Who’s got the weirdest and most artistic bird nests sitting in their Bay Area yard? Is it you?

It’s time for the 4th Annual Gary’s Wildest Bird Nest Contest and you’re all invited to search your yards and enter some wild and wonderful photographs of all the unique bird nests you find. Check all the nooks and crannies in your yard and around your house (or on your house!).
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When you get the urge to adopt an animal, have you ever thought about how much that new pet might cost, and for how long? It could be a lot more and for a lot longer than you think.

The ASPCA in New York has just released an updated guide to pet costs to help new pet parents plan and budget for their futures. (See below)

SOME COSTS
A large dog, for example, will likely require an average yearly food allowance of $225, while a bird’s diet is sparse in comparison, costing only $75 per year. Rabbits and guinea pigs like fresh bedding, which totals a whopping $415 per year, versus a fastidious feline, whose litter costs a modest yearly average of $165. (Assuming it uses a litter box.)

MEDICAL EXPENSES
Recurring medical expenses such as yearly exams and vaccinations can range from $210 to $265 for dogs and $160 for cats. Pet insurance coverage varies, but some policies will cover spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations, and heartworm medication. Rates for dogs are an average of $225, while owners of healthy cats can find insurance coverage for approximately $175 per year.

TREATS
In return for the gift of companionship, you may choose to spoil your new pet with toys and treats. It doesn’t take much to provide a fish with some extra stimulation, but a pet guinea pig can consume $30 annually in toys and treats. Expect to spend $25 to $75 per year on cat and dog goodies.

WATCH YOUR BUDGET
It’s a good idea to take a close look at your budget when you adopt a pet. If you live modestly, consider adopting a pet that won’t strain your wallet. Another alternative is fostering a pet or volunteering at your local animal shelter or pet rescue organization to get your furry fix. (I know, it still isn’t the same.)

ASPCA’S UPDATED GUIDE TO PET COSTS
You can find out more about how to adopt the right pet for you and your budget at http://www.aspca.org/petcarecosts

MORE ABOUT THE ASPCA
For more information about the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) visit http://www.aspca.org

Now go hug your dog or cat and be sure to tell it what a wonderful and expensive pet it is! /Gary

Mike Wallace has written a new book, ”The Way We Will Be 50 Years From Today: 60 Of The World’s Greatest Minds Share Their Vision Of The Next Half-Century.” It will be in bookstores on April 15.

Here’s some information from the press release I just received:
Mike assembled some of the world’s brightest, imaginative and forward-thinking individuals, including 15 Nobel Prize winners, to share their thoughts on what the future holds in this book. Fifty years is merely a blip in time, but in that blip can come incredible changes.

Just a few of those contributing essays in this insightful and thought-provoking book include: Vint Cerf of Google, known as “Father of the Internet”; Nobel prize winning astrophysicist George Smoot, who helped solidify the Big-Bang Theory of the Universe; Norman E. Borlaug, Nobel peace Prize winner and “father of the Green Revolution”; Astronomer Steven Beckwith, Director of the Space Telescope Institute at John Hopkins Univ.; Richard Dawkins, FRS, is an evolutionary biologist at Oxford.

Check out these 3 samples of the 60 predictions in “The Way We’ll Be 50 Years From Today”:

** Each of us will have a copy of our own complete DNA sequence, incorporated into a highly accurate electronic medical record and accessible from anywhere in the world. Visits to the doctor may seem a bit like Star Trek, with sophisticated imaging capabilities that allow precise assessments of any problems in any organ system (Francis S. Collins, MD, Ph.D., a geneticist who led the Human Gnome Project)

** Researchers will have discovered how to prevent breast cancer and heart disease will be no longer. (Nancy Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Louis Ignarro, Nobel Prize winner and Professor, UCLA School of Medicine)

And this is the one that REALLY caught my eye:
** Schizophrenia and bipolar diseases will be well understood and treatable, and will be known to be caused by infectious agents combined with predisposing genes; children will be vaccinated against them before they become exposed. What will be surprising will be the discovery that many of the infectious agents causing diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, MS, some cancers and other chronic diseases are transmitted to humans by animals. Pets such as cats, birds, hamsters and others will be uncommon due to the danger of the infectious agents they carry. (Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, a research psychiatrist specializing in schizophrenia and manic-depressive illnesses)

Anyone want to see if those of us with not-so-great minds and no Nobel Prizes can come up with our own predictions of how it will be 50 years from today?

