Most notable for me birding-wise in 2008 was my inadvertent big year in my home city. I had 169 species, blowing away any previous year’s total. I got my last city bird New Year’s Eve day, an American Black Duck at the Ford Rouge Plant.

The Rouge — besides being an amazing place in a sort of post-apocalyptic industrial way — is good for waterfowl in winter because the water around the plant stays open. Some of the ship turning basin is visible from the road, but good birds are more often found from inside the plant. I get in with one of my best friends, a city cop who is also an avid birder. A lot of Black-crowned Night-Herons winter inside the plant in a small, sorry-looking discharge pond that never freezes. We counted 27 tucked in the phragmites around the pond. My friend also took us into the Ford Proving Grounds, where we tried for Lapland Longspur or Snowy Owl. Sometimes there are surprises in the wide open spaces enclosed by the test tracks, no luck yesterday, though.

The total number of birds I’ve seen in my city is 217.  New for me this year were Horned Grebe, White-winged Scoter (which was new on the city checklist, which stands at 250 species), Virginia Rail, and Long-eared Owl.

• New life birds: 63. Most were from my trip to Panama last January.
• Total life birds: 974.
• Total ABA-area birds: 578.
• Total state birds: 310 (up two, Black Scoter and Franklin’s Gull)
• Total birds in my home county: 257 (good year for county birds for me, adding Eared Grebe, Black Scoter, Short-billed Dowitcher, Red Knot, Franklin’s Gull, and Bohemian Waxwing).
• Total birds at work: 188 (new this year, Merlin and Long-eared Owl)
• Yard birds: 135 (new this year, Summer Tanager).

I’ve done this summary the last few years. Here are links to 2005, 2006, and 2007.

As for predictions for 2009, my big scores will hinge upon a planned trip to Nicaragua in March. Kingfisher and I will be doing some bird banding near Matagalpa and insect surveys for the owners of at least two eco-lodges. This is our second attempt to arrange a Nica trip, so we hope this one works out.

I wish you many good birds — and peace and joy — in 2009. Happy New Year.

After losing Kady, my husband and I knew we wanted to get another cat. We thought it would take some time to find an adult cat with just the right personality to go along with Sophie. Our local shelter is less than two miles from home, so a couple weeks ago we stopped by. There are so many cats waiting to be adopted that this shelter has four trailers in the parking lot which are outfitted exclusively for cats, and there are about 8 or 10 cats in each of them. Not only do you know these cats get along with other cats, but you get a much better idea of their real personalities, and you get to interact with them. As fate would have it, in the last trailer we met a cat that immediately captured our attention. She was a dilute tortie just under two years old that the shelter people had named Cookie. Here she is at the shelter. Note extremely cute nose.

I went back three times visiting Cookie. This seemed like a bit of a rush, but since we had no holiday plans (or decorations) and lots of time off, the timing seemed good to bring a new cat home. And what better gift for this cat, who was brought to the shelter last fall as a stray, adopted once, and returned a couple months ago when the owners couldn’t keep her. So early this week, she became the newest member of our family.

Kingfisher’s office is converted into temporary new cat sanctuary. She was quiet and well-behaved on the way home, and explored every corner of the room when I let her out. She is very affectionate and sweet, but not quite as clingy as Sophie — just what we were hoping for. We wanted to introduce the cats slowly, after the new cat felt comfortable.

Of course, there’s nothing a cat hates more than a closed door. When I’m in the room with the new cat, I get the Sophie symphony on the other side of the door. If the new cat was alone, there is likely to be much scratching and whining at the threshold. After a day, the two cats were allowed to sniff each other under the door, but they seemed pretty uninterested in each other. Mostly this is what they wanted:

New cat: To get out.
Sophie: To get in.

This got on my nerves pretty fast, so the other day I closed off most of the other rooms, and let the new cat out. She just trotted right past Sophie without a second look and set out to explore. Sophie seemed astonished. Her rubbernecking as the other cat went by was hilarious. With her tail puffed out, she followed behind the new cat for a bit, then finally sat on the couch and just watched. There was only a little bit of hissing back and forth, but it went well. Several more episodes on Christmas day went pretty well, too. Today there was a major dust up, so we are back to more incremental schedule. She does make herself at home — here she is in my office, under a portrait of Kady.

