Dr. Roger Lederer

Hearing-impaired Birding

October 18, 2018October 19, 2018 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

As my body and mind accumulate the years, physical and sensory functions begin to decline. At about the age of 37, one needs to wear glasses to read. Balance begins to slip in the 50s, declines in walking speed become evident in the 60s and 70s. Then there is hair…

Should We Befriend Birds?

October 12, 2018 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

I recently read an article in the New York Times about hand-feeding hummingbirds. It's fascinating, but also disturbing. It's cute, but why is it so important to get hummingbirds to feed from your hand or a perch sticking out of a helmet on your head? These are wild creatures, not…

Some Miscellaneous Tribulations of an Ornithologist

September 27, 2018September 27, 2018 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Being an ornithologist is very rewarding but like any profession, there are hiccups. Once, on a project in a suburban area, I surveyed a large prairie-woodland for birds and other wildlife, notebook in hand and binoculars hanging conspicuously over my chest. Walking on a dirt trail listening for birds, I…

Spring Comes Earlier

September 20, 2018September 20, 2018 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

In case you haven’t noticed, spring is coming earlier these days. Looking at climate data over the past century, spring temperatures are arriving three to six days earlier in the southern states and four to seven days early in the northern states. And similar patterns are observed across the planet.…

Birding Apps

September 13, 2018 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

These days almost everyone has a smartphone, iPad, or some other electronic device to help them communicate, navigate, and educate. It was just a matter of time before the sport of birding joined the electronic world. You would think that a pair of binoculars and a field guide would be…

Cruising With Birds

September 6, 2018September 8, 2018 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

[caption id="attachment_10547" align="alignleft" width="288"] Albatross[/caption] One of my retirement activities is giving “enrichment” lectures on cruise ships around the world. I’ve lectured on over 20 cruises and ten different cruise lines. Not sophisticated university-level lectures, but “edu-tainment” as the cruise lines call them. They are part of the ship’s activities,…

The Hearing of Birds

August 30, 2018 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

[caption id="attachment_10540" align="alignleft" width="172"] Cooper's Hawk listening[/caption] Birds’ songs and calls are important for survival. The ear of a bird is very much like that of a mammal’s with two important exceptions. The external ear lacks a pinna (the flesh-covered outer ear) although owls have one, and nstead of three…

Something to Crow About

August 23, 2018August 23, 2018 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

It’s well known that crows and jays and their relatives in the family Corvidae are the most intelligent birds. There’s an all black bird native to New Caledonia known as the New Caledonian Crow. The New Caledonian crow sometimes digs for grubs in nooks or crevices of a tree’s bark by using…

Feeding Birds

August 17, 2018 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 50 million North Americans feed birds. That amounts to more than one million tons of seed directly provided to birds every year. As fall approaches, the avifauna (set of bird species in an area) changes with migration patterns and some…

Hot Birds

August 12, 2018August 12, 2018 by Dr. Roger Lederer

Dr. Roger Lederer

Birds and mammals like us, are homeothermic. We often say "" is a misnomer as tuna and lizards and worms and tuna can be warm blooded at times. Better to say homeothermic which means which means that mammals and birds maintain a fairly constant body temperature at all times. To…

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