstudy.org/website/field-study-courses.html. Things are going well enough in the legislature that close-up bear experiences are a certainty.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center