You’ll note we’ve not quite settled on a name. We’ve been looking for something girly yet relevant that lends itself to a two-syllable nickname preferably ending in an “ie” sound, which cats are supposed to respond to best (since she’d been “Cookie” for awhile, it would be less confusing for her, too). We don’t want it to sound too much like “Sophie.”

Here’s our progress so far. Cookie is sort of lame, and we went through variations on small, sweet desserts (Snickerdoodle, Biscotti, Macaroon). We also considered a raft of seasonal names, with Juniper (Juno for short, as suggested by Mike) a frontrunner for a bit, knocking out Holly, Abie (a play on Abies, the genus of fir trees), Solstice, and Radish. I trolled through lots of Greek and Roman goddesses, since my late brother was really into mythology and named his cats Isis and Maia; he was my inspiration for adopting Kady. We thought about situational names like Echo (since she looks like a muted version of Sophie) and looked for terms regarding second chances. Other suggested names have included Phantom, Smudge, Justine, and Heather. There was also Grace, or my grandmother’s name, Beatrice. Some names we’ve really liked, but just didn’t feel right on her.

We think we’re closing in on a name, and will announce it when we are sure; things can change as we get to know her (yes, you will have to tolerate at least one or two more cat posts before I get back on track here). Meanwhile, feel free to confuse us further if you have any suggestions.

I had to say goodbye to my number one cat today. Kady took a turn for the worse on Wednesday. It’s true — you know when it’s time. I’ve never had to have a pet put down before. Scheduling her death was one of the most surreal things I’ve ever done, and waiting the last day and a half was a wrenching experience. Although the first three words that come to mind in describing her are “surly”, “neurotic”, and “lazy”, she could be subtly sweet, and always soft and warm. We had a lot of those sweet moments these last few weeks. Here is one of my favorite photos of her.

And here is one of her last portraits, which I took yesterday.

She was my first cat and I will always feel grateful for all she taught me. We love you and miss you already, pretty girl.

Kingfisher and I were out and about over the weekend. There’s not much joy in the Motor City these days. But we did make our way to one of Detroit’s bright spots for lunch, Slows Bar BQ.

We had a great meal, and walked across Michigan Avenue for dessert and coffee at the new Mercury Coffee Bar, which serves Intelligentsia coffee. I am so relieved there is one place in this city where you can get awesome coffee. Slows and the Mercury are located in one of Detroit’s oldest neighborhoods, Corktown. These establishments are signs of urban renewal, but right down the street from the Mercury is what is probably Detroit’s most famous abandoned building (in a city absolutely full of them): the Michigan Central Station.

Opened in 1913, it’s now been closed for 20 years. Every window is broken, and the interior has been completely vandalized. Renovation would cost a fortune, and plenty of plans have been floated. Each has sunk.

While we were in old building mode, we decided to swing by Brush Park, which I last posted about In June 2007. In that post, I showed the William Livingstone mansion (“Old Slumpy”), but it was finally pulled down and there is now only a vacant lot. I also showed a few places on Edmund Place, including a wreck that was enveloped by vegetation. Here it is without the leafy covering. Still well ventilated, but standing.

This one a few blocks away, on Adelaide near John R, was still in relatively decent shape.

But if these homes were having a hard time being renovated during boom times, I don’t hold much hope that anything will happen with them now. Around the corner was this historic building. It was slated for condos, but has now been destroyed by fire.

The sign is the same one that is on a number of Brush Park buildings, signifying that the building has been designated for rehabilitation. Now a condemnation sign has been slapped on it.

Note that someone has amended former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s title and updated it to reflect his current occupation.

These are the “glamorous” examples of urban decay in Detroit. Mostly, there are just seemingly endless blocks of much more prosaic abandonment and blight. Whereas the Michigan Central and the broad stretches of urban prairie represent a sort of post-apocolyptic scene, much of the rest has more of a currently-under-siege look and feel. Boarded up (or wide open) empty buildings, bustling with scrappers, dopers, and the homeless, people living or just surviving in broad swaths of city with crumbling infrastructure and minimal retail.