I’ll start it off:
I think pets play a much BIGGER roll in our lives than Dr. Torrey obviously does. I don’t think “pets such as cats, birds, hamsters and others” (dogs?) will be uncommon 50 years from now. Pets are too important to our lives and if it is discovered that they carry infectious agents, then a way will also be discovered to resolve that problem without getting rid of the pets. And $50 billion dollars in annual sales of pet food and pet-related products may also play some slight role in this. (Gary Bogue, fumble-fingered blogger and daily pet and wildlife columnist)

Anybody else game for this? Let’s hear your predictions. Nobel Prize winners and great minds will also be allowed to participate if they feel so inclined.

Just leave your comments below:

Once again, for the 5th time in 31 days, Marin County has flushed more raw sewage into San Francisco Bay.

That averages out to be approximately 1,001,550 gallons of raw sewage dumped into the Bay every 6 days by Marin County.

This latest dump of crap into our Bay came from the smelly little Marin city of San Rafael. According to the San Rafael Sanitation District, 6,000 gallons of raw sewage mixed with storm water spilled at around 11 a.m. Sunday (Feb. 24) at Fifth Avenue and Hetherton Street … apparently because residents have been flushing industrial-strength paper towels down their toilets instead of disposing of them in the garbage.

According to the Sanitation District, the towels, which don’t readily dissolve in water, supposedly got caught in tree roots, causing sewage to back up in a 15-inch pipe. The pipe overflowed and “was the district’s worst ever spill and the first one to spill into a ditch that led to the San Rafael Canal and San Pablo Bay.”

Tree roots in sewer pipes, eh?

It’s not as if our poor Bay hasn’t had enough pollution problems in the last few months, starting with 50,000-plus gallons of toxic fuel oil from the ship that rammed the Bay Bridge on Nov. 7.

Here’s the latest Marin Muck & Mire Score for 2008:

** 5 million-plus gallons of sewage from the Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin on Jan. 25 and on Jan. 31.

** Another 1,500 gallons of raw sewage from Marin’s San Quentin Prison on Feb. 14.

** Another 250 gallons of raw sewage from the North Marin Water District on Feb. 18.

** And now another 6,000 gallons of raw sewage and storm water from the San Rafael Sanitation District.

And these are just the spills we KNOW about.

What about the other cities and counties that border San Francisco Bay? Anyone know what these guys have been flushing into the San Francisco Bay Septic Tank since the first of the year? Please let me know.

I’m sure there are a lot of sick and dying aquatic birds, marine mammals, fish, crabs, shellfish and other barely living creatures that would also like to have that information before they die.

Andy Preston, administrator of the San Rafael Sanitation District, was quoted by Bay City News Service as saying a test for fecal coliform taken 24 hours after the spill showed an “acceptable” level for human contact.

That’s part of the problem right there — having “acceptable” levels for all the crap that gets dumped into the Bay.

And by the way, anyone know what the “acceptable” levels are for aquatic wildlife? Just kidding. Of course you don’t.

How about a new rule that says NO levels of fecal coliform are “acceptable” for humans and wildlife?

Even better … how about NO MORE SEWAGE SPILLS FROM MARIN COUNTY … for starters?

Dear San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board:

Anybody out there? /Gary

Only 115 pairs of the endangered piping plover are left on Cape May, New Jersey beaches. They nest there during the summer. Because they nest on the ground, they are vulnerable to predators, including wild house cats, foxes and other animals.

Cape May’s beaches also have a population of feral cats that are being cared for by local volunteers in a trap, neuter and release program.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service originally wanted the feral cat colonies moved back a mile from the beach to keep the cats from injuring or killing the birds. Cat lovers said this would have meant eliminating all feral cats from Cape May and they dug in their heels and resisted. This led to a compromise proposal to move the cat colonies at least 1,000 feet from the beach, and a half-mile from areas already identified as plover nesting grounds.

The Fish and Wildlife Service said it was skeptical of the compromise and is considering withholding millions of dollars in federal sand replenishment funds for the beach. This has the town in a huge tizzy … pitting the local bird lovers against the local cat lovers against the Cape May City Council.

The plovers start returning to Cape May to nest around March 15, so that doesn’t leave much time to decide what to do.

Residents of the city are split down the middle on this. The city received 600 e-mails in one day from local cat lovers against moving the cats. But the New Jersey Audubon Society is equally distressed. Cape May is one of the prime bird-watching spots in all of North America. The World Series of Birding is held there every year.

Similar debates are being held in many communities across the country. Cat lovers in Benicia, California, want to feed feral cat colonies that live in local marshes around the city to keep them from starving to death. Members of the local Audubon Society would prefer that they didn’t because they kill wild birds and other wildlife.

How does this get resolved? Should birds die so that cats might live? Or vice versa? Is there a compromise solution that would make both sides happy and keep cats AND birds alive?

Any ideas?

There’s lots more to bird feathers than just keeping birds warm and waterproof and making them look pretty.
“The Anna’s hummingbird chirps with its tail: a new mechanism of sonation in birds,” was recently published by Christopher Clark and Teresa Feo from UC Berkeley.

Basically, when the male Anna’s hummingbird is in the middle of its dramatic courtship display — in a 100-foot high-speed dive, straight down — it makes a series of chirps to help attract female Anna’s hummingbirds. (As if those amazing dives aren’t enough!)

It was once thought that those sounds were vocal, but this study now appears to show that the sounds are made when wind passes across the edges of certain feathers. It makes them buzz rapidly when the male hummingbird spreads his tail as he pulls up at the bottom of his dive. It’s kind of like when a kid holds a leaf between his fingers and blows across it to produce a loud SQUEAK!

For the whole story see: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/01/30_hummingbird.shtml

DOVES DO IT, TOO:
The squeaky sound mourning doves make when they take off is produced the same way when wind passes over special feathers on the doves’ wings. The faster the doves flap their wings, the higher the pitch of the squeaks.

OWLS ARE DIFFERENT:
Interestingly, owls use their feathers for the exact opposite action — to NOT make any sounds.

Since they hunt at night when it’s dark, owls have to be sneaky hunters. To help them, owl feathers have soft, fringed edges, as opposed to daytime birds whose feathers have hard edges. The fringed (fuzzy) owl feathers muffle the sounds of the air as it passes over them when the owl is flying.

Nothing can hear an owl when it’s flying, not even a mouse. Too bad for the mouse.

Mother Nature is one very clever lady, don’t you think? /Gary

Staff and volunteers at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary in Tiburon, CA, have reported they are experiencing an unusual spike in the number of dead birds found in and around their facility.

More than 60 birds of a variety of species have been found at the sanctuary since Jan. 26. That number is similar to the total number of dead birds found at the Audubon Center after the 50,000-plus gallon Cosco Busan fuel oil spill on Nov. 7.

Over 5 million gallons of raw, partially treated sewage were released into the Bay by the Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin on Jan. 25 and Jan. 31.

As I said above, the first dead birds were spotted in the water on Jan. 26, the day after the first spill. There was reportedly another spike in the number of dead birds found on Feb. 1, the day after the second spill.

50,000-plus gallons of toxic fuel oil and 5 million-plus gallons of sewage have been dumped into San Francisco Bay … and Western grebes, greater scaups, surf scoters, buffleheads and other aquatic bird species are dying.

Any guesses as to what the cause of this might be? /Gary

Do you like wild birds?

The 12th Annual San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival takes place on Mare Island in Vallejo, Feb. 1-3. The Festival attracts more than 6,000 people from the Central Valley, North Coast and all points of the San Francisco Bay Area to the free event.

Activities for all ages and skills are scheduled both indoors and outdoors. Beginning bird-watchers are welcome!

Migrating birds are most abundant during the midwinter at the local National Wildlife Refuges, State Wildlife Areas and private lands, which attract over 1 million shorebirds and hundreds of thousands of waterfowl that migrate through or winter in the San Francisco Bay region.

** The Wildlife Discovery Expo features native wild birds from Native Bird Connections, hands-on activities for children, natural resource, historic, recreational and birding equipment exhibits and numerous guided wetland, historic and birding tours on Mare Island.

** Sacramento based Crane Culture Theater performs Lord of the Cranes, an ancient Chinese folk tale of good fortune, and affinity with nature in a program of dance, music and masked actors, for the first time in the Bay Area.

** Visit St. Peter’s Chapel, adorned with the most Tiffany stained glass in the West.

** Travel at your own pace on a self-guided birding walk or a 5k and 10k Volkswalk.

** There are 60 outings led by naturalists scheduled throughout the region during the only 3-day birding Festival in the Bay Area.

The Festival is a project of Arc Ecology and sponsored by dozens of local Bay Area environmental groups and businesses. Call 707-557-9816 or visit http://www.sfbayflywayfestival.com for a complete list of all activities, maps on how to get there, and more.

Do you like wild birds? Then spread your wings and fly on over this weekend for a really FUN time! /Gary

SOME OF THE ANIMAL-RELATED THINGS HAPPENING IN 2008:

Senator Carole Migden and former Assemblyman Joe Nation have endorsed a letter asking U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein and U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey to put a moratorium on deer killing at Point Reyes National Seashore until 2010. The National Park Service has hired a Connecticut-based group, White Buffalo, Inc., to kill non-native deer in the park. There are an estimated 950 European fallow deer and 250 Axis deer in the park. The NPS claims the non-native deer are competing with the native black-tailed deer. More at: http://www.solaswebdesign.net/wordpress/?cat=5

The issue of feral cats vs. wild birds is rearing its ugly head in Benicia. In an attempt to balance the needs of feral (wild) cats with a diverse and sensitive wild bird population, city officials and local animal advocates are crafting new regulations for undomesticated felines. The cat people want to set up trap-spay/neuter-release programs and feed cat colonies throughout Benicia. Local bird lovers say this conflicts with the protection of local wildlife because the cats will eat the birds. This cat fight isn’t going to end anytime soon, if ever. The full story: http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_7861999?nclick_check=1

Bay Area conservation groups are launching an interesting program in 2008 to reconnect residents with the natural resources and values of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) with the first-ever “GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year. The year-long event is aimed at connecting GGNRA visitors with the 33 endangered species found in the park, through individual exploration and guided expeditions, and to encourage participation in conservation action items that will prevent species from going extinct. You can find out more at http://www.ggnrabigyear.org

Speaking of the Martinez beavers — A special flow device is expected to be installed in the Martinez beaver dam this week, hopefully before the BIG rains that are expected this weekend. This device is supposed to control the water level behind the dam to keep Alhambra Creek from flooding. Let’s hope they get it installed before the rain … and let’s hope that it works. You can keep an eye on things at http://www.martinezbeavers.com

This is just a tiny sampling of all the animal-related activities that will be going on in 2008 around the country and the world. You can find out more at the Web sites of some of the more active animal-protection organizations:

The Humane Society of the United States: http://www.hsus.org

Defenders of Wildlife: http: //www.defenders.org

National Wildlife Federation: http://www.nwf.org/wildlife

Center for Biological Diversity: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org

ASPCA: http://www.aspca.org

Just one New Year resolution:
Figure out a way to take my couch pillow back from the cats so I can watch TV. /gary

This is about a Jazz Benefit for the Birds at 7 p.m. on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1

WHAT: “Benefit for the Birds” is a benefit concert to raise money for local and international bird rescue efforts. It’s a mostly Jazz program featuring Grammy-nominated pianist Matt Herskowitz; flutists Carol Alban, Nancy Tyler, Antonia David and Ann Licater; guitarists Jack Gates and Jeff Suits; cellist Suellen Primost; vocalists Laurie Antonioli, Alvenson Moore and Mary D’Orazi; upright bassist Dave Lockhart; drummer Greg German; and other surprise guest musicians.

WHEN:
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008, at 7 p.m.

WHERE:
Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland 94611.

COST:
Suggested donation of $10 or more. (More is best!)

MORE INFO:
http://www.myspace.com/benefitconcertinfo
Or call 510-542-7517.
This location is wheelchair accessible and there is plenty of free parking.

COMMENTS:
This is an opportunity to catch world-class Grammy-nominated pianist Matt Herskowitz and friends on New Year’s Day in a rare Bay Area appearance. Juilliard-trained Herskowitz is on the rise as one of the most exciting pianists on the jazz/fusion scene. He recorded a holiday album with Barry Manilow and has recently made several TV appearances.

** For more information about flutist Carol Alban, see http://www.myspace.com/carolalban

** For more info about jazz pianist Matt Herskowitz, see http://www.mattherskowitz.com

MOST IMPORTANT:
Proceeds from this concert will benefit the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC), a non-profit that did an amazing job of rescuing and rehabilitating the birds impacted by the recent oil spill in SF Bay. You can learn more about this marvelous organization at http://www.ibrrc.org

Dear readers:
I’m sure you remember the International Bird Rescue Research Center. I wrote a lot about them both here and in my daily newspaper columns during the cleanup operations from the recent San Francisco Bay oil spill.

A lot of wild birds were killed when they got contaminated with oil from this spill. Fortunately, many of those oiled birds also lived to be released back into the wild because they were cared for and cleaned by the professional staff and caring volunteers at IBRRC.

IBRRC is a nonprofit organization and continues to operate because of the generous support of caring people like you. You can help and have an enjoyable New Year’s Day at the same time by purchasing a ticket and attending this wonderful concert. Thanks a BIG bunch! /Gary

(You can read Gary’s daily newspaper columns at http://www.contracostatimes.com/garybogue)