I enjoy bird watching, but I much prefer bird listening and recording.

Binaural recordings are simply spectacular but require headphones, as they replicate sounds how the human ears perceive them. On X, Y and Z axes = sound on left and right, top and bottom, front and back. Once you go binaural, there's no turning back.

This topic is not to inflame sentiments, but as a bird watcher (not a birder), it’s disheartening to know that at least 33 species of birds have become extinct from one beast.

These animals “contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild and continue to adversely impact a wide variety of other species, including those at risk of extinction such as Piping Plover” according to ABC - American Bird Conservancy.

In the United States alone, these killers kill approximately 2.4 billion birds every year according to ABC in above line, yet USA Today puts that figure at 3.7 billion.

BTW, will anyone here on the Café take part in Cornell University’s annual one-day bird watching competition on May 4th, 2019? Last year there were almost 31,000 participants worldwide with 7,026 species identified. https://ebird.org/globalbigday

I took part in an NYC bird count years ago. I don't think it was a competition though, more just a kind of census sponsored by the Audubon society IIRC. I was amazed at the level of knowledge exhibited by my fellow counters.

And yes, cats belong indoors or on leashes.

Hi landmark,

Congrats going on the bird count. Even the Big Apple probably has many birders and birds that most don't know about.
Yes, you’re absolutely right, many know so much about birds. I don't know so much yet, but am continuing to learn.

My colleague here in Japan was the number one birder for the above contest for years.
My buddy can recognize about 80 different bird sounds and can produce about 20. He’s so good, he goes out into remote areas, does his bird calls, and birds pop out.
He is so amazing that he realized the Tom Cruise movie Last Samurai had one scene that was shot in a different country (Taiwan?) because of the background call of the bird.

He lost out last year to a policy which I believe to be unfair, a husband-wife team counted as one person as long as they were in earshot of each other while identifying birds.

My family has cats and yes, they can be quite destructive. It's their instinct to hunt and kill which wouldn't bother me so much if they ate what they just killed.
I'm aware of my ignorance regarding zoology but I'm not sure of many other species that kill just for the sake of killing.
I suspect that if cats were the size of humans, there would be far fewer cat owners.

Your Japanese friend sounds incredible. Wow. It was the identifying birds without even seeing them, just hearing them, that made me throw up my hands at ever getting good at birding. A couple of birders have said that it's kind of like learning a foreign language--to be really good at it, it helps to start when you're very young. But I still enjoy checking out the birds when I'm somewhere new.

As for owning cats the size of humans...that's what magicians are for.

Hi landmark,

Yes, he's amazing. He's actually from Wales and has been birding for more than 50 years worldwide.
He started as a very young child (3 or 4?) as his dad was also a dedicated birder.
He probably could have been an ornithologist. His friends just call him "The bird man."

If I remember correctly, the rules for the Cornell worldwide bird contest allow for a count on either a visual, or an audible.
He's won the competition repeatedly and the most amazing thing is, he only uses his bicycle for transportation.
Many birders here in Japan hop from place to place by car so he's at a severe disadvantage yet he continues to win.

BTW, great job on Open Heart Magic. You appear to be very interested in helping those in need.
I've done pro bono shows for pediatric heart patients here in Japan and they loved the shows.
The site here is mainly in Japanese, https://www.achmc.pref.aichi.jp but the section on hospitalization shows 3 birds sitting on a branch.

Thanks. That hospital looks very child friendly. That's good of you to do those hospital shows. Do you speak/read/write Japanese?

Hi landmark.

Yes, that hospital is one of the most child-friendly in the world I suspect. It was designed like that.

I can speak, understand and read Japanese, but I need help writing.

Between 6,500,000 and 10,000,000 birds a day?

Sounds kind of high to me.

But what do I know- I'm skeptical of any advocacy organization's figures when they want to raise money (and they all want to raise money).

10,000,000 birds a day- please donate to stop the slaughter!

Please don't accuse me of being an anti-birdite, because I'm not.

And boy am I disappointed that that beast wasn't man.

I was betting on it until I read landmark's post, because everything is our fault.

But not this time!

Hi Jack Straw,

I almost spit out my coffee laughing on your first line, good one.
Yes, that does seem high. ABC is much lower than USA Today.

BTW, the US Government National Park Service cites a source that we use 500,000,000 straws a day.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/straw-free.htm
I'd hate to be the "new guy" on the job going around doing all the counting.