I’m not a big fan of a lot of the decisions made by the Big 3. I admit that, like most residents of this area, I have direct connections to the auto industry and therefore a personal interest in their survival. Yet even if you live far removed from this area, you do not want to pick up the tab for the failure of one of these companies, which will cost many times more than the bailout. We’ve been surprised at the lack of depth in the news in outlining why bankruptcy for GM is not really an option, how different their situation is from the airlines, and how this particular economic climate has taken “fairness” off the table. Kingfisher and I have spent some time explaining this to far-flung relatives. Here are a couple articles we recommend:

• Panic in Detroit
• Don’t let them die – lots of excellent Detroit “feral house” posts on this site, too

I have no patience with people who will spend hours digesting sports statistics or studying video game reviews, but won’t bother going beyond 30-second sound bites and cockamamie ads to examine and analyze the positions of presidential candidates. Engage in due diligence, then follow through and cast an intelligent vote. This is about the future of this country. How can that not be worth a few hours of your time? Ask yourself…

1. Does the ticket have a reservoir of wisdom, reasoning, and judgment to take to the White House? What is the type and quality of the experience they have? Does each member of the ticket have new and important skills, education, and experience that are complementary to their running mate’s?

2. Does the ticket’s public message reflect their proposed policies? Are these policies adequately elucidated on their campaign web site to allow me to determine if they are realistic and address what I feel are important issues for the country and myself? Are they sufficiently detailed so that I can make a sound evaluation, and compare them to the other ticket’s proposals?

3. Has the ticket presented a clear and consistent view of their mission, policies, and positions? Has it stayed on message?

4. How does the ticket present itself to the public? Are the speeches, interviews, and ads based on fact? Or is the information presented to the public vague, unfair, inaccurate, or negative? Has it avoided messages based on fear, stereotypes, and cultural divisiveness?

5. No matter how cynical I have become, have I reflected up how fortunate I am to be a citizen of the United States? Have I made an effort in this election to acquire civil literacy, and taken the time to carefully appraise each ticket, their backgrounds, their records, their behavior, and their policies? Am I ready to cast my vote based on thought and honest deliberation?

Find your polling place here. Those “These colors don’t run” and “Buy American” bumper stickers mean nothing. This is what patriotism and democracy is all about.

Graphic by Andrew McFarlane under a Creative Commons License.

The first banana slug, next to my hand. Very cool.

And we had lice in the rental car. But had to pay for them.

If you farm coffee in this unnamed country, you have permission to slack off and take a few short cuts with your mulching.

A friend sent me this:

Scott’s Bird Seed Voluntary Recall

Major manufacturer of wild bird seed and animal food products, The Scotts Company LLC announced a voluntary recall of certain varieties of Morning Song, Scotts, Country Pride and various private label branded wild bird (Royal Wing from Tractor Supply) and animal food products due to the use of unapproved pesticides.  The store recall is for seed and suet products packaged on or before March 12, 2008.  The Scotts Company replacement of the products at distributors is currently underway.  The company has received fewer than 10 calls in the last two years regarding a possible connection between these products and bird mortalities at feeders.  There is no evidence, however, demonstrating any harm caused to humans, pets, wild birds or other wildlife. The company’s Niger Thistle Seed products are not effected.

I think the spin the company statement put on this was, hmm, interesting; bolding is mine:

Dear Fellow Bird Lover,

You might find that your favorite Scotts, Morning Song or Country Pride wild bird or wild animal food isn’t available where you normally buy it.

We are in the process of replacing these products because we determined that we needed to stop applying certain insect controls. These controls were used to make sure that our bird and animal food wasn’t infested with moths and other problem-causing insects.

The insect controls that we had used are EPA-approved for use on some stored grains, including grains that may be turned into human food. However, the insect controls are not EPA-approved for wild bird food or wild animal food.

We believe that the wild bird food and wild animal food did not constitute a significant health risk to wild birds, small animals or humans who handle the food.

We have discontinued use of the unapproved insect controls.

Personally, I don’t buy bird seed that is distributed by a company that in 2007 had $2.8 billion in net sales of lawn products and pesticides, especially one that has such an unflattering corporate profile.  I get my seed from a locally owned business or feed store.

And while you are not bolstering Scott’s profits via bird seed purchases, check out the Beyond Pesticides web site for a host of reasons not to buy most of the other stuff they push.  They have downloadable fact sheets such as the health and environmental effects of commonly used lawn pesticides. Pesticides and birds don’t mix.

Birding Girl tagged me with the 6-word birding meme. I have resisted all the 6-word memes that have been circulating for the last several months because at the keyboard, I am not a person of few